Cupcake Hero - Raspberry Sherry Trifle Cupcakes

Don't you just love it when things come together!!

I had some girlfriends coming around for a bit of a natter and a catch up. The obvious thing to make was cupcakes. Serious grown up cup cakes.

I do not drink alcohol in any form ever. Not for any moral or religious reasons. I just find the flavours are way too harsh. And yet, I find it hard to resist boozy desserts, red wine sauces, guinness pies. I am an enigma even to myself.



So anyway, in thinking about these cupcakes I remembered a recipe I had seen in an old Donna Hay magazine for a raspberry sherry trifle version. It was perfect. I love trifle. My mum makes the best trifle in the world. Subjective, I know. But my whole family will agree with me, and we can't all be wrong. Right????

She only makes one a year, for Christmas Day. It must be the most anticipated and relished trifle ever. My uncles ring at least a couple of times in the lead up to make sure that it will be making an appearance.



Not long after my trifle cupcakes made their appearance, the theme for this month's Cupcake Hero was announced by Slush at Quirky Cupcake. None other than liquor. See what I mean about things coming together.

Okay, I might have had an inkling that it was at least an option. But still, it was great, no!

For these I decided not to use the Donna Hay cupcake recipe. It is far too dense and heavy I find. Instead, I used the Vanilla Vanilla cupcake recipe I first discovered on Stephanie's lovely blog A Whisk and a Spoon. They are so lovely and light. They have become my standard cupcake recipe.

They went down a real treat. We all agreed that you could actually serve them quite nicely as a dessert by removing the paper and turning them upside down in a nice bowl, like so. What do you think?



Raspberry Sherry Trifle Cupcakes
(adapted from Donna Hay Magazine May/June 2006)

1 quantity of Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes. Add in some raspberries (thawed frozen raspberries are fine) as you spoon the batter into the cupcake papers.

Poke some holes in the warm cupcakes with a skewer and drizzle over some sweet sherry. You can make them as boozy as you wish. Leave to cool completely.

Spoon the whipped custard onto the cupcakes and serve.


Whipped Custard Icing

1 1/2 cup single cream
1 vanilla bean (split) or 1 tspn vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 tspn cornflour
1/2 cup thick cream

Place single cream and vanilla over a low heat until it just comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and discard the vanilla bean if using.

Place yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl and whisk until thick and pale. Slowly pour in hot cream, whisking continuously.

Return to a low heat and stir continuously until the mixture thickens, about 8-10 minutes. The mixture should coat the back of the spoon. Refrigerate until cold.

Add the thick cream to the custard and whisk until the mixture is stiff or will hold its shape.