I always have my first mug of mulled wine on bonfire night, but I’m still not willing to give Autumnal flavours up completely. Which is why these Bonfire cupcakes are the perfect transition food to ease you from Autumnal vibes into the festive spirit.
A rich chocolate cupcake, filled with a mulled wine crème pâtissière, topped with a pumpkin spice Swiss meringue buttercream and if you’re feeling really fancy, top that with a torched mulled wine marshmallow. Continue reading Bonfire Cupcakes
A favourite brunch option of mine is cinnamon French toast, topped with bacon and drowning in a pool of maple syrup. So, here is French toast in cupcake form. Cinnamon cupcakes, filled with a rich and indulgent vanilla crème pâtissière, topped with a silky maple syrup Swiss meringue buttercream and some crispy maple bacon. Continue reading French Toast Cupcakes
After eating some delicious Amaretto Chocolates at Christmas, I have decided to replicate the flavours in cupcake form. These are chocolate cupcakes, soaked in an amaretto liqueur syrup (I used Disaronno), topped with chocolate and amaretto Swiss meringue buttercream, drizzled with a little salted caramel sauce.
It’s nearly the most wonderful time of the year! Here is a suitably festive bake for the season. This cake has three layers of spiced orange sponge, filled with orange buttercream and spiced orange curd, covered with more buttercream and finally topped with a dark chocolate drip.
Spiced Orange Sponge
Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan oven). Grease three sandwich tins (diameter 8 inches) with butter then dust with flour.
Cream together the Stork and the sugar until it is light and fluffy. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and ground cloves into a separate bowl then add the grated nutmeg.
Add the eggs one at a time to the creamed Stork and sugar. With each egg add a tablespoon of flour and beat well until fully incorporated. When all the eggs have been added, fold in the remaining flour mixture. Finally, fold in the orange zest.
Split the batter evenly between the three tins, level the tops with a spatula then place in the oven to bake for about 20 – 25 minutes. The cakes should be risen and golden. Test with a skewer to confirm the cakes are done. Once done, turn out on to a wire rack to cool.
Spiced Orange Curd
I used a recipe by Mary Berry For the Orange curd. You can find the recipe here. Mary’s recipe is for lemon curd and uses 10 eggs. I halved the recipe and substituted the lemon juice and zest for the zest and juice of two oranges. I then added a cinnamon stick, about five whole cloves and a star anise into the saucepan with the the egg yolks, sugar and juice so that the flavours infuse as the mixture cooks. Cook as per Mary’s instructions. When the curd is ready, pour through a sieve into a bowl and leave to cool.
Orange Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Pour the egg whites and the sugar into a heatproof bowl, then place on top of a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). Whisk the egg whites and sugar together over the water. Using a sugar thermometer, check the temperature of the mixture. Keep whisking until the meringue reaches 70°C.
Then pour the meringue into a stand mixer and whisk on high until the meringue has cooled down and reached stiff peak stage (this can take 5-10 minutes). At this stage, put the mixer on a slow speed and add the butter, one cube at a time. After adding all the butter the mixture may look curdled but keep whisking slowly and it will come back together. Once it has turned in to a light buttercream, add the orange curd and stir in.
To assemble the cake, place the first sponge on a cake stand and cover with buttercream. Pipe a circle of buttercream around the edge of the cake and fill the centre with curd (the buttercream circle helps keep the curd inside the cake). Repeat with the second sponge. Finally, place the third sponge on top and cover the whole cake with buttercream. Smooth the sides and leave to set.
I decorated my cake with a dark chocolate drip, physalis, dried oranges and chopped pistachios. Yum Yum!
This mojito cake was made for my friend’s hen party – as she loves all things mojito. It has three layers of lime sponge, lime curd and white rum Italian meringue buttercream and topped with some fresh mint leaves.
For the lime sponge
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line three sandwich tins with an 8 inch diameter. Mix all of the ingredients together until smooth. Split the batter evenly between the three tins and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until risen and a skewer comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the tins and leave to cool on a wire rack.
For the white rum Italian meringue buttercream
I used an Italian meringue buttercream recipe by Edd Kimber. I’ve used Edd’s method a few times now and it always comes out perfectly. You can find the recipe by clicking here. I added the rum a tablespoon at a time at the end.
To assemble the cake, place one of the sponges on a cake board and cover with some of the buttercream. Add a couple of teaspoons of lime curd and spread over. Repeat with another layer of sponge. Place the last sponge on top and cover the top and sides with the remaining buttercream and smooth over. Chop up some fresh mint leaves and sprinkle over the top.
