Country Recipe of the Week - Coffee Cup Cakes with Honey Buttercream Icing

One of my all time favourite cup cake recipes is this one my friend Alice Macdonald from Wallabadah cooks. Alice has saved this recipe from a very old Women's Weekly cookbook and it's a winner. I have to admit, the image featured here showing the iced cupcakes isn't my photo. My piping efforts looked nowhere near as neat as these. Alice has always been a wonderful cook, having some experience with catering as well. These little cakes are light and fluffy and if you're a coffee lover, perfect with your hot drink. If coffee isn't your thing, just disregard the coffee from the recipe. These won't last long so enjoy!

Ingredients Cakes

• 3 tbsp instant coffee granules
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 125 grams butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1/4 cup custard powder
• 1/2 cup milk

Ingredients Butter Cream

• 30 g softened butter
• 1 tbsp boiling water
• 1 teaspoon dry instant coffee granules
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup icing sugar

Instructions Cakes

1. Grease a patty cake pan. Or grease/ line with baking paper a 20cm ring cake tin if you would prefer to make a whole cake
2. Dissolve coffee in water, combine in large bowl with butter, essence, sugar, eggs, sifted flour, custard powder and milk. 
3. Beat on low speed in electric mixer until ingredients are mixed, about three minutes or until mixture is smooth and changed in colour.
4. Spread mixture into prepared patty pans/cupcake liners or cake tin. Bake patty cakes 12-15 minutes in a 180 degree oven or 40 minutes if you are making a whole cake.
5. Remove cake from oven and place it on wire racks to cool.
6. Makes 12 patty cakes or one 20cm cake.

Instructions Icing

1. Melt butter in saucepan on low heat. Once melted, stir in the honey, coffee, essence and half of the sifted icing sugar.
2. Gradually stir in the rest of the icing sugar until you have the desired consistency of your butter cream.
3.  It should be soft and perfect for piping at this point. If it's still a little stiff then beat in a little milk.
4. Decorate your cakes once the cakes are cool (or just eat if off the spoon because it's yummy!)
5. Add half a small wafer on top or even use a chocolate coated coffee bean.