St Patricks Day cupcakes - a touch of the green




Today my name is Midge Cabbage leaf which is what I would answer to if I was a leprechaun.

You know, one of those funny short characters who knows where the pot of gold is hidden.  Now wouldn't that be nice!

I'm wearing the green and dancing a jig (not really) but I will be heading out in search of green cupcakes for St Patricks Day on Sunday (March 17).

Green, a colour usually reserved for vegetables, is the colour of the day as we all join in the spirit of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

There's more than a touch of the Irish in my family and one day I intend to discover what part of 'where the mountains of Mourne roll down to the sea' that I really come from.  That's what my grandfather told me but he may have just been singing a song...





Here's a recipe for green cupcakes that follows the same route as red velvet cupcakes.

St Patricks Day Green Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 250g butter, softened
  • 3 cups (660g) white sugar
  • 6 eggs
  • 30ml green food colouring
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 cups (375g) plain flour
  • 1 cup (250ml) buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar

For the icing
  • 500g cream cheese
  • 375g white chocolate
  • 250g butter, softened

Preparation method

1. Preheat oven to 165 degrees C.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix food colouring with cocoa and add to mixture.

3. Add flour alternately with buttermilk. Add vanilla and salt.

4. Mix the bicarb with the vinegar, and gently stir into mixture. Be careful not to over mix.

5. Divide batter into patty cases. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool.

6. To make the white chocolate cream cheese icing: Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave and allow to cool to lukewarm. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in melted white chocolate and softened butter. Beat until it is the consistency of whipped cream.