Pimm's Cupcakes

Feeling a bit "meh" about Murray not making the final? Not to worry, BuBakes is here to help!  You can still have your Wimbledon weekend, we will just have to add that extra bit of sparkle ourselves.  

What better than enjoying the tennis with some seriously tasty Pimms cupcakes? 

This recipe is adapted from the Sainsbury's version and has been given a few BuBakes tweaks.  It is  going to make 12 cupcakes, and you are going to need:


For the cakes

• 150g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 15g cornflour
• zest of 1 small orange
• 175g soft unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 175g caster sugar (or, if you have it, golden caster sugar)
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 120g mixed raspberries and strawberries, hulled, roughly chopped and lightly crushed, plus some extra for decorating

For the syrup

• 150ml Pimm's
• 50g caster sugar

For the frosting

• 225g unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tbsp Pimm's
• 350g icing sugar
• mint leaves (for decorating)
• some cornflour (not definite - just in case, details in the method) 

Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Line a 12-hole cupcake tray with your cases, I choose green for a Wimbledon feel.

Sieve the flour, baking powder and cornflour into a large bowl. Stir in the orange zest.

BuBakes tip  If, like me, you hate spending ages trying to wash your grater when a recipe calls for zest,  just fold a piece of cling film and place that over your grater.  Now grate as usual (in one direction only) and then gently lift the cling film up.  Voila! minimal mess on the grater, and you just need to run the back of a knife over the clingfilm to remove the zest! 

In a separate bowl, cream the soft butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy. 
Alternately whisk in the beaten eggs and the flour mixture until combined. 

BuBakes tip Add a spoonful of the flour mixture first to avoid the mixture curdling, and always make sure that your added ingredients are fully mixed before adding the next spoon of wet/dry.

Fold in the lightly crushed fruit.

Divide the mixture evenly among the cupcake cases. 

BuBakes tip Make a small well in each cupcake in order to avoid excess rising in the middle.  This helps to produce a lovely flat cupcake.

Bake for 25 minutes.  The cakes will appear quite 'tanned', don't panic! 

While the cupcakes are baking, make the syrup. Gently heat the Pimm's with the sugar in a medium saucepan.  
 
BuBakes tip to avoid sugar crystallising when the mixture cools, do not stir it while it heats, instead swirl the pan gently if needed. 

Once the sugar has dissolved and the mixture begins to bubble, Increase the heat and let it be for about 5 minutes until thick and syrupy. Pour the syrup into a small jug.

As soon as the cupcakes come out of the oven, prick the tops a few times with a toothpick, and brush them with the Pimm's syrup. Leave to cool in the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the buttercream. Using an electric whisk, mix together the butter, milk and Pimm's in a medium bowl until smooth. On a low speed, gradually add the icing sugar and continue to beat until smooth and thick. If your frosting is runny from the Pimm's you can either add a touch more icing sugar, or if you want to avoid it becoming too sweet add a touch of your extra cornflour.  Transfer to a piping bag.

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, generously pipe each one with the icing, then decorate.

Now with the remaining Pimms, mix yourself up a jug, sit back, and cheer on your players of choice!  

If you give these a go, do send me your photos, I'd love to see them! 

Bu xx