Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Sweet Pea Cupcakes with Sour Cream Frosting

From the Cupcake Archives from March of 2007. This recipe was recently republished in a cookbook in the UK under the name Petit Pois Muffins. Very kid friendly and very delicious.

I have no freakin' clue why I thought of attempting this. Seriously, a cake based on peas?! What the hell? I guess it was the arrival of March. The barely audible first steps of Spring that are creeping in with blooming trees and slightly sunny days.

But still, peas? They're sweet and I do love them in soup, salads, savory dishes, dried with wasabi, and so on and so on so why not give it a shot? Someone made zucchini bread. Carrot cake. Sweet potato pie! Someone has to try peas. Might as well be me.

And you know what? It works. Quite well I might add. For one, it doesn't taste like peas. Well, maybe a slight bit but nothing unpleasant. Quite the opposite, it's sweet, fresh, bright. It's really impossible to describe the taste by flavors so I'll try to do it through images. It's a fresh cake that would replace a sweet cornbread at the dinner table. With the first bite, images of a simple afternoon tea, the table adorned with these bright green cakes, the sun starting to come down and creating dancing shadows through the trees entered my mind.

It's a simple, quick, and cheap to make recipe. While the actual fact that this is a pea cake seems daunting, even crazy, don't let it put you off. Oh no, for you'd be doing yourself a great disservice. This cupcake is sweet and colorful; it's perfect for the upcoming St. Patrick's day and a sweet smelling fanfare for the coming of Spring.

By the by, these are also celebratory cupcakes. Celebration for a few reasons:
1) Garrett got accepted to CSUS for the English Master's Program. That's right. I'm one step closer to teaching college classes and warping the minds of America's youth.
2) Garrett got promoted at work, and thus is moving to the Sacramento office.
3) Based on the above two, it's time to move from Davis to Sacramento. Goodbye Davis! I have loved you for nearly 6 years, but it's time for a change. I'll be back for the farmer's market though, so no worries.

Sweet Pea Cupcakes
Makes 20 cupcakes / 375 F degree oven

What You'll Need...
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups of peas, pureed
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 1/2 cups of cake flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder

What You'll Do...
1) Whisk together the eggs and sugar until bright and well emulsified.
2) Add the oil, extract, lemon juice, and pea puree. Mix well.
3) Add the flour and baking powder. Beat until just mixed.
4) Scoop into cupcake papers and bake in a 375 F oven for 14-16 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Set aside to cool, then frost.

Sour Cream Frosting
What You'll Need...
1/4 cup of butter, room temperature
1/3 cup of sour cream
2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract
pinch of salt

What You'll Do...
Beat the ingredients until light and fluffy, and slightly stiff peaks form.

46 comments:

  1. Congrats on all three fronts, my dear! Hope to see more of you once you move to Sac.

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  2. Congratulations on all the above. Pea Cupcake - interesting. I might have to do a taste test on some unsuspecting tasters.

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  3. Wow, didn't see that one coming! But you know what? These are totally up my alley.

    Kudos on the promotion, acceptance and impending move. The dawning of a new era, eh?

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  4. Congrats on all the new life developments!

    I love the idea of serving these for St. Patrick's day -- I'll be giving these a try...

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  5. Hey thanks for the recipes...and they sound great...well since St. Patrick's Day is coming up as well i'd also like you to drop by my blog on St. Patrick's Day Greetings sometimes and enjoy all that's there!!!

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  6. 1. Congratulations on your promotion and acceptance. That is fantastic.

    2.) I am realy going to have to try your frosting recipe with the sour cream. Sounds really good.

    3.) You really threw me with this cupcake recipe. There is no food in the world I hate more than peas. But darnit, they look good.

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  7. i must tell u initially was quite intimidated by the sound of pea cake but then i thought about it a bit...and maybe its not that bad.I would've never tried it...but since u dared u shall get 5/5 for it.Now u have to let me try some so i can shake of my stupid mental blocks about he same :-))

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  8. America's youth is sooooo ready to have you step in and warm their minds. Congratulations to your future sudents and to you! Cheers!

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  9. I am so happy for you, Garrett! :)
    cg

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  10. I've been on a green bender lately - can't seem to get enough of it - must be spring! Your green cupcakes are gorgeous.

    Congratulations on the promotion and the acceptance! Wooo!

    Will Eat Beast mind the move?

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  11. Congratulations Garrett!!! That is awesome! And that cupcake looks very interesting! (And delish, of course!)

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  12. Congratulations on your acceptance and promotion! If only I could eat some of your cupcakes to celebrate...I will just chomp air. [chomp chomp] :[

    Mmmcupcakes. I want.

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  13. I love the colour! It's the freshest shade of green I've seen by far in a cake.

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  14. Congratulations. I think all of this has gone to your head and you have made alien cupcakes!! When you come back down to earth......we will then see planet earth cupcakes once again from you!!! I'll be back......Mx

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  15. Well we are worshipping at the altar of cupcakes here. You are a genius.
    We have posted in your honour..

    http://www.greatbigvegchallenge.blogspot.com

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  16. Congratulations on the acceptance and the promotion! Wow, go you!

    I thought exactly what you said when I saw this post was about sweet pea cupcakes: "What the hell?" But maybe you're right. I guess it's not all that different from the concept of carrot cake right? Another vegetable dessert combo!

    Ari (Baking and Books)

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  17. You left such a sweet comment on the blog yesterday. I hope you are off having wonderful adventures today.

    And congrats on the all great news in your life of late--well deserved and much celebrated. Yay for you!

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  18. How did I miss this?!! Love the color, especially, so often lost when veggies are tucked into baked goods. Congratulations on all the good news!

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  19. Peas!?! That's awesome. Now I'm even wondering how some carrot sour cream frosting would be with it. :)

    And congratulations on the acceptance and the promotion!

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  20. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR LOVIN' AND SUPPORT!!! I Promise that I'll be posting as usual regardless of all the changes! (Except during the move as the computer will be in a box.)

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  21. Freakin' brilliant! I love these cupcakes!

    Congrats on all the new positive things in your life as well.

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  22. this looks so interesting! i'll look forward to trying it.. should it be dinner or dessert.. i can't decide!

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  23. that's a racy cupcake.
    and congrats on your new developments

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  24. They look awesome. I would have never tried that. But yours look so fantastic. 10 thumbs up to you mate. Great blog by the way.

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  25. Garrett,

    I stumbled upon you & your inventive recipe quite by accident. I am glad I did, I am going to give them a try. I figure at best I will get a promotion like you did, and at worst I will be sitting with a beautiful green cupcake in my hand. Not a bad day. I will keep you posted. Thanks. Liz

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  26. Liz - I'm glad you stumbled here! Let me know how they go! I already made them again for a potluck and they seem to be a hit (excpet for those who truly dislike peas or wanted a real traditional cake, but tough noogies for them).

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  27. Hi Garrett,

    Like Liz, I just happened to stumble upon your blog. Oh my.... you made me see possibilities that I never thought of. You rock!!!!

    Btw, did you use fresh or frozen peas?

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  28. Pauline - Glad you found me! For this I used thawed frozen peas, but fresh are also great if it's the season.

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  29. Congratulations on all your achievements! I can't wait to try out these cupcakes on my kids.

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  30. peas? Wow! and congrats on all that good news!

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  31. Glad to hear someone having good news lately! Congratulations on the acceptance and the job! There's a pretty awesome farmer's market in Sac under the W-X freeway every weekend if you haven't been there before.

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  32. Melissa, Strawberries, Heidi: Thanks, but all that happened in 2007! Still, I am happy that it did happen! =)

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  33. I remember this from the first time you posted it. Since your carrot cardamom etc. cupcakes were such a hit at the potluck the other night, I may have to give these a whirl at the next one! I may have to go with the "Petit Pois" name just to get people to try them, though...

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  34. You are adventurous! But I can see where it would work out. And they look beautiful!

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  35. These cupcakes are just so cool. A sweet pea treat is the last thing I expected to see today, so I am unexpectedly delighted.

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  36. Hi, I'm new here :)

    I've just a little question about peas: did you boil them before pureeing?
    p.s.: Sorry for my English, it's not my mother tongue ;)

    Greetings
    prjanik

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  37. That day-glow green was just too intriguing to ignore so I made these last night. They are as delicious as they look; a really unique flavor. Not to diminish the cake's flavor at all, but I honestly think you could but that sour cream frosting on shoe leather and it would be divine. My go to Red Velvet cake recipe is getting a sour cream frosting face lift. Thanks so much!

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  38. i did try these on some unsuspecting [and some pea hating} friends this weekend. The flavor is unusual but rather delicious since it's not too sweet. Topped them with cream cheese frosting here because i had some left over..

    I think I'll make them again but more as a muffin to accompany a soup or stew.... thanks for sharing.

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  39. I am in Sacramento, what is the best kind of pea to use and where can I find them now?

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  40. Wow. So good. I never in a million years would have thought so. I've tricked my entire family into trying one. When they say they like it I tell them what is in it! Everyone is amazed. Thanks again!

    I've added this recipe to my blog along with a ink to your page.
    www.soisew.blogspot.com. I hope this is okay.

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  41. Lovely! What a nice delicate shade of green. I just made Bakerella's green velvet cupcakes and saw your comment and link. I'm definately going to try these!

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  42. I love this recipe. I flavoured it with lime zest and used it as a layer in an all-natural rainbow cake.

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  43. Tried to convert these to gluten free and didn't succeed too well. My 4 year old still proclaimed them as "the best cupcakes ever." I will be trying again with a few tweaks. Happy Saint Patrick's Day :)

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    Replies
    1. Allyson, let me know if you have success with the gf version.

      Garrett, thanks for posting--my just-turned-four yr. old, who hates all veggies but knows he needs to eat them if he wants dessert, has declared he will have a "pea cake" for his party (Sunday). Your recipe came up first on my Google search, and it looks worth a try. I know he'll love the color--it matches the color we just painted his room at his request.

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  44. Do you measure the peas before or after pureeing?

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Hey, you're leaving a comment! That's pretty darn cool, so thanks. If you have any questions or have found an error on the site or with a recipe, please e-mail me and I will reply as soon as possible.
~Garrett