Ironcupcake London: Perfect Pairs

On Monday night I entered the March round of Ironcupcake London, and this month the theme was 'Perfect Pairs'. Bakers had to make cupcakes which combine two flavours and I have to admit the standard of entries was amazing. Some people came up with really imaginative combinations and all of the cakes I sampled were delicious. Here are some photos from the night:

So many cupcakes to choose from - this is just a selection of some of them.

The strawberry cupcakes in the photo above were made by my friend who has hardly baked before and was entering ironcupcake for the first time. I was so proud of her - she did an amazing job and her cupcakes were perfect. She even made little strawberries out of sugarpaste - such an awesome effort.

I chose to make Vodka and Cranberry Cupcakes with a marshmallow frosting. Here they are straight out of the oven:

....and here's how they turned out:

I'm a massive fan of marshmallow frosting at the moment. It is so much lighter than buttercream and is easy to make. It was a perfect way to finish off these cupcakes.

If you want to have a go at making these cupcakes, here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Vodka and Cranberry Cupcakes (makes 24)

• 250g unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups dried cranberries
• 1 1/3 cup plain flour
• 2/3 cup self raising flour
• 1/2 cup vodka

Marshmallow frosting

• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 egg whites
• 4 tbsp vodka (or to taste)
• Food colouring (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C (or 150C fan-forced). Beat butter, vanilla essence and sugar in a bowl with electric beaters until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in cranberries, then sift in the flours and mix well. Lastly stir through the vodka. Divide the mixture into 24 cupcake cases and bake them for approximately 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into their middle comes out clean. Once they are baked, cool them completely on a wire rack before icing.

In the meantime, to make the frosting, combine water and caster sugar in a saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar is melted. Allow the syrup to simmer for about 5 minutes (if you have a candy thermometer, the temperature should reach 116C). The syrup will thicken but should remain clear (if it turns brown - into toffee - then it is overdone). Remove from heat and allow it to cool slightly. Next, beat eggwhites with an electric beater until soft peaks form. Add the warm syrup in a continuous stream to the eggwhites while still beating. Continue mixing for another 7-10 minutes until the frosting is light and glossy. Finally, stir in vodka and food colouring if desired. Decorate the cupcakes with the frosting then top with decorations.

Happy baking!

Ironcupcake London - Love Month

The first round of Ironcupcake London for 2010 was held on Monday and the theme was 'love'.......a perfect excuse to practice making sweet treats for our valentines. There were so many amazing entries on the night - and even though this month there were separate categories for professionals and amateurs, all of the cupcakes on display were fabulous. As I looked at all of the cupcakes before the eating frenzy started, I felt like I was in a bakery. The standard of entries is growing from strength to strength. Here are some shots from the night:

You can see my cupcakes in the picture above (the second plate of cupcakes from the front). I decided to create simple cupcakes this month and made rose flavoured sponge cakes decorated with an assortment of handmade sugarpaste decorations. Here's a close up of some of them:


If you want to make some for yourself, here's the recipe:

Cupcakes
110g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2 medium eggs
150g self raising flour
125g plain flour
225g caster sugar
1/2 tsp rosewater
125ml skim milk

Buttercream
150g unsalted butter at room temperature
5 tbsp skim milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
500g icing sugar (sifted)
1 tsp rosewater
pink food colouring (optional)

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 180C. Mix butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until the mixture is pale in colour and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure they are mixed in well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, sift in the flours then put the bowl to one side. Next mix the rosewater and milk in a jug. Feel free to add more or less rosewater, depending on your taste preference. By the way, if you can't find rosewater in the supermarket (or specialty baking store), you can easily make your own by boiling washed rose petals (I used about 15) in 1 cup of water in a saucepan until the petals disintegrate. Strain the liquid and allow to cool before adding it to the milk (as mentioned previously). Right, getting back to the cupcakes, add 1/3 of the flours to the butter mixture and mix well before adding 1/3 of the flavoured milk. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk has been added and mixed together well. Spoon the mixture into cupcake cases (about half full) then bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into their middle comes out clean. Try not to peek in the oven too many times while the cupcakes are baking otherwise they may sink. Once the cupcakes are cooked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire tray completely before icing.

In the meantime prepare the buttercream frosting by beating butter, milk, vanilla and 1/2 of the icing sugar together until the mixture is smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and mix well again. Lastly, add the rose water and pink food colouring (if desired) and mix thoroughly. Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag and pipe swirls onto the cupcakes. I also applied the buttercream to some cupcakes with a palette knife to create a variety of different textures which I could then decorate with sugarpaste flowers and hearts.

Hope you enjoy baking these cupcakes x

Iron Cupcake London - Round IV

On Tuesday I entered the 4th round of Iron Cupcake. This month the theme was 'Cupcakes of the World' and there were 34 entries from 22 bakers! Each month the competition is becoming more popular and the standard of the entries is amazing. I can't wait until next month. Here are some of the cupcakes I sampled......


The one on the plate with the green swirly icing and little pink flower won on the night - it was also my favourite - green tea and red bean paste mousse- and was absolutely divine!

I made 2 entries again this time - sushi cupcakes (Japan) and champagne cupcakes (France). I didn't win, but I had a lot of fun baking and decorating!

Here are the French chmapagne cupcakes decorated with little red/white/blue fondant flowers. They were really light and fluffy - think it must have been from the champagne bubbles.

The sushi cupcakes were dark chocolate and green tea, decorated with fondant sushi pieces. I used white sprinkles as rice for the nigiri sushi pieces and little orange nonpareils for the salmon roe. The nori rolls had gummy lollies as their filling. I'll definitely be making these again!

Happy baking x

Iron Cupcake London

Tomorrow is the third round of Iron Cupcake London and it'll be the first time I'm entering in this competition. For anyone who might be interested in also competing check out http://www.ironcupcake.co.uk/

Each month entrants have to bake a cupcake that meets the theme or uses the key ingredient chosen for the month. This round, the theme is 'dessert-inspired' cupcakes. I decided to make 2 entries - banana spilt sundae cupcakes and croche-en-bouche cupcakes.

The banana split cupcakes are banana and choc-chip cake, topped with buttercream, lolly bananas, mini marshmallows and dark organic chocolate.

The croche en bouche cupcakes are made of an almond cupcake base filled with vanilla bean custard, and topped with mini profiteroles I made with piped choux pastry. The profiteroles are held together with drizzled toffee.

I hope they taste ok. I'll let you know how I go in the competition.