I'm happy to report these are mostly sweet and delicious with just a little nod to that salty, buttery goodness we love about popcorn. So, don't be scared. You're gonna love these.
3 1/4 cup sifted cake flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup 2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 cup 6 tablespoons softened butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
5 egg whites (room temperature)
24 buttered pop corn jelly belly beans
For the frosting:
5 egg whites (room temperature)
1 cup 2 tablespoons sugar
small pinch of salt
2 cups softened butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
yellow food color (optional)
First sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
With an electric mixer, or stand mixer cream the softened butter until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the sugar and beat again until the mixture begins to looked whipped (softer and creamy in texture). Begin adding the flour mixture and milk in intervals, mixing in between. Add in the vanilla extract as well.
Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter using a rubber spatula. Cut through the batter down the center, then swiftly stir to one side. Keep mixing in this manner until nearly no lumps remain and the batter looks cohesive in texture.
Spoon batter into prepared baking cups. Add a jelly bean the center of each cupcake.
First, combine the egg whites and sugar in a metal or glass mixing bowl. Set this over a pot of simmering water. Whisk until the egg whites are slightly warmed and the sugar and completely dissolved. You should be able to rub the mixture between your fingers without feeling any of the sugar granules. If it still feels grainy, keep whisking.
Then, with the mixer running on low, add the softened butter a few tablespoons at a time. You really want your butter to be room temperature, it can't be too cold or it wont' incorporate well. Once you've added all the butter turn the mixer up a few notches to whip the batter for a few seconds (getting rid of any air bubbles).
But then I realize that's maybe a little dramatic for a frosting mishap.
Here's how to fix grainy swiss meringue buttercream. Remove about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of the grainy looking frosting to a mug or small microwave safe bowl. Microwave this on high for about 15-20 seconds, until mostly melted. Turn the mixer on low and slowly stream the melted frosting into the remaining batch. Turn the mixer up to whip everything together for a 10-20 seconds. If it still looks a little grainy, repeat again. Sometimes I need to do this twice in order to get that silky texture.
See the frosting above? It looks super silky smooth right? It was a grainy, lumpy mess until I did this final step. This works for me every time. Now you'll never have to be scared of swiss meringue again. Hooray!
Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman