As I said a few days ago on Instagram, I’m slightly obsessed with chai at the minute… I suppose it has a lot to do with the rain… It’s been raining buckets all week… so for me, rain = chai… GINGER chai…. Usually I’m in Bangalore during the monsoon season every year… (August)… And you’ll always find me sitting by the windowsill sipping hot ginger chai, eating “pakoras” or some sort of fried Indian spicy snack!!!
These were inspired by that very feeling and taste! And I think they’re SO appropriate for this time of year… the time of year when you are ALWAYS tempted to pop in to a Starbucks for one of their seasonal coffees… it just means it’s December doesn’t it?
Ok, so I apologise for the poor lighting… it was a night baking session… I seem to be doing alot of those lately… I don’t know what to tell you…! But still these… it doesn’t really matter HOW they look… they really ARE so moist and fragrant and just spell THAT word…. which word..?? the C word… CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Don’t they look just so perfect next to the tree? So this is why you need to have these on your Christmas table… They will fly faster than 50″ TVs on Black Friday, so make sure you make a double batch! I took a batch to culinary school… they were gone in 60 seconds, literally!! So here’s the easy recipe… my little gift to you!!
- 2 cups (260 grams) wholewheat flour
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup 113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (105 grams) light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, free range preferable
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) golden syrup… no worries if you can’t get hold of it, maple syrup or honey is a perfectly suitable alternative
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk… you can just use regular whole milk if you don’t have buttermilk
- Lemon Icing:
- 1 1/2 cups (150 grams) sifted confectioners’ (powdered or icing) sugar
- 2 – 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- raspberries to top the cakes(optional)…
- Preheat oven to 170 degrees C and place rack in center of oven. Take your cupcake or muffin tin and line each one with a bit of butter and flour or coat with non stick spray…
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger and black pepper.
- In bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon zest and golden syrup and beat to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients and milk, alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat just until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake tin. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing cake from pan. Let cool completely and then, if desired, frost with the Lemon Icing.
- I place a tea towel or kitchen paper underneath the wire rack, before pouring the lemon icing over the tops of the cakes to avoid too much mess!
- Lemon Icing: Mix together the sifted confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice until smooth. (The icing should be thick but still spreadable.) Pour the icing onto the center of the cake and spread with an offset spatula. Some of the icing will drip down the sides of the cake.
- Recipe adapted from joyofbaking.com
Happiness is…. sharing sweets and laughing over silly moments with friends and family.. and I wish these lovely things for all of you… xxx
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