We Illinoisans love our food, so much that we even have a weeklong festival entitled "Taste of Chicago". Tourists come from near and far to sample the wide array of fat-laden treats.
I am proud to represent Illinois, a vast and varied state, from the glitz of Chicago's Magnificent Mile to the peaceful farms of rural towns. I looked far and wide across our lovely to find a variety of tastes and inspiration and created my little piece of Illinois:
Frango Mint Chocolate with Vanilla Buttercream and Oreo Crumble
"Give the lady what she wants" is a popular catchphrase for anyone who has shopped at the Chicago department store. Marshall Field and Company covers an entire city block and is home to the iconic Frango mints. These tasty little chocolates make an excellent cupcake!
If you enjoy tofu, be sure to thank Illinois for being the nation's top producer of soy. Look for some delicious soy yogurt in these cuppycakes.
Market researchers have often chosen Peoria as a typical American city and Illinois has been described as the nation's most average state. Jealous, aren't you? I chose a basic vanilla buttercream to represent this fact and to show that "average" can still be delicious.
As a topping, I added crushed Oreo cookies. Why is that? Glad you asked...
Chicago's Nabisco factory is the world's largest cookie factory and where those delicious cream-filled Oreos are made. The crumbled Oreos also represent southern Illinois' active coal mining industry. (Little Oreo crumbs=lumps of coal...humor me).
Finally, Illinois isn't Illinois without sports. We may not agree about which baseball team is best (Cubs) but most of cheer for the same football team, the Chicago Bears. Orange and blue are team colors for the Bears, as well as the University of Illinois, which is my alma mater. My buttercream is striped orange and blue to show my loyalty to the state's premier public university. ILL-INI!!
Here's the recipe. Feel free to dance around your kitchen and sing "Illinois Loyalty". I did.
Frango Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
3 oz. Frango mints (approximately 12 pieces)
1 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 c. soy or regular vanilla yogurt (or sour cream)
1/2 c. water
Using a double boiler, melt mints until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl (or electric mixer bowl), beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended. On lower speed, mix in the melted mints. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time and blend. Add the vanilla and mix until the batter is creamy and slightly lighter. Mix in the soy yogurt until no white streaks remain. On low speed, mix in half of the flour mixture. Mix in the water. Mix in the remaining flour mixture until just incorporated.
Fill cupcake papers to just below the top. These cupcakes do not rise as high.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes.
Vanilla Buttercream
1 stick butter, at room temp
3 c. powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Blend butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar slowly until completely mixed. Add vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.
For the orange and blue buttercream, I dyed the icing orange and made stripes inside the pastry bag with blue gel food coloring. I used a toothpick to draw stripes down the side and then filled the bag and let it sit while the cupcakes cooled.
Top cupcakes with buttercream. Sprinkle crushed Oreos on top just before serving, to prevent them from becoming soggy.
2 comments:
Ohh gel food colorings. One of my favorite baking accessories.
Love the cupcake!! And the theme, too... although I'm in TX, my entire family is from Chicago and would be super excited about these.
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