Eggnog Cupcakes

As it was Christmas, I really wanted to try the Eggnog cupcakes in the Hummingbird Book and also thought it was a perfect opportunity to use my new snowflake cutters. I've never had Eggnogg before so I don't really know what it tastes like but I liked the sound of the rum and nutmeg used in these cupcakes.

The eggnog cupcakes use a plain sponge but put rum and nutmeg in the frosting to give the cake the eggnog flavour.  As usual the sponge was really nice and light and as it was plain sponge it allowed you to add lots of flavour to the frosting and it not be overpowering.  When I started baking, I realised I didn't have any rum essence, so I just used rum instead to give the cupcakes the flavour. The nutmeg and rum worked really well together and the nutmeg gave the frosting a really nice colour.

Nutmeg is quite a strong flavour so I would recommend to stick to the amounts that the book says to add as it's not for everyone's taste and adding too much would overpower the frosting.

For the snowflakes I used royal icing that I coloured blue as I didn't have any sugarpaste. I used the smallest of my snowflake cutters and was really pleased with how they came out. A few of them didn't quite come out as snowflakes as the edges are really delicate and sometimes hard to get out of the cutter but overall I was pleased with how they turned out.


Recipe 
(Cake Days - Hummgbird Bakery)
Makes 12-16 cupcakes

For the sponge:
80g (3oz) unsalted butter
280g (10oz) caster sugar
240g (8 1/2oz) plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
240ml (8 1/2fl oz) milk

For the frosting:
500 (1lb 2oz) icing sugar
160g (5 1/2oz) unsalted butter
2 tsp rum essence
1tsp freshly grated nutmeg
50ml (1 3/4fl oz) whole milk
Edible christmas themed shapes to decorate

one or two 12-hole deep muffin tins

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5 and fill a muffin tin with muffin cases.
• Using a handheld electric whisk or freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt on a low speed until they have the texture of fine breadcrumbs.
• Break the eggs into a jug, add the milk and whisk by hand, then pour three-quarters of this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix on a low speed to combine.  Increase the speed to medium and keep mixing until smooth and thick. Scrape down the side of the bowl, add the remaining milk mixture and continue to beat on a medium speed until all the ingredients are mixed in and the batter is smooth.
• Fill the paper cases two-thirds full with the batter.  If any remains, it can be used to full up to four more cases in a second muffin tin.  Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until risen and springy to the touch.   Leave in the tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the frosting. 
• Using the electric whisk or a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment, whisk the icing sugar with the butter, rum essence and grated nutmeg on a low speed until no large lumps of butter are left and the mixture is crumbly.  Gradually add the milk, then increase the speed to high and whisk until light and fluffy.
• Once the cupcakes are cold to the touch, smooth the frosting on top of each cake using a palette knife and add a decorative swirl.  Decorate with shop bought edible Christmas themed shapes or make your own from sugarpaste.

Thanks for reading,

Olivia xx