Squash Cupcakes
Hey my little foodies!
It's here, squash season! I love this autumnal time of year full of soups, pies and squash cupcakes!
I brought this recipe back from a trip to the USA. I don't know if you've ever been there in autumn, but they love squash in all its forms, sweet or savory. It's so so so good! Every year I look forward to this season to make my famous spiced squash cupcakes. So here they are for you. :o)
This recipe might surprise you! Yes, there's no butter but oil... Not very common around here, but in the USA they cook a lot with oil. The difference? Your cupcakes will stay very very soft and you won't get a crust on top. Give it a try, I promise you'll love it!
Here's the ingredient list for 45 mini cupcakes or 12 standard cupcakes:
Cupcake batter
- 200gr flour
- 1gr baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 230gr brown sugar
- 1.5 tsp speculoos flavoring
- 100gr canola oil
- 1 egg
- 250gr squash purée
Vanilla ganache
- 280gr heavy cream
- 6 gelatin leaves
- 2 to 3 tsp vanilla flavoring
- 150gr white chocolate
- 300gr heavy cream
Let's go! We'll start by cooking our squash to get the purée (250gr) needed for the cupcakes.
For this recipe, we need a fairly thick squash with little juice. I went for a Butternut of about 500gr because I love its texture and flavor.
Peel the squash and cut it into small cubes for quick cooking.
Add 100ml of water and bring the squash to a boil with the lid on, for about 15 minutes.
Be careful not to add too much water! We need a nice thick purée.
After 15 minutes, you'll have a well-cooked squash that mashes on its own.
There should be almost no water left. If there is still some, remove it before blending.
Then blend your squash to get a nice compact purée.
Our squash purée is ready. Set it aside in the fridge or freezer to cool down.
Now let's get started on our cupcake batter.
Cupcake batter
So, as I said, this is a very American recipe! No fuss — just mix all the ingredients together with a whisk for about 5 to 10 minutes.
I always start by adding the dry ingredients.
In a bowl, pour 200gr of flour, 230gr of brown sugar (Americans work a lot with brown sugar), 1/2 tsp of baking soda, 1gr of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of salt.
Baking soda is found very very often in recipes from across the Atlantic. Over there, it comes in huge quantities as well as small. They use baking soda for cleaning as well as cooking. In our recipe, it's the one that makes our little cupcakes rise. Of course there's also baking powder, but in a tiny quantity. Baking soda is the boss! ;-)
To measure my various powders, I use my measuring spoons and my precision scale. Because as you saw, we need 1gr of baking powder (a tiny amount). FYI, that's roughly equivalent to 1/4 teaspoon.
Add 100gr of canola oil. I always use canola oil because I find it the most neutral. You could also use sunflower oil if you prefer. :o)
Add 1 egg and the squash purée (250gr).
To really bring out the squash flavor, add 1.5 tsp of speculoos flavoring. They go so well together!
That's it! All you have to do now is whisk your batter for 10 minutes at high speed.
We're now ready to fill the cupcake liners. Here, I used black and orange ones.
Take a piping bag and a tall container, place the piping bag inside (without a tip and without cutting the end). This way both your hands are free to fill the bag! Guaranteed time-saver! :o)
Then fill your mini cupcake pan with mini paper liners. The pan is essential! If you bake your cupcakes in paper liners without a pan, they won't be round and above all they'll be completely dry. The pan will protect them and keep their lovely round shape.
Now preheat your oven to 160°C, fan-assisted.
Now fill the liners 3/4 full, as shown in the photo. Be careful not to overfill them so they don't overflow during baking. The recipe is perfect for 45 mini cupcakes or 12 classic cupcakes.
Once filled, pop the pan in the oven for about 20 minutes in our preheated oven.
Ta-daa! Our cupcakes are perfectly baked and looking gorgeous!
Vanilla ganache
I want to mention that this ganache is a recipe from the great pastry chef Philippe Conticini. I love this recipe! Originally it's a recipe for filling macarons. But I find it works beautifully for vanilla cupcakes too.
Soften 6 gelatin leaves in very cold water. The water really must be cold, otherwise the gelatin may dissolve.
In a glass bowl, add 150gr of white chocolate. I always work with chocolate pistoles made for pastry! I can't stand the bars which (to my taste) are not very good quality. Here I used Callebaut white chocolate. Love it!
Grab a saucepan and pour in 280gr of heavy cream and 2 to 3 tsp of vanilla flavoring.
Bring the vanilla cream to a boil.
Once it comes to a boil, remove the saucepan from the heat, squeeze out the gelatin leaves and add them to the mixture to melt them into the cream. 30 seconds will be enough to melt the leaves.
Once the gelatin leaves are fully melted, pour the vanilla cream over the white chocolate and let the mixture melt for 10-15 seconds. Then whisk the ganache well.
Finally, add 300gr of very cold heavy cream and mix well with the whisk.
Once the ganache is well mixed, cover it directly with plastic wrap and set it aside in the fridge overnight.
TIP: I never plan far enough ahead to leave my ganache in the fridge overnight... So I cheat! I cool it in the freezer for about 20 minutes but I come back to stir it every 5 to 10 minutes. Then I set it aside in the fridge for another 1h and it's good to go.
Once your ganache is really well chilled and your cupcakes are fully cooled too, it's time for decoration! :o)
Know that if your ganache isn't cold enough, it will split immediately! And you'll have to start all over again... So really respect the overnight fridge rule, or cheat like me — but it's the bare minimum for everything to go smoothly.
Take the well-chilled ganache and re-work it with your mixer's whisk attachment to whip it up. A bit like whipped cream.
So whip your ganache until it becomes firmer and you see a peak form on your whisk.
I always stay right next to it when doing this because a ganache can split very quickly... And if it splits, well, it's done for.
Whip the ganache for 1 to 3 minutes. But it will really depend on your quantity, its temperature, etc.
Then prepare a piping bag and the 2D tip. I love this tip! I find it looks so cute on mini cupcakes. :o)
Fill your piping bag with ganache. And let's get decorating!
Pipe your cupcakes beautifully.
Here's a short video to show you our piping technique:
To finish, I chose to sprinkle some nonpareils in Halloween colors! :o)
And there you have the most adorable cupcakes!
I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial!
Happy tasting and enjoy this autumn season that's just around the corner.
Karin
P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.
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Comments
Question de Mélanie
By: Mélanie M. On 2023-08-08Bonjour, ayant fait à plusieurs reprises la recette, j'aurais souhaité la garder en tant que base afin d'en faire des goûts différents tout au long de l'année. Elle est top pour periode hivernale/ automnale mais un peu moins actuellement. Que me conseillez-vous pour remplacer la courge afin que ma texture reste identique ? L'idée est de pouvoir en faire des natures, chocolat, framboises etc... Merci d'avance et belle journée ! Prochain essai demain, votre recette de crumble?
Replied by: Laura On 2023-08-09
Question de Christelle
By: Christelle F. On 2022-10-24Bonjour ! À quel moment les cupcakes devraient être montés avec la crème l ? Juste avant de servir ou est ce que la crème tient bien et on peut les préparer quelques heures avant de les servir?
Et que pensez vous si je remplace les épices à spéculos par les épices à pain d’épices ?
D’avance merci !
Replied by: Laura On 2022-10-24
Replied by: Christelle F. On 2022-10-24
Replied by: Laura On 2022-10-24
Question de Vanessa
By: Vanessa G. On 2022-01-07Peut on rajouter du colorant? Pour décorer un cake par exemple? A quel moment rajouter le colorant? Colorant gel ça irait?
Replied by: Karin On 2022-01-10
Réponse à Magalie
By: Cakelicious-Team On 2018-09-18Merci de votre commentaire.
Pour la graduation des cuillères voici l'explication correspondante:
- 2.45 ml / 1/2 Tsp = 1/2 Cuillère à café
- 4.93 ml / 1 Tsp = 1 Cuillère à café
- 7.39 ml / 1/2 Tbs = 1/2 Cuillère à soupe
- 14.79 ml / 1 Tbs = 1 Cuillère à soupe
Belle journée :)