As I type this, the sky outside is grey as steel, with no trace of this ‘supposed’ summer. I suppose this is what you get for living in the North of England, but still I can’t help but yearn for the sun that *should* be coming!
Last week though, the sun came out. The sky was blue and I didn’t have to have a cardigan and coat when walking to school. In this midst of this weather I wanted to make a cake that fitted the summer atmosphere, and these mini muffins fitted the bill. The size makes them easy to eat in the hot weather, and the flavours are redolent of the heat of a British summer. A vanilla cake with chunks of apple, topped with a vanilla whipped cream topping, these muffins will fill that small gap when our summer finally arrives.
Apple and Vanilla Mini Muffins
Ingredients:
- 2oz butter
- 2oz caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2oz plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 0.5oz ground almonds
- 1 small apple, cut into tiny dice.
- 75g whipped cream
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- Flaked almonds, to decorate.
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5 and line a 12-hole mini muffin tray with liners.
Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat thoroughly. Add the flour, baking powder, ground almonds and diced apple and mix until well combined. Add teaspoonfuls of the mixture to the cases and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, turning after 20 minutes to ensure they don’t burn on one side! Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod and add to the whipped cream. Whip until holding soft peaks before spooning into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle. Pipe a small amount onto each mini muffin and decorate with flaked almonds.
