Like many people, I have been sorting through the cupboards to find all those forgotten things hiding at the back. I was hoping for some wine but what I actually found was a few tiny little bottles of liqueur, including some Kiwi fruit liqueur.
So I thought I don’t want to waste it and yet I don’t really want to drink it, so what else to do but make cakes with it! Fortunately I’ve still got plenty of the Wessex Mill large bag of plain flour I got last month and I managed to get hold of some fresh kiwi fruits.
It’s a very straightforward cake recipe, so they’re easy and quick to make.
Method for making Kiwi fruit and Hazelnut cakes
Ingredients:
Cakes
170g butter
155g caster sugar
3 eggs
80g plain flour
90g hazelnuts
1 tsp baking powder
(1 tab kiwi liqueur)
Buttercream
115g butter
250g icing sugar
(1.5 tabs kiwi liqueur)
2 kiwi fruits
Heat the oven to 160C fan.
Toast the hazelnuts in a tray in the oven for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they can easily burn. Then process them in a food processor.
Put cake cases in muffin/cupcake tins. How many cakes you make and how long they will take to bake will depend on the size of your cakes.
Using softened butter, mix together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs individually, mixing in after each egg. Then fold in the flour, baking powder and ground hazelnuts. Then fold in the liqueur if using.
Spoon into the cake cases. Bake until slightly browned on top, about 10-12 mins, for medium sized ones, but longer if you are making larger muffins. Take out of the oven and allow to cool.
Beat the softened butter, icing sugar and kiwi liqueur together until it is smooth and spreadable. Pipe elegantly (or just spread) onto the cooled cakes.
Peel and slice the fresh kiwi fruits and place them on top.
Would I make this again?
Yes. However to be quite honest I don’t think the kiwi liqueur really added anything! Yes, I know it was the original inspiration for the cakes, but really they would have been just as nice without it. The hazelnut flavour comes through really well, so I would make these again with any seasonal fresh fruit on top.