Bakewells Baked Well!

In the spirit of watching the Bake Off finale and feeling inspired by the amazing Nancy, out came the trusty Bake Off book and my kitchen scales!

This weekend's taste trial: Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes. (Recipe from the British Bake Off book)

For the cup cakes you need:

150g unsalted butter (very soft)

150g caster sugar

100g self raising flour

60g ground almonds

3 large eggs, beaten at room temperature

1 tablespoon of milk

4 tablespoons raspberry jam

For the icing you will need:

250g icing sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Cherries

Start by preheating the oven to 190C/375F/gas 5.

Then beat the butter until its nice and soft.

Then add in the rest of the dry ingredients for the cupcakes until your mixture is light and creamy.



Once you've got a smooth, runny mixture, spoon it into your lined cupcake tray in even quantities, and bake for 15-20 minutes until they have a lovely golden top!

Leave them to cool on a wire rack, and in the meantime you can make your icing!

Mix the lemon juice and icing sugar together so you have a shiny, white icing that is thick enough not to fall off the edges but runny enough to pour on to the top of the cupcakes.

Once the cupcakes are cool, use an apple corer to scoop out the middle. Then fill it to the top with raspberry jam! (Watch and see the gleeful surprise when your friends bite into these!)

Pour on the icing, and place a cherry on top!

(Great tip from the book at this point: Rinse the cherries to wash off any excess syrup, and let them dry completely before you use them to decorate your cakes.)

These were unbelievably scrummy, but I'm wondering if a layer of frangipan below the icing would just add to it even more? I'll be trying that out next time!

Let me know about your bake off inspiration and recipe ideas. Happy baking!