Apple Crumble Cupcakes

It' has been ages since I made cupcakes. I have mentioned before that Mr Birdie likes to joke that cupcakes are all I make - well hopefully this blog has proved him wrong! I made these once before and Mr Birdie declared them 'the best cupcakes I'd ever made'! I decided to make these as I had a couple of Bramley apples that needed using up.

These cupcakes are a combination of recipes - the cupcake recipe is from Eric Lanlard's Cox, Cookies & Cake book and the cream cheese frosting and crumble topping come from the Cup O' Sugar blog. If I had had lots of time I would have filled them with custard as my Dad gave me a cupcake filler gadget for Christmas that I am still waiting to try out but sadly time flew by today. I made 18 cupcakes from the mixture but this will probably depend on how much apple mixture you make.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
2 cooking apples (peeled, cored and chopped - you may want to use 3 to ensure you have enough)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100g butter (softened)
200g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
350g self-raising flour

For the cream cheese frosting:
4 tablespoons butter (60g)
4 cups icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
6oz cream cheese (approx. 1 packet)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the crumble topping:
55g plain flour
55g rolled oats
Pinch of cinnamon
55g butter
40g soft light brown sugar

Method:
1) Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 and line a cupcake tin with paper cases.
2) Put the apples in a saucepan with the cinnamon and cook over a gentle heat until mushy. (This will take a long time - the first time I made these I added some water but didn't this time. You will need to keep stirring it regularly to make sure the mixture doesn't catch on the bottom of the saucepan. The original recipe says to strain the mixture after it's cooked and to then weigh out 250g but I only had 100g without straining it which is why you might want to try 3 apples instead.)

3) In a bowl, mix the bicarbonate of soda into the apples.

4) In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Once these are combined add the eggs.

5) Alternately fold the self-raising flour and apple mixture into the butter mixture and mix well (the mixture will be quite thick - although it may be looser if you use the correct amount of apple.) 

6) Divide between the paper cases and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cupcakes are golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean (mine took 20 minutes.) Leave them to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

7) Once the cupcakes have cooled make the cream cheese frosting. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with an electric whisk until well-combined. Frost the cupcakes with a knife (you can alternatively use a frosting bag with a nozzle but I think they look better rustic.)

8) To make the crumble topping mix the flour, oats and cinnamon in a bowl. Then add the butter and rub in using your fingertips until all the ingredients come together in a crumble-like consistency. Then add the sugar making sure it is evenly mixed in.

Spread the crumble mix on a paper-lined baking tray and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until golden brown. You will need to gently stir the mixture to ensure it browns evenly (I checked mine every 5 minutes and found it needed about 20 minutes.) Once the crumbs are golden, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. 

9) To finish the cupcakes sprinkle the crumble topping onto the cream cheese frosting and enjoy (with cream or custard if you're feeling extra indulgent!)

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

This is a belated post as I originally made these a couple of weeks ago. One of my previous headteacher's has just retired and the school held an afternoon tea as a celebration. I was asked to make some cakes (as it turned out they weren't required much to the delight of the staff at my current school - they went down well on the last day of term when chocolate and sugar were very much needed!)

These were made in a rush on a Tuesday night so I haven't got step-by-step photos but I will post the recipe should anyone be interested in making them. I openly admit that I find cupcakes tricky. I never seem to be able to get them light and fluffy enough - one day I'm sure I'll succeed! If anyone has any tips I'd be very grateful! I used a Primrose Bakery recipe from the Cupcakes From the Primrose Bakery book.

Ingredients (Makes about 12-16 cupcakes depending on how much you fill your cases):

For the chocolate orange cupcakes:
115g good-quality dark chocolate
90g unsalted butter (I used Stork)
175g caster sugar (I used golden)
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange (75ml of juice)
2 large eggs
185g plain flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon semi-skimmed milk (room temperature)

For the chocolate buttercream:
175g good-quality dark chocolate
225g unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 tablespoon semi-skimmed milk (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g icing sugar, sifted

For decoration:
1 Terry's Chocolate Orange (Milk or dark chocolate - you decide!)

Method:
Begin by making your cupcakes first

1) Preheat the oven to 160C(fan)/180C/350F/gas mark 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tray with cupcake cases.

2) Break the chocolate into pieces and melt using your preferred method (30-second bursts in a microwave or a heatproof bowl over simmering water - I always prefer to melt chocolate over simmering water). Once melted set the bowl aside to cool.

3) In a large mixing bowl cream the butter, sugar and orange zest until the mixture is pale and smooth (this should take 3-5 minutes using an electric whisk). Add the eggs and beat again briefly.

4) Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Mix the milk and orange juice in a jug.

5) Add the chocolate to the creamed mixture and beat on a low speed until the mixture is just combined. Add one-third of the flour mix and beat until it all just comes together. Add half the juice/milk mix and beat again until the mixture just comes together  Repeat until all the ingredients are mixed together (I found the mix to be quite heavy - not runny).

6) Carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake in the over for 28-30 mins (check after about 25). Check they are cooked by inserting a cocktail stick or skewer into the centre - it should come out clean.

7) Remove from the oven and leave the cakes in their tins for about 10 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely. While the cupcakes are cooling you can make the chocolate buttercream icing.

8) To make the icing begin by melting the chocolate (using the method of your choice as described above). Once melted leave it to cool slightly.

9) In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, milk, vanilla extract and icing sugar until smooth - this can take a while using an electric hand mixer and can also cover your kitchen in a cloud of icing sugar! Add the melted chocolate and beat again until thick and creamy.

10) Pipe or swirl onto your cupcakes (I went for 99/Mr Whippy style icing) and decorate with a segment of Terry's Chocolate Orange.

11) Enjoy!