Halloween special! Bloody broken glass cupcakes

These cupcakes are so simple to make and will cause a huge buzz at your Halloween party! This recipe makes 12-16 large cupcakes.

To make these, you will need:

For the sponge

80g unsalted butter

280g caster sugar

240g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

240ml whole milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

200g seedless raspberry/strawberry jam

For the vanilla frosting

500g icing sugar

160g unsalted butter

50ml whole milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

200g clear mints (or any clear boiled sweet)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC, Gas mark 5, and line a muffin tin with muffin cases

2. Using a hand-held electric whisk or a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment, slowly beat together the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt until the ingredients are well mixed in and resemble fine breadcrumbs.

3. Mix together the milk, vanilla extract and eggs by hand in a jug.  With the whisk or mixer still on a low speed, pour three-quarters of the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are fully incorporated.  Add the rest of the milk mixture and beat again, now on a medium speed, until the batter is smooth.

4. Spoon the batter into the muffin cases, up to about two-thirds full.  If there is any batter left over, it can be used to fill up to four more cases in a second muffin tin.  Pop in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the sponges feel springy when you touch them.  Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

5. To make the glass, line a baking tray with foil and grease lightly with vegetable oil.  Place the mints in neat lines along the baking tray, equidistant to one another. Pop the tray into the oven for 5 minutes or until the mints have melted.  Leave to cool completely until hard and then crack into shards (Warning - this can cause shards to mint to fly across your kitchen, cover mint with foil or baking parchment, then crack gently to avoid shards going into your eyes).

6. To make the frosting, whisk the icing sugar with the butter on a low speed using the electric whisk, or in a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment, until fully combined and sandy in consistency.  Add the vanilla extract to the milk and pour into the butter and icing sugar while still mixing on a low speed, the increase the speed to high and whisk the forsting until light and fluffy.

7. Once the cupcakes are cool, using a knife or apple corer, cut a small hole into the centre of the cupcake and fill with your jam.  Add the frosting, smoothing with a palette knife and spoon another small amount of jam to the top of the frosting.  Decorate your cupcakes with your mint shards