Today I baked cupcakes...

Beautiful (or as close to beautiful as I can get because I'm clumsy and a disaster when it comes to perfection) delicious vanilla cupcakes with raspberry cream cheese icing....

....and then I turned my back for 30 seconds to sort out something and that's when Starbuck the cat (named after the original Battlestar Galatica Starbuck, Scully's nickname on the X-files, and the coffee of course because well you should know why) heaved his lardy ass up on the counter and ate the icing off of two pretty pink cakes.

Tangy sweet fresh raspberry icing made with real raspberries, the few that H didn't pinch that is.

*sigh*

thank goodness Matt rescued the rest and we have a tray of scones that Frizbe brought over this afternoon too.

But damn that evil lardy cat.

Snowmen Cupcakes

who you lookin at?

ingredients:

cupcakes:
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 ½ cup caster (white) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup milk
3 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 C).
Grease 12 cupcake cups or line with paper muffin liners. (recipe makes 24 cupcakes (not fairycake size, muffin tin size.)

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.In a small bowl mix the milk and the vanilla.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy.

add half the flour and mix well. Add half the milk and vanilla mixture.

Add eggs, one at a time mixing well. slowly add in the remainder of the dry mixture.

Add the last of the milk and vanilla.

spoon the batter into the cups and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out of pan and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1-1/2 cups powdered (icing) sugar
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or vanilla flavouring)

Place the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a bowl and slowly add in the powdered (icing) sugar as you mix. Blend until smooth.

decoration:
1 large bag of plain m&ms
1 industrious child to separate the m&ms ( you only need the brown and orange ones so bribery is easy)
sweetened and tenderized coconut
1 bag plain chocolate chips


assembly:

place the sweet coconut in a bowl.

ice a cupcake with the vanilla icing and gently dip the cupcake into the coconut.

use the brown m&ms for the eyes and the orange ones for the nose, and chocolate chip (coal) for the snowman's smile. Its a fun job that the kids can help you with, especially separating out the m&m colours, as H quite happily sat for an unheard of 10 minutes separating out all the m&ms and was quite happy to steal a few.

alternatively you could use other orange sweets for the snowman's nose or colour some marzipan orange and roll flat and cut small triangles (carrots) or roll into small carrot shapes.

cooks notes: I made two batches 48 cupcakes to sell after H's school Christmas Concert, every single cupcake sold!, M assures me they were very nice I never got one though I may have made myself just the teensiest bit sickly "tasting" the icing....and cake batter... I also made 24 Double Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes which sold too, so I was quite pleased that even if my crafts aren't selling my cakes were appreciated and raised some money for H's school.

Skellingtons, vampires and applesauce

cinnamon apple sauce

I should be doing a post for each of these creations but I just finished the Jack Skellington cake for H's birthday party later and I am terrible pleased I think I may fly about the room in a minute.. or at least fly up to wash my hair....

Jack Skellington cake

really must run as I cant find my witches hat and I need it for H's party (his actual 6th birthday isn't till Monday)

vampire cupcake

OMG THE BOY WILL BE SIX!! SIX!!!!

Morello Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes

Morello Cherry Bakewell cupcake

Morello Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes recipe (a work in progress)
ingredients
1 1/4 cups self raising flour
1 cup ground almonds
1 ½ cup caster (white) sugar
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (softened)
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons almond extract

1 jar morello cherry conserve (or other cherry jam)
½ cup flaked almonds
Paper muffin cases

Put the flour, ground almonds, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. In another bowl mix the vanilla and milk together.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl.

Add half the flour mixture and beat until well blended.

Add half the milk and the vanilla and beat until well mixed.

Add the eggs one at a time mixing well between additions.

Add the remainder of the flour mixture and blend thoroughly.

Add the remainder of the milk and vanilla.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake cases, filling them ¾ full, put a spoonful of morello cherry conserve (jam) on top of the cake batter (it will sink down) and sprinkling a few almonds on top of the cherry conserve.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180 C until it springs back when you touch them.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out of pan and onto a rack to finish cooling completely. Serve with custard, cream or ice cream.


cook's notes: the recipe is a work in progress, I have been playing about with it, as my first attempt the batter was too thin and the jam sunk to the bottom of the cake, but this recipe it only nearly sunk to the bottom (as you can see in the photo) there is just enough cake to keep the bottom dry. I could have tired the easy way and baked the cakes without the jam and then cut them to add the jam to the top but that wouldn't have nearly been as much fun. I'll keep you posted on any further baking experiments...

p.s. I know I'm terribly behind on blog posts, but I will make it up to you I promise, there will be another giveaway soon, and there is also a sale on in my etsy shop if anyone is interested to have a look round before I close the shop down for awhile.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

ice cream cone cupcake

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
ingredients:
2 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 ½ cup caster (white) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup milk
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

24 flat bottomed ice-cream cones

Put the flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. In another bowl mix the vanilla and milk together.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl.

Add half the flour and beat until well blended.

Add half the milk and the vanilla and beat until well mixed.

Add the eggs one at a time mixing well between additions.

Add the remainder of the flour blend thoroughly.

Add the remainder of the milk and vanilla.


Spoon the batter into the ice cream cones filling them ¾ full. bake for 15-20 minutes at 180 C until it springs back when you touch them.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, before placing onto a rack to finish cooling completely. When cool ice with cream cheese frosting.


Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
1 8oz package cream cheese
½ cup butter (softened)
2 ½ cups powdered/icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend together cream cheese, vanilla and butter, slowly adding in the sugar a bit at a time… you can separate the icing into different bowls to add food colouring, and you can sprinkle the “ice cream” with sprinkles, shaved chocolate, fruit or even a flake as I did.


Cook’s notes: I made these for H’s school fair, every single ice cream cone, cupcake and brownie I made sold. *preens* sorry the pictures aren't as good as they could be, the day was manic with baking cupcakes, brownie cupcakes, and decorating them that I only managed a few quick pictures.

a few cupcakes too

Cupcake Brownies

Brownie Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup butter (softened)
4 large eggs
1 cup plain/dark chocolate chips

Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt, cocoa, sugar, vanilla, butter and eggs.

Fold in the chocolate chips and spread batter into muffin/cupcake cases about ¾ full. (Alternatively you could add nuts or dried fruit at this time) Makes about 24 cupcakes.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for roughly 20 minutes.

Cool for five minutes in the muffin tins before moving them to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Once cooled you can top the brownies with butter cream, whipped cream as I did, or a dollop of your favourite ice-cream, or drizzled pouring cream.

cook's notes:I had been meaning to try brownie cupcakes for awhile now, after the mums at H's school going gaga for my brownies, it made sense to try to make small individual ones that don't make as much mess as still warm brownies with a gooey centre. They still all sold in gooey form but individual portions in cupcake size will work better for the next cake sale to raise money for school activities. Sorry the picture is less than brilliant, it was at night and the light was terrible, and five minutes later, less than that actually, M had gobbled up my model brownie.

cupcake snowman recipe

ingredients:

cupcakes:
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 ½ cup caster (white) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup milk
3 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 C).
Grease 12 cupcake cups or line with paper muffin liners. (recipe makes 24 cupcakes (not fairycake size, muffin tin size.)
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.In a small bowl mix the milk and the vanilla.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy.

add half the flour and mix well. Add half the milk and vanilla mixture.

Add eggs, one at a time mixing well. slowly add in the remainder of the dry mixture.

Add the last of the milk and vanilla.

spoon the batter into the cups and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out of pan and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1-1/2 cups powdered (icing) sugar
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract (flavouring)

Place the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a bowl and slowly add in the powdered (icing) sugar as you mix. Blend until smooth.

decoration:
1 large bag of plain m&ms
1 industrious child to separate the m&ms ( you only need the brown and orange ones so bribary is easy)
sweetened and tenderized coconut
1 bag plain chocolate chips


assembly:

place the sweet coconut in a bowl
ice a cupcake with the vanilla icing and gently dip the cupcake into the coconut.
use the brown m&ms for the eyes and the orange ones for the nose, and chocolate chip (coal) for the snowman's smile. Its a fun job that the kids can help you with, especially seperating out the m&m colours, as H quite happily sat for an unheard of 10 minutes sperating out all the m&ms and was quite happy to steal a few.

alternatively you could use other orange sweets for the snowman's nose or colour some marzipan orange and roll flat and cut small triangles (carrots) or roll into small carrot shapes.

cooks notes: I made two batches 48 cupcakes to sell after H's school Christmas Concert. every single cupcake sold at a £1 each, M assures me they were very nice I never got one though I may have made myself just the teensiest bit sickly "tasting" the icing....and cake batter... I also made 2 trays of brownies (recipe soon) which all sold out as well, so I was quite pleased that even if my jewellery wasn't selling my cakes were appriciated and raised some money for H's school.

Red Velvet Creepy Cupcakes

Red Velvet Creepy Cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups self raising flour

1 ½ cup caster (white) sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup butter (softened)

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons red food colouring

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease 12 cupcake cups or line with paper liners.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl mix the milk and one tbl balsamic vinegar. *

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and food colouring and blend well. One at a time, add the following ingredients: the milk and balsamic vinegar mix, and slowly add in the dry mixture. Pour the batter into the cupcake cups.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched.Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out of pan and onto a rack to finish cooling completely. Ice with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
food colouring.

Place the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and food coloring in a bowl and slowly add in the powdered sugar as you mix. Blend until smooth, then add the food colouring if desired. For H's Birthday cupcakes I separated the icing into three bowls, and made orange, green, and grey (oh yum) for H's Halloween themed birthday party. Honestly its my favourite icing ever, its georgeous.

*Why is there vinegar in the cupcake batter? Baking soda, the ingredient that makes these cupcakes rise, starts to work only when it comes in contact with an acidic ingredient. Some common types used in baking are lemon juice, buttermilk and vinegar. Balsamic vinegar, which has a sweet flavor that goes well with the rich flavor of cocoa. It gives these cupcakes a deep, full flavor. They wont taste anything like vinegar after the batter is baked.

cook's notes: I used the same icing recipe for H's cupcakes and for a batch of vanilla cupcakes (basic vanilla cake recipe here) I made for the Harvest Festival at H's school, they all sold and there was apparently a rush on the brownies I made for the festival as well. They should have charged twice the amount. Frizbe says I should take orders, and bring cakes to school every week to sell.

Autumn Harvest Cupcakes

Candy Corn and Cupcakes

no you can't eat it!

Halloween is nearly here and that means one of many thing, costumes, scary movies, and candy. And if you life in the states or just grew up there like me there is one thing that screams Halloween more than anything else, and that thing is candy corn. f I mention it around here I get blank stares, Halloween isn't the big deal here as it is in the states. H doesn't even have a Halloween party at school, they have a Harvest festival and concert singing songs about a scarecrow. This is the first year for a long time where we haven't gone to the states in autumn where I can gorge myself on candy corn, hot tamales, and Reece's pieces.

the candy corn is mine, all mine I tell you!

I had a dig through my stash of American goodies and found a tiny packet of candy corn. What was I to do with it? eat it? share it? hide it? no I sent it to my friend Kerry ( of PennyDog Jewellery fame) to turn into some resin jewellery. Kerry didn't know what candy corn was but she got to eat the broken pieces in the packet and made me some fabulous candy corn jewellery. She sent me three beautiful candy corn pendants, I have worn one of them and shall be turning one into a fabulous key chain. Kerry also has a brilliant blog " PennyDog Jewellery blog" with great interviews with other artists, jewellery makers, and etsy dwellers, so pop by and have a visit, and say a big hi from me. And have a look at her etsy shop and drool over this or this or ....just everything.

cupcakes with vanilla cream cheese frosting

Right I best get back to the cake baking for the Harvest festival!

Cappuccino Cupcakes

coffee cupcake

ingredients:

2 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 4 cup caster (white) sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter (softened)
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 12 cupcake cups or line with paper liners.

Sift the flour into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy.

Then add half of the flour to the butter beating well.

Add half the milk and beat well then add the eggs one at a time.

Add the rest of the flour then the remaining milk and the vanilla mixing till smooth.

Pour the batter into the cupcake cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched.Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out of pan and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.


Coffee Icing


ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 or 2 tablespoons espresso (cold)
Cocoa


Place the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and coffee in a bowl and slowly add in the powdered sugar as you mix. Blend until smooth and ice the cupcakes. Sprinkle the top of the cupcakes with a small amount of cocoa.


Serve with coffee of course!



cook's notes: the cupcakes are great, I have a small addiction to coffee cake, and good coffee cakes are really few and far between. Often ruined, in my opinion, by the inclusion of walnuts which I have never particularly liked. The cake part is just a vanilla cake and as iI baked the cupcakes yesterday and did not ice them until the morning I used them to create cheats tiramisu just tearing up a cupcake or two and using the pieces instead of ladyfingers.

Red Velvet Valentine's Cupcakes

Red Velvet Valentine’s Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 ½ cup caster (white) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons red food colouring
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease 12 cupcake cups or line with paper liners.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl mix the milk and one tbl balsamic vinegar. *

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and food colouring and blend well. One at a time, add the following ingredients: the milk and balsamic vinegar mix, and slowly add in the dry mixture. Pour the batter into the cupcake cups.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched.
Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out of pan and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

ingredients:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 to 1 teaspoon red food colouring.

Place the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and food coloring in a bowl and slowly add in the powdered sugar as you mix. Blend until smooth and ice the cupcakes. As its Valentine's day I added some heart shaped chocolates.

*Why is there vinegar in the cupcake batter? Baking soda, the ingredient that makes these cupcakes rise, starts to work only when it comes in contact with an acidic ingredient. Some common types used in baking are lemon juice, buttermilk and vinegar. Balsamic vinegar, which has a sweet flavor that goes well with the rich flavor of cocoa. It gives these cupcakes a deep, full flavor. They wont taste anything like vinegar after the batter is baked.

cook's notes: The cupcakes turned out great.. the first time I have used a recipe for cakes that needed vinegar of any kind, I adapted the recipe from several variations found on the vast cookbook that is recipezaar, I may even add my version some day. H thought it was fantastic that the cake batter was a rich deep red-brown colour.

We aren't big heart's and flowers type people but I made cupcakes and M bought me this

http://www.meridianariel.com/

my own domain name meridianariel.com ... isn't that sweet

Nutella Cupcakes

Very Vanilla Cupcakes with Nutella Iceing


Ingredients:
2 cups self raising flour
1 ¼ cups caster sugar
½ cup butter or margarine (softened)
¾ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 jar of nutella spread

Preheat the oven to 375 F

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add half of the flour to the butter beating well. Add half the milk and beat well then add the eggs one at a time. Add the rest of the flour then the remaining milk and the vanilla mixing till smooth, Fill paper cup liners, or greaded and floured muffin tins half full. bake for 15 minutes or until the top of the cupcakes are golden and spring back when pressed. Remove from onve and let cool on wire rack. Ice the cupcakes with the nutella spread. easy delicious. gone.

cooks notes:

The cup cake recipe is my basic yellow cake recipe, althoug in this instance i had only plain cake flour and had to add baking powder (1 teaspoon)and salt (about a 1/4 teaspoon) that I would normally omit from my recipes as I'm lasy and prefer self raising flour.

M loves nutella and has been looking for an excuse to buy some so I thought why not use it as icing and I think the result is great. So easy and yummy too. Move over Nigella.

Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes

I have been in the icing sugar again as you can clearly see from the above image of a very yummy vanilla cupcake with a strawberry on top. I have been baking because I singned up for a cupcake competition on www.mumsnet.com the teme is summer and songs the picture I entered into the contest is the one below of a ice-cream shaped cupcake. Basically a cupcake shoved into a cone with lots of butter cream icing.

Update on the mumsnet contest.

tigi on Mon 25-Jun-07 19:31:54
Overall Winner – Daemara This prize is awarded for the perfection of the solitary cake seen at the end of Daemars’s photographic album. It is seen with a swirl of icing with a succulent strawberry dropped on top. The symmetry of the image is a marvel to behold. The judge was bowled over with delight and ecstasy to see the absolute perfection of Daemara’s cake. Completely perfect and 100% round, sat in the case proudly, with no excess dollops or slops of icing sugar or sweeties to be seen. A marvellous specimen that makes me very proud indeed to be a member of the WI. Daemara will receive automatic entry to the ‘All England Cupcake Championships’ to be held in the Blackpool Ballroom on 1 April 2008. All spectators welcome (subject to £20 entry fee and smart dress code to be adhered to – no flipflops accepted into the the pimms and champagne reception tent). To summarise, the cake is a perfect shape in perfect proportion, with a simple effective swirl of creamy icing, with a perfect strawberry. A perfect cake, and it tasted delicious too.

Thats me I won I won... I know its only online but I won and I am totally stoked. Big thanks to Tigi for her Judging, and everone else from http://www.mumsnet.com/ that participated. The pictures for all the cakes can be located here: http://www.picturetrail.com/mncupcakes . Daemara = Meridian Ariel.

Cupcakes for Everyone!