Helen RandellCoffee and walnut cupcakes
March 23rd 2010 10:50
My dad turned 60 the other day - quite a milestone! We kept the celebrations low key on his birthday with dinner with the family and a few special presents from everyone (including a hot air balloon ride from my mum).
Then, about a week and a half later we threw the surprise party! He was surprised (and in a good way too!)
The main meal was at the local pub, but dessert was at the parents house where everyone headed back to watch the candles being blown out, and for a glass of bubbly (or tea... it was a 60th after all...).
My sister and I made these gorgeous coffee and walnut cupcakes for dessert. They were great after the meal, and the few that were left over were great the next day as an afternoon tea pick-me-up.
Coffee and Walnut cupcakes (from the Crabapple Bakery Cupcake Cookbook)
Makes 24
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 tsn baking powder
250g softened butter
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp instant coffee granules
1/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Line two 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake papers.
Sift together the flour and baking powder.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter for 1-2 minutes. Add half the caster sugar and beat for 2 minutes. Add the remaining caster sugar and beat for 2 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition or until mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
NOTE: at this point I was a bit worried. The mixture is actually quite grainy, I suspect you need the sugar to counteract the bitterness of the coffee, but the sugar/butter ratio is different to other baked goods. Don't be scared by the texture - it works out well.
Add half the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Dissolve coffee in the boiling water. Add to the cake mixture and beat until dissolved. Add remaining flour and beat until combined; do not overbeat as this will toughen the mixture. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
Spoon mixture into cupcake papers, filling to about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a fine skewer comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from trays immediately and cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before icing.
These do taste good as they are (we had to test a few just to make sure we weren't going to serve our guests something terrible), but the icing does make everything prettier.
Using a basic buttercream recipe (approx 200g unsalted butter, 1/2 cup milk, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 8 cups icing sugar, all whipped together until light and fluffy) add 2 tablespoons of coffee granules dissolved in 1 tablespoon of hot water and mix. Use this to ice the cupcakes, and for an extra touch, place one walnut in the centre of the top of each cake.
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