Ebony & ivory duo Sponge drops

I wanted to break in my new Kitchen aid stand mixer by making a cake or cupcake. Ever since I read The domestic goddess by N.Lawson, I have been in a cupcake trance. I keep yearning for another blogging event that focuses on these little ones. I decided to ease my heartache with light but cute cupcakes. Fannie Farmer's baking book had a hot milk sponge cake (this is the base for Boston cream pie) recipe that was interesting. The resultant cupcake was spongy, not dry, sweet and tasty. No separating egg whites, no double boiler, no soaking with syrup, nothing. With just 2 eggs and 1 tbsp butter, who would have thought such ethereal fluffiness can be achieved.





Hot milk sponge drops- 12

1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Position rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter muffin tins or place liners in them. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter to almost boiling. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt four times. Set aside.
Beat the eggs on medium-high speed in an electric mixer fitted with beaters or a whip attachment for about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, taking about 4-5 minutes to blend it in well. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. The mixture will thicken and turn light yellow in color. Reduce mixer speed to medium.

Add the vanilla, then pour in the hot milk IN A STEADY STREAM, taking about 10 seconds. Immediately add the dry ingredients all at once, and beat just until blended, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat 10 seconds.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and quickly pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake about 15 min, or until the cupcake is golden brown and springy to the touch.
Set on a cake rack to cool for about 10 minutes.
Run a thin knife around the sides of the pan to loosen cupcakes. Reemove and cool completely on racks.

The cupcakes did not rise as much to produce the domed top effect. So I call them sponge drops (what's in a name, huh?). I covered it up with some brown sugar frosting that was quite butterscotchy. I also dipped a couple in homemade hot fudge sauce to fix my chocolate cravings.