Sunday 21 April 2013

* Small and Sweet * Almond and Orange Mini Cupcakes

Well life is a little crazy right now with a lot of work stuff on the go, a lot of extra-curricular life activities and some big crafty projects half finished so for that reason I am posting a * small and sweet * blog post today, something from earlier this year that hasn't been written up yet... until now!  The other sewing projects and crafts will have to wait until another day, although I am SUPER excited about how they are going and how they will turn out... we'll just have to give it a few more weeks before they can be made public :-)  Watch this space!

So for today, here are my mini almond and orange cupcakes.  They were made for a couple of reasons - it was my snack night at choir, and also my mother-in-law's birthday, so although I wasn't joining them for dinner due to my choir rehearsal I did send a few their way!  Whenever it is snack night at choir I love having the chance to bake and to try something new.

This time I wanted to a) make mini cupcakes, b) try a new flavour and c) make them less from a recipe, more from my own creation/experimenting!

I came up with a basic spongey cupcake, which included almond flour, and flaked almonds in, and then, with a glaze to make it juicier I thought orange would pair well with the almonds.  And there you have my * small and sweet * mini almond and orange cupcakes.

This recipe made 24 mini cupcakes with a little batter left over for a couple of regular sized 'tasters'!!

Ingredients:

115g butter
115g sugar
115g self-raising flour MINUS 2 tablespoons, replace this with 2 tablespoons of almond flour
100g flaked almonds
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon almond extract
Zest from 1 orange

Method:

1.  Preheat the oven to 375°F/ 190°C and line cupcake tray with paper cases.
2.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3.  Gradually beat in eggs, then add almond extract.
4.  Sift in flour and fold into mixture.
5.  Add zest of orange.
6.  Spoon mixture into cupcake cases, and add flaked almonds just before putting in the oven.



7.  Bake in oven for 10 - 15 minutes but check these often until springy to the touch, and until a cake tester comes out clean.  Cooking time will depend on if you make them mini or regular sized!



For the glaze:

Whisk together icing sugar and the juice from one orange until you reach the desired consistency - I used 8 rounded tablespoons!

Pour over the cakes as soon as they come out of the oven.


I was really pleased with how they turned out, and the reason I posted them today is that I have been thinking about making them again soon!  I'm glad I had written the recipe down and now it is on the internet forever!!  I love the almond/orange combination, although in the citrus world my love lies with lemon, and sometimes the orange flavour just isn't tangy enough for me!  Maybe that's another flavour to try another day... 

That's all from me today with this * small and sweet * post!  Time to get back to work... Have a fantastic week everyone :-)

22 comments:

  1. These look delicious, Hannah! Thank you for sharing at our ALL MY BLOGGY FRIENDS party :-)

    Linda
    With A Blast

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  2. These look so delicious! Thank you so much for linking up this week! Hope you can join the party again.

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  3. these sound amazing with flavors that would delight me gonna give them a try
    come see what I shared at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks for the link to your blog, I'm coming over now :-) The flavour combination was my favourite part, hope you enjoy them too!

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  4. They sound yummy, especially with that orange glaze! Thank you for sharing it at to What We Accomplished Wednesdays. Have a great week!

    Hugs,
    Deborah

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    1. Thank you so much for visiting to check out these cakes! The orange glaze was delicious, but for sure in my opinion citrus plus sugar you can't go wrong!!! :-D

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  5. My kids loves mini muffins and these look so delicious! You are so brave to make your own recipe! I am a "follow the recipe to the letter" type of baker so I applaud your adventurous spirit! Thanks so much for sharing at Much Ado About Monday!

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    1. Oh me too... It was something I wanted to push myself to do because usually I am a by the book, follow every instruction exactly - too scared otherwise! So I am pleased I challenged myself and found out it was okay! Maybe I'll try again another day too... Thanks for stopping by :-)

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  6. Oh man! You know how much I love almonds :) These look fantastic and I bet that orange zest makes them so moist! Nom nom nom. Thanks so much for linking this up at Tasty Tuesdays! Please be sure to come back tomorrow to see which posts will be featured and to link up again. Also, I'm looking for people to co-host my Tasty Tuesdays link party with me for 4 weeks. Please let me know if you'd be interested!

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    1. Thanks for checking out my almond and orange mini cupcakes :-) Almond is a particular favourite of mine too!! Glad you like the look of them, it was great to share them at your party!!

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  7. I love almonds! These look so good. Thanks so much for Linking these fabulous treats up @ Great Idea Thursday's :) Krista @ http://ahandfulofeverything.blogspot.com

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  8. Orange and almond - how divine!!
    Thank you so much for sharing this on Tutorial Thursdays Linky Party.
    I look forward to seeing what you share with us all this week :)
    x
    Natalie
    Marigolds' Loft

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    1. Thank you Natalie!! It was great to link up, can't wait to come back and see your blog during the week :-)

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  9. I'd like to invite you to my Friday Flash Blog, where you can share your best blog entry of the week! The party goes on ALL weekend at thejennyevolution.com. And who knows, you may just get featured next week.

    Jennifer
    thejennyevolution.com

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    1. Hi Jennifer, thanks so much for coming by to my blog, and also for the invite to yours :-) I've linked up and can't wait to join you each week... only thing I couldn't find is a button to add to my list on the side column... do feel free to email me the html for it and I will for sure add it! Thanks!

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  10. What a party last week on Friday Flash Blog! Thanks for joining us. I hope you’ve visited some of the other community members and you're having a splendid week.

    Jennifer
    thejennyevolution.com

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Thanks for reading!! Please leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you :-)