Right so this is my first attempt at one of these ghost blog posts where you set the timer and boom it comes out ahahahaha, Illuminati type stuff… Or not, as its all a myth!

Anyone this weeks Great British Bake Off post comes from our friends at the Hidden Lane Tea Room.  Everything month they bake for us special little Gin themed cupcakes.  I say they its Kirsty the owner whos doing the baking for us (except this week when it was young Holly Genero -aye thats the woman from Die Hard I know but I’ve called her that for years, now shes Yoga Hols).

So here it is , our Gin Club Gin Mojito Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Strawberry Syrup:

250g caster sugar

250ml of water

100g strawberries, diced

6 dried juniper berries

50g fresh mint leaves, chopped

Cupcakes

120g plain flour

140g caster sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

40g unsalted butter, at room temperature

120ml whole milk

1 egg

¼tsp vanilla extract For the icing

250g icing sugar, sifted

80g unsalted butter, at room temperature

25ml whole milk

a couple of drops of mint extract

A couple of drops of pink food colouring

Method:

First thing that you need to do is make a strawberry gin mojito syrup.

Put 250g of caster sugar in a pan and add 250ml of water. Add 100g (roughly!) of diced strawberries and 6 crushed dried juniper berries.

Heat on a medium heat until bubbling and the sugar has fully dissolved. Take off the heat and stir in the chopped mint leaves. Leave to cool.

Now you need to make your cupcakes. We use a vanilla cupcake batter.

Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.

Whisk the egg, vanilla extract and milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour half into the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula).

Add the rest of the milk mixture and continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not over mix. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full.

Now this is where the cupcakes differ from a usual vanilla cupcake! Into each cupcake add a few of the strawberry pieces that have been soaking in the syrup. Try not to add too much syrup at this stage, bake in a preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, or until light golden and the sponge bounces back when touched. (If you are making mini cupcakes they will only take 13-15minutes) A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean.

Whist the cupcakes are still hot spoon over a couple so teaspoons of the strawberry syrup and allow it to soak into the cake. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before transferring onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile you can make the icing. Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Turn the mixer down to slow speed.

Combine the milk, mint extract and food colouring in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time. Once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes. When the cupcakes are cold, decorate with the icing and drizzle with remaining sugar syrup, Enjoy!