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 ♥

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