As most of you know today is Valentines Day, a day that can be an unhappy one for the singletons out there (a group of which I am a proud member) but it doesn't have to be! I mean it is the one day of the year that you should not feel bad about indulging your sweet tooth; you have a license to eat things like chocolate or cake without feeling guilty. Now I am sure that a lot of you have heard how Valentines day came about- that it was a clever trick made up by greeting card companies to induce people to part with their cash in exchange for a card containing a loving message to give to their beloved, however as I found out this morning, this is not where Valentines day originated. In actual fact Valentines Day was begun by a Bishop who lived over 1000 years ago whose name was, you guessed it- Valentine. During his life the Roman emperor Cladius II banned all Roman soldiers from marrying as he believed that unmarried soldiers were far better soldiers as they did not have any emotional attachment. However Valentine, a true romantic secretly married couples without the emperor’s knowledge. Cladius of course found out about the ceremonies and locked Valentine up. During his imprisonment, Valentine purportedly had saintly powers as was able to heal the jailer’s daughter. Evidentially a close friendship manifested between Valentine and the daughter, and on February the 14th, the day of his execution, he supposedly penned a farewell note to her, signing it "From your Valentine".
So there you have it, the true beginnings of the day of love, however while most people buy chocolates and flowers, why not bake something sweet!! My butterfly cupcakes are perfect for such an occasion, they are perfect for sharing with your loved one, or simply enjoying one over a nice cup of tea ( my preferred method of consumption).
Butterfly Cupcakes
Ingredients:
- 120g of unsalted butter at room temperature
- 145 (2/3 cup) caster sugar
- 185g (1 ½) cups of self raising flour
- 125 ml of Milk
- 2 eggs
- 125 ml whipping cream
- Strawberry jam
- Icing sugar for decoration
In a bowl beat the butter, sugar flour, milk and eggs with an electric or stand mixer with a whisk attachment on low speed until ingredients are totally combined, then increase the speed and beat until the mixture is smooth and pale in colour.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Once ready cool on a wire rack.
Cut a shallow round from the centre of the cake using a sharp knife ( must be sharp otherwise the cake with crumble). Cut the small piece of sponge in half (these will later be the butterfly wings). Once the hole has been cut fill it half with jam and top with cream, then position their 2 halves of the cake to create the wings- then place a tiny drop of jam between the wings. Dust with the icing sugar and voila! a lovely little sweet treat!
A little hint, do make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature when baking. Altough they do make 12, you will no doubt finish them off in one sitting! Enjoy!!
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