Celebrity MasterChef winner Liz McClarnon has a savoury tooth, always declines dessert and chooses cheese over chocolate any day.
That’s why she’s teamed up with Cathedral City, the nation’s favourite for British Cheese Week (22nd to 30th September 2012) to create a revolutionary take on one of the nation’s most popular treats – the cupcake, using Cathedral City cheddar and other savoury ingredients.
Makes: 20 cupcakes
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 2 eggs
- 175ml semi-skimmed milk
- 250g mashed, roasted butternut squash
- 125g Cathedral City Mature, grated
- 3 chopped spring onions
- 80g uncooked rolled oats
- 125g whole wheat flour
- 125g plain flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. maple syrup
For the topping:
- Chopped spring onions (the darker green part)
- 50g crème fraiche
- 50g soft cream cheese
- Chilli flakes
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 190°C and line a cupcake tray with 12 paper cases.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the squash, milk and eggs.
- In a separate medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder and salt, making sure they are evenly rubbed through.
- To this bowl, add the spring onions, Cathedral City Mature, oats and syrup and mix until evenly distributed.
- Pour in the egg mixture and mix until it is just about combined.
- Fill the cupcake cases about 3/4 full with the mixture and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until they are a golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before adding the topping.
To make the topping:
- Mix the crème fraiche and the soft cheese together until smooth.
- Pop this in the fridge for about 10 minutes to get it to a good piping consistency.
- Using a piping bag with a star tip, pipe small 50p sized tops onto the cupcakes.
- Dress this with a couple of sprigs of chopped spring onion and a smattering of chilli flakes.
- These will keep in an airtight tin for 24 hours.
