Little Ivy Cakes

OLIVE OIL CUPCAKES
Olive oil, Meyer lemon, vanilla bean cake with a French ginger liqueur, Meyer lemon glaze and bitter chocolate.

Yep, I went to the farmers market this weekend. YAY! Can I just say though, that I love this place! It's super inspiring and exciting. Every time I go, I get a new lease on life cooking and baking. This time, ONE *okay* ONE, of the things I found was some beautiful Meyer lemons. They smell so lovely. If you are not familiar with them, Meyer lemons are like a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. They are sweeter and less acidic than your common lemon varieties of Eureka and Lisbon. And... Meyer lemons are actually from China and were planted for ornamental purposes. The burst of popularity in California cuisine brought them into the spotlight for culinary purposes.

My mother ordered me an olive oil basket from a fancy olive oil company based in Los Olivos, CA. To me, the best olive oil would be green, murky, and have that deep, rich olive oil smell. Mmmmmm. I mean that's the best artisan oil fresh from Italy right. I have said before how olive oil is pure gold in the kitchen. But, there are so many uses for olive oil dating waaay back, it's really interesting.

My mom also sent me a very cool book called The Passionate Olive.

Among many other useful recipes and uses for olive oil, in this book you will find a recipe for olive oil cake book-marked by me with some yarn. A desire to bake was sparked immediately when I found this recipe. And all these things, waiting in my cupboards to be used, finally came together in my head.
Olive Oil Cake
Meyer Lemons
French Ginger Liqueur
Valrhona Bitter chocolate (85% cocao)

Try baking the following. It won't let you down and is very easy. Sorry my pictures aren't that great. I baked at night and couldn't get good lighting or be bothered with the fuss of perfect pictures.

Olive Oil Cupcake Recipe (adapted from the cake recipe in The Passionate Olive)
Recipe makes 38 minis or about 20 regular cupcakes

1 3/4 cup flour
1 tbs and 1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder (if you don't have this, use vanilla extract and add it with your wet ingredients)
1 tsp ground ginger
Zest of one Meyer lemon
3 eggs, room temp
3 tbs milk
1 tbs Meyer lemon juice
1 stick minus 1 tbs melted butter
1/2 cup and 2 tbs extra virgin olive

 -Preheat oven to 350F
-Mix the butter and olive oil in a small bowl and set aside.
-In a large mixing bowl, Sift and whisk flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla bean powder, and ground ginger.
-Usinings an electric mixer:
-Add lemon zest, then one egg at a time, then milk, then Meyer lemon juice.
-Slowly pour in the butter and oil mixture.
-Mix well but don't over mix either. You should have a smooth batter perfect for scooping into cupcake papers.

 -Fill your cupcake lines 3/4 of the way full.
-Bake minis for 10, regulars about 15-18 minutes or until the toothpick comes clean yada, yada, yada.
-Let cool, then slowly pour about a 1/2 tsp of ginger liqueur on the cupcake and let it soak in.
Then frost with icing and melted chocolate.

Ivy's Ginger Liqueur and Meyer lemon icing Recipe

 Ingredients:
1 tbs water
1 tbs honey
2-3 cups powdered sugar- I know it seems like a lot. You gotta do it on this one if you want a white frosting/glaze.
2 tbs Meyer lemon juice
1/2 a shot of ginger liqueur
1 tbs Meyer lemon zest.
-Whisk all ingredients together until you get your desired consistency.
-Dip or glaze cooled cupcakes. Beware the frosting will drip if you don't want this, let them dry faster in front of a fan.
-Drizzle with half a melted Valrhona chocolate bar, and sprinkle lemon zest to garnish.
-Store at room temp for a couple days at most.

So there you have it. They were moist and delicious! By themselves they could be a substitute for cornbread served with chili. And with icing and chocolate they are homemade gourmet cupcakes.

THE END!