These little beauties work really well in cupcakes as they hold their shape and pack a punch with tiny flavour bursts. They are a lovely plant to grow and thrive in a sheltered position as an edible alternative to box hedging. I’ve been growing Chilean Guava (Ugni molinae) for 3 years and have had harvests from year one (see my post on 6 Ways to Create and Ornamental and Productive Garden.) This year’s has been the most fruitful and harvesting these delicate red globes on the way home from school with the kids in October is a real joy. If Chilean Guavas are not available, these cupcakes are also good with blueberries, alpine strawberries or raisins.

Shiny jewels

Ingredients

3 eggs, weighed

An equal weight of butter

An equal weight of golden caster sugar

An equal weight of gluten free self raising flour (or ordinary flour)

A few drops of vanilla extract

Half a cup of Chilean Guavas

Ready to bake

Method

Crack the eggs and weigh them. Add to a mixer (or mix by hand). Weigh the flour, sugar and butter (softened) and add to mixer. Add the vanilla extract and mix all the ingredients together.

Split the mixture between 12 cupcake cakes and add the Chilean Guavas to the top of each cupcake. (As the mixture melts in the oven, the fruit sinks a little into the cake.)

Bake at 180ºc for 15 minutes or until firm to the touch.