Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes

So to begin the new year I spent Sunday afternoon baking. What would make for a better start to the year?


I began with this wonderful recipe, a take on the classic cupcake but jazzed up with raspberry jam, ground almond and lemon frosting....Yum! My first lesson was in handling butter. I needed it to be soft for the recipe but forgot to leave it out. Dilemma - do I put it in the microwave on defrost or pop the bowl in a bigger bowl of warm water? I did the latter, on the advice of a trusted (unicorn) friend and Mary Berry herself. It did help to soften the edges but I got an added biceps workout with the wooden spoon. Note to self: baking is all about planning ahead so in future remember to get the butter out early!


The cake batter is nice to work with and easily divided equally into the cases. The decoration was fun with this one because you have to take out a core to fill with the raspberry jam before adding the frosting. It required some skill to avoid jam staining the white frosting but after a few I worked out a strategy to minimize this. All of the work was definitely worth it, a truly scrumptious recipe. Most of them have now been devoured by myself and my wonderful housemates.


There is quite a bit of waiting involved with baking. Waiting for the cake to cook, and then for it to cool and of course waiting for the frosting to set so we can finally eat them! This all ties in with something I heard this evening in Church. This life is temporary and we're waiting for something much greater than what we have now (...even better than a cupcake!)... but what kind of waiting should it be?  Considering the parable of the talents (Matthew 25vv14-39) the waiting we have to do now should most definitely not be passive, Jesus Christ wants us to be living fruitful lives now. And the great thing is that he has entrusted to us so much to do this with, according to who we are. So what then is the maximum I can be doing with what God has given to me?


Do you know what the most exciting thing is though? It doesn't rest on our abilities. Let's face it, even with everything we've been given, all of our attempts are pretty weak. But Jesus Christ has accomplished everything! If we, through faith in Jesus, have relationship with God then He will delight in all we do. What liberation to live outrageously maximally risk-taking lives for God!