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One 12-hole deep muffin tin and 12 paper muffin cases
1. To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, and line the muffin tin with the paper muffin cases.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
3. Using a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric whisk, mix together the sugars and oil on a low speed until all combined and lighter in colour. Add the eggs, one at a time, on a low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition, then add the pumpkin purée. Now add the dry ingredients to the mixture, folding them in carefully so that the mixture remains light.
4. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until three-quarters full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes bounce back when lightly touched. Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin and placing on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
5. To make the frosting, mix the water, sugar, tea bags, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon together in a saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Lower the heat and simmer gently for a further 5–8 minutes. Take off the heat, strain the syrup into a clean bowl, squeezing the tea bags to get all the flavour out, and leave to cool completely.
6. Using a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric whisk, beat the butter to loosen it up, then add the cream cheese and icing sugar on a low speed until incorporated. Turn the mixer to a high speed and beat for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Don’t overbeat, or the cream cheese will split and become runny. Lower the speed and add the vanilla extract, honey and chai syrup until all are well combined. As soon as the frosting is combined, put into the fridge for about 2 hours so that the spicy flavours can intensify further.
7. Pipe or spoon generous amounts of the frosting onto each cupcake, gently smoothing over with a palette knife and making a nice swirl of frosting on each one.
Tomato Soup Cupcakes
For that authentic American taste, use a can of Campbell’s Cream of Tomato soup for this recipe. These cupcakes are most definitely sweet, and have a kind of carrot-cake flavour to them. Another vintage recipe that uses a non-conventional ingredient to perfection.
Makes 18 cupcakes
For the cupcakes
115g (4oz) unsalted butter, softened
285g (10oz) caster sugar
2 large eggs
270g (9½oz) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
60ml (2fl oz) water
295g (10½oz) tin condensed cream of tomato soup
For the frosting
100g (3½oz) unsalted butter, softened
240g (8½oz) full-fat cream cheese, such as Philadelphia, cold
400g (14oz) icing sugar
Ground cinnamon, to sprinkle
Two 12-hole deep muffin tins and 18 paper muffin cases
1. To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, and line the muffin tins with the paper muffin cases.
2. Using a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for around 5 minutes on a medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, on a lower speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, allspice, cinnamon and cloves in a bowl and mix into the wet ingredients on a low speed in one slow but steady addition. Don’t overbeat. Finally, add the water and condensed soup to make a thick batter.
4. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until three-quarters full. Using a 50ml (1¾fl oz) ice-cream scoop can make this process easier and will result in even cupcakes. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin and placing on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
5. To make the frosting, using a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric whisk, beat the butter to loosen it up, then add the cream cheese and icing sugar on a low speed until incorporated. Turn the mixer to a high speed and beat for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Don’t overbeat or the cream cheese will split and become runny.
6. Pipe or spoon generous amounts of the frosting onto each cupcake, gently smoothing over with a palette knife and making a nice swirl of frosting on each one. Sprinkle the decorated cakes with cinnamon.
Pink Champagne Cupcakes
Now you don’t have to break the bank and use actual champagne. Any pink or plain sparkling wine will do. These have a very subtle wine taste, and the fluffy sponge and luscious custard mean that one cupcake will not be enough.
Makes 12 cupcakes
For the cupcakes
160g (5½oz) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
175g (6oz) caster sugar
115ml (4fl oz) rapeseed oil, or other flavourless vegetable oil
115ml (4fl oz) pink Champagne or pink sparkling wine
For the custard
350ml (12fl oz) single cream
4 large egg yolks
100g (3½oz) caster sugar
80ml (3fl oz) pink Champagne or pink sparkling wine
30g (1oz) cornflour
Up to ¼ tsp red food colouring gel (to make the custard the desired pink colour)
30g (1oz) unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
For the frosting
300ml (10½fl oz) double cream
40g (1½oz) caster sugar
One 12-hole deep muffin tin, 12 paper muffin cases and a piping bag
1. To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, and line the muffin tin with the paper muffin cases.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric whisk, beat together the eggs, vanilla and sugar for 2 minutes on a medium speed. Pour in the oil in a slow but steady stream until all is well incorporated. Add the flour mixture and Champagne in several additions, alternating between the two – flour first and last. Do not overbeat. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and ensure everything is combined.
4. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until three-quarters full. Using a 50ml (1¾fl oz) ice-cream scoop can make this process easier and will result in even cupcakes. Bake for 15–20 minutes until the cupcakes bounce back when lightly touched. Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin and placing on a wire rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.
5. To make the custard, heat the cream in a saucepan until it is hot, but don’t let it boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Mix in the Champagne, and then the cornflour.
6. Add a quarter of the hot cream to the egg mixture, whisking vigorously so that the egg doesn’t cook, but just warms up. Pour into the pan with the rest of the hot cream and cook over a medium-low heat, whisking constantly until the mixture starts to get thicker and bubbles. Once the mixture has bubbled for 1–2 minutes, take it off the heat. If necessary, you may have to strain it through a fine sieve to get any lumps out. If it splits at any stage, take it off the heat and use a hand-held blender to whizz it back together.
7. Put the custard into another bowl and mix through the red colouring, butter and vanilla until the butter melts and everything is well mixed. Cover with cling film, pressing it directly onto the surface to prevent a skin forming, and put into the fridge until cold.
8. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer with the whisk attachment or using a hand-held electric whisk, whip the cream on medium speed. When the cream starts to thicken, but before it’s whipped, add the sugar. Increase the speed and whip until it just starts to form peaks. Don’t overwhip or it will get too hard or split.
9. Take 100g (3½oz) of the cool custard. If the custard is very stiff, beat briefly with a spatula until smooth. Then fold into the cream and put the frosting in the fridge.
10. Once the cupcakes are completely cool, use a sharp knife and remove a piece of sponge to make a hollow in the centre of each cupcake, approximately 2cm (¾in) in diameter and about 3cm (1¼in) deep. Retain the cut-out piece of sponge.
11. Spoon the custard into a piping bag and fill the hollows in the cupcakes, then pop the removed piece of sponge back on the cakes. If, once you’ve done all the cupcakes, there is custard left over, you can spread it thinly over the top of each one, making sure not to go over the edges.
12. Finally, pipe or spoon generous amounts of the frosting onto each cupcake, gently smoothing over with a palette knife and making a nice swirl of frosting on each one.
Toasted Marshmallow Cupcakes
In America sweet potatoes are known as yams, and baked in the oven with sugar, spices and marshmallows they are a typical Thanksgiving side dish. Careful when using the cook’s blowtorch!
Makes 12 cupcakes
For the cupcakes
300g (10½oz) sweet potatoes
115g (4oz) unsalted butter, softened
140g (5oz) soft light brown sugar
2 large eggs
3 tbsp maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract
135g (5oz) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
For the frosting
70g (2½oz) caster sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
2 large egg whites
3 tbsp cold water
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g (1¾oz) marshmallow fluff
One 12-hole deep muffin tin, 12 paper muffin cases and a cook’s blowtorch
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas mark 6.
2. Wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and bake for about 45–60 minutes until tender. Once cooled, scoop out the flesh and mash.
