Bringing summer into the office

It's Summer in Brisbane, however the weather this week has been cold, windy and wet. So, to lift spirits, I have baked Summer Passionfruit Cupcakes for the office. I love baking for the people in my office, mainly because they act as if they have never tasted sugar before when they sample my fairs, but also because they let me know what they like about my treats - so they are a good test audience. I think sometimes they are just being nice though, as I get a lot of "your best ever" each time :-).

I now have a trademark blue cake tin, which I always use to transport my cakes to work. I don't have to tell people when I've baked, they see the tin and know there's morning tea (or breakfast).

Today happens to be the first sunny day all week, so good thing we're bringing the sunshine inside with these golden passionfruit curd and sweet vanilla cupcakes. ENJOY.

Summer Passionfruit Cupcakes

Passionfruit curd

50g butter

140g caster sugar

1 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs

4 passionfruits

In a bowl over a simmering saucepan (make sure the water is not touching the bowl), whisk all ingredients together until smooth and thick. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Cupcake

240g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
280g caster sugar
pinch salt
80g butter
240ml milk
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and butter with an electric beater until it resembles a sandy consistency. Slowly beat in half the milk. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the remaining milk, egg and vanilla. Add to the flour mix and beat until smooth. Be careful not to overbeat! Spoon mixture into cupcake cases and bake for about 20 minutes.

Frosting
100g butter, at room temperature
250g icing sugar
1 tsp passionfruit curd
30ml milk

In a bowl, beat the butter and icing sugar until combined and thick. Add the passionfruit curd and a splash of milk. Beat. Taste the mix and if it feels too grainy, add more milk and keep beating until smooth and creamy.

Decorating
Cut a small bit out of the top of the cupcake, make sure you cut just in from the edge. Spoon in a small teaspoon of passionfruit curd. Cover with the top of the cupcake and using a piping bag, pipe the frosting on top.