Pimm's O'Clock Cupcakes

Like most Great British girls I need little excuse to jump on the Pimm's O'clock bandwagon on a sunny day, especially if that bandwagon comes along with a sidecar serving of cupcakes...too much? Not in my world. These Pimm's O'clock cupcakes are super easy to make & a lovely accompaniment to a jug of Pimm's or pot of tea, whichever floats your boat.

To make, just follow your favourite cupcake recipe & pour in a hefty splash of Pimm's into the mix before dolloping into cake cases. Add a splash to buttercream icing to top it all off (too much & the icing will go grainy so steady hands needed here) then dress with a strawberry slice & a sprinkling of edible pink sparkle. They would also be lovely with a cucumber slice or mint leaf topping if you are going to eat them immediately. Makes about 12 cakes depending on case size. Don't overfill cases if you want to pipe your icing on top.

Just in case you need a cupcake recipe I use my Mum's cake mix; (old school measurements of course)
6 oz sugar
6 oz butter (room temp)
6 oz self raising flour
3 eggs
Cream the butter & sugar in a large bowl, add flour & eggs, beat together. At this point add a glug of Pimm's for this recipe, add to cases and pop in the oven at 180 degrees for about 15-20 mins.
Buttercream icing: 
A large dollop of room temp butter beaten together with sifted icing sugar to form a nice smooth icing, add Pimm's and beat further. Pipe onto of cool cakes or smother over cakes generously if piping's not your bag (sorry!). I never measure properly for icing so can't give accurate measurements. Anyway, I recommend making far too much so you can lick the rest out of the bowl afterwards. My good mate Mrs T assures me you can freeze butter icing if you make too much but as I've never had any left over, for reasons previously stated, I haven't tried this myself. If you run out of butter you can make a quick glace icing with icing sugar, water and a splash of Pimm's that will work just as well.  
Enjoy!...