1st Birthday Cake and Cupcakes

Another commissioned cake this week. Without sounding completely cheesy, it feels really great when someone asks me to make an cake for a special occasion of theirs, and I always jump at the opportunity. This week is another 1st birthday cake, for one of the girls in work's son. 

As usual, I went straight to Pinterst for ideas, and in the end we decided upon a giant number 1 covered in Smarties. I turned to my favourite chocolate cake recipe (previously seen here and here), printed off a giant number 1 template and set to work.

I loved working on this cake and even though sorting and placing the millions of Smarties was quite time consuming, I actually found it really relaxing. I finished off the cake board with the birthday boy's name in fondant letters.

I also whipped up my all-in-one chocolate cupcakes and topped them with chocolate buttercream and some mini smarties. I made three batches of the buttercream to cover the cake and all the cupcakes.

1st Birthday Cake and Cupcakes

Chocolate Fudge Cake

(adapted from Donal Skehan)

350g self-raising flour

5 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

300g caster sugar

300ml vegetable oil

300ml semi-skimmed milk

4 large eggs, beaten

4 tbsp golden syrup

Preheat your oven to 180ºC and line two square baking tins. Sieve the flour, cocoa powder and bicarb into the biggest bowl you have. (Or if you're lazy, like me, put them into the bowl and give it a good whisk). Add in the sugar and mix well. In a jug, measure in the oil, milk, eggs, syrup and mix. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and gradually add in the wet ingredients until you have a smooth (and quite wet) mixture. Pour evenly between your baking tins and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool slightly, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

(Makes 12 cupcakes)

150g butter, softened

150g soft light brown sugar sugar

3 medium eggs, beaten

125g self-raising flour

25g cocoa powder 

1 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line the cupcake tin. Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, about two thirds full. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Buttercream

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2tbsp boiling water

150g unsalted butter, softened

225g icing sugar

Blend the cocoa powder and water to a paste and leave to cool slightly. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the icing sugar until well combined. Add in the cocoa powder paste and beat once more. Spoon mixture into a piping bag and pipe onto your cooled cupcakes.

When your cakes have cooled completely, trim the edges and place side by side. Using cocktail sticks, pin a paper template to the cake, and carefully cut around it. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on top and gently place on the Smarties.

When the cupcakes have cooled, pipe on the chocolate buttercream and sprinkle over some mini Smarties. 

Carrot Cupcakes

Happy Easter. I'm off to mum's for Sunday dinner so, of course, I said I'd bring something for dessert. 

 

I'm still not convinced that vegetables belong in a cake, but seeing as it's Easter I thought I'd give it another go! I used the same recipe as last time, with a few little changes. 

These cupcakes are so light and fluffy, and I love the cinnamon flavour in the cream cheese icing. I'm officially converted. I've even managed to eat two for breakfast.

This batch made 24 big cupcakes but I was seriously short on icing. I managed to spread it on about 18 of them before I ran out. I've adjusted the recipe below so you should have enough to cover them all.

Carrot Cupcakes

(adapted from Donal Skehan)

275g self-raising flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

275g caster sugar

4 large eggs

250ml vegetable oil

1 tbsp vanilla extract

400g carrots, peeled and grated

Preheat your oven to 180ºC and line your cupcake tins. In a large bowl, sift in the flour, bicarb and cinnamon (or just give it a good whisk). In another bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar, until light and fluffy. Slowly pour in the oil, until completely incorporated and then add in the vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients, until just mixed through. Finally, fold through the grated carrots. Divide the batter between the cupcake liners and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. 

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

400g cream cheese, softened

100g unsalted butter, softened

900g icing sugar

  4 tsp cinnamon

Beat together the cream cheese and butter, until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the icing sugar and cinnamon until well combined.

All-In-One Vanilla Cupcakes

Last week I made a Very Hungry Caterpillar cupcake cake for my friend's son's first birthday party. As it was my first 'commissioned' cake, I was taking no chances and used some of my favourite recipes. Check out the cake and cookie recipes.

The cupcake recipe I used is one of my all time favourites, as it it just so quick and easy to make. You literally pop all the ingredients in a bowl and beat. The buttercream takes a little bit more work, but it's totally worth it!! For this cake, I doubled the cupcake recipe to make 24 large cupcakes and trippled the buttercream recipe to cover all the cupcakes, the cake for the face of the caterpillar and a mini smash cake for the birthday boy as well.

 

All-In-One Vanilla Cupcakes

250g caster sugar

250g butter

4 eggs

250g self-raising flour

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line a cupcake tin with cases. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat for about 2 minutes until smooth. Fill the cupcake cases three quarters of the way up and bake for about 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack. 

Vanilla Buttercream

250g unsalted butter, softened

450g icing sugar

2 tbsp hot water

2 tsp vanilla extract

Food colouring (optional)

Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in half the icing sugar with the water. When combined, beat in the other half of the icing sugar with the vanilla until smooth. Add in any food colourings. Pipe onto your cooled cupcakes.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Cupcake Cake

Move over Rainbow Cake, I've a new favourite cake. This was my first 'commissioned' cake that I was asked to make for a friend's son's first birthday. The party was 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' themed, so we searched Pinterest, and decided on a cupcake cake. I then added some fruit cookies to jazz up the cake board.

The cake is a four-layer vanilla rainbow cake, covered in a thin layer of vanilla buttercream and red fondant. The cupcakes are also vanilla with the same vanilla buttercream coloured various shades of green. And the cookies are brown sugar cookies covered in fondant.

I wasn't taking any chances on this cake, so I turned to old favourite recipes. The cake and cookie recipes have featured on the blog before. The cupcakes haven't, but I left my recipe book at mum's house so I'll pop up the recipe during the week.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I'm not one to turn down an occasion to bake for, and Paddy's Day is no exception. Although I point blank refused to do something green. Instead I went with another stereotypical image of Ireland: Guinness. 

After a bit of Googling, I decided to go with Nigella's Chocolate Guinness Cake recipe, but in cupcake form. Nigella's recipe makes one single layer 9" cake, so I figured I'd get 12, maybe 16 cupcakes. I actually got 36 and ran out of icing after 12. So I've adjusted the recipe below to make 16 cupcakes, with icing. 

I was skeptical of how these would turn out, because I absolutely hate the taste Guinness. But, I was really surprised with the results. The cupcakes were light and fluffy, and they had a slight bitterness to them which went lovely with the cream cheese frosting. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that I accidentally made too many cupcakes!!

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

(adapted from Nigella Lawson)

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes
125ml Guinness
125g unsalted butter
40g cocoa powder
200g caster sugar
70g sour cream
1 large egg
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
135g plain flour
1 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Preheat your oven to 180ºC and line a cupcake tin. Pour the Guinness into a saucepan and add the butter. Heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream, egg and vanilla together and add to the mixture. Finally, whisk in the flour and bicarb. Pour into your cupcake cases, filling about 3/4 of the way up and bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting
450g cream cheese
225g icing sugar
185ml double cream

Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually, add in the icing sugar until completely incorporated. Add the cream and beat until it makes a spreadable consistency. 

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

Last week was my first week back at work after an amazing two weeks off for Christmas. I knew I'd need something to help me through the Monday. I needed something quick and easy that I could make while my friend's birthday cake cooled, so I turned to my favourite all-in-one-bowl chocolate cupcake recipe. I topped them with chocolate buttercream and some silver dragees (my new word of the week) to give them a New Year's feel.

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

(Makes 12 deep cupcakes)

150g butter, softened

150g golden caster sugar

3 eggs, beaten

125g self-raising flour

25g cocoa powder 

1 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line the cupcake tin. Place all ingredients in a bowl and beak until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, about two thirds full. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Buttercream

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2tbsp boiling water

150g unsalted butter, softened

225g icing sugar

Blend the cocoa powder and water to a paste and leave to cool slightly. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the icing sugar until well combined. Add in the cocoa powder paste and beat once more. Spoon mixture into a piping bag and pipe onto your cooled cupcakes.

After Eight Cupcakes

Have you ever had one of those week where you don't have a moment to yourself? Well that was me this week. After a lovely week off work last week, it was like we had to do two week's work in one! I actually made these cupcakes on Monday (my only free evening of the week) to bring into work on Tuesday to help with the Tuesday Terrors.

These are inspired by my favourite chocolates: After Eights. They're a deliciously light and fluffy chocolate cupcake topped with a mint buttercream and decorated with a triangle of After Eight. I got a little bit excited with the peppermint essence so if you're not a fan of mint, these could taste a bit like toothpaste. But I love them!!

Chocolate Cupcakes 
(makes 16)

(from Donal Skehan)

175g self raising flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

150g caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

150 ml sunflower oil

150 ml milk

2 tbsp golden syrup

Pre-heat oven to 180ºC and line a cupcake tin with cases. Sieve the flour, cocoa and bicarb into a bowl. Add the sugar and mix well. Make a well in the centre and add the syrup, eggs, oil and milk. Beat well until smooth and fill your cupcake cases. This is runny mixture so only fill your cases halfway up. Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, leave to cool before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Peppermint Buttercream

150g unsalted butter, softened

225g icing sugar

2 tbsp hot water

1-2 tsp peppermint essence

Green food colouring

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the icing sugar and hot water in two batches. Add peppermint and colouring. 

You will also need:

After Eights

Spread buttercream over cooled cupcakes. Top with half an After Eight.

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.