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Brown sugar butterfly cakes with raspberry cream

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for brown sugar butterfly cakes with raspberry cream.

By Emma Knowles
  • 25 mins preparation
  • 20 mins cooking plus cooling
  • Serves 12
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Brown sugar butterfly cakes with raspberry cream
When raspberries are in season, use fresh, but for the rest of the year frozen raspberries work just fine.

Ingredients

  • 100 gm (2/3 cup) plain flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 4 eggs
  • 55 gm (¼ cup) caster sugar
  • 40 gm (¼ cup) brown sugar
  • 50 gm butter, melted and cooled
Raspberry cream
  • 125 gm raspberries (about 1 punnet)
  • 75 gm caster sugar
  • ½ a lemon, juice only
  • 2 tsp raspberry liqueur (optional)
  • 100 gm crème fraîche
  • 100 ml pouring cream
  • 30 gm pure icing sugar, sifted

Method

Main
  • 1
    Preheat oven to 180C. Triple-sift flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside.
  • 2
    Whisk eggs and sugars in an electric mixer until very pale and tripled in volume(5-8 minutes). Sift over flour mixture and fold in with a large metal spoon, then fold in melted butter. Divide mixture among 12 x 80ml-capacity muffin tins lined with paper patty cases, filling to 5mm below rims (do not overfill; there may be a little mixture left over), and bake until risen and pale golden (15-20 minutes). Cool in tins for 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack. Use a 3.5cm-diameter cutter to cut a circle part-way through the centre of each cake to about 1cm deep and remove cake round with a sharp knife. Halve each round and set aside.
  • 3
    Meanwhile, for raspberry cream, combine raspberries, sugar, lemon juice and liqueur in a small saucepan and stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, cook until jam-like (6-8 minutes), remove from heat and cool completely. Whisk crème fraîche, cream and icing sugar until soft peaks form, then fold in raspberry mixture to form a ripple effect. Transfer to a piping bag (no nozzle) and store in refrigerator until required.
  • 4
    To serve, pipe raspberry crème fraîche into holes in cakes. Top with reserved halved cake circles, dust with icing sugar and serve immediately. Cakes are best eaten on day of making.

Notes

Tips for cupcakes

  • Bring all ingredients to room temperature before you start for ease of incorporation. That goes for butter, eggs, milk and other wet ingredients.
  • Prepare your moulds by lining with cupcake papers or buttering and flouring before you start.
  • Make sure your butter is soft but not melting. Coarsely chop it while it's cold and place in mixing bowl minutes before you start.
  • Scrape down sides of your mixing bowl regularly to prevent lumps in the batter.
  • Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. If the mixture shows signs of splitting (it'll look grainy), add a tablespoon or two of flour to the mixture and stir to combine before you go any further. A split mixture will result in tough cakes.
  • Beat butter and sugar, and eggs, in an electric mixer, but stir in dry ingredients and milk by hand to avoid overworking the mixture.
  • Fill moulds to 5mm below tops, unless otherwise specified.
  • Bake cakes in centre of oven and turn halfway through cooking time to ensure even baking (except for sponge cakes, where an even oven temperature must be maintained).
  • Remove cupcakes baked in paper cases from the moulds and place on a wire rack to cool, to avoid sweating.
  • Be patient and let cakes cool before icing or filling.