Mulled Wine Cupcakes with Irish Whiskey & Chestnut Frosting

25 minutes prep, 25 minutes cook

Serves 9

Ingredients

300g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

2 tsps cinnamon

175g Kerrygold block butter, now softer

150g light soft brown sugar

Finely grated rind of 1 orange

2 free-range eggs

150ml soured cream

150ml mulled wine, room temperature

For the frosting:

200g Kerrygold block butter, now softer

100g chestnut purée

450g golden icing sugar

2-3 tbsps Irish whiskey

Method

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease and line a shallow rectangular baking tin approximately 35cm x 25cm. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon together into a bowl.

Using an electric whisk beat the butter, sugar and orange rind together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and soured cream. Fold in the flour mixture and mulled wine in three additions. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes until golden and cooked through. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, beat the butter and chestnut purée together in a bowl using an electric whisk. Gradually beat in the sugar, followed by the whiskey. Take 8-10 clean jam jars. Using a plain pastry cutter slightly smaller than the top of the jars, cut out circles from the cooled cake.

Carefully fit a layer of cake in the base of each jar. Fill a piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle with the frosting and pipe a layer over the cake. Top with another circle of cake, pushing down to fit snugly. Pipe a rosette of frosting on top of each cake and secure the lid to the jar. Tie each with a ribbon before serving.