yoghurt & orange blossom cupcakes

I can’t believe it, but it’s already my first wedding anniversary.

This day, last year, Jonas and I were walking down “the aisle” in the Botanic Gardens and saying our vows. Time has just flown by!

Today we both took the day off work and went out for a nice lunch on Sydney Harbour, showered in sun and good food at Café Sydney.

In fact I have to give a shout out there to Café Sydney. I’ve been five times in the past year and each meal has been nothing short of delicious. It’s a seriously underrated establishment.

In honour of our first wedding anniversary (paper), I want to share this divine cupcake recipe which would be a perfect wedding cake if you wanted to go for little cupcakes instead of a big cake.

Orange blossom is such a delicate flavour and combined with yoghurt takes on a very sophisticated, elegant charm.

The cakes in the magazine were small squares, but I saw the cupcake version on JenJen’s fabulous Milk & Cookies blog and thought they looked brilliant.

After I made them, I tried them out on my work colleagues who seemed to enjoy them too. So I guess they come highly recommended.

Yoghurt & Orange Blossom Cakes

Recipe from Australian Gourmet Traveller, Nov 2007. Makes 12.

Ingredients:
300g (2 cups) plain all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
300g vanilla yoghurt
60ml (¼ cup) buttermilk
160g unsalted butter, softened
220g (1 cup) caster sugar
½ tsp finely grated orange rind
4 eggs
100g Persian fairy floss, to serve (optional)
For Icing
60g unsalted butter, softened
600g icing confectioner’s sugar, sifted
3 tsp orange blossom water
1½ tbsp vanilla yoghurt

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 160ºC.
2. Grease and line twelve muffin / cupcake pans.
3. Sift flour with baking powder and a pinch of salt and set aside.
4. Whisk yoghurt and buttermilk together in a bowl and set aside.
5. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and orange rind until pale and creamy.
6. Add eggs, one at a time, beating briefly between each addition to combine.
7. With mixer on low speed, add one-third of the flour and mix to combine, then add one-third of the yoghurt mixture and mix to combine.
8. Repeat with remaining mixtures, alternating, until incorporated.
9. Mix just until batter is smooth, then divide evenly among prepared cake pans.
10. Tap base to level and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted withdraws clean.
11. Cool completely in pans on a wire rack. Remove cakes from pans.
For the icing:
1. Beat all ingredients and 1½ tbsp water in an electric mixer for 1 minute or until smooth.
2. Working with one cake at a time and using a hot, wet spatula, ice cakes starting with sides, then top. If icing becomes difficult to spread, continue to dip spatula in hot water until icing is completely even.
3. Set aside and stand for 1 hour or until icing is firm to touch, then serve each cake topped with a little fairy floss (optional).

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes dessert yoghurt and orange blossom cakes orange blossom yoghurt cake cupcakes orange blossom recipes yoghurt recipes cake recipes cupcake recipes australian gourmet traveller