(Makes 12)

Earl Grey and Rose Cupcakes

Earl Grey and Rose Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

  • 175g (6oz) butter
  • 175g (6oz) caster sugar
  • 175g (6oz) self-raising flour
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp rosewater

For the earl grey buttercream:

  • 225g (8oz) butter
  • 450g (1lb) icing sugar
  • 2 tbsp warmed milk
  • 2 earl grey tea bags
  • Pink food colouring (gel/paste is best)

Rose Petal Jam: (makes 2 jars)

  • 110g (4oz) scented rose petals
  • 450g (1lb) granulated sugar
  • 1 litre (1¾ pints) water
  • Juice of 2 lemons

To decorate:

  • Crystallised rose petals:
  • 1 egg white, lightly whisked
  • 75g (3oz) caster sugar
  • Rose petals

Method:

To make the rose petal jam to fill the centres of your cupcakes:

  1. Sterilise the jam jars. First wash the jars in soapy water and then rinse. Place the jars upside down on a baking tray in the oven preheated to 180ºC/Fan 160ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4 for 5 minutes until dry (or you can carefully swill the washed jars with boiling water).
  2. Pick the petals making sure they are pesticide and insect-free. If the petals are large, tear them into smaller pieces. Put the rinsed and dried petals in a large bowl with half of the sugar. Gently stir together, then cover and leave in a warm place overnight.
  3. Add the rest of the sugar, the water and lemon juice to a large pan. On a low heat, stir until the sugar has dissolved, then stir in the rose petal and sugar mix. Simmer for 20 minutes, then turn up the heat and boil for another 5 minutes, until it thickens and reaches setting point.
  4. Leave to cool before using.
  5. Ladle any extra jam into sterilised jars using a jam funnel. Seal with a lid immediately and store in a cool place.

To make the crystallised rose petals:

  1. To make the crystallised rose petals, collect your petals making sure they are pesticide and insect-free. Dip a small decorating brush into the egg white and carefully brush the petals, using just enough egg white to cover the surface.
  2. Spoon sugar over each petal, making sure to cover both sides, and then shake off the excess. Dry the petals on baking parchment for at least 3 hours before using - make them the day before if you can.

To make the cakes:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Fan 160ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4, and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cupcake or muffin cases.
  2. Put the butter, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and rosewater into the bowl of a free-standing electric mixer. Then sift in the flour, lifting your sieve quite high to incorporate air, and beat for 1-2 minutes until light and creamy. Divide the mixture evenly among the paper cases.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until well-risen and a skewer inserted into the middle of one of the cakes come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.
  4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Then, using an apple corer, make a hole in the centre of the top of each cupcake. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of rose petal jam into the hole in each cupcake.

To make the buttercream:

  1. Steep the tea bags in the warm milk for about ten minutes and allow to cool.
  2. While the milk is infusing, beat the butter until soft and creamy. Sift the icing sugar and add to the creamed butter in two additions mixing in a low speed.
  3. When fully incorporated, add the cool tea-infused milk and beat for 3-5 minutes on a higher speed. Mix in a tiny amount of pink food colouring to the buttercream using the tip of a cocktail stick.
  4. Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and swirl it on top of the cupcakes.
  5. To decorate your cupcakes, top with crystallised rose petals. To serve each cupcake in a pretty teacup.

17 year old Amy-Beth Ellice is Britain's youngest female published cookery author, with her debut book Amy's Baking Year sold in WH Smith, Hobbycraft stores nationwide and Harrods. At just thirteen the teenaged baking sensation set up her own cupcake and cake business, quickly acquiring a mass following with Raymond Blanc describing Amy as 'A young talent who bakes beyond her years' and predicted a future as 'the world's best patissier.'

Honing her craft in the kitchens of The Ritz and Paris World famous Four Seasons George V Hotel, Amy has baked for a plethora of celebrities including Katherine Jenkins, Pixie Lott, Eamon Holmes, Kelle Bryan and even created a spread of Live Aid 30 cupcakes in celebration of Sir Bob Geldof's thirty years of Band Aid.

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