Pretty as a picture, these spiced muffins are easier than they look. Top with a swirl of luscious cream cheese frosting and a dried pineapple ‘flower’.
Keep it retro with our classic pineapple upside-down cake.
Ingredients
- 160g unsalted butter, softened
- 160g golden caster sugar
- 150g self-raising flour
- 3 medium free-range eggs
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- Grated zest 1/2 orange
- 75g currants (or use mixed fruit and peel)
For the cream cheese icing
- 75g unsalted butter, softened
- 180g full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese (see Know How)
- 75g icing sugar
For the pineapple flowers
- 1/2 small pineapple, peeled, eyes removed and thinly sliced into 12 rounds (slice as thinly as you can or use a mandoline, and don’t remove the central core)
- A few drops food colouring in various colours (optional)
You’ll also need
- 12-hole muffin tin lined with paper cases or a lightly greased silicone muffin tray
Method
- Heat the oven to 130ºC fan/gas 2. For the flowers, dry the pineapple slices with kitchen paper, then arrange on 2 baking trays lined with baking paper. Mix a few drops of food colouring into 1 tbsp water for each colour, then drop a little of it onto the middle of a few flowers using a teaspoon. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip and bake for 20 minutes more or until the pineapple feels dry to the touch. While the slices are still warm, push each into a mini muffin hole to set it in a flower shape (see Make Ahead).
- For the cupcakes, turn the oven up to 170°C fan/gas 5. Put the butter, sugar, flour, eggs, milk, vanilla, spice and zest in a large mixing bowl and beat using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in the currants.
- Divide the mixture among the cupcake cases in the tin and bake for 15-18 minutes or until the cakes have risen and spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- For the icing, beat the all the ingredients until smooth, then ice the cupcakes – use a piping bag if you like. Decorate each muffin with a pineapple flower.
Nutrition
- 354kcals Calories
- 21g (12.9g saturated) Fat
- 4.4g Protein
- 36.3g (26.8g sugars) Carbs
- 1.1g Fibre
- 0.3g Salt
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