Lime cupcakes

I don’t drown my sorrows..I suffocate them with cupcakes.

Anon.

Everyone needs a no-fail, go-to, whip-it-up-in-a-flash cupcake recipe, and this is mine. It works every time and is soft and moist and delicious. The lime gives a refreshing tang to counter the sweetness of the cake and icing, and the almond meal has a nice undertone of nuttiness and richness. My daughter makes fabulous cupcakes and she is also an expert with a piping bag and palette knife to decorate, and she has tested this recipe many times. Her advice is to make sure that you cream the butter and sugar until it is very light and fluffy, and not to be impatient at this stage of the recipe; then you will get light-as-air cakes. Enjoy any time you need a sweet treat – not just to drown your sorrows!

Makes 12

125g soft butter
180g raw caster sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
zest of 3 limes
185g self-raising flour
2 tablespoons almond meal
125ml milk

Icing:
2 cups soft icing mixture
3 tablespoons butter
juice of 1 lime, approximately

Preheat oven to 180 C. Line a 12 hole muffin or cake tin with cake liners. In a medium sized bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix well. Alternately add the flour and milk until well combined. Carefully spoon the mixture into the cake tin, filling each liner to about 2/3 capacity. There should be just enough mixture. Bake in the oven for 12 – 15 minutes, or until lightly golden and an individual cake springs back when lightly touched with your finger. take the cakes out of the tin and cool on a cake tray until completely cold. meanwhile, in a small bowl beat together the icing ingredients, adding enough lime juice to get a smooth consistency. When the cakes are cold, ice and decorate them, unleashing all your creative impulses. I used thinly sliced lime zest, but you could use shave or toasted coconut, grated lime zest, sprinkles or sugar flowers, or whatever takes your fancy. The cakes will keep for 2 or 3 days if store din an airtight container.