Ginger cupcakes & Ginger fudge icing
Ginger cupcakes
Makes 18 regular cupcakes
Ingredients
200g unsalted butter, diced
175g molasses sugar
3 tbsp black treacle
2 large eggs, free-range or organic, beaten
300g self-raising flour
150ml Semi-Skimmed Milk
4 pieces of stem ginger, drained and chopped
1 tbsp ground ginger
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 160 deg (fan)/180 degC/350 deg F/gas mark 4. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake cases.
Method
Melt the butter, sugar and treacle over a low heat. Cool briefly and then stir in the milk. Add the chopped ginger to the beaten eggs and then beat into the butter mixture. Sift the flour, ground ginger and a pinch of salt and add to the warm mixture. Combine thoroughly. Spoon the mixture out into the muffin tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for 30-35 minutes. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then place on wire rack to cool completely before icing. These cupcakes are best when they are made and eaten fresh. They tend to dry out a little quicker than some of the other flavours.
Ginger fudge icing
Makes enough to ice 12 regular cupcakes
Ingredients
140 g unsalted butter
2 tsp lemon juice
4 tbsp ginger syrup, drained from jar
300g icing sugar, sifted
Method
In a bowl, beat the butter and then add all the remaining ingredients until the icing is smooth and creamy. Ice each cake with a generous spoonful of icing and add your Halloween decorations. As an alternative these ginger cupcakes look very pretty simply topped with a sprinkling of Demerara sugar over the icing. Store any uneaten cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for no more than a couple of days or you may find they simply dry out a bit too much.
Taken from Cupcakes From The Primrose Bakery by Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas (Kyle Cathie, £14.99)
For more spooky confection, try our delicious recipes from Cookie Girl and The Hummingbird Bakery.
