Walnut Fig Cupcake with Goat Cheese Frosting with Balsamic Reduction Dizzle and Fresh Cracked Pepper

Today's post it's a request from a coworker.

On Wednesdays, at the catering company  I work we have meeting to go over the events we will have for the next two weeks and depending on how many events we have those meeting can last up to three hours and in the past month I have been working on my baking skills, even though I worked in a bakery for many,many years I was always in charge of the savory things or the jam( but that's a story for another post). But I enjoy baking at home and usually it's something I can get my daughter involved if involves the word "cupcake"( well! She is a teenager...you probably know what I mean). 

So,lately I have been bringing some treats for Wednesday's meeting, and looks like they were well received specially on days we need to go over many events talking about food, timeline, displays , rentals....and lunch seems so far away. 

I love fig with cheese and a long time ago I pinned a fig cupcake recipe but never tried, never really thought about making a fig cupcake but I did fig jam and conserve many times.
a few weeks ago while I was doing groceries shopping I came across some awesome looking fig, and that fig cupcake recipe came up on head,added 2 pints of figs to my cart. And for coincidence in this same day I found local goat cheese that I really enjoy, the Westfield Capri cheese so I put that on the cart as well, and on my head I started to combine all of those ingredients I would like to have with fig: goat cheese, walnuts, a drizzle of balsamic reduction.... wait but I am doing a cupcake, right? Let's turn this into a cupcake.So, here is my kind of savory fig cupcake

Walnut Fig Cupcake with Goat Cheese Frosting with Balsamic Reduction Dizzle and  Fresh Cracked Pepper

For the Walnut Cupcake (aprox 16 cupcakes)

Ingredients

2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup  walnuts, chopped
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, softener
How to make it 
Preheat your oven to 350F,line up your muffin tins with cupcake papers
Using your Mixer, mix the sugar and butter 
Add the milk,egg,vanilla,flour, baking powder and mix again and at the end add the chopped walnuts and mix a little bit more.Pour your batter into  the muffin tins lined with paper and bake it for
15-20 min, until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.Once they are done let them cool off on a rack

Fig Filling
Ingredients:

1 1/2 pint of fresh figs, washed and sliced * Save the other 1/2 pint of figs to garnish your cupcakes
1 cup of sugar
1/4 lemon juice
2 teaspoons of Grand Marnier
3-4 tablespoon of water depending on the consistency
How to make it
Add the fig, sugar and lemon juice to the sauce pot,medium heat constantly stirring,until the figs starts to breakdown,use a potato smasher to help to breakdown the figs if your spread gets to thick add a little bit of water at the end add the Grand Marnier and cooked it for 5 minutes more always stirring or will stick to the bottom of your pot.And done! Let you filling cool down(you can even make this a day ahead and store it in you fridge)

Goat Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter,softener
1/3 cup goat cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp of the fig filling
How to make it
Mix the butter and goat cheese until creamy.Add in the powdered sugar until incorporated.Mix in the fig spread.Done and for now just set a side.

Balsamic Reduction
Ingredients:
2 cups of balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
How to make it
Mix balsamic vinegar with brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until glaze is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Glaze should coat the back of a spoon. Let cool.

How to assemble 

You already did the hardest part. Have fun assembling and decorating the cupcakes
Once your cupcake, the filling, and the reduction are all cool down you are ready to assemble.
Using a tiny spoon or paring knife make a little hole on top of your cupcakes fill them up with your fig filling.Make sure to add enough filling.Using a pasty bag with a star tip top your cupcake with the goat cheese frosting garnish the cupcakes with a slice of fresh fig, drizzle the balsamic reduction, and sprinkle some fresh cracked black pepper. And Boom!!! You're ready!Now you got delicious cupcakes to share with everyone.
Pri =)