Orange, Almond & Poppy Seed Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 120g unsalted butter, very soft
• 150g caster sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 235g self-raising flour
• 50g blanched almond meal
• 5g (1½ teaspoons) poppy seeds
• Grated rind of 1 orange
• Juice of ½ a strained orange

 Decoration

• Icing flowers
• Green and orange gel icing
• Fresh mint leaves

 Icing

• 30g milk
• 10g melted butter
• 180g icing sugar mixture
  
  

Method

Whisk the butter until it is pale and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue whisking until it is fully incorporated. Add eggs one at a time and when fully incorporated on slow speed add the flour, almond meal, poppy seeds and rind. Mix through and add the orange juice. Pre heat oven to 175°C. Sit the patty pans in the muffin trays and scoop or spoon the mixture into them. Bake for 10 minutes for small and 15-20 minutes for large. Allow to cool standing on a cake rack, ice and decorate. This is a great base recipe that you can turn into all sorts of different flavoured cup cakes. Try omitting the orange rind and juice and adding 50g fresh or frozen raspberries instead. Decorate with raspberry icing and silver or pink cachous and little pink orchids or fresh violets in season. When you make you own innovations just remember that you need to substitute about 50g of fruit and juice (total weight).