Today is my birthday, so we made cupcakes – naturally! In fact we didn’t just simply make cupcakes, we had to recreate the popular Food Network Cupcake Wars contest – Rémy from Jumping Cupcakes vs Minty from Crazy Cupcakes. However, when you watch the video and see what went into the frosting - literally – you will understand why I wasn’t that keen to have my cake and eat it…
Cupcake Wars from Lucy Lean on Vimeo.
Minty's design for her cupcakes
Minty's design for her cupcakes
Cupcakes
Servings: 12 Cupcakes
Adapted from one of my go to favorites – How to be a Domestic Goddess, Nigella Lawson. I always smile when I open this book and on the inside front page long before kids and domesticity really set in I wrote in pink ink: “This book belongs to Domestic Goddess Lucy Lean”!!! Sigh!
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
7 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 400 F
Cream together butter and sugar in the mixer until pale yellow. Add eggs and 2 tablespoons of the flour, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of the milk. Gently fold in the remaining flour and if needed the rest of the milk – to make a soft batter that ‘drops’.
Divide the mixture equally between 12 cupcake cases and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cakes are golden brown. Cool on a wire rack completely whilst you make the frosting.
Buttercream Frosting
3/4 cups butter
2 cups confectioner’s sugar sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk [for coffee frosting use cold espresso coffee instead of milk]
Mix all the ingredients together in the mixer and then smoother the cakes!
Chocolate Ganache
Servings enough for 6 cupcakes and lots of licking!
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon butter
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate in small pieces
In a small saucepan warm the ingredients to melt the chocolate. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat and whisk until smooth and thickened.
Cool before icing the cupcakes. If it gets too cold and solid re heat slightly.
{ 1 comment }
Brilliant! – I love this – it was not just ‘lick the drip’ though.
Love you all and miss you
Hettie xX
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