Happy Saturday!
I have been trying to write this post for a few hours now. I have had a micro episode of writers block. It is kind of a gloomy day and I have no one to surprise give these so I guess I am lacking the excited surge I usually have to share recipes with you.
Actually scratch all of that. I just munched into another cupcake, I can feel their deliciousness moving into my finger tips, preparing for a full on keyboard onslaught. YOU NEED THIS RECIPE! LIKE NOW!
A few weeks back when I first spied this recipe in my Mum's new Ripe Recipes (A fresh batch) I knew that it be high up on the list of things to make.
These are actually divine. You take one bit and your soul is filled with joy.
What I think I like about this recipe is the custard powder. Yes custard purists out there (myself included) believe that the only custard consumed should be the custard made from eggs. However custard powder has a fond place in my food memory bank. Obviously childhood custard consumption but more recently I have come to associate it with late night custard feasts with my flatmate Alix last year. We went through about six litres of milk each week just to fuel this custard craze. It was always consumed after 12am as well when neither of us could get to sleep or we just couldn't be bothered getting into bed. Good chats were had over the kitchen table and a huge jug of the vanillary yellow goodness.
So these cupcakes remind me of Alix. She is great. I miss her haha.
The jam filling also reminds me a lot of the eccles cakes Nana used to make. So really these are just little cakes of nostalgia. Which is what I like in a cake. Cakes need to be filled with feeling.
The funny thing about these is that the starch provided by the cornflour in the custard powder gives a funny (not good nor bad, just interesting) texture to the icing. It is the starchy texture that you actually find when you make the custard up in the microwave which in a way is kind of cool. The custard powder also gives the cupcakes themselves a nice crunchy outer layer.
I only had raspberry jam in my fridge but strawberry would also be a dream. Obviously the better the quality of your jam the better these will be. I quite like the Anathoth jams as they are quite runny, not so good for your toast but perfect for filling cupcakes with.
Jam and Custard Cupcakes
(from Ripe Recipes - A fresh batch by Angela Redfern)
Makes 10
50g butter, softened
1 cup plain flour
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon custard powder
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
10 small teaspoonfuls of jam
icing:
2-3 cups icing sugar
50g butter, softened
3 tablespoons custard powder
couple of splashes of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a muffin tray with 10-12 cupcake cases.
In a large bowl or free standing mixer, beat together the dry ingredients and the butter until a fine crumb ed texture is achieved. This could also be done in the food processor then transferred back to a mixing bowl.
Beat in the egg and slowly pour in the milk and vanilla whilst still mixing. Beat until a smooth batter is formed.
Scoop using an ice cream scoop, the batter into each cupcake case until it is two thirds full.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Once cool, use a sharp knife to cut cone-shaped holes out of the top of the cupcake.
Spoon in a teaspoon of jam into each hole.
To make the icing, cream together the icing sugar, custard powder, vanilla and butter, using the milk to loosen the mixture until a light and fluffy icing is achieved.
Swirl the icing onto the cupcakes using a butter knife or a small palate knife.
Share with some good friends :)
Enjoy!
I have been trying to write this post for a few hours now. I have had a micro episode of writers block. It is kind of a gloomy day and I have no one to surprise give these so I guess I am lacking the excited surge I usually have to share recipes with you.
Actually scratch all of that. I just munched into another cupcake, I can feel their deliciousness moving into my finger tips, preparing for a full on keyboard onslaught. YOU NEED THIS RECIPE! LIKE NOW!
A few weeks back when I first spied this recipe in my Mum's new Ripe Recipes (A fresh batch) I knew that it be high up on the list of things to make.
These are actually divine. You take one bit and your soul is filled with joy.
What I think I like about this recipe is the custard powder. Yes custard purists out there (myself included) believe that the only custard consumed should be the custard made from eggs. However custard powder has a fond place in my food memory bank. Obviously childhood custard consumption but more recently I have come to associate it with late night custard feasts with my flatmate Alix last year. We went through about six litres of milk each week just to fuel this custard craze. It was always consumed after 12am as well when neither of us could get to sleep or we just couldn't be bothered getting into bed. Good chats were had over the kitchen table and a huge jug of the vanillary yellow goodness.
So these cupcakes remind me of Alix. She is great. I miss her haha.
The jam filling also reminds me a lot of the eccles cakes Nana used to make. So really these are just little cakes of nostalgia. Which is what I like in a cake. Cakes need to be filled with feeling.
The funny thing about these is that the starch provided by the cornflour in the custard powder gives a funny (not good nor bad, just interesting) texture to the icing. It is the starchy texture that you actually find when you make the custard up in the microwave which in a way is kind of cool. The custard powder also gives the cupcakes themselves a nice crunchy outer layer.
I only had raspberry jam in my fridge but strawberry would also be a dream. Obviously the better the quality of your jam the better these will be. I quite like the Anathoth jams as they are quite runny, not so good for your toast but perfect for filling cupcakes with.
Jam and Custard Cupcakes
(from Ripe Recipes - A fresh batch by Angela Redfern)
Makes 10
50g butter, softened
1 cup plain flour
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon custard powder
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
10 small teaspoonfuls of jam
icing:
2-3 cups icing sugar
50g butter, softened
3 tablespoons custard powder
couple of splashes of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a muffin tray with 10-12 cupcake cases.
In a large bowl or free standing mixer, beat together the dry ingredients and the butter until a fine crumb ed texture is achieved. This could also be done in the food processor then transferred back to a mixing bowl.
Beat in the egg and slowly pour in the milk and vanilla whilst still mixing. Beat until a smooth batter is formed.
Scoop using an ice cream scoop, the batter into each cupcake case until it is two thirds full.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Once cool, use a sharp knife to cut cone-shaped holes out of the top of the cupcake.
Spoon in a teaspoon of jam into each hole.
To make the icing, cream together the icing sugar, custard powder, vanilla and butter, using the milk to loosen the mixture until a light and fluffy icing is achieved.
Swirl the icing onto the cupcakes using a butter knife or a small palate knife.
Share with some good friends :)
Enjoy!