Dear Vanilla Bean,
I understand you are upset. You feel I lured you out of of your precious little vial with promises of stardom when really I knew all along you were just playing a supporting role.
Well, maybe that’s a little true. But no one else could have played that role quite as well as you.
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A friend of mine graduated with her masters recently and her husband threw a little party in her honor. He asked me to bring a dessert (I seem to be getting a reputation). I had a hard time deciding what to make but finally decided to try out cupcake cones. They have been on my list for a little while. I’ve never made them before but have eaten one or two in the past. They look cute and festive, so I thought they’d be a fun addition to the bbq party. Of course, I couldn’t just take the easy way out with a cake mix or pre-made frosting… No, not me. I like to make things difficult.
So I proceeded to make devil’s food and vanilla cake batters from scratch followed by vanilla bean frosting and chocolate frosting. In retrospect, using boxed cake mix would have been smarter because wrapping the cones in foil (necessary for baking… at least according to the cone box) took a while. I wrapped each cone, then made a little doughnut of foil to stand it in. As she wrapped the last cone, my mom discovered that if you use a little bit longer piece of foil to wrap the cone, you can then make a stand with the extra length which was actually more stable than my doughnuts.
The cupcakes were a hit. Well, I should say the frosting was a hit. The cones and cupcakes were merely a vehicle for the frosting… hence, I will use cake mix next time. One suggestion/request from the cupcake-eaters was to add a little frosting at the bottom of each cone so that you finish with one last bite of frosting… on a high note if you will. But I don’t think that would work since the frosting would then get baked… what do you think? Can we make it work? Any ideas?
I’ll have to add the chocolate frosting and vanilla cake recipes later, I don’t have the cookbook with me right now (sorry). But I feel you should know, this month, you will be hearing from me quite a bit… daily in fact. I’ve signed up for NaBloPoMo for July which means I will be writing something everyday. I promise not to do too many “blah blah blah” posts as filler (maybe just one or two… I mean, 31 days in a row… come on, cut me some slack… joking… well, mostly). See you tomorrow.
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If someone gave you seven homegrown, fresh-picked grapefruit, what would you do? Thank them of course, but after that? If you were me, you would make marmalade. Not because marmalade is your favorite jam-like substance. Not because grapefruit is your favoritest citrus fruit. No. You would make marmalade because you’ve been obsessed over home-canning and thought it would be a perfect gateway drug. Yes! I’m weird, I can’t help it. I’ve had it in my mind that I wanted to make jam and pickles and can them myself. I want to have a shelf lined with homey jars filled with homemade preserves made from fresh fruits from the farmers market and friends’ fruit trees.
Thanks to this bounty of grapefruit, I have a modest start to filling that shelf. One of Dan’s coworkers has a grapefruit tree and bestowed upon him a bag full of grapefruit. This is what is left after round 1 of marmalade-ing…
That’s dirt on them. I scrubbed them clean before using them. Can you imagine finding dirt on fruit at a grocery store? All of the fruit and veggies are so *clean*. I am generally a fan of clean, but dirt is natural and its nice to sometimes have fruit with a little dirt on it to remind me it really is from the earth and not manufactured somewhere.
If you take a close look at those jars, you’ll see dark specs. That’s not dirt. No, that’s the seeds scraped from a vanilla bean. When I decided to make marmalade, I did a search for grapefruit marmalade. I found several recipes, but this one on Desert Candy caught my eye. ”Pink Grapefruit Marmalade with Vanilla”. The combination of tart and the heady vanilla sweetness piqued my curiosity. And I just love the way vanilla beans speckle everything.
I have to say, the flavor did not disappoint. It’s tart. It’s sweet. It’s bright. Is bright a flavor? I don’t like bitter marmalades and this one has a tang without the bitter bite. I blanched the grapefruit peel twice to remove the bitterness and it actually worked!
While I don’t think I could improve the flavor, the consistency is a bit runny. I’m not sure if that is because I did not cook it long enough to get to the gel point or if the grapefruit didn’t have enough pectin? I may try to cook it again to see if I can get it to gel. Even if it doesn’t, all of this marmalade will be eaten… most likely with a spoon. Or on toast, if you insist.
I had toast with grapefruit marmalade for dinner tonight. And while it was not the most balanced of meals, it was delicious.
Something that is decidedly not delicious though: lime marmalade. At least not the stuff I made. I got so excited about the whole popping sounds that the lids made when sealing shut on the grapefruit marmalade that I wanted more. More! So those poor helpless limes on my counter got chopped and boiled into a “marmalade”. Maybe someone else would like it but it is too bitter for me. And limey. Yes, I know. Duh, it’s lime marmalade. I do like lime, just maybe not in my marmalade. Margarita? Yes. Marmalade? Not so much. Maybe the peel needed to be blanched to remove the bitterness? It looks pretty in the jars at least…
Grapefruit Marmalade with Vanilla Bean
(adapted from Desert Candy)
3 large grapefruits
3 cups water
4 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1. Cut the peel from the grapefruit leaving most (but not all) of the white pith on the fruit. Slice the peel into thin strips.
2. Place peel in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, remove from the heat and cover. Let it sit for about 20 minutes. Drain and repeat.
3. Cut off all of the white pith from the fruit. Working over a bowl or a large pot, cut the sections of the fruit (cutting between the membranes to only take the fleshy fruit). Squeeze as much juice from the membranes as you can. (Discard all seeds).
4. Add the peel and sectioned fruit (with juice) to a large pot. Add the water and sugar. Bring to a boil and stir to combine.
5. Lower the heat to a low simmer. Cook until the marmalade is thick and translucent (about one hour? I’m not too sure about the timing since my marmalade is still runny. I’ll update the recipe if/when I figure it out).
6. Add the vanilla bean seeds and simmer another five minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
7. Ladle this into jars, wipe the rims clean, and tighten the lids. You could store this in the refrigerator like this and eat it. Or process the jars in a hot water canner for 10 minutes.
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The Ultimate? I know, that’s pretty bold of me to say. Right? I’m not usually so bold. In fact, as a rule I under-sell things… you know, the whole set expectations low and deliver above and beyond. But you know what? This cupcake can stand up to the scrutiny. The flavors are all understated but combine to make your mouth say “wow”. You should try these. They are super easy and completely delicious. Seriously, you should make these tonight.
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