Rosewater Cupcakes

Not many people I know doesn't like a good cupcake.
It small-ish. Cute. Pretty as can be if you take the trouble to decorate it nicely.
And the taste is eccentuated by the soft, fluffy texture accompanied by a beautiful aroma.
I especially like that first whiff when you open the oven! :)
So, here's a not so common cupcake flavour.

Rosewater Cupcakes
Makes 12

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

• 2C self-raising flour (SRF), sifted
  
• 150g castor sugar
  
• 125g butter, melted
  
• 175ml milk (i used hi-lo milk)
  
• 3 eggs, beaten
  
• 2T rosewater essence
  
• 1/2t vanilla essence

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 200C. Line a 12 muffin pan (medium sized) with the paper cups.
   
2. Mix together the sifted SRF with the sugar in a large bowl.
   
3. Create a well in the flour mixture and add in the milk, butter, eggs and the essences.
   
4. Mix the batter well until all lumps are removed.
   
5. Scoop the batter into each cup in the muffin pan until it reaches about 3/4 full (works out to about 2T of batter each cup for me).
   
6. Bake for approximately 15mins. To check, a skewer should come out clean when inserted when the cupcakes are ready.
   
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool while you prepare the icing topping.

Ingredients for icing topping:

• 100g icing sugar
  
• 3T hot water
  
• 1T rosewater essence
  
• a small handful of pistachio slivers, chopped

Method:

1. Mix the water with the essence.
   
2. Add in the icing sugar and stir until it forms a goey paste.
   
3. Drizzle 1t of the icing paste onto the cupcake and sprinkle some of the chopped pistachios on top.
   
4. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

Hint: The icing sugar sets very quickly. If you finish drizzling the cupcakes before you sprinkle your pistachios, it would've set and wouldn't hold the nuts. So use one hand to drizzle the icing paste and the other to sprinkle the nuts!! :)

Hope you enjoy this cupcake! :)