Noël Cupcakes:

300g mixed dried fruit (currants, raisins, cranberries, etc...)

100ml dark rum

200g butter, softened

200g soft dark brown sugar (if it's clumpy just smash it with a fork)

4 large eggs

160g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp mixed spice (NOT Chinese 5 Spice)

60g ground almonds

OK, so to begin with you want to soak your fruit overnight in the rum.

OVEN: 190°C / 375°F / Gas 5 and fill trays with muffin cases approximately (12 - 16).

With a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until they go light-ish and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one and mix on a medium speed. Make sure to scrape around the sides of the bowl for any unmixed ingredients. Also, to help prevent mixture from curdling, take some flour from the designated 160g and add 2tbsp with the last 2 eggs (one each).

Now, sieve in the flour, baking powder and spice and beat slowly until well blended. Next, add the almonds and the fruit, drained and you can give it a tad more kick if you want by reserving 1tsp/tbsp of soaking rum to add to the batter.

Fill the cases till ½ full and bake for 18 - 20 minutes then make a buttercream and ice them once completely cool.