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.
These cupcakes have a zesty lemon sponge and are filled with a homemade lemon curd. They are topped off with a large amount of torched Italian meringue – any excuse to use my blowtorch on a cake!
For the Lemon Cupcakes (makes between 12 and 15)
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper cases. This is an all in one recipe, so place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix together until smooth. Spoon the batter into the paper cases to fill them just over half way. Bake in the oven for 15 -18 minutes until they have risen and are firm to the touch. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
For the Lemon Curd
I used a recipe by Mary Berry For the lemon curd. You can find the recipe here. I halved the recipe which made just over 1 jar of lemon curd. Once made, leave in a sterilised jar to cool.
For the Italian Meringue
Place the egg whites ready in a mixer with a whisk attachment. In a saucepan, start to gently heat the sugar and water mixture. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat and pop your sugar thermometer in. When the mixture reaches 110℃, start whisking up the egg whites until they reach the soft peak stage. When the sugar reaches 115℃, pour carefully into the egg whites (keep the mixer whisking on a low speed). Then turn up to high speed and whisk until the mixture is stiff, glossy and has cooled down (about 10 minutes).
To assemble the cupcakes, use a serrated knife to cut a small hole in the middle of each cupcake. Then use a teaspoon to fill these holes with some lemon curd. Then you can either use a piping bag to pipe the meringue on top or use a small palette knife for a more “distressed” look. Then use a blowtorch to torch the meringue as much or as little as you like.
These little bite-size cakes have a light orange and honey sponge, topped with an orange and honey flavoured mascarpone icing (which is very quick and easy to make). Dried lavender buds are scattered on top to finish. You could always mix in some lavender into the batter as well for a more intense flavour, but personally I find that it ends up tasting a little too soapy!
I’ve used wildflower honey from The Cornish Bee Farm but any light, runny honey can be used in this recipe.
For the orange and honey cupcakes
Pre heat the oven to 150°C. Line a mini muffin tin with paper cases (my tin had space for 24 cases, so I ended up baking 3 batches).
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together until smooth. Transfer the batter into a piping bag, snip off the end and pipe into the paper cases. The cases need to be just under half full.
Bake in the over for 10-12 minutes until risen and firm to the touch. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
For the icing
Measure the cheese, honey and orange juice into a bowl and whisk together until smooth. Then top the cakes with the icing. I found it easier to transfer the icing into a piping bag. I then piped a blob on top of each cake and smoothed it down with a palette knife.
Sprinkle some lavender over the top of the cupcakes. Just before serving, drizzle a little extra honey over the top.
