French yogurt cupcakes with blueberry topping

This recipes makes 12 cupcakes, really pretty and really yummy. The cupcake itself can taste rather bland but the topping goes really well with it and gives it an almost whimsical look. 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup ground almonds (or, if you'd prefer, omit and use another 1/2 cup all-purpose flour)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• Grated zest of 2 lemons, divided
• 2 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt, divided
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract, divided
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 package (7g) unflavored gelatin, bloomed according to directions
• 1 (16-ounce) can blueberry pie filling

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°(175C). Line muffin tin with paper liners.

Whisk together the flour, ground almonds (if using), baking powder, and salt.

Put 1 cup sugar and zest of 1 lemon in a medium bowl and, with your fingertips, rub the zest into the sugar. Add 1/2 cup yogurt, eggs, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla and whisk until the mixture is well blended. Whisk in the dry ingredients. Fold in the oil. 

Pour batter into cupcake tin, filling cups about 2/3 of the way.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes begin to come away from the sides of pan; they should be golden brown, and a thin knife inserted in the center should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then run a butter knife between the cupcakes and the sides of the pan. Turn out cupcakes and cool to room temperature.

To make the glaze:

 In a medium bowl, mix together 1/4 cup sugar, zest of 1 lemon, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 cups Greek yogurt, and gelatin. (easier to mix gelatin with some yogurt first to "temper" it otherwise gelatin might clump up due to temperature difference)

Slice off top of cupcakes along top of liner to produce a flat top. Spoon slightly chilled glaze over cupcakes and chill. Top each with a spoonful of pie filling. .

Adapted by Joel Brown from Dorie Greenspan's French yogurt cake with marmalade glaze in Baking: From My Home to Yours 

Carrot cupcake with orange cream cheese frosting

Attempted this recipe by Martha recently. This makes a moist and fluffy cupcake hitch tastes even better the next day. I've made some minor changes to the spices, sugars and frosting.

Carrot Cupcakes (12 cupcakes)

42g walnuts toasted and finely chopped
213g plain flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2  teaspoon ground cinnamon
225g carrots, peeled and grated
75g (1.5) eggs, room temperature
40ml buttermilk (= 40ml milk + 1 1/2tsp white vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
100g sugar
100g brown sugar
180ml canola oil
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Line your muffin pans with muffin paper liners. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.

Mix grated carrots with the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, oil and ginger in a large bowl; whisk until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the carrot mixture until combined. Then fold in the walnuts.

Divide batter into the muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer muffins to a wire rack and allow to cool. Spread frosting (below) on the cupcakes and either eat or store in an airtight container in the fridge (will last up to 3 days).

Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting

40g unsalted butter, room temperature
240g cream cheese, room temperature
70g confectioner’s sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, and beat until combined and fluffy, another 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add remaining ingredients and beat for 5 minutes. Frosting can be kept at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 hours.