Hearts and Flowers Wedding Cake

I was asked to do a wedding cake for a couple that got married in St Lucia and then had a party when they got home. There theme was yellow and white with flowers and hearts, and the bride loves lilys so wanted the top cake to have lilys cascading down. I made 180 plain sponge cupcakes, 90 with vanilla buttercream and 90 decorated with sugarpaste with a 6 inch traditional victoria sponge centre piece for the top.

I was so proud of myself when i saw the finished tower all set up at the reception, my first Wedding Cake, two full days of baking and it looked amazing, i couldn't help but cry a little bit! The feedback i got from people at the reception was fantastic, everybody thought my top cake was beautiful  and the cupcakes went down a treat. I think cupcake towers are going to become very popular as wedding cakes, they look great and with no cutting up to do you can just grab a cupcake and carry on with the party!

Malteaser Hot Chocolate Cups

The winter frost is finally upon us and i thought my Malteaser Hot Chocolate Cups were quite appropriate for the January weather.

I have used my Classic Victoria Sponge recipe but i have substituted 1oz of self raising flour for 1oz of cocoa powder to make them extra chocolatey. You will also need a small bag of malteasers for the topping or you can use another chocolate bar of your choice, Cadburys flakes are a great as they crumble up really well and you can halve them and put halve stood up in the buttercream so it looks like a 99 icecream.

For the buttercream i used...

125g butter, at room temperature
250g icing sugar
15ml whole milk
1tsp vanilla extract

Beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy, add the milk and continue to beat. At this stage the more you beat the butter the lighter your buttercream will be. Add the sugar a spoonful at a time until it is blended in and then add the vanilla. Put the finished buttercream in a piping bag and carefully add swirls to your chocolate cups. Finish off with choosen chocolate bar.

My Competition Cupcakes

I entered a competition with Pretty Witty Cakes yesterday. We had to make 6 Christmas themed cupcakes and below are what i entered. There were 2 catorgories Amateur and Professional and both had a 1st prize of £250 and 2nd prize £150, plus an overall prize of a £499 Kenwood mixer! Fantastic prizes so had to give it a go.

I made a mixture of Chocolate and Christmas Spice Cupcakes and used sugarpaste and home made royal icing to decorate them, my favourite ones are the Snowflakes, the Christmas Tree and the Present which i have never made before. They took me a while but i think they look great!

Christmas Spice Cupcakes

A lovely recipe to bring a little bit of Christmas cheer to a traditional cake mix. Using the Classic Victoria Sponge mix add 1/2 teaspoon of ginger and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to your mix at the end and beat well. I have decorated my cupcakes using a variety of techniques including, sugarpaste moulding, cutters and buttercream piping. If you want a quick and easy topping pipe buttercream swirls onto your cupcakes and sprinkle dessicated coconut and edible glitter on the tops for a snowy finish.

Spooky Halloween Cupcakes

Sugarpaste spookyness made with my little sister. This is the first time Katie has ever used sugarpaste and as you can see she has done brilliantly, proof that even beginners can have fun...

Emma's Spooky Delights...

Katie's Spooky Delights...

Chocolate Surprises

I love making these cupcakes, there are so many variations you can choose from making them great for kids parties or an after dinner treat with friends.
The mix is the same recipe as the Raspberry Swirls but instead of raspberries add 2 tbsps cocoa powder when folding in the flour.

For the topping you will need...

2 good handfuls of milk chocolate, melted
2 Bags Dolly mixtures
1 handful of mini marshmallows
Glacier Cherries, chopped

With a metal spoon spread melted chocolate over the tops of your cupcakes, sprinkle the dolly mixtures, cherries and marshmallows over the chocolate and then with a teaspoon drizzle some more chocolate over the tops, hey presto, its that simple!

You can use any sweets, malteasers, fudge etc and you can also top and drizzle your cupcakes with white chocolate or do a mixture of both, experiment and you'll soon find your favourite topper.

Raspberry Swirl Cupcakes

These are so easy to make, the sponge is based on a classic victoria sponge recipe with a buttercream frosting and a sugar coated raspberry to finish them off.

Cupcake Ingredients....

4oz caster sugar
4oz butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature
4 oz self raising flour
Small punnet of fresh raspberries, keep 12 aside for decorating at the end

Buttercream Ingredients....

3oz butter at room temperature
9oz icing sugar

Method....

Cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Beat in both the eggs. Fold in the flour until the mix is smooth, the smoother it is the flatter your cupcakes will be when cooked. In a seperate bowl crush the raspberries with a wooden spoon until there are no big lumps, fold into cake mixture. Fill 12 cases and bake in the oven at 180oc for 15-20 mins, until golden brown and springy to touch. Leave to cool. Whilst your cupcakes are baking beat the butter and icing sugar together to make the buttercream and put into a piping bag, set aside.

When your cupcakes are cool pipe on the buttercream and top with one of the reserved raspberries from earlier. Hey presto Raspberry Swirl Cupcake.