Berry Cupcakes with Swiss Buttercream

Baking cakes has never been my forte. I'm far less confident in my ability to bake anything really, in comparison to cooking a savoury dish. I think it is the intricate recipes - very precise measurements, weights, cups, oven temperatures, egg temperatures, butter temperatures... far too stressful for me. I'm like my mother in that I read a recipe and when it says one tablespoon of this, I just guess. Winging it in baking is much less forgiving.

My confidence in baking sweets has grown since working with Natvia, and for a long time now I've wanted to make cupcakes. Cupcakes are the absolute jam right now, alongside decadent doughnuts the size of your face and three tiered cakes with a bouquet of flowers on top. I've seen them available for purchase in a myriad of flavours, topped with to-die-for frosting and doused in edible glitter and sparkle.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this in a post before, but my sister owns a cool-ass party business, Paper Party, where she creates all things festive, from signage to invitations, art prints to custom cake toppers. So when I told her I was going to go all out and bake some iced cupcakes, she provided me with lovely mini toppers to take my cakes to the next level.

I was lucky enough to have Barker's New Zealand send me a wonderful package of their new fruit compotes; mixed berry, strawberry and apple and tropical fruit. These fruity purees are housed in an oh-so-convenient resealable squeeze pouch, great for popping on top of your morning porridge or over waffles. Or, as I did, in cupcakes and buttercream.

A quick word of warning: these cupcakes are delicious, but decadent, and definitely not an everyday food. More like soul food - which I wholeheartedly support. Enjoy in moderation.

Check out the range of products from Barker's New Zealand here.

Shop some awesome cake toppers (or order your own custom toppers) from Paper Party here. And follow Keisha on Instagram here.

Berry Cupcakes with Swiss Buttercream

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• Author: Andrea Love
• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 70 minutes
• Yield: 10 cupcakes 1x
• Category: Dessert

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Berry cupcakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tbsp corn flour
• 2 ¼ tsp baking powder
• 125 g butter (, softened)
• 1 cup Natvia natural sweetener
• ½ cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup Barker's New Zealand mixed berry compote

Buttercream:

• 3 egg whites
• ½ cup Natvia natural sweetener
• 250 g butter (, softened and cubed)
• ¼ cup Barker's New Zealand mixed berry compote
• 2 drops red food colouring ((optional))
• Fresh berries to top

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Instructions

Berry cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with 10 patty pan cases.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornflour and baking powder.
3. In a separate bowl, add softened butter and sweetener. Beat with a mixer for approximately five minutes until pale and creamy. Add milk, eggs, vanilla and berry compote. Whisk together.
4. Pour dry ingredients into the wet and stir gently until the batter is smooth. 
5. Divide batter into patty pans. Cook for 30 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. 
6. Once baked, allow to cool in the tin for five minutes before placing on to a cooling rack. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before icing. 

Buttercream:

1. Heat a saucepan filled with a little water over a medium heat. Place a bowl over the top with egg whites and sweetener. Whisk gently until sweetener has completely dissolved.
2. Remove bowl from heat and place on to a stand mixer. Whisk until egg whites are large and fluffy, approximately eight minutes.
3. Turn the mixer to low speed and gently beat in butter, a cube at a time. Buttercream should be smooth and silky. Add in berry compote and food colouring, and mix well until completely combined. 
4. Place buttercream into piping back and pipe on to cooled cupcakes. Top with fresh berries to serve. 

Notes

• If the buttercream is too runny, place into the fridge for 30 minutes and it will harden up.
• When you add the compote to the buttercream, it may start to 'curdle'. To fix this, scoop out one third of the icing and microwave for 10 seconds. Pour back into the rest of the icing and whisk. Frosting should come together. 

Let me see all of your food creations and delicious snaps by using the hashtag #eatnik on your photos! 

This recipe is sponsored by Natvia. Recipe developed in collaboration with Barker's New Zealand.