Recipe: Colorado Cantaloupe Cupcakes

Colorado Cantaloupe Cupcakes

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• crack :

  to break open or apart a food to get what's inside, like an egg or a coconut.

• dice :

  to cut foods into small pieces of equal size so that the food is cooked evenly or looks uniform and pleasant when used in the recipe.

• fold :

  to gently and slowly mix a light ingredient into a heavier ingredient so as not to lose air and to keep the mixture tender, such as incorporating whipped egg whites into a cake batter or folding blueberries into pancake batter; folding is a gentler action than mixing or whisking.

• macerate :

  to soften foods, like fruit, and bring out their juices by allowing them to soak in a liquid.

• separate eggs :

  to remove the egg yolk from the egg white by cracking an egg in the middle and using the shell halves, the palm of the hand, or a device to keep the egg yolk in place while the egg white falls into a separate bowl.

History of Cupcakes!

• The earliest recipe for what would be later called a "cupcake" can be found in a cookbook, American Cookery, by Amelia Simmons, written in 1796. In it, she described "a light cake to bake in small cups." 
• The earliest written record of the word "cupcake" was from an 1828 cookbook, Seventy-Five Receipts [Recipes] for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats, by Eliza Leslie. 
• We can conclude from both of these facts that the cupcake is an American creation. Before there were cupcake or muffin pans, bakers used pottery cups to make these small, round, individual cakes. Hence, the name "cupcake!"
• Baked cupcakes can be decorated just like a full-size cake, with frosting type, fruit, sprinkles, and more. In addition, they are sometimes filled with fruit curd, jam, nut or fruit pie filling, or chocolate ganache after baking. To fill a cupcake, after it has completely cooled, scoop out a bit of the cake in the middle, using a paring knife, apple corer, or melon baller. Then, fill the cupcake using a spoon or filled pastry bag. 
• Cupcakes can be eaten like a sandwich, a method that allows for frosting in every bite. Pull apart or slice the cake horizontally in the middle, put the bottom half on top of the frosting, then eat it like a sandwich! 
• Cupcakes are popular birthday and school party treats. Some weddings have also featured an elaborate tiered cupcake display instead of, or in addition to, the traditional wedding cake!

Let's Learn About Colorado!

• Colorado is one of the Mountain States in the Western United States. It became a state on August 1, 1876. Wyoming borders it to the north, New Mexico to the south, Utah to the west, and Kansas and Nebraska to the east. Its borders also touch Arizona and Oklahoma, and it's one of the Four Corner states that include Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Colorado's total land area is 104,094 square miles, and its population is over 5.7 million. 
• The Southern Rocky Mountains run through Colorado, in the Central and West parts of the state. The mountains offer terrific skiing and other winter sports opportunities, which are very popular with both residents and visitors to the state. The Southern Rockies, also called the Colorado Rockies (like the local National League Baseball team!), have 53 peaks that are at least 14,000 feet high and are called fourteeners. Among them is the famous Pikes Peak at 14,115 feet.
• You often hear the name Front Range, referring to parts of Colorado and Wyoming, for both the mountain range on the eastern edge of the Southern Rockies and the populated areas along that eastern edge. It is the first mountain range you come to when traveling west across the Great Plains. The Colorado Eastern Plains, part of the Great Plains, are east of the Front Range. Eastern Colorado is primarily farmland and rangeland. 
• Denver is the capital and most heavily populated city in Colorado, with over 715,000 residents, and it's home to Sticky Fingers Cooking! Denver is known as the Mile High City because its elevation is one mile above sea level, exactly 5,280 feet. However, Denver isn't the highest incorporated city in Colorado. That distinction goes to Leadville, in the Rocky Mountains, with an elevation of 10,152 feet. 
• Colorado is known for its extreme weather changes, with temperatures changing by as much as 76 degrees within two days. The climate is dry, so it's essential to drink lots of water, especially when exercising. Visitors to the state need to be aware of two potential health issues when visiting, dehydration and altitude sickness, especially if they visit the mountains from a sea-level state. It's always good to have water handy and slowly acclimate to the altitude before strenuous exercise, like skiing or snowboarding.
• Colorado holds many of the largest, highest, longest, and deepest claims in the US and world. For example, Glenwood Springs has the largest hot springs mineral pool, and Pagosa Springs has the deepest hot springs in the world. The highest paved road in the United States is the Mount Evans Scenic Byway, climbing 14,258 feet to the top of Mt. Evans. Lastly, the Great Sand Dunes National Park in the San Luis Valley has the tallest dune in the country at 750 feet tall!
• Colorado is also known for two delicious fruits, Palisade Peaches and Rocky Ford Cantaloupes. Palisade Peaches are extra juicy and sweet. They are primarily grown near Palisades, a town in Mesa County, in Western Colorado. The peaches are available from late June to early October. Rocky Ford Cantaloupes are grown in Rocky Ford, a city in Otero County, in Eastern Colorado. The cantaloupes are soft, juicy, and sweet to eat. Harvested from early July to late September, Rocky Ford's soil content and big temperature swings help crops grow and make cantaloupes sweet!