Grape Cupcakes

I made these Grape Cupcakes because I found these amazing little grapes at the store that reminded me of concord grapes, but they had absolutely no seed in them.

So they immediately tempted me to make a delicious grape jam.

And if you know me and how I take my #cupcakemondays seriously, it was a no brainer that grape cupcakes were going to be made.

These Grape Cupcakes tasted outstanding.

The base is a delicious and moist vanilla cupcake. Inside, the unbelievable jam we talked about above. And then, I frosted the cupcakes with a delicious Walnut Buttercream. If you like walnuts, you’ll be in heaven with this frosting.

To make the grape jam for these delicious Grape Cupcakes, it will depend quite a bit on what type of grape you are dealing with. Like I said up on the post, I used this variation of Concord grapes that had no seeds in them. I am not even sure what is the name of the grape variation, since it simply said concord at the store, but they were unlike the regular Concord grapes I usually get. Their tasted reminded me of Concord grapes, but the fact that they had no seeds has me wondering what kind of grapes they are exactly.

Regardless, I am sure you can make jam out of any kind of grape.

If you are dealing with Concord grapes, with seeds in them, the recommendation I usually read online is to separate the pulp and the skin, and cook the pulp, remove the seeds, then add the skins with the seedless pulp, and then cook again.

Now if the grapes you are dealing with have no seeds in them, I would just place them all in the saucepan, along with the sugar and lemon juice, and cook the grape jam as is. I ended up processing mine in the food processor because I wanted a smooth final product.

I didn’t add any cornstarch or flour to my jam. Because it was thickened and reduced enough by the time I was done cooking it. However, if you find that your jam is a bit too liquidy, and runny, you can add some cornstarch and water to the jam after you process it in the food processor. And return to the pan to cook it and give it a chance to thicken.

Super easy cupcakes to make. The only time consuming step was waiting for the jam to cool down.

Worth it.

These Grape Cupcakes were delightful. And everyone that tried them seems to have enjoyed it.

Which is why I am adding these cupcakes to the list of baked goods I would serve at my bakery someday!

If you liked this Grape Cupcakes recipe, you may also like:

• Grape Cake
• Dulce de Leche Cupcakes
• Pomegranate Cupcakes
• Blackberry Pound Cake
• Strawberry Cupcakes
• Almond Cupcakes

I hope you liked my cupcakes! Have a wonderful day!

Grape Cupcakes

Camila Hurst

Vanilla cupcakes, filled with grape jam, frosted with Walnut Buttercream, decorated with figs and grapes.

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

0 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 cupcakes

Calories 350 kcal

Ingredients

  

Vanilla Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 190 grams, 6.75 oz.
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar 150 grams, 5.3 oz.
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Grape Jam

• 453 grams grapes I used seedless dark purple grapes
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar or maple syrup, or sweetener of choice
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Walnut Buttercream

• 1 1/4 cups walnuts
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar 283 grams, 10 oz
• 113 grams cream cheese softened (4 oz)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened (85 grams, 3 oz)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

 

Vanilla Cupcakes

• Pre-heat oven to 350F.
• Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
• Whisk eggs with a wire whisk for about 1 minute. They will become frothy and lightened in color. Add oil and whisk until combined.
• Add sugar and whisk for about 1 minute. You can use a mixer to do this, or simply a whisk. I usually go with just a whisk.
• Add vanilla extract.
• Add half of the flour, whisk briefly until just combined.
• Now, add half of the buttermilk, and whisk until incorporated.
• Add the other half of the dry ingredients and whisk gently.
• Finally, add rest of the buttermilk. Make sure to just whisk the mixture until combined.
• Don’t overmix it!
• Pour batter evenly into a cupcake pan lined with cupcake liners, or buttered and floured.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, checking in between to rotate pans.
• Remove from the oven once cupcakes are lightly golden brown and puffed.

Grape Jam

• Mixe grapes, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan.
• Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low, and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring constantly until a thermometer reads 220F. Once that happens, the jam will be very thick and reduced, you remove it from the heat.
• Let it cool down for about 5 minutes. Transfer it to the bowl of a small food processor or blender. Puree jam until smooth.
• Let it cool completely in the fridge before using it.
• If, for some reason, your jam is too liquidy, and not becoming thick and reduced enough, it might be because of the type of grape you are using. In this case, after you’ve processed the jam in the blender, return it to the sauce pan, then mix 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with one tablespoon of water, add it to the jam, and bring to a boil. Let jam boil for a couple of minutes until thickened. Remove from the heat and refrigerate until ready to use.

Walnut Buttercream

• Process walnuts in a small food processor until crushed. You should obtain about 1 cup of crushed nuts. Make sure the nuts are finely ground, so the buttercream can be smooth.
• Sift powdered sugar.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix cream cheese and butter. Cream both at medium high speed for 1-2 minutes, scraping the bowl in between.
• With the mixer off, add powdered sugar in the bowl. Mix on low and once incorporated, raise the temperature to medium-high and cream for about 30 seconds. Add crushed walnuts and vanilla extract and cream for another 30 seconds until incorporated. Scrape bowl and cream for a few more seconds.
• Place frosting in a piping bag lined with the tip of your preference.

To assemble

• Using a spoon, remove the center of each cupcake. Fill it with the cool down jam. Place the piece of cake you removed back on top of the cupcake, to protect the filling and give a better base to the frosting that we will pipe on top of the cupcakes. 
• Frost cupcakes with the walnut buttercream. Decorate with grapes, and figs on top.

Storage

• Leftover jam will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days, in case you have any. Cupcakes will hold up well in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days.

Keyword cupcakes

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