Shaken and Stirred: Mojito Cupcakes

Although the Vodka Martini, "shaken not stirred" is the cocktail James Bond is best known for, it is not the only one by far. There are actually many mixed drinks which the famous spy has through his adventures in both the films and Ian Fleming's novels. The Mojito is one of the very few to be on the big screen but not in writing. This happens very late in the releases - 2002's Die Another Day - and is a possible reflection of the popularity of the cocktail at the time of production and was a fitting choice for the Cuban setting. As is his usual style, 007 uses this drink to introduce himself to the beauty of the story, in this case Jinx.


Now, this is my all time favorite cocktail, in my opinion, you cannot beat it; so what better than all the things there is to love about a Mojito in a cupcake! A little bit of online research will yield many many mojito cake recipes but this is my slightly altered version.

Ingredients

120ml buttermilk
1/2 tsp rum
210g self-raising flour
110g butter
150g icing sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
Green food colouring (if required)

Syrup
100g caster sugar
4 tbsp Mojito mix (pre-mixed stuff from the supermarket - if you cant get any of this use 2:2 water:rum)
zest of 1 lime
handful of mint leaves

Icing
400g cream cheese
50g butter
icing sugar to taste (I use about 100g)
2 tsp rum or mojito mix
zest of 2-3 limes

This makes quite a lot of batter, and I made a combination of large cupcakes (in a muffin tin) and mini cupcakes and still had some leftover (that was after I had my silicone case-related disaster - useless inventions!) 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. In a bowl, mix together the buttermilk, rum and vanilla extract. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter and sugar on high speed until creamy. Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture (while mixing at low speed), then 1/2 the buttermilk mixture. Add another 1/3 of the flour, then the remaining buttermilk, and finally the remaining flour. Scrape the edges of the bowl to ensure all of the flour has been incorporated. Add food colouring - I find the gels work best to create a mint green sponge - beat until well mixed. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, filling the cases halfway.

3. Bake for 20 mins in the preheated oven. Meanwhile, prepare the syrup.

4. In a small saucepan, bring liquid mix and sugar to the boil. Once the sugar dissolves, remove from heat and add the zest of lime and mint. Let steep for at least 5 minutes.

5. Once the cupcakes are cool you need to add the sugar syrup. This can be done using a small paring knife to a small plug in the tops of the cupcakes and set aside. Drizzle the syrup evenly over the cupcakes, place the plugs back on each cupcake. Alternatively I use a syringe to fill the cupcakes by first making a small hole with a cocktail stick - I find this is a lot less fiddly!  

To make the icing: 
With the stand (or an electric) mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter at high speed until creamy. Reduce speed and add the icing sugar gradually. Beat for 1 minute until well incorporated. Beat for another 2 minutes at high speed. Scrape the edges of the bowl, add the rum and lime zest. Beat one last time at medium speed.

Once cupcakes are fully cooled, ice with the cream cheese icing. Decorate with lime zest and mint leaves.

Mocha Kisses Cupcakes

I was looking for some new inspiration for my regular cupcake recipe, and I found it, although I cannot take all credit for these as it was my niece (another budding baking enthusiast) that gave me the idea. Combining a joint love for all things chocolate and an addiction to coffee, the Mocha Kisses Cupcakes were born.Why not give these a try for Valentines Day if you special someone has a passion for chocolate or coffee :-)

Ingredients:

115g baking margarine, softened
115g caster sugar
2 medium eggs, beaten
100g plain flour
15g cocoa powder
1.5 tsp Baking Powder
8 Hersheys Kisses

To decorate:

100g unsalted butter, softened
15ml cold espresso or very strong coffee (made up)
190g icing sugar
Chocolate Decorations (I used white chocolate stars)

Method:


1. Preheat the oven to 190C(170 C fan oven)/375F/Gas 5. Line your desired tin (cupcake or muffin tins will work fine) with muffin cases.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the margarine with the sugar until pale and creamy-light in texture. Gradually whisk in the eggs.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder on top - at this point you can also add 1/2 tsp of powdered espresso for those who cannot get enough of there caffeine. Using a large metal spoon, carefully fold the dry ingredients into the mixture until well combined.
4. Spoon a heaped teaspoon of the mixture into the cake cases, and make a slight indent in the middle of the mixture. Place one of the Hershey's Kisses in the indent and then cover with the remaining cake mixture. This should create a nice chocolate center when cooked.
5. Bake on the middle shelf in the oven for 16-18 minutes until risen, and just firm to the touch.
6. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool before icing.


For the icing:

Place the butter in a bowl with the espresso or strong coffee and beat until soft. Gradually sift and beat in the icing sugar to make a smooth, creamy icing. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe a generous swirl on top of each cake. Alternatively if you do not have a piping bag, create a swirl on the top using a palette knife. Decorate with chocolate before serving.