May 18, 2011

Raspberry Cupcakes


Ahhh....cupcakes anyone? Okay. I think I hear a lot of oohs and aahs....or am I fantasizing...!!?

With flavors abundant and endless ideas for decorative frosting, cupcakes have become gourmet food. Hip, chic and glamorous. And oh, so personalized. Appealing to all age groups, across borders, without discrimination. They are a joy to look at, and evermore so delicious to eat. Generations ago, it was the food of just young children. With rise in popularity, however, it’s not an unusual sight to see devoted adults queued up in long lines outside boutique cupcake bakeries to snap up their favorite flavors.



So, if you have never baked a cupcake at home, it’s high time you started. Because, they've moved from food to art....and the trend is here to stay. Trendy or not, I particularly love making cupcakes at home for the fabulous aromas wafting around the house. The lure of warm, bite size cakes straight out of the oven is too overpowering for me to resist. That said, my kids and hubby are not so cupcake crazy as me. I am, on the other hand, happy to indulge my appetite to glorious excess, when it comes to these deliciously small, sweet and soft food. Oh my sweet tooth!

This is a simple cupcake recipe. The use of raspberry, king of berries, for a subtly tart overtone worked brilliantly. The fact that raspberries top the list of antioxidant food is an added advantage. The cakes came out deliciously sweet with a hint of tartness that we absolutely loved. Note that I kept it simple and skipped the frosting completely. Mainly to reduce our intake of sugar and calories. No, we are not on a diet--just trying to eat healthy, whenever possible. And they were tasty all by themselves. But hey, you don’t have to skip this step. Give free rein to your creativity and come up with tantalizing toppings to make these yummy morels even more irresistible!
Though baking cupcakes is simple and easy, I'm sharing a few general tips for novices. Use paper liners for ease of handling. You get them in different sizes. Besides, they effortlessly glam up the cakes. Take your pick from umpteen designs depending on how simple or glamorous you fancy them. However, if you don’t have any liners handy, bake your cakes in greased pans—grease pans with butter, cooking spray or any other fat, and then lightly flour the cups. You’ll notice that my cakes have risen just below the edge of the liner. This is because I filled the cups up to about half full. This can be persolanized to your preference. As a good rule of thumb, three-quarters will give cakes that have expanded outside the liner, whereas two-thirds will give cakes puffed up to the edge of the liner.

And oh, don’t be put off by the uneven browning of my cakes. I guess it’s got a lot to do with the hot spots in my electric oven. Whatever. The cakes were simply moreish. We enjoyed them with a good strong cuppa in the patio garden. Listening to the chirping of the birds, the sweet sound of wind chimes, and gazing at the gentle breeze ruffling the leaves of the pink bougainvilleas.
Raspberry Cupcakes

(adapted from Cupcakes Bite Size Treats)

Ingredients

170g (1 ½ cup) self raising flour
125g butter, softened
3 eggs
110ml (½ cup) milk
75g (2/3 cup) caster sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh raspberries

Directions

Heat oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Line the cupcake tray with paper liners. If you don’t have them handy, simply grease the cup in the pan with butter or cooking spray and then lightly flour the cups.

Tip all the ingredients except the berries into a bowl and beat with a hand-mixer on high speed for 3 minutes, scrapping batter from the sides of the bowl, until pale and smooth. Fold in the raspberries. Scoop the mixture into cupcake liners, up to about half full. You would need about 24 cupcake liners.

Bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer poked in comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely. If you not using a liner, you might need to released the cakes from the pans using a toothpick or knife around the perimeter.

Serve dusted with icing sugar, if you like.

65 comments:

  1. Absolutely agree with you cupcakes are appealing to all ages.They look delicious with my fav berry.

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  2. wow superb cupcakes...i was anticipating a post from u...and u did it...love the cupcakes...looking superb dear...

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  3. Oh my .. the cup cakes look so perfect .. love the decor too .. keep rocking :)

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. Do visit back :)

    Vardhini
    VardhinisKitchen

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  4. WOW....these cuties looks so gorgeous,super soft n moist cakes...awesome presentation...love all the pictures...
    thankx for your sweet words at my space :) see you again

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  5. cupcakes looks so yummy and inviting....

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  6. Pictures are so good & love these cuties..

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  7. beautiful delicious presentation

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  8. Can there be anything better than Cupcakes ? Nahhhhh ..... Had you been my neighbor I would have finished the entire lot in a go. :) Awesome cake n beautiful presentation.
    And thanks so much for your wishes and the generous comment :)

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  9. Cute and adorable cupcakes, simply irresistible..

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  10. Cupcakes look so pretty... Yes, their aroma and cute shape and heavenly taste just make them irresistible. Thanks for your technical tips for your last post. Keep giving such expert tips and tricks every now and then... :-)

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  11. Awesome pictures.. lovely and adorable cupcakes..
    http://krithiskitchen.blogspot.com

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  12. Wow!!! Such cute looking cup cakes. They look gorgeous :)

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  13. looks tempting and yummy cakes ........

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  14. Amazing captures nash!!I ma really in deep love with u r artistic and photographic clicks...

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  15. Gorgeous cupcakes...feel like having some..excellent n beautiful clicks..

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  16. I love those. I am not crazy about most frostings, so these are perfect for me.

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  17. You got me there! I am huge fan of cupcakes or muffins..And these look so pretty and perfect.

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  18. I love the raspberries peeking through ~ adorable cupcakes and eye catching pictures! You are a true ROCK STAR :)
    US Masala

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  19. Cup cakes looks very cute and delicious
    South Indian Recipes

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  20. these cupcakes looks yummy and lovely....awesome clicks as always.....

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  21. Loved the clicks of the cupcakes with raspberry toppings. Wonderful recipe.

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  22. Cute and delicious looking cupcakes...

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  23. cakes looks so great.pictures are cho chweet.

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  24. Was looking forward to a post!!! Those cupcakes look so cute ! :)

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  25. Yummy and gorgeous looking cupcakes...

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  26. Sad that I can only see these cuties :( wish I could devour some right away! absolutely stunning

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  27. Ohh.. those cupcakes look so cute..
    Wow Clicks too!!

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  28. What a beautiful and yummy cupcake! Tempting clicks as always...

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  29. I m inviting myself to your place...simply irresistable..:P

    Tasty Appetite
    Event: Letz Relishh Ice Creams

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  30. Thank you, thank you, girls, for being so nice! I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

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  31. Wow! Definitely impressive! Love how you presented these beautiful cupcakes ... who wouldn’t want one :)

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  32. Looks so adorable & tempting with the berries peeking out!!
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

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  33. ooooo...ahhhhhh...killers!

    (baby crying...xcuse :(

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  34. the picture of the chair is so so pretty...soo Mediterranean..the bougainvillea and the wicker chair..
    i also like the tartness from the berries and cherries in cupcakes..even in pancakes for that matter :)

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  35. Cupcakes with raspberry is such a lovey combination, looks very appealing

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  36. neatly captured and deliciously made cupcakes

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  37. Delicious cup cakes..they look so appealing and wonderful clicks.

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  38. Extremely delicious cupcakes :) The clicks are out of the world :) awesome :)

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  39. wow...superb cupcakes!, looks very soft and yummy!!...and the clicks are awesome..!

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  40. Cupcakes looks delicious, Nice clicks.

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  41. ur raspberry studded cupcakes are gorgeous! and yes u heard right (the oohs and the aahs) :) tht's my reaction for all of ur posts!

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  42. awesome cupcakes ...........vr do u live in doha nash??????????

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  43. perfectly crafted cupcakes! save me a bite, I'm boarding the plane :)

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  44. Beautiful presentation..nicely captured..looks so cute and yumm!!

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  45. These really look wonderful. They sound delicious and your photo of them is very appetizing. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  46. Very very tempting... I am going to try this on Monday on my tea party... Pictures too are gorgeous... Thanks for sharing the recipe
    http://craftaworld.blogspot.com/
    Love
    Farah

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  47. Hi,
    Thanx for dropping by at my site. I luv cupcake as much as u are. You have a very nice space here with great presentation. Happy to follow u.... Would luv to see you at my space more often.

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  48. These look wonderful. The tart raspberries must go perfectly with the sweet cake...yum:)

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  49. I wish I could reach out and grab one of those awesome muffins... Yummy

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  50. Wow so yummy and irresistable cupcakes..

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  51. some awards are waiting for you in my soace...plz collect them..
    http://sangeethaskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/05/awards-and-thank-you-note.html

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  52. AnonymousMay 26, 2011

    EEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I'm so excited for berry season :D

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  53. Hello, I have just discovered your blog through tastespotting. Totally mesmerized by your photos! Will be back for more...:)

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  54. I need a basket of those asap. Great enticing photos and well written post.

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  55. Hey y'all, thanks much for the lovely words! I hope you give 'em a try!

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  56. you have one beautiful space here. the cuppies look lovely. gorgeous clicks too.

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A million thank you's for stopping by, taking the time to connect, and coming back to visit again. I genuinely appreciate each of your kind thoughts, lovely words, love and support. Happy, happy to hear from you, and hope to see you again!

♥ Nashi