'The Little Prince' Themed Blueberry Chiffon Cupcakes

Here are some cupcakes based on the storybook "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery :). The requester was very specific about the details, such as colour scheme, 3D pop-up deco and flying stars all made from chiffon sponge. I took up the challenge to accomodate all that and came up with these...

Quite a few different coloured thin layered chiffon cakes had to be baked to create the cupcake decorations. I used dried blue pea flowers to reduce the use of artificial blue colouring for the blue sponge.

Blue pea flowers soaked for half an hour in hot water.

Blue chiffon sponge layer cake. Some gel food colouring is still needed but less.

The blueberry flavour of the cupcakes come from fresh blueberry puree (press blueberries through sieve), blueberry powder and a teeny bit of artificial blueberry flavouring.

Recipe for blueberry chiffon cupcakes
(Makes 24-25 44x35mm cupcakes)
Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
15g caster sugar
56g vegetable/canola oil
50g blueberry puree
2tsp blueberry powder
15ml water
1/4 tsp blueberry flavouring (optional)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
78g cake flour
A pinch of salt

5 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
65g caster sugar

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 140°C with a tray of water at base of oven (optional). Set oven rack to second lowest position. Dissolve blueberry powder in water.

2. Prepare egg yolk batter. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Add oil and mix well. Add blueberry puree, blueberry powder dissolved in water, vanilla extract and blueberry flavouring and whisk until well combined. Gradually sift in flour and salt and whisk until no trace of flour is seen.

3. Prepare the meringue. In a clean metal bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg whites with cream of tartar, gradually adding sugar, until firm peaks form.

4. Quickly but gently fold the meringue into the egg yolk batter in three batches. Fill the cupcake cases until the batter is about 1cm away from the rim. Gently tap the cases on the table to release trapped air bubbles.

5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

Just to share some photos of the assembly...

Using melted marshmellows with a sprinkling of water to glue the parts together.

As these cupcakes are really tall, I can't use regular cupcake boxes for storage and transport. I used a bigger cupcake case with the bottom sliced off, and turned it upside down to create a stand for each cupcake.

Brush the surface of the cakes with syrup (dissolve 10g of sugar in 20g of water. I added a few drops of blueberry flavouring to add more blueberry fragrance) to keep it moist during storage in fridge and display at the party.

Foxes!

Sheep!

Crown with flying stars! I used clear rigid plastic pieces to hold up the stars to create the illusion that they are floating in mid-air.

I was in a hurry to pack up so I didn't take a photo of the last box of cupcakes with the planet, rose and flying stars.

Keep assembled cupcakes in airtight container in the fridge. They are good for a few days.

Here's a peek at the soft spongey insides of a cupcake! My younger kid who managed to have one said yums! 

With love,
Phay Shing