Showcase the Emerald Isle’s favourite colour on St Patrick’s Day with these minty cupcakes complete with a lavish swirl of delicious icing.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C for fan assisted ovens)/Gas Mark 4. Line 2 x 12 hole muffin trays with green paper cupcake cases.
Stir the cake mix, oil, water and eggs gently together in a bowl, then whisk (by hand or with an electric mixer) for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Whisk in enough green food colouring paste or gel to give a fairly bright shade of green. Divide the mixture equally between the cupcake cases and bake for 18-22 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the trays for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely; about 30 minutes.
To make the icing, beat the vanilla icing and peppermint extract together in a large bowl. Spoon about half of the icing into a large disposable piping bag fitted with a plain 1cm nozzle. Insert the tip of the nozzle into the centre of 1 cupcake, about halfway down. Gently squeeze the piping bag, pulling upward until the cupcake swells slightly and the filling comes to the top. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
Spoon the remaining icing into the same piping bag and generously pipe swirls of icing on top of the centre of each cupcake. Decorate each cupcake with a piece of biscuit to serve. Store any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in a cool place for 2-3 days.
Add 1 teaspoon of the peppermint extract to the icing then taste and, if you want a really minty flavour, add the rest.
Take care when piping the icing into the cupcakes that you don’t overfill them as they will crack.
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