Just Clowning Around with Burnt Butter Cupcakes

We had friends over last night to help us celebrate A's birthday. We served dips with rosemary foccacias to start with then later had roast lamb, chicken, green salad with dates & feat and thai red rice with raisins. I was too busy with friends to take any pictures though!

For dessert, I wanted to bake a great birthday cake for A, not just a normal run-of-the-mill chocolate birthday. No, an ordinary cake would not do for my baby! So I turned to my library of cookbooks & food magazines. I came across some beautifully decorated cupcakes in the Donna Hay's second annual kids issue and decided that these would be most appropriate for our party. Instead of following the vanilla cupcake recipe suggested in the magazine, I turned once again to Nigella for help. I was intrigued by the Butter Brown Sugar Cupcakes and made some small adjustments based on the ingredients I had on hand. I don't know if the cupcakes tasted any different from a normal cupcake, but it was so great to hear the ooohs and aaaahs when these were served.

The fun part was in the decorating of these little cupcakes! Look at the burnt butter cupcakes prior to construction:

And here is a single clown cupcake looking right at you!

Burnt Butter Brown Sugar Cupcakes
150g unsalted butter, 125g SR flour, 60g caster sugar, 65g dark muscovado sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, 1 tsp baking powder, 2-3 tbs milk

1. Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly until it turns a dark golden colour. Take pan off heat and strain clarified butter into a bowl. Wait until the butter has solidified but is still soft.
2. Put all ingredients except milk into a food processor and blitz into a smooth paste. Add milk gradually until a soft, dropping consistency is reached.
3. Scoop into cupcake cases and bake at 200C for 15-20 minutes.
4. Coat with a thin layer of buttercream icing and use your imagination to decorate!