Tomorrow is another Chardonnay

So this month the lovely Laurie at Quirky Cupcake and her lovely cohost Tempered Woman are hosting Cupcake Hero Liquor. I believe I've mentioned this already. Yes, yes, I've already entered the oh so delicious Blackberry Cabernet Cupcakes. And although massive butt-kissing can't possibly hurt my chances of being declared the next cupcake hero, I really have more humanitarian motives. Although Quirky Cupcake and Tempered Woman are really great blogs and you, yes I'm talking to YOU there, should go check them out.

It occured to me last weekend at a family gathering where my one sister in law sat there drinking her white wine while the rest of the women drank red. Some women do not like red wine. Some women actually prefer a WHITE wine. This got me to thinking. It became clear that I would just have to buckle down and make a Chardonnay cupcake. I had a 4 pack of Chardonnay at home. But what goes with Chardonnay. Besides fish. and chicken.

It took me a long time to think of it, but finally I persevered. I decided I would have to do a fruit and most of the fruits that I thought of would fall under the "yucky fruit" list: mangoes, kiwi, strawberries. Finally I decided on pear. pear falls decidedly below apples and blackberries, just above oranges, and is way way better than kiwi. I would make Pear Chardonnay Cupcakes!

They turned out delicious! The wine taste mingled with the pear taste and the resulting cupcakes turned out lightly fruity. In a good way. When I gave them to testers, they spent some time trying to figure out what the flavor was exactly. They were also impressed that I could make a tasty cupcake out of a fruit I don't really like, and a wine I don't drink often. Interesting enough I have a mostly full jar of pear juice that the Brain isn't terribly fond of either if anyone wants it, or can suggest a good use for it.

Today is also my mom's birthday. She's 65 and a lot of fun. She has 7 kids and 5 grandkids. She's working on 3 different quilts right now. In fact, she's in the other room quilting away. She's a really intelligent great lady, so this batch of cupcakes went to her instead of birthday cake. She really likes them. OH yeah and check out her blog over here. It's pretty funny and very short. Happy Birthday Mom!

Pear Chardonnay Cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup Chardonnay
1/2 bosc pear, peeled and chopped small

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, mix butter sugar and eggs until smooth and creamy; add the vanilla and mix well.
In a small bowl, mix baking powder and flour; add to creamed mixture.
Add white wine and mix well, but be carefull not to overmix. Add chopped pears.
Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool completely on wire racks

Frosting:
1/2 cup pear juice
1/4 cup Chardonnay
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 oz. cream cheese
4 c. powdered sugar

Mix the pear juice, Chardonnay, and dark brown sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer uncovered until mixture is reduced to 1/4 cup and is thick and syruppy. Set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl cream together butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar carefully and beat well. Pour thickened pear Chardonnay syrup into mixing bowl and beat until well combined. Frost cupcakes and enjoy.