Citrus desserts are great for when you want a light but delicious treat! The tangy flavor, and the fluffy cake texture combine to make a delicate dessert fit for a range of occasions.

The original concept for these cupcakes stemmed from a rather large bag of Blood Oranges sitting on my counter, and a craving for something sweet, preferably light. Blood Oranges are one of my favorite citrus fruits, a bit like a lemon and an orange mixed together. Or in other words, a lemon I can eat without hurting my teeth. Another fun detail about Blood Oranges is that they are seasonal winter fruits, which means they arrive right in time for post-New Years cravings.

This recipe is actually two recipes, one for a lemon and lime cupcake, and the other for a regular orange drizzle cupcake. I spent about fifteen minutes unable to decide which one to make before promptly pulling out a notepad to combine the two.

The great part of these fairy cakes is how easy they are to make. As long as there’s soft butter around, they’re really fast to whip up. The other fabulous aspect of these cupcakes is the size.  They’re tiny, little fairy cakes that are perfect for after dinner, a snack break, or an emergency “I have to babysit the sugar-happy, tea-party obsessed four-year-old next door, and I need a treat that won’t be too sweet for their not-sugar-happy digestive system” freakout. Feel free to experiment with toppings and flavors and just enjoy these zesty miniature cakes.


Ingredients:
140 grams softened slightly salted butter (3/4 cup)
140 grams self raising flour (3/4 cup)
140 grams caster sugar (3/4 cup)
2 eggs
½ tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp rind of blood orange with a dash of lime
2 tbsp blood orange juice
powdered sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200°C/400°C.
Take out one or two Blood Oranges and grate 1 tbsp of rind.  (The rind can be softer than lemon rind so it may form more of a juicy solid.) Then, take out a lime and grate just a dash of lime rind into the mixture.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, eggs, and rind in a large bowl or mixer.  
Cut the butter into small soft squares before adding them to the mixture. Mix the ingredients together until the batter is smooth and creamy.  Make sure the butter chunks have melted into extremely tiny pieces. Then add the milk and Blood Orange juice.  Continue mixing until the juice is saturated throughout the batter.

Pour the batter into cupcake cases and tap them lightly against the counter to settle the batter inside the cups. Place the cupcakes in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer can be inserted and removed cleanly.  

Let them cool. Then decorate with your choice of topping.  These cupcakes have a very subtle flavor so I often skip the frosting and just dust them with powdered sugar.  Finally, enjoy!