Mango Cupcakes With Dragon Fruit and Green Tea Buttercream


Mango Cupcakes With Dragon Fruit and Green Tea Buttercream

Dragon fruit, known as pitaya in its native Central and South America, is a type of cactus with a hot pink skin, wavy green petals, and a white or red interior speckled with edible black seeds. The flesh is subtly sweet and crunchy, with a flavor reminiscent of kiwi and pear combined.



Use it: Dragon fruit can be eaten as table fruit and certainly sits pretty in a fruit bowl. However, since the flesh is only mildly sweet, it’s better combined with other tropical fruits in a salad or blended into smoothies and shakes. Dragon fruit can lend a new dimension to baked goods that have a creamy filling, such as the cheesecake recipe below.



Find it: Seafood City, 8020 Olive Blvd., University City, 314.993.2800



Olive Farmers’ Market City, 8041 Olive Blvd., University City, 314.997.5168









Ingredients

1 cup Zen Green Tea Liqueur (available at Lukas Liquor)
1 fresh mango
1 fresh dragon fruit, divided
24 oz. yellow cake batter (or 1 box yellow cake mix)
12 oz. Italian meringue buttercream icing



Preparation

• Pour the green tea liqueur in a small saucepan and reduce to a thick syrup. Set aside.

• Peel and chop the mango, purée it in a food processor and set aside.

• Peel the dragon fruit, then cut it in half. Dice one half into tiny cubes; purée the remaining half.

• Toss the cubed dragon fruit with 2 tablespoons of the reduced green tea liqueur syrup.

• Prepare the cake batter using your preferred yellow cake recipe (or according to the package directions), then stir the puréed mango into the cake batter.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

• Using a 1-ounce scoop, place 1 scoop of the cake batter in the wells of a standard cupcake pan filled with cupcake liners. Place 4 to 5 cubes of dragon fruit on top of the batter and cover with another 1-ounce scoop of the cake batter.

• Bake until the cupcakes are set and just firm to the touch, about 19 to 21 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and brush with the green tea liqueur syrup.

• Prepare 12 ounces of Italian meringue buttercream icing using your preferred buttercream recipe. Stir the remaining green tea liqueur and the puréed dragon fruit into the buttercream.

• Decorate the cupcakes with a rosette of buttercream and a few cubes of the dragon fruit.