Boston Cream Cupcakes

1. Cut down on chocolate
2. Get rid of tummy weight so that I don't look 5 months pregnant
3. Shave legs more often - even when it's wintertime
4. Say "I love you" more

Why bother with New Years resolutions.  By February 1st plans of lifestyles being overhauled have been thrown by the wayside for another year as we continue to wear trousers (must shave legs) and punish ourselves for eating another slice of chocolate cake. 

The only New Years resolution I have this year is to concentrate better and not try to do 3 things at once , especially when I don't do any of those 3 things properly.  I gave this resolution a test run yesterday when I made my own custard for these Boston Cream Cupcakes.  In my world, making custard FROM SCRATCH is pretty big so I closed the kitchen door, turned the radio (and the kids) off and concentrated on what I was doing.  As it turned out, making custard wasn't difficult at all.  Why have I been avoiding it all these years? 

Two things to say about these cupcakes:
1. Don't fill the cases any more than 2/3 full with batter.  You'll be filling the baked and cooled cupcakes with custard, they will end up being quite tall so you will need to start off with buns that are not very tall;
2. Homemade custard is very pale in colour (totally different to the shop bought powdered stuff) so don't expect a huge contrast between the colour of your sponge and the colour of the custard.

I've used my own sponge recipe which makes 12 cupcakes (it's a Vanilla Birthday Cake recipe and if you double the quantities, you will have 2x23cm sponge cakes).  The custard and frosting are taken from The Hummingbird Bakery "Cake Days".

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the sponge
110g butter softened
110g granulated sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
90g self raising flour
75g plain flour
120ml milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling
250ml milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg yolk
50g caster sugar
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp cornflour

For the frosting
200g icing sugar
50g cocoa powder
80g butter, softened
20ml milk

Method
Line a muffin tin with paper cases and preheat the oven to 180C.
In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth.  Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Combine the flours and add in 4 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla, beating well after each addition.
Spoon the batter into the paper cases til they are about 2/3 full.  Bake for about 20-22 mins until the tops are golden.
Remove cupcakes from tin and allow to cool completely before icing.

While the cupcakes are cooking, make the filling.  Pour the milk and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to the boil.  Meanwhile whisk the remaining ingredients together by hand in a bowl until smooth and well combined.
Once the milk is boiling, remove from the heat and pour 4-5 tablespoons into the egg yolk mixture to loosen it, then return the mixture to the saucepan of hot milk, stirring to incorporate.
Return the saucepan to the heat and bring to the boil, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.  Boil for at least 1 minute and once thickened tip the custard into a bowl and cover with clingfilm to prevent a skin forming, then leave to cool completely.

To make the frosting, whisk all ingredients (except the milk) together on a medium speed until sandy in texture.  Gradually pour in the milk, then increase the speed and whisk til light and fluffy.
Using a sharp knife, make a hole in the centre of each cupcake, about 2cm in diametre and 3cm deep, reserving the scooped out pieces of sponge.  Spoon the custard into the hole of each cake then replace the lid, trimming it if necessary.
Divide the chocolate frosting between each cupcake and smooth the tops with a palette knife.