A festive cupcake with a mulled wine taste, these yummy caketails are strictly for adults only. Top with swirls and sprinkles for added glamour.
Makes 12 Cupcakes
Cooking time: 25 mins
What You’ll Need:
For the cupcakes:
- 165g unsalted butter
- 165g caster sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- 165g self raising flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 50ml brandy
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange
For red wine buttercream:
- 285ml red wine
- 50g caster sugar
- 250g unsalted butter
- 500g icing sugar
- piping bag with large round or star nozzle
And to drizzle
- 50g orange curd
- 1 tbsp Grand Marnier
What To Do:
- Preheat the oven 180˚C (160˚C fan).
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well in-between each egg to avoid curdling. Sift together the flour, cinnamon and cloves. Beat in one third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the brandy, and beat until fully incorporated. Repeat, finishing with the remaining flour mixture. Finally, gently fold in the orange zest.
- Fill the cupcake cases two thirds full then bake in the centre of the oven for 24 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Once cooked, allow the cupcakes to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, make holes in the top of each cupcake with a skewer and drizzle generously with the orange curd/Grand Marnier mixture.
For the red wine buttercream:
- Gently heat 225ml of the red wine with the sugar until dissolved, stirring occasionally, then reduce by boiling until syrupy (approx 10 mins). You should be left with around 80 – 100ml of liquid. Refrigerate until completely cool (approx. 20 mins).
- Meanwhile beat the butter with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Sieve the icing sugar into the butter, and fold together using a flat knife.
- Once the icing sugar has been incorporated, finish beating with the whist to combine fully
- Add the red wine syrup and the remaining red wine and beat well.
- Pipe a swirl of red wine and buttercream onto each cupcake and scatter literally with sprinkles
Recipe from Jill Collins’ and Natalie Saville’s new recipe book, Caketails – Intoxicating Cupcakes for Grown-Ups. RRP £12.99 and available from www.amazon.co.uk.