Cardamom & Saffron Cupcakes

Name: Cardamom & Saffron Cupcakes
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 1⅓ cups (167 g) all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp ground cardamom; ¼ tsp salt; ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened; 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar; 1/4 cup (55 g) light brown sugar; 2 large eggs, room temperature; 1 tsp pure vanilla extract; ½ cup (120 mL) buttermilk; 1 tbsp (15 mL) warm milk; 1/4 tsp saffron; 3 (99 g)large egg whites; ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar; 1/4 tsp salt; 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature; 1/4 tsp ground cardamom; 1/4 tsp rose water

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That’s right! I’m coming at ya with even more Diwali desserts! These fluffy cardamom cupcakes are topped with smooth saffron Swiss meringue buttercream! The flavor reminds me of basundi or rabri. I topped my Diwali cupcakes with these cute little Diwali toppers from Artist n Crafter! I’m not hte best cupcake froster ( I tried!) so these cupcake topper kind of make up for my messy frosting technique! 🙂

I used Swiss meringue buttercream because it’s light, fluffy and not as sweet as regular American buttercream. It’s almost like whipped cream! If you don’t want to use eggs in this recipe you can substitute the Swiss Meringue with American Buttercream and bloom the saffron in heavy cream. For the cupcake, you can use substitute the eggs with 1/2 cup of applesauce!

Also, these cupcakes are great to make with your kids! You can add food coloring to the icing and give them various toppings to decorate their Diwali cupcakes with! I let Elara help me mix the batter and sprinkle on the toppings and he really enjoyed the process! It’s also a great lesson in patience. You have to wait for the cupcake to bake and to cool before you can decorate and eat them!

My grandfather passed away last week and my dad and all his brothers and sisters left for India. I was supposed to go home to NJ this weekend to surprise my dad for his 60th birthday but instead ended up going home and spending time with my cousins. We reminisced about past Diwalis and dinner we had. Every Diwali my mom would dress us in new clothes and take us to the mandir. We’d spend the day driving to each out our family member’s homes to wish them a happy new year and swap sweets. Now that we’re older and our family has pretty much doubled, we now get together to celebrate Diwali as a family at someone’s home. I usually make dessert while all the ladies made dinner.

This year, make these cupcakes for your family to remind them of the sweet moments in life. Cherish them and enjoy them. Wishing you all a very happy new year <3.

Cardamom & Saffron Cupcakes

Author: Milk and Cardamom
Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

These festive cupcakes are perfect for Diwali! Fluffy cardamom cupcakes topped with saffron Swiss meringue buttercream! A modern Indian dessert!

Instructions

Cardamom Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
In a small bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt.
Add butter, sugar and brown sugar to a large mixing bowl and cream on high for 5 minutes, scraping the bowl down every so often. The butter should be light and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and mix well. Alternating, add buttermilk and dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing until just combined between each addition.
Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 of the way full with the batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes for 5 minutes in the pan and then cool them completely on a rack.

Saffron Swiss Meringue Buttercream

In a small bowl, add lukewarm milk and saffron and set aside.
In a large bowl of an electric stand mixer, add egg whites, sugar, and salt. Set a saucepan filled with 2 inches of water over medium heat and bring it to a simmer. Once it simmers, set the bowl of egg whites over the pan, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Turn the heat down to low and continuously whisk until the mixture hits 135°F/ 57°C. Remove the mixing bowl from the heat and whisk the egg mixture on high for 10 minutes, until it is a light, fluffy meringue, and the bowl is cool (around 90°F/ 32°C) Slowly add the butter a tablespoon at a time while mixing until all the butter has been incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape down the bowl every once in a while. Add saffron milk and rose water and mix for 1 minute.

Assemble

Spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with your choice of decoration (dried rose petals, chopped pistachios, slivered almonds, sprinkles etc.)

Category: Desserts
Cuisine: Indian, American