Watermelon Cupcakes
So you’re interested in the watermelon cupcakes, huh?
Yeah, it was an odd experiment. It seemed like a good idea – don’t you think? Watermelon, being 92% water, purees very well, and so I thought it might just slip right into a white cake batter. I tried it with a cake mix – just because it was there – that called for 1 1/3 cups of water. I added 1 1/2 cups of watermelon puree. (Just chunk it and whiz in the food processor or blender.) The batter was a beautifully dusty pale pink – a shade that reminds me of my great aunt Noreen – and tasted of watermelon. I had high hopes.
What came out of the oven were almost neon orange cakes – something I totally didn’t anticipate, having opted out of chemistry in high school. Heat does odd things to the colour of food. My red velvet cake made of beets, for example, was a brilliant red going in; a dull brown coming out.
The watermelon cakes tasted funny – not bad, but somehow like candy. Like something sweet you’d buy for kids and wonder what flavour it’s supposed to be. They were nonetheless gobbled up without complaint (which may have had more to do with the icing and sprinkles on top). Colour-wise, the formula may come in handy at around Halloween. I may give them another go, though – with a from-scratch recipe. The sugar in the watermelon calls for less in the batter – perhaps that tweak, paired with real ingredients (as in, not a mix), will make them taste more like cake and less like pouffy candy.
Speaking of watermelon, I loaded my car up with them and will be cooking with them on BT in Edmonton tomorrow morning. I’m hoping that this year, my pants won’t fall down as I carry my melons down Jasper Avenue after the show, right in front of rush-hour Tim Horton’s. A few extra appropriately-placed pounds will no doubt ensure history won’t repeat itself. (Yes-we’re in Edmonton again! Deja vu! Not as much time to linger at restaurants this time though. Which is a shame, now that I’ve found some I love.) I brought a black bean and quinoa salad with me in the car. How virtuous am I? (Says she who ate peach, blueberry and cherry cobbler with thick vanilla yogurt for breakfast this morning. I’d do it again.)
July 06 2010 | leftovers | 8 Comments »
