If you’re looking for the fluffiest cupcake on eart, search no more: this is it! I was given this recipe back in 2001 during my first trip to Beijing China. I made it a couple of times then literally forgot about it until I saw a YouTube video a few weeks ago and embarked on a personal challenge to bake the perfect 纸杯小蛋糕. So what’a special about these little cakes?They’re made of a few simple ingredients that you might have in your pantry, they’re not too sweet, they contain zero butter and don’t even need any baking powder. Despite looking so simple, they are indeed the fluffiest cupcakes I’ve ever eaten, their consistency being very similar to the one of a sponge cake. All you need to do to ensure this recipe turns out right is for your ingredients to be room temperature and for your flour to be low-gluten cake flour (you may use multipurpose flour but that will make your cupcakes deflate a little once out of the oven (no worries, they will still taste great!). So are you ready to travel China yet?
Ingredients
Cupcakes
60 g low protein cake flour
36 g oil
36 g milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
3 egg whites
40 g caster sugar
3 g cream of tartar (or 3 g lemon juice or white vinegar)
500 ml water
Frosting
125 g white chocolate, melted
250 g mascarpone cheese
Colorful sprinkles (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 170 C static or 160 C fan and line a standard 12 cavity muffin pan with cupcake liners;
Separate the eggs yolks from the whites and set the yolks aside in a bowl;
In a different bowl, whip the egg whites at medium-high speed till foamy, then add in cream of tartar (or lemon juice/vinegar) and keep whipping at high speed until soft peaks form then slowly pour in sugar one spoon at a time while mixing at medium speed. Keep whipping at medium speed until stiff peaks form;
Using a hand whip, combine oil and flour in a bowl, then add in egg yolks, vanilla extract and milk. Mix until just combined;
Pour in 1/3 of the meringue (whipped egg whites and sugar) and stir until combined, then fold in the remaining meringue;
Pour about 500 ml of water on a tray (as if you were to prepare a water bath) and place this tray on the lower rack of your oven. Pour batter in the previously lined muffin tin and bake on the middle rack of your oven at 170 C static or 160 C fan for 30/35 minutes or until the tops are golden;
While the cupcakes bake, prepare your frosting. First of all, ensure the melted white chocolate and your mascarpone cheese are room temperature. Then combine them together with the help of a hand whip or spatula and set them aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes;
When your cupcakes are cold, decorate them with the frosting and add a little sprinkles on top if desired. Now, all you need to do is hide them because they will disappear before you know it!
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