Easter Fruit Cupcakes
From BBC FoodQuicker and easier to make than traditional yeast buns, Dan Lepard's Easter cupcakes have a rich ginger and spice flavour.
Ingredients
100g/3½oz unsalted butter
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp mixed spice
250g/9oz caster sugar
100ml/3½fl oz sunflower oil
4 medium free-range eggs
1-2 small dessert apples, about 100g/3½oz
100g/3½oz crystallised ginger
100g/3½oz currants
100g/3½oz mixed dried fruit
300g/10½oz plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
half a batch of cream cheese frosting (see Top recipe tip below)
For the sugar syrup
25g/1oz caster sugar
25ml/1fl oz water
Method
Line the pockets of a muffin tray with muffin cases or paper wraps, and preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Melt the butter with the spices in a small pan over a low heat, then pour this into a mixing bowl with the sugar and oil and stir well. Beat in the eggs until smooth.
Peel the apples and grate them, discarding the core, and stir the apples into the other ingredients, followed by the crystallised ginger, currants and mixed dried fruit. Stir in the flour and baking powder evenly.
Three-quarter fill each muffin paper with spoonfuls of the mixture and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a skewer poked in comes out almost clean.
Make the syrup by boiling the sugar with the water in a small pan until dissolved, then leave to liquid to cool. Brush it over the warm cupcakes.
When cold, pipe crosses on the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting before serving.
Top recipe tip
You will need half a batch of the cream cheese frosting used in Dan Lepard's carrot spelt cupcake recipe.
By Dan Lepard
