I was a teenager in the 90’s and embraced – as you do – all the trends that came along with that oddity of a decade. The first few years were an 80’s hangover with side pony-tails, layered colour blocking, boxy crop tops and atrocious floral prints… you know, about what the runways and chain stores are flogging right now. I am currently refusing to shop anywhere that resembles the inside of my closet 20 or so years ago. Step away from the neon, step away.
Then came grunge – the biggest revolt against colour and oversized shoulder pads you could imagine. A new age of music and bands and coffee culture charged out of Seattle and took over the world with hard riffs… aaaaand triple frozen mocha peppermint lattes… oh well.
About the same time a little bakery in New York City was quietly turning out innocent dessert treats – having no idea at the time that they would be featured on a new show – catapulting their little bakery to cult status and putting them firmly at the forefront of a food trend that would last for decades.
The 90’s wrapped up in a haze of Sex and the City and Cupcakes.
As a side note, the famous bakery has by no means the best cupcakes in NYC – that honour in my very expert and oh so humble opinion goes straight to these guys (wayyyyy after the fact update, nope, not Crumbs anymore they went downhill around 2014, however the Little Cupcake Bakeshop in Soho is still great and I’d love any recs you have!) – but I digress.
When Baker’s Secret sent me a cupcake pan recently and issued a challenge to create something inspired by the 90’s for the Great Australian Bakeline competition three things came to mind – Chocolate Lava Cakes, Tiramisu and Cosmopolitans.
Now Chocolate Lava Cupcakes sounded wonderful and decadent but a bit, tame. I tossed around making a Tiramisu Cupcake – even considered actually making lady fingers as the base before stacking all the other bits on top, but that layered delicacy along with those side ponytails were a bit of a hangover from the 80’s.
So Cosmos it would be – but how? A few tests later this magical creation arose from my kitchen. A Cranberry and Lime infused Vanilla Sex and the City Cupcake stuffed with Cranberry Jelly and topped with Cointreau spiked Cranberry and Lime Swiss Meringue Buttercream. How’s that for a delicious mouthful?!
Now, since I got fun pans to bake with, it’s only fair that you get some too. UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed, thank you to everyone who entered! Our winners are:
Baker’s Secret has generously supplied some goodies for two lucky readers. I’m making this an easy one – no entry widget, no follow here, or like there, or subscribe to this [although you are of course welcome to!].
To enter: Just leave a comment to tell me your absolute best-loved dessert and the best memory of eating it – my favourite two answers win!
- Prize one: Baker’s Secret 2-in-1 Springform Pan – with flat base and bundt pan inserts, 12-Cup Madeleine Pan and Set of three silicone spatulas
- Prize two: Baker’s Secret 12-Cup Loose-base round dessert pan, Magnetic measuring spoon set and Off-set mini icing spreader
My favorite dessert? The list is long and distinguished and Sticky Date Pudding comes close but the best has to be my Mom’s Chocolate Cake with a big scoop of proper Vanilla Ice Cream, for all the birthdays of my childhood – and our second wedding reception in America-land – heavenly!
I hope you enjoy the Cosmo Cupcakes and I can’t wait to see what everyone shares!
UPDATE: My recipe was selected as the winner of the Bakers’s Secret Great Australian Bakeline competition!
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Cosmopolitan Cupcakes
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 c sugar
- 1/2 c sour cream or natural greek yogert
- 1/3 c oil
- 1 3/4 c flour
- 1 1/2 t baking powder
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 1/2 t salt
- zest of 1 lime
- 1/4 c cranberry juice
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 12 tsp jellied cranberry sauce
Method:
Preheat oven to 180C[350F]. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with papers. Scoop out 12 tsp of cranberry jelly and set aside on a plate.
With a whisk, beat eggs and sugar by hand for a minute. Whisk in sour cream and oil until smooth. Combine juices and extract in a small cup. Sift together dry ingredients and add to egg mixture alternately with juices – flour, juice, flour, juice, flour – whisking only until just combined each time.
Divide half the batter evenly into the 12 lined cups. Place a tsp of cranberry jelly into each cup then top with the remaining batter. Each cup will be 2/3 – 3/4 full.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes until firm on top and a toothpick comes out clean with no batter sticking to it. Turn out of pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
Frost cooled cakes with Cosmopolitan Swiss Meringue Buttercream or Cosmopolitan Buttercream and sprinkle with extra lime zest. Makes 12 Cupcakes.
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Cosmopolitan Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients:
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 c sugar
- 100g butter at room temperature, cut into pieces
- 1 Tbsp jellied cranberry sauce
- 1 Tbsp cranberry juice
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp Cointreau [or orange juice for the kiddies]
- 1 c icing [powdered] sugar
- one drop of red or dark pink food colouring – optional
Method:
In a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk egg whites and sugar together. Place bowl over a simmering pan of water – making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Whisk gently for 5 minutes* until all sugar is dissolved and mixture is 70C [160F].
Remove from heat and scrape into a large heat-proof bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or fancy bench-top mixer on high until peaks are starting to form and the mixture is cooled to room temperature – about 5-7 minutes.
Beat in butter one small chunk at a time, this will take 5-10 minutes. If soupy, refrigerate for 5 mins then beat again. If it splits or looks curdled keep beating until thick and creamy*.
Once smooth, slowly add the sauce and juices – and beat for another 5 minutes. It will break and look curdled, it’s ok, just keep beating! After 5 mins place in fridge – even if it looks broken and curdled. Remove and sift over icing sugar* then beat again – it will all of a sudden come together into perfect, magical, creamy, dreamy icing. Stir through food colouring if using. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes.
Make enough for 12 cupcakes piled high.
*Notes:
- The purists are screaming – you don’t put icing sugar in Swiss Meringue Buttercream – to them I say – pfffffft. It’s my icing and I’ll do what I want. It stabilises it and brings it back from the brink of splitting after adding all that liquid.
- I don’t have a candy thermometer so I whisk over a double boiler for exactly 5 mins and figure it’s done when it is just too hot to keep your finger in the liquid, but not so hot you can’t rub a bit between your fingers to check that the sugar is dissolved. It gets crazy round these parts I tell you.
- Still scared of Swiss Meringue Buttercream? Check out this great how-to and be afraid no more…
Bonus Round 1: Cosmopolitan Buttercream
Don’t want to deal with egg whites? You could always make a regular Cranberry and Lime Buttercream
- 100g butter, room temperature
- 3 1/2 c icing sugar and juice and sauce as above – easy!
- 1 Tbsp each jellied cranberry sauce, cranberry juice, lime juice
- 1 tsp Cointreau [or orange juice for the kiddies]
Beat butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy, beat in juices and sauce until creamy.
Bonus Round 2: Use raspberries!
In the cake – substitute cranberry juice for raspberry puree strained to remove seeds then thinned with a bit of water to juice consistency. Use raspberry jam in the cakes before baking.
In the icing – substitute cranberry juice and sauce for 2 Tbsp strained raspberry puree.
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This post has been sponsored by World Kitchen and Baker’s Secret.
Oh SATC…I went to “that bakery” in 2005 after seeing the show. Cupcakes were lovely, but last year when I visited = blergh. Yours look SO much nicer.
Thanks Mel 😉
They look fantastic 🙂 my absolute best dessert is the chocolate mousse we bake since 3 generations in my family.This is the only dessert ma Mum can make but it is the best recipe ever, she makes it since 40 years, I don’t even remember when I first make it, it’s like I was born knowing the recipe.Now my daughter makes it too…the best memory, well I make chocolate mousse pretty often, eating it with my daughter put us in our own world, it is fantastic quality time together, liking the bowl, the spoon,etc…being covered in chocolate 🙂
Cheers Virginie, how wonderful that you have a family recipe that has been passed down for so long!
Explain to me again why we don’t live on the same continent?
Now if only you could fly over and whip up a quick batch of these for Lily’s b’day party tomorrow … they would look so great on her birthday table! Unfortunately, the ability to beam you over is still eluding me (sigh ….), and I am up to my eyeballs today, so we’ll just have to make do with (your) lovely and luscious chocolate cupcakes whipped up tomorrow morning and add this I-seriously-have-to-try-this recipe to my growing stack of when-I-have-a-wee–bit-more-time inspirations.
Thanks for yet another mouth-watering break from the daily grind. Off to blow up balloons and prep party games before the kiddos start getting home. Miss you!
Uggh, I know!! Give Lily a big pink cupcake kiss for me and have two chocolate ones yourself 😉 Miss you too <3
I don’t have an Australian address so can’t enter, but great giveaway, and awesome cupcakes!! Cosmos totally say the 90s to me. People still swarm and wait in line at Magnolia, and Sex in the City Tours still stop there… Your cupcakes look way better!
Thanks Katherine, nostalgia wins I guess – if only they knew!!
Your cosmo cupcakes look so cute! And what a great idea to combine the two great things in life – cocktails and dessert 🙂 definitely bookmarking these!
My favourite dessert memory is still the wedding cake at a cousins wedding years and years ago. It was a delicious soft and moist butter cake with alternating layers of vanilla and chocolate and a vanilla buttercream below the fondant. It was the first big even that i’d been to with my boyfriend’s family (it was his cousin) and they were so warm and welcoming that they really made me feel like part of the family. Even many weddings later that cake remains the most delicious and memorable wedding cake and the whole wedding was one of the most beautiful and special ones that i’ve been to.
Looks sooooooo good. I’m such a big fan of SATC and I love cupcake! Will definitely try making these… Looks like a lot of effort though..
I hope you try them! The cupcakes are pretty easy to make. If you want a simple icing use the Buttercream suggestion rather than the Swiss one – enjoy!
My all time fave dessert is the Australian classic pavlova topped with cherries and whippe cream! I can’t forget the first time we made it at home – we just stood there in the kitchen and ate it Eton-mess style. Yum!
Yum these look delicious! I have many favourite desserts, which is weird as I don’t have a particularly sweet tooth. My current favourite (for winter!) is a rich gluten free chocolate cake with pears poached in red wine and a big dollop of vanilla ice cream. My summer favourite is a meringue roll stuffed with seasonal berries (blueberries and raspberries) and using a vanilla yogurt instead of cream. Delicious and healthy!
JJ, these little cupcakes look so eatable. I am not normally a fan of many cupcake varieties, I find them so sickly sweet… but could happily devour a couple of yours.
Favourite dessert… wow. So many of them, ranging from my mum’s pancakes and numerous other baked goods that she specialised in (I miss her sooooooo much)… to a brown sugar pavlova that I make, my tarte tatin, and something as very simple and delicious as poached pears or baked apples.
I guess a dessert that I ate in Hungary when I was travelling over there with my parents was Somloi Galuska, which is sort of like trifle. There is a recipe here http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/hungariandesserts/r/hungariantrifle.htm I have not made it yet, but it sticks in my mind… it was ever so rich and delicious. I have fond memories of that dessert, as it was a trip that I took with my children, my parents and my then husband. And we got to see some many beautiful parts of Europe.
Wow that is a true tribute to Sex and the City you have created! I never realised that’s how the Magnolia bakery became so famous. Talk about lucking out!
I don’t know that I can choose one. My mum makes an amazing lemon meringue semifredo type thing with chocolate sauce that is pretty delicious. In winter I love apple crumble with vanilla icecream or a warm chocolate lava cake. Yum!
OH, I’m so excited to have found this post via The Cupcake Blog. I’m going to make these cupcakes for my cousins when we gather for high tea later this month! We are all big fans of Sex in the City.
As for a favourite dessert – that’s hard. I love dessert. I would have to admit that I love Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Raspberry Pudding Cake. When you get it just right the middle oozes with a beautifuly chocolate raspberry filling. It is perfect with double cream and I have enjoyed this with friends a few times now – it always makes for a memorable end to dinner and plenty of photos of people lapping cup the decadence!
Beautiful cupcakes you’ve made there! Love the pink icing!
My favourite dessert is the mango cake from my wedding! Cause I was too busy going around taking photos with guests, the hotel was kind enough to send it up to our rooms after our wedding dinner! Just made the whole night sweeter (:
Yum yum yum JJ! I love the sound (and look) of those Cosmos Cupcakes!!
To be honest my favourite dessert is anything my Mum makes for me. She started my passion for desserts and puts so much time and effort into making dessert a real treat. The look of delight in her eyes every time I tell her it tastes amazing is always my favourite memory! 🙂
Oh my … yum. I’m off to NYC in two weeks so thanks for the tip on where to get me some cupcakey goodness!
My favourite dessert? Anything that embraces the the combination of dark chocolate and raspberries. I’m that easy.
Boozy frosting! I wonder how that idea never occurred to me in all my cupcake making efforts? It’s a great idea, and they are picture-perfect little morsels. As for my favourite dessert? I learned from my beloved Russian grandma at a very early age that sweets and love are closely intertwined. She baked all kinds of wonderful traditional goodies but my favourite is the Napoleon. I only wish I had her recipe for it (and all her favourites for that matter). She passed away when I was still in primary school and none of her recipes were written down so I have only the memories to go by, and they have faded considerably over the years. I may not have inherited her recipes but like her I get great joy from baking for those I care about.
Oh wow thes cupcakes look devine and come with alcohol spiked icing
My favourite desert. Its simple and a plain, but my chcolate cake. I served it for desert for my sons 1st birthday party and the look of sheer delight on his face as he tasted it for the first time was priceless. Even today its his and my favourtie cake.
Gorgeous 🙂 I love the shade of pink too – fab!
They are fabulous! I loce cupcakes!
*love
Your favorite dessert memory brought a smile to my heart.
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