Mini-Christmas cakes with marzipan icing
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- Prep Time15 min
- Total Time15 min
- Makes12 cupcakes
Ingredients
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped candied lemon peel, or candied cherries or pineapple
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
2 eggs
1/4 cup orange juice, rum or brandy
1/2 cup melted butter
marzipan icing, see below
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Lightly oil a 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper cups. Prepare and measure out pecans, raisins and cherries. In a large bowl, using a fork, stir flour with brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice. In another bowl, whisk eggs. Whisk in brandy, then cooled butter. Using a wooden spoon, stir wet mixture into dry until well mixed. Stir in pecans, raisins and candied fruit until evenly distributed. Spoon into muffin cups, filling three-quarters full.
Bake in centre of preheated oven until a cake tester inserted in centre of cupcakes comes out clean, 15 to 18 min. Cool 10 min, then remove cakes to a rack to cool completely before icing. Cakes without icing will keep well, tightly covered or stored in an airtight container, at room temperature up to 1 week, or frozen up to 1 month.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 410, Protein 4g, Carbohydrates 53g, Fat 21g, Fibre 3g, Sodium 181mg.
Moist cupcakes crammed with raisins, candied fruit and pecans give a wink to classic Christmas cake. And since the marzipan layer was always our favourite part of the old-fashioned original, we whipped it into the icing here.
MARZIPAN ICING
Break half a 200-g pkg of marzipan into the bowl of a food processor and whirl until crumbly. Slowly add 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsalted butter at room temperature and pulse until creamy. Add 11/2 cups (375 mL) icing sugar, 1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) almond extract, 1 tsp (5 mL) milk and zest of half an orange. Pulse until smooth. It should be thin enough to spoon over a cupcake. If not, whirl in more milk, a teaspoon (5 mL) at a time.
