cosmo

The cosmopolitan cocktail gained popularity in the 1990s, when it was frequently ordered by Carrie Bradshaw on the popular television show, Sex and the City. When the Sex and the City movie was released in 2009, we created the LOLA’s Cosmo cupcake to celebrate! This cupcake is made with lime juice and brushed with a grand marnier glaze. Topped with a flourish of vodka and pomegranate buttercream and a wedge of lime, this is a truly glamorous cupcake – perfect for a night in with the ladies!

• 180 g/¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (caster) sugar
• 1½ tablespoons orange juice
• 1½ tablespoons Grand Marnier
• 150 g/1 cup plus 3 tablespoons plain/ all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 65 g/4½ tablespoons butter, cubed and soft
• 2 eggs
• 75 ml/⅓ cup milk
• 2 tablespoons lime juice

COSMO buttercream

• 125 g/1 stick butter, cubed and soft
• 500 g/3⅔ cups icing/ confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon vodka
• 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• lime wedges, to decorate

muffin pan lined with 12 muffin cases

Makes 12

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/ Gas 4.

To make the Grand Marnier glaze, put 50 g/¼ cup of the sugar and the orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the Grand Marnier, remove from the heat and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Put the butter and the remaining sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until pale and fluffy. Stop occasionally to scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Mix the milk and lime juice together. Slowly add the sifted dry ingredients, in alternate batches with the milk mixture, to the mixing bowl and beat on low speed until combined.

Divide the mixture between the muffin cases. Bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes or until well risen and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Brush some of the Grand Marnier glaze over each cupcake.

COSMO buttercream

While the cupcakes are cooling down, make the cosmo buttercream.

Put the butter in a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until very soft and smooth. Sift half the sugar into the bowl, beating until incorporated. Add the second half of the sugar and beat on low speed. Add the vanilla, vodka and pomegranate molasses and beat until smooth.

Spread the frosting over the cupcakes using a spatula, or spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle/tip and pipe it on top of the cupcakes. Top with a lime wedge.