Raspberry Pavlova Cupcakes

Tried out a new recipe yesterday for Raspberry Pavlova Cupcakes (inspired by Ruby's delicious pavlovas ... and some raspberries that needed eating up). I made the meringues in advance so that I could crumble some into the cakes - made some with and some without - but there was really no discernable difference in texture, so it probably isn't worth the effort (or waste of meringue!)

For the cakes
120g butter, softened
120g caster sugar
2 large free-range eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
120g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
100g fresh raspberries


For the meringues
2 egg whites
110g caster sugar

To top

150ml double cream

30g icing sugar

3tbspn creme fraiche

Before you start: the meringue mix makes way more than enough mini meringues to top 12 cakes (see photo below), but I just can't really whisk 1 egg white in my massive mixer. By all means try, or omit the meringues all together if you just want a raspberry cupcake. Otherwise the meringues will keep for a couple of weeks in an airtight container and I'm sure they'll come in for something!

Preheat oven to 180c/160fan/350f. Put large cupcake cases in a 12-hole muffin tin.

Usual method for the cake - beat softened butter and sugar together, slowly add beaten egg and vanilla, beat, beat, beat until you can beat no more. Add sifted flour and baking powder and beat quickly, taking care not to overmix. Chuck in the raspberries and give it a quick mix through, leaving some chunky bits of raspberry.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

While the cakes are cooking start on your meringues.  Line two baking trays with greaseproof or parchment.

Whisk the egg whites until very stiff. Continue whisking on a high speed, slowly adding all of the sugar (a tsp at a time is recommended for the best meringues). The mixture should be smooth and glossy. Pipe small meringue shapes onto the baking trays. These will sit for a little while waiting for the oven to be ready (though maybe don't risk it if it's too hot in the kitchen).

Once your cakes are cooked, reduce oven temperature to 110c/90fan/230f. When the oven is at the right temperature put in your meringues and cook for 45 mins to 1 hour (it's worth turning the trays half way through for a more even bake).

When you're ready to eat your cakes, whip the double cream until firm, beat in the icing sugar. Once well combined, mix in the creme fraiche. Pipe cream mix in a circle on the cakes and top with a meringue.

The meringues will lose their crispiness in 1-2 hours once sat on top of the cream, and the fresh cream won't last long in a warm environment, so this isn't a great recipe for preparing in advance. (nb the cakes will become dry if you put them in the fridge, so I wouldn't choose that option either.) Hey, they'll still be nice to eat!

Springing back!

It's been a while, but, hey, I've been busy. This Easter has been a great weekend for baking - too cold and the family too poorly to be bothered with going outside anyway! So, I've been getting creative indoors with some new flower styles for cake toppings, just in time for the spring blooms and blossoms. These will be great for parties and wedding cakes come the summer too.

I've also been squirrelling away on a new website with some new photos and yummy cake flavours ... watch this space for relaunch.

Recipes also coming soon....

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!

Weddings of all shapes and sizes

I never thought I'd be so busy thinking about weddings this time of year, but with two weddings and three sets of tasters for next year's brides it's been all go and I've been conjuring up romance in the kitchen in between the christmas puddings and preserve presents!

As if to prove no two weddings are the same, look at these beautifully purple vanilla and blackberry cupcakes (pre romantic glitter application) and the delicately delicious lemon and flat topped cupcakes ready for tasting.

Kitschy she say, it doesn't matter how you do it as long as you do it your way!

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....

Wedding taster box

It's late, I'm tired and I've missed Antiques Roadshow, but my wedding taster box is read for delivery first thing tomorrow!

Top toppings

One of the questions I've been asked most recently at my stall is how I get my toppings so smooth/firm/nice (thank you to everyone who has been so complimentary). I don't know that I have any special secrets but this is what I do to make and apply a tasty buttercream.

First, butter - it must be soft and smooth. I chop mine up a bit and put in the microwave on high for 20-40 seconds depending on whether it has been out in the kitchen or on the fridge. I usually make basic buttercream packet of butter at a time! You probably want to be a bit more economical - I think you'll need 150g for 12 cupcakes. Beat the butter until it is smooth and roughly the consistency of mayonnaise or Hollandaise sauce (mmmm, eggs benedict).

Second, icing sugar. Sift it into your butter. Don't think you can get away with putting it in a bit lumpy (ok, you can sometimes, but it's not worth it). If you hate sifting, you can put your sugar in a large bowl and beat it with a balloon whisk to break it up and add air. An observation, the larger quantities in which you buy it, the less 'lumpy' it appears to be - when I have 3kg bags it will need very little sifting, but the sugar is always well compacted in a 500g box. Tip 1: Add it a little at a time to minimize icing sugar fog in your kitchen. Tip 2: You'll need twice as much as you think.

Third, blending. Your sugar can be mixed with your butter with a wooden spoon or with a hand blender, but when it starts to get stiff go easy on your hand blender (I broke my cheap one mixing buttercream, although it was a good excuse to my beautiful Dualit blender: see 27th October). Keep adding sugar until the mixture stands away from the bowl (in a dough like lump) when you add a new batch of sugar; it should soften back down and you may need to add a bit more sugar. When ready it should not drop easily from a spoon, but be soft enough to drop off when you flick the spoon or tap on the side of your bowl.

Fourth, flavour. Plain buttercream may be just what you need - subtle with vanilla and a great topping for carrot cake. If you're a novice stick to some easy to mix flavourings. Lemon juice is often suggested for a beginners lemon cupcake but, actually, the buttercream can split if you add too much. Better to start with an oil or essence - orange extract, vanilla extract or rose water will mix in easily. Add to taste and add more sugar if necessary to get back to your desired consistency.

Finally, application. Get the right kit. I use large plastic star nozzles in 7 or 8 point stars (large 7 is used on Toffee Apple for example). Apparantly there is no consistent numbering system for nozzles, so to give you an idea the nozzles are about 2 inches high with openings 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch across. I prefer 30-40cm nylon or disposable bags (cheap disposable ones WILL split), any smaller and you have to refill more times, increasing the liklihood of air bubbles.

Once you have filled your piping bag (probably half full is enough to handle easily), twist the top to contain and put pressure on your icing. Swirl away in whatever pattern you like, twisting the bag slightly between each cake to maintain a consisten pressure.

Oh, and then add sparkles, sprinkles, drages, cherries, smarties, flowers, hundreds and thousands, chocolate shavings....

Hallowe'en excitement, probably part 1 as I'm quite excited...

I am in love with these skeleton cupcakes from the 52 cupcakes blog. I only wish I had the time this week to attempt to make the cute little skeletons, even just one!

I've also been given some fab little hallowe'en cupcake cases and Lily Vanilla's new book A Zombie Ate My Cupcake for my birthday. I love the Shattered Glass cupcakes - blood oozing out of the cake. I might try these and the Ghastly Gouls for trick or treaters on Sunday (not that we get many, so more cakes for me!)

I will be making Lily's meringue bones for Saturday's Hallowe'en party, as they'll go well with the theme. Hopefully I'll have time on Saturday to post a photo of them along with my volcano cupcakes....

Daily Mirror

Check out today's Daily Mirror! I haven't seen it myself yet, but they have a cupcake feature scheduled for today and I have a little 'advertorial' booked for the South West edition!

Not my usual paper of choice, but it is my parents' so don't be mean ;o) They'll be so proud!

Three words: Skull cake pan

My friend Paul sent me this link some time ago, but in the run up to Hallowe’en I thought it was time to share!

Check out Megan Reardon’s ‘Not Martha’ blog about the pan and her fabulous skull cake (left).

Sadly, I can’t find this pan available anywhere in the UK (it's made by Wilton,so check out your local supplier!). Although it is now back available in the US at prettypartyplace it will never ship in time for Hallowe’en (sigh).

Instead, I may have to console myself with this fabulous pumpkin cake tin from the cakes, cookies and crafts shop, which I love partly because the tin itself is also orange....

They also do some cute little cupcake stencils – ideal for decorating flat iced pumpkin cupcakes!

Flavour of the Month: Smashing Pumpkin

Inspiration struck while I was making the first big batch of pumpkin cupcakes for market on Friday and, lo, it is now called Smashing Pumpkin!

It's a pretty satrightforward recipe - just like a carrot cake really - from Susannah Blake's Cupcake book that mother-out-law loaned me. It makes really light and moist cakes.

For 12 muffin size cupcakes:
115g soft brown sugar
120ml sunflower oil
2 eggs
115g grated squash (I'd recommend small pumpkin or butternut for taste)
zest of 1 lemon
115g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180c or 160 fan and line your muffin tin with spooky cases.
Break up sugar in a bowl so there are no lumps and beat in the oil and the eggs. It's goo to leave this while you grate the pumpkin as it seems to combine well after a little sit. Add grated pumpkin and lemon zest.
Sift together dry ingredients and fold into wet ingredients.
Fill cases 2/3 full.
Bake for around 20 minutes (I always check cupcakes at 17 minutes, and maybe give the tray a turn if your oven is - like mine - slightly warmer on one side than the other!)

I've topped with a vanilla buttercream in orange and black (although I was worried about the amount of black food colouring required so they were kind of dark grey really), but white chocolate topping or flat icing would work just as well.

Off to market

Back to Wivey Market tomorrow after a few months' break. All of the usual suspects will be there, including Chocolate Chocolate, Very Vanilla and Luscious Lemon, along with new October flavour Punky Pumpkin. Watch this space for photos!

No more Blackberry Crumble, sadly, as the blackberries are now all well past their best. It feels like we're saying farewell to Autumn and hello to winter already!

Back ... almost

I've certainly been back in the kitchen after a few weeks squeezing it whenever possible, but I've still been way too busy to write about baking as well as bake!

Have done a few great orders for parties and weddings, which has been fun if a little stressful at times! I did some super glammed (chavved up) chocolate cupcakes for a party this weekend - look at 'em ready for the off.

I've also been branching out into the world of cakes not in a cup for the Dulverton market. Carrot cakes, sponges, scones and flapjacks seem to go down much better than cup cakes :o( It's interesting to diversify though. This week's sale will include carrot cake, victoria sponge, coffee and walnut sponge, honey nut chocolate tiffin, scones, and boxes of rose and chocolate cupcakes (separate - not both flavours together...). Let me know any favourites, recommendations or requests!

What is a cupcake?

After listening to a Radio 4 programme about cupcakes (someone tipped me off ok!), I got to pondering if the cakes I make really are cupcakes. One of the luminaries on the panel insisted that cupcakes were a basic sponge that must also include oil in the mix to make a lighter sponge. The cakes should also have some kind of cream or butter cream frosting.

My ‘standard’ sponge recipe cakes don’t include oil – I did consider it after working with diary-free spread and producing such a light (and longer lasting) sponge, but after some experiments, I think the only important thing is to get the butter as soft as possible (yes, in the microwave is fine as long as you’re careful, and this is certainly better in food safety terms than leaving your butter in the sun all day), and then beat it ... a lot until it’s really light. No oil required.

I also don’t restrict myself to standard sponge recipes; one of my earliest recipes was a gluten-free cake recipe made with ground almond rather than flour (more like a brownie mix) and I make dairy-free cakes with oil and fruit (which are more like muffins), so are these not cupcakes?

That dodgy yet democratic information source, wikipedia states:
A cupcake, or fairy cake in British English, is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations, such as sprinkles, are common on cupcakes.

The term "cupcake" was first mentioned in 1828 in Eliza Leslie's Receipts cookbook. In the early 19th century, there were two different uses for the name "cup cake" or "cupcake". In previous centuries, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups, ramekins, or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked in. This is the use of the name that has persisted, and the name of "cupcake" is now given to any small cake that is about the size of a teacup. […]

The other kind of "cup cake" referred to a cake whose ingredients were measured by volume, using a standard-sized cup, instead of being weighed [eg a pound cake]. Recipes whose ingredients were measured using a standard-sized cup could also be baked in cups; however, they were more commonly baked in tins as layers or loaves.

In sum, a cupcake is a cake made in a cup….

I then found lots of useful info on chowhound.com about the difference between a muffin and a cupcake, which is essentially the technique – a muffin being a “quick bread” for which you just bung all the ingredients together; a cake requiring creaming of butter and sugar first.

So, probably some of my cupcakes are not, strictly speaking, cupcakes, but I won’t tell if you don’t!

New flavour: Elderflower

The elderflowers are finally out, which gives me the opportunity to play with another new flavour for June. It's a basic cupcake sponge recipe minus vanilla, which would overpower the elderflower, with elderflower cordial for flavouring. I think this still needs a bit of work - the flavour perhaps too subtle in the sponge? - but the elderflower butter cream is such a pretty pure white!