Raspberry Rose Cupcakes

These cupcakes are divine.  The combination of raspberry and rose with a sweet vanilla icing works deliciously well.  And they are SO easy.

Recipe

• 125 g butter, softened
• ¾ c caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/3 c self-raising flour
• 1 c ground almonds
• 1/3 c milk
• ¾ c raspberries (fresh or frozen), plus extras for decorating
• 1 t rosewater *

Preheat oven to 180C.  Line a 12 x medium sized cup muffin pan with paper cases.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in flour, ground almonds, milk, and rosewater. Then very gently fold in the raspberries.

Divide batter between cases. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Leave to cool in pan.

Icing

• 175 g butter
• 1 1/2 c icing sugar
• 1/4 t rosewater
• 1/2 t vanilla

Beat all ingredients together until light and fluffy.  Spread generously over cupcakes and top with raspberries.

Cheats Raspberry Sorbet

Spring has been very drab this year.  Cool and damp, with the odd warm-ish day in between.  So it was a bit of a shock when Sunday turned blisteringly hot and dry and still.  With girls giggling indoors with curtains closed – apparently rehearsing for a school talent show, and boys out in the backyard with a soccer ball (of course) getting sweaty and smelly, I decided that the parents sweltering on the back porch needed something to reward our parental patience and sooth our boiling insides.

This treat is quick, easy, healthy, and wonderfully refreshing.

Recipe

• 5 ice cubes
• 1 c apricot nectar
• 2 c frozen raspberries
• 1 T icing sugar (optional – see how sweet your raspberries are…)
• raspberries to serve

Drop ice cubes into blender running at top speed.  Once crushed add raspberries, nectar and sugar.  Once blended, poor into serving cups and top with raspberries. Enjoy!

Idea adapted from “Family Circle”, Christmas 2008, p108.