Baroque Apricot Cupcakes with Royal Blue and Gold Accents

Baroque Cupcakes (Apricot filled Cupcakes)

An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella

Makes 8

• 1/2 cup caster or superfine sugar

• 1 cup plain flour

• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

• 90g butter at room temperature

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup milk plus 1 squeeze of lemon juice into the milk to curdle it

• 6-7 dried apricots chopped finely (I prefer Turkish apricots)

• a few drops of apricot essence

To decorate

• 70grams/ 2.5 ozs Apricot Jam

• White Fondant

• a little cornflour or icing sugar to dust

• Royal Blue icing pen

• Sugar Flowers

• Metallic sprinkles

• Gold and silver lustre dust

Buyer's Tip: Sugar flowers, icing pens, sprinkles and lustre dust are available from specialty cake decorating stores. Prepared fondant is sold in supermarkets under the brand "Orchid" and is called White Icing.

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 150c fan forced or 170c non fan forced.

Step 2 - Add all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix on low speed until combined and then a higher speed until batter becomes pale. Spoon into patty tins.

Step 3 - Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool in tin.

Step 4 - Sift a coating of icing sugar or cornflour over a clean flat surface. Grab a section of fondant and knead until it becomes pliable. Roll it out and dust a rolling pin with icing sugar or cornflour and roll fondant out to about 1/2 cm thick. Use a round cutter to cut out round.

Step 5 - To adhere the fondant onto the cupcake top, brush with a little warmed apricot jam and then place fondant rounds on top.

Step 6 - Take blue writing pen and draw baroque style patterns. Dot some icing under a sugar flower and affix to the top and sprinkle metallic cachous and lustre dust if desired.