Christmas Cake

Having a Christmas cake in my house is a yearly tradition and nowadays I volunteer to make and decorate it myself. This year I decided to keep it quite simple by covering it with marzipan and sugarpaste and then making a wreath pattern from some florist paste ivy leaves I made. The good thing about this cake is the fact that it lasts such a long time, being a fruit cake this means that it keeps much better than most others. 
You can also make mini fruit cake cupcakes which I now do regularly for my brother as his wife doesn't like fruit cake but he loves it, meaning that he wouldn't go through a whole cake making cupcakes a perfect gift. 

Hope you all have a lovely Christmas and over-eat and indulge just like i'll be doing!

Thanks for reading,

Naomi ♥ 

Rustic Mince Pies

After finishing the mound of assignments which I've had in recently I can eventually relax and start to engage in some mandatory Christmas activities such as of course baking mince pies. This time however I decided I wanted to make the mince pies slightly differently and when I found this recipe in my Jamie Magazine  I had to give it a go. I love mince pies, however sometimes I find that the traditional ones have a bit too much mince meat in for my liking and these ones eliminate that problem perfectly.

The pies are made out of two types of pastry, a soft puff pastry filling encased in crunchy filo pastry and not only do they taste good they are ridiculously easy to make as well, you can find the recipe here. Basically you spread the mince meat onto a sheet of rolled out puff pastry and add whatever flavours you want, I added lemon and orange zest, brandy and some dried cranberries, you then roll it up into a giant swiss roll and refrigerate it for half an hour. When you take it out the fridge you cut them into discs and place them into a filo pastry lined muffin dish and bake for 25 minutes. They might not be the prettiest looking mince pies however they taste amazing and are definitely a different take on the same old mince pie.

Thanks for reading,

Naomi ♥

Lola's Cupcakes

A while ago Olivia and I paid a visit to the Lola's Cupcakes bakery in Topshop Oxford Street, I have their book so have been wanting to check out their cakes myself for a while now. We both loved the fact that there were so many different flavours available, from peanut butter to fresh mango, the range of cakes really reflected their cookbook. The fact that the bakery is in the middle of one of Oxford Street busiest fashion shops does make the visit that little bit less personal as you can only take the cakes away really, which in a way puts even more pressure on the cakes themselves as they do not have anything to fall back on. 

Another thing that Olivia and I liked about the selection is that you can get either a standard sized cupcake or a mini one, allowing yourself to try various flavours without feeling like a pig. We got a mini coconut cupcake as well as a mini peanut butter one. The coconut cupcake is shown below. 

We enjoyed both the cakes however for different reasons, we found that the coconut cake lacked flavour however the texture was really good, and in reverse, the peanut butter cupcake tasted great but was a little bit dry, if you put both these benefits together then they would have a perfect cake.

Olivia and I would definitely go back to Lola's Cupcakes again as there are just so many exciting flavours we want to try, and maybe next time we will receive both a light and flavorsome cupcake, we'll let you know! 

Thanks for reading,

Naomi ♥

S'moreanne Cupcakes

Sorry about the lack of posts recently, assignments have been getting in the way of blogging and baking but now everything is handed in, we can get back to baking.

Around Bonfire night it was Naomi's house mates birthday so we thought we would combine the two events and make S'moreanne cupcakes, which we had both wanted to make for a while anyway.
S'moreanne Cupcakes are a chocolate sponge, sprinkled with crushed digestive biscuits and topped with meringue, so we thought that with all the different textures and flavours, these would be a good choice.

We attempted Italian meringue for the topping, however, we don't think we let the water and sugar get hot enough as the meringue didn't hold it's shape. When that went wrong we decided to resort to French meringue and have decided that we will practice Italian meringue a bit more in the future, which will hopefully work next time!

The cakes themselves were quite interesting as there was a lot of different textures, however, we both found the sponge slightly dry. They looked quite nice and our housemates liked them though, so that's the main thing but if we were to make these again we might change the sponge recipe to see if we could improve it a bit.


Recipe
(Cake Days - The Hummingbird Bakery)

Makes 12-16 cupcakes

For the sponge:
          30g (1oz) dark chocolate
          5 digestive biscuits
          80g (3oz) unsalted butter, softened
          280g (10oz) caster sugar
          200g (7oz) plain flour
          40g (1.5oz) cocoa powder
          1 tbsp baking powder
          1/4 tsp salt
          240ml (8.5fl oz) whole milk
          2 large eggs

For the topping:
          200g (7oz) caster sugar
          4 egg whites
          100g (3.5oz) dark chocolate, broken into squares
          one or two 12-hole deep muffin tins
cooks blow torch (optional)

Method:

•  Preheat the oven to 170C (325F), Gas Mark 3, and line a muffin tin with muffin cases. Use the finest blade on a cheese grater to grate the chocolate and then set aside. Crush the biscuits in a food processor using the blade attachment or in a plastic bag using a rolling pin.
• Using a hand-held electric whisk or a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt on a low speed until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Mix the eggs and milk by hand in a jug, then pour three-quarters of this into the dry ingredients and mix on a low speed to combine. Increase the speed to medium and mix until smooth and thick.  Scrape the sides of the bowl, add the remaining milk mixture and keep mixing until all the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
• Spoon the batter into the paper cases, filling them by two-thirds. Any remaining batter can be spooned into more cases in another tin. Sprinkle the chocolate shavings and three-quarters of the crushed biscuits on top of the cupcakes, reserving the rest of the biscuit crumbs for later.
• Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until well risen and springy to the touch, then leave to cool completely. 
• Put the sugar in a small saucepan with 150ml (5.5 floz) of water and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, using the electric whisk or freestanding mixer with paddle attachment, whisk the egg whites until foamy. 
• When the sugar has boiled for 5-10 minutes and reached the soft ball stage, pour on to the beaten eggs while mixing on a medium speed.  Once added, adjust the speed to and whisk until the underside of the bowl feels lukewarm.  At this stage the meringue should have increased in size and become white, smooth and quite shiny.
• Smooth the meringue onto the cooled cupcakes, then swirl or mould into decorative spikes or waves using a palette knife.  With a cooks blowtorch, lightly brown the meringue to give it a baked appearance. Alternatively - pop the cakes under a hot grill - but only for a few seconds as the meringue will brown quickly and you don't want it to burn.  Decorate the cupcakes with biscuit crumbs and squares of chocolate.

Thanks for reading,

Olivia x x

Boston Cream Cupcakes

The majority of our baking nowadays is due to housemates or family birthdays, this time it was Olivia's housemates birthday again and after looking through the book in the past he'd mentioned that he liked the look of the Boston Cream Cupcakes, so of course it was these we made. These cakes are actually much simpler than you may first expect from the title and the picture in the book. The sponge is a plain vanilla, then filled with vanilla custard and topped with a chocolate buttercream.

We only had limited time to make the cakes due to afternoon lectures and the flatmate getting home so it was definitely time for teamwork and multitasking! I made the custard whilst Olivia made the cakes, therefore once the cakes were cooked and cooled the custard was cold enough to put straight into the cakes. The end result was good, the sponge was a really nice texture and the vanilla custard balanced out the rich chocolate frosting well. All the house seemed to like them and especially the boy whose birthday it was so overall they were a success!

Also, you guys should check out this new website I found, Bakery Box, it's basically like a baking version of a graze box. You choose a recipe from a large selection and they send you the ingredients you need for it, it's perfect for beginner bakers and people who want to bake but don't have much time on their hands to do so! They have a blog and facebook page too  which are both on their website so check those out too! 

Recipe
(Cake Days - The Hummingbird Bakery)

Makes 12-16 cupcakes

For the sponge:
          80g (3oz) unsalted butter, softened
          280g (10oz) caster sugar
          240g (8.5oz) plain flour
          1 tbsp baking powder
          1/4 tsp salt
          240ml (8.5fl oz) whole milk
          2 large eggs
         1 tsp vanilla essence

For the filling:
          250ml (9fl oz) whole milk
          1/2 tsp vanilla essence
          2 large egg yolks
          50g (1 3/4oz) caster sugar
          1 tbsp plain flour
          1 tbsp cornflour

For the frosting:
          400g (14oz) icing sugar
          100g (3.5oz) cocoa powder
          160g (5.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
          80ml (3fl oz) whole milk
          Finely grated dark chocolate, to decorate

one or two 12-hole deep muffin tins
piping bag (optional)

Method:

•  Preheat the oven to 190C (375F), Gas Mark 5, and line a muffin tin with muffin cases
• Using a hand-held electric whisk or a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the butte, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt on a low speed until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Place the remaining ingredients in a jug and whisk by hand, then pour three-quarters of this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix on a low speed to combine. Increase the speed to medium and keep mixing until smooth and thick, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.Add the remaining milk mixture and beat until combined and smooth.
• Spoon the batter into the paper cases, filling them by two-thirds. Any remaining batter can be spooned into more cases in another tin. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until well risen and springy to the touch, then leave to cool completely. 
• While the cupcakes are cooking, make the filling. Pour the milk and vanilla essence into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining ingredients together by and in a bowl until smooth and well combined. 
• Once the milk is boiling, remove from the heat and pour 4-5 tablespoons into the egg-yolk mixture to loosen, then return this mixture to the pan of hot milk, stirring to incorporate. 
• Return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Boil for at least 1 minute to ensure the flour is properly cooked. Once thickened, tip the custard into a bowl and cover with cling film to prevent a skin forming, then leave to cool completely for 30-40 minutes. 
• To make the frosting, use the electric whisk or freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment to slowly beat together the icing sugar, cocoa powder and butter until sandy in texture. Gradually pour in the milk, then increase the speed to high and whisk until soft and fluffy. 
• Using a sharp knife, make a hole in the centre of each cupcake about 2cm (3/4in) in diameter and 3cm (11/4in) deep, reserving the scooped out pieces of sponge. Pipe or spoon the custard into the hole in each cake, then replace the sponge lid, trimming it if necessary to ensure the top i fairly level. Divide the chocolate frosting between the cupcakes, smooth the tops with a palette knife and add a swirl. Sprinkle with grated chocolate to decorate. 

Thanks for reading,

Naomi ♥

Calvin Klein Birthday Cake

It was recently my brothers birthday as you know from the previous post, so I obviously had to make a cake. As it was his 18th I wanted to do something a little bit different and like most teenage boys he's really into designers and especially Calvin Klein underwear so I made him underwear cake.

I made a three layer vanilla sponge filled with buttercream and strawberry jam and then carved it into the shape I wanted.  I used bright pink royal icing that I bought and white royal icing for the top and then piped round the seaming and the "Calvin Klein" waistband.

It's quite a simple shape with block colours but I was really pleased with how it came out.  My brother really liked it too so that was the main thing! I've made the vanilla sponge before and blogged about it and it turned out just as nice, it's really classic and simple but tastes really good and everyone likes it which is always a bonus. 

Thanks for reading

Olivia x x

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

I saw these cupcakes quite a while back and have wanted to make them ever since, so I thought they would make a perfect accompaniment to my brother's birthday cake. It may have been his 18 but these are so cute and everyone loves the cookie monster!

I've seen quite a few different ways of making these but I used a blue frosting and then dyed some desiccated coconut blue for the topping.  I really liked the texture that the coconut made, although my brother doesn't like coconut so I made some with blue sugar strands, they didn't look quite as good but they still did the job.  I used white chocolate buttons for the eyes and piped on melted milk chocolate to make the pupils, although you can also use icing. I then just cut a small hole for the cookie to go into!

They are a bit more time consuming than a regular cupcake but I think they are definitely worth it as they look really cute. Everyone liked them as well so they were clearly a hit.

The cupcakes are classic chocolate sponge, which doesn't go great with buttercream icing, but my brother really likes chocolate cake so I improvised!

I would definitely recommend giving these a go though, they're fairly simple but are pretty impressive.

Thanks for reading,

Olivia x x

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

I love the flavour combination of chocolate and orange and those two combined in cakes is just too good. I made these cupcakes after seeing the recipe on one of my favourite cake blogs, 'Sweethearts Cakes and Bakes'. The recipe stood out to me and the cakes all looked perfect so I thought i'd give it a go, although I still need to make the chocolate orange cupcakes in the hummingbird book so when I do I can compare them. 

The cake mixture is flavoured with orange essence and cocoa powder and they are topped with  chocolate orange ganache. Yet again though, this means that the cakes have to be stored in the fridge which really ruins the texture of the them, so leave them out for around an hour before hand. I had some sugarpaste flowers left from the birthday cake Olivia and I made a few days before, so I decided that instead of throwing them away I'd put them on the cakes to make them look that bit prettier. I was really happy with how the cupcakes turned out, although I look forward to making the hummingbird ones and seeing which, if any, I prefer. 

The recipe for these cakes can be found here, I really recommend giving them a go. All the cakes on Sweethearts Cakes and Bakes look amazing and i'm excited to try some more, especially the mint chocolate ones.

Thanks for reading,

Naomi ♥

Birthday Carrot Cake

It was my housemates birthday this week, so Naomi and I decided we obviously had to make her a cake. After suspiciously throwing quite a few cake related questions into casual conversation I found out that she loves carrot cake, so that was the sponge sorted. I then discovered her favourite colours are duck egg blue, peach and lilac (she had to have picky taste ha), but as it was her birthday we tried our hardest to create something along these lines. 

The carrot cake recipe is a simple hummingbird one, it was made up of three layers and then sandwiched and covered with a cream cheese frosting. A couple of days before making the cake, Naomi and I made some blossom flowers and roses from florist paste. The reason why you make them in advance is so that they can dry out effectively, making them easier to put on the cakes at a later point. Lastly, we piped '20' on top of the cake in a slightly pink colour, just in case she forgot she'd gained a year and was no longer a teenager. 

The cake went down really well with all the rest of the house and her friends, although i'm not sure if students eating free cake really shows how tasty it actually is. 

Recipe(The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook - Hummingbird Bakery)

Serves 10-12

For the sponge:
          300g Soft Light Brown Sugar
          3 Eggs
          300ml Sunflower Oil
          300g Plain Flour
          1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
          1 tsp Baking Powder
          1 tsp Ground Cinnamon, plus extra to decorate
          ½ tsp Ground Ginger
          ½ tsp Salt
          ¼ tsp Vanilla Extract
          300g Carrots, grated
          100g Shelled Walnuts, chopped, plus extra, chopped and whole, to decorate

For the frosting:
          600g icing sugar, sifted
          100g unsalted butter, softened
          250g cream cheese frosting

Three 20cm (8in) diameter loose-bottomed sandwich tins

Method

• Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3.
• Put the sugar, eggs and oil in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat until all the ingredients are well incorporated (don’t worry if the mixture looks slightly split). Slowly add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and vanilla extract and continue to beat until well mixed.
• Stir in the grated carrots and walnuts by hand until they are all evenly dispersed. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tins and smooth over with a palette knife. Bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown and the sponge bounces back when touched. Leave the cakes to cool slightly in the tins before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
  
• Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.
  
• Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed.
  
• Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny.
• When the cakes are cold, put one on a cake stand and spread about one-quarter of the Cream Cheese Frosting over it with a palette knife. Place a second cake on top and spread another quarter of the frosting over it.
• Top with the last cake and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides. Finish with walnuts and a light sprinkling of cinnamon.

Thanks for reading,

Olivia x x

Espresso Cupcakes

Okay, I know Olivia and I have been awful at posting recently, we're just trying to get used to blogging whilst at University (it's actually surprisingly hard). Also, apologies for the lack of photo's for this post.

Anyway, let's get on with it. After telling my housemates that i'm going to be baking a lot this year, I thought it was about time I actually started doing this. Olivia and I decided we were going to make the Espresso cupcakes from the Hummingbird book, we both love coffee cake and thought the idea of an espresso one would be a bit more interesting, and being students they seemed quite a cheap option. However, we may have taken the student route a bit too far as we definitely picked the cheapest espresso powder in the shop, which didn't turn out the best way texture wise. Although, this could also be due to our slight lack of coffee knowledge. The coffee didn't dissolve in the milk the way we wanted it too, meaning that it was slightly gritty (which you can see in the photo). However, they tasted really good and all the flat seemed to like them! The icing was quite a strong coffee taste, we think this might be to do with getting the wrong type of coffee. Therefore, if we did make them again we'd probably invest a bit more money and knowledge into buying the right espresso.

Recipe
(Cake Days - The Hummingbird Bakery)

Makes 12-16 Cupcakes

For the sponge:
          240ml (8.5fl oz) milk
          20g (3/4oz) instant espresso powder
          80g (3oz) unsalted butter, softened
          280g (10oz) caster sugar
          240g (8.5oz) plain flour
          1 tbsp baking powder
          1/4 tsp salt
          2 large eggs

For the frosting:
          50ml (11/3fl oz) whole milk
          16g (1/2oz) instant espresso powder
          500g (1lb 2oz) icing sugar
          160g (5.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
          36-48 chocolate-coated coffee beans, to decorate

One of two 12-hole deep muffin tins

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 190C (375F), Gas Mark 5 and fill a muffin tin with muffin cases. 
• Lightly warm the milk, without boiling it, and dissolve the espresso powder in it. Using a hand-held electric whisk or a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt on a low speed until they are like fine breadcrumbs in consistency. 
• Pour the coffee-flavoured milk into the jug, add the eggs and whisk by hand until combined. Pour three-quarters of this milk mixture int the dry ingredients and mix together on a low speed, then increase the speed to medium and keep beating until smooth and thick. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then pour in the rest of the milk mixture and continue to beat on a medium speed until everything is mixed together and you have a smooth batter.
• Divide this between the muffin cases, filling each case by two-thirds. If any batter remains, use this to fill up to four more cases in a separate tin. Bake int he oven for 18-20 minutes or until risen and springy to the touch. Leave in the tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the frosting. 
• As before, slightly warm the milk and dissolve the espresso powder in it. Set aside to cool completely before using.
• Using the electric whisk or freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment, set on a low speed, whisk the icing sugar with the butter until they are fully combined and the mixture is sandy in consistency. Slowly start to add the coffee-flavoured milk, then, once mixed in, increase the speed to high and whisk until light and fluffy.
• Place spoonfuls of frosting on to the cold cupcakes, smoothing the tops with a palette knife and swirling to finish. Decorate each cake with three chocolate-coated coffee beans.

Thanks for reading,

Naomi ♥

Pistachio Loaf

Okay so there has clearly been a ridiculous lack of blogging recently, sorry about that! Liv and I have been pretty busy recently what with moving back to university (pretending we're still freshers) and something else which we'll show in a blog post very soon.

Anyway, before coming back to Bournemouth I made the pistachio loaf from the Hummingbird book, this is probably my most used recipe from 'Cake Days', however up until now, I myself had never eaten the loaf as I'd always made it for my friend. This time was no different, apart from the fact that I actually managed to eat some. The fact that I have made it numerous times show that it seems to go down well, the cake itself is quite sweet, however the pistachio aspect means that it isn't too much.
The only thing I'd say which is slightly annoying about the recipe is that it takes much longer in my oven than the book originally suggests. I've tried it on various settings on the oven but the middle always seems to take a while to cook, but this isn't the end of the world and the outcome makes it all okay. 

Recipe
(Cake Days - The Hummingbird Bakery)

Serves 8-10

For the sponge:
190g (7oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
190g (7oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
190g (7oz caster sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
25ml (1fl oz) soured cream
1tsp vanilla essence
100g (3.5oz) shelled pistachios, roughly chopped

For the glaze:
120g (4oz) icing sugar
40g (1.5oz) ground pistachios 

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170C (325F), Gas Mark 3, then grease the loaf tin with butter and dust with flour. 
• Using a hand held electric whisk or a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg one to a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are properly mixed together.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then add to the creamed mixture in two batches and mix on a low speed until just incorporated . Add the soured cream and vanilla essence, then stir in the chopped pistachios by hand. 
• Pour or spoon the batter int the prepared tin, then lace in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the sponge feels firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean, with no uncooked batter sticking to it. 
• Allow the loaf to cool a little in the tin, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool down fully before adding the glaze.
• Place the icing sugar in a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of water and mix together. This will form a fairly runny paste; if the glaze seems too thick, add a little more water to thin it - 1/4 teaspoon at a time. Stir in the ground pistachios, keeping a small amount aside to sprinkle on top. Pour the glaze over the cooled loaf and sprinkle with the remaining pistachios. 

Thanks for reading,

Naomi ♥

Vanilla Cupcakes

I recently bought a new piping head and haven't done just piped cupcakes in quite a while so I decided that I would practice piping roses using buttercream icing. The piping head I used for the roses is #104 which can also be used for bows, petals etc...

I used the Hummingbird Bakery recipe for vanilla cupcakes and then piped the vanilla icing on top.  The cakes themselves were really light and moist and had a nice hint of vanilla.  I really like classic sponge and this was definitely a recipe I would use again. I particuarly like using milk with the butter in the icing to make it more creamy and a bit less sickly.

As I wanted to pipe roses I decided to use pink and white icing as I thought these colours go really nice together and went really nicely with some pink and white cupcake cases I have. As the whole point was to practice flowers most of the cupcakes used roses, however I tried them in different ways and the ones that didn't use roses I piped hearts to stay along the theme. To pipe buttercream roses a pin is usually recommended, however, I decided just I'd pipe them straight onto the cupcakes, which I think looked just as nice.

I'm really pleased with how they turned out and I really like the colours together. I like piping and would definitely try out some other designs in the future or even make these ones again for a special occasion e.g. valentines day, anniversarys etc...

Recipe
(Cake Days - The Hummingbird Bakery)

Makes 12-16

For the sponge:
80g unsalted butter, softened
280g caster sugar
240g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
240ml milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the vanilla frosting:
500g icing sugar
160g unsalted butter
50ml milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Food colouring (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190C (325F), Gas Mark 5 and line a muffin tin.

Using a handheld whisk slowly beat together the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt until the ingredients resemble fine breadcrumbs.

Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla extract together in a jug, then slowly pour about half into the flour mixture, beat to combine and turn the mixer up to high speed to get rid of any lumps.

Turn the mixer down to a slower speed and slowly pour in the remaining milk mixture. Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix.

Spoon the mixture into muffin cases until two thirds full. Pop in the oven and bake for 18-20 mins, until the sponges feel springy. Leave to cool.

To make the frosting whisk the icing sugar with the butter on a low speed until fully combined. Add the vanilla essence to the milk and pour into the butter and icing sugar while mixing on a low speed until light and fluffy.

If you want to add food colouring, add a few drops to the icing, being careful not to add too much and alter the taste.  Wait until the cakes are fully cooled to add the frosting.

Thanks for reading,

Olivia x x

Baby Shower Cupcakes

A friend recently asked me to make some cupcakes for her sister-in-law's baby shower and I of course immediately agreed. This was my first paid order and it's also good experience, as well as being a lot of fun. 

I was only making 20 cupcakes so the task wan't too daunting, we decided on 10 chocolate cakes and 10 lemon, keeping the flavours simple, so we could please as many people as possible. After doing some online research and talking to my friend about her ideas we agreed on the 10 chocolate cupcakes having a babies face on them and the 10 lemon cakes being topped with lemon butter icing and baby themed icing figurines. They know that the baby is a boy which also made the process slightly easier as it meant we could have a definite colour scheme. 

Lemon Cupcakes 

Chocolate Cupcakes

For the icing shapes on top of the lemon cupcakes I used modelling paste and various food colour pastes. I made them a couple of days in advance so that they could dry out properly. The faces on the chocolate cupcakes were just made out of sugar paste and they were very easy to do as the design is simple but at the same time, effective. 

I was really happy with the outcome of both sets of cupcakes and so was my friend and apparently everyone at the shower, so overall my first order was a success!

Thanks for reading,

Naomi ♥

Strawberry Daiquiri Mini Cupcakes

My sister has wanted me to make these cupcakes for a while and i'd recently bought some mini silicone cupcake cases so I thought i'd give them a go. I've made Strawberry Daiquiri cocktails before and really like them so I was looking forward to tasting these.

I think they are really interesting cupcakes as you have the soaked strawberries at the bottom of each case which adds texture to the overall cake as well as giving the strawberry flavour.  You make up a classic sponge batter and then pour a small amount of the rum liquid over each cupake which gives them more flavour and makes them quite moist.

They are really light and taste really good and although they are quite sweet the small size of them means that they're not too much. They're also great because you can alter them to your taste, for example, if you wanted them more alcoholic you can add more rum and vice versa.  Lastly, they look really cute, although most mini things do. I would make these again and would recommend them as well, they're perfect for Summer gatherings especially. 

Recipe
(Cake Days - The Hummingbird Bakery)

Makes 24-30 mini cupcakes

For the Sponge:
          100ml (3.5 fl oz) white rum
          170g (6oz) caster sugar
          150g (5.5oz) strawberries
          40g (1.5 oz) unsalted butter, softened
          120g (4oz) plain flour
          1.5 tsp baking powder
          1/4 tsp salt
          1 large egg
          120ml (4fl oz) whole milk
          1/2 tsp vanilla essence 

For the Frosting:
          80g (3oz) unsalted butter, softened
          250g (9oz) icing sugar
          1/2 tsp finely grated lime zest
          4 tsp whole milk
          sliced strawberries, sprinkles or edible glitter to decorate.

One or two 24-hole mini muffin tins

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170C (325F), Gas Mark 3, and fill a muffin tin with mini muffin cases. 
• Add the rum and 30g (1oz) of the sugar to a small saucepan and bring to the boil, allowing it to reduce by about half, then set aside to cool slightly. Hull and chop the strawberries into small pieces, then soak in the rum and sugar reduction for 30-40 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, using a freestanding electric whisk with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric whisk, slowly mix together the butter, flour, remaining sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix until the ingredients have come together and resemble fine breadcrumbs. 
• In a jug whisk the egg, milk and vanilla essence together. With the mixer or electric whisk still running on a low speed, gradually pout the liquid mixture into the flour and butter and mix thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the bowl every now and then. 
• Drain the strawberries from the rum reduction, reserving the liquid and place a few small pieces of strawberry in each cupcake case. Spoon the cake batter on top, filling each case by two-thirds. Any remaining batter can be spooned into one to six more paper cases in a second mini muffin tin.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cupcakes are a light-golden brown colour and bounce back when lightly pressed. While they are still warm, spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of the rum reduction over each cake, then leave to cool completely before frosting. 
• Using the freestanding electric mixer or electric whisk, set on a low speed beat together the butter, icing sugar and lime zest until combined and crumb-like in texture, then mix together the milk and 4 teaspoons of the reserved rum reduction in a jug. Pour the milk and rum into the butter and icing sugar mixture, still mixing on a slow speed. When all the liquid has become incorporated, increase the speed to high and beat the frosting until soft and fluffy. 
• Smooth the frosting on to the cupcakes using a palette knife. Thee cupcakes can be topped with fresh chopped strawberries, or for a celebratory touch, a scattering of sprinkles or edible glitter. 

Thanks for reading,

Olivia xx

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

 The plain peanut butter cup cupcake

The cupcake with the additional 'Reese's Pieces'

Firstly, sorry for the lack of posts over the past week, both Olivia and I were away for a bit, however we both have a few posts for the near future. 

I've recently acquired a new love for 'Reese's Peanut Butter Cups' thanks to a friend introducing them to me (although I'm sure this introduction will in no way benefit my health). Since becoming slightly addicted to them I've wanted to incorporate them into baking somehow and after browsing 'Pinterest' I decided I'd start with some simple cupcakes. The actual cake is just a chocolate sponge (I used the Hummingbird Bakery recipe) however I put a peanut butter cup at the bottom of each cupcake case. I then halved the cake mixture and in one half I put some 'Reese's Pieces' and left the other half plain. 

The cakes turned out light and fluffy and the peanut butter cup at the bottom went slightly soft which was really good. The cakes with the Reese's pieces in them were my favorites I think, (yes, I ate two) as the crunchy candy bits add a different texture to the cakes, the recipe below is therefore for this version. The cakes have a slightly salty taste to them from the peanut butter but I really like this aspect as it means they aren't too sickly. Making these cakes may be the start of a lot of peanut butter baking, I want to make peanut butter cup cheesecake brownies next, another calorific treat. 

Recipe

Makes 10

For the cakes:
          100g plain flour
          20g cocoa powder
          140g caster sugar
          1.5 teaspoons baking powder
          pinch of salt
          40g unsalted butter, softened
          120ml milk
          1 egg
          1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
          10 Reese's peanut butter cups
          1 packet of Reese's pieces

For the frosting:
          250g icing sugar
          60g unsalted butter
          25ml milk
          25g smooth peanut butter (the amount depends on personal taste)
          Reese's pieces of peanut butter cups to decorate

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170C (325F), Gas Mark 3.
• Put the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar, salt and butter in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on a slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined. 
• Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla extract together in a jug, then slowly pour about half into the flour mixture, beat to combine and turn the mixer up to high speed to get rid of any lumps. 
• Turn the mixer down to a slower speed and slowly pour in the remaining milk mixture. Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix.
• Mix in the packet of 'Reese's Pieces' until evenly dispersed.
• Place a peanut butter cup in the bottom of each cupcake case.
• 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. Leave the cupcakes to cool in the tins slightly before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 
• For the frosting, beat the icing sugar and butter together with a freestanding electric mixer with paddle attachment or handheld electric whisk until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. 
• Pour the milk into the mixture and continue to beat until the icing becomes light and fluffy. Mix the peanut butter into the icing by hand, taste it to see whether to add more peanut butter. 
• Once the cakes are cool, pipe the icing onto the cakes accordingly and decorate how you wish.

Thanks for reading,

Naomi ♥