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 09:30 pm | leftovers
Recipe for Delicious on 07 Jul 2010 at 5:41 am #
Orange, huh? Weird. I just made a pomegranate mousse that bore a striking resemblance to chocolate. Still tasty, though. I wonder if the watermelon puree would work in the icing.
Cheryl Arkison on 07 Jul 2010 at 9:26 am #
You are a brave cook.
Have fun tomorrow! Check out the Blue Plate Diner around the corner from the studio. Fortifying snack post show.
Manon from Ontario on 07 Jul 2010 at 9:49 am #
Love what you had for breakfast….hmmm something I would love for myself actually!
All my life I wondered why not start with desert first, finally someone who can understand my state of mind with food
Love ya Jules, you rock!
MFO
Tracy on 07 Jul 2010 at 11:57 am #
Julie. We took one of your classes at the Cookbook Co in the Spring and enjoyed it so much that I’m hooked on your blog now. It is fantastic!
Two of our favorite restaurants in Edmonton are the Red Ox Inn and the Wildflower. The Wildflower is next to a great boutique hotel the Matrix which is a gem in downtown Edmonton and a great deal! Free parking, internet, breakfast and wine & cheese in the evening. I suspect it’s not far from your ‘Tim Horton’s incident’ by the sound of it.
Vivian on 07 Jul 2010 at 12:59 pm #
Julie, I just love the idea that you experiment with food! Some enduring wonders result from such “playtimes”! One such incident for me was adding crumbled cooked bacon into blackberry jam! Then too, there was the dark chocolate in the home-made pizza sauce…NO FEAR…Hey, “it’s just food!”
Manon from Ontario on 07 Jul 2010 at 2:03 pm #
You got it Vivian!!!
MFO
Tina on 07 Jul 2010 at 8:21 pm #
I made your cobbler last night – but with rhubarb (very good). Had it for breakfast this morining too minus the yogurt. Less virtuous than you!
Dani on 16 Apr 2011 at 8:15 pm #
I wonder if it was some ingredient in the store bought mix that might have been responsible for the final color. I will give these a try with from scratch ingedients when I get a chance. Acidity/ alkalinity of the batter seems to always make a difference in color. You have a great blog.