Nutella Cupcakes.

I'm assuming that my last post scared you into making your own Nutella...yesyes, I can indeed talk about it forever and eternity...if you have made it you'll be able to too of course; because it's just so bloomin' marv. If you haven't made it....whaaaaaaaat? Oh you haven't got a food processor? It's ok, pop round and use mine.

If I did scare/tempt you into making it...you might very well have a few tablespoons left. It's ooookkkkk to have gotten through 95% of it already, most of that having made it to your mouth via your fingers....don't worrrry, the only people that will judge you are the people that haven't tried it homemade and so just don't get it....their loss, they're on their way round round to my house now.....probs.

So yes, if you've managed to save a few drops...make these....they are kind of dense-brownie-ish sponge and have a secret Nutella filling and Nutella icing and Nutella on top. HeaVEN.

Okok, now I promiiiiise now to mention the N-word aaaany more...for a while anyway...I'll just have to think up something equally yumdiddlyscrumtious to take it's place....to the kitchen I sprint. With Love and Cake.

Nutella Cupcakes.

Adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery: Cupcakes and Muffins recipe book

A few notes:

• Of course you absolutely don't need to use homemade Nutella, the only thing that you might struggle with if you do use the bought stuff is the drizzle over the top of the buttercream because it's just not quite as drippy as homemade. No worries though, leave it off, or you could make a ganache perhaps.
• The cupcakes proper, are rather brownie-ish and squidgy rather that light and spongey, so don't be sad if they sink in the middle a bit, that's what icing is for; no one will eveeeer knoooow.
• I used what I would call muffin cases to make 8 of these...because that seems to be what cupcakes are these days; tall and fat...if you use the more traditional English fairy cake size cases, which have the same diameter as muffin cases but are not as tall, you'll probably get 12 from the mixture.

Makes 8-12

You will need

1 x 12 whole muffin pan, lined with cases (see notes)

For the cakes

40g butter, at room temperature

140g caster sugar

100g plain flour

2.5 tbsp cocoa

1.5 tsp baking powder

120ml milk

1 eggs, lightly beaten

120-ish-g Nutella 

For the icing

80g butter, at room temperature

250g icing sugar

2 tbsp milk

80g Nutella, plus extra for drizzling

• First let's get that oven on to 170°c.
• In a big mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with an electric hand whisk or wooden spoon until well combined.
• Stir in the flour, cocoa and baking powder so you have a sandy mixture.
• Add the flour and egg and mix everything together, beating well, to a smooth mix.
• Divide the mixture between your cases, so they are each about 2/3 full. If you have any empty holes in your muffin tin, fill them water to ensure even heat distribution in the oven.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cakes are deep brown and firm in the centre.
• Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, let's make the icing. Using a electric hand whisk (though a wooden spoon will do) beat the butter so it increases in volume and becomes lighter in colour.
• Next, beat in the icing sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon; I'm sorry, at this point, a sugary kitchen is just plain inevitable, until its all incorporated and you probably have a lumpy looking mess.
• Next beat in the milk and Nutella until you have a lovely light brown and very smooth paste.
• Now for assembly....using a small knife, or an apple corer cut out a little plug from the centre of each cup cake.
• Fill each hole with a teaspoon or so of Nutella and pop the little cake plug back in it's place.
• Using a piping bag or spoon and blunt knife, ice the cupcakes, and finally drizzle over a little of that beautiful Nutella.

Peanut Butter Heaven, I Mean Cupcakes.

Ooooww, oH ooooooooooooooooooooooooooomm. There are no words. There are NO WORDS. When I die, if I keep being good (shhh don’t tell), I will go here, right HERE, to the middle of this cupcake, so I can roll around in its wondrousness and know that I've made it all the way to heaven. But hey...why keep being good, they’re here, on earth, and you can go and make them now, today, and know that heaven on earth is in a cupcake. 

Ok, so I knew they would be good when I embarked upon the PB cupcake mission, but really, I would think an old battery tasted delish if you wrapped it up in natural peanut butter. But seeeeeeerioulsy. I had no clue that new heights of kitchen pleasure would be achieved. 

The sponge...pretty immensely peanut buttery. But it’s the icing that really does it; all fluffy and light and marshmallow and, of course, peanut buttery....but not in a claggy way, which I know is one of the thing peanut butter haters (what a strange breed) complain about. It’s the ‘Fluff’ you see, that weird American invention which is basically marshmallow in a jar, and is ever more of a pleasure to me because iiiiit’s veggie (yes people, marshmallows are not vegetarian usually and the deprivation is a struggle).

If you can’t find ‘Fluff’ or Marshmallow Creme’.....Hunt It. Down. Mine was a gift from one of my favourite people but I have it on good authority that Harvey Nicks is its original source. But even my local farm shop has it (obviously best shop EVER). If you really can’t find it or find the idea a bit repulsive, I understand, just omit it and you’ll have a regular peanut butter buttercream. Either way....MAKE THESE. Do a Nigella and shun guilt while taking earthly pleasure where you can. With Love and Cake.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes.

Icing inspiration from the Cookbook Queen herself.

A few notes:

• If the dunking in chocolate parts is one step too far into faff-dom for you then feel free to skip it, you can see that they look just as lovely without there brown coat.
• You might end up with a bit of icing and chocolate left over...I really don't see this as a hardship.

Makes 8

You will need

For the sponges

1x12 hole muffin pan, lined with 8 muffin cases

55g soft butter

170g smooth peanut butter

110g caster sugar

1 egg

a splosh of vanilla extract

155g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

155ml milk

For the icing

110g soft butter

110g peanut butter

1 splosh vanilla

2 tbsp milk

225g icing sugar

1/2 jar Fluff

For the chocolate layer

150g chocolate, milk or dark or a combo

50g butter

• First job....get your oven to 180°c.
• Then fill the empty holes in your muffin tin (as in, the ones with no muffin cases) with water. This just allows the heat to be distributed more evenly and everything cooks as equally as poss once in the oven.
• Now to make the sponge. In a nice big bowl cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar together with an electric hand whisk or a wooden spoon.
• Beat in the egg and vanilla until everything is well combined and the mixture is light and fluffy looking.
• Sift in the flour and baking powder and gently fold into the mix.
• Finally stir through the milk and divide the sandy coloured batter between the 8 muffin cases.
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until risen and golden.
• Allow the cakes to cool completely before even thinking about applying the icing.
• When it is icing time....beat the butter, peanut butter, vanilla and milk together until well combined and you have a nice smooth paste. 
• Sift over the icing sugar a bit at a time and beat in to combine.
• Finally stir through the Fluff until just combined...be gentle, you don't want to beat the fluffyness out.
• Pipe or spoon the icing onto the cakes, tryingtrying not to eat it all from the bowl.
• For the final dunking stage...melt the chocolate and butter together with short blasts in a medium microwave, being careful to check it regularly, burnt chocolate is not nice. Or you could use a double boiler.
• Pop the lovely liquid chocolate in a mug or little bowl that is just a bit wider and taller than the icing part of the cupcake.
• Slowly and carefully dunk the icing of each cake into the chocolate, pull it out slowly and turn the right way up. L
• eave to set to a soft, shiny, ohso heavenly shell. There are NO WORDS. 

Merry Christmas Cake Cupcakes.

IT'S CHRISTMAAAAAAS. Finally it feels appropriate to pull the party poppers, drink the mulled cider and deck the halls. It's time to celebrate with bells on. Although I'm the merriest of merry Christmas lovers, I still don't feel like I've reach the point where I need to go the whole hog and feed a cake, steam a pud and tinsel a tree.

I'll get there in not too many years I'm sure, but our micro-flat is not reeeeally Christmas hosting material, so a wreath and garland made after a good forage in the park takes the place of the tree. And instead of the soaking and steeping and religiously dolling out brandy to a big thirsty cake, it seems more appropriate to knock up a batch of these Cheerful Christmas Cupcakes. 

Another season...another vegetable cake, and they really do have a Christmas cake hat on. Fruit, spices, brandy- there's no omissions that could leave one craving more merriment. They're unashamedly festive, and perfect for sharing and parties, unlike a traditional Christmas cake which sometimes, I think, has an air of pompousness about him; all poshly jacketed and brandy fueled.  

Nothing 'brandy and cigar-y' about these lovelies, just cheeryness and sparkles. So whip up a batch and spread the joy (Cath Kidston Cupcake cases optional- but if you happen to be given some by a fabulous Secret Santa, even better). With Love and Cake.

Christmas Cupcakes

From Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache by Harry Eastwood, my vegecake bible.

A few notes:

• I tried and failed to make a lovely airy, shiny meringue icing. I 'stiff-upper-lipped' it and didn't have a kitchen-based meltdown (a not uncommon occurrence), but I wont tell you the recipe until I know how to make it work, so for now I'll give you a lovely traditional icing sugar drizzle.
• If you don't fancy forking out for a bottle of brandy especially for this, you could use any sort of spirit really...I've used sloe gin before. Or just use some orange juice.

Makes 12

You will need 

a 12 hole fairycake tin, lined with cases

80g sultanas

120g candied peel

4 tbsp brandy

4 eggs

100g dark Muscovado sugar

1/4 tsp salt

200g carrot, veryvery finely grated

grated zest of 1 lemon

100g plain flour

50g ground almonds

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground ginger

a pinch nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

60g glace cherries, halved

60g pecans, roughly chopped

200g icing sugar

3 tbsp water

• Preheat the oven to 180 °c.
• Soak the sultanas and peel in the brandy while you get on with the rest of the recipe.
• In a nice big bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and salt together with an electric hand whisk for a good 3 minutes, until light coffee coloured and nice and voluminous.
• Beat in the carrot and lemon zest, and then fold in the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and spices.
• Finally stir in the brandy soaked fruit.
• Divide the mixture equally between the cases and bake for around 25 minutes, until risen and golden.
• Once cooked, remove the cakes from the tin and cool on a wire wrack.
• While the cakes are cooling, mix the icing sugar and enough of the water together to make a drizzly paste.
• When, and only when, the cupcakes are 100% cool, drizzle over the icing and adorn with anything edible and shiney. 

Anti-September Strawberry and Elderflower Cupcakes.

Did you know it's September? Yes really. In fact, did you know it's halfway through September? Now, of course you knew that but have you really thought about what this means. Well firstly it means that I'm wearing tights today as.well.as.socks.

It means that blackberries and apples are on the foraging menu, but on the days that you could go and pick them, there's an actual hurricane blowing- in Scotland! It means that soon, it'll be October, which means I'll get excited about pumpkins, and then it'll be November and bonfires and then it'll be December, dark all the time December, lit only by an insatiable excitement for all things Christmas.

It means summer's behind us for another year. But despite gale force winds and empty park benches, I am not ready to give in yet.

It's not quiiite dark when the alarm goes off, and I'm not Vitamin D deficient yet. More importantly I still have a good stash of strawberries in the freezer and a healthy supply of elderflower cordial and brought together in these cupcakes, sunshine and flowers can be added to the darkest of winter days. Maybe an indoor picnic surrounded by holiday photos would complete the situation and allow us to close our eyes and feel the grass between our toes and the sun kiss our cheeks. With Love and Cake.

Strawberry and Elderdlower Cupcakes

adapted from Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache by Harry Eastwood

A few notes:

• Courgette? Yes courgette. Just play along and I shall go further into detail about vege cakes another time. I promise, I really will.
• If you don't have a stash of strawbs leftover from August times, you might be able to catch some super late varieties, otherwise mix it up a bit, use what's available and seasonal. How about blackberries?
• This butter icing doesn't taste as elderflower-ey as I was hoping for. If a true flower hit is what you've after, it would be best to go for a drizzle icing, just mix 140g icing sugar with 3 tbps elderflower cordial and drizzle over the cakes. I just love butter too much to leave it out. The amounts I've put below make A LOT of icing- but in my view, the more the butter better.

Makes 12

You will need 

a 12 hole muffin tin (not the shallow 'fairy cake' size)

For the cakes

2 eggs

140g caster sugar

200g courgette-topped and tailed and finely grated

3 tbsp elderflower cordial

80g plain flour

120g ground almonds

2 tsp baking powder

120g strawberries, roughly chopped

For the icing

300g butter at room temperature

150g icing sugar

3 tbsp elderflower cordial

• Line the muffin pan with muffin cases (again, not the shallower fairy cake ones, the deeper muffin ones) and preheat the oven to 180°.
• Whisk together the eggs and sugar for a good 5 minutes until pale and voluminous, either with an electric hand whisk or plenty of elbow grease.
• Stir in the grated courgette and cordial followed by the flour, almonds and baking powder and make sure everything's well combined.
• Now lightly mix in the strawberries and spoon the mixture into the paper cases so each case is about 4/5 full.
• Bake for 25 minutes until golden on top- they might still feel a bit squishy but that'll be because of the squishy berries rather than soggy cake batter so don't worry.
• Leave the cakes in the tin to cool for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire wrack to cool completely before you ice them.
• To make the icing, whisk the butter for a minute or two so it increases in volume.
• Whisk in half the icing sugar until a nice paste is formed then finally whisk in the rest of the sugar and cordial.
• I folded some red colouring into half the icing and then piped it on top of the cake using a piping bag and topped with sweeties. Feel free to do that too, or you could simply spoon the all-white icing evenly over the top of your cakes and maybe top with another strawberry. Either way they will be scrumptious, I'm sure.