Monday Munchies: Jamón serrano and parmesan savoury cupcakes!

Happy Monday & Boxing Day everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful time with the family for the holidays this weekend. I had to work, but I had some good family meals, and some nice baking time too!

I made these savoury cupcakes, my first not sweet cupcakes, on the 24th morning, to take something for work on Christmas' Eve shift. These photos are also a bit special, cause after taking them my dear camera took a dive towards the floor, BUT thankfully, the only casualty was the filter I had on my lens, but the camera and lens themselves are without a scratch! *insert massive sigh of relief here* So, good advice of the day for anyone with a DSLR, do buy a protective filter for all and any of your lenses, you might be as grateful as I was one day!

I got this recipe from one of my most recent cookbooks, Hamlyn 200 Cupcakes, but I did modify it a little bit, instead of using pancetta I decided to use some jamón serrano, an awesome cured ham from Spain!

Jamón Serrano and Parmesan Savoury Cupcakes

Makes 12

Ingredients:

- 100 gr/3 1/2 oz jamón serrano thinly sliced

- 4 tablespoons olive oil

- 300 gr/10 oz self-raising flour

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 50 gr/2 oz Parmesan cheese, finely grated

- 200 ml/7 fl oz milk (I used skimmed milk)

- 1 egg, beaten

- 2 tablespoons grainy mustard

Method:

- Line the cupcakes with paper cases, preheat the oven at 200ºC (400ºF). Cut 9 x5 cm (2 inch) strips from the jamón serrano. Finely chop the remainder. Microwave between paper towels on full heat for about 2 minutes until crispy. Reserve the longer strips for decorating.

- Put the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan and chopped jamón serrano until evenly mixed.

- Whisk together the oil, milk, egg and mustard with a fork in a jug and add to the bowl. Stir gently until only just combined.

- Divide the mixture between the paper cases and place one of the reserved strips of jamón serrano on top of each cupcake.

- Bake for about 15-20 mins or until risen and pale golden. Test with a toothpick that comes clean to confirm. Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.