I knew this because all of a sudden I felt like baking again! I had a good reason to bake too; visiting my parents! I decided that I wanted to make Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes, but I couldn't find a recipe anywhere, so took inspiration from various places and decided to come up with my own. For once it worked, and I am pleased to say that these cupcakes were delicious. Moist and firm but not too dense, with a hidden treasure buried inside each one, then topped with a delicious vanilla and cherry buttercream.
Makes 12 large cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients
150ml pot natural yogurt
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
175g golden caster sugar
140g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g ground almonds
175g unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp Morello cherry jam (with whole cherries)
160g unsalted butter, room temperature
225g icing sugar, sifted
2-3 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
handful of flaked almonds, lightly toasted
What to do:
Line a 12-hole muffin tin with large cupcake cases. Preheat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5.
In a jug, mix the yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract.
Put all of the dry ingredients, plus a pinch of salt, into a large bowl and make a well in the middle, add the wet ingredients and melted butter, and quickly mix together - don’t overwork it!
Spoon the batter into the cases until they are quite full and bake for 18-20 mins or until golden, risen and springy.
Cool them for a few mins in the tin, then transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
Spoon enough jam into a saucepan to make sure you have at least 12 whole cherries. Warm gently then take off the heat.
Cut a small piece out of the top of each cupcake and fill with a cherry, place the lid of the cupcake back to cover it - it will not fit back properly but this will be covered with buttercream so no need to worry!
Place the butter into a large mixing bowl and beat for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy
Add the sifted icing sugar and 2 tbsp of the milk and beat well until totally incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and beat for a further 5 minutes or until the buttercream becomes lighter in colour and creamy.
The remainder of the jam should now be cooled, and so (ommitting any cherries), tip the jam into the buttercream and mix to get a ripple effect (just a couple of stirs should do)
Spoon into a piping bag and pipe on top of the cupcakes.
Sprinkle with flaked almonds.
