Читать книгу Crave: Brilliantly Indulgent Recipes - Martha Collison - Страница 29
ОглавлениеOne of the things I love most about summer is biting into ripe, juicy peaches that drip down your chin in an undignified manner. Adding fruit purée to sponges locks in moisture, which makes for a delicious soft sponge, but if you prefer you can leave the peaches in small chunks for a different texture. You can use fresh or tinned peaches to make these, but fresh will have a superior flavour.
MAKES 18 CUPCAKES
PREP TIME: 20 MINS PLUS COOLING
COOKING TIME: 20–25 MINS
CUPCAKES
200g peeled, halved and stoned peaches (fresh or from a tin)
125g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
TOPPING
300ml double cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 ripe peach, halved, stoned and cut into 18 slices, to decorate
You will also need 2 × 12-hole muffin tins and 18 paper muffin cases.
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4 and line the muffin tins with 18 muffin cases.
2 Cut the peaches into chunks and place them in a food processor or a stick blender with a processor attachment. Purée until smooth.
3 Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl using an electric hand-held whisk or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until really pale and fluffy – this is what will make the sponge light.
4 Add the vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mix then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition and scraping the mixture down from the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled at this point – it should blend together after the flour is added.
5 Combine the flour and baking powder in a small bowl. With the whisk or mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture, followed by all the peach purée, then the remaining flour, mixing well between each addition until the mixture is smooth. It will form a very thick batter.
6 Divide the mixture evenly among the cases and bake for 20–25 minutes. The cakes should be springy to the touch and a metal skewer inserted into the centre of one of the cakes should come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
7 While the cakes are cooling, make the topping. Whisk the cream and icing sugar together in a bowl until the mixture just holds its shape when you lift the whisk. If the cream is too stiff it won’t spread smoothly.
8 When the cakes are at room temperature, decorate them with the cream topping using a palette knife. Put a tablespoon-sized dollop on the top of each cupcake, then smooth it down into the edges to form a cone shape. Use the rounded end of the spatula to create a swirl at the top. Decorate with a slice of fresh peach and keep chilled until ready to serve.
