Long time no see, eh? I just want y'all to know that I am aware of my hopelessness as far as blogging goes. Some say that awareness is the first and the most important step to self-improvement, so fingers crossed my next post will show up sooner than next year...
Now, to the point.
I'd like to share with you a recipe for raspberry cupcakes. They're very sweet and rich in calories, definitely not something I'm used to making in the kitchen, but shh... You'll forget about the calories after the first bite.
They're a special, gratitude kind of raspberry cupcakes, actually - I made them for the doctors I worked with for the past month to show them my appreciation of the great care they took of me. And for that reason the most important ingredient will be...
Ingredients:
* love (or any other strong positive feeling to stick your mind to for the next hour or two) - it helps the rest of ingredients to combine smoothly and also gives that extra flavor
* 2 eggs (large)
* 200 g unsalted butter (you can use one of those baking margarines instead, I just prefer butter because it's more natural)
* 1 cup caster sugar + some vanillin sugar mixed it (only about 60-80g)
* 5 drops of vanilla aroma
* 2/3 cup buttermilk
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 1/2 cup cake flour
* 1 or 2 cups fresh raspberries
for the topping:
* 200 g white chocolate
* 100 g butter
* 150 g cream
* a handful or more of fine coconut flakes
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prepare your cupcake tins.
Melt the butter in a microwave or on a stove (don't boil it! you don't want it hot), cool it down a little, then add the sugar and stir so it blends in. Add the aroma, salt and buttermilk. Break the eggs one by one to a separate bowl before you add them to the butter, you don't want to find out they were bad only after you whisked them in... Sieve the flour and the baking powder to prevent clogging, then add it in gradually. At the end, throw in the raspberries and commingle everything gently.
Fill tins with the mass and put them in the oven for approx. 20 mins (time of baking may vary depending on the tins size, and the oven), you can check if they're ready using the toothpick test.
The topping is much different from what you, cupcake lovers, are used to. What I made is a modified version of what my grandma would make layers in birthday cakes with.
Melt the chocolate (in water bath, for example); when done, blend first with the butter (that might require some arm power, be brave!), then with the cream as well. Add as much coconut flakes as you like :)
Apply on the cupcakes when they're room temperature already.
Bon appetit!
Thanks for reading,
M
PS. Ideas culled from nigella.com, completelydelicious.com and other webpages.
