Asian Plum Cupcakes

Last week Matt & I went to a monthly Meet-up called Cookin' Minnesota. The theme of the September event was Preserving Summer.

We made Hibiscus Apple Sauce (that Matt has been eating a jar at a time) & talked about canning safety as well as met a lot of other great Twin Cities foodies. Kris, the event coordinator, even made Pumpkin Butter & Plum Jam for all of us to take home. Lucky us!

Well of course, my head started working around how I could work some of these goodies into a cupcake. I decided I wanted to try something with an Asian twist using the plum jam. The idea first started generating from remembering the plum seasoned popcorn I had in Hawaii & then I thought about the flavors of Asian plum sauce & I was off.

I have to say I was a little afraid of how this cupcake would turn out but when it was done I absolutely loved it. The cake has a wonderful texture, moist but not heavy (it could be one of the best cupcakes I've ever made). The brown sugar gives it a warmer, almost molasses type flavor when compared to cupcakes made with white sugar. The ginger makes these smell heavenly & really adds the Asian flavor. The plum jam in the cake & icing gives a fruity sweetness.

I decided to go with a very simple icing for these cupcakes that just adds some sweetness & more plum flavor. I do think this cupcake would also be wonderful with a cream cheese frosting. I garnished the cupcakes with a few slivers of crystallized ginger.

Asian Plum Cupcakes

1/2 c flour
1/8 t baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg yolk, from a large egg
6 T packed light brown sugar
3 T buttermilk
1 T plum jam + extra to put in middle
2 t grated fresh ginger (or 1 t dried ground ginger)
2 T unsalted butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare 4 muffin tins.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda & salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolk, brown sugar, buttermilk, jam & ginger. Add 1/2 of this mixture & the butter to the flour mixture. Beat on low until the dry mixture is wet then turn up to medium & beat for about a minute until light. Add the remaining wet mixture & beat for another 30 seconds.

Fill each tin about 1/4 full. Spoon a dab of jam on top of the batter in each tin then top with more batter until each tin is 1/2 full. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.

Makes 4 cupcakes

Plum Icing

1/2 c powdered sugar
2 t plum jam

Mix the sugar & jam together to form icing. If its too thick add a little more jam or some milk. Ice cupcakes & allow to sit for 15 - 30 minutes to set.

Enough to ice 4 cupcakes