Bagel and Smoked Salmon Cupcakes

Bagel and Smoked Salmon Cupcake

The missus has been going a little bit mad recently because she considers herself to be the "cake-maker" of The Albion Tavern household, and I've come along with my size 11s, stamped all over dainty little tootsies, and basically banished her from the kitchen. Now to be fair, she does make a bloody nice cake and I've only been too happy to let her do this while I've gotten on with the serious business of carving meat. That was, however, until I opened The Albion Tavern, put on a pinny (I don't wear a pinny, honest) and discovered the joy of baking.

But for this visually fun recipe, which is adapted from a frankly ridiculous American book called Hello, Cupcake, I've handed the whisk over to wife. Oh, and if haven't clocked by now, that's not a real bagel and smoked salmon plonked on top of a lemon and poppy seed cupcake. This isn't Heston bleeding Blumenthal, you know. Makes 12.

Ingredients:
For the lemon and poppy seed cupcakes:
225g self-raising flour
175g caster sugar
zest 2 lemons
1 tbsp poppy seeds, toasted
3 eggs
100g natural yogurt
175g butter, melted and cooled a little

For the vanilla frosting:
225g cream cheese
60g butter, softened
125g icing sugar, sieved
1 tsp vanilla extract
yellow food colouring

For the salmon and bagels:
12 mini doughnuts
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp poppy seeds
12 orange fruit chews (Starbursts, Chewits)
some of the vanilla frosting, before being coloured yellow

Method:
1. Heat the oven to 180C/gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cases. Mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest and poppy seeds in a large bowl.
2. Beat the eggs into the yogurt and add to the dry ingredients with the melted butter. Whisk until lump free, then divide between the cases.
3. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before cooling on a wire rack.
4. For the frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter until, er, creamy. Mix in the vanilla and gradually stir in the sugar. Refrigerate.
5. To make the bagels, slice the mini doughnuts in half. Brush the top half with a little maple syrup, warmed for a few seconds in the microwave. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. On the bottom half, spread a small amount of the vanilla frosting on each. Take a few of the chews at a time and soften in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Carefully roll on grease-proof paper with a rolling pin until smoked salmon shaped. Score with a knife and re-shape if required. Add chew to the bottom half of the doughnut and add top half.
6. Add the yellow food colouring the remaining frosting and spread onto cupcakes. Add bagels to top. Make appointment with dentist.