Olive Tree Food

Tuesday 26th May. 14.13

I have had so many requests for my cupcake recipe that I thought I would put it up . This is the softest , tastiest cupcake most of us at the cookery class have ever eaten and so here it is. I promise a picture at some stage.

CUP CAKES WITH LEMON CURD ICING
We all need a good cup cake recipe and having tried many this is the one that is the best. Soft and with a slight tang from the buttermilk it is simply delicious. Try it with different toppings.
Makes 12

225 g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
200 g caster sugar
3 eggs
150 g buttermilk or natural yoghurt
4 tbsp milk
175 g butter, melted and cooled a little

Butter icing
100g soft butter
225 g icing sugar
4 tablespoons lemon curd
1 tablespoon of finely grated lemon rind.

1. Heat oven to 200C. Place 12 muffin cases into a muffin tray. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Beat the eggs, buttermilk, milk and melted butter together with a pinch of salt, and then stir into the dry ingredients.
3. Spoon into the cases (they should be quite full), bake for 18 -20 minutes until risen and golden, and then cool on a wire rack.
4. To make the butter icing. Beat the butter until soft and light coloured. Add the icing sugar gradually. This will be a stiff mixture, beat in the lemon curd until you have the correct consistency (not too thin). Mix in the grated lemon rind.
5. When the cup cakes are completely cold. Ice them.I love to add granadilla pulp to my icing mixture as it gives an interesting flavour, and crunch. At 5 you could omit the lemon curd and add 2 tablespoons of fresh granadilla pulp. You could push 2 strawberries through a sieve and add the rough pulp to the icing in place of any of the above, topping the cakes with a cut strawberry.

I took my children out to La Colombe last night and had the most amazing meal. Duck Confit (succulent with crisp skin), Pork belly with shoe string shaped crackling on a bed of red cabbage, and a apple tart tatin and a mousse which just about had me unable to walk out. We enjoyed a glass of champagne and did the whole chatty thing which somehow never gets done at home, as everyone is rushing in all directions.

This meal was a kind of celebration as they are now leaving the family home to live in their own miniature home (a flat we have bought). I only hope i dont suffer from the empty nest ......?

Maybe that is why I have started this blog to occupy myself with yet another little something to keep my mind off the empty spaces. Don't get me wrong I am thrilled for them and Graeme and I need some more space for ourselves.