Henna-ed cupcakes

27Jan07

I’ve been wanting to try this out for the longest of times. The first time the idea came to me was when I was applying henna for my cousin… I was thinking of what it’d be like to decorate an entire cake with these lovely patterns. Then I really thought about it and decided that maybe cupcakes were a better idea cos it’s easier to decorate many small surfaces rather than one large one ‘cos you run the risk of ovecrowding the designs. 

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I finally got down to trying out my henna piping skills and I must say I am quite happy. I wanted to get that rich reddish-orange color that the henna stain gives but I think my frosting went a bit too red. And I need to buy a finer piping tip as well cos this one gave lines that, in my opinion, were still not thin enough. Well, there’s always next time!

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I made the cupcakes from a vegetarian cake recipe that I’ve talked about before, with slight variations. More orange zest,a  handful of walnuts and golden raisins for added flavor, and I filled the cups only halfway so that there’d be space to spread the buttercream level with the top of the cups after the cakes bake. After flattening the frosting with a pallette knife, I piped on the henna patterns. I must say, they tasted very yummy… the thin layer of buttercream complimented the buttery rich cake vey well. And next time, I may even add some grated carrots to the mixture to give it even more texture.

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Anyway, I think these would be quite pretty at an Indian or Arabic wedding…I mean, you could even do the designs to compliment the henna on the bride’s hands! haha…I like that idea. 

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Orange, Walnut and Raisin Vegetarian Cupcakes 

(makes about 14 cupcakes)

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1 1/4 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp caster sugar

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup golden raisins

grated zest of 2 oranges

1/2 cup orange juice

6 oz sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup melted butter (measure liquid butter), cooled to room temperature

1 tsp vanilla 

1. Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Using a large whisk, whisk in a tbsp of sugar into the flour mixture. Stir in the chopped walnuts and raisins.

2. Whisk together melted butter, condensed milk, vanilla, orange juice and zest.

3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and slowly stir in the liquid mixture with the large whisk. Stir until everything is JUST combined. Do not overmix. The mixture will be lumpy and that’s perfectly fine.

4. Spoon batter into cupcake holders and bake at 350 degree F for 20-22 mins until tops are golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.       

     

The designs in all…

Filed under: Cupcakes, Vegetarian   |  33 Comments