Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients

Makes 12 regular cupcakes

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan) /180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and line a

12-hole muffin tray with the appropriate size cupcake cases.

Put the sugar, flour, baking powder, cornflour and crushed strawberries into a food processor. Pulse until evenly mixed (roughly 4 seconds). Add the butter and eggs and process briefly until even (roughly 10 seconds). If you are using an electric hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together first, beat in the eggs, one by one, and then add the remaining ingredients and beat well together.

Carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them to about two-thirds full. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes. The cakes will be fairly moist even when cooked.

Remove from the oven and leave the cakes in their tins for about 10 minutes before carefully placing on a wire rack to cool.

Once they are completely cool, carefully make a small hole in the centre of each cupcake and use a teaspoon to push the strawberry jam into the hole - you can slightly warm the jam in a saucepan first to soften it before pushing it into the sponge.

Wash the 12 strawberries and allow them to dry off on kitchen paper to limit any excess water and juice spoiling the buttercream once they are on the cupcakes. Decorate the cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing and, just before serving, place a fresh strawberry in the centre.

Unkown [[Baking]]