Almond and Apple Cupcakes

I love almonds, and I also like apples. Those green, juicy, crunchy Granny Smith's apples, that make you salivate for more. When I was just 7 or 8 years old, I was always on the look out for those big, gigantic red apples which were only available from Singapore. At that time, big, gigantic Fuji like apples were a rare find in Malaysia, what else in Malacca. My siblings and I were fighting over those rare apples every time our Singaporean uncle gave them to our father. But there were no apples, instead it was only an apple (to tell you the truth)..hahaaha. So, everyone would fight for a slice of THE apple. I would laugh every time I thought about it. There is an old saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". So my love affair with apples would always be there even if I am more into green apples instead of red now. Back to the cupcakes, I have invented this recipe, just to use my extra ground almonds and darling green apples. I have intended to put just chuncks of green apples, so that I can bite into pieces of apples. Verdict- nice cupcakes with wonderful tastes, we have the sweetness of almonds and the raw sour apples all combined together. Have a try for this recipe....

Ingredients

1 green apple ( cut into chunks, or big dice)

1/2- 3/4 cup of unsalted butter

4 eggs

3/4 cup of brown sugar ( you can put less sugar as almonds are quite sweet)

1 tsp of vanilla

1 tsp of salt

1/2 cup of fresh milk -squeezed with 1 tsp of fresh lemon juice ( let is set for about 2 mins)

1-2 tsp of freshly grated lemon skins

1/4 to 1/2 cup of ground almond

1 to 1 and 1/2 cup of plain flour or cake flour (cake flour will give you fine texture) -

depending on the amount of ground almond that you use.

1 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of soda of bicarbonate

##2-3 tbs of fresh milk (extra)

How

# Pre heat your oven 120C

1) Cream the butter and sugar (it will take you a good 7-8 mins)

2) Put the eggs into the batter, one by one. Put in vanilla

3) Sift together flour, baking powder and soda.

4) Now put in the sifted flour into the batter, followed by milk, mix well.

5) Put in salt. Put in ground almond. Put in grated lemon skins.

6) Lastly, put in extra milk (if you intend to put it)

7) Put cupcake cases into muffin pan.

8) Spoon batter into cupcake cases.

9) Put chunks of apples on top of the cupcakes batter.

10) Bake them, for about 20 mins, check if they are ready by inserting a skewer. If the skewer comes out clean, your cupcakes are ready...

Have a good apple cupcake, everyone.....

Cupcakes are wonderful creations....

I've decorated these cupcakes as a challenge for myself

Close- up views

The colours are so yummy...

I have baked these cupcakes on 30th December and decorated them the next day, on 31st of December 2010. I could still remember the dates as my intention was to bring them for my students. These cupcakes are gone now and I only have the chance to rave about them, in 2011. I was busy then, never imagined that these cupcakes were such hits for my friends. I have posted these pictures on FB, and I could have never think of the responses they would receive, whenever my friends came across these humble cupcakes. To tell you the truth, I have never liked to decorate cupcakes. That is why my cupcakes are very simple. I would like to have less icing on my cupcakes. I am a person who is more into simplicity.

However, my college friend has started this baking project called bake-a-thon, where each one of us (there are three of us actually) will bake cakes or any baking delights and post the pictures on FB. The rest as we say is history as I was infected by the baking bug. My friend Fareen was doing all sorts of colourful yummy buttercream icing on her cupcakes, that I too- went ahead and joined the bandwagon. Then, my experiments of achieving colourful creations began, and yes - I was successful at the end, after mixing lots of colours.

To achieve these types of pastel colours, what you need is lots of patience and never ever give up. I have used the normal STAR brand essence (which we can easily get in Malaysian supermarkets ) instead of Wilton's. It is important that you get the basic colours of red, blue, and yellow. Use only a little drop of each colour, using the back of the teaspoon. With these colours you can just mix up, together with the white buttercream until you get the desired colours.

I would love to share the recipe of my tropical buttercream icing, with friends and alike.

Basic Buttercream Icing

( White buttercream icing)

Ingredients

1) 1/2 cup of not so pure butter ( fat spread-butter containing blended vegetable fats

and animal fats)

I have used Farmcows.

2) 1/2 cup of of Creamwell (white vegetable shortening - you can also use the brand Crisco)

3) 2 tsp of unsalted butter

4) 1 tsp of salt

5) 2-3 cups of icing sugar (sieve 2 times)- to get rid of the lumps

4) 2 tsp of fresh milk (optional)

How

1) In a big bowl, put not-so-pure butter together with the butter, creamwell and salt.

Cream using the electric mixer.

2) Add in the icing sugar, bit by bit. Mix well. Put on the high speed button.

3) Lastly add in fresh milk. Mix again untill you achieve a stiff consistency. To test on

the stiffness, you should see whether the icing stay put on the back of the spoon and

will not drip easily.

To colour - just add any colours that you like, just put a little drop for each colour.

Happy creaming, everyone ;)