Pomegranate and white chocolate cupcakes

These little cupcakes are fruity and sweet, with pomegranate berries adding a lovely juicy crunch.  The icing is quite sweet, so you could try them without any icing and just a light sprinkle of icing sugar or a glaze made with low-sugar jam and a few pomegranate berries to decorate.

Doug the Pug was desperate to get his paws on them!

Ingredients

1 pomegranate

3 eggs

6oz golden caster sugar

6oz margarine

6oz self-raising flour

1tsp vanilla essence

100ml pomegranate juice

70g white chocolate chips

For the icing

Icing sugar

Pomegranate juice

Red food colouring

White chocolate stars to decorate

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.  Place 20 cupcake cases in bun tins.
2. Cut the pomegranate in half.  Holding over a bowl, use the blunt back edge of a heavy, sharp knife to whack the back of the pomegranate so the berries fall into your hands. Set aside.
3. Separate the eggs.
4. Beat the egg whites until about three times their size.
5. In a separate, large mixing bowl, beat the eggs yolks and sugar until pale.  Add the margarine and beat until fluffy.
6. Beat in the vanilla essence, and add the pomegranate juice a bit at a time (don’t worry if it looks a bit curdled, it’ll be fine when you add the flour). 
7. Sift in the flour and baking powder, and beat well.
8. Fold in the white chocolate buttons and two thirds of the pomegranate berries.
9. Fold in the egg whites, trying not to lose too much air as you combine the mixture.
10. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases.
11. Bake for 20-25 mins or until a cake tester comes out clean.
12. Leave to cool in their tins for 5 mins and then carefully remove to a cooling rack.
13. To make the icing, pour a few glugs of pomegranate juice and a couple of drops of red food colouring into a mixing bowl, and sift in the icing sugar, mixing until you get a smooth, thick paste. 
14. Once the cakes are completely cool, ice and decorate with the remaining pomegranate berries and some white chocolate stars.