Ginger, Toffee and Lime Cupcakes [+ a Surprise Inside!]

In this chapter of ‘the filmmaker’s guide’ we’re actually going to be learning about literature and film together. I understand that many of you are sitting in university during difficult times and finding it increasingly hard to study and I understand that many of you who are not at university or not planning on it are possibly stuck of what to do, need a break or even need to catch up on learning film before you get to the next level. This guide will be brief but will also contain: new vocabulary, concepts and theories, films to watch and we will be exploring something taboo until now in the ‘filmmaker’s guide’ - academia (abyss opens). Each article will explore a different concept of film, philosophy, literature or bibliography/filmography etc. in order to give you something new to learn each time we see each other. You can use some of the words amongst family and friends to sound clever or you can get back to me (email in bio) and tell me how you’re doing. So, strap in and prepare for the filmmaker’s guide to film studies because it is going to be one wild ride.

Ginger, Toffee and Lime Cupcakes

I love the taste of ginger and I think it is one of the most versatile flavours to use in baking because there are so many tasty things you can put with it. I decided that this time I would experiment with a classic winter flavour - toffee and give it a tanginess by adding lime to the buttercream that I would put on top.

Inside the cake, the colour is pink and it is coated with a gold cupcake case in favour of the birthday of one of my favourite designers - Roberto Cavalli who's gold dresses inspired my love of glamour. Happy Birthday Roberto Cavalli. The buttercream is lime green, coloured to suit the flavour of lime because it is a fact that people taste with their eyes first. You do not need to therefore tell people it is lime flavoured, let them taste it and I think they'll get it perfectly fine.

When it comes to the colour pink, you would have probably noticed that I adore it and I think that it is lovely to make treats a nice pink colour. Pink is a colour you can use in summer for nice fruity drinks, a colour you can use in spring for those strawberry-flavoured cookies and roulades. It's a nice colour for syrups atop whipped cream on coffee in the autumn and finally, for this season of winter - it is a great colour for lovely little cupcakes and biscuits.

Let's take a look at the recipe then

You will need

• 110g Caster Sugar
• 110g Softened Butter
• 110g Self Raising Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 3 tbsp Ground Ginger
• 2 tbsp of Whittard's Toffee Popcorn Hot Chocolate Powder
• 2 tbsp Pink Food Colouring
• 10 Blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 200C and line a cupcake tray with golden cupcake cases
2. Cream together the butter and the sugar for about four minutes until the mixture is quite white
3. Add in the eggs and the flavourings - that means the ginger and the chocolate powder
4. Add in the flour and the pink food colouring, making sure the food colouring is well divided over the mixture and has not just clumped up somewhere. Especially if you are using a strong pigment, make sure it is divided up well and mixed in to the batter properly.
5. Divide your cupcake mixture up between your cases and add a blueberry to each cake, not pressing it down too much but a little nudge should do it
6. Then, put them in the oven for about eighteen to twenty minutes
7. When you get them out, allow them to cool for about fifteen minutes.

Decoration

• 140g Softened Butter
• 280g Icing Sugar
• Half a Lime - Juiced
• 2 tbsp of Green Food Colouring

Instructions

1. Whilst your cupcakes are cooling, whisk the butter with an electric whisk for about five minutes until it turns white
2. Add the icing sugar and the lime and whisk for another five minutes until fully combined and smooth
3. Add in the food colouring and whisk for another minute until food colouring is totally combined
4. Pipe on to the cupcakes in the design of your choice
5. Refrigerate for twenty minutes so that the buttercream can harden just a little so that eating becomes easier and tastier

This should make some really tasty cupcakes and by adding a little edible silver ball to the top, I have made them look quite classic. You may ask me why I don't fill the cupcake with buttercream and that is purely because it would get far too sweet for my family to eat. You may do what you feel is best when it comes to the buttercream. I believe that a simple little layered swirl in the middle is quite nice. Especially when the cupcake is the main feature after all.

I hope you enjoy your cakes!