Lady Baltimore Cupcakes
Light as a cloud and exceptionally sweet, the recipe for these delicious confections is based on an old Southern holiday and wedding creation, the Lady Baltimore Cake.
For the cupcake batter:
1¾ cups sifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sugar, divided
½ cup milk at room temperature
4 egg whites at room temperature
For the frosting:
1½ cups sugar
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup water
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
14 to 16 toasted pecan halves for garnish
For the filling:
½ cup chopped toasted pecans
½ cup chopped dates
½ cup chopped maraschino cherries (use paper towels to dry and squeeze the liquid from the cherries before chopping)
Equipment:
Standard cupcake tins
Paper cupcake liners
Zip-type bag
Natural gas stovetop and oven
Makes 14 to 16 cupcakes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl cream the butter until light. Gradually beat in 1½ cups of the sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla until the mixture is very fluffy.
Add the flour mixture and the milk alternately in small amounts to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with the flour; mix lightly but thoroughly after each addition. Set aside.
Beat the egg whites until foamy and gradually beat in ½ cup sugar until the egg whites are glossy and stiff. Fold the egg white mixture into the batter until well mixed. Use a gentle hand so that you don’t deflate the egg whites too much.
Portion batter into the paper-lined cupcake tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until just done. A toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake should come out clean. Remove the cupcakes, place on wire racks, and cool completely.
For the frosting, which is essentially an Italian meringue, mix the sugar, cream of tartar, water, and corn syrup in a small stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Cook without stirring until the syrup reaches soft ball stage (240 degrees).
Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff in a medium mixing bowl and gradually pour the hot syrup over the egg whites as you continue beating. Beat until the meringue will stand in soft peaks. Beat in the vanilla.
Place a third of the meringue in a separate bowl and mix in the pecans, dates, and cherries.
To assemble the cupcakes, use a fine serrated-edge knife to cut and remove a small cone of cake, about an inch deep, from the middle of each cupcake; save the scraps for another use. Spoon a generous amount of filling into each cavity. Cut an inch from the corner of the zip-type bag, scoop in the meringue frosting, and pipe a swirl of frosting on each cupcake. Garnish with a pecan half. Leftover filling and frosting can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.
For an exotic variation, add ⅛ teaspoon rose water to the cake batter and use fresh red rose petals (be sure they were grown without pesticides) instead of pecans on top of the meringue.