My friend sent me a Nordicware ice cream cone cupcake pan for Christmas. It's amazing, they're perfect for making cupcakes with a little surprise inside as there's more space for filling than a normal cupcake.

I used the Peach Melba recipe from the Love Bakery book. My last post was a review of my visit to the shop in Chelsea and I wondered if the cake in the book was just as good as what they sell. After making this I can say a firm yes. The cake was just as fluffy, moist and tasty as the cake in the Rhubarb and Custard cupcake. I would strongly recommend the book.

I love this flavor combination. The fruit is lovely and tart which is a great contrast to the rich mascarpone frosting. Don't skimp on the strawberries! They absolutely taste incredible with the frosting and give it a special decoration. I don't think I'll ever make cream cheese frosting again. I've never had mascarpone before but it's a little more rich and easier to whip than cream cheese.

This would probably make a better summer cupcake. Peaches were £3.99 for 4 at Waitrose right now so I used canned peaches paired with fresh raspberries for the center.  The only thing I would change is to make more frosting about one and half to two times more than the single batch I made. It just wasn't enough to pipe even 8 cakes.

Peach Melba Cupcakes

Ingredients

125g of unsalted butter at room temperature

150g caster/superfine sugar

2 tbs peach syrup (from a can of peaches)

2 eggs at room temperature

175g self rising flour, sifted

1/2 tbs baking powder

3 tbs milk

strawberries cut in half for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F and grease your pan with shortening and then sprinkle with flour. Cream together the butter, sugar and peach syrup on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating until each is incorporated.

2. Add the flour, baking powder and milk and beat for two more minutes.

3. Fill each cone two thirds full and bake for 20-24 minutes (for a cone or a cupcake). After a few minutes turn pan upside down and cones should fall out of the greased pan. Place on a cooling rack to cool completely. I had trouble getting the cones to stand up but once I placed them in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes they stood up fine.

Mascarpone Frosting
(consider doubling if you want to pipe swirls)

Ingredients

250g mascaropone

80g icing sugar

1. In a large bowl whip together the mascarpone and the icing sugar until stiff peaks form. Chill until your ready to use.  

Peach Melba Filling

1 can drained peaches

large handful raspberries

1. Throw the peaches and raspberries into a food processor and pulse a few times. It should still be chunky not pureed.

To assemble cut a cone shape in the middle of each cake fill with 2 teaspoons for filling. Cut off the long portion of the cone and place the top back over the filling. Frost and serve with a strawberry.

I put my cupcakes in the refrigerator as I'm not sure if mascarpone needs to be kept chilled. Remove from fridge 20 minutes before serving.