POUND CUPCAKE WITH BROWN BUTTER GLAZE

“Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!”

― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

 

 

I hate wasting time on cake and cupcake decoration. Mostly because I'm not very good at it so I get stressed when I have to and I think most frosting is too sugary and drowns out the flavours of the sponge.  Marzipan and fondant both taste like sweet plastic to me. It's one of the reasons I don't like those photo cakes people get these days - the ones where a baker prints out a photograph on edible paper using food colouring. They keep saying the paper is edible but it tastes like paper in my mouth anyway and all that colouring! Why would anyone want to ingest all those chemicals?

 

This might not be a popular opinion but then I'm not running for election - all this sugar craft is overrated. It's great if your food is visually impressibe but not at the cost of taste. And definitely not at the cost of including so many harmful chemicals into your meal.

 

I like my desserts to be like this cupcake. Simple, delicious and with a glossy, natural elegance. Just make the glaze and plunk a tablespoon full on top of each muffin and the glaze will automatically run down the sides of the cupcake and give you this shiney, happy glow.

 

 

 

Makes 12

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s recipe

What you’ll need:

 

For the cupcakes

 

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

120 gms butter (softened)

3 tbsp yoghurt

¾ cup sugar

3 eggs

 

For the glaze

 

120 gms butter

1 cup icing sugar

2 tsp vanilla essence

2 – 4 tbsp milk

 

How to:

 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Beat together the butter and sugar till pale. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each egg.

 

2. Add the remaining wet ingredients and whisk. Beat together the dry ingredients in batches. Whisk everything up together.

 

3. Butter your cupcake tray or line with cupcake liners and divide the batter up.

 

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes till a toothpick inserted into one of the cupcakes comes out clean. Let them cool completely.

 

5. For the glaze, melt the butter on a stove top till nice, brown and fragrant. Take it off the stove before you pass out with happiness and whisk in the sugar, vanilla essence and 2 tbsp milk. Use more milk if the glaze is too thick. Use immediately.

6. Plunk a tablespoon full on each cupcake and let it cover the cupcake. Serve.