New tricks with old apples: a little fruit conserve brightens last season’s fruit.
(first published in Sainsbury’s Magazine)
Here the rich blackcurrant icing adds a little sharpness to the flavour and a beautiful twist of colour to the top of each cupcake. Make the cupcakes the day before, store in an airtight container. The un-iced cupcakes can also be frozen.
Makes 20 cupcakes
3 dessert apples, peeled and cored
2 tsp mixed spice
50g unsalted butter, softened
1 x 113g tub clotted cream
150g caster sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 large eggs
75g ground almonds
225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
100g good blackcurrant conserve
For the icing
150g icing sugar, sifted
75g good blackcurrant conserve
plus:
cupcake trays lined with 20 cupcake cases
1. Preheat the oven to 190°C, fan 170°C, gas 5. Chop the apples into rough small dice. Toss the mixed spice through.
2. In a bowl beat the butter, clotted cream, sugar and almond extract until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth, then fold in the ground almonds. Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and fold this through, too. Scrape the apples from the plate into the bowl and fold very gently until just combined.
3. Half fill the cupcake cases with the mixture. Dilute the jam with 25ml of boiling water, beat well, then spoon a little into each cupcake. Then top each one with a teaspoonful of cake mixture.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden; leave for 5 minutes then loosen each cake with a knife and move to a wire rack to cool.
5. Beat the icing sugar with the conserve and a little water, until creamy. Spiral the icing onto each cupcake and leave to set.
