Well, it is officially summer and why not celebrate with a delicious ‘Summer Fruit Cupcake?’ Sitting in the garden with the sprinklers on, lying back with a refreshing beverage and one of these cupcakes will make you feel like you’re officially on holiday. Remember, as there is currently a heatwave, to keep these cupcakes in the fridge to prevent the icing from melting.

Here is how you make my delicious summer treats:

Ingredients:

• 200g Caster Sugar
• 200g Plain Flour
• 4 Free Range Organic Eggs
• 200g Butter (at room temperature)
• Zest of 1 Lemon (half for the cupcakes and half for the butter cream)
• 1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
• Pinch of Salt
• 100g Summer Fruit Jam (seedless)
• 1 ½ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Ingredients for the Butter Cream

• 500g Icing Sugar
• 250g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
• 1 ½ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Raspberry Essence
• 1 tsp Cherry Essence
• 4 tsp Milk

Method

• Set your oven to 180C and line a cupcake baking tray with paper cupcake liners.
• In a clean, dry bowl add your butter and beat continuously for 5 minutes until the colour changes from a yellow colour to a pale cream colour.
• Once this colour change occurs, add your caster sugar and beat again until the texture becomes light and fluffy.
• Now, add in your eggs one at a time, ensuring that they have been taken up by the butter and sugar mixture. If it begins to split, do not worry, it will all come together in the end.
• Add in half the lemon zest and mix again.
• Now, add in your flour, baking powder and salt.
• Once all of your ingredients have been mixed together (minus the jam) spoon the mixture into the paper cupcake liners until they are 2/3 full.
• Place your cupcake batter into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• Once your cupcakes are ready, they should spring back to the touch or you should be able to insert a skewer into the centre of each cupcake and remove it clean.
• Remove your cupcakes from the oven and leave to cool in their baking tray for 5 minutes.
• Once the 5 minutes is up, remove the cupcakes from their baking tray and leave to stand on a wire cooling rack to cool fully.
• Once your cupcakes are completely cold, using a teaspoon spoon out the centre of each cupcake leaving a small bowl shape in the middle of each cupcake. Leave the cut out pieces of cake to the side.
• Take your jam and place in a piping bag, pipe into the centre of your cupcakes and place the small lids back on top and press down.
• Now is the perfect time whip up your butter cream.
• In a clean, dry bowl add your butter and beat continuously for 5 minutes until the colour change occurs.
• Now, add in your icing sugar a tablespoon at a time, do not add your icing sugar too quickly as it will end up everywhere else, other than in your butter cream.
• Once you have added all of your icing sugar, the mixture will be quite tough.
• Add in your cherry essence, raspberry essence, vanilla extract and mix well.
• Add in the rest of the lemon zest and stir into the butter cream.
• If your butter cream is still too tough, add in the milk 1 tsp at a time, until it reaches the correct consistency.
• If you would like to add gel food colouring and edible decorations, then now would be the time to do it.

Pipe your butter cream onto your cupcakes and serve. I presented these cupcakes in a cupcake tree as it was for a birthday party, so wanted them to look unbelievable and I think I did a pretty good job!

If you have enjoyed this recipe, please do not forget to share….

Lots of love

Jennifer

xxxx