Alice in Cupcakeland

Apple & Banana cupcakes

2009-08-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

250 g all-purpose flour
135 g butter
250 g white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
60 ml buttermilk
225 g ripe bananas, mashed
2 peeled apples - grated

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C and line 2 cupcake trays. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and put it aside for now.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time followed by the eggs and butter milk. Add the dry ingredients and beat for 2 minutes on high. Finally, gently fold in the the banana and apple mix.

Divide the mixture evenly and bake for 20 minutes.

Once cool you can then lightly dust these with icing sugar, or (and this is what I do!) top them with Cream Cheese icing!

Easter Bunny Madness!

2009-04-10T23:25:00.000-07:00

Each week at work we have "Fill It Up Friday" where one person provides morning tea for the team. My last turn fell this week and as Friday was a public holiday it became 'Top It up Thursday". Inevitably I had to make Easter themed cakes, because, of course, the next day was Good Friday. Last year I made the cutest Easter bonnet (which took out the best in show award in my team), so whatever I made had to beat that! I saw at least 3 people taking photos and was asked for the recipe by a different 3 people, so I consider these a success :)

Again these are another cheats mix, with all the work being in the icing and decoration. These tasted like a sponge cake version of a Sally Lunn - oh so tasty! But there's a twist. Inside each cupcake is a mini Creme Egg! Now this sounded delicious to me as I've been addicted to Creme eggs ever since I was a child in the 70's, but sadly I didn't account for how much the centre would caramelize and in the end that part was just too sweet for my taste. Still, the eggs sunk to the bottom, so it was a simple matter of eating the delicious vanilla sponge surrounding it! Some people ate 2-3 each, so the sweetness factor is a matter of taste... Either way - I will absolutely be making these again, sans the creme egg :)

Ingredients

1 packet Edmonds Angelic Vanilla Cupcake Mix
60g butter at room temperature
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs

Note: As always, refer to the ingredients on your cake mix packet! The above is what the Edmonds mix calls for, so if you use a different brand you might need other ingredients. Any good quality cupcake mix will do.

12 Mini Creme Eggs (leave these out or replace with white chocolate for something different)

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees c (or whatever your box instructions say) and line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper liners. I used a muffin pan again for these because the mini creme eggs were bigger than I expected.

Combine the ingredients for your cupcake batter as per the instructions on the box and beat for 3 minutes on high. Divide the mixture evenly in your muffin pan. If you're adding the creme egg, put them in now and press them so they're sitting low in the cake.

Bake for 20 minutes, or for as long as your instructions state.

Icing

100g butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla essence
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
100g melted white chocolate
Dessicated coconut

Combine all ingredients except coconut at a low speed. Once combined, whip for 3 minutes at a high speed. This is what creates the fluffy, sally lunn type icing! If you're not doing the bunny decoration, sprinkle the coconut on as soon as you've iced the cakes. If you are doing the decorations then hold on for now.

Decorations
24 Strawberry and Cream lollies for ears
24 chocolate melts for eyes
Pink heartshaped sprinkles for nose

Generously ice each cupcake with the buttercream icing as this will help hold the lollies in place. Into each cup cake, place 2 strawberry and cream lollies into the icing and a little into the cake. Just below and in from the ears, use two melts for eyes (pointy side down). Next, add one heart shaped sprinkle upside down to form the nose. Finally, sprinkle the coconut over the top of each cake, shaking off the excess.

Wicked Cupcakes

2009-04-09T00:23:00.001-07:00

I recently went to Melbourne with some friends and while we were there, we went to see Wicked. The day of the show itself was Melbourne's hotted recorded day in history, (46.7 deg. c) and I bought at least one minty ice cream to keep me cool that day!

Any way, a few nights later we had a 'slide night' and pot luck dinner and the girls asked me to make some Melbourne themed cupcakes. Naturally,the first thing that popped into my mind was "MMMM- Minty Melted Elphaba cakes!" and thus the Wicked cupcake was born. It's a bit of a cheat's cupcake as it's mostly packet mix, but I have to say, this is one of my favourite cupcakes so far!

Ingredients

1 packet Edmonds Chocolate Cupcake Mix
60g butter at room temperature
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs

Note: Refer to the ingredients on your cake mix packet! The above is what the Edmonds mix calls for, so if you use a different brand you might need other ingredients. Any good quality cupcake mix will do.

1 Kingsize block of Cadbury Milk Chocolate

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees c (or whatever your box instructions say) and line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper liners. Yes, you need to use a muffin pan for these, not a cupcake pan, as these are desert sized cakes.

Melt half your block of chocolate and put it aside to cool just a little. Combine the ingredients for your cupcake batter as per the instructions on the box, then add the melted chocolate. Beat for 3 minutes on high.

Divide the mixture evenly in your muffin pan. Break off 12 pieces of chocolate and place one in the centre of each cupcake, pressing the chocolate in slightly - don't push it in too far as it will sink to the bottom! Bake for 20 minutes, or for as long as your instructions state.

Chocolate Icing

1/8 c softened butter
120 g cream cheese
44 g chocolate broken into small pieces
tiny pinch salt
1.5 c icing sugar
1/4 cup cream
1/4 tsp vanilla essence

Heat the cream until it's just under boiling. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate to the heated cream. Stir until the chocolate is melted into the cream, then let the mix cool completely.

Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the melted chocolate mixture, salt, icing sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Ice the cupcakes generously and put aside in a slightly warm place so the icing smooths out while you make the mint topping.

Mint Icing

1.5c Icing sugar
1/8 tsp mint essence
milk
green food colouring

Mix the icing sugar, mint and milk until you have a slightly runny consistancy. Add enough green food colouring so that the icing is a vibrant shade of green.

How to make the melted Witch!

This is the fun part! Once your cream cheese icing is smoothed, take a teaspoon of the icing mixture and start pouring it on, slightly to the side of the centre, so that it makes a small puddle that might resemble a melted witch. You want the icing to run naturally, so don't play with it too much, and don't cover the chocolate, you just want a contrasting puddle! Once you've added the mint icing, unwrap your Hershey's kisses, and pop them on top at a jaunty angle, pressing lightly so it sticks.

Mountain Dew Cupcakes

2009-01-22T23:23:00.000-08:00

My friend was telling me about these the other day and gave me her recipe... I've yet to try these (I'm not a fizzy drink drinker!) but as soon as I remember to buy some mountain dew it's top of my list!

Ingredients

250 g packet lemon cake mix
50 g packet instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
150 mls Mountain Dew

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tray.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix until well combined.

Divide the batter among the cases and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown or top springs back when lightly touched.

Icing

250 g can crushed pineapple with juice
1/2 c icing sugar
1/8 cup butter
1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Combine pineapple, the juice from the can and icing sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.

Remove from the heat and the butter and coconut.

Vanilla Cupcakes

2009-01-02T16:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a plain vanilla cupcake recipe which you can use for just about anything!

Ingredients

125 g softened, unsalted butter
250 g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
185 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 c milk

Preheat your oven to 180C and line 1 and a half cupcake trays.

In a small bowl sift in the flour, baking soda and salt and place to the side for now.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla. One by one add the eggs, beating well after each to keep the air in.

Using a very low speed, add a quarter of the flour to the egg mix, then a quarter of the milk, removing the beater as soon as they're mixed. Continue until all the flour and liquid has been added. It's important to not over mix the batter on this one - always use the lowest speed and stop often.

Divide the batter evenly into the trays, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until they are golden and a skewer comes out clean.

Icing

60g icing sugar
2-3 tsp hot water
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl then add the liquid and mix until smooth. Drizzle the icing over cool cupcakes so it drips a little down the sides. If you're serving these for a party, top with fresh raspberries or even little chucks of mango. Yum!

Note: You can half the amount of vanilla extract and top it up with a different flavour in both the cake and icing. For example you could use, 1/4 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp of strawberry essence. keep the vanilla in the mix however as it gives a great depth to the flavour.

White Chocolate and Macadamia Cupcakes

2008-10-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

I'm currently addicted to Subway's macadamia cookies, so I took my white chocolate cupcake recipe and embellished it a bit!

Ingredients

125 g unsalted butter
1/2 c castor sugar
3 eggs
80 g white chocolate bits
3/4 c plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinammon
1 c finely chopped macadamia nuts

Line a 12 hole cupcake tray with wrappers. and preheat your oven to 180C.

Sift your dry incredients into a bowl, along with the chopped macadamias. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.

Slowly add the dry ingredients then beat for 4 minutes on high.. Add the white chocolate pieces and mix for a further minute or until they're well distributed.

Divide the batter among the cases and bake for 20 minutes or until cakes spring back when lightly pressed.

Icing

2 c icing sugar
1/4 c cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
50g bar of white chocolate, melted
water

Combine all the ingredients except for the water - slowly add the water until the icing is the right consistancy.

Chocolate Beetroot Cupcakes

2008-09-08T00:11:00.000-07:00

The pineapple cupcake went down a treat, but mum's now pushing the boat out by wanting a beetroot cupcake! This recipe uses canned beetroot because I'm far too lazy to cook a raw one, and has a chocolate fudge icing just to make me happy...

Ingredients

1 can sliced beetroot (approx 400g)
125 g butter
3/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c self raising flour
1/4 c cocoa
1/4 c milk
100 g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat your oven to 180 C and line 2 x 12 hole cupcake tins.

Drain the beetroot and finely chop in a processor or with a hand blender. Sift the flour and cocoa into a small bowl. Put both the beetroot and the sifted ingredients to the side for now.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time until fully combined. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mix on a slow speed, then add the milk and beetroot. Pop the chocolate into the microwave until it's mostly melted, then add to the batter. Beat on high for 4 minutes.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the cupcake spring back lighty (I find they take about 1/2 hr in my oven).

Note: You do not need to melt the chocolate if you prefer chunks!

Icing

50g butter
50 g dark chocolate
3 TBS milk
1 TBS vanilla essence
2 c icing sugar
4 tsp cocoa powder

Place the butter, chocolate, milk and vanilla into a small pan, and heat on a low heat until melted. Remove from heat and let the mix cool for a few minutes.

Sift the sugar and cocoa into bowl, then add the chocolate mix. Beat until smooth, then place in the fridge for around 10 minutes, or until it thickens enough to spread.

Bananatella Cupcakes

2008-09-05T22:48:00.001-07:00

Nutella is the most addictive spread on earth and I'll find any excuse to put in into anything! I discovered banana, Nutella and cream crêpe when I was last in Wellington, and wanted to make a cupcake version, with a banana and Nutella cake, and a cream icing.

These cupcakes are great for parties, because they're made with cheapo cake mix (I use the budget range), meaning hardly any time and effort is needed. Plus they have Nutella in them - how much more awesome can you get?

Ingredients

1 packet butter cake mix (approx. 350 g)
1 packet instant banana pudding
1 egg
1/2 c milk
1/8 c vegetable oil
1/2 c mashed banana
small jar Nutella

Preheat your oven to 175 and line a 12 hole cupcake tray.

Throw the cake mix into a bowl, and add the egg and milk. Mix on medium until blended, then add the instant pudding, vegetable oil and mashed banana. Mix on high for 4 minutes until really smooth.

Fill each cupcake liner to approx. 3/4, then add a teaspoon of nutella to the top of each cupcake. The nutella is heavy, so will sink into the mix as it bakes, you do not need to cover it!

Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes, or until the cake springs back.

Icing

5 TBS flour
1 c cream
1 c butter
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Heat the milk on the stove and add the flour. Stir until thickened and then remove from the heat. Let the mixture cool completely, stirring occasionally.

Cream the butter and sugar, then once light and fluffy then add the vanilla and cream mixture. Whip on high until creamy.

If you like Piña Coladas....

2008-09-04T00:13:00.000-07:00

I was looking for a pineapple cupcake recipe, because my mum lurves pineapple and until now I've forced my own cupcake preferences onto her! I've removed any actual alcohol from the recipe, but you can replace the rum essence with rum if you prefer.

Ingredients

1 1/3 c flour
1 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, melted
1/3 c pineapple juice
3 tsp rum extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 size 7 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/3 c shredded coconut
1/3 c crushed pineapple, well drained

Preheat oven to 175 C and line a 12 hole cupcake tin, and half of another (this makes 18 cupcakes).

Into a bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then add the coconut. Put the dry ingredients to the side while you combine the wet.

In a large bowl, mix the melted butter, pineapple juice, rum extract, and vanilla until it turns a lighter colour. One at a time add the eggs and egg yolk, beating for about 30 secs in between each.

Once the eggs are mixed in, add the dry ingredients a little at a time to the liquid, beating for a few seconds in between. Once all the dry ingredients have been added, beat the mixture on high for 4 minutes. Finally, fold in the pineapple.

Fill the cupcake liners to approx. 3/4, and bake for 20 mins. The cupcakes are very moist when they come out, don't worry about this! You can assure yourself by testing the cupcake with a toothpick just to make sure it comes out clean.

Icing

140 g cream cheese (softened)
1/2 c butter (softened)
1 c powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut essence
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp lemon juice (bottled is perfectly fine)

Cream all the ingredients until smooth and pop into the fridge until the cupcakes are cooked and cooled. I love to randomly put cocktail umbrellas in the cupcakes just to make them look more like the namesake, but you could also sprinkle them with a little more dessicated coconut.

Ginger Cupcake Kisses

2008-08-30T01:14:00.001-07:00

I've already started thinking about what kind of cupcakes I can make for Christmas, and figured that there could be nothing better than combining my favourite cookie with a cupcake! I've teamed these up with a chocolate cream cheese icing, but you could use butter cream, sugar or plain cream cheese icing.

Ingredients

1/2 c self-raising flour
1/2 c plain flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
90g softened butter
1/4 cup milk
2 TBS golden syrup

Preheat the oven to 170 C and line a 12 cupcake pan.

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, in another bowl, whip the butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and beat on high until combined.

Slowly add the dry ingredients, adding a bit at a time and then beating thoroughly to knock air into the batter. Once you've added all the dry ingredients, beat the batter on high for 2 minutes, until it's smooth and lighter in colour.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full with the batter, and bake for 30 minutes.

Icing

1/8 c softened butter
120 g cream cheese
44 g chocolate broken into small pieces
tiny pinch salt
1.5 c icing sugar
1/4 cup cream
1/4 tsp vanilla essence

Heat the cream until it's just under boiling. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate to the heated cream. Stir until the chocolate is melted into the cream, then let the mix cool completely.

Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the melted chocolate mixture, salt, icing sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

note: This makes enough for 24 cupcakes, you you might like to halve the mix if you're only making 12!

Mango Chili Chocolate Cupcakes

2008-08-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes instantly make me visualise summer! I'm not a big fan of hot spice, so I reduced the amount of chili by about 70% and added some white chocolate to 'cool the mouth' just like milk would.

Very tasty, very pretty (especially if you add a couple of cocktail umbrellas to the plate for some extra spunk) and a great talking point!

Ingredients

1 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c butter
3/4 c milk
1/2 c white chocolate chips (or 1 small milky bar!)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder (increase this if you like more bite)
1 egg
1 fresh mango roughly cubed OR
3/4 canned mango roughly cubed
1/4 cup mango pulp (if fresh mango) or juice (if canned mango)

Preheat oven to 175 and line a 12 hole cupcake pan. Heat the milk in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water until it's just below boiling. Remove from the heat and add the white chocolate to the milk, stirring until it melts completely. Let the mixture cool completely before moving to the next step.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg, stirring until combined. Add flour, baking powder, chili powder, and salt to the mixture.
Next, add the cooled chocolate milk and mango juice/pulp and beat until well combined. Finally, fold in mango.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full with the batter, trying to spread the mango chunks evenly if you can. Bake about 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Icing

120 g cream cheese
1 1/2 c icing sugar
1 TBS lime juice
1 drop green food coloring

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and icing sugar until it's smooth. Add the lime juice, then just enough green food colouring to give the icing a pale lime colour. Mix again until blended.

Heavenly Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

2008-08-28T03:28:00.000-07:00

For this recipe, the cupcakes are topped with a mousse which you really need to make the night before, so we're going to make this before we make the batter! These cupcakes also need to be refrigerated a few hours before eating. They do take a bit more effort than the average cupcake and area really quite decadent, but boy are they worth it! These are definitely best saved for special occasions.

Mousse

300 g milk chocolate broken into small pieces
1 tsp peppermint essence
1½ c double cream
4 eggs, separated
4 TBS castor sugar

Heat half of the cream and all of the essence in a bowl over a large saucepan of boiling water, being careful not to let it boil. Once the cream is nice and hot remove from the heat and add the chocolate (the heat from the cream will melt the chocolate easily). Stir the mixture until the chocolate is fully melted, and let it sit for about 5 minutes until it's cool.

Place the egg whites in a bowl and beat them with a hand mixer until they form soft peaks then gradually add the sugar, beating until it's dissolved. In another bowl, beat the remaining cream until thick.

Making sure the chocolate mixture is cool, lightly beat the egg yolks and add them straight in, mixing until combined. Slowly fold in the whipped cream, then finally fold in the egg whites.

Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Ingredients

60g milk chocolate broken into small pieces
2/3 c water
90g softened butter
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp peppermint essence
1 c self-raising flour
2 TBS cocoa powder
1/3 c almond flour
12 after dinner mints (square is preferred but anything is OK)

Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a 12 hole cupcake pan.

Place the water in a small pan and bring to a gentle boil. Place the milk chocolate into the water and stir until melted. Take the mixture off the heat and place to the side.

Finely chop 6 of the after dinner mints and sift together the flour, cocoa powder and almond meal. Using a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, eggs and essence until smooth, light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredientsand the mints to the mix and combine. Add the melted chocolate to the batter and beat on high for 3 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake molds and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Decoration

For this part, you'll need a piping bag. If you don't have one, you can make one from either a plastic sandwich bag (by cutting a small hole in the corner, or from baking paper. You want a fairly large hole as we'll be using it to cover the top of the cupcake, not for fancy decoration.

Cut the remaining after dinner mints in half diagonally (you should have 12 triangles) and put aside. Spoon the mousse into your piping bag, and pipe a generous amount of the mousse on top of each cupcake, staying away from the edge as the mousse will collapse a little. As soon as you've iced each one, press the mint 'raw' side down into the centre of of the mousse put the put it in the fridge so the mousse doesn't melt.

Refrigerate for at least another 4 hours before serving so that the mousse re-sets. Lightly dust the cupcakes with the cocoa before serving, and enjoy!

Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

2008-08-28T02:32:00.000-07:00

I went out to dinner last night and a friend started talking about the Margarita night she'd had down at the Mexican Cafe, which started me thinking about how I could mix tequila into a cupcake! I came across a vegan recipe for Margarita Cupcakes, which I decided to adapt to a non-vegan version. I then decided to up the ante and make this a Strawberry Margarita Cupcake... MMMMM!

There's a lot of recipes out there for this using thing like coolade (which we can't get here and why would you want to use something so artificial anyway?) or strawberry margarita mix, but I think my version is pretty much as close as you can get to a REAL strawberry margarita in cake form.. Well, other than the canned strawberries!

Ingredients

1/4 cup lime juice
1 cup canned strawberries, drained (keep the syrup to the side)
1/2 c of the strawberry syrup from the can
1/2 c milk
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 tsp tequila
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c sugar
1 1/3 c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 175 C and line 2 x 12 hole cupcake trays. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat the mixture for at least 3 minutes, until it's smooth and fluffy.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full with the batter and bake until the cupcakes spring back when pressed, around 20-24 minutes.

Icing

1 egg white
1 1/4 c icing sugar
3 c fresh strawberries pureed OR
1 c strawberries in syrup pureed (drain the syrup first)
2 TBS Tequila

Beat the egg white until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in icing sugar, then the pureed strawberries and finally the tequila. Mix until combined.

Once you've iced the cupcakes, roll the edges in the loose sugar, to give the same effect as a salted glass, and you're done!

Champagne and Pear Cupcakes

2008-08-28T01:21:00.000-07:00

I was in the supermarket the other day and came across those cute little bottles of baby cham they sell. I don't actually drink the stuff, but I've always thought those bottles were extremely cute so I decided to find something to do with them!

Ingredients

2 3/4 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c butter
2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup champagne*
3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and grated OR
1 cup canned pears, grated and well drained

Preheat your oven to 170C and line 2 x 12 hole cupcake pans.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until they are fluffy and create light peaks, this will take a couple of minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is thoroughly blended before you add the next.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into another bowl, then slowly add it to the batter, little by little to ensure that you're knocking in as much air as you're knocking out. This method of adding the dry ingredients ensures a really light cupcake, so be sure not to skip this as we've got a heavy ingredient to add yet! Make sure it's completely blended.

Add the vanilla and champagne to the mix and beat on high for at least 3 minutes. You should have a nice smooth and airy mixture at this point. Finally, add the pears to the mix on a slow speed.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake pans, filling to around 3/4. Bake for 20- 25 minutes or until they are golden brown, and spring back.

Icing

1/8 c softened butter
120 g cream cheese
1 1/2 c icing sugar
1 TBS champagne

To make the icing, cream the butter and cream cheese and add the icing sugar using a low speed. Switch to a high speed and mix until blended - you can add more icing sugar if you feel it's a little wet.

Variation

You can make these cupcakes even more special by using a rose champagne, and adding a tiny drop (about the size of a pin head - no more!) to each your batter and icing to create a light pastel pink colour.

Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

2008-08-26T00:53:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes are gluten free,contain fresh fruit - you could almost pretend they were healthy if they weren't really just mini baked cheesecakes! They can be frozen too, so they're great to make in advance and then just pull out the night before you need them :)

Ingredients

1 1/2 c sugar
710 g light cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 eggs
1 1/2 c raspberries (frozen is fine - just thaw them first)

Preheat oven to 176C and line 2 x 12 hole cupcake tins.

In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to blend the sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla. Add eggs to cream cheese mixture one at a time and blend after adding each egg.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full with cream cheese batter and divide the raspberries evenly between the 24 cupcakes by sprinkling them on top and pushing them in lightly.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.
Note: A well will form in the middle of each cupcake - this is fine!

Turn the oven up to 230C, you'll put the cupcakes back in once you've added the topping!

Topping

235 g light cream cheese
1/4 c sugar

Beat the ingredients together, then place a dollop in the centre of your cupcakes. Return the cupcakes to the oven, and bake for 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and let them cool for a while. Once cool, pop them in the fridge and let them set for about an hour before eating.

These cupcakes need to be kept refrigerated.

Passionfruit Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache

2008-08-26T00:44:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes are perfect for summer! It's important that you use real passionfruit though, as artificial pulp is just too syrupy. This is topped with a ganache to make it ultra decadent, but you could use a normal passionfruit icing if you prefer.

Ingredients

50 g butter, softened
1/2 c castor sugar
2 eggs
1 c self-raising flour
1/4 c passionfruit pulp, strained (must be real passionfruit or it doesn't work!)

Preheat oven to 180C and line a 12 hole cupcake pan.

Beat butter until soft and fluffy, add eggs and beat until pale. Stir in sugar and flour and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in passionfruit pulp and mix until combined.

Fill cupcake liner until they're about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Ganache

(this is a white chocolate ganache)
90ml cream
180 g white chocolate, smashed up to make it easier to melt
1 TBS passionfruit pulp, strained

Warm cream and pulp in a saucepan until almost boiling (keep an eye on it - it boils pretty quickly), then stir in chocolate pieces until melted.

Cool, and then refrigerate for up to 4 hours, which will allow the icing to thicken. It is easier to pipe this on, but if you are spreading it, warm it just a little first, or use a warm knife to make it easier.

White Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Icing

2008-08-25T23:54:00.000-07:00

The name of these speak for themselves! They're also super easy to make, and can really be used with just about any type of icing. I go with strawberry, because really, what's better than white chocolate and strawberry?

Ingredients

125 g unsalted butter
1/2 c castor sugar
3 eggs
80 g melted white chocolate (I just do this in the microwave!)
3/4 c plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

Line a 12 hole cupcake tray with wrappers. and preheat your oven to 180C.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each (this makes the mixture light and fluffy) then add white chocolate and stir to combine.

Sift flour and baking powder over cake batter and fold in until combined. Divide the batter among the cases and bake for 20 minutes or until cakes spring back when lightly pressed.

Icing

1 egg white
1 c icing sugar
3 c fresh strawberries pureed OR
1 c strawberries in syrup pureed (drain the syrup first)

Beat the egg white until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in icing sugar, then the pureed strawberries. Mix until combined.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2008-08-25T23:34:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes are heaven in a patticake wrapper! The more retro a cupcake is, the more I love it, so naturally I adore these with their cute pink icing.

Ingredients

115 g butter
300 g white sugar
2 eggs
235 ml buttermilk
30 ml red food coloring
5 ml vanilla extract
7 g baking soda
15 ml distilled white vinegar
250 g all-purpose flour
30 g unsweetened cocoa powder
6 g salt

Preheat oven to 175C and line 2 x 12 hole cupcake pans.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, red food coloring and vanilla. Stir in the baking soda and vinegar. Combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.

Bake until the tops spring back when lightly pressed like a sponge - about 20 to 25 minutes.

Icing

250gm unsalted butter
1 cup Icing Sugar
150gm frozen raspberries

Allow the raspberries to defrost. Once they're soft, puree them, and strain through a sieve to remove all the lumps and bumps.

Whip the butter until it is light in colour and fluffy, then add the icing sugar. Beat until soft peaks form. Finally, add the raspberry puree and beat until combined. You don't want this too soft, so you might like to add a little more icing sugar if you like.

Yazdi Cakes

2008-08-25T23:21:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes obviously have their origin in Persia, which is why I wanted to give them a go! There's a lot of preparation time involved in these compared to normal cupcakes, but they're certainly worth it. Try them plain or with thin layer of Rosewater Icing (made simply with icing sugar and rose water).

Ingredients

250 g all-purpose flour
5 g baking powder
4 eggs
250 g white sugar
340 g butter, melted
235 ml plain yogurt
3 g ground cardamom
15 ml rose water
70 g blanched slivered almonds
10 g chopped pistachio nuts

Preheat the oven to 175C. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside. Place your cupcake liners into 2 x 12 hole cupcake tins.

Combine the eggs and sugar in a large heatproof bowl and set on top of a pan of simmering water. Beat an electric mixer on medium speed until thick and pale (about 8 minutes). Remove from the heat and continue to beat until cooled, which should take about 10 minutes. Mix in the butter, yogurt, cardamom and rose water and then stir in the flour mixture by hand and fold in the slivered almonds.

Fill your cupcake tray, taking each one to about 3/4 full.

Bake in the oven until firm to the touch and golden brown which should take about 25 - 30 minutes.