Grapefruit Rosemary Meringue Cupcakes

Oh joy! 

It's cold and grey up here in my neck of the woods, but one food leads me to think of sunshine, hot weather and the ocean. It could be an orange, or even a lemon. Only it's not.

It's a big ruby red grapefruit! I brought home a huge, juicy, delicious bag from FL last spring and ever since, I've dreamed of that fun in the sun every time I open one. Usually, my grapefruit is limited to a breakfast or snack food, with the occasional appearance in a salad, but thanks to Pinterest, I got to thinking...why couldn't it become a major player in fluffy, sweet and delicious cupcake?!

I began my mission looking at recipes, flavors that meld well with this fruit, and even looked to mixed drinks for inspiration. I know what you're thinking : rosemary?! That little green sharp leaf that is only used in savory foods? To be honest, I was skeptical myself, but rosemary is a fresh tasting herb which lends very, very nicely with this big citrus fruit.

I've seen recipes with cream cheese icing (and you can never go wrong with that), and with Meringue buttercream (which is smooth and not to sweet) but I wanted something different. I decided that a plain meringue would work well. Hey, It works for Mr. Grapefruit's cousin, the lemon pie!

I think I came up with a good, fairly easy recipe that will astound your guests. The hint of rosemary is so light, you can't quite put your finger on what the flavor is, yet it is just perfect for a hint of refreshing flavor.

First, you'll need your cupcake base. I was completely out of white flour so I dr'd a mix. A Duncan Hines white mix to be exact.
If your a purest and horrified at the thought of starting with a mix, you can try out a scratch version of the cupcake recipe here at Landee See, Landee Do. She's the chick that inspired me to try mixing these flavors in the first place!

Now, back to my cupcake base:

Grapefruit Cupcakes

 Makes 24

1 box Duncan Hines white cake mix

3 egg whites and 1 whole egg

1 C (canned) coconut milk- shake it before opening

2 Tbsp. oil

1 box instant pudding white chocolate

1/3 C freshly squeezed grapefruit juice (taste it first to make sure it's good!)

zest from 2 grapefruits

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary (roll it between your fingers as you add it to break it up again)

You can also use 1 tsp. fresh rosemary- chopped fine

Add everything together and mix for 2 minutes. I added a tiny bit of pink food coloring as the grapefruit didn't give the pink color I wanted. Now bake them up at 325 F, for 18 minutes. Allow them to cool.



 The Curd recipe can also be found at the above link for Landee See, Landee Do.

Grapefruit Curd

6 T fresh grapefruit juice

½ c sugar

4 lg egg yolks

Pinch salt

4 T unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

2 tsp grapefruit zest

In a heavy saucepan, whisk together the grapefruit juice, sugar, egg yolks, and salt.  Cook the mixture over med high heat, whisking constantly and scraping the sides of the pan until the curd is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5-8 minutes.  Do not let the curd boil or it will turn lumpy.  Remove from heat, whisk in the butter one piece at a time until smooth.   Stir in the zest and cover with plastic wrap – directly on the surface of the curd.  Refrigerate until set at least 1 hour, up to three days.  Makes 1 cup.  (I had to make 2 batches to adequately fill one batch of cupcakes.)

 

 

After the cupcakes are cool, poke a hole in the center and fill with cold curd. And sure, they make fancy cupcake holer tools, but I've found that the giant straws for "Bubble Tea" (found usually at Asian markets) work great for this job! You just need to poke 'em twice.

Now, only 2 steps left! The candied grapefruit rind is easy to make for the garnish. Just use a peeler to get strips of peel (leave pith attached), cover with water, boil for 10 seconds. Drain water. Repeat.... 3 more times! 
Confession: I didn't do this. I only did it one time thinking "What's the big deal?" And boy was I sorry! My peels turned out bitter and gross.. Even covered in sugar. So take the extra few minutes to boil, drain boil. The process really does get rid of the bitter peel flavor.

 

Next, put 1/2 C sugar and 1/2 C. Water into the same small pan you just drained, like a million times. Add your peel, and boil for about 10 minutes. Remove the peels and sprinkle with white sugar- then let dry. Voila!

                                                       ( I used 1/2 grapefruit for my peels)

Now, that was easier than you thought.. right?!

Last, for the Meringue. Simply crack 3 egg whites into your bowl. Add 1/2 cup white sugar. Turn to high and watch it until it form stiff peaks. I piped mine using a big round tip, but you can get it on your 'lil cakes any way you please.

                                                        Nice and stiff and slightly sweet

Set your oven to broil, and move your rack to the middle of the oven. Carefully set cupcakes into your muffin or cupcake pan. Once the oven is heated up- set them on the top rack and leave the oven door open. Don't move a muscle. Not even to get a drink, and esp. don't answer that urgent phone call you've been waiting for. It takes only between 5-10 seconds to brown the delicate meringue.... and trust me, you don't want to burn it like (ahem) I did. (If you do, it's easy to scrape off , pipe a new peak and try again! This time paying close attention!!)

Now add your cute candied grapefruit and take a bow. A big one!Allow them to cool completely back down before you try one (warm grapefruit isn't that good you know.)

Be as impressed with yourself as I am that you tried a recipe with so many steps involved! And don't forget to share them with your friends. I promise they'll be eaten up, crumbs and all.