I love a good cherry cupcake! Cup of tea – check- comfortable and warm seat – check – favourite TV programme – check – cherry cupcake – double check!

Here is how you make my famous cherry cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 115g Caster Sugar
• 115g Butter
• 2 Free Range Eggs
• 15g Ground Almonds
• 115g Plain Flour
• 1 tsp Pure Almond Essence
• Fresh, Frozen or Canned Cherries (Canned Cherries are the best as they have a sweeter flavour)
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Salt

For the Icing:

• 500g Icing Sugar
• 250 Unsalted Butter
• 1 tsp Pure Almond Essence

Method:

Set the oven to 180C and line a muffin baking tin with paper liners. Depending on the size you would like your cupcakes to be, you can either use cupcake liners or muffin liners (I prefer to use muffin liners and they are just a little larger).

In a clean, dry bowl add your butter and beat until the butter changes colour from yellow to pale cream. This means that the butter has become fully aerated and ready for the next step. Next, add in your caster sugar and beat again until the texture becomes light and fluffy. Now, add in the eggs one at a time, ensuring that the first egg has been well mixed in before the next addition of egg. The mixture may appear to be separating, but do not worry, as soon as you add the flour, it will come back together.

In a separate bowl, add all of your dry ingredients, this includes; Flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt. Mix with a spoon and add to your wet ingredients 1/3 at a time, ensuring that the dry ingredients have been mixed in well before the next addition of dry mix. Once all the dry mix has been added to the wet mix, spoon in your cherries and mix well again. DO NOT over mix as you will extinguish the air bubbles which help the cupcakes to rise in the oven. Once all your ingredients have been added together, spoon your mixture into your cupcake or muffin liners until they are 2/3 full, this will leave enough space for the cupcakes to rise in the oven, without over spilling. Place your cupcake batter into the oven and leave to bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back to the touch or you can insert a skewer into the centre of each cupcake and remove it without any batter sticking to it.

Once your cupcakes are ready, remove them from the oven and leave to stand in their baking tin for 10 minutes. Once this time is up, remove them from the baking tin and leave to stand on a wire cooling rack to cool fully.

Now is the perfect time to whip up your butter cream icing.

In a clean, dry bowl add your butter and beat the same as you did above for the cupcakes. Beat the butter for up to 5 minutes until the colour changes from yellow to pale cream. Once this colour change occurs, add in your icing sugar a tablespoon at a time.  Once all of the icing sugar has been incorporated, add in your almond essence, stir in well. The texture of the butter cream may appear thick, now is the time to add in your milk a tablespoon at a time. Once you have added your milk, the texture will be looser and ready to pipe onto your cupcakes.

I like to decorate mine with a sugar paste decoration of a cherry blossom, just adds a chic look to your cupcakes.

Hope you have enjoyed this recipe and don’t forget to share!

lots of love,

Jennifer

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