Cupcakes
Of course they celebrate St Patricks Day in Monte Carlo! It is an international city that embraces every culture, every nationality and every kind of cupcake.
You heard me right. Cupcakes.
By now we’ve all realized that cupcakes are not a craze but a new food category. So when we told our friends at the Fairmont Hotel in Monte Carlo that we were celebrating St. Patricks Day’s food, drinks and entertaining ideas via our Chatterworks Tweet Chat, (today at 4pm ET! #chatwrksStPat on Twitter) they offered to join in by creating two original cupcake recipes. One is Sweet and one is Savory.
If you can’t make the chat, look for a complete story of who said what along with all the links, pictures, recipes and conversation that we’ll post here on Wednesday!
A Sweet St Patricks Day Cupcake by Pastry Chef Claire Verneil of the Fairmont Monte Carlo
SWEET -
The St. Patrick’s Day Cupcake by Pastry Chef Claire Verneil’s of The Fairmont Monte Carlo! Reusable Magnetic Cupcake Wrapper from KatieSheaDesign.com*
24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups self rising flour
- 1 1/2 cups regular flour
- 1 cup soft butter
- 1 cup milk
- 4 large eggs
- zest of lime
- 1 zest of lemon
- 6 slices of candied lemon
- Sugar paste
- green colouring (leaf green by Wilton)
- Glitters
The Fairmont Monte Carlo has bragging rights when it come to Pastry Chef Claire Verneil, a lawyer turned chef. After taking fourth place in a TV MasterChef contest in November 2011, she decided to swap her robe for a chef’s hat for good.
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METHOD
The Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350
1. Combine the two flours in a bowl
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed, cream the butter perfectly then add the sugar and mix for 4 more minutes
3. Add eggs one by one beating one minute in between each
4. Add the zest of the lime and lemon, the mix of flours and then the milk
5. Stop the electric mixer and use a rubber spatula to make sure all the batter is off the sides and mixed together
6. Cut the candied lemon in to small pieces and add to the mix
7. With a large spoon, carefully fill the cupcake tins about 3/4 full
8. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes depending on your oven
9. Cool the cupcakes in the tin for 20 minutes in a dry place. Remove them when they are completely cool
Decorating
1. Work the sugar paste with a hint of green color (I personally wear gloves to avoid the Shrek hands!)
2. Flat and mold the paste to what you want; flowers, four-leaf clovers, circles, hand bag, hearts… and stick it to the top using a small amount of water. Adhere it to as much of the cupcake as possible.
3. My St Patricks cupcake is decorated with one big circle, 2 flowers (one green, one white with 2-tone glitters – I used Hologram and Disco Xmas Green from NY Cake Supply) and I handmade the bag.
Store in the fridge until ready to eat…. in fact, you might not need to. You will have eaten them along all on the way!
A Savory St Patricks Cupcake by Chef Philippe Joannes of the Fairmont in Monte Carlo
SAVORY -
A St Patricks Day Cupcake by Chef Philippe Joannes of the Fairmont Monte Carlo. Reusable Magnetic Cupcake Wrapper from KatieSheaDesign.com*
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of flour
- 6 1/2 Tablespoons of Philadelphia cream cheese
- 1/3 + 1 Tablespoon of heavy cream
- 6 Tablespoons of butter
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 cup (scant) of cooked fava beans
- 3 Tablespoons of shallots
- Green asparagus tips
- Black sesame seeds
- Tarragon
- Fresh Green Asparagus shoots
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METHOD
preheat the oven to 350°
1. Mash the fava beans to obtain a really smooth purée.
2. In a bowl blend carefully the flour, the shallots and the tarragon.
3. In a second bowl mix the eggs with the cream and Philadelphia cream cheese.
4. Add the mashed fava.
Executive Chef Philippe Joannes has been leading the culinary team at the highly acclaimed Fairmont Monte-Carlo for over 15 years
5. Boil the Asparagus tips quickly then put them in a bowl filled with ice cubes to keep them vivid green.
6. Blend together both mixes, one made with flour, shallot and tarragon to the second one of eggs and cream cheese. ( Careful: blend well to avoid lumps!)
7. Finally, add the melted butter then mold the cupcakes in the tins and sprinkle with some black sesame seeds.
8. Bake in the oven at 350° for 10 minutes, Open the oven and insert in the center of each cup cake the green asparagus tips
9. Bake another 10 other minutes this time with the oven lowered to at 225 °.
10. Remove the cupcakes from the tins and cool them completely before adding some fresh green shoots and some points of olive oil to make it shine (plus, the taste is amazing!!).
