Cream Chiffon Cupcakes
I had a small cup of whipped dairy cream left over from making a mille crepe cake the other day. Since the crepe already contained plenty of cream, eating the rest on its own would have meant a serious calorie overload. With a freshly baked loaf on hand that needed using up, I decided to put it to use in cupcakes. The baked cupcakes keep well for two or three days, and after chilling in the fridge, they develop a refreshingly cool, moist texture—two of them in the morning will keep you energized all day.
Ingredients
Eggs
2 (65g with shell)
Cake flour
40g (Golden Arowana pastry wheat flour)
Heavy cream
160g (whipped, sweetened)
Granulated sugar
25g
Baking powder
1g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Prepare all ingredients: cake flour, room-temperature eggs, granulated sugar; whipped sweetened heavy cream (the cream is leftover from making a mille crepe and contains a small amount of cream cheese and sugar);
2
Step 2
Separate the egg whites and yolks. Place the egg whites in a clean, oil- and water-free mixing bowl. Melt the heavy cream over a double boiler, preferably until fully liquefied—this prevents the meringue from deflating during the following steps, resulting in a fuller, more attractive cake;
3
Step 3
Add the heavy cream to the bowl with the yolks and stir until smooth. Because the cream contains fat and is used in a large amount, there is no need to add corn oil or milk;
4
Step 4
Sift 40g of Golden Arowana pastry wheat flour into the yolk batter. This is the cake flour I usually use for baking—fine, white, and gives a soft, fluffy cake;
5
Step 5
Stir with a manual whisk until uniform, with no dry flour or small lumps. Set aside;
6
Step 6
Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until coarse bubbles form, then add half of the granulated sugar and continue whipping on high;
7
Step 7
When the egg whites turn noticeably white and foamy with a fine texture and large streaks appear, add the remaining granulated sugar. Beat on high for 1 minute, then switch to medium-low speed;
8
Step 8
When the meringue looks clearly refined and you feel a little resistance on the mixer, turn it off. The meringue should form a small right angle or a soft hook on the whisk;
9
Step 9
Start preheating the oven to 150°C (300°F). Now combine the batter: add 1/3 of the meringue to the yolk batter and stir until smooth with a manual whisk;
10
Step 10
Pour the yolk batter back into the bowl with the remaining meringue and fold gently with a spatula until uniform;
11
Step 11
Because the whipped heavy cream wasn't fully liquefied and still contained a small amount of cream cheese, it caused the meringue to deflate considerably when mixed. I added 1g of baking powder on the spot so the finished cake wouldn't collapse into a flat disc;
12
Step 12
Use a small spoon to fill paper cupcake liners with the batter. Refer to the ingredients section above for the size of the liners;
13
Step 13
Place the filled cupcake liners on the lower-middle rack of the preheated oven. My oven has a hidden bottom heating element, so I place them on the lower-middle rack with top heat at 130°C (265°F) and bottom heat at 150°C (300°F). Adjust the time and temperature according to your own oven. Let cool completely after removing from the oven; no need to invert.
14
Step 14
Cream chiffon cupcakes—soft and moist.
