Raisin and Ginger Cupcakes

Welcome back to my recipes. If you'd like an overview of them then simply go to my profile and click on 'Feast'. Anything published in the last 1-2 months is part of the autumnal baking series I'm doing. As you know, I'm personally not a huge fan of cake and biscuits, but when I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed or a bit sad, it gets me up and doing something that isn't on my laptop. It's also close to Halloween which means of course I was making myself feel better by watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre last night. Yes, it was the original one. I'm quite excited for Halloween. As you can see I've also been making my soups and I will be continuing with some of those later on.

This one is quite simple so there's nothing about me making everything more difficult for myself. I hope you enjoy reading these recipes and perhaps trying them out.

And always remember: all items containing dairy can be swapped out for dairy free options and swap your eggs out for 1 tablespoon of apple sauce per egg. Apple sauce will also add a great flavour to your cake, so that's a plus.

Raisin and Ginger Cupcakes

Part 1: The Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 200g raisins
• 25g ground ginger
• 200ml lemon juice
• 110g self-raising flour
• 110g brown caster sugar
• 110g softened butter
• 2x eggs

How To:

1. Preheat your oven to 180/C
2. Line a cupcake tin with 10-12 cases depending on how big you want your cupcakes
3. Pour your lemon juice into a bowl and put in your raisins. Place this in the fridge whilst you make your cakes
4. In a bowl, whisk together your butter and sugar - they should be white when finished so try doing this for around 3-5 minutes
5. Slowly add your beaten eggs and your ginger, continue to whisk until a smooth mixture is produced. This is difficult because the eggs can curdle a little and don't worry if they do - just continue mixing until everything has come together smoothly
6. Grab your raisins from the fridge and sieve them so that the juice is pretty much removed
7. Place them in a paper towel and tap dry them, don't rub them because you'll take the lemon flavour off entirely. When they are just a little damp, add them to the cake mix and mix once more
8. Then, mix in the flour. Your mixture should be slightly brown and you should also have a good amount of raisins in there. If you want more than 200g, then don't be afraid to add about 50g more
9. Use a tablespoon to add your mixture to the cupcake cases in your tin, then place in the oven for 15-18 minutes
10. When they are done, leave them on the side to cool

So, that's your cake done. You should be able to place a skewer through it and it comes out entirely clean. Yes, you're going to have crumbs on there and, if you have made your cakes properly then they should have slightly browned from the top.

Please don't decorate your cakes until they are completely cooled, but also - do not put them in the fridge when you've just taken them out of the oven. After about 10 minutes, if you want to chill them, then put them in the fridge.

Part 2: Fondant Icing

I tend to roll my fondant icing really thin so that the sweetness doesn't overwhelm the rest of the cake, especially if it already has fruit in there. I'm not going to tell you exactly how to decorate your cakes or whether you should, but you should be rolling your fondant as thin as possible. Then, I tend to use glacé cherries to give the cake a bit of liquid as ginger can sometimes taste a bit dry.

Everything else in terms of decoration I would say, is entirely up to you ❤️