Walnuts season is here. So I decided to use walnuts in these cupcakes I made for a birthday celebration in my family.
The dough is nicely soft and light and the nutty taste is delicious. Great for an afternoon tea break or as a breakfast with yoghurt.
I bake various variations of the recipe – loaf without frosting, bundtcake or these cupcakes with vanilla cream frosting.
Ingredients for 12 cupcakes (and I used the residue dough to bake also a small loaf)
Dough
- 120 g butter
- 3 eggs
- 130 g sugar
- 1 pack baking powder (about 2 and 1/2 teaspoon)
- 200 g plain flour
- 120 g ground walnuts
- 200 ml milk (room temperature)
Vanilla cream:
- 200 g mascarpone
- 200 g whipping cream
- 4 tablespoons sugar (can be less or more based on your preferences)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Directions
Make the dough
Preheat oven to 170ºC (340ºF). Grease and flour a baking form.
In a bowl, mix together sugar and egg yolks. Add softened butter and beat for a minute or two until combined and fluffy. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. Gradually mix in the flour, ground nuts and milk to the yolk mixture.
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture.
Pour the dough into the cupcakes baking form and place the form in the oven. Any residue can be baked in a bread form (should be enough for a small loaf).
Bake the cupcakes
Bake for about 30 – 40 mins until golden brown.
Frost the cupcakes
Once the cake cools down, prepare the frosting.
Whip the cream. Add mascarpone, sugar and vanilla bean paste and blend together into a fluffy creamy mixture.
Spread over the cupcakes.
