On the whole miniature versions of things don’t do it for me. Half pints. Funsize chocolate. Express massages. Minibreaks. Happy Meals. However, when it comes to cupcake versions of large cakes I make an exception. They tickle me.
It’s your choice whether to adorn with marzipan balls, tiny chocolate eggs or both if you can’t decide. Makes 12.
For the cake:
– 20mls ginger wine
– 25g Natural Selection crimson raisins
– 20g Natural Selection crystallised ginger, finely chopped
– 25g Natural Selection dates, cut into quarters
– 25g Natural Selection apricots
– 100g self-raising flour
– 60g ground almonds
– 100g caster sugar
– 50g dark muscavado sugar
– 150g soft butter/margarine
– 3 large eggs at room temperature
– ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice
– 2 tbsp whole/semi skimmed milk
To decorate:
– 150g marzipan
– 3 tbsp apricot jam, sieved
– Either an extra 150g marzipan/a packet of tiny chocolate eggs
– A little icing sugar for rolling/shaping marzipan
Preheat the oven to Gas 5/190C. Place 12 cupcake cases into a tray. Heat the ginger wine in a small pan together with all the dried fruit until the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Place the remaining cake ingredients into a bowl and mix together with an electric handheld mixer until smooth and creamy. Stir in the soaked fruit and then divide between the cupcake cases. Level with your fingers and bake on the middle rack of the oven for about 20 minutes until slightly brown, well risen and a toothpick comes out of the centre of the middle cupcakes with clean. Cool out of the tin, on a wire rack.
Once cool, brush a little jam onto each cake and then roll and cut out circles of marzipan (using icing sugar to aid rolling and a round cutter) to place on top. Then either add 11 small balls of marzipan to the top of each cake or 11 tiny chocolate eggs. Fix in place with a dab of jam.
If you fancied watching me chatterbox away about these cupcakes then there’s a little film below to watch. It’s 6 minutes long though. Gosh, I can talk. And no, it’s not my kitchen.
Get the monthly newsletter...
and subscribe to get all recipes straight to your inbox!