Peach Cupcakes With Peach Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 24 cupcakes

The perfect thing to eat with your fingers, and perfectly summery.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 ½  teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1.75 oz (49 grams) freeze dried peaches, pulverized in a mini food processor

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/2 cup pureed fresh peach

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with liners.

Mix together flour,  baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.  In a large measuring cup or bowl, mix together buttermilk, peach puree and vanilla extract.  Set aside until needed.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar in a mixing bowl until pale, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in pulverized peaches.

Mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two batches of buttermilk mixture. Mix until just combined, scraping down bowl as needed. (I like to mix the last bit by hand using a spatula to make sure I get all the stuff at the bottom.) Scoop batter into cupcake tins.

Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 21 to 24 minutes.  Allow cupcakes to cool in tins for 10 minutes, and then remove cupcakes and place them on a cooling rack.

Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes
Ingredients
1 cup of butter, softened
8 oz of cream cheese, softened
1.75 oz (49grams) freeze dried peaches (Target has Archer Farms brand), pulverized in a mini food processor
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-5 cups of confectioners sugar

In a large mixing bowl, mix butter until it is softened and uniform. Add cream cheese and beat together until it is uniform. Add vanilla extract and mix.  Add pulverized peaches and mix.   Add 3 cups of sugar to the mixture and mix. Add more sugar if necessary.  Mix again until mixture is creamy and spreadable. Add more sugar if necessary, otherwise prepare to frost cake.

Using either a piping bag or a spatula, frost each cupcake with a liberal amount of frosting.  The cupcakes pictured here were frosted using a 2D tip and a piping bag.  Start in the middle and swirl outward, holding piping tip perpendicular to the cupcake.

Garnish with slices of fresh peach for an extra elegant look.