Ingredients
| 150 g | Unsalted butter, softened |
| 150 g | Caster sugar |
| 3 | Eggs |
| 1 tsp | Vanilla paste, or the seeds from ½ vanilla pod |
| 1 | Lemon, zest and juice |
| 200 g | High grade flour |
| 1 tsp | Baking powder |
| ½ tsp | Baking soda |
| ¼ tsp | Salt |
| ⅓ cup | Milk, warmed (you may need to use up to ½ a cup) |
Cream cheese icing
| 200 g | Cream cheese (Main) |
| 50 g | Creme fraiche |
| 1 dash | Plum compote, or use a berry compote (Main) |
| 1 handful | Pistachio nuts, crushed |
Directions
- Heat oven to 180C. Cream butter with caster sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating fully after each. Add vanilla bean paste and fold in lemon zest and juice.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to butter in stages, folding in gently as you go. Add ⅓ cup of warm milk, more if required, to create a batter with a nice drop consistency.
- Line large or medium-sized muffin pans with appropriate sized cupcake liners. Spoon in mixture to ¾ fill the liners. Bake for 20 minutes or more (depending on size) until they have risen and a cake skewer comes out clean. Cool before icing.
- To make icing, beat cream cheese with creme fraiche until smooth. Add enough plum or berry compote to taste and colour. Spread or pipe on to cupcakes. Drizzle with a little more compote and top with crushed pistachio nuts to serve.