Summer must be coming to an end. My burning desire to wear worn-out jeans, boots, and anything chocolate brown is almost as strong as my craving to wear light skirts was in early Spring. Before letting summer and its ponytailed, sandaled, swimming pool splashes disappear, I had to give it a proper cupcake sendoff. The golden ball of cantaloupe that tops these cantaloupe cupcakes almost looks bright enough to give you one last tan (or, in my case, burn).

Growing up, we always ate cantaloupe in big smiley wedges and topped them with cottage cheese. I had the idea of combining the two flavors into a cupcake. I found a Lithuanian recipe for cottage cheese cake and used that as a recipe starting point.

The cake tasted like cottage cheese and cantaloupe in cupcake form. It’s not particularly sweet, but once you top with it cantaloupe buttercream, it’s just the sweetness level you’d expect from a cupcake. You’ll notice that the recipe uses two kinds of flour: all-purpose and semolina [paid link]. While you could stick to only all-purpose, I suggest trying the semolina – it gives the cupcakes a firmer texture and a slightly earthier flavor (if you’re new to semolina flour, check out my post on semolina flour for more information).