Cute Cupcake Recipes

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, so I made some love-themed cupcakes for the family to enjoy. They went down very well and even though I say so myself were pretty damn yummy!!

Best of all though, they were really easy to make.  Although they were very different cupackes, one batch of Pink Vanilla Cupcakes and one of Fruit Topped Chocolate & Chantilly Cream Cupcakes, they started their journey to cakedom in one bowl of mix that was split into two and then had the different flavours added.  It makes bulk cooking so much quicker and easier, and they can go in the oven at the same time.  

Although they were for Valentine's Day, they could be easily adapted to suit any occasion.

The basic mix was an all in one whisked method recipe that makes 24 large cupcakes.

8 oz  baking liquid (Stork or Flora)

8 oz self-raising flour

8 oz golden caster sugar

4 free-range eggs

Then, divide the mixture in two.

Pink Vanilla Cupcakes

Add a drop of pink food colouring gel and a teaspoon of vanilla extract to half of the mix.

Cook at GM 5 for 10-12 minutes until springy to touch.

Cool.

Pipe on swirls of pink buttercream. 

(6 oz icing sugar, 3 oz softened butter, teaspoon vanilla extract and a drop of pink food colouring gel.)

Top with a Haribo love heart sweet and a heart shaped cake topper to finish.

Fruit Topped Chocolate & Chantilly Cream Cupcakes

Add one tablespoon of sieved cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons of milk to the other half of the mix.

Cook at GN5 for 10-12 minutes until springy to touch.

Cool.

Top with Chantilly Cream (whisk 8 fl oz of double cream until almost stiff, then whisk in 1 tblspn icing sugar)

Decorate with quartered strawberries and blueberries and finish with a cake topper.

Mini Lollipop Cupcakes

My "Washing Machine" Cupcakes

When Appliances Online set the Bake and Win Challenge, I thought I'd have a go at making some cupcakes that are particularly apt as we have nicknamed them the "Washing Machine Cupcake"!  

Using the set ingredients that were listed on the competition page I made:  

Choc Chip Cupcakes with a Swirly Mint Frosting

65g caster sugar

60g light soft brown sugar

125g self raising flour

2 medium free range eggs

125g butter

2 tbsp milk

25g dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Prepare 12 cupcake cases

Put the ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Spoon mixture into the cupcake cases.

Bake for 15 mins or until golden-brown on top and spring back to the touch.

Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

And decorate!

125g icing sugar

60g butter

blue food colouring gel

a few drops of peppermint essence

Whisk together the icing sugar, the butter and the flavouring.  

Add a few drops of milk if necessary to make a piping consistency.

Halve the butter cream and add a drop of blue gel to one of the halves.

Put half blue and half white cream into a piping bag with a star nozzle.

Swirl the blue and white icing on top of the cakes to create a swirly water effect.

Just for fun.... I got the kids to make a cardboard surround for a cupcake and voila...a Washing Machine Cupcake for Appliances Online!!!

Blueberry Cupcake Recipe

With Kizzy's birthday this week, I have have the perfect excuse for baking lots of goodies to celebrate and share with all our friends and family.  One of the cakes I made were these Blueberry Cupcakes which look really impressive and taste lush!!

Ingredients

4oz Self Raising Flour

4oz Butter

4oz Golden Caster Sugar

1 tspn Ground Cinnamon

4 oz  Blueberries

2 Free Range Eggs

3 1/2  fl oz milk

3oz Butter

6oz Icing Sugar

Blue Food Colouring Gel

Blueberries to decorate

Method

Preheat oven at 180 degrees and prepare a muffin tin with cup cake cases.

Beat together sugar, butter, eggs and milk with a hand whisk.

Slowly add flour and cinnamon.

Fold in berries.

Divide into cases and bake for 20-25 minutes.

When cool make the topping by beating together the butter, icing sugar and blue food colouring.

Pipe in swirls and top with blueberries to decorate.

Enjoy!!

Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe

Britmums and Anchor have challenged a number of bloggers to cook up a recipe using Anchor's delicious butter or cream.  As it is Kizzy's birthday today, I spent a very enjoyable few hours baking up cupcakes.  Armed with my Anchor wooden spoon and with my Anchor Butter ready in my butter dish, I had my own mini Great British Bake Off in my kitchen and one of the goodies I made was Red Velvet Cupcakes.  I kept seeing these cupcakes on TV, in fancy cake shops and I even tried one freshly baked by Eric Lanlard at an event last year, and I really wanted to have a go myself.  This was the perfect opportunity!

Ingredients For Red Velvet Cupcakes

4oz softened Anchor butter

4oz caster sugar

2 eggs

4oz self-raising flour

1tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp buttermilk

10 drops of red food colouring

1oz cocoa powder

1 tsp white vinegar

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and put cake cases into a muffin tin.

Beat together sugar and butter until pale and fluffy.

Beat in eggs one at a time.

Stir in flour, cocoa, vanilla, buttermilk, colouring and vinegar to make a vibrant red mixture.

Divide into cake cases and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Cool on a rack.

Ingredients for Red Velvet Cupcakes Topping

4 fl oz milk

1 egg yolk

1oz vanilla sugar

1-2 tspn cornflour

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 fl oz Anchor double cream

chocolate curls to decorate

Method

Warm milk in a pan.

Mix egg yolk, sugar and cornflour in a bowl.

Gradually add warm milk into the egg mix.

Pour back into pan and heat gently until thickened.  

Leave to cool.

Whip cream until stiff.

Fold into vanilla cream.

Top cakes and decorate.

The verdict was that these cakes were really delicious.  The soft topping was really yummy with its custardy, creamy flavour.  The sponge was vibrant and rich.  They looked really impressive too. This is definitely a cupcake I'll make again and again!!

I'm working with Anchor to promote their brand new Rewards Club, find out how you can get some of their kitchenware as well as more prizes - Anchor Rewards Club.

This is a Sponsored Post.

Kizzy's Cup Cakes Hit Asda!

My adorable mini-baker Kizzy has had her Jungle Jumble Cupcakes officially launched in Asda stores.  She is thrilled with the packaging that shows a photo of her on the front and back alongside a host of cute animal characters   It is brilliant seeing her face on a product on the supermarket shelf!

She entered and won the Fabulous Baking Boys Mini Baker competition earlier this year and went on to enjoy a VIP visit to the factory where she oversaw the development of her cakes and enjoyed a tour around the production plant.  She has been kept informed with every stage of the process and now her cakes are on sale at Asda stores.

Last week Kizzy visited our local Asda store as a mini-celebrity!  She was joined by a Tiger and Elephant who were giving out her cakes to the children.  The press were there and Kizzy was photographed with her cakes.  Kizzy received lots of lovely comments from local shoppers and a few friends and family turned up to offer their support too.

I am so proud of my Mini-Baker and we have loads of supplies of Jungle Jumble cupcakes for her to give to her friends.  Keep an eye out in an Asda near you for my little girl's face on the cake box!  Just £1 a box.

Bailey's and Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Recipe For Bailey's & Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

With a rich, glossy and creamy Bailey's flavoured chocolate ganache on top of a chocolate cupcake, these are perfect cupcakes for the grown-ups to indulge in!

Ingredients

Makes approx. 15

5oz SR Flour
1oz Cocoa Powder
6oz Liquid Baking Fat
3 Free Range Eggs
6oz Unrefined Sugar

200g Dark Chocolate
75ml Bailey's Irish Cream

Method

Combine all the cupcake ingredients together and beat until well combined.

Divide into approx. 15 cupcake cases in a tin.

Cook for approx. 10 minutes at GM 6.

When cooked and cooled make the ganache.

Melt the chocolate in a pyrex bowl over a pan of boiling water.

When melted remove from the heat and beat in the Baileys.  This takes a bit of effort but keep beating until thick and glossy.

Spoon onto the cakes and leave to set.

Enjoy!!

My Fabulous Mini Baker!

Our Day With The Fabulous Bakin' Boys

Today Kizzy and I headed off to Oxford to visit the Fabulous Bakin' Boys factory where she was going to be working on the production of her new Jungle Jumble cupcakes!

On arrival she was kitted out with an apron and chef's hat before entering the test kitchens to knock up a test run of her recipe.  With precise measurements and timings, the recipe was identical to the huge runs that will be produced in the factory, just scaled down!

With Kizzy's choice of colour and flavour intensities, the cakes were exactly how she had imagined them.  The yellow coloured, banana flavoured sponge is topped with white chocolate flavoured with tropical fruits and coloured in a natural mango-orange colouring!  As these cupcake minis were for her own consumption, she got to decorate them with sprinkles, sugar flowers and other fabulous toppings.  She was totally in her element personalising her cupcakes!  She also had a go at making some swirly buttercream topped cakes and I picked up some expert advice from the Bakin' Boy cooks!

After she'd finished baking, we donned protective gear and had a tour of the factory to see some Mixed Berry Minis and Chocolate Flapjack Fingers being made.  Never have I seen so many cakes in one place!!  Thousands of goodies whizzed by in an impressive feat of engineering and manpower!  The manual chocolate spreaders who spread molten chocolate onto huge sheets of flapjack were amazing!

Kizzy had a photoshoot to take the pictures that will appear on the packaging of her cupcake minis.  Bless her, she is a real pro...patient and accommodating!  I was very proud of her.

A tea party in the Not-So-Bored-Room was thoroughly enjoyed with Kizzy eating her own body weight in watermelon, strawberries, grapes...and of course cupcakes!  It was lovely chatting to the team and the love of the company came across loud and clear.  

Having a sneaky peek at the packaging that will be used was really thrilling!  I won't give too much away but the box design is incredibly cute and has a brilliant jungle theme.  Kizzy was delighted with it.  I can't wait to see the finished packaging with her photo on the front on the shelves of Asda, Morrisson's and the Co-Op when they are launched later in the summer!

Another photo shoot with the local press marked the end of Kizzy's day as a Mini Baker.  Laden down with cupcakes, muffins and cakes to share with the rest of the family, Kizzy was quite exhausted but had loved every minute of this experience.

Kizzy and The Team!

I'll keep you posted on details of the launch of Kizzy's cupcakes from the Fabulous Bakin' Boys!

In the meantime, check out the Fabulous Bakin' Boys Facebook Page for competitions, news, chat and fun!

Fabulous Bakin' Boys Easter Range

When you've had enough of chocolate over Easter, how about indulging your sweet tooth with this range of Easter cupcakes from The Fabulous Bakin' Boys!  The eyecatching packaging has been specially designed for Easter and is rather egg-cellent!!

Fabulous Bakin' Boys Easter Range

The range includes a six pack of Choccy Cupcakes in an assortment of white, milk and dark chocolate toppings on a chocolate chip sponge.  There are also Mini Cupcakes in packs of twelve in Triple Choc, Choccy, White Choccy and fruity St.Clements.  Every cupcake comes individually wrapped making them perfect for sharing!

Individually Packaged Cupcakes

The cupcakes would make a nice addition to an Easter Egg Hunt this year!  Pop some into the kids' Easter baskets for a yummy alternative to chocolate eggs.

Easter Cupcake Hunt

The cupcakes can be decorated with a cake topper to make a fun centrepiece of choccy chick cakes!

Thick Chocolate Topping and Choc Chip Sponge!

The ultimate test is of course in the tasting!  Freddy was a willing guinea pig and loved the cupcakes, eating them topping first!  The toppings are thick and the sponge is light.  Just how Freddy likes it!

Perfect Bitesize Cupcakes

Yummy Big Cakes

The Easter Cupcake and Mini Cupcake range are available for just £1 per pack in Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda.  The Chocolate and White Chocolate topped cupcakes with plain sponge are exclusive to Asda.  The Fabulous Bakin' Boys' cakes are nut free, contain no artificial colours or flavours.

*We were sent the cakes to enjoy but no other compensation was provided.*

The Real Cupcake Company

There is nothing in this world as delicious as a freshly baked cupcake topped with lashings of frosting.  Little bakeries and tea rooms have sprung up across the country on the back of the rising popularity of the cupcake, and they are being sold at a premium!  Imagine being able to make your own quality, gourmet cupcakes in your own home for a fraction of the cost!  Well...imagine no more.  The Real Cupcake Company have created a range of dairy free gourmet cupcake kits using real fruit and no artificial ingredients, colourings or flavourings!  Designed with the home baking experience in mind, you just need to add egg.  It is quick and easy to make a dozen gorgeous cupcakes.  I was sent a Strawberry Kit to try out for myself.

The kit arrives by post and needs to be refrigerated until you use it.  Inside is everything you need (except for two eggs) including a ready-to-bake plain cake mixture, ready-to-pipe real fruit icing mix, decorations, 12 cupcake cases, two piping bags, piping nozzles and instructions.

The contents of the cupcake kit.

You add two eggs to the cake mixture which then simply needs to be whisked for 30 seconds on slow then for 60 seconds on high.

Whisk with 2 eggs.

The mixture is then divided into the 12 cupcake cases and then popped into the pre-heated oven at GM4 for 12-15 minutes.  Simple!  Once they are cooked and cold, you are ready to ice them.  The piping bags and nozzles can be used to create a swirl or rose frosting effect with the ready-to-pipe strawberry icing.  To be honest, my skills were not quite up to the illustrations in the instruction book, but once the decorations are on it doesn't really matter!

The Real Cupcake Company

Strawberry Cupcake

The cupcakes were indeed gorgeous, with light, bouncy, airy sponge topped with soft, sweet icing bursting with real strawberry flavour.  They are deliciously fruity and it is so nice to taste real fruit in the icing rather than synthetic flavourings.  It is a touch of culinary genius!!

Yummy!

The Real Cupcake Company stock kits in Lemon, Orange and Strawberry  flavours, each made with real fruit.  Perfect for parties, they will really impress your guests.  For a more decadent treat, there are Strawberry & Champagne and Blueberry & Bourbon cupcake kits available.  They make 12 devilishly delicious cupcakes, made with premium wines or spirits, perfect for grown-ups.  What a great idea for Valentine's Day!!

Prices start at £9.99 with free postage.

Emoticon Cupcake 2/366

Ella's Emoticon Cupcakes 2/366

Silent Sunday

Baking Cupcakes With the Kids!

There is something so wonderful about baking cakes.  Not only do you have a fabulously tasty end product, but the act itself is so therapeutic. I love to have a good old baking session and my children enjoy helping me out.  When we were sent the two new flavours of  Betty Crocker Cupcake mixes to try out, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity  for the children to get cooking independently (with just a bit of help from me!)

Everything you need is in the box.

The kits come with everything you need to make 9 frosted, decorated cupcakes...just add a little oil, water, milk and 2 eggs.  All the measuring and weighing is done for you.  It even includes cake cases.

Making the cupcakes is easy and a lot of fun for even the littlest bakers! The packs includes simple instructions that are easy to follow..simply mix, bake and decorate.

This is Kizzy's video showing how she made her Betty Crocker Lemon Cupcakes (with a little intervention by Freddy who had to get in on the act!)

Ella made the Cookies and Cream Cupcakes and Freddy helped decorate them.  It was nice for my teenager and my toddler to be able to do something structured together!

Adding the cookie sprinkles!

The cupcakes were very light and spongy and the frostings were sweet and gooey.  The sprinkles looked really decorative and tasted good too.  I was impressed with the quality of the finished products, and the ease of making them.  It made a lovely activity for children to do as it is so quick and easy and relatively low mess!  

The Betty Crocker Lemon and Cookies & Cream cupcakes are available from Asda, Waitrose and Morrisons RRP £2.15.  This is a great price for nine good sized cupcakes!  

For more family fun visit bettycrocker.co.uk for recipes, competitions and the interactive 'design your own cupcake' game.  Visit Betty Crocker UK on Facebook ...you can trust them to stir in the smiles!!