cupcakes – ALMOST ITALIAN

Spring is just around the corner and the birds are warbling cheerfully in the garden. Another Dexter calf was born early this morning, still without name but many are in the running. What a glorious day, makes me want to talk like Robbie Burns, oh deary laddie oh.

New born male Dexter in need of a name. — New born male Dexter calf needs a name. So far the nominations are : Dillon, Dylan, Danny, Dustin, David, Denzel, Darcy, Dermot, Delicious, Daire, Dash, Doogle, Daithi, ( I think that’s Daisy with a lisp or pronounced by a drunk ), Dennis, Dugan, Declan, Duke, Dude, Duncan, Damian, Doyle, Darragh, Diddley Dee per Taters, Darius, Dailey, Dale, Dinner, Draco, Dax, Dante, Doolin, Declan, Dacow, Dagwod, Derwood, Des, Delbert, Donal, ( after Donal Lunny ) Dalton, Daryl, DOT ( short for Dirty Old Town) and Oh ( short for Danny Boy).

These simple little morning tea cakes are not overly sweet and include a small amount of almond meal helping to keep things moist. They have a sweet/bitter heart, just like mine, provided by a daub of orange marmalade. Best of all, they can be thrown together in minutes.

Orange, Almond and Marmalade Cakes.

125 g unsalted butter
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 large orange, rind zested then juiced
2 large eggs
1 cup SR flour
3/4 cup almond meal
orange marmalade

Cream the butter, sugar and orange rind until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Then add the flour, the almond meal and the juice. Spoon into a greased 12 hole muffin tin, regular sized , and if you prefer, encase them in muffin papers or parchment. Make a small indent into the batter and add a half teaspoon of marmalade to each. Smooth batter over the top.

Bake in a preheated (180 c oven for 15-20 minutes). Cool on a rack. Dust with icing sugar.

Help name the Dexter calf. The name must start with D and be male-ish. Irish/Celtic names preferred but not essential. Leave a D name in the comments below. His name will be chosen by Sunday, August 24th.

This morning it threatened to rain and spoil the planned amble of the Gentlemen’s Walking Group. Mr Tranquillo and two of his mates do an easy eight kilometre walk once a month. There was much checking of the radar, a flutter of emails beforehand about the location, wet weather gear, pick up spot, as well as the proximity of a nearby cafe. It always makes me laugh, reminding me of an old joke about feminists and light bulbs!

This time the café is here in my little castello. The bush walk is in the foothills nearby. These orange and almond cupcakes are easy to whip up, it’s a foolproof recipe. They look a bit Cafe-ish and taste un po’ siciliano. They have become my morning tea standby and I wish I could remember the original source. It comes from my faded handwritten cake book, the one dedicated to cake recipes that actually work. Do you, fellow bloggers, friends and readers, note the source of your recipes when re-writing them in your special book?

Ingredients

125 grams butter, softened

2/3 cup caster sugar

1 large orange, rind zested, then juiced (to make 1/4 cup of juice)

2 large eggs

1 cup Self Raising flour

3/4 cup almond meal

Pure icing sugar to dust.

Method

Heat oven to 180c. Beat the butter, sugar and rind in a mixer for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add a little flour if the mixture begins to curdle. Then add flour, orange juice and almond meal. Beat with a large spoon to incorporate. Grease one large 12 hole muffin tin, then add large muffin cases. Distribute mixture evenly into cases. Bake for 18- 20 mins, or until golden brown.

Cool in pan for five or so minutes, then again on a wire rack.

Peel papers off to serve, dust with icing sugar.

They keep well for around three days in a container, or longer in the fridge. They can be jazzed up for dessert with marscarpone or whipped cream and berries.