Cupcakes

When I want to do some baking without using a recipe book I like to experiment with cupcake flavours. I use a basic recipe and add just one or two extras.

 

• 125g unsalted butter
• 125g caster sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 125g self raising flour

 

Preheat the oven to 190oc / gas mark 5.

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Fold in the flour and pour into cake cases. They should take between 15 and 20 minutes to cook.

 

These are my bakewell tart cupcakes.

For these cakes replace the vanilla extract with almond extract. After they have cooked and cooled, slice off the top of the cake and spread with raspberry jam, then replace the cake lid on top of the jam. The icing is 150g butter, 300g icing sugar and a few drops of almond essence. I have also added a few drops of red food colouring to get a nice pink colour. Then top with a whole almond.

 

 

These are my toffee fudge cupcakes.

 

 

 

Replace the vanilla extract with butterscotch extract. Add 3/4 cubes of fudge to each cake  just before they go into the oven ( use more than this and they will sink to the bottom of the cake and make it very sticky). Add a few drops of butterscotch essence to the icing and top with fudge cubes.