Red Velvet Cupcakes with Butter Cream Cheese Frosting ♥

Without fail every time I have checked my Instagram feed this past month I've seen at least one red velvet recipe and so I felt inspired to venture into red velvet territory. Now I'm not one to go into uncharted waters unprepared so I did a bit of research, turns out that traditionally the red colour of the cake was due the reaction between acidic vinegar and buttermilk which reveals the anthocyanin in cocoa, nowadays we also add in red dye to enhance the colour (and ensure red velvet remains the international Valentines day dessert, obviously). 

I imagine the Queen of Hearts loves a red velvet cake or two, must be tiring work screaming 'off with their heads' multiple times a day. That's one of the reasons why I want to throw an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party, just so I can feature my red velvet cupcakes on a little stand centre stage, dress up in an eccentric costume, put up elaborate decorations and consume tea party food to my hearts content. That or a 1930s themed party (the good bits, notwithstanding the Great Depressions); art deco decor similar to the salons of the Waldorf Astoria, glamorous dresses and lots of red velvet, only apt considering the Astoria made this cake iconic. 

Now I'm not much of a party planner or thrower but what I do know is that this cake needs to made in abundance and shared and loved. 

These cupcakes are wonderfully soft, moist and flavourful with just a hint of cocoa. 
As for the frosting, most people go for a full-on cream cheese extravaganza but I personally don't like the taste of that so instead I made a buttercream frosting with a touch of cream cheese. I've also upped my piping game, check out those roses! they are nowhere near perfect but still look very pretty, especially with the white contrasting against the red cake and the subtle gold glitter. With the tiniest bit of effort and skill you can create a delicious cupcake, the type you would purchase at a fancy bakery in a hipster neighbourhood for an extortionate price and eat with a fork because etiquette.

So to make these Red Velvet Cupcakes you will need the following ingredients:

- Plain flour
- Caster sugar
- Baking powder
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Cocoa
- Salt
-Buttermilk
- Vegetable oil
- Egg
- Apple cider vinegar
- Red food dye
- Hot water

Begin by combing the liquid ingredients together in the bowl of your stand mixer - 2 fl oz of vegetable oil (or other flavourless oil), 1 egg, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar), 2 1/2 tsp red food colouring (I used a powder but if using gel dye amend amount as you see fit) and finally 4 fl oz buttermilk (can be purchased or alternatively mix together 4fl oz milk and 1 tblsp of lemon juice and let stand for 5 mins). 

Next add in your dry ingredients - 163g plain flour, 207g caster sugar, 1 and 1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 heaped tsp of cocoa. 
Stir mixture on low speed and pour in 3 fl oz of hot water, less may be required so just keep an eye on the consistency of the mixture.

Pour the mixture into a tin lined twelve lined cupcake cases and bake in a preheated Gas Mark 4 oven for 15-17 minutes or until cooked and springy to the touch. I prefer to use muffin tins as it offers better support.

In the meantime to make the butter cream cheese frosting, beat 110g of butter until pale then add in 250g of icing sugar and beat until well combined. Pour in 2 1/2 tsp of milk and 15g of soft cream cheese and mix to incorporate. To make the frosting more cream cheese based, alter the amounts e.g. 90g of butter and 35g of cream cheese but ensure that it is always double the amount of fat to sugar.

Once the cakes are out of the oven leave to cool of a baking rack to ensure that air gets underneath the cakes.

Fit a piping bag with a 1M tip, fill with the frosting and pipe on rosettes - starting from the centre and swirling outwards. Sprinkle with edible gold glitter if desired.

These cupcakes can be eaten immediately (most likely) or stored in an airtight container for up to two days. 

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x 

Chocolate and Vanilla Frosted Fairy cakes

I'm definitely craving warmer weather now; Christmas has passed and it was a decidedly cosy affair, although I was working Christmas Eve, during the day we had a roast dinner and watched a hell of a lot of movies. The snows from the past few weeks are somewhat of a distant memory, the nights have finally started to get longer and I've ultimately excepted that the end of the year is pretty much here (I think this year passed by far too quickly). I always feel quite melancholy come late December, but right now I'm counting my blessings and الحمد لله its all good. Speaking of, we have a wedding to go to later tonight and I'm yet to locate my dress, but I'm still hoping to whip up a batch of these fairy cakes before all that #priorities. 

This is a standard Mary Berry recipe, meaning that its both quick and easy to make - she literally says that in the recipe header and I can confirm that is an accurate statement. Funnily enough I ended up getting a second copy of her '100 Recipes' book as a Secret Santa gift, I guess I unknowingly exude MB fangirl vibes (p.s. might do a little baking giveaway soon, follow me on Instagram to find out). Her recipe also indicates that these cakes are 'very effective for a children's party', so grab some children, throw a party and eat cake (or skip the first two steps, they'll taste good either way). I remember that a constant feature on the menu at our kiddy parties was decorated cupcakes, pilled with lots of Jelly Tots, chocolate and 100s & 1000s. These were the shop-bought bakers dozen cupcakes because ain't nobody got time for baking back then. Although this recipe is so easy I don't see why not! another noteworthy observation is that I opted for a more subdued colour palette and flavour profile (no offence to Jelly Tots), even though the rustic hand-made appearance is ever present. 

So to make these Chocolate and Vanilla Frosted Fairy cakes you will need the following ingredients:

- Margarine

- Caster sugar

- Self raising flour

- Eggs

- Baking powder

- Milk

- Vanilla essence/extract

- Cocoa powder

For this double batch of 24 fairy cakes begin by measuring out 200g of margarine and 200g of caster sugar. Beat both together until pale and fluffy.

Crack in four large eggs and mix until well incorporated (take care not to overbeat, the mixture may curdle at this stage but the addition of one spoon of flour can amend this).

Sift in 200g of self-raising flour and 2 level tsp of baking powder, along with a dash of milk to loosen up the mixture. Mix until well incorporated.

To make the chocolate fairy cakes, in a separate bowl mix together 2 tblsp of cocoa powder and 3 tblsp of hot water.

Add half of the cake batter and stir until mixed. To the remaining half mix in 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

Spoon the batter into paper cases fitted into a bun tin - fill each case until 3/4 full.

Place into an oven preheated to Gas Mark 6 and bake the fairy cakes until well risen and springy to the touch (approximately 15-20 minutes). Take out of the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

To make the vanilla frosting measure out double the amount of icing sugar to butter (200g sugar - 100g butter), then beat until pale and well blended. The longer you beat it for the better.

As for the chocolate frosting, dissolve 2 tblsp of cocoa powder in 3 tblsp of hot water, then as with the other frosting beat together 200g of sugar and 100g of butter. Stir in the chocolate mixture.

Spoon or pipe the frosting onto the cooled fairy cakes.  

Decorate with sprinkles, chocolate chips, edible glitter (or Jelly Tots!) - boxed up these fairy cakes also make a pretty homemade gift.

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x  

Peaches & Cream Cupcakes

In the food realm peaches and cream are a pretty iconic duo and rightly so as they compliment each other perfectly, but what's better than a duo? a trio, obviously. So I thought to add cupcakes into the equation, now I haven't ever tried adding moist fruit to cake batter before but I deemed it worth the risk as I'd already envisioned a pretty splendid scenario in my head. 
Involving an almost sound of music-esque scene, think grassy meadow, sunshine and of course peaches and cream cupcakes. Now although I'm very far from Salzburg, sunshine and Julie Andrews, the cupcakes turned out delicious and so it was worth it in the end. They're also perfect for a bank holiday weekend and an ode to spring even if the weather doesn't decide to comply.

In terms of moistness (undisputedly the grossest word ever) I decided to go all out and added peach syrup to the batter in addition to small peach pieces, all in all it was very peachy. The cupcakes themselves turned out so soft and light; I paired with some cream whipped to a ricotta like consistency and topped with a peach piece. I should also own up to the fact that I used canned peaches in fruit juice rather that their fresh counterparts, the reason being that I take easy over complicated when given the choice. However you can use fresh peaches and soak them for a few hours, but snobbery aside canned is preferred in this instance because it also comes with the peach syrup. 
I'm also very (peachy) keen on the recipe itself as its very easy and uses equal quantities of margarine, sugar and flour. 

So to make these peaches & cream cupcakes you will need a few ingredients:

1.   Margarine

2.   Caster sugar

3.   Self-raising flour

4.   Eggs

5.   Canned peach slices in light syrup

6.   Double cream

7.   Icing sugar  

To begin with, cream together 115g of margarine and 115g of caster sugar until light and fluffy, then crack in two medium sized eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition.

Then sift in 115g of self-raising flour and fold into the mixture (ensuring you don't make as much mess as I do).

Take around 250g of canned peach slices and chop them into pieces. Mix this into the batter along with 1 tablespoon of the light peach syrup.

Spoon the mixture into paper cases, about three quarters of the way full (these were actually muffin cases and so the cupcakes were slightly larger than they should be).

Bake in a Gas Mark 4 preheated oven for 25 minutes until golden brown. These cupcakes won't have as much of a rise or a domed appearance but thats expected because of the heavier ingredients.

To make the topping just whip 125ml of double cream and 1 tablespoon of icing sugar until the desired consistency is reached.
You can either either spoon or pipe this onto the cupcakes, then decorate with an additional peach slice.

These cupcakes make a very light fragrant dessert, meaning its so easy to eat more than one.
 😋

Enjoy!

 Q x