Merry Christmas

The cupcake way!

Christmas crackers!

Look at these little lovelies ready for the off yesterday. From top to bottom: Mince Pie Cupcakes; Gingerbread, Man, Cupcakes; Chocolate Yule Log Cupcakes, Christmas Cake Cupcakes.

Feeling festive yet?

What about this proper job Christmas cake, sent off for delivery today? Understated, yes, but it's covered in pearlised shimmery sparkle! Will look so lovely with ribbon of colour-coordiated-with-Christmas-decorations choice!

Flavour of the month: Mince pie

This month I have several cupcake flavours on the go including Christmas Cake and Chocolate Yule Log (right), but the official flavour of the month is Mince Pie. I know, you may already be sick of mince pies, but, trust me, this one is delicious!

As it’s the season of giving, here’s the (deceptively simple) recipe.
Basic sponge mix for about 10 cupcakes, so:
2 eggs, beaten
Equal weight of unsalted butter, softened
Equal weight of light muscovado sugar (or caster sugar is fine)
Equal weight of plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
Plus:
1tsp mixed spice
half a jar of mincemeat (about 150g)

Preheat oven to 180/160 fan (or whatever your equivalent is!) and pre-fill a muffin tin with 10-12 muffin/cupcake cases.

Whisk up your softened butter until light and ‘oily’ (the consistency of mayonnaise ish), add the sugar and whisk some more until light and fluffy. Slowly whisk in the eggs, taking care not to add too much egg at once so that the mixture doesn’t split. Sift together your flour, baking powder and mixed spice and whisk into the mix quickly and lightly. Stir in the mincemeat (thoroughly, but don’t bash your cake mixture around too much).

Fill your cupcake cases about two thirds full and bake for 20-25 minutes (until a cake skewer comes out clean). In my oven the cupcakes cook reliably in 22 minutes, but it’s a bit warmer on one side than the other, so I turn them round at 17 minutes. Definitely don’t touch them for 10 minutes (unless something disastrous has happened).

I’ve topped these with a vanilla cream frosting (a mixture of basic buttercream, double cream, condensed milk and vanilla extract), plus a jaunty shortcrust pastry lid or star for the mini ones. The pastry is obviously an optional extra, but gives a nice contrasting crunch to the overall cake. If I was eating these at home, I’d be tempted to serve slightly warm(ed) with a dollop of clotted cream on top.

Have a wonderful festive season!

Milverton Candlelit Bazaar

I had a great time last week selling cupcakes at the Milverton Candlelit Bazaar. I spent a whole day doing nothing but baking cakes and making them look pretty and an evening in a beautifully festive location with some jolly lovely people. I even won a bottle of wine in the raffle.

Thanks to the wonderful organisers and, of course, the discerning customers who purchased my festive cupcakes.

Alternative festive cupcakes...

Clever yes, but is this also a bit wrong somehow...?
Check out the slashfood site
Thank you Paul!

Festive cupcakes

Festive cupcakes now available!
Boozy fruit sponge topped with marzipan (quite a bit), icing (not so much) and some festive glitz.

£5 for a beribboned box of four cakes. Buy at Wivey Market (11 December), Milverton Candlelit Bazaar (1 December), email me or give me a call!

Coming soon: festive cupcakes

This week I'm working on the festive flavours ready for next week's Wivey market and Christmas markets in December.

I've just got the Christmas cake cupcakes in the oven - jam packed with dried fruits boiled and soaked in Jack Daniels. Wooah baby!

Next up the mincemeat cupcakes, which I might make December's flavour of the month. I'm getting very festive now - I'd put up some decorations if it wouldn't upset Christmas Scrooge quite so much....