Ginger, Choc & Pear Kate Cakes

So, experiment number two:
I’m making Kate and Kerim’s wedding cupcakes, they’re getting married in France in September – what a task eh? Kate’s very keen on Lavender cupcakes, which I have yet to experiment with, but they also want variation to mix up the colour scheme a bit and as a contrast to the floral flavour. This recipe is based on the Peaches and Cream cupcakes in the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, the peaches recipe didn’t quite cut it. We decided that pear and ginger is a superior combination and topping with Chocolate makes it even more luxurious.

The original recipe tells you to layer the bottom of the cases with the peaches but this means that you don’t get the complete cupcake shape that Kate desires so I chopped up the pears and mixed them in along with some crystallised ginger and some preserved (two different batches).

The general consensus is a thumbs up – they are very moist and the ginger adds a kick – not so good for those who don’t like ginger however! I tried to make the icing as rich as possible, to give it a more sophisticated cocoa taste. I think they probably are best eaten with a little spoon, the original and this recipe are more of a dessert that a cupcake.

120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
40g unsalted butter
1 x can tinned pears (approximately 211g)
40-50g crystallised ginger, chopped small
pinch of salt
few drops of vanilla
120 ml whole milk
1 egg

Icing
200g icing sugar
40g cocoa
80g butter
40ml (ish) milk

Place the flour, sugar, bp and salt in a bowl and rub int the butter until it’s a sandy texture. With a hand-held mixer or similar add half the milk to the dry mixture until combined then whisk up the eggs, vanilla and the rest of the milk separately and pour in the mix, do not over beat. Stir in your chopped pear and ginger and divide between 12 cupcake cases. Bake in a preheated oven (at 170 degrees) for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and spring back when touched. Leave to cool completely before icing.
Icing: Place the butter, icing sugar and cocoa in a bowl and beat to combine – add a little milk to help with the process then add the rest, adjusting as necessary. Beat with a hand-held mixer until fluffy  – the longer you beat, the fluffier the icing!

Eat with a spoon preferably, or enjoy getting sticky.