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 ♥
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
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 ♥
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
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
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 ♥
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
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