NFN Peach Chamomile Cupcakes

Recipe 001
NIGHTFLARE
NEST
BY NIGHTFLARE CREATIVE

Fragrant & Calming
Honey Chamomile
Cupcakes w/ Peach
Compote
N I G H T F L A R E N E S T
Ah peach season (known to some
as Summer), what a wonderful
and bountiful season that Mother
Nature brings us each year. Summertime
in Portland, Oregon is
truly inspiring. The BIG way plants
grow here, the countless varieties
of produce available at myriad
farmers markets, the selection of
ingredients to cook and bake with
is truly staggering. We spend some
of our evenings hanging out in our
very private garden oasis, listening
to the crickets and trains go by,
talking about the flavors that excite
and bond us.
Typically on these hot summer
days, all I want in a dessert is
something fresh - like stone fruit
or berries with panna cotta, homemade
popsicles, gelato or ice cream
(one of my favorite things on this
planet). The one common issue
linked to all of these fun summer
treats is, you guessed it, temperature.
And let’s face it, summers can
get really hot. I knew I wanted to
come up with a dessert that didn’t
melt super quickly, that wasn’t a
pie, and still gave you those cooling,
calming and bright flavors of
summer. Peach was immediately
my go to ingredient and the recipe
grew from there.
If you are looking for a different
type of sweet that isn’t a typical
summer desert, you might have
found exactly what you are looking
for. The sensation you get by
combining chamomile and raw
wildflower honey blends seamlessly
together and it brings out
these lovely delicate floral notes. It
personally makes my mouth water.
Then adding the citrus peach filling
brightens and compliments the
cupcake, cutting the sweetness. To
tie it all together I knew I was going
to make a mascarpone buttercream
but I wasn’t sure how to flavor it.
Then, when I really thought about
the flavors, it quickly became a nobrainer.
GINGER! Ginger was going
to be the ingredient that would
make my taste buds dance with
flavor while seamlessly working together
to create a wonderful calming
and bright summer cupcake.

The CookBook / Recipes

N I G H T F L A R E N E S T

SERVING
DISH
12 Cupcakes
Dessert
INGREDIENTS
CHAMOMILE CAKE
• ½ cup (1 stick, 110g) salted butter, softened
• ¾ cup (150g) granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup (118g) whole milk
• ¼ cup (85g) raw wildflower honey
• 4 chamomile tea bags, cut and opened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Optional: fresh organic chamomile for garnish
CITRUS PEACH FILLING
• 1 Tbsp ( 14 g) salted butter
• 3 ripe peaches peeled, pitted, diced
• 2 to 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
• juice of half a large lemon (around 1 tsp)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2-3 tsp raw agave syrup
GINGER MASCARPONE BUTTERCREAM
• 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp (55g) mascarpone cheese,
room temperature
• 1 1/2-2 cups (200g-260g) of powdered sugar
• 1 tsp ginger juice
• 1 1/2-2 Tbsp whole milk
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
METHOD
FOR THE CHAMOMILE CAKE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
SEASON
DIFFICULTY
Summer
Easy
Preheat your oven to 350F (177C). Spray cupcake
tin with cooking oil. Fill with cupcake liners
and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment,
beat together Sugar and softened Butter
on medium-low speed until the batter is fluffy
and light, around 1-2 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the rest of
your dry ingredients: Flour, Baking Powder &
Salt and set aside.
Whisk together the Chamomile Tea, Honey,
Milk and Vanilla in a medium bowl. Set both
dry and wet bowls, along with Eggs, next to
your stand mixer.
When the butter and sugar mix is ready, add
eggs to the stand mixer one at a time. Make
sure each one is well incorporated before adding
the next.
Turn your stand mixer on low, scraping down
the bowl as needed. Start adding in the dry ingredients
in multiple additions, alternating from
dry to wet, finishing with dry.
Now that you have a lovely cake batter, spoon
batter to fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 of the
way up. Place cupcake tin in preheated oven on
the middle rack for 18-25 min.
Check cupcake with toothpick or instant-read
thermometer. The temperature should read 210-
215 degrees F. When the cupcakes are done,
place the hot tin on a cooling rack and leave the
cupcakes in it for 10 minutes. Then take them
out and place them back on the cooling rack
until room temperature.
Honey Chamomile Cupkakes with Peach Compote
*Note: These cupcakes can be stored without filling
and buttercream in an airtight container up to 1 day
before constructing cupcakes.

FOR THE GINGER MASCARPONE BUTTERCREAM
1
2
3
4
Add Butter and Mascarpone in a stand mixer
bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on
medium speed until soft and smooth, about 1
minute.
Turn mixer on low and slowly add in the Powdered
Sugar, 1 cup at a time until well incorporated.
Add the Milk, Vanilla and Ginger. Increase to
high speed and beat the buttercream until it is
very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Transfer enough buttercream to piping bag to
fill it half way and prepare to assemble.
FOR THE CITRUS PEACH COMPOTE
1
2
3
4
Melt Butter over medium heat in a medium
sized saucepan.
Once the butter is melted add your Peaches,
Sugar, Vanilla & Lemon Juice. Let this mixture
cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. Turn heat to
medium-low and reduce, stirring every so often.
until thickened, 20-30 minutes.
Mash peach mixture with a fork, leaving some
pieces intact. Remove from heat, set aside and
let cool.
Try peach mixture and add Raw Agave Syrup
to taste.
N I G H T F L A R E N E S T
CUPCAKE ASSEMBLY
1
2
3
Arrange a workstation for your piping bag,
cupcakes and peach filling so they are all within
reach.
Take your cupcake corer, or a small spoon if
you don't have one, and remove the middles of
your cupcakes. Fill each one to the top with your
peach filling
Take piping bag filled with buttercream and
swirl/decorate from the outside to the middle or
however you like decorating your cupcake. Add
fresh organic Chamomile Flowers for decoration.
Recipe By Drew Johanna Night