Banoffee cupcakes

I've been promising my friend Rod some cupcakes for the longest while so I decided to use him as a guinea pig for my latest creation; banoffee cupcakes!  I'm not a huge fan of banana flavoured anything, (although I can eat bananas all day long) so I did feel I could judge the finished produce fairly.

I found a great recipe from a fellow blogger and adapted it slightly by adding some dulce de leche to the whipped cream.

 OK, so having said all that about not liking banana flavoured anything, these cupcakes smelt so yummy when I took them out of the oven that I couldn't wait to try one.  I finished the decoration and made a cup of tea and sat down to savour it.  And I wasn't in the least bit disappointed.  They tasted as yummy as they smelt.  I loved the sweet bits of toffee inside the cupcake and the lovely banana-ey flavour.  Rod is going to love these!!!!

I'll let you know how they go down....

New recipe - Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting...yum!

I wonder what took me soooo long to try this recipe. Red velvet is one of the most popular cupcakes in America. This recipe is courtesy of the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook. It was a lot quicker and simpler to make than I thought.

Ingredients
60g butter at room temperature
1 egg
150g caster sugar
10g cocoa
10ml red food colouring (preferably
Dr. Oetker Red Food Colouring
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
120ml buttermilk
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar

Frosting
300g icing sugar, sifted
50g butter at room temperature
125g cream cheese, chilled

Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3.

Put the butter and the sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed.  Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.

In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a thick, dark paste. Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until evenly combined and coloured (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Turn the mixer down to slow speed and slowly pour in half the buttermilk. Beat until well mixed, then add half the flour, and beat until everything is well incorporated. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk and flour have been added. Scrape down the side of the bowl again. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until you have a smooth, even mixture. Turn the mixer down to low speed and add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Beat until well mixed, then turn up the speed again and beat for a couple more minutes.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, or until the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

And here are the results decorated with mini oreo cookies and maltesers:

And thanks to Grace for the gorgeous cupcake stand....I love it.

Branded cupcakes

When I came up with the idea to make cupcakes, I was simply looking for a way to make some extra money.  I thought it was simple and quick and easy to market.  I never imagined that I would become a supplier to the corporate world!!

My lovely brother used his gift of the gab and basically sold my cupcakes to one of his industry contacts.  I took in a sample and got an order for six dozen!   My first thought was "yeah, brilliant", my second was "shit, how am I going to manage this!  Well I did and my client was very pleased.  So much so that there may be the opportunity for further orders.

Here we have lemon cupcake with lemon marmalade filling and lemon frosting

This is a chocolate cupcake with orange marmalade filling and chocolate orange frosting

My favourite, vanilla cupcake with strawberry jam filling and a vanilla frosting, yum!

The cakes are branded with a logo sent by my client.

Halloween cupcakes

As I have to do some Halloween cupcakes for a friend's party I have been researching recipes and design ideas on the net.  There is so much out, but I have to thank my good friend for pointing this book out to me, A Zombie ate my cupcake.


For great ideas for decorating gruesome cupcakes for any good Halloween party...give it a go!

One down...four to go!!!

I'm actually getting quite good at this cake lark...I've finished the 50th birthday cake with time to spare.  I do think that I am underselling myself slightly.  But how much will people pay for a stylish, handcrafted, delicious, homemade cake?  Answers on a postcard please.  How much would you pay for the cake below?

It's a single tier vanilla sponge with jam and buttercream filling, with no additives (artificial or otherwise).  It is iced with white fondant, and decorated with a pink sugarpaste bow and pink sugarpaste flowers. 

Next...the christening cake and the Halloween carrot cupcakes...