My baking buddy came over recently and we can never just hang out without having some sort of baking adventure. Neither one of us had ever tried adding filling to a cupcake that was already baked. We were, also, in the mood to deviate from our normal chocolate (shocking I know!). We came up these babies: lemon cupcakes with a mixed-berry compote topped with a raspberry cream cheese icing garnished with blueberries.
Compote was new to both of us and fortunately it wasn’t as complicated as we thought it might be. Starting with a recipe for mixed berry compote (from yummly.com) as our guide, we added lemon juice, lemon zest, brown sugar, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries to our mixture.
After gently mashing the berries and cooking the mixture on low for about 20 minutes, we put it into a heat safe bowl and let it cool in the refrigerator for about an hour. The mixture was fairly runny (it may have gotten thicker if we’d cooked it a bit longer).
While the compote cooled, we started on the cupcakes and icing. The cupcakes were from a box mix and the icing was a combination of powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, Crisco and raspberry sauce. While we waited for the compote to cool, we got to work coring the cupcakes. We used circle cookie cutters to make the same size hole in each cupcake and used measuring spoons to make a big enough well for the fruit.
Because the compote was still kind of runny, we were careful not add too much liquid to the cupcakes when we filled them. Otherwise, the cake would have been soggy.
After that was complete, we iced the cakes and added some blueberries on top for a little extra color.
Baking Tips and Hints
- Don’t forget to keep your cupcakes in the refrigerator if you add milk or cream cheese to your icing. Just use Crisco if you need to store your cupcakes at room temperature.
- Feel free to experiment with the types of fruit you use for the compote. For beginners, I’d recommend using fruit with a similar texture (and size) so the compote cooks evenly.
- Add some more powdered sugar to the left over juice from the compote and use it as a topping on your morning pancakes or waffles.
Happy baking from Dessert Doodles!
Dessert Doodles 