the Running Foodie: Victorian Pantry

11 September 2010

Coconut Rooibos Cupcakes

These are some fantastic cupcakes, people. My inspiration for the mods to the recipes I used came from a new tea from Victorian Pantry. Steve, the owner, uses a unique, personalized blend of coffee that he has roasted just prior to shipping. He now offers a selection of specially blended teas that I decided to try. Obviously, I am using the coconut rooibos as the flavoring in the cupcakes.

Rooibos is a South African red herbal tea and has a light, unique flavor. It also looks pretty, tinting the water red. Since it's herbal, it's also caffeine free. Coupled with coconut, how can you go wrong here? My only concern was getting the flavor from the tea to come through in the cupcake completely. To do this, I decided to infused the liquid in the recipe (the milk in both the cupcakes and frosting) and let the milk for the cupcakes come back to room temperature.

You may notice specks. Specks in the frosting and specks in the cupcake itself. That's because I chose not to strain the tea leaves because I liked the look. There really is nothing wrong with eating the tea leaves (I already ate a cupcake and didn't die) and it looks pretty.

For the cupcake, I chose a recipe from Joy of Baking for vanilla cupcakes. Unfortunately, the cupcakes were a little on the dry side. I kind of figured, using only 1/4 cup of milk, and I should have increased it to 1/2 a cup. Or I don't know, because it would have ruined the yield. Anyway, they rose nicely and had perfect domes. I added 1 1/2 teaspoons tea leaves to the milk after it had been scalded.

The flour frosting I made is something many of you might think unusual. It's more like a Swiss meringue buttercream than a standard buttercream, though instead of an egg white-sugar mixture you make a quick pudding with flour, sugar, salt, and milk. To this mixture, right in the pot, I added 1 1/2 teaspoons tea leaves. Once the pudding mixture has cooled (I beat it for a bit, let it set, beat some more, etc.), you add in all the butter and beat until the butter emulsifies into the pudding and thickens to a frosting.
A few tips: This pudding only turns the texture of a paste. It won't be thick, but should still pass the spoon test. Make sure the butter is at room temperature -- a bit cool, but can easily be indented with your finger. If it's too soft, the frosting will be soft.
My overall thoughts on this recipe is that it made a good amount for just 12 cupcakes with just a bit extra. It seemed less temperamental than a Swiss meringue buttercream, as you can add all the butter at once and I didn't have any issues with separation. I made a pastry cream frosting a while ago for the Hostess Orange Cupcake birthday cake and really liked it, though it's not quite as sturdy. Anyway, it's really easy and delicious.

As for the tea itself, the flavor was light with a floral note, and had a smooth coconut essence. I felt it was enhanced by a bit of sweetener. The scent was incredible, and I have to say its one of my new favorite teas.

Next time you want a dessert with a unique twist, get creative with the flavorings by adding different teas to the mix. Even if you aren't a big tea drinker, you will still appreciate how tea enhances baking.

14 August 2007

Of Cinnamon and Coffee

Most people have a favorite place to stop for coffee. I'll stop at other places but a certain feeling of happiness comes to mind when I realize I'm going to Victorian Pantry.

There are really only two reasons why I go. Being the creature of habit that I am (which is both bad and good, because I only want the same thing, each and every time, unless they are out of what I came for, then I must contemplate what else to try. That takes a bit, considering all their other fine offerings), I order the same thing each time. Coffee and one of their amazing cinnamon rolls.

A practically perfect pairing

Let me preface my sinful cinnamon roll fascination: One of my favorite breakfasts, desserts, or snacks that I like above all else, the treat that makes me feel like I'm eating a ray of sun from a chilly fall day (which sounds odd, I know, but I equate this with chilly, nippy, sunshiny fall days), is a really well-made cinnamon roll. Unfortunately, when I think of a purchased cinnamon roll I think of a of mildly-sweetened Wonder Bread or an overly greasy mound of globular waste, with a streak of cinnamon making a brief appearance, leaving you with a stomach ache for the rest of the day. And most likely the beginning of the next because it was the size of your head. (Even a small-sized head is still too big for a cinnamon roll.) Top all this off with a saccharin-sweet and vanillin taste that it makes the ye ol' Twinkie look like a delicacy. As you can tell, unless I make my own there is no equal.

Enter Victorian Pantry. I humbly bow my pastry-making skills before the best cinnamon roll I have tasted to date in my short existence on earth, their croissant cinnamon roll. You can tell by one glance that this is something special, something to write home about. The buttery, flaky crust, combined with the intense cinnamon filling that penetrates each bite you take, is one reason I put my health food etiquette aside for a moment of pure bliss. It's sweet but not of the gag-me-I-need-wawa variety. The spread of icing blends perfectly with the overall taste. Not the thick icing used to disguise the aforementioned Wonder Bread cinnamon roll, but the type of icing that melds with the rest of the flavors while intensifying the pleasure of the cinnamon swirls. The buttery crumb and the moist filling have great mouth feel -- not too chewy, no raw dough (I actually call it "cookraw" when something is a happy medium between overcooked and raw, so it's perfectly crisp on the outside while maintaining chewy, moist innards), but a lovely bite that pairs wonderfully with a sip of the Victorian Pantry's house blend, Walnut Roast Coffee.

Rare is it I find a place I like to sit with a book, a good pastry, stellar coffee, and just spend a few moments. Victorian Pantry is that place. I love the fact that it isn't part of a chain where the music drowns out your musings (the fact that the I dislike burnt coffee doesn't help matters much, either). Usually I find good coffee and okay pastries, but rarely both. All the better is the generosity of the chef and owner, Steven Stogdill, who gives free coffee refills (because that's just the sort of thing nice people do... Ahem. Starbucks...).