Pomegranate Mojito Cupcakes

Recently, I made Peach Cup-pies for this month's Taste & Create, and mentioned that there had been another three flavours on my short-shortlist. This is the first of those three that I am gracing you with: Pomegranate Mojito Cupcakes. One of my best friends is having her birthday on the weekend, but I can't make it to her party. The next day, my SIL is having a cocktail themed Tupperware party. I'm killing two birds with one stone, and made these for both of them.

This makes 70 babycakes and 1 regular sized cupcake (because I couldn't be bothered to cook yet another batch - my babycake tray only holds one dozen, and I only have one tray). The recipe calls for Pama, pomegranate liquer, but neither of the bottleshops near me sell that, and I wasn't willing to bus into town to buy a bottle. I've substituted pomegranate juice, but I think the flavour would be stronger with the liquer, so use it if you can.

I've left the recipe here as Stef wrote it, changing only to Australian measures. (No attempt at plagarism or theft intended!) :P

Pomegranate Mojito Cupcakes (from Cupcake Project)
For the pomegranate mojito syrup:
1/2 cup light rum (I used Bundy, because it was the only rum I had. I don't think it is "light" though)
1/2 cup PAMA
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
19g fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup sugar

For the cake batter:
2/3 cup sugar
2 cup plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp lime zest
1 Tbsp finely chopped mint leaves
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1. Bring all syrup ingredients to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pot.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for fifteen minutes until you have about 1/2 cup of syrup.
3. Strain mint leaves and set syrup aside.
4. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, lime zest, and mint in a bowl.
5. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl for 1 minute, until light and fluffy.
6. Beat eggs, sour cream, and lime juice into the butter/sugar mixture until blended.
7. Alternately fold in flour mixture and syrup.
8. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
9. Bake at 175C for about 15 minutes for babycakes, or 25mins for regular cupcakes, or until a toothpick comes out of the cupcake clean.

70 is a LOT of tiny cupcakes.

PAMA Frosting:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp sour cream
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp PAMA
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 pomegranate (optional)

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl until smooth.
2. Spread on cupcakes.
3. Optionally, garnish with pomegranate seeds.
You might need to add more icing sugar. I added an extra cup, just to make it workable, but it was still pretty runny, and not very spreadable.

The whole time I was making and icing these, I was thinking of a friend of mine, who after a trip to Cuba, loudly disdains Mojitos made anywhere else. Too many people chop the mint, and no one uses the cane sugar syrup. I'm not sure what she'd think of the blasphemy of adding pomegranate liquer, or turning it into a cupcake, but in honour of her, this is an entry for Foodalogue's Culinary Tour 2010, the Cuban leg.

Don't forget to get messy with your young 'uns for Kids In The Kitchen, training our next generation of food bloggers! ;)