I don’t bake for hire. It’s a hobby for me. But, when a once-neighbor asked me to make Lady Baltimore cupcakes as a surprise for his wife’s birthday (they were one of her favorites but not available near here) I was intrigued. I told him I don’t bake for “hire” but as I had never heard of Lady Baltimore cupcakes I couldn’t resist.

Lady Baltimore cake (or cupcakes in this case) is a light, delicate white cake, hollowed out and filled with a mixture of slivered almond flakes, raisins and figs bound with Italian meringue frosting. It (they) are frosted with more of the Italian meringue frosting and topped with a few almond slivers.

Current reports are they are delicious. Still waiting for reviews from the QC Cadre.

Lady Baltimore Cupcakes

(makes 24 cupcakes)

INGREDIENTS
For the cupcakes:
• 3 c cake flour
• 1½ cup sugar
• 3 ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp of salt
• 1 ½ sticks unsalted RT butter, cut into small pieces
• 6 egg whites
• 1 cup whole milk (2% + 1 Tbl heavy cream)
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
For the filling:
• 9 tablespoons slivered almonds, coarsely chopped
• 6 tablespoons golden raisins, coarsely chopped
• 6 dried California or Turkish figs, chopped
• 1/3 c fig jam
• ¾ cup Italian meringue frosting
Frosting:
• 3 ¾ cups Italian meringue frosting

METHOD

1. Heat an oven to 350⁰ F. Line 24 wells of a muffin pan with paper liners and set the pan aside.
2. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a mixer (or a large bowl) and mix to combine (mixer: lowest speed; by hand: whisk). Add the butter and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 2 minutes.
3. Whisk the egg whites, milk, and vanilla in a small bowl, then pour it into the mixer bowl. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
4. Evenly distribute the batter among the lined muffin tins and bake until the edge of the cupcakes are light golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, 14-16 minutes.
5. Set the pan on a wire rack and let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove them from the pan and let them completely cool on the rack.
6. Mix the filling ingredients in a bowl.
7. Use a small paring knife to cut an inverted cone out of the top of the cupcake. Flip the cone over and slice it so that you have a ¼” thick disk of cake. Reserve the disk and discard the rest of the cone. If necessary, use a small spoon to scoop out some of the cake to make the hole larger.
8. Use a small spoon to evenly distribute the filling among the cupcakes. Place the reserved cake disk on top of the filling and press down on it to seal the cupcake.
9. Frost the cupcakes with the Italian meringue frosting.