Kathryn Bakes: Banana, Honey & Meringue Cupcakes

Yesterday I opted for a slightly different baking technique for cupcakes that contains no butter using a recipe I found in the new Cupcake Heaven magazine. If you have read my posts before you will know that whenever I use a recipe they mostly always come out wrong, so yup *sigh* to my surprise these you could say came out wrong but I would much prefer to say that they 'weren't exactly what I was going for'. 

Not that they aren't nice because they really are, they just aren't really what I would usually look for in a cupcake. If you like a solid cake such as a banana loaf then voila, this is for you. If, however, you have a sweet tooth like me and love butter cream with a light sponge then maybe another one of my recipes would suit you. Either way here is the recipe for Banana, honey & meringue cupcakes: 

P.s this is a small batch that only makes 6

For the cupcakes you will need:

• 150 g of plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 2 ripe bananas, mashes
• 1 medium free range egg
• 40 ml of sunflower oil
• 75g of honey
• 80 g of chopped almonds 

For the meringue frosting you will need:

• 2 free range egg whites
• 100 g of caster sugar
• A pinch of cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 
• Pearls and banana chips to decorate

1. Pre heat the over to 180 degrees C and line a muffin tin with 6 cases 
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl
3. Whisk together the bananas, eggs, sunflower oil and honey to combine and then tip in the dry ingredients. Beat until smooth then add the almonds
4. Spoon in the mixture and bake for 20 mins. Cool in the tins or a few minutes then place on a wire rack 
5. For the meringue, mix the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of boiling water. Whisk until a sugar thermometer reads 60 degrees C then remove from heat
6. Continue whisking till peaks form, add vanilla then chill for 10-15 mins in the frige
7. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe a swirl on top of each cupcake
8. To finish I added yellow sprinkles and a banana chip!

I love seeing other peoples creations so if you are a baker or happen to use one of my recipes (in my dreams) then please give me a taggg on instagram or twitter (: 

Happy baking beauts x 

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Before I start I would like to just mention that even though I thought my lemon cheesecake cupcakes were a disaster, they actually taste surprisingly nice and I have been having one for breakfast every day since!

So, I was planning on creating Mint Chocolate Chip cakes today, however the peppermint essence I had in the cupboard expired in 2001 and Tesco did not sell it so instead I have baked Lemon Meringue with homemade Lemon Curd filling! Enjoy! 

Stage 1: Bake the Cupcakes

Recipe: 

As per usual, measure your 2 or 3 eggs. Beat the margarine and caster sugar (same weight as the eggs) together until smooth and add each egg one by one. Add a drop of vanilla essence and 2 tsp of lemon rind (around 1 lemon). 

Sieve in the self raising flour (also the same weight as the eggs) then place in the muffin cases and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for 20-25 until golden brown!

Step 2: Make the Lemon Curd

Recipe: 

You will need; 1 egg, 50 grams of stork/butter, 2 tsp of lemon rind, 60 ml of lemon juice and 100 grams of caster sugar. 

Combine ingredients into a small saucepan over low heat. Cook and stir for around 5 minutes until it has thickened and strain through a sieve. Place in a bowl with cling film over the top and cool in the fridge. 

 Step 3: Fill the cupcake

Once the cake and lemon curd have both cooled, using an apple core or a cupcake cutter, remove the center of the cake and fill with lemon curd. 

 Step 4: Make the Meringue

Recipe: 

You will need; 3 egg whites and 150 grams of sugar. 

Place the egg whites in a dry bowl ( I placed mine in the fridge to begin with) and whisk until firm peaks form. Add 1 dessert spoon of sugar at a time beating well in between. Spoon or pipe over the cake and transfer them onto a baking tray in a pre-heated grill until lightly golden brown. 

 Step 5: Decorate

I sprayed some Pearl Lustre Spray onto some cakes, whilst others I sprinkled fine yellow edible glitter!