Art Attack Pt 2 (a posting soon to be better known as Graham Coxon ate my cupcake!)

Another week of culture although less high art and more rock n roll. Tuesday night at the National we went to see Fiona Shaw in Brecht's Mother Courage. Now I know this is going to make me sound like a bit of a wanker but I did my disseration on Brecht and I reckon why mess with a formula that works? They rocked up the play too much to try and modernize it when it would have been just as powerful if they'd set it as it was written. Fiona Shaw, who was awesome in it by the way, was dressed like a Vivienne Westwood model and kept jumping around on stage like a member of the Who singing Muse-like anthems - bizarre. Still great play and great acting and the brownies at the National are well yummy!

But then last night - wowwwwweeeee- Graham Coxon ate my cupcake! It was a night in the 3 Kings pub in Clerkenwell (best pub in London), a fund raiser for MSF specifically for their work in Iraq with children who have suffered injuries in the war, and the brilliant Robin Hitchcock doing the Beatles' Abbey Road with Graham Coxon on electric guitar. As it happens MSF first started their great work in 1969 the same year that the Beatles recorded Abbey Road. And what with it being Halloween and all  I thought I'd make these Pumpkin and Ginger Cupcakes and check out the big smile on Graham's face!

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes
175g stem or glace ginger
175g molasses sugar
200g unsalted butter
2 eggs
250 pumpkin or butternut squash
200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp of ground clove
1/2 tsp cinnamon
125g chopped pecans
200g icing sugar
125g cream cheese

Chop 125g of the ginger. Beat the sugar and 125g of the butter then beat the eggs in one at a time. Stir in the pumpkin and the ginger then the sifted slour, baking power and spices, add the nuts and mix it all up!
Bake in a muffin tray with muffin papers at 170c fan assisted for 25 mins. Mix the icing sugar with the remaining ginger, butter and cream cheese and ice when cool.