Moist Walnut Cupcakes

How to bake Moist Walnut Cupcakes

                 I crave chocolate. My better half doesn't; so I wanted to bake something else for him on his special day. I chose to bake these delicious treats from Cupcakes by Susanna Tee. I thought it would make us less guilty, if it had at least one healthy ingredient in it (walnuts). The ground walnuts in this cupcake give it a nutty flavor, while the lemon zest & juice adds a zing to it. To make it appetizing to my kids, I chose to add chopped chocolate on top of some of the cupcakes. You can even skip the frosting all together & eat these like muffins, as they are sweet enough all by themselves. Sharing these nutty cupcakes with my fellow bloggers at CCChallenge.

Ingredients for about 8 to 10 cupcakes:

3/4 cup walnuts
4 Tbsp softened butter
½ cup fine sugar
½ cup self-rising white flour (make your own - see notes below)

2 Tbsp lemon zest
2 eggs

walnut halves, to decorate

For the frosting:
4 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered/confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp lemon zest (optional)
1 tsp lemon juice

Preparation:

• Heat the oven to 375°F/190°C ; place about 10 paper baking cases in a regular muffin/cupcake pan, or, just spray a mini muffin pan with some baking spray, or use double paper cases on a baking sheet.
• Pulse the walnut in food processor to break it down to a fine powder. Take care not to over grind as it will get oily. Add the butter, cut into small pieces, along with sugar, lemon rind; blend and add eggs, flour and blend until evenly mixed. (If you do not have a food processor, powder the walnuts in a mixer/blender and you can mix the rest of the ingredients by hand) 

• Spoon the batter into the muffin pan and bake for about 17 to 20 minutes until well-risen and golden brown, cooked through on the inside; then, allow to cool a little on the wire rack before frosting. Note - Check with a toothpick after 17 minutes. If your toothpick comes out clean; remove from oven to cool.

• To make the frosting: Beat the butter in a bowl until fluffy; sift in confectioners' sugar, add lemon zest(if using) and juice and mix well together.

• When cupcakes are cool enough, spread a layer of frosting on the cupcake and top with a walnut half or candy to decorate.

Notes:

• You can add a drop of food color to the frosting, if you like and add a kid friendly topping( pieces of candy, sprinkles etc) to make it appetizing to your kids.
• Take care to check your cupcakes (with a toothpick) after 17-18 minutes to make sure they do not become dry, which will reduce their softness.
• If you are using mini cupcake pans, your cupcakes will be done, much sooner.
• To make your own self-rising flour - In a measuring cup, add 1.5 Tsp of baking powder, 1/2 Tsp of salt and top it off with all purpose flour (maida) to make 1 cup of self-rising flour, sift and use as much as you need in any recipe that calls for self-rising flour.