Citrus Cupcakes

So the birthday related posts continue.  I have one more to catch up on after this and then it happens to be my birthday this Sunday so there'll be another post following that featuring my birthday cake.  It's going to be fairly simple but hopefully delicious!

Anyway, I should be focussing on cupcakes!  As anyone who saw my posts last August might recall, the fiancé and his sister have birthdays which are three days apart.  Hence their Mum wanted to have a meal together where we could also do birthday presents.  And as has become traditional, I get to bake something for dessert!  I didn't think I should make big cakes as I was worried they wouldn't get eaten.  Instead, I opted to bake 12 cupcakes.  I made two different kinds based on flavours each birthday boy/girl liked.  This first set is for the fiancé and they are citrus cupcakes.  Originally, when I asked him, he wanted some more of the orange ones I had made a few weeks ago but then I floated the idea of a cake that had lemon, lime and orange all in one and he jumped on it.  So these cakes have a layer of lime and a layer of lemon and then are topped with a swirl of orange buttercream.  Very zesty and rather festive looking too!

Seeing as I can't get a hold of lime extract (does such a thing exist?) I chose to make the cakes using zest and juice.  I was determined to have juice as well as zest because I thought it would make the flavour more pronounced.  Oddly though, I found it a bit tricky locating a recipe that did that.  Thankfully, Lily Vanilli came to my rescue.  Her book had a recipe for lime cupcakes that used both parts of the fruit and I obviously adapted it to make a cake that was half lemon and half lime.

The overall result did look rather splendid.  My only concern was that I over baked them just ever so slightly.  I got distracted just around the time they needed to come out so their tops weren't quite as soft and springy as I would like.  I really need to get a new timer (the fiancé broke mine by accidentally knocking it onto the floor).  However, it did not seem to have a negative effect on the taste and they were all gobbled up.  You can taste all the different flavours and it is a lovely, refreshing cake.

 

Recipe - makes 8 cupcakes

Cakes - adapted from A Zombie Ate My Cupcake

• 60g/2oz butter
• 100g/3.5oz caster sugar
• 1 tsp lime zest (about one small lime's worth)
• 25ml/1fl.oz lime juice (about one small lime's worth)
• 1 tsp lemon zest (about one small lemon's worth)
• 25ml/1fl.oz lemon juice (about one small lemon's worth)
• 190g/6.7oz plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 4 tbsp whole milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Yellow and green food colouring

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and line a 12 hole tin with cupcake cases.
2. Set out two mixing bowls and place half the butter in one and the rest in the other.
3. Beat the butter until creamy.
4. Add the lime zest and lime juice to one bowl, along with half the sugar.  Add the lemon zest and juice and the rest of the sugar to the other.  Beat each of the two mixtures until they are light and fluffy.
5. Beat the egg in a measuring jug and then divide evenly between the two bowls.  Beat until just combined.
6. In a separate bowl combine half the flour with 1/4 tsp baking powder and a little bit of salt.
7. In a cup or jug, mix together 2 tbsp milk and 1/4 tsp vanilla.
8. Add the flour mixture and milk mixture alternately to one of the bowls of batter, beginning and ending with the flour.  Beat well after each addition.
9. Repeat steps 6-8 with the remaining flour, baking powder, salt, milk and vanilla extract, adding them to the other bowl of batter.
10. Add a few drops of yellow colouring to the lemon batter and mix in.  Do the same to the lime batter with the green.
11. Divide the green batter evenly amongst the cases and smooth over so the top is flat.
12. Top the green mixture with the yellow mixture and smooth out as well, making sure the batter reaches the edges of the case.
13. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cakes are risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
14. Cool in the tin for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack to finish.  Cakes need to have cooled completely before they can be frosted.

Orange Buttercream:

• 85g/3oz butter
• 170g/6oz icing sugar
• 1 tsp milk
• 1.5 tsp orange extract
• Orange food colouring

1. Beat the butter until smooth and creamy.
2. Sift in the icing sugar, orange extract and add the milk.  Mix until combined and smooth.
3. Add a couple of drops of food colouring and mix until you get a colour you are happy with.
4. Place buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe a swirl on top of each cake.

Rose and White Chocolate Cupcakes

I really wanted to make sure I made something for the fiancé to take with him to Dundee this week.  I had felt a bit bad about not doing so last week due to lack of ideas, exhaustion and just not being bothered.  Not that I'm obligated to make anything but I do enjoy having a reason to do it and people to provide feedback.

I didn't want anything too complex so made a point to avoid fancy fillings and the like.  Really, I just wanted a cake and buttercream, it was simply a matter of finding a flavour combination.  And that combination ended up being white chocolate and rose.  The idea came from a large layer cake that made use of both the flavours, but in the opposite way to what I ended up doing.  That cake was a white chocolate cake whose layers were filled with white chocolate chips, strawberries and rosewater flavoured cream.  Mine, on the other hand, are rose flavoured cakes, tinted pink, with white chocolate buttercream, plus a little bit of rose buttercream piped into roses for added decoration.

When I told the fiancé what I was planning, he did pull a bit of a face.  Whilst he had enjoyed my last use of rose he did say that they hadn't been a particular favourite amongst his friends.  I pointed out I was going to be putting rose in the cake this time, rather than the frosting, and would be significantly toning down the amount I used so the flavour should only be subtle.  Plus, how can you turn down white chocolate buttercream?  That stuff is divine!

I decided I wanted to dye my cakes pink in the middle of making the batter.  I thought it would add an extra layer of pretty to the whole thing.  It was also a great excuse to use the food colouring gels my Dad's girlfriend had gotten me.  Usually when I dye food I lose the colour during the baking process, or at the very least it turns out rather dull looking.  Not this time!  The pink I got was beautiful, both inside and out.  I'm rather eager to use the others now and make all sorts of colourful cakes.

The buttercream roses were also a last minute addition for the sake of a little extra flair.  Luckily I'd overcompensated on the ingredients for the buttercream and had about a fifth of what I made left over.  So I added some rose flavouring and a little colouring, popped it in a bag with a small star nozzle and piped something akin to roses.  They look more like spirals really but the overall effect is still rather pretty.  Also, once again I used buffin cases!  I do rather like the buffin cases.  They make for a nice, medium sized cupcake.

So the final verdict?  The fiancé liked them when he tested the one I cut up for photos.  I also rather liked the bite I got out of said cut-up cake.  And his friends?  Well, everyone loved the buttercream and they all agreed the cake was a lovely texture.  Mixed reviews on the rose flavour though but I expected that.  Rose does seem to be one of those like it or loathe it flavours.

Recipe - makes 12


Cakes - adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery: Cake Days

• 80g/3oz butter
• 280g/10oz caster sugar
• 240g/8.5oz plain flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp rose extract (or 1 tbsp rosewater)
• 240ml/8.5fl.oz whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• Pink food gel (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5 and line a 12 hole muffin tin with either buffin or muffin cases.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, caster sugar, flour, baking powder and salt until you get something that resembles fine bread crumbs.  This is more easily done with a hand mixer but can be achieved with a spoon though you may need to use your hands to rub in the last of the butter lumps.
3. In a jug, mix together the milk and rose extract.
4. Add the eggs to the rose milk and whisk with a fork.
5. Add three quarters of the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and beat in until smooth.
6. Add the rest of the milk plus a few drops of food gel if using, scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat until smooth once again.  Add a little more food gel if you want to brighten up the colour.
7. Distribute evenly amongst the cases, filling about two thirds to three quarters of the way up each case.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Tops should be slightly springy and a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.
9. Allow to cool on a wire rack whilst you make the buttercream.

Buttercream:

• 140g/5oz butter
• 280g/10oz icing sugar
• 100g/3.5oz white chocolate
• Rose or rosewater extract
• Pink food colouring

1. Melt the chocolate by breaking into small pieces and placing in a glass bowl over a pan of gently simmering water.  Do not let the bowl touch the water.
2. Beat the butter in a large bowl until smooth and creamy.
3. Sift in the icing sugar and mix together until smooth.
4. Add the melted chocolate and beat in until fully incorporated.
5. Transfer about a fifth of the buttercream to a separate bowl and then put the rest into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.
6. Pipe a swirl of buttercream on top of each cooled cake.  
7. Add two or three drops of rose extract (more if you use rosewater) to the reserved buttercream, as well as a few drops of pink colouring.  Beat until smooth.
8. Put into a piping bag fitted with a small, closed star nozzle.  Pipe small roses onto the side of each buttercream swirl.  I did one on each cake first then went back and added another to each and then a third to make sure each cake got the same amount.

 

After Eight (Chocolate and Peppermint) Cupcakes

So the other week the fiancé came home with a request from my willing taste testers in Dundee: After Eight cupcakes.  Well, I like a challenge and this was a chance to get creative, although in theory this was a fairly simple thing.  After Eights meant I would be doing chocolate and peppermint.  I knew I would definitely want a chocolate cake and ideally a very dark chocolate one.  Then I would put something peppermint in the centre.  I would also make peppermint buttercream.  Originally I was going to just drizzle dark chocolate on top but then thought it would be cool to cover the buttercream completely in chocolate instead, just to give a further impression of an After Eight.  

Now I've never dipped buttercream in chocolate before so I wasn't sure how well it would turn out.  I knew I had to chill it beforehand or it would melt when it got dipped.  I also figured it would be easier to coat the whole thing if the buttercream was piped flat against the top of the cake, rather than the usual towering swirl I do.  This all worked out fine but with every cake I had gaps in the chocolate.  I did fill as much in as possible by dripping chocolate into the gaps with a spoon but still couldn't get a perfect covering.  As a result I thought it looked a bit messy.  My testers though thought they were some of my prettiest cakes and that the slightly messy chocolate top was very reminiscent of the After Eight's patterning.

I was so glad I was able to get green cases to go with these.  It really pulls the whole design together.  I really doubted I was going to have them in time but then I luckily got offered a trip out to Rejects in Kirkcaldy and they have a cookery/baking section.  So I raided the cases they had for sale and found a set of 'Buffin' cases in five colours including green.  Rather a perfect green too.  The cases also turned out to be an ideal size for the chocolate cake recipe I chose to use.  The name 'Buffin' amuses me.  Apparently it's bigger than a bun case (which I refer to as a cupcake case) but not quite as big as a muffin case.  They're quite tall and a bit narrow but very cool.  I was very pleased with them.  I had originally wanted foil cases but these ones worked out perfectly and probably looked better overall.  If you can get green cases for these cakes, I recommend doing so.

So what was the result?  Perfect.  That's what I was told.  These cakes were perfect.  A soft but crumbly cake that was really dark with the perfect amount of peppermint running all the way through.  Apparently they tasted just like an After Eight.  I was rather proud.  

Now I really wish I had gotten better looking photos.  I just could not find a way to pose these that I was happy with.

Recipe - makes 12

Cakes - adapted from Foods of Our Lives:

• 115g/4oz butter
• 60g/2oz dark chocolate (I used Bournville)
• 45g/1.5oz cocoa powder (Bournville cocoa for me)
• 105g/3.75oz plain flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 150g/5.25oz caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 115ml/4fl.oz sour cream

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and line a 12 hole muffin tin with 'buffin' cases (or muffin if you can't find 'buffin').
2. Put the butter, chocolate and cocoa powder in a glass bowl and place over a saucepan of gently simmering water.  Stir until the butter and chocolate have melted and the mixture is smooth.  Whisk if you need to.  Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a small bowl.
4. In a separate, larger bowl beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until pale and frothy.
5. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mix and stir in until fully incorporated.
6. Add a third of the flour mixture and stir in.
7. Now add the sou cream, mix, and then the rest of the flour.  Beat until smooth.
8. Divide the batter evenly amongst the cases.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cakes are risen and the tops are springy.  A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.
10. Remove from the oven and allow to sit in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Filling:

• 115g/4oz icing sugar
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• 25ml/1fl.oz water
• Green, blue food colouring

1. Put the icing sugar, peppermint extract, a couple of drops of green and the tiniest amount of blue colouring into a small bowl.
2. Add a tablespoon of the water and mix in until smooth.
3. Add the rest of the water a little at a time, mixing after each addition until you get a smooth but fairly runny paste.
4. Cut a core out of the cooled cupcakes and put about a teaspoonful of the filling into each one.  Replace the cores.

Mint Buttercream:

• 170g/6oz butter
• 340g/12oz icing sugar
• 3/4 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 tsp water
• Green, blue, white(optional) food colouring

1. Beat the butter until smooth and creamy.
2. Add the icing sugar, peppermint extract and water and beat together until smooth.
3. Add a few drops of green, one blue and a little white if using and mix until colour is evenly spread through.
4. Put the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.
5. Pipe a flat spiral that completely covers the top of each cake.
6. Put cakes in the fridge to chill for 2-3 hours to allow the buttercream to firm up.

Chocolate top:

• 170g/6oz dark chocolate (I used Green & Black's 70% cocoa) 

1. Once the buttercream is firm, break up the chocolate and melt in a glass bowl placed over a pan of gently simmering water.
2. Take the cakes out of the fridge one at a time, hold by the base and dip into the chocolate, submerging the buttercream up to the edge of the case.
3. Remove and shake gently over the bowl to get rid of any excess chocolate.
4. Turn right way up and use a small spoon to drizzle chocolate into any exposed gaps.  You want to hide as much buttercream as possible.
5. Leave on a wire rack to set.

Rainbow Pinwheel Biscuits

So, when I last made spiral biscuits, what I was actually aiming for was something like this.  What a difference the right biscuit dough and good quality food colouring makes!  I recently invested in some more Sugarflair Blossom Tints, having previously purchased the yellow one for making the chicks on my Easter cupcakes.  I was a bit unsure how well the powder would do at colouring dough that was going to be baked in the oven.  But it did not fade!  I was so pleased.

I made these for my friend, Jess.  She was the one that showed me the coloured biscuit idea and said I should make them so since I was seeing her today I wanted to try again and hopefully make a better go of them.  And I did, except for burning a few.  Still getting used to my new oven and this was the first thing to be baked in it.  I put one batch too low down and their bottoms went black.  Oops.

The recipe for the biscuit dough comes from my boyfriend's mum.  This is what she uses for her Easter biscuits and for biscuits for Father Christmas.  It ended up being a good dough, though does start out a bit sticky.  Tastes good too.

Recipe - adapted from a recipe from Mrs McGinlay, and Sounder Studios

Makes about 24

• 225g/8oz self-raising flour
• 115g/4oz butter
• 115g/4oz caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• Food colouring
• Hundreds and Thousands

1. Rub the butter into the flour.
2. Add the sugar and the baking powder.
3. Beat the egg in a separate bowl and add a little at a time until you get the desired consistency.  (I added my whole egg but probably shouldn't have because it was a sticky dough).
4. Divide the dough into equal amounts and put into separate bowls depending on the number of colours you're using.  I had 5 colours so had five bowls with pieces of dough weighing 98g in each.
5. Add a different colour to each bowl and mix into the dough until distributed evenly.  If your dough is still a bit too sticky, add some more flour to it.
6. Prepare 2-3 baking trays with greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
7. Break off a small piece of dough from each colour and roll each into a ball.
8. Roll the balls of dough together into a bigger ball to get something that resembles a beach ball.
9. Now roll that out into a long sausage.
10. Curl the dough around itself into a circular spiral, twisting the dough as you wrap to swirl the colours.  This does take a bit of practice so don't worry if you don't get it right straight away.
11. Roll the edges in the Hundreds and Thousands and then place on one of the trays.  Space them a reasonable distance apart because they do expand a little when baking.
12. Repeat steps 7-11 until all the dough is used up.
13. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
14. Transfer to a cooling rack after baking.