A taste of summer in a cupcake. Avoid using strawberries in the cakes as they tend to go soggy when cooked, they’re fine for the topping.

Ingredients: for 12 cupcakes

150g soft butter or margarine
150g caster sugar
3 eggs
150g self raising flour
300g mixed berries such as raspberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, blackberries etc (fresh or frozen and defrosted)

Ingredients: for the topping

100g mixed berries as above
2 tablespoons caster sugar

How to make the summer berry cakes… WASH YOUR HANDS

1. 1. Preheat the oven on to 180c/gas 4/AGA roasting oven, shelf on oven floor.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs and flour together, at the same time, and mix well.
4. Gently stir in the berries, being careful not to break them.
5. Split the mixture evenly between the 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tin and bake them in the oven for 20-25 minutes. (AGA: 15-20 minutes with the plain cold shelf on the second set of runners).
6. Place the berries for the topping in a pan with the caster sugar and heat gently for 5-10 minutes until the berries collapse and the juices run. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
7. Remove the cakes from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack, leave to cool.
8. Scoop out the top of each cake and top with a spoonful of berries and serve.

Picnic Tip

These work well for picnics. Make the cake in a loaf tin, for easy transportation, (you could even cheat and buy a madeira cake) and take the topping in a Tupperware container.  Serve the cake with the topping poured over and some clotted cream on the side.