Rat-Patootie

Disney Pixar # 8 - Ratatouille

Ratatouille, along with the next film, Wall-E, were the two Disney Pixar films that I really, really struggled to come up with ideas for. They also ended up being my two favourite ideas of this series! For Ratatouille, I really couldn't come up with anything better than to make some little fondant chef hats and veggies to decorate the top of the cupcakes, but then one day I had a random thought: what if I bake ratatouille (of the roasted vegetable variety) INTO the cupcakes...?

I suppose this idea is a little crazy creative!

It actually worked out really, really well! I started with this recipe for ratatouille, and thought about how I could incorporate the ingredients for ratatouille into my cupcakes. In the end I left out the onion and garlic, as I thought they would be too overpowering, and also left out the aubergine as I couldn't figure out how to include it. I also used half olive oil (as per the ratatouille recipe) and half sunflower oil, as again I thought the olive oil may be too overpowering. All in all, I think it was a worthwhile attempt at ratatouille, and they tasted great! (especially when still a little warm!!)

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
250g self raising flour
50g soft light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
120ml milk
2 medium eggs
45ml olive oil
45ml sunflower oil
1 medium sized courgette (around 200g whole)
3 pepperdew peppers from a jar
4 sun-dried tomatoes from a jar
1 sprig fresh basil (around 6-7 leaves)

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 and line a bun tray with cases.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and pepper into a large bowl and place to one side.
3. Whisk the milk and eggs together, then stir in both kinds of oil.
4. Peel and grate the courgette and pour into the wet mixture. Chop the peppers, tomatoes and basil into small pieces then stir into the wet mixture.
5. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture a little at a time until all the ingredients have combined. Fill the  cupcake cases 3/4 of the way up with better, then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Leave to cool slightly in the pan before removing from the cupcake cases. Best served still warm!

Ratatouille Cupcakes

Next time it's Wall-E, and I'll be making cupcakes as they might appear in 2805!

Happy Thoughts
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