Moist Walnut Cupcakes-SC #8

Today is the day for moistly delicious walnut cupcakes.  It's a balmy 50 degrees outside, making the urge to jump in a pool and smell the acidic scent of sunscreen unbearably strong.  So of course, I fired up my oven and got busy baking.  My mom has decided that if I'm going to bake all the way through this cookbook, we are going to have to start cutting the bigger recipes in half to save on ingredients, and to save ourselves from gaining much more weight.  Most of these recipes will work if you would like to half them, but not all.

I did cut this recipe in half and it turned out splendidly! The batter was the most flavorful batter I've ever had and I will definitely be using walnut powder in my baking for the future.  A few tips about this recipe;

• Be careful not to grind the walnuts too much because the nuts could turn into oil if you blend them too much.
• Use a food processor for the whole thing.  It'll save you some dishes and it blends the batter really nicely.

Moist Walnut Cupcakes

makes 12

generous 3/4 cup walnuts

4 Tbsp butter, softened, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup superfine sugar

grated rind of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup self-rising flour

2 eggs

12 walnut halves to decorate

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a muffin tin with 12 liners.  

Place the walnuts in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.  

Add the butter, sugar, lemon rind, flour and eggs and blend until the mixture is evenly combined.  Spoon the batter into liners.

Bake for 20 minutes or until well risen and springy to the touch.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

4 Tbsp butter softened

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

grated rind of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp lemon juice

To make the frosting, place the butter in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy.  Sift in the confectioners' sugar, add the lemon rind and juice and mix well together.  When the cupcakes are cold, spread the frosting on top of each cupcake and top with a walnut half to decorate.

Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Parragon Books Ltd.