… I just can’t help my sweet tooth and i’m trying this daft 5:2 diet that seems to be the latest fad, where you eat normally for 5 days a week and then fast on 600 calories only for the other 2 days but i’m not entirely convinced that cake comes in to either of those days… shame really… I used to have much stronger self control but I guess that must go with age too… and you know me, if I don’t see result instantly I get bored very quickly…
… i’ve never really had huge success with pretty little cupcakes and again, I think this is all about patience and self-control… one just assumes that because they’re so easy to make it stands to reason they’d always be successful… which we all know is not the case but today I had a little time and so using my trusted ‘weigh the eggs’ method I casually made these cupcakes… the added extras are my own invention which I very carefully included, step by step so that I could keep a check on the consistency and I did the same for the icing which I wanted to be thick enough to hold its shape but still include the yoghurt and honey… and I must say i’m very pleased with the results… and if you don’t want to indulge in the icing the cupcakes are divine without…
orange and yogurt poppyseed cupcakes with orange blossom honey and yogurt buttercream icing
using yogurt in cupcakes is a revelation to me as they make them so light and fluffy, it works really well in the icing too as it reduces that over-sickly sweet sugary taste just a little… as you know by now i’m really not a master icer but I think this little sugar-gem technique works rather well and creates a simple yet pleasing effect… these cupcakes are regular muffin-sized and I got 16 out of the mix… you’ll get a lot more using smaller cupcake cases…
for the cupcakes
2 large free-range eggs
6oz caster sugar
5oz butter
6oz self-raising flour
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
the zest of one orange
a dash of orange essence
a sprinkling of poppyseeds
for the icing
150g of butter
300g icing sugar
2 tablespoons yogurt
1 tablespoon orange blossom honey
the juice of one orange
– in a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy
– beat in one egg and one tablespoon of yogurt followed by half the flour which you should sieve in then stir till combined
– beat in the other egg along with the other tablespoon of yogurt, the rest of the flour, the orange zest, orange essence and poppy seeds – mix till thoroughly combined
– spoon into as many cupcake cases as they will fill to 3/4 full then bake on 160C till golden and risen
– in a large bowl, cream together the butter, honey and half the sugar then mix in the remaining icing ingredients until thick and creamy, add more icing sugar to reach the desired thickness for piping then refrigerate until ready to pipe
– pipe onto the cupcakes in a gay fashion and then stuff in your face…
eat and of course, enjoy!
Oh, lovely! Yeah, yoghurt based cakes are brilliant aren't they. Great piping action 🙂
Purty 🙂
I keep meaning to use yogurt in cakes and just haven't gotten around to it. These look just the ticket for the weekend. And I am going to give the icing a go too!
What? Cupcakes aren't supposed to be part of a diet? Well, that's a diet I don't want to have any part of!! 🙂 These are beautiful, Dom. I love that you used yogurt in the icing… must try that!
Don these look delicious! I could eat one for breakfast, honey, yogurt, orange, wht coud be more perfect!!! Great job!
Yum! These look delicious Dom. Thanks for the recipe – will definitely give them a go.
I think cupcakes are perfect for weight watching. You get your sugar fix in one portion. With cake you have a tendency to cut a huge slice. These look lovely by the way.
I made a few Frenchy yoghurt cakes with my boys when they were little, pre-blog, but I don't think they were as lovely as these.
Like you I'm not convinced that 5:2 will work for me, but I have seen lots of lovely recipes which I may well try, but not till I'm home from France, too much good food here!
Jude x. Have a great weekend 🙂
BLOODY gorgeous Dom, such PRETTY wee cakes, so delicate and with GREAT ingredients too! I discovered yoghurt in cakes when I lived in Cyprus, and it IS a revelation, I agree. As for the 5:2 diet, I lost 3 lbs this week and although my main diet it the WW one, these two low cal days HAVE helped me kick-start the diet back again, BUT, I WILL and DO have my cake and eat it, I am not completely bonkers! LOL! GORGEOUS little cakes and I expect a PLATE of these for me when I come up to visit you! Karen
Looks delish, and i'm sure the use of yoghurt and poppy seeds makes your cupcakes healthy 🙂
Oh my, these sound delicious! I'm waiting for the dessert diet!!
Best,
Bonnie
These look so pretty! I love the orange and poppyseed twist! Bet the yoghurt makes them really moist – absolutely lovely 🙂
Oh delicious. Did you see the Hairy Bikers making 'low cal' cupcakes? They used yogurt, definitely worth thinking about. I really like the idea of honey in the icing.
I have to admire your patience – how many dabs with the icing-bag did all that take, I wonder?
What a gorgeous recipe!! I love yoghurt in cakes…it makes them so light and yummy!!! Gorgeous flavours with the orange and poppy seeds too…I'd love to try one of these!!! 🙂
mmm they look delicious – Sonia said she would like one now ……… love Mummy x
Hi, its my first time here – what a lovely kitchen & food I must say! 🙂
visit me for some food from India – http://www.relishdelish.blogspot.com
Now, why have I always had lemon poppyseed and never orange poppyseed muffins? This has to be remedied immediately!
WOW, it loos SO good 😀
XoXo
http://abudhabifood.blogspot.com
How cute are these?!
On another note, though, I am suspicious of any faddy diet. I'm of the belief that you can't beat a good old fashioned healthy balanced diet. However, if it works for you, that's great and I wish you well with it! 🙂
I have often noticed that food blogs are more likely to follow a fashion/fad than any other kind of blog. I don't often see a delphinium craze going on in the gardening blogs that I follow but this time its “Dieting” that seems to be the fad…everyone is falling prey to dieting at the moment! Is it a Northern thing? We are just coming out of winter here in Tasmania and if anyone should be thinking about the waistline that we Aussies have laid on to pad us out for the winter months it should be Southern blogs but none of my Aussie food blogs that I follow are touched by the dieting pandemic yet. I, personally, see diet as just that “die” with a “T”! I gave up dieting after a stellar career that lasted over 30 years and have never been healthier or thinner in ages. All I did was walk the dog every day (if you don't have a dog GET ONE 😉 ) and start only eating food with enough nutritional value to warrent ingestion. It worked! I eat tonnes, I walk and I drink lots of water and since February I have lost 17kg (no idea what that is in pounds, metaphorical pounds were thrashed out of we Aussie kids back in primary school…I wish they had thought a bit further and thrashed the physical pounds out of us at the same time, it would have saved me years of self loathing and introspection!). Whatever you choose to do, thank you immensely for your wonderful posts and for sharing your love of food with us all 🙂
weightwatchers work for me as long as I write EVERYTHING down!
Pretty and tempting little treats – they look lovely. As for self-control, one advantage of getting old is that I can't seem to remember if I ever had any self-control (or where I left the remote control, but that's my personal hell).
lovely cupcakes and great flavors that diet sounds a tad hard to me, email if you need any support from your dietitian friend me :0)
These sound really delicious – the yoghurt and honey icing in particular sounds fab – and they look so pretty!
I could probably manage the gay icing bit no bother – and stuffing them in my gob too. Luverly!
How pretty Dom – and far more importantly delicious.
Looking forward to giving these a go.
I'm trying the 5:2 diet too – although I have to admit I didn't quite manage the “2” this week!!!
They look lovely and moist Dom, and the frosting is very pretty! Good luck with the 5:2 diet, it'll be interesting to hear how you get on!
Dom, how long have I been banging on about the wonders of yogurt in sponges? All my words are obviously for nought – sigh 🙁
Sighing aside, these sound delightful and look brilliantly light and pretty. I'm impressed with your piping skills too, still not something I've mastered or do I mean got the patience for.
I see you caved in and are joining us on the 5:2 diet or in my case 5 1/2:1 1/2 😉
Oh and I'm impressed with your use of yogurt in the icing. When I tried it, it went horribly wrong – split and I couldn't get it back together again. Will try following your method next time.
Oooo I love the idea of adding yoghurt to the icing, particularly if it cuts through the sugariness a little. I must try that. These cupcakes look wonderfully, and I love the way you piped the icing, too – so cute!
Wow Dom, these cupcakes look delicious and stunning!