Cranberry & Orange Cupcakes with White Chocolate icing recipe

This is originally an American recipe so the measurements are in cups and things like that - so I am sorry about that! I have a set of 'official' cup sized cups from a baking shop - which might be a good idea.

Serves: 14 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1½ cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• zest of 1 orange
• ¾ cup milk (the original recipe said buttermilk, but I don't think it matters)
• ½ teaspoon orange juice squeezed from the zested orange
• 1½ cup fresh cranberries, roughly chopped

Instructions

To make the cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line 14 muffin/cupcake tins with cupcake cases.
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Separately, beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, for about 5 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions. Beat in the orange zest.
4. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter and beat until combined. Follow that with ½ of the milk and orange juice. Add another ⅓ of the dry ingredients, the remaining milk/juice, then the remaining flour mixture, beating to combine between each addition. Fold the cranberries into the batter.
5. Fill the cupcake cases with the mixture and bake in the oven until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean - about 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Ingredients for the icing

• ½ cup white chocolate (in chips or a broken chocolate bar)
• ⅓ cup milk
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1.5-2 cups icing sugar
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Add the white chocolate chips and ⅓ cup of milk to a glass, microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for a few seconds at a time, stopping and stirring each time inbetween, until the the white chocolate is smooth. Allow it to cool.
2. Cream the butter until light and fluffy (will take about 3 minutes). Stir in the melted and cooled white chocolate and then gradually add in the icing sugar, about 1 cup at a time. Then add in the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, followed by the vanilla. Beat on high for about 1 to 3 minutes until the buttercream frosting is smooth, fluffy and will hold a peak. (note - this [American] recipe originally stated around 5 cups of icing sugar, and I found the icing too sweet after 3! - so just maybe take a tea spoon and taste as you go along and you can adapt it to your taste buds!)
3. Decorate cupcakes with the icing and any sprinkles you like (I found mine at Lakeland) 

Cake recipe originally found on the Taste and Tell Blog here.
Icing recipe originally found on Add a Pinch here.

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