Lychee Rose Cupcakes

i brought these to a dinner party last week and my friend, who reads my blog, has been bugging me to bring her an ispahan. since i was still very much tied up with orders and i didn't hv any raspberries on hand, i decided to make her some ispahan cupcakes instead. its been eons since i made my last cupcake and i wouldn't otherwise hv bothered if it wasn't for this particular flavor. i'm so over cupcakes anyway, and i can't stand swirls anymore coz they're so passe.

going, going, gone. this is a very good cake. despite being a butter cake of sorts (u beat butter & sugar together then add eggs one at a time), it isn't oily nor heavy. in fact, its really light, fluffy and good enough to be eaten on its own. i actually prefer to eat it without the raspberry cream cheese frosting. most important thing is, its not too sweet, and i think it wins marmalade pantry's hands down.

on a totally random note, my page views hit 2,200 the other day and i was shocked. its never been that much in my entire blogging life! thank you all for reading my blog, including the silent readers out there ;) i know there's someone from richmond, bc canada who searches for 'bossacafe' everyday via google. come on, bookmark me already, if you're gonna come in everyday! hee. but thank you all the same.

recipe source : adapted from http://www.mytartelette.com/2008/04/ispahan-cupcakes-and-cookbook-giveaway.html


ingredients (makes 24) :

1.5 cups self raising flour
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup ground almonds
250g butter, softened
2 cups sugar (i only used 1.5 cups)
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
60ml rose syrup water (2 parts water to 1 part syrup)
1 tsp rosewater essence
24 pcs canned lychees

directions :

1. combine flours and ground almonds in a bowl. in another bowl, beat butter & sugar until light and fluffy, then add in eggs one at a time and whisk until combined.
2. add in flours in 3 additions, alternating between milk and rose syrup water. do not overmix. fold in batter until just combined.
3. spoon 1/2 mixture into cupcake liners, top with a lychee and pour in another 1/2 batter (total height should come up to 3/4 of liner).
4. bake in preheated oven of 170C for 20 mins or until skewer inserted comes out clean.
* for the raspberry cream cheese frosting, i combined cream cheese, butter, raspberry puree & sifted icing sugar according to taste. i don't hv a recipe for it.