Boozy Barefoot Cupcakes

Increasingly I am being approached by companies to receive samples of their products, I have to admit it gives me a touch of the warm & fuzzies that someone has read my blog & wants me to try out their stuff! That said I am quite fussy & have probably said thanks but no thanks to more offers than I have accepted. (One day I might build up the courage to share the most random offer I have ever received!) If it's an exciting new product or a brand with a unique point of view, then I will usually say yes. What I promise to you is that I'll always be honest when I have received a product to try & I will always give you my honest opinion. Policy statement over :-)

It seems one of the big baking trends at the moment is using alcohol in recipes, so when Barefoot Wines sent me a cupcake recipe using their new Moscato, I thought I'd see what the fuss was all about? I had to convert the recipe to metric from cups & sticks, but the quantities seemed to work out ok.

For the cakes
120g butter
225g caster sugar
2 eggs
60ml milk
60ml Barefoot Moscato
1tsp baking powder
200g plain flour
Pinch of salt

For the frosting
250g mascarpone
500g icing sugar
2 tbsps Barefoot Moscato
1tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate sprinkles for decoration

1. Cream together the butter & sugar until light & fluffy, gradually beat in the eggs then the wine & milk until you have a lovely smooth & creamy batter.

2. Sift in the flour, salt & baking powder & mix until all combined. Line a 12 hole bun tin with paper cases & divide the mixture evenly. Bake in the oven at 190c/GM5 for 14-18 minutes until well risen & just turned golden on top.

3. To make the frosting, beat together all the ingredients until smooth. I found chilling it in the fridge until ready to use made it a little easier to handle. When the cakes are completely cooled, top with frosting & some chocolate sprinkles.

The result is a lovely fluffy, buttery cake, I can't honestly say I can taste the wine, but it certainly adds a certain something to the flavour. Enjoy with a delicious chilled glass of the left over Moscato, well you can't let it go to waste can you? If you're inspired to try out cooking with wine, have a look at the Barefoot recipe archive.

Before I go I just wanted to share one other thing with you. Barefoot Wines began in California in 1965, their ethos 'there's no point in doing well if you're not doing any good' is evident in the number of community projects they are involved in. I was especially interested in their Barefoot Friendly Beach Rescue Tour. I grew up on the beautiful North East coast line & cannot imagine why people would want to spoil it by dumping rubbish on it. The reality is they do, so Barefoot have teamed up with Surfers Against Sewage to encourage volunteers to come along to beach clean up events. Click here for more details of this great initiative.

Till next time, Rebecca x

Tynemouth Sands - Barefoot Friendly Beach Rescue Tour visits on 26th August

An apology from me....

Hello, it's been a while? Just a short post from me to say sorry for the recent radio silence! My day job has kind of taken over my life at the moment, add to that birthdays, holidays & contending with a bad back & I'm afraid to say I haven't spent much time at all in the kitchen.

Baking is what I do to relax, so needless to say I'm not feeling all that chilled at the minute & I swear my Kitchen Aid is sulking due to lack of use! So tonight I'm taking affirmative action & will be heading back into the kitchen, the cupcakes are calling me.

Thanks for sticking with me & I promise there will be some lovely treats to drool over on the blog in the next few days. Take care, Rebecca x

Oh & in the meantime, here's my favourite ever cake related comedy sketch, Enjoy!