Advocaat Cupcakes Recipe with Gourmet Vanilla Syrup

I have a real treat for you this morning!  A guest post from my lovely friend Galina over at Chez Maximka blog.  She writes about family life, local life and days out, toy and film reviews, and much more, but most of all she writes about food, and her recipes regularly have me and her many readers salivating over their keyboards!

Her cake recipes are just the best, and this one for Lara-inspired cupcakes is of course my favourite!  But today Galya is offering you a special Christmas-y recipe, for Advocaat Cupcakes no less!  Advocaat use to be my nan's favourite Crimbo tipple, so this recipe really appeals to me.  Without further ado, here is Galina's recipe:

I always associate Advocaat with Christmas.  I am not very keen on it as a drink, but absolutely love it as an ingredient for baking cakes and cupcakes.


Ingredients:

200g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
2tbsp vanilla syrup
125ml Advocaat
150g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
100g cornflour
160g butter, melted
topped with vanilla flavoured pumpkin seeds from M&S
+ more vanilla syrup to pour on top

In a medium bowl beat the eggs with caster sugar and vanilla syrup. Add the Advocaat, flour, cornflour, baking powder and keep mixing until you get a smooth batter. Add the melted butter and mix well again. Pour in the paper muffin cases placed in a muffin tin and top with the vanilla flavoured pumpkin seeds. Bake in the oven preheated to 180C for about 25 minutes (check with a wooden skewer if it comes clean).

Take the cupcakes out of the oven and let them cool sightly. You can eat them hot or cold.
Best served with more vanilla syrup poured on top.

I have used a Gourmet Vanilla syrup with vanilla pod from Selsley Foods, which is a quality dessert syrup. It is a beautiful syrup which adds a lush vanilla flavour to your baking.

Vanilla flavoured pumpkin seeds from M&S are optional. You can add just plain pumpkin seeds, or pine nuts if you prefer.

Advocaat can be quite pricey, so I buy Tesco's own 'Advocaat' at £8 per bottle: a bargain in comparison to the standard prices for it!

Happy baking everyone!  And make sure you check out the other luscious recipes on Chez Maximka! Lx