Horchata Cupcakes

To make rice milk add rice to a food processor and process until you get a powder. Add rice powder to a bowl along with chopped/slivered almonds and cinnamon sticks. Allow to sit for 4 hours. Add to a food processor and process until you get a smooth mixture. Run through a sieve. Discard almond/rice mixture.

Preheat a fan-forced oven to 160C (320F) or 180C (356F) for a conventional oven. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour, baking powder, caster sugar and salt. Turn mixer on low speed and allow it to mix for a couple minutes to help everything combine well (alternatively you may do this by sifting the ingredients together). Add the softened butter and let it mix until it resembles a fine sand like texture.

Next, add rice milk (about 125mls), evaporated, eggs, yogurt, oil and vanilla extract in a large jug and whisk well.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients in a slow and steady stream until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl, add cinnamon powder and mix for another 20 seconds.

Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 of the way (using an ice cream scoop to transfer the batter into the cupcake liners makes this a quick and easy process otherwise you can use two tablespoons).

Bake for 20-25 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow them to cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.

To prepare frosting, add cinnamon powder to it and mix until well combined.

Fit the end of a piping bag with a Wilton 1M tip and frost a swirl on each cupcake. Finish with a dusting of almond meal and cinnamon powder.