Diamond Jubilee Vanilla Cupcakes Filled with Berries and Whipped Cream

Just to let you know, this post was written before I started the paleo diet to help ease my psoriasis. Nowadays I eat a more allergy-friendly diet, but leave these older, non-paleo posts up in case they are useful to readers, as I know not everyone eats the same as I do. Thanks for your understanding. 

We're fast approaching June, and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. I've already made the coronation chicken voluvents, and now I needed something diddy and bite-sized for pudding. I loved the look of a traditional Victoria sponge cake so decided to make these little bite-sized cakes filled with whipped cream and crushed berries.

All you do is basically make some vanilla cupcakes in a silicone muffin tray, without paper liners. The muffin tray gives the edges of the cake a crispness that contrasts with all that soft cream. Then, when they are stone cold, you split them horizontally with a serrated knife and fill. Don't be tempted to try and cut them when they are even the slightest bit warm - they will disintegrate into a pile of soft crumbs.

Diamond Jubilee Cupcakes

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 125g soft unsalted butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 25g golden caster sugar
• 120g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• half teaspoon vanilla essence
• 3 tbsp milk
• 100ml whipping cream
• handful of raspberries
• handful of blueberries
• icing sugar, to decorate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Beat together the butter and sugars, add the eggs and mix well. Tip in the flour and baking powder, trickle in the vanilla essence and milk, and mix well to a dropping consistency.
2. Fill a 12-hole silicone muffin tray with the mixture and bake for 15 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch. Cool on a wire tray.
3. Whip the cream until stiff. Place the raspberries in a small bowl and crush with a fork. In another bowl, do the same for the blueberries.
4. Swirl the raspberries into the cream and then the blueberries - don't mix too much, you want a little bit of marbling rather than a consistent colour.
5. When the cakes are cool, split them in half horizontally and fill with the cream and berries mixture. Dust over some icing sugar and serve.
   
   

What are you making for the Diamond Jubilee this year?