Chocolate Baileys Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for my friend as part of our secret santa but have only just got round to posting about them. She loves Bailey's so I thought I'd incorporate it into some baked goods, a standard present from me (as well as giving her a bottle of it). The recipe is from 'Making Cupcakes with Lola' and I've been wanting to make them for a while. The sponge is chocolate with both whiskey and Bailey's added to it and on top is a Bailey's buttercream. After piping the icing onto the cakes I topped them off with a simple florist paste flower which I made using the large blossom cutter.

I was a little disappointed with myself for these cupcakes as I got carried away with Christmas T.V and over baked them slightly, however my friend was still very happy with them. The buttercream was really nice as it had just the right amount of Bailey's in it without it being overpowering or sickly.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year, hopefully Olivia and I can keep up with our baking this year but bare with us as we sometimes find it hard to balance both university work and baking. I got a lot of baking goodies for Christmas so I might write a post about those this week at some point.

Recipe 
(Making Cupcakes with Lola - Victoria Jossel & Romy Lewis)
Makes 12 regular or 24 tiny cupcakes

For the sponge:
100g (31/2 oz) milk chocolate, chopped
125g (1 stick) butter, cubed
220g (1 cup) plus 1 tbsp caster sugar
120ml (1/2 cup) Baileys
2 tbsp whiskey
1 egg
a pinch of salt
150g (1 cup) plus 3 tablespoons plain flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder

For the buttercream:
125g (1 stick) butter, cubed and soft
500g (3 2/3 cups) icing sugar
3 tbsp Bailey's
1 tbsp milk

muffin pan lined with 12 muffin cases or mini-cupcake pan lined with 24 mini cupcake cases

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• Put the chocolate, butter, sugar, Baileys and Whiskey in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. Heat, stirring, until the chocolate melts and you have a smooth, glossy mixture. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes. 
• Now add the egg and salt and beat with an electric hand mixer. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder into the bowl and beat until blended. 
• Divide the mixture between the muffin cases. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or a little less for tiny cupcakes. They should be well risen and a skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before decorating. 
• While the cupcakes are cooling down, make the Baileys buttercream. 
• Put the butter in a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until very soft and smooth. Sift half the sugar into the bowl, beating until incorporated. 
• Add the second half of the sugar and beat on a low speed. Slowly pour in the Baileys and milk and when they are all mixed in, beat for 3-5 minutes on a higher speed. 
• Spread the frosting over the cold cupcakes using a spatula, or spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle/tip and pipe it on top of the cupcakes. 

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 ♥

Rocky Road Cupcakes

This cupcake recipe isn't from the Hummingbird book, but a friend and I really wanted to make them so I put the Hummingbird challenge on hold. These cakes are from the 'Making Cupcakes with Lola' book, which contains recipes from Lola's cupcakes, a cake business with various stores around London including one inside Topshop Oxford Street. All the cakes in the book look perfect, and vary from your standard flavours, with options such as Toffee Apple (which I want to try ASAP), maybe Olivia and I can bake our way through the Lola book when we eventually finish the Hummingbird one aha. 

I love rocky roads and I love cake, so when I came across the rocky road cupcake it was an immediate baking must. The sponge is a marbled vanilla and chocolate mix, which is then topped with a standard chocolate buttercream. That's not where it ends however, the next bit is the part where your inner child can be released, where the cupcake truly takes on its 'rocky road' title. The piling of marshmallows, almonds and chocolate chips allows complete creativity and then topping it with melted chocolate really does make it a cupcake dream. I was happy with how they turned out as they don't look too dissimilar to the ones in the book and they taste pretty good too! 


Recipe
(Making Cupcakes with Lola - Victoria Jossel & Romy Lewis)

Makes 12 cupcakes

For the sponge: 
          130g/1 cup self-raising flour
          100g/3/4 cup plain/all-purpose flour
          1 teaspoon baking powder
             1/4 teaspoon salt
          130g/1 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter, cubed and soft
          200g/1 cup (caster) sugar
             1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
          2 eggs
          120ml/1/2 cup milk
          1 tablespoon cocoa powder
          3 tablespoons flaked/slivered almonds
          25g/1/3 cup white mini marshmallows 
          40g/1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
          store bought chocolate sauce, to drizzle (or just melt chocolate as I did)

For the buttercream:
          135g/1 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter, cubed and soft
          410g3 cups icing/confectioners sugar
          45g/1/3 cup cocoa powder
          6 tablespoons milk 

muffin pan lined with 12 muffin cases

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4
• Sift together the flours, baking powder and salt in a bowl
• Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until pale and fluffy. Stop occasionally to scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Slowly add the sifted dry ingredients in alternate batches with the milk ad beat no low speed until combined. 
• Transfer half the mixture to another bowl and stir in the cocoa powder. 
• Scoop 1 tablespoon of the vanilla mixture into each muffin case, followed by 1 tablespoon of the chocolate mixture. Repeat until you have used up all the mixture. 
• Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until well risen and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
• While the cupcakes are cooling down, make the chocolate buttercream. 
• Put the butter in a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until very soft and smooth. Sift half the sugar and half the cocoa powder into the bowl, beating until incorporated. Add the second half of the sugar and cocoa and beat on low speed. 
• Slowly pour in the milk and when it is mixed in, beat for 3-5 minutes on a higher speed. 
• Spread the frosting over the cold cupcakes using a spatula. Cover with the almonds, mini marshmallows and chocolate chips. Finish by drizzling with chocolate sauce  (or melted chocolate). 

Thankies for reading,

Naomi ♥