Maple and Baileys Cupcakes - Happy Birthday Anna!
Lately I've been developing recipes for cocktail cupcakes: some of them based on well known and loved mixes and some new ones. The first fabulous child of those endeavours is a cupcake that is highly addictive!  I made them for my sister in law as part of her birthday banquet...but she won't mind me sharing them here!  So, the cake itself has a resinous slightly smoked depth of flavour with the addition of some good quality maple syrup (please don't even think about substituting anything "maple flavoured"), while the icing is laced with Bourbon Vanilla and Irish Cream Liqueur.  Now, my preferred flavours are always on the bitter or sour side of the spectrum...and I love a good gin and tonic, but even I have fallen in love with these, I urge you to try them!

For the Cupcakes: 
150g / 6oz unsalted butter softened
150g / 6oz caster or superfine sugar
3 large eggs
195g / 8oz plain or all purpose flour sifted
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
60mls / 4 tblspns good quality (organic preferably) maple syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 160 C / 350 F and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake cases. 
2. Cream the butter and sugar together for about 3 minutes until very light and fluffy. If you're using a free standing mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again briefly. 
3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. If necessary scrape down the bowl and beat again. 
4. Reduce the speed to low and add the sieved flour and baking powder. Once they are incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat for a minute or two, the mixture will become slightly paler. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the maple syrup, beat only until it's thoroughly mixed. 
5. Spoon the batter into the cupcake cases and level the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake for 12-15 minutes depending on your oven, the tops should feel slightly springy to the touch. Allow to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

For the Icing:
200g / 8oz unsalted butter softened
400g / 1 lb icing or confectioners sugar sifted
60mls / 4 tblspns Bailieys (or other) Irish Cream liqueur
1 tsp vanilla extract (Bourbon preferably)

1. Cream together the butter and sieved icing sugar, pulse the mixture to begin with so you don't cover yourself in the sugar! Once the mixture is combined, increase the speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes until very light and fluffy. 
2. Reduce the speed to slow and add both the liqueur and vanilla extract. Beat well to combine. 
3. Spoon the icing into an icing bag fitted with a medium round tip. Either start at the centre and pipe outwards, or pipe from side to side...just ços it makes a change from a swirly frosting!  Garnish with a few chocolate sprinkles and a piece of drinking straw so that your guests know which of the cupcakes are child friendly and which are strictly adults only. I challenge you to have just one!

Now, you'll see from the photo that I also added hearts as decoration.  These were made from some scarlet fondant I had left over from another project.  I simply rolled it out to about 2 or 3mm thickness, cut out the shapes with a mini cookie cutter and left them to dry on kitchen paper for about a week.  They store quite happily in an airtight box.  For more ideas on combining types of icing please click here .

Margarita Cupcakes - Or Get Your Cinco De Mayo On!!
I do realise that the 5th of May is really a celebration for the good people of Mexico but it has spread into the mainstream of US culture so I thought it only right and proper to honour the occasion with some slightly tipsy cupcakes...obviously this is strictly for my US bloggy pals, the rest of us have absolutely no excuse whatsoever for tipping Tequila into a cake mix...or frosting...hic!  Now, a cupcake is a thing of beauty: a single serving (assuming you can restrict yourself to just one) of cake which can contain the complete spectrum of cakey delightfulness.  It could be elegantly simple - like a vanilla vanilla, or completely decadent and OTT like a triple choc fudge.  As a general principle I have a few standard combinations I return to over and over with just the icing and embellishment reflecting the particular occasion they are celebrating.  My standard flavours are: vanilla bean, citrus (orange, lemon, lime or a combination), and chocolate.  For the recipe below I've started with a citrus base and then added a couple of things to both cake and frosting.  Just so you know, each cuppy has approximately 5ml (1 tsp) of alcohol in the frosting - I have assumed that it cooks out of the cake part.  Oh, and the pink cupcakes below are the 'virgin' version for non-drinkers and kids.

For the Cakes:
100g / 4oz unsalted butter softened
100g / 4oz caster or superfine sugar
130g / 5oz plain or all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
2 large eggs
Zest of 1 or 2 limes depending on how big they are - use a microplane if you have one
Juice of the limes you just zested
2 tblspns Tequila
1 tblspn Triple Sec or Cointreau (if you don't have any just increase the Tequila)

1. Preheat the oven to 160 C / 325 F and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake cases.
2. If you have a freestanding mixer just put all the ingredients in the bowl, beat on slow for about 30 seconds until everything is combined, then on medium for 2 minutes until the batter is pale and fluffy.  
3. If you don't have a freestanding mixer, you can just as easily use a bowl and a wooden spoon.  Cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and 2 tblspns of the flour, beat again.  Add the alcohol and lime juice, beat well.  Then add the remainder of the flour, the baking powder and the lime zest - beat until the batter is pale and fluffy.
4. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, level the tops slightly, then bake for about 15 mins (depending on your oven) or until they pass the clean skewer test.

For the Frosting:**
200g / 2 sticks unsalted butter softened
500g / 1lb 2oz icing or confectioners sugar sifted
2 tblspns Tequila
2 tblspns Triple Sec or Cointreau (if you don't have any, increase the Tequila)
Zest and juice of a large lime (use a microplane if you have one)
Zest of another lime cut into fine shreds for decoration
12 bendy straws cut down a little for decoration

1. Using a freestanding mixer, beat the butter and sugar together - start slowly so you don't disappear in a cloud of sugar!  Once they are combined increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes until very pale and fluffy.  Add the alcohol, the lime zest and juice and beat again for another minute.  Now, if the icing seems a little soft place the whole bowl in the fridge for 20-30 mins.  If it seems firm enough to pipe carry on with step 2.
2. Pipe big swirls on the cupcakes using a medium open star tip then decorate with a few shreds of lime zest and a straw.
3. Strike up the Mariachi Band and get dancing on your hat!

** In response to a viewer's question(!):  If you'd prefer to spread the frosting more thinly on the cuppies instead of piping it in a big swirl, you can either a)half the quantities and use an offset spatula to spread it...or...b)make the same quantity and freeze the bit you don't use.  If you put the left over frosting into a zip lock (or grip seal) bag, squeeze out the air, seal it, then wrap the whole thing in another bag or cling wrap, it'll last a good 3 months in the freezer.  Except it won't...you'll be making another batch of cakes way before then!!