Marbled Cupcakes

 

Both Naomi and I have been wanting to make Marble Cupcakes for a while and since our exams and assignments were over we decided we would finally get round to making them. We really liked the idea of mixing vanilla and chocolate sponge together.

We made the sponge mix as instructed, they took a little longer to cook than suggested but we just put this down to our Uni ovens. When it came to the frosting we decided to pipe some of them using a duo-icing piping bag.  The ones we pipe did look quite good although we don't think the frosting was quite piping consistency as it was quite hard to pipe. For the rest of the cupcakes we decided to use a palette knife to spread the frosting.

Apart from them taking slightly longer to cook, everything else went well and they were quite straight-forward to make.  Overall the cupcakes were really nice, all of our housemates enjoyed them! The sponge was really light despite it being chocolate sponge and frosting and I think the vanilla and chocolate flavours went really well together

Recipe 
(Cake Days - Hummgbird Bakery)
Makes 12-16 cupcakes

For the chocolate and vanilla sponges:
80g (3oz) unsalted butter
280g (10oz) caster sugar
240g (8 1/2oz) plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
20g (3/4oz) cocoa powder
2 large eggs
240ml (8 1/2fl oz) milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

For the chocolate frosting:
200g (7oz) icing sugar
50g (13/4oz) cocoa powder
80g (3oz) unsalted butter
25ml (1fl oz) whole milk


For the vanilla frosting:
250g (9oz) icing sugar
80g (3oz) unsalted butter
25ml (1fl oz) whole milk
1/4 tsp vanilla essence

one or two 12-hole deep muffin tins

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5 and fill a muffin tin with muffin cases.
• First make the flavoured sponges, beginning with the chocolate one. Using a handheld electric whisk or freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together half each of the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt,along with the cocoa powder, on a low speed until they have the texture of fine breadcrumbs.
• Break the eggs into a jug, add the milk and whisk by hand, then pour half of this mixture into the second jug a set aside for the vanilla sponge.
• Take the first jug with the egg mixture, pour three-quarters of this mixture into the dry chocolate sponge ingredients and mix on a low speed to combine.  Increase the speed to medium and keep mixing until smooth and thick. Scrape down the side of the bowl, add the remaining milk mixture from the first jug and continue to beat on a medium speed until all the ingredients are mixed in and the batter is smooth.
• For the vanilla sponge, repeat step 2 with the remaining half of the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt, but this time no cocoa powder.  Take the second jug of the egg mixture, whisk in the vanilla essence, then repeat step 4, pouring into the dry vanilla sponge ingredients and mixing as described.
• Divide the chocolate batter between the muffin cases, filling each by about a third.  Top with the same amount of vanilla batter and use a teaspoon handle to swirl the two mixtures together. If any batter remains, use it to fill more cases in a seperate muffin tin.
• Place in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until well risen and springy to the touch. Let the cupcakes cool in the tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely before you frost them.
• To make the chocolate frosting, whisk the icing sugar with the cocoa powder and butter on a low speed in a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment, or using the electric whisk, until the mixture is sandy in consistency. Pour in the milk, still mixing on a low speed, then increase the speed to high and whisk the frosting until soft and fluffy.
• Repeat this step for the vanilla frosting, but omitting the cocoa powder and mixing the vanilla essence with the milk before adding it to the frosting.
• When the cupcakes have cooled, spread 1 tablespoon of each frosting on to each cake using a palette knife, then swirl the two for a marbled effect.

Thanks for reading,

Olivia xx

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