Tayberry cupcakes

These wonderful, intensely aromatic tayberries are perfect for cakes and preserves. You really must try these tayberry cupcakes – the flavour of the fruit itself is exceptional! Sadly, picking them is another story… No wonder we were the only volunteers picking these little berries at the fruit farm ;). They’re covered in thorns, difficult to get to, and the ripe berries are so delicate that they’re easily crushed, so you have to be incredibly gentle when picking them. We were still pulling almost invisible thorns out of our fingers that evening ;). In baking, however, they are absolutely fantastic, and their flavour is unforgettable. Today I’ve used them in simple fruit cupcakes with a light berry cream – this is a brilliant basic cupcake recipe and one worth keeping!

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients for the tayberry cupcakes:

• 170 g butter
• 125 g caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 175 g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 200 g tayberries

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition (the mixture may look curdled at this stage, but this will not affect the finished bake). Add the lemon juice and beat briefly. Sift the flour and baking powder directly into the mixture and fold with a spatula just until combined. Add the tayberries and fold through with a single gentle movement.

Prepare a standard muffin tin. Line with paper cases and divide the batter evenly between the 12 cases.

Bake the cupcakes at 170°C for approximately 22–25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients for the light fruit cream:

• 300 ml double cream
• 125 g mascarpone
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 100 g tayberries + 12 for decoration

All ingredients should be chilled.

Place the double cream, mascarpone and icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until thick and creamy. Add the tayberries and mix briefly. The fruit will break down into small pieces and colour the cream.

Transfer the cream to a piping bag fitted with a deeply cut star nozzle and pipe it over the cupcakes. Place one tayberry on top of each cupcake. Chill.

Enjoy!