Custard Cream Cupcakes

You can't go wrong with custard creams, they really are king of the biscuits in my eyes. Whilst much research has been done on the ultimate dunker, I'll challenge purists and say that these guys are better than a ginger nut. They may not have the sculptural dignity, but they do offer the perfect flavour balance to a brew with the added cream bonus in a bid to hold some shape.

Maybe I'm biased, but they truly are my favourite.

When hearing all about my friend's new bakery business and all the cupcakes she's making I was inspired to get into the kitchen and make my own...for myself! Cupcakes are the divas of the cake business, only best on the day of baking, but there's something to be said by having your own personal little frosted cake...or three (no one's counting)!

Vanilla sponge packed with crushed custard creams and topped with custard flavour buttercream. In order to have unlocked ultimate cupcake achievement levels, I'd have loved to have made some fresh custard to fill the centres with. But alas, I was hungry and the kitchen is too hot from last week's heat wave (my jar of coconut oil still hasn't set yet). I'm saving my efforts for the Great British Bake Off starting up next month and attempt to bake along again each week.

C U S T A R D   C R E A M   C U P C A K E S
(Recipe adapted from Primrose Bakery's Everyday, makes 12-16 cupcakes)

150g self raising flour

115g plain flour

10g custard powder

120ml semi-skimmed milk, room temperature

1tsp vanilla extract

110g unsalted butter, softened

225g golden caster sugar

2 large eggs

100g custard cream biscuits, crushed

Custard buttercream:

200g unsalted butter, softened

280g icing sugar, sifted

4tbsp custard powder, sifted

few drops of milk if needed to help combine

custard creams to decorate

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tray with cupcake cases.
• Pour the milk and vanilla extract into a jug and mix together. In a bowl, add the flours and custard powder.
• Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Continue to mix on a slow speed whilst adding each egg, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Whilst continuing to mix, pour in the third of the flour until combined and alternate between the mix and the rest of the flour mix. Add in the crushed custard creams and gently fold together with a spatula.
• Spoon the batter evenly between each cupcake case, filling up to two thirds full.
• bake for 15-18 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to fool fully on a wire cooling rack before frosting.
• To make the frosting, beat the butter on a medium speed to ensure soft before gently and slowly adding in the icing sugar and custard powder. Continue to beat on a low speed at first, then medium until well combined.
• Load the butter cream into a piping bag, pipe a swirl onto the top of each cupcake and top with two halves of custard creams.

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Coffee Hazelnut Amaretto Cake

This is the biggest cake I've made in a while. So big that I was too scared to transport it in the car over to my Mum's for her birthday. Although it now gives me the perfect excuse to buy another cake box especially for 3-tier cakes. Lakeland, I'm coming for you!

This cake is perfect for special occasions, a chocolate hazelnut sponge, amaretto coffee buttercream, chocolate meringue sand and a drizzle of chocolate ganache to finish.

Wheat Free Almond & Coffee Cake

I was so happy with the results of a recipe from one of my favourite new books I decided I wanted to be able to use it for a base in future wheat free cakes. 

So here's my almond chocolate cake, with coffee buttercream. 

Lemon & Raspberry Easter Cake

I cannot get enough Mini Eggs. I love them so much I decided to make a Mini Eggs inspired pastel Easter cake. Maybe green wasn't the best of choice, but it's all the colouring I had in my supplies.

LoveTea: Paksong Oolong Cupcakes

   If its not obvious, I love cake. You may therefore be surprised to hear that I also love tea, just as much as cake. I've not baked with tea much, other than my honey tea bread, so when the guys at LoveTea sent me some Paksong Oolong tea I was excited to try it out in a bake.

   LoveTea is a genius idea. It gives tea lovers the opportunity to try different gourmet teas each month. This month's tea comes from the only tea garden in Laos, The Paksong Tea Garden. Seeds from wild growing trees on the Lao-Chinese border were used to plant the garden and were highly prized on their quality by Chinese Emperors; they even saved it for the imperial family and court dignitaries. Sounds like my kind of tea!

   The dry leaves of this tea smell like strawberry jam and once infused produce a delicate buttery floral flavour. I thought that the flavour would be complimented with lemon to add a little freshness to this golden tea.

Oolong tea infused cupcakes
(adapted from Black Dog blog)
     285g plain flour, sifted
     400g sugar
     2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
     1 teaspoon baking powder
     1 teaspoon salt
     300ml buttermilk, shaken
     100ml sunflower or vegetable oil
     2 large eggs, room temperature
     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
     1 teaspoon lemon juice
     1 cup hot oolong tea

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and fill a cupcake tray with cases.
• Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
• In another bowl, combine all wet ingredients, except the oolong tea, together.
• Slowly add the wet to the dry ingredients. Add the tea last and stir well to combine.
• Divide between the cupcake cases and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden and a tester comes out clean.

   I opted for chocolate buttercream because I had some spare in the fridge that needed using up. A mascarpone frosting would go just as well. Or even a white chocolate and thyme frosting as suggested on Black Dog. 

Find my chocolate buttercream recipe here.

   If you fancy sampling some gourmet tea then Matthew, Master Brewer at LoveTea, is offering a 40% discount to you lovely readers. Just pop discount code 'SLF40' at the checkout over at LoveTea.

Sinful Chocolate Simnel Cake

   Firstly, I've never even tried Simnel cake but, since writing a piece on the history of it for my food writing class, I now know a fair bit about it. Enough to know that the chocolate Simnel cake I made breaks all the rules...sorry Simnel cake purists!

   There's no fruit and there aren't 11 balls of toasted marzipan representing the 11 apostles (minus Judas).  Instead, I went for a 4 layered chocolate malt sponge, sandwiched between layers of chocolate fudge buttercream, covered in more chocolate fudge buttercream, topped with mini eggs, malteser bunnies and a little dusting of gold stars.

This is the same recipe I used for my malteser bunny cupcakes, just doubled up to make the 4 layers.

Chocolate malt sponge (makes 2 layers):

     115g unsalted butter, softened
     115g caster sugar
     2 eggs, lightly beaten
     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     115g self raising flour, sifted (replace 2 tablespoons with chocolate malt powder)
     1 tablespoon milk

Chocolate buttercream:

     250g unsalted butter, softened
     500g icing sugar
     100g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solid), melted and cooled

Mini eggs and malteser bunnies for decoration.

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease 2 8 inch round sandwich tins (I used Dr. Oetker's cake release spray).
• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Slowly add the egg, a spoon at a time, lightly beating after each addition. Add the vanilla extract.
• Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the sifted flour and chocolate malt, before adding the milk.
• Divide between the two sandwich tins and bake for 15 minutes.
• Repeat these steps again so that you have the four layers.
• For the buttercream, melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a bain marie.
• Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a stand mixer and add the melted chocolate once slightly cooled.

Cookie Girl Decorating Class

   On Saturday morning I ventured through the snow to a Cookie Girl decorating class in Kensal Green.  The 2 hour decorating class, lead by Ro, demonstrated to a table full of pinny-clad girls 4 different cupcake frosting techniques; the classic swirl, a rose, iced jems and two tone swirls.

   To decorate the iced cupcakes, the table was full of every type of glitter, flowers, stars, hearts and confetti imaginable. I came to the conclusion, less IS NOT more!

Classic swirl, rose, iced gem and two tone swirl.

   All equipment and ingredients are provided in the class including boxes to take 8 sugary little treats home. I had a voucher for this class from my brother and his ladyfriend, thanks Tom & April!!

Malteser Bunny Cupcakes

Serves 6

Cupcakes:

     1115g unsalted butter, softened
     115g caster sugar
     2 eggs, lightly beaten
     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     115g self raising flour, sifted (take away 2 tablespoons and replace with Chocolate Malt powder)
     1 tablespoon milk

Chocolate buttercream (serves 12):

     150g unsalted butter, softened
     260g icing sugar
     50g plain chocolate

Mini Malteser bunnies.

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tray with cases.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Slowly add eggs, one spoon at a time, and lightly beat after each addition. Add the vanilla extract.
• Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the sifted flour and chocolate malt, before adding the milk.
• Divide evenly between the cases. Finely chop a few Malteser bunnies, or regular Maltesers, and poke into the cake mix in each case.
• Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until golden.
• Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a ban marie.
• Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a stand mixer and add the melted chocolate once slightly cooled.
• Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with a Malteser bunny.

Malteaser Cake

Chocolate cake mix:

Vegetable oil
200g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
4 eggs
140g plain flour
60g cocoa powder
pinch salt
2 tsp baking powder
Malteasers to decorate

Chocolate buttercream:

250g butter, softened
500g icing sugar
100g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids), melted and cooled

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line an 8 inch round cake tin with baking paper and grease with vegetable oil.
• Cream butter and sugar together for a few minutes until soft and creamy.
• Add half the eggs and flour and mix until well combined.
• Add the rest of the eggs, flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder.
• Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 - 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
• Leave to cool in the tin.
• To make the buttercream, whisk the butter and icing sugar together until fluffy.
• Add the cooled, melted chocolate and mix for another 2 minutes.
• Once completely cool, carefully cut the top with a large serrated knife. Turn the cake upside down so the bottom becomes the top.
• Eat the top J.
• Split the cake horizontally and sandwich the layers together with 1cm of buttercream.
• Spread the remaining butter cream over the top and decorate with Malteasers.

Enjoy!