Featured Foodie Friday: Bohemian Kitchen

Today I have some food for thought for you. As a foodie, what matters most to you? Is it health and nutrition; exotic, widespread cuisines; taste; or simply something else? It amazes me how big food has gotten over the last 100 years. We have always eaten, but suddenly food has become this celebrity that has won the hearts of us all. What is it about food that does this? Yes, we all love food that tastes good, but there is something else. For me, my life revolves around food. My job, hobbies, actions, thoughts, aspirations, dreams, you name it. I want to learn about all the cuisines of the world; all the plating techniques used in fine dining; etc.

As for the cause of this epidemic? I think it is because good food has the ability to create a widespread happiness and feeling of togetherness amongst us. You know they say a way to a mans heart is through his belly. I think this is true for everyone.  Why do you cook? I cook because of the way food makes me feel; I want to be able to share this with others. On that note, I think our guest blogger today is a great addition to my rant because she has created a unique cupcake that shows how far food has come. Please welcome Claudie from Bohemian Kitchen.

Sour Cream, Almond, & Saffron Cupcakes w/ Cardamom & Sumo Orange Cream Cheese Frosting 

Hello everyone! My name is Claudie, and I’m the blogger behind Bohemian Kitchen,  which I like to call “the food tale of an unusual life”. I’m a half-French (from sunny Nice!), half-Bulgarian foodie, who loves Middle Eastern food and lives in the States and tries to travel as much as she can! …which is also why, when Jenny asked me to guest post for her blog, I was not only excited, but determined to create a unique recipe that would reflect this.

My inspiration came from Jenny’s blog title, “Savour the senses”. I wanted a recipe that would honor the meaning behind it because those three words capture incredibly well what all of us reading & writing food blogs are trying to recreate: the multidimensional experience that good food is.

Browsing for ideas, I came across a saffron bread recipe in an Alsatian cookbook my mother-in-law had offered me. The idea of using saffron stuck to me, and I explored the possibilities from there, all the way to Swedish Lussekat. When I couldn’t find anything that seemed to satisfy my quest, I decided to involve semolina flour (because of a favorite Lebanese cake) and to resolve the problem with the universal solution to all of life’s problems: a cupcake.

With a serious and unusual twist to it, of course.

Sour Cream, Almond, & Saffron Cupcakes w/ Cardamom & Sumo Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Sounds complicated. Fancy enough for a special occasion. But I promise you it isn't any more complicated than your regular chocolate cupcake.

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Servings 8

Ingredients

  

• For the Cupcakes:
• 4 oz unsalted raw almonds
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
• 3/4 cup semolina flour
• generous 1/4 tsp saffron threads
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1/4 milk
• 1/2 tsp sumo orange zest
• 2 tbsp sumo orange juice
• 2 large eggs
• 4 oz sour cream
• For the Frosting:
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter softened
• 1 tsp cardamom
• zest of 1 sumo orange
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a cupcake/muffin pan or line it with baking cups.
• In a small bowl, stir together semolina flour, saffron, baking soda, baking powder, and pinch of salt. Set aside.
• In food processor, grind almonds until sand-like consistency with finer and coarser bits.
• Add butter and mix until creamy and well incorporated with the ground almonds. If necessary, take pauses to scrape off the butter from the sides of the food processor and into the mixture, with the help of a silicone spatula.
• In a small saucepan, heat milk with sumo orange zest and juice over medium-low heat, occasionally stirring. (Do not let it boil.) Once it's warm, turn back on the food processor and slowly add the milk mixture.
• Add eggs, 1 by at a time, until blended. Add sour cream progressively too. Then, gradually add flour mixture until the dough is homogenous.
• Pour dough in baking pan/baking cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean (25-30 minutes).
• In the meantime, prepare frosting by mixing all the ingredients together. Once the cupcakes are baked and have cooled down, you can start decorating!
• Enjoy 😉

Notes

While I used a food processor for all the steps due to convenience, you can also mix the ingredients by hand or with a regular mixer, but you'll have to get ground almonds rather than whole ones.

The frosting balances well with the not overly sweet cupcake and the cardamom is a nice compliment to the saffron as is the sumo orange to the semolina flour and almonds.

The texture itself is very distinct. A bit crumbly and soft like a coffee cake, but with more crunch — something which, I believe, gives more character to the cupcake and makes it more versatile. It becomes a cupcake you could have for breakfast, for dessert, or as a snack.

And one which I hope you’ll truly enjoy.

Thank you Jenny for inviting me to guest post!

Thanks so much Claudie! I love creating crazy unique recipes and yours is definitely one that I would try!  If you or somebody you know would like to be a part of Featured Foodie Friday please e-mail me at savourthesenses (at) gmail (dot) com and we can get you scheduled!

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