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Candied cake decoration

Chocolate & Pear Cupcakes with Spiced Tahini Buttercream

Fluffy chocolate cake with pops of bright pear that comes wrapped in a nutty tahini buttercream. And I can't forget the stunning candied cake decoration - a crisp pear slice. This is a lush cupcake, and a heckin easy recipe to boot.
Prep Time 45 minutes
Candied pears 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 15 cupcakes

Equipment

  • mandolin

Ingredients
  

Chocolate & Pear Cupcake

  • 1 cup ap flour (120g)
  • 1 cup sugar (200g)
  • 6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (43g)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 large egg room temp
  • 1/2 cup oil (vegetable, coconut etc.) (120ml)
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk (120ml) *read afterword
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup hot milk or water (120ml)
  • 1 pear peeled, finely chopped

Spiced Tahini Buttercream

  • 1 cup unsaltened butter, softened (2 sticks, 226g)
  • 3/4 cup tahini, well stirred (201.1ml)
  • 2 1/2 - 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted *read afterword
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 2 tsp chai spice *read afterword
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Candied Cake decoration

  • 2 bosc pears
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water

Instructions
 

Cupcake

  • Preheat oven to 300°F and prepare a cupcake pan with liners.
  • Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk them together, set aside.
  • Combine the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla in another medium-sized bowl.
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
  • Now add the hot milk/water to the batter and mix until well combined. The batter will be thin.
  • Fill the cupcake liners about halfway and sprinkle a tbsp of the chopped pear over the top. Bake for 18-23 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
  •  Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 2 minutes, then remove them from the pan to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Buttercream

  • Beat butter and vanilla bean paste until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. On the lowest speed, beat in the tahini with butter until well combined.
  • Add the chai spice and the powdered sugar, a generous tablespoon at a time, beating slowly to combine. Once all the sugar is added, beat the frosting on med-high until smooth.
  • Using a frosting bag with your desired tip, pipe frosting onto each cupcake.

Candied Cake Decoration

  • Best achieved with a mandolin, slice the pears to a ¼ inch thickness.
  • Simmer equal parts sugar & water in a medium-sized pot. In batches, carefully add the pears to the pot until the slices are translucent -about a few minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 250°f , and line your trays with parchment paper, and position the slices in neatly spaced rows.
  • Bake the slices for an hour to dehydrate and then raise the oven temperature to 350°f degrees and bake for 10 minutes to get crispy edges.
  • Use right away to decorate your cupcakes or store them in an airtight container until ready to use.
Keyword buttercream, candied cake decoration, candied pear, chocolate, cupcake, pear, tahini