Giant Pink Cupcake

This cake was one of the first proper cakes I ever made. I made it for a friend's birthday. She loves everything pink, so of course I made her a pink cake! I used a cupcake baking tin (similar to this one) to make the shape and used chocolate fingers to make a cupcake case, tied it up with a pink ribbon, stolen from my mother, and served it on a very pretty paper plate.

Pink Vanilla Sponge

225g butter, softened

225g caster sugar

4 medium eggs, beaten

225g self-raising flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp glycerine

Pink food colouring

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line the baking tin. Whisk the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Whisk in the egg gradually, adding a teaspoon of flour with each addition. Add the remaining flour and baking powder into the bowl, then gradually whisk in the milk, vanilla extract, glycerine and food colouring. Pour three quarters of the mixture into the base of the cupcake and bake for approximately 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour the remaining mixture into the other half of the cupcake tin and bake for a further 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Meringue Icing

(adapted from Hulett's Sugar)

300g caster sugar 

2 egg whites 

80ml cold water 

1/2 tsp cream of tartar 

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pink food colouring

Combine all ingredients, except vanilla, on top of a double boiler. Beat until well mixed. Beat constantly until frosting forms a stiff peak. Work through occasionally with a spoon or spatula. Remove from heat, add the vanilla extract and pink food colouring and beat well. 

You will also need:

1 packet milk chocolate fingers

1 packet white chocolate fingers

Pink shimmer sprinkles

Pink ribbon

To assemble the cake, I first stacked the two pieces of the cupcakes, using a little bit of the meringue icing as glue. Then I piped the meringue icing on top, keeping a little bit to use as glue for the fingers around the outside.