Bakewell Tart Cupcakes

Who loves a Bakewell Tart? It may be a guilty pleasure but I'm willing to bet most of us indulge in a sneaky Mr Kipling every now and then... even the most seasoned home baker. When I was a kid, my signature bake was a proper homemade bakewell tart. I haven't made one since I was about 9, but the combination of almonds, jam and cloying sweetness still gets me. So I took it upon myself to create The Bakewell Cupcake.

These are just a variation on a Vic sponge, so pretty easy, just with a bit of faffery at the end to make them extra special.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients for the cakes:

4oz margarine or butter

4oz caster sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence and 1.5tsp good quality almond essence

2 eggs

4oz self-raising flour, sieved

1oz ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

Ingredients for the filling:

Good quality jam of your choice

Ingredients for the topping:

Icing sugar (Silver Spoon or other good quality brand)

Water

Glacé cherries

Method:

1) Cream butter, sugar and essences together until fluffy and light

2) Add the eggs one by one with a tablespoon of flour, beating well each time

3) Sift the flour and baking powder into a medium bowl. Stir together with the ground almonds. Gently fold it into the wet mixture.

4) Dollop into cupcake cases and bake at 180 degrees Celcius for 20 minutes or until golden and a skewer comes out clean

5) Let cool, then using an apple corer or sharp knife cut out a circle from each cupcake (KEEP this!)

6) Fill with a satisfactory dollop of jam

7) Replace the sponge on the top

8) Make the icing. Add a few drops of water to a bowl full of icing sugar until the consistency of thick glue

9) Spread gently onto each cupcake, allow to settle and then top with a glacé cherry.

10) Enjoy with a cup of tea and a friend.

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