Bakewell Cupcakes & welcoming in Cupcake Week!

I am stupidly proud of these (the shame of pride) i made these the day i made the Jam of the previous post. I *think* i invented them!? At least i didn't follow any recipe and it felt like a flash of pure inspiration....
The Bakewell Tart - but in a cupcake! These tasted sooo good, i ate so many (the shame of gluttony) Ingredients / Basic cake:
4oz Caster Sugar - mixed into 4oz unsalted Butter.
4oz Plain flour plus 2 t'spoons baking powder.
75g Ground Almonds
Add one egg (with a spoonful of flour) then a second egg (also with flour)
A drop of Vanilla Essence AND a big dollop of full fat (homemade!) yogurt or a splash of milk to give the mixture a little more liquid.

This mixture made enough to fill 12 Muffin cases - the medium sized, not the huge American style ones. If i want these to all be perfect, if they are being put on sale at a craft fair cafe etc... i try and fill the cases evenly. Put a dollop in each and go round filling them each until they all have the same amount in.

When they are cooked and cooled.... use a sharp pointed knife to take out the top of each cake to form a small well. RESIST the temptation to EAT that bit you just cut out!! as it will go on top once you have filled the well with a t'spoon of blackberry / cherry jam.

I used the jam i had just made "Brambley Hedge Jam" as it was sharp and fruity.

The icing is basic Glace Icing. Icing Sugar with the juice of ONE LEMON and a generous splash of ALMOND ESSENCE - that is really 'to taste' but don't over-do it as Almond Essence can be quite powerful. You might need a tiny splash of water with this is there isn't enough liquid to form the gloopy paste.

With the cake tops back on, smother the top of each muffin with the icing.

And pop half a cherry on top to finish...

I also grated some chocolate over the top for a bit of authenticity and a nod to the Mr Kipling variety. I don't even like Glace Cherries! But they didn't look right without one on top.

Cake friends, they tasted luxurious x i will be making these for my 'Craft Cafe' in October and selling them at the Cafe. What a treat!

MrsB... queen of the tarts and the cupcake lover - tell us about cupcakes???

We want to know what you do x

Fish x x x