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Orange and poppy seed cupcakes

Orange and poppy seed cupcakes

Are you sensing a bit of a theme here this week? You’d be quite right in saying that these are not the first cupcake/muffin recipe for March. When I said that I was going to make a dint in my cupcake liner supply I did not speak an untruth. It seems that the variety of cupcake liners lurking in my kitchen would not only suit any occasion you could think of but there is a case to suit any sort of cake.

My white and pink muffin liners were perfect for pumpkin and apple muffins. Raspberry cupcakes needed something a little edgier so black cases with funky cupcakes printed on them were just right, while orange and poppy seed cupcakes, well they needed something a little more delicate.

Orange and poppy seed cupcakes

Recipes, like occasions have their own theme and personality I think and orange and poppy seed brings images of something light and fun, pretty, delicate and not too serious – just like these blue and white papers.

Would you believe that I bought poppy seeds at least a year ago with the intention of making my grandma an orange and poppyseed cake? Obviously that thought escaped my brain the second I put them away in ingredient black hole that is my pantry.

Orange and poppy seed cupcakes

While flicking through my 500 cupcakes book one night I spotted lemon and poppy seed cupcakes and suddenly I saw the poor neglected poppy seeds. Seeing as I had a bag of fresh organic oranges in the fridge, I replaced the lemon with orange and orange and poppy seed cupcakes were born.

I gave some to my grandma and Will took the rest to work the next day. How were they? My husband, who doesn’t really like baked goods, had two. If that doesn’t speak highly of them then nothing does.

Inside the cake was light and fluffy and the simple drizzling of icing meant that they weren’t too sweet. My only word of advice, make sure you check your teeth in a mirror after eating them. Enjoy!

Orange and poppy seed cupcakes

What about you? Do you buy ingredients for a special recipe and then forget about them?

Orange and poppy seed cupcakes

Orange and poppyseed cupcakes

Orange and poppyseed cupcakes

Yield: 18
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

  • 225g butter, softened
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 4 free-range eggs
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp poppy seeds
  • 1 tbsp grated orange zest

Drizzle

  • 125g icing sugar
  • 4 tbsp orange juice
  • 2 tbsp poppy seeds

Instructions

    Cakes

    1. Pre-heat the oven to 175C fan-forced.
    2. Line 1 1/2 cupcake tins with paper cases (18 cupcakes total).
    3. In the bow of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy.
    4. Add the eggs and beat them in then add the flour and mix it in.
    5. Finally add the vanilla, poppy seeds and orange zest and mix just until everything is nicely distributed through the batter.
    6. Divide the batter between the cupcake cakes.
    7. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of one comes out clean.
    8. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

    Icing

    1. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the orange zest until it reaches a nice drizzle consistency.
    2. Stir through the poppy seeds.
    3. When the cakes have cooled, drizzle the icing over the top and leave it to set.

     

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