Easter Cupcakes

I found a recipe online of how to make creme egg cupcakes, I absolutely love creme eggs so I had to make them!!

I made a chocolate cake mix and then the cream cheese frosting and then for the fondant I used golden syrup, butter, icing sugar, vanilla extract and yellow food paste. I piped the creme cheese first and then piped the fondant around the swirl. I then cut the creme eggs (mini eggs) in half so it looked like the inside was coming out onto the cake .

If creme eggs where sold all year round I would make these cakes all the time!!

Katie

I found a book that was dedicated to decorating cakes, and it was on offer so I got it. I made some cake to try and make some of the ideas in the book.

                                                                               Sheep

Dragonfly

Elephant

Blue birds

Bunny

I traced the pictures onto a piece of baking parchment from the book and then cut the designs out from fondant and layered them up to make them look 3D, not all of them turned out very well but the others did. So I was quite pleased with some of these cupcakes and will definitely use the book again.

Katie

Baileys cupcakes

Our oven broke and we brought a new oven, it is pretty amazing its touch screen and is one oven but it is split so we can cook at one temperature in the top part and then another in the bottom part. So I wanted to use the new oven so I made some cake, I found a recipe for baileys cupcakes and thought they looked really good so I made them.

For the cake I used:
275g (9 3/4oz) self raising flour
275g (9 3/4oz) caster sugar
275g (9 3/4oz) butter
25g (10z) cocoa powder
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp Baileys or other Irish cream liqueur

For the Butter cream I used:
750g (1lb 7oz) icing sugar
25g (1oz) cocoa powder
250g (90z) unsalted butter
100 ml (3 1/2 fl oz) Baileys or other Irish cream liqueur

Chocolate chips to decorate.

1. Preheat the oven to 190c/ Gas mark 5. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with 12 paper cases. Combine all the cupcake ingredients apart from the Baileys together in a food processor. (I don't have a food processor so I creamed the butter and sugar together and then added the rest of the ingredients). Drizzle the Baileys in last and mix until you have a smooth batter. Try not to over mix
2. Spoon the batter into the cases, bake in the oven for around 15-18 minutes. When the cakes are cooked, check they are cooked by either putting a cocktail stick or knife, if they come out clean they are done if not stick them bake in the oven for a couple more minutes.
3. Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to completely cool before covering with icing.
4. To make the icing, beat the butter and Baileys together with an electric mixer until soft and fluffy. Sift over the icing sugar and cocoa several tablespoonfuls at a time and incorporate. When all the icing sugar is mixed in add a tablespoon of milk if you think the mixture is still too stiff. Beat the butter cream with the mixer for several minutes, so it goes fluffier and lighter.
5. Either spread the butter cream over the cakes using a small palette knife or pipe it in spiral. Decorate with chocolate chips to finish.

Katie

Chocolate explosion cakes

I fancy making some cake so I looked at some different recipes and found one that looked really good. It was the recipe I used for my mums birthday cake, I made these before my mum's birthday cake and that is why she asked me to make her cake with this recipe.

For the cupcakes I used:

225g (8oz) unsalted butter

225g (8oz) caster sugar

3 medium eggs

2 tbsp condensed milk

225g (8oz) self raising flour

25g (1oz) cocoa powder

100g (3 1/2 oz) milk chocolate, melted

50g (1 3/4 oz) mini marshmallows

100g (2 1/2oz) chocolate chips

For the icing I used:

Vanilla frosting

Chocolate frosting

Assorted chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 170c, gas mark 3. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases. Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl, add the eggs and condensed milk, then use an electric whisk to mix on a high speed until you have a smooth batter.

2. Add the flour and cocoa powder and mix again until the batter is thick, then add the melted chocolate. Spoon about 1 tbsp of batter into the bottom of each case, then sprinkle over a few marshmallows and chocolate chips.

3. Cover with around 1 tbsp with batter and spread to the edges of the cases using the back of a spoon. Bake in the over for around 15-18 minutes, the makes may still be squidgy when you first take them out because of the melted marshmallows. Leave to cool.

4. Fill the piping bag with vanilla frosting on one side and chocolate frosting on the other side. Pipe a swirl of frosting on top of each cupcake, starting at the outside and swirling around until you reach the middle. Decorate according to your taste with pieces of chopped up chocolate.

A lot of people wanted this recipe so I thought I'd share it with everyone!!

Katie

My Mums birthday cake

I was shown a picture on facebook of a cake and it made me smile so I showed my mum it and she told me she wanted it for her birthday. So of course as the amazing daughter I made her the cake.

This was a rather fun cake to make, not because of what it was but because of the amount of problems I had with it that resulted in patching it up with chocolate!! I made a cupcakes during the week that had marshmallows in the middle of them and my mum liked them so she asked me to make it into a big cake so I did; thinking it was going to plan I made it with a lot of marshmallows in the middle. It came out perfect, until is started to set... it sank in the middle leaving a bit hole. Thinking I would just cover it up with the melted chocolate which was what I was meant to do, I thought it would fix it.

After I had covered the side with chocolate frosting I added the Kit Kat's and let them set into place. I had quite a bit of chocolate frosting left; I told mum I had the problem with the hole and a load of chocolate frosting left, mum being mum and her friends at work she suggested I fill the hole up with chocolate frosting. So I used the rest of the chocolate frosting (over half the tub) and filled in the hole and covered the top of the cake. I then melted the chocolate and covered the chocolate frosting with the melted chocolate. After the chocolate had set a little I added the pigs, the pig in the middle (lying down) started to sink, so I had a lot of hassle trying to save this pig from sinking which was apparently quite funny to watch.

So when I had finished the cake I couldn't really call it a cake because of there not being a lot there; it was really just lots of types of chocolate. Mum was very pleased with it and so where her friends at work, so I think it was job well done!!

Katie

I'm glad I have a kindle

I got a kindle fire HD just after Christmas and because you can buy magazines on there I brought one of the cake magazine and they have some very good recipes and some very good ideas for decorating cupcake. I was bored and decided to make some cakes (as I usually do) and decorate them. I took a few ideas from this magazine on my kindle fire and decided to change them slightly. I also brought some new cutters during that week so I had to try them out as well so this was perfect.

The array of cakes I made

Bumble bee

Rose

Bow

I played for hours on these cakes and I was quite pleased with them, my favourites were the bumble bee and the rose. This was the first rose I had made, I had tried before but they didn't turn out very well. I had looked all over the Internet at how to make a rose and I finally found a way of making them that was easy for me.

I also had played around with some other ideas I had found on the Internet earlier that month and this is what they looked like

I saw the Mario cupcakes and just had to make them! The rose in this picture is not as good as the previous one but with trial and error I found one that worked for me.

Katie

Dirty Birthday Cake

I was asked to make a birthday cake for a friends birthday party, we joked around saying that I should make her a dirty birthday cake and started looking at some cake ideas not thinking anything of it. We then actually decided that she wanted a dirty birthday cake and decided on a cake that we found in a book. And this is what it looked like:

This proved to be a very difficult cake to make (well for me anyway). I made a 10 inch square sponge cake, I cut it in half and then sliced the two pieces of cake in the middle to make four layers. I dirty iced three layers together and then with the fourth layer I cut about 1 inch in and cut the inside out to make a place for the guy to sit in, then I dirty iced all of it.

I then cut out squares to make tiles for the bath and stuck them on the cake. I found the body very difficult to do because I hadn't done a body before and I couldn't get the sizing right and he was too big to sit in the bath. Finally when I got the torso the right size, I put the torso in and then I did the legs and arms. Once they had been done I attached them to the cake and the torso. I then made the bubbles for the bath to cover him up; I rolled out some white fondant in a few pieces and then with a clean pan scourer and pressed it onto the fondant and made a bubble effect. Even though it is not very clear in the picture it was very effective. I then made the extras for the cake, duck, taps, pans, socks and towels. I then added the writing and stars because the cake board was a bit to big and it looked like it needed something else.

This was a very fun cake to make and definitely went down well at the birthday party!!

Katie

Christmas cakes

Every Christmas my family gets together on Christmas eve and have a big family meal. I make a cake every year for us to have. Over the first couple of years of doing this I made a chocolate fudge cake, but the year just gone I decorate my own cake. These were the chocolate fudge cakes:

This Christmas just gone I decided to do my own cake, I looked around on the Internet to see what I could do and decided to use some ideas and make my own cake. I decided to do penguins on my cake because they seemed the easiest to do.

My brother was doing another cake stall around Christmas to raise money for his world challenge trip, so I was asked to make some Christmas themed cupcakes to sell. These went down fairly well because of the characters I made on them.

I enjoy making cakes around Christmas because being stuck inside in the cold it means having to much time on my hands with nothing to do. Meaning I have time to make cakes and share them with my friends and family.

Katie

Cookie Monster Birthday Cake

After seeing the cupcakes with the sesame street characters, I was asked to make a birthday cake with the cookie monster on it. They wanted it plain and simple with a big cookie monster face on it.

I brought some alphabet cutters, they are not brilliant but they do the job. The cookie monster face was a big fluted pastry cutter and then half a round pastry cutter for the mouth and two smaller circles for the eyes. For the cookies I used 2 sizes of circle cutters and cut out brown circles. I used an edible pen and drew dots on it to look like cookies.

They were very pleased with their birthday cake when it was given to her and was more than she expected!!

Katie

Angry Birds and Sesame Street Cupcakes

After playing around with big cakes I decided to try making cupcakes because I find they generally go down better than a big cake. My brother was having a cake stall with his friends to raise money for their world challenge trip to the Himalayas and they wanted me to make some cakes. So I had a look on the Internet for some inspiration as to what to do and then I came across some angry birds cakes and sesame street cakes. I thought these might be good to do as they might sell quicker because kids will want them and parents will buy them. So I had a go at them and this was the finished product:

I did most of the angry birds but they are not pictured, and the sesame street characters pictured where the only ones had made. For the cupcakes I used the same principle as making a big cake, I dirty iced the top of the cakes with butter cream and then cut out a fondant circle with a pastry cutter. For the sesame street characters I used a fluted pastry cutter to make their faces and then cut out the extra bits to make their faces. I did the same for the angry birds but used a normal pastry cutter and then cut out the rest of the pieces.

The lady bird pictured was fairly easy, instead of cutting out a white fondant circle I cut out a black piece and put it on. I then did a red circle and cut out a triangle to form the wings and then I cut out an oval shape to make the head. I then added eyes and black dots.

These went down very well at my brothers cake sale and they were the first to go, together they raised about £150 to go towards their trip between the four of them which was pretty good considering they were outside in the pouring rain!

Katie

My First Decorated Cake

When I first started decorating cakes, I found a cake that was perfect for my Grandpa and just had to make it. I wasn't quite sure how it would go and how difficult it would be, but I was fairly surprised at how easy it was. I was quite proud of my cake and my family was very impressed with it and it didn't last long when my cousins visited my grandparents house!!

I didn't have a lot of equipment to make it with, all I had was a few colour pastes, flower cutter, a ball tool and an edible black pen. So again I was very surprised at how easy it was.

I used a ten inch round cake and cut it out how I wanted it (I cut out a circular hole for the mole about 1 inch across and about 2cm deep). I then covered it with a thin layer of butter cream icing and then rolled out the green fondant and covered the cake; I got a few cracks in the bottom of the cake so I covered it with flowers to cover up these cracks. For the bushes I put a lump of green fondant in a sieve and pushed it through to create a leafy effect, which I thought looked rather effective.

For the golf club I used a black piece of fondant and molded a black handle and cut a few slits in it and used the ball tool to create circle dents in it. For the club I used a white piece of fondant and molded it into the shape of a club, this was rather difficult for a first timer but I got it right in the end. In the flat part of the club I cut a few slits in it to look like ridges. I then painted the club with food paste because it was easier than making the fondant that colour.

For the mole, I placed a small amount of grey fondant in the hole that would support the head higher than the cake. I then molded the head into a flatten cone shape and then added the arms which were black sausage shapes with slits cut into it that look like paws. I added the arms and then drew the face on the mole. I then made a ball of white fondant and used the ball tool to put holes in it and then I put it on top of the moles head. I then roles out a thin piece of white fondant and put it round the mole.
 

I was very happy with this cake and was very surprised at how it came out as it was my first decorate cake.

Katie



Victoria Sponge

A lot of people ask me how I make my plain sponge cake. To be honest I'm not usually one for making a Victoria sponge because I usually make plain cupcakes, but this recipe is good as well for just making plain cupcakes. A Victoria sponge is very simple and easy to make, a lot of people I know are quite surprised at how simple it is to make. This surprised me because in my family baking is a life skill and is learnt from a very young age, many of these people have never made one in their life.

This recipe will show you how to make an 8 inch 2 layer Victoria sponge cake, or about 12-16 (if you use muffin cases you will make about 12 and if you use cupcake cases you will make about 16)

For the cake:
225g/ 8oz margarine or soft unsalted butter
225g/ 8oz caster sugar
225g/ 8oz self raising flour
4 medium sized eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

Butter cream icing:
150g unsalted butter
250g icing sugar (I tend to use a bit more icing sugar but it depends on how you like your butter icing to taste!)
1 tsp vanilla essence

Your favourite jam

1. Preheat your oven to 180c / Gas mark 4. To line your cake tins, I use baking parchment to line my tins with but if you have other cake liners then use them, draw around the bottom of the tins that create circles cut 4 lines of baking parchment about 2 inches in height. With these four lines of baking parchment cut the bottom of them so they are frilled. With either margarine or butter grease the tins with a piece of kitchen roll with the marg or butter on it. With 2 lines of paper line the sides of one tin making sure that where the frills are they are on the bottom of the tin, then with one of the circles place it into the bottom so the bottom of the tin is covered. Do this with the other tin.
2. Cream the margarine/butter and sugar in a bowl until they are both incorporated together.
3. Add one egg and sift 1/4 of the flour into the butter mixture and beat it to incorporate it together, do this with the rest of the flour and eggs. I like to add vanilla essence to my cake but if you prefer not to you don't have to. Once everything added beat for a minute or two until you have a smooth batter.
4. Split the batter evenly between the two tins and put into the preheated oven. Cook for about 15-20 minutes. Once it has cooked or it looks golden brown and does not wobble test with a clean knife, if it comes out clean then it is done if not place it back into the oven for another couple of minutes until it is done.
5. Let the cakes cool for about 20 minutes in the tins and then take them out of the tins.
6. For the butter cream you will need to make sure that the butter is soft, if it is not soft then put it in the microwave for 10 seconds or leave it on the side until soften. Place the butter into a bowl add the icing sugar gradually while sifting (if there are lumps in it and you do not get them out it does not taste very nice), either mix with an electric whisk, hand whisk or a fork (personally I prefer to use a fork but an electric whisk is better but be careful when using an electric whisk and icing sugar because the icing sugar goes everywhere).
7. You must taste the butter cream while making it to test whether it is to your tastes or its finished. Butter icing must not taste like butter nor should it taste like icing sugar, if it tastes like butter keep adding icing sugar, if it taste like icing sugar add a little more butter. Once you think it is done add 1 tsp of vanilla essence (again my preference you do not have to add it) and mix together well.
8. When assembling the cake make sure you are doing it on a flat surface, on one of the cakes (preferably flat side down (bottom) add either jam to the bottom layer. On the next layer (with the curved side facing up) add the butter cream (if you have left over butter cream it can be stored in the fridge for a about 1-2 weeks), sandwich the two layers together and you have yourself a Victoria sponge!!!

When using the recipe of cupcakes they usually take between 10-15 minutes in the oven to cook and watch them carefully to make sure they do not burn.

I hope this will help some people with making a plain sponge cake and I hope you enjoy.

Katie