These are vanilla cupcakes, filled with pomegranate jam, frosted with Swiss Meringue Buttercream, and topped with a pomegranate macaron, meringue cookies and fresh pomegranate.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cupcakes, pomegranate
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 50 minutesminutes
Servings 12cupcakes
Calories 290kcal
Author Camila Hurst
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
1 1/2cupsall-purpose flour191 grams, 6.75 oz
1teaspoonbaking powder
1/4teaspoonbaking soda
1/4teaspoonfine sea salt
1cupgranulated sugar200 grams, 7.1 oz
1/2cupunsalted buttersoftened
3large eggsroom temperature
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1/2cupmilkroom temperature
Pomegranate Jam
2cupspomegranate seeds
1/4cuppomegranate juice
3tablespoonsmaple syrup
1tablespoonlemon juiceorange juice or any citrus
1tablespooncornstarch
1tablespooncold water
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
3egg whites
3/4cupgranulated sugar 150 grams5.3 oz
18tablespoonsunsalted butter 255 grams9 oz
1teaspoonvanilla
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Line 12 cupcake tins with paper or grease with butter and flour.
Start by sifting the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter at medium speed, for about 1 minute.
Add sugar and cream for another 2 minutes, until creamy and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined before adding the next egg.
Add vanilla extract and mix to combine.
Now it’s time to slowly add the milk. Stir to combine.
Add the dry ingredients and fold until incorporated.
Pour batter evenly onto cupcake tins.
Bake for about 15 minutes, rotating in between to bake evenly.
You may need a couple more minutes. Check if cupcakes are ready when you press it gently on top of the cupcakes and they spring back.
Let cupcakes cool down before filling and frosting.
Pomegranate Jam
Mix pomegranate seeds, pomegranate juice, and lemon juice in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Let mixture simmer for about 10 minutes. If all the juice evaporated and your jam starts to get dry, add a bit more pomegranate juice.
Once mixture has bubbled and seeds are soft, mix cornstarch with cold water, and once mixture is incorporated, add it to the pan. Bring back to a boil, and simmer gently until it thickens up. Mixture will seem very thick.
Immediately pour it through a strainer over a bowl and keep stirring the seeds vigorously to squeeze all of the jam out of it. Scrape the bottom of the strainer constantly while doing this to help.
Once your seeds are looking completely dry like they have no more jam to give, you may toss them, or even snack on them, who knows.
Place the jam in the fridge and let it cool down all the way before filling the cupcakes.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
About 30 minutes before you start to make your buttercream, remove butter from the fridge. Cut it into thin slices, about 1/4 inch thick. Set aside and let it come to room temperature. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, you might need an hour or so to have the butter soften. Please note that you don’t want your butter to be too hot and melted either.
Place egg whites and sugar in a heat-proof bowl or in a double boiler pan.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Set bowl on top of the pan with simmering water.
Whisk constantly until egg whites and sugar reach 138F temperature. This ensures that the egg whites will have reached a safe temperature. The temperature of pasteurized egg whites is actually 140F, however, if you bring it up to 138F, the temperature will raise a couple degrees even after you take it out of the heat source.
Keep whisking mixture for about 30 seconds after you take it off the heat.
Pour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Be sure to wipe dry the bottom of the bowl to get rid of the condensation that formed before you transfer mixture. Because if a drop of water gets in contact with your egg white/sugar, it will ruin your meringue.
With the whisk attachment, beat meringue on medium-high speed.
You are going to beat the meringue until stiff peaks form. Now, this might take a while. Usually takes me about 10 minutes. The reason for that is that the egg whites have to cool down first and then they will be able to reach stiff peak.
Just let the mixer do its job and cool down the meringue as it whisks it.
Once your meringue has reached stiff peaks, start adding butter, with the mixer on medium-high speed.
Add one slab of butter at a time. Waiting a few seconds before adding the next one.
At times, you will question yourself if your meringue will ever form, the answer is mostly likely: yes it will form. Just be patient. Keep whisking it.
Add vanilla once you’re done adding the butter.
At this point, you should see your meringue having hardened up and formed into a smooth cream.
To assemble
Use a spoon to remove the inside of each cupcake. Then fill cupcakes with pomegranate jam. Place the top of the cupcake back to close it.
If you choose to do a swirled frosting like I did, go ahead and divide the frosting into two bowls. Color one of the bowls with pink, red, or burgundy, I did a mixture of pink, red, burgundy and a tiny touch of blue.
Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the counter. Spread some pink frosting over the plastic wrap, then spread some of the white frosting on top of the pink.
Roll the plastic wrap over to close and form a log.
Place it inside a piping bag fitted with the piping tip of choice.
Pipe swirled frosting over cupcakes.
Storage
Cupcakes can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, well-covered.