Lamington Butterfly cupcakes

When I was very young and first saw butterfly cupcakes, I thought that they were the height of sophistication. Little did I know that with a little deft slicing action, you could easily fashion a butterfly cupcake of your own. Eating them now, there's something so satisfying and transporting about these pretty winged cakes stuffed with cream and strawberry jam (and it must be _strawberry _jam) and the cushioney cool, sweet squishiness when you bit into one. The old fashioned bakeries are now giving way to more sophisticated French patisseries but I still love a jam and cream cupcake.

These cupcakes combine the very Australian cake, the Lamington, a chocolate and coconut covered vanilla cake, with the old school butterfly cupcake.

Lamington Butterfly cupcakes

For the cupcake

• 1/2 cup caster sugar

• 90g butter at room temperature

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 eggs

• 3/4 cup Self Raising flour

• 1/4 cup cornflour

• 2 tablespoons of buttermilk (or regular milk soured with a tiny bit of lemon juice)

Chocolate icing to dip

• 3/4 tablespoon oil

• 1/3 cup milk

• 2 cups icing sugar sifted

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder sifted

To decorate

• 1 cup dessicated coconut

• 1/4 cup strawberry jam

• 1/2 cup whipped cream

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 150c fan forced or 170c non fan forced.

Step 2 - Add all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix on low speed until combined and then a higher speed until batter becomes pale. Spoon into patty tins.

Step 3 - Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool in tin.

Step 4 - Make chocolate icing: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water until it reaches an icing consistency. When it cools it will become a little thicker.

Step 5 - Gently take cupcake cases off from around cupcake. Using a fork, spear the bottom of the cupcakes and dip cakes in icing, drain off excess, dip cake in coconut. Put aside for icing to set (setting it makes it much easier to handle for the next step).

_Cut out top with very sharp knife

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Step 7 - Cut out top and dollop strawberry jam and cream inside and then cut top in two to make wings and position on top of cream and jam.