Faiza Taha, the owner of Mama’s Cupcakes, who was named the winner of The National’s Best Cupcake in Abu Dhabi contest, created a new cupcake especially for The National – almond-flavoured, with a blue-and-white swirl of fresh cream-based icing, topped with crushed almonds.
Ingredients
250g almond paste
200g caster sugar
200g butter
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
320g (2 cups) flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk (add more as needed)
Ingredients for icing
500ml fresh cream
1 tsp almond extract or essence
Whole almonds for garnish
Food colouring (optional)
All photos by Mona Al-Marzooqi / The National.