Rhubarb and ginger cupcakes

A few months ago, I finally got up the nerve to ring up Foxtel after searching for Foxtel deals here and put the consumer squeeze on them to upgrade my dodgy old cluncker Austar set top box for a shiny new Foxtel one that recorded and series linked programs for you with a glorious press of a button.  I'm happy to say they came to the party :) Due to hubby being a shift worker, we have had pay tv for over 15 years and we love it.  He gets to watch his fill of doco's and big strong tough guy make it shows and I get to O.D. on cooking shows, it's perfect!  Over the past few months though I have noticed I have stopped watching my usual cheffy gurus and swapped them with baking shows and am hanging off their every word.  I've even been looking at ebay deals here for baking sheets and the best price on piping bags, I really am developing a new love affair.  I saw this recipe for Rhubarb and ginger cupcakes while watching one of these cooking shows, Baking Mad with Eric Lamlard and straight away I book marked it on the laptop as a definite bake make!  For those of you who don't know who Eric is, he is a French Patissiere with a following akin to Jamie or Nigella in the baking world with a beautiful accent to boot.  

I have tweeked the original recipe of this, wouldn't you know it, and have used Rhubarb and Raspberry jam from Lana's garden for her rhubarb coulis in the cake and icing.  I've also used brown sugar instead of the light muscovado sugar in Eric's recipe.

Rhubarb and Ginger Cupcakes  Makes 12
250g unsalted butter at room temperature
170g brown sugar
3 eggs
125ml milk
225g self raising flour, sifted
2 - 3 tsp ground ginger, sifted

For the icing
2 tbspn Lana's rhubarb coulis plus 8 tspn for centre of cupcake
75g butter
150g icing sugar

• Preheat the oven to 180c.  Line a cupcake/muffin tin with paper cases.
• With an electric beater, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time and then slowly drizzle in the milk.  Gently mix in the flour and ginger til combined. *I add flour with each egg addition as it stops the mixture curdling.
• Spoon,pipe or use an icecream scoop to put the batter into the paper cases.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cupcake comes out clean.
• Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
• For the topping, in a large bowl, cream the butter with a hand held electric beater on medium speed.  Blend in the sugar, a quarter at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in the rhubarb coulis or add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and continue mixing until light and fluffy.  Keep the frosting covered until ready to decorate the cupcakes.
• Using a melon baller or a 2cm wide cutter, cut out 1cm into the centre of each cupcake to make a hole for the rhubarb coulis to go.  Spoon the jam into the holes, return the removed piece of cake and pipe the frosting on the top.

• Eat them!

Ciao, Jan.