very moist dessert cupcakes

These lovely cupcakes are really light, soft, moist and juicy. You can use different fruit like chopped apples, pears etc., but I found mixed berries are just so brilliant. :)  I love these cupcakes with creme fraiche for dessert.  Or decorating them with buttercream would be nice .... but a bit naughty, perhaps ...
I added the recipe for the buttercream in case you fancy it.

Ingredients (approx. 10 cupcakes)

• 6 oz plain flour  (or self raising flour) 
• 6 oz caster sugar
• 6 oz low-fat spread (or butter if you prefer)
• 2 tsp baking powder (if you use plain flour, but not if you use self raising flour)
• 2 eggs
• 1-2 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 120g frozen mixed berries (or fresh ones if you have them) 

Method

1. Put all ingredients (except the berries) in a bowl and whisk up with an electric whisk. The mixture should have a dropping consistency. Add a bit more milk to get the right consistency.
2. Fold the berries into the cake mixture very gently not to break the berries.
3. Pour the mixture into cupcake cases that are placed in the tin.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven (180c). 
5. When the cupcakes are baked, leave then in the tin for a few minutes and then take them out to cool.
6. Cupcakes are ready to be decorated with butter cream, cream cheese or creme fraiche.  

Basic buttercream icing ingredients  

• 140g / 5 oz  butter softened 
• 280g / 10 oz icing sugar 
• 1-2 Tbsp milk
• a few drops of food colouring 

Method

1. Beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. 
2. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Beat in the milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture.
3. Stir in the food colouring until well combined.

Summer Forest Berry Muffins

We have been having really rainy summer this year in Britain. Where has summer gone? 

So, here is another rainy weekend, but still I can enjoy baking. :)

First, I baked a batch of flapjack (click for the recipe) with walnuts and prunes. While the flapjack was baking in the oven, I prepared the muffins. I really love fresh blueberry muffins, but here are "Summer Forest Berry Muffins" which are inspired by my favourite English Summer Pudding, which includes several kinds of berries. Yes, you can see lots of berries in the muffins. I used frozen mixed berries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants. It's quite handy keeping a bag of frozen mixed berries in the freezer as you can get almost the same lovely juicy flavour as fresh berries.... and you can bake whenever you feel like it without rushing to the supermarket. The only thing you have to remember using frozen berries is NOT to defrost the berries before mixing the batter. Put the frozen berries straight from the freezer into the dry mixture, them add the wet mixture as usual. As I love berries I put about 170g of berries in this mixture... and they were delicious!! But you may not need that much. 125-150g of frozen berries would be just lovely! 

Ingredients 

• 200g Plain Flour

• 150g Sugar

• 2 tsp Baking Powder

• ¼ tsp Salt

• 100ml Milk

• 75ml Vegetable Oil  (5 Tbsp)

• 1 Egg

• ¼ tsp Vanilla Extract 

• 1 tsp  Lemon juice 
• 125g Frozen mixed berries   

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas 6 and add paper cases to a muffin tray.

2. Measure out flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Then add the frozen mixed berries. (DO NOT defrost the berries. When the berries are added do not mix until the wet mixture is added)  

3. Measure milk and oil in a large measuring jug. Add egg, lemon juice and vanilla, then whisk well.

4. Add the wet mixture (3) into the dry mixture (2).  Stir until just combined. The mixture will be lumpy.     Do NOT over mix.    Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top