Mount Blanc cupcakes

"Mount Blanc" cake was one of my favourite cakes when I was little.
My mum wasn't a baker, so she got these beauties from the local bakery.
So, this reminds me of my childhood.
I leant that the French make "Mont Blanc" with meringue. But my Japanese version of Mont Blanc uses very soft sponge cake as a base rather than meringue. 
When you cut this little Mont Blanc, you will see the fresh cream inside. What a treat. :)

Sponge base (for 10 cupcakes)

• 2 eggs
• 35g sugar
• 30g Self raising (or 30g plain flour + ½ tsp BP)
• 5g cocoa powder (optional, if you would like to make chocolate sponge)

Method:

1. Whisk the eggs with a hand mixer until very fluffy and pale in colour.
2. Keep whisking and add sugar in three batches.
3. Add sifted flour all at once and gently fold with a spatula to combine the egg mixture and flour. Do not over mix.  You need to keep the air in the mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into the muffin cases.
5. Bake them in a preheated oven at 170c for 15-20 minutes.
6. Cool them completely before decorating.
7. Make sugar syrup with 3 tsp sugar, 2 tsp water  and 1 tsp rum.
8. Brush the sugar syrup on top of each cake.

Now, the cupcakes are ready to be decorated.

You'll need whipped double cream and sweet chestnut puree. (Click here for the recipe)

1. Place a mound of whipped cream in the middle of each cake.
2. Mix the chestnut puree with 1 tsp of rum and put it in a piping bag.
3. Pipe the chestnut puree around the mound of whipped cream to create a “Mount Blanc” effect.

Orange and Crème Fraîche Cupcakes

I really enjoyed the Sicilian oranges from my lovely Italian friend.
Here are the cupcakes which have orange zest in the cake mixture. I only used the zest of orange but the lovely orange flavour was certainly there in the cake. I used crème fraîche instead of milk for the cake mixture to compliment the fresh flavour of orange. They are really moist and have a light texture.

I'm not a "pretty cupcake" maker really but I just felt like making something a little fancier than my usual products.  So I decorated them with my take on "buttercream icing". I used crème fraîche. The common ratio between icing sugar and butter is 2:1. You also need milk to loosen the consistency of the frosting.
I replaced 25% of butter with crème fraîche, which I think provides a good balance for piping the frosting. You can replace butter with margarine if you really want to go for the low-fat option like I did.
Well, they tasted pretty good. :)

Ingredients

• 6 oz low-fat spread  
• 6 oz caster Sugar
• 6 oz SR flour (or Plain flour + 1 tsp baking powder) 
• 1 egg  (When I used 2 eggs, the cupcakes sank as a result of too much liquid.)
• zest of 1 orange (or lemon)
• 100ml crème fraîche

For crème fraîche frosting

• 75g butter or margarine  
  
• 25g crème fraîche
• 200g icing sugar
• ¼ tsp vanilla paste
• zest of ½ orange  

 Method 

1. Pre-heat the oven 160-180 °c.
2. Put all ingredients in the food processer and mix well. (all-in-one method)     To make a dropping consistency, you may need to add more crème fraîche.
3. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
4. When the cupcakes are baked, let them stand for 5 minutes, then turn out to cool.
5. Decorate with lemon juice + icing sugar mixture or pour a drop of crème fraîche on top to make the cupcakes into a dessert. If you prefer, you can make crème fraîche frosting to decorate them.

Golden Syrup Cupcakes

Oops ... No sugar? Ah, but I've got golden syrup in the cupboard.
So, here they are, I made golden syrup cupcakes.  As an experiment, I put everything in a bowl and mixed with an electric hand mixer. Easy does it. :)  The result was surprisingly great. The texture of the cupcakes was really fine. They have an almost velvety like texture and they are very light and moist. They also have the rich sugary flavour of golden syrup.
Ah, I have to mention that I put some chopped prunes which I happened to have in my cupboard.
So these are really "cupboard cupcakes."

Ingredients

• 6 oz low-fat spread (or butter if you prefer) 
• 6 oz golden syrup
• 6 oz SR flour (or Plain flour)
• 1 tsp baking powder (if you use the Plain flour, increase the BP to 2 tsp)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp  Milk

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven 160-180 °c      
2. Put all ingredients in the food processer and mix well. Or put all  ingredients in a bowl and mix with  electric hand mixer.
3. Add more milk if necessary until you achieve the dropping texture  
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared muffin cases in the muffin baking try.
5. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes
6. When the cupcakes are baked, let them stand for 5 minutes in the baking tray, then turn them out. 

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Believe it or not, these are "vegan friendly" cupcakes. I was searching for a cake recipe for my vegan friend and found a recipe which is totally egg-free and dairy-free.   This recipe doesn't require any unusual ingredients. I call this "absolutely cupboard ingredients cake".   I wasn't sure how the cupcakes would turn out as the recipe seemed to be too simple.   However, I was pleasantly surprised by the result.
These cupcakes are really moist, soft, light and full of flavour.   You wouldn't believe these are totally egg and daily free. I made cupcakes, but this recipe would also work as a sponge base for any decorated cake. When you bake it in a cake tin, it just bakes for longer.  
I put crushed walnuts on top before baking them.  Lovely. :)


Ingredients

• 200g (7 oz) self-raising flour 
• 200g (7 oz) caster sugar
• 4 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 5 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 250ml (8 floz) water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 C / gas 4. Lightly grease a 13x23cm loaf tin or a 20cm round cake tin.                 If you make cupcakes, prepare muffin cases.  
2. Sieve together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add oil, vanilla, lemon juice and water. Mix together until smooth.
3. Pour into prepared tin or muffin cases and bake for 40 minutes for cake tin or 20 minutes for cupcakes. Check it's cooked by inserting a skewer. If it's clean on withdrawl then it's cooked.
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

very moist dessert cupcakes

These lovely cupcakes are really light, soft, moist and juicy. You can use different fruit like chopped apples, pears etc., but I found mixed berries are just so brilliant. :)  I love these cupcakes with creme fraiche for dessert.  Or decorating them with buttercream would be nice .... but a bit naughty, perhaps ...
I added the recipe for the buttercream in case you fancy it.

Ingredients (approx. 10 cupcakes)

• 6 oz plain flour  (or self raising flour) 
• 6 oz caster sugar
• 6 oz low-fat spread (or butter if you prefer)
• 2 tsp baking powder (if you use plain flour, but not if you use self raising flour)
• 2 eggs
• 1-2 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 120g frozen mixed berries (or fresh ones if you have them) 

Method

1. Put all ingredients (except the berries) in a bowl and whisk up with an electric whisk. The mixture should have a dropping consistency. Add a bit more milk to get the right consistency.
2. Fold the berries into the cake mixture very gently not to break the berries.
3. Pour the mixture into cupcake cases that are placed in the tin.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven (180c). 
5. When the cupcakes are baked, leave then in the tin for a few minutes and then take them out to cool.
6. Cupcakes are ready to be decorated with butter cream, cream cheese or creme fraiche.  

Basic buttercream icing ingredients  

• 140g / 5 oz  butter softened 
• 280g / 10 oz icing sugar 
• 1-2 Tbsp milk
• a few drops of food colouring 

Method

1. Beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. 
2. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Beat in the milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture.
3. Stir in the food colouring until well combined.

"seriously lemony" lemon Drizzle cupcakes

Lots of people are having nasty colds at this time of year. My very good friend had one and she said she would be off work and staying in bed. Poor thing. :(   Fortunately, I'm ok so far, so I decided to make little cupcakes to cheer her up.   These are "seriously lemony" cupcakes which contain lots of vitamin C which, I hope, helps her to fight the cold.  I posted "lemon drizzle muffins" in this blog before, but these are "lemon drizzle cupcakes" ... yes, different. I understand that muffins and cupcakes are different things. Muffins tend to use a liquid form of fat like vegetable oil whereas cupcakes likely require a solid form of fat like butter or margarine. 

So, here are my cupcakes filled with a lot of lemony moisture. Ahhhh, seriously good. 

Ingredients (8-9 cupcakes) 

• 6 oz plain flour  (or self raising flour)  
  
• 6 oz caster sugar
• 6 oz low-fat spread (or butter if you prefer)
• 2 tsp baking powder (if you use plain flour)
• 2 eggs
• 1-2 Tbsp milk
• zest of 1 lemon

      For the lemon syrup

• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp sugar 

Method

1. Put all ingredients (except the lemon syrup) in a bowl and whisk up with an electric whisk. The mixture should have a dropping consistency. If not add a bit of milk.
2. Pour the mixture into cupcake cases that are placed in the tin.
3. Bake for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven (180c). 
4. When the cupcakes are baked, leave then in the tin for a few minutes and then take them out to cool.
5. When the cupcakes are still slightly warm, make a few holes in each cupcake and pour the lemon syrup over each one. (about 1-2 tsp each) 
6. Let them absorb the lemon syrup. 

Ginger Cupcakes

Somehow..... I like to eat warm gingerbread with a very milky cup of tea on a cold day. 

Well, these cupcakes are not in the shape of a gingerbread cake, but they are moist and spicy with all the goodness of gingerbread cake, but in a lovely little cupcake shape. I decorated them with lemon icing.  

They would be really nice with chopped apples, raisins or stem-ginger in the batter.  Yum. :) 

Ingredients  (8 cupcakes)

• 140g low-fat margarine
• 100g dark brown mascovado Sugar
• 70g caster sugar 
• 40g golden syrup
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 200g plain flour 
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method

1.     Preheat oven to 180 °C.

2.     Melt the margarine, sugar and golden syrup in a bowl in a microwave.

3.     Sieve the flour, baking powder, ginger and cinnamon into a mixing bowl.

4.     Stir in the milk, beaten egg and cooled liquid mixture.

5.     Mix everything together gently and then pour the mixture into the muffin cases.

6.     Bake in a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Here are my "apple ginger cupcakes."
I grated 1 apple and mixed them into the wet mixture before adding the dry mixture.
This time, I decorated them with lemon and ginger icing.  (icing sugar + ground ginger + lemon juice)

They really are very moist.  :)

Vanilla Cupcakes with Low-fat Butter Cream Icing

I was searching for a low-fat butter cream icing recipe .... and I couldn't find one .... 

I know it's a bit silly to look for  low-fat "butter cream" as the whole point of using butter is the "full-fat", isn't it?   There were some recipes that use baking margarine or low-fat spread to make a butter cream substitute. However, I heard that the "margarine cream icing" has never tasted good. 

Well, in that case, I thought to myself, why not use a small amount of butter to keep some flavour of butter and add something to reduce the total amount of fat.   So, I made butter and crème fraiche icing. This was my first attempt and I loved it.   My cream keeps the lovely butter flavour and yet is very fluffy and light.    It has a slightly cream cheese flavour which is a great.  I made this cream with 50g butter and 100g crème fraiche.   I like the soft and light texture, but it is a bit messy to eat.   So, for good solid piping, I would recommend 50g butter and 50g crème fraiche. Then you can add crème fraiche little by little until the texture becomes how you like it. 

Ingredients (for 7-8 muffins) 

• 110g/4oz butter or margarine, softened at room temperature
• 110g/4oz caster sugar
• 2 free-range eggs, (I used learge eggs) lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 110g/4oz self-raising flour 
• 1 tbsp milk (optional) 

  For low-fat buttercream icing

• 50g butter, softened
• 200g icing sugar
• 50g-100g half-fat crème fraiche
• a few drops of food colouring and vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a  muffin tin with paper cases. 
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale. Beat in the eggs a little at a time and stir in the vanilla extract.
3. Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon, adding a little milk to make a dropping consistency if needed. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until they are half full.
4. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
5. For the butter cream icing, beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
6. Then add the remaining icing sugar with crème fraiche, adding more crème fraiche if necessary, until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
7. Add the food colouring and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
8. Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe the icing using a spiralling motion onto the cup cakes in a large swirl.

Lemony Cupcakes

Believe it or not, these are my first ever attempt at making cupcakes. I had never made them before.
Well... I've been baking a lot of muffins by now. I must admit almost an obsession as I kept baking muffins in the last few months. Yesterday, I ran out of vegetable oil which I believe is an essential ingredient for making muffins. I think vegetable oil gives muffins a very light fluffy texture compared with using butter or margarine. So, no vegetable oil, but I couldn't be bothered rushing to the supermarket just for that.
So, plan B... Ah.. Why not cupcakes? Cupcakes are cakes, not muffins, so they say... They have a different texture altogether. Therefore, cupcakes require different ingredients and a different method. Cupcakes need butter or margarine instead of a liquid form of fat, and more eggs. For making cupcakes, I can use an electric whisk.
Result: The texture is quite dense and very moist. They are cakes after all. They should be like that, shouldn't they?  I love a lemony flavour, so I made a mixture of lemon curd, extra lemon juice and icing sugar for the top of each cupcake.


 Ingredients

• 125 g Self-Raising Flour  (or Plain Flour + 1tsp Baking Powder)
• 125 g Caster Sugar
• 125 g Unsalted Butter or Margarine
• 2 Medium Eggs
• ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tablespoon Milk 
• Lemony mixture ( Lemon Curd + Icing Sugar + Lemon Juice )

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C  (Electric oven | Electric fan oven 160°C | Gas Mark 4) and place paper cases into a muffin tin.
2. Using an electric whisk, food processor or wooden spoon, beat the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each one in well before adding the next. Add the vanilla essence if using.
4. Carefully fold in the flour and baking powder with a spatula.
5. Bake in the oven for 10 - 20 minutes. After 10 minutes, check to see if the cupcakes are ready by inserting a cocktail stick into one of the cupcakes. If it comes out dry then the cupcakes are done. If not, then put them back in the oven for a few minutes more. Don't overcook the cupcakes otherwise they will dry out. Lift the cupcakes out of the muffin tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
6. Make the lemony mixture and pour on each cupcake.