And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops…”
A while back I posted on Tie Dye cupcakes. These would have fit in perfectly. According to BiteSizeBaker these aren't ordinary tie dye cupcakes but "Over The Rainbow: Lemon Drop Rainbow Cupcakes". These are made as an entry to the Iron Cupcake: Earth competition.
The year's first monthly challenge is music. The inspiration behind these cupcakes is the film The Wizard of Oz. Apparently 2009 marks the 70th anniversary of this movie.
And what makes these particular cupcakes Wizard of Oz themed? Well, they are rainbow and they have lemon drops in them!
Just seeing this photo made me want to suck on some Lemon Drop candies. I remember they were a favorite of mine as a kid. The gal at BiteSizeBaker ordered old fashioned Lemon Drops by Claeys Candy (since 1919).
Here's BiteSizeBaker's recipe for these treats.
Lemon Drop Rainbow Cupcakes – Makes about 2 dozen
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (about 3 medium lemons)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup crushed lemon drops
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line standard cupcake tins with liners.
Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together; set aside.
With an electric mixer on medium-high, cream the butter and sugar (using the paddle attachment) until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each one. Scrape down the sides of bowl if needed. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Combine the buttermilk and lemon juice in small bowl or measuring cup. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with two additions of the buttermilk/lemon juice mixture. Beat until just barely combined after each addition.
To crush the lemon drops, I double bagged them in zip top bags and took a hammer to them, on a cutting board of course. It was very therapeutic. Once they were a manageable size, I put them in my 4-cup chopper and chopped/ground them until they were 1/8″ or smaller. When the lemon drops bake in the cupcakes, they melt and leave behind little bursts of lemony goodness
Gently fold in the crushed lemon drops. To avoid the batter getting too stiff, try not to overmix when adding the lemon drops. It will be mixed even more when you add the colors.
Divide the batter into 1 cup increments and put into 5 separate small bowls (if doing 5 colors). Gradually add food coloring to each bowl, until you get to your desired colors. Stir gently to make sure there aren’t any remaining streaks of color.
To measure the coloring I dipped a toothpick about 3/4″ into each jar of color (with the exception of the green, see below), swirled it through the batter and mixed throughly.
Here are the colors and amount of coloring I used from the bottom of the cupcake to the top:
- • Orange – Wilton Creamy Peach – 1 toothpick plus a tiny bit more.
• Yellow – Wilton Buttercup Yellow – 1 toothpick
• Green – AmeriColor Avacado – 5 drops
• Blue – Wilton Cornflower Blue – 2-3 toothpicks
• Violet – Wilton Violet – 1 toothpick
Put 1 teaspoon (slightly heaped) batter of your first color in each of the cupcake cups. I gently smoothed out only the first color, just to get an even bottom. Repeat with the other colors.
Bake at 325°F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. Decorate!
Marshmallow Frosting
adapted from MarthaStewart.com
8 large egg whites
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
In a heatproof bowl of an electric mixer, place egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar. Set over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk the mixture constantly until the egg whites are warm to the touch and the sugar is dissolved, 3 to 4 minutes.
Transfer the bowl to electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, beat until the mixture is stiff and glossy peaks form (5 to 7 minutes). Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Use immediately, as the marshmallow frosting will continue to stiffen.
Makes enough for 2 dozen cupcakes.
***
Anyone going to give these a whirl? I've always been so curious about tie dye cupcakes and how they might turn out if I were to give it a try.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow sung by Judy Garland
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow.
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?
(I think the Wizard of Oz is a creative book and the adaptated film is as well. I love the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow but I think I sometimes forget how much I love it. Mostly because the song, although inspirational is also quite sad and emotional.)
Anyhoot. I think this is a wonderful theme for cupcakes Bite Size Baker! Good luck in the competition.
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