Race day Cupcakes.

Phew it's been a pretty busy weekend for me, I am aware it's Monday night as well but since I had today off work my busy weekend was extended, and I still didn't have enough time to do everything on my to do list. (Ashamedly I am going to admit that this is an actual list! I am a little ocd when it comes to writing lists.)

So the weekend for me started off on Friday night when I took part in a 3 hour Zumbathon for Comic relief. I donned a red tutu and danced Zumba for the full 3 hours. By the time I got home it was 10pm, I hadn't eaten yet and I had cupcakes to ice. As the next day I had to get up at 6.30am to go Go Karting.

It has become a bit of a tradition now that when I meet up with a group of my old School friends that I bring Cupcakes. It has come to be expected that even if we are just going to the pub that after our pub dinner I dish out cupcakes (Much to the annoyance of the pub manager)  So when we all decided to go Go Karting I couldn't disappoint and I brought along some appropriately decorated cupcakes.

Then after Go Karting cue pub dinner and dessert (Had to balance out all the sport some how) 

Then there was Sunday in which I went to visit my old High School before it is torn down and replaced by the new one that has been built. It's kinda sad but it really did need it as some parts of the school looked very old and tired. After I'd finished looking round the school I went onto the christening party of a friends baby then to the pub again (There's a theme here). And then I got home and It all caught up with me and I fell asleep on the couch as soon as I sat down.

So all in all even I was surprised that I found time to make the race day cupcakes and even some cupcake toppers for them.

Here they are:

For first second and third place! I don't have a printer so I had to draw these toppers in back Biro.

Ready set go cupcakes in corresponding cases (There were 6 of these) for those drivers who didn't place.

And finally a chequered flag cupcake using fondant icing died black, cut into squares and placed over butter cream.

I discovered that even though I found Go Karting very fun I'm not the best driver (not surprising considering I've never driven a real car) but if you bring cupcakes no one really mentions when you lose hehe.

For the cakes I just stuck with trusty chocolate as it always pleases with a vanilla butter cream. The recipes for this is on an earlier blog. and each topper was made using the bottom of 2 cake cases, a bamboo skewer and spray mount.

I also helped boyfriend today make a chocolate bunt cake for his mum and dad but he said I couldn't take a picture of it as he didn't feel it was worthy but I think he did well.

Any way so that was my busy weekend that still involved cupcakes but no new recipe sorry!

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Last week was my fab friend Alex's birthday week (Yes she gets a whole week for her birthday) and she had requested I make her some cupcakes to take into her work. It's always struck me as an odd tradition people bringing cake in on their birthday I mean surely they should be supplied with cake, not be the suppliers.

Any way either way there is cake involved so I'm happy. Alex had asked for 6 pretty pink or blue vanilla cupcakes and 6 chocolate orange cupcakes (however she gave into temptation and only 5 of theses made it to work)

Before I started making them I went shopping for cupcake cases as I didn't want to use plain white and when I got home I realised that recently I have been buying waaaay to many cupcake cases:

Any way onto the cakes, I wanted to make Alex's vanilla cakes super cute so I topped them of with a cherry, sprinkles and a sherbet strawberry straw! Here they are:

The colour doesn't come out to well in the pic but they were a really bubblegum pink colour.
And here are the chocolate orange cakes:

And here's how they're made

makes 12

Chocolate orange cupcakes:

100g Plain Flour
20g Cocoa powder
140g Caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
Zest of 1 orange
40g Butter
100ml milk
1 Egg
Juice of 1 orange
2 tsp Orange extract

Preheat the oven to 170 degC. Put the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, orange zest and butter in a mixing bowl and mix together or rub between your fingertips until you get a sandy consistency.

Add the Orange juice and stir.

Whisk the milk and egg together and add half of this to the mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until just incorporated. Add the remaining milk mix. Stir in the orange extract then taste and add a little more juice or extract if needed.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the sponge bounces back when touched. Leave to cool on a wire rack whilst you make the frosting.


Chocolate Orange frosting.

300g Icing sugar
100g Unsalted butter
40g Cocoa powder
40ml milk
1 tsp Orange extract

Combine all the ingredients with an electric whisk until smooth, then pipe or spoon over cooled cakes.
Top with a slice of chocolate orange or some grated orange zest.

And that's it. hope you all had a wonderful week.

Cupcake Kris xx

Linked to foodie-friends-friday-linky-party

Chocolate and Peanut Butter High-Hat Cupcakes.

I'm a happy bunny today because not only did I get a pretty new pink mixing bowl but I also finally got round to making High-hat cupcakes, and they didn't turn out the complete disaster that I feared they would.

They didn't look as good as I'd hoped but for a first attempt they will suffice. However the taste made up for the slightly sloppy appearance. I mean how do you make a cupcake better... that's right! Dip it in chocolate!

Here they are:

And in the middle: Peanut butter frosting:

First I started out with some basic chocolate cupcakes. I did my usual trick of bumping into the oven and accidentally turning it up - go me. Good job I noticed in time and turned it down before they burnt. You can find the recipe for them here.

Then to make the peanut butter frosting I blended

40g Butter
A big heaped tablespoon of smooth peanut butter
30ml Milk
250g Icing Sugar

Then pipe this on top of your cooled cakes. Now the important bit. Put the frosted cakes in the freezer to chill. this will help keep the icing in one piece and attached to the cake when dipping. (I learnt the hard way not to be impatient with this stage)

Whilst the cakes are in the freezer melt some chocolate in a bowl over a pan of water (I used about 300g chocolate and this was enough for 6 cakes.) Then pour the melted chocolate into something deep enough to dip the icing. I used a wide brimmed hi-ball glass. leave this to cool for a little bit so the chocolate doesn't instantly melt the icing. I found the chocolate I used (it wasn't the best quality chocolate) was a little thick so I used a teaspoon of milk to thin it a little.

Then comes the nerve wracking bit. Take a cupcake, and holding it upside down dip it in the chocolate and lift out. Twist the cake so any excess chocolate dips off and then leave to chill till the chocolate sets.

I really wish I would have got boyfriend to take pictures of the cake being dipped but I was to busy panicking everything would go wrong.

I also made some diddy tiny versions, I don't know why everything is just cuter tiny!

These are really tiny and just one bite worth.

When I ran out of peanut butter frosting I frosted some cakes with chocolate butter cream then drizzled some with caramel coloured white chocolate and dipped some in it. The white chocolate was a bit thicker so slightly smooshed the icing down as it coated it.

Ok so confession, the chocolate wasn't meant to be caramel coloured it was originally plain white but I spilled a tiny bit of cocoa powder in it. Ooops! I don't have a picture of these cut in half as I'm saving them for tomorrow. 

And that's it! Not the highest or neatest of high hat cupcakes but the taste definitely makes up for it. The peanut butter frosted ones work perfectly with the sweetness of the chocolate and the slightly salty peanut butter taste of the frosting. I think they are boyfriends new favorite and I'm definitely going to be trying them again to see if I can improve.

I've linked this post up to a great blog that lets bloggers post all their yummy sweet treats they've made this week if your ever looking for hundreds of ideas for cakes just look here 

Any way that's it for now.

Keep baking

Cupcake Kris

xxx