Pink Meringue Cupcakes

Pink Meringue Cupcakes

Warning this recipe bakes for 3 hours!

Ok - so this is a cheat they are not really cupcakes but they look like a cupcakes and smell like a cupcakes and are found on Martha Stewart's cupcake section of her website so I am going to make these ones!

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pink-meringue-with-raspberry-curd (if the link does not work you can just copy and paste it into your goggle)

I have no idea what creme fraiche is; well, wiki told me that it is a soured fresh cream and it is less sour tasting than regular sour cream, that it is originally French and that it has a PH level of 4.5. For the science nerds out there we know that the majority of all food and humans fall within the 3-6 range on the PH scale. We are all acids which no one belives when you tell them because we automatically interpert "acid" as a strong poison that will eat through cement. It is actually interesting to note that high Alkaline or basic items are as distructive as the acidic ones for example, bleach and petroleum products (gas).

I also have no idea what raspberry curd is I think I saw lemon curd at Super Store but I am not sure what it is. I may have to change the flavour if the store does not come through for me. Eurika! fruit curd is the fruity pudding/jam stuff inside of doughnuts! I love wiki

The major reason I selected this recipe is that it is wheatless and I do not need to adapt or change anything and I love raspberries so when I saw it I knew that I had hit the jack pot! Raspberries are hard to find in the winter time here in Edmonton AB Ca but I think I have a bunch of frozen ones from my garden so I think I will add them instead of trying to find fresh ones.

After heading over to Sobey's I was very sad to learn that they do not carry creme fraiche. A funny thing happened while I was inquiring about the creme. A gent (an obviously hetro male 40ish) was standing next to me while I was asking and he looked over at the lady and said, "Yeah, I know what that is, it's a type of whip cream. You know the kind Matha Stewart is always going on about." I turned and dropped my jaw and told him, "I am making one of Martha's cupcake recipes" he blushed and looked down at his feet and said, "I guess I don't have anything better to watch right now with all the snow" lol I swear it was the funniest thing :)

No raspberries - No creme fraiche - No red food colouring - No icing bag - so I made a whole load of alterations. I used blackberries (we picked them last summer when we went to Vancouver for the first time) and sour cream (I thought it was close) instead of creme fraiche. So you start by making the mergine cupcake batter and spoon it into (it is super shinny and stickier 'n all hell! It is just like runny melted marshmellows) the bottom of a extra large ziplock (my jerry rigged icing bag) and snip a 1/4 inch hole in the corner and use that to squirt the mergines in circles and leave the top looking like Dairy Queen sundaes.

My cupcakes were pure white because I did not have any red food colouring. But later I turned the sourcream pink with a little of the blackberry juice.

I made the curd with all the egg yolks instead of four because I did not want them to go to waste in the garbage. It did not do any harm. The curd was the most amazingly tasty thing I have ever had! It was not like any jam I have ever had! It was melted thick hot gelato and it was like ambrosia!

The creme fraiche did not turn out at all like what the recipe wanted. The sour cream would not fluff; even after it was half and half with whipping cream and I whipped for more than 20 mins. But taste wise it was heaven - the sour cream and sugar were like they were meant to be together. I think the next angel food cake I make will have a sourcream/whip topping mix on if for sure!

It took 3.5 hours to bake and then the cupcakes were so stuck the they burst apart when I tried to take them out of the pans. After last weeks sticking debacle I took Mindy's advice and heavily sprayed the pans and the wrappers before putting them into the pans but this time the sugar batter seeped through the wrappers and bonded to the pans. Soaking and scouring got the pans clean. The ones thart were in the silicone pan turned out better but they cooked differently and were not as cooked and the middles were a bit raw (I know, even after 3.5 hours in the oven!). I knew that I have to take the tops off the cupcakes anyway to put the curd and creme inside so I took the tops off pried the bottoms out and they went back together like a dream come ture. Make sure you are very careful and you should not have any problem.

These are the most incredibly tasting cupcakes ever! However, they don't last once you put them together you must eat them there is no wait time as the toppings melt the mergine in a short time you are left with mush - tasty mush mind you lol.

My family went bonkers over them and ate the entire 12 in one evening! The left over curd and cream has been put on ice cream and cereal (damn teenagers are gross!) and just drank by the spoon full as they pass the fridge

I don't think I would ever make these cupcakes again they are way too finiky and don't last but they are proably the best dessert I have ever have! The curd and the cream will become a staple at my house from now on. :)