Halloween Cupcakes

Using a simple cupcake recipe, the decorations can be added on top for the real spooky effect. For these cupcakes I used a chocolate cupcake recipe.

Cupcake #1 - Ghosts
Ingredients:
 Chocolate Cupcakes
 White fondant icing
 Large marshmallows
 Black writing icing

Method:
1. On top of the cupcake, place a it of black writing icing in the centre and attach one marshmallow.
2. Roll out the white fondant icing and cut into a circle shape (big enough to cover the marhmallow).
3. Place on top of the marshmallow and manipulate so it falls as desired. 4. Decorate the icing with a scary ghost face!


Cupcake #2 - Pumpkin 
Ingredients:
Cupcake
Icing sugar
Orange food colouring (or red and yellow and combine)
Black writing icing

Method:
1. Create the icing with icing sugar and a small amount of water. Dye the icing sugar orange with food colouring.
2. Place on the cake and when dry (or in the process of drying) add a scary pumpkin face.


Cupcake #3 - Cobweb complete with Spider
Ingredients:
Cupcake
White writing icing
Black writing icing

Method:
1. With the white writing icing, create a cobweb across the entire cake.
2. Add a spider with the black icing for extra decoration.


Have a great Halloween!

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

Who doesn't love oreos?!

Ingredients:
110g Butter
110g Caster Sugar
60g Self raising flour
50g Cocoa powder
2 Eggs
Chocolate Buttercream
Oreo Minis

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees or gas mark 4 and line a cupcake baking tray with cases.
2. Mix the caster sugar and butter in a bowl, then add the flour and cocoa powder and eggs and blend until fully mixed.
3. Fill the cupcake cases and bake for 20 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
4. Take out of the oven and wait to cool.
5. Decorate the cupcakes with chocolate buttercream and a mini oreo on top. The buttercream could also have crushed oreo in it.

Raspberry filled Almond Cupcakes

These were made purely because I baked some cherry bakewell tarts and had spare cake mix. Because I also had spare jam, I filled the middle of the cupcakes and decorated them as normal. The jam keeps them wonderfully moist in the middle and the almond and raspberry compliment each other extremely well, these cupcakes really are a delicious twist to a standard vanilla sponge.

I would highly recommend these cupcakes to make! Only a few different ingredients but they have an exceptional taste.

This recipe makes 12 standard cupcakes.

Ingredients:
110g butter, softened
110g caster sugar
2 medium free-range eggs
55g ground almonds
55g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp almond extract
Raspberry jam (for filling)

Icing sugar

Dried raspberry pieces (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (gas mark 4) and fill a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. 

2. Place the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until smooth.

3. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, adding 1 tbsp ground almonds after each addition. 

4. Add the flour, remaining almonds and almond extract and stir well.

5. Fill the cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked (an inserted knife will come out clean). 

6. Take out of the oven and leave to cool.

7. Once cooled, using a teaspoon dig into the centre of the cupcakes and remove some of the sponge. Take care not to remove sponge such that the bottom of the cake case is being exposed. Fill the gap with raspberry jam to fill to the top.

8. Create a thick icing with the icing sugar and water and decorate on top. Add optional dried raspberry pieces.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes

These are chocolate chip fairy cakes, topped with a simple butter icing and a miniature bite-sized Maryland cookie for decoration. I made these for my mum who is feeling a little poorly. There is nothing like cookies and cake to make someone feel better!

Ingredients:
110g Butter
110g Caster Sugar
110g Self raising flower
1tbsp Vanilla extract
1tbsp Milk
2 Free range eggs
Chocolate chips
For the decoration;
50g Butter
100g Icing sugar
Maryland bite-sized cookies

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/ gas 4. Line a cake tin with cupcake liners.
2. Using an electric hand whisk, mix the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla extract, then gradually beat in to the butter mixture, adding a little of the flour.
4. Sift over the remaining flour and gently fold in until just combined.

5. Add in the chocolate chips (this is optional as to how many chips you would like in your cupcakes).
6. Evenly place into the cake tins.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and golden. Cool for 10 minutes, then place onto a wire rack and set aside to cool.

8. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the icing by creaming the butter and icing sugar together. You may want to add more icing sugar for the correct consistency.

9. Pipe the icing onto the cakes and place the cookies on top for decoration.

Mini Malteser Cupcakes

These are the same as the Rolo cupcakes I wrote about!

Ingredients:
50g Butter
50g Caster sugar
30g 70% dark cocoa powder
25g Sel-raising flour
1 egg
For the icing and decoration;
50g Icing sugar
30g butter
Chocolate Maltesers

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/ gas 4.
2. Using an electric hand whisk, mix the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and beat the mixture.
4. Sift in the cocoa powder and flour and gently fold in until combined.
5. Pour the cake mix into the mini cupcake cases.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen; a knife should come out of the cakes clean when inserted. Leave out to cool.
7. To make the icing; cream the butter and icing sugar together. More icing sugar may need to be added.
8. Pipe onto the cakes.

9. Crush some Maltesers and sprinkle on top of the cakes. Then add a whole Malteser on top for decoration. 

Mini Rolo Cupcakes

These are simple to make and can be transformed into normal sized cupcakes, but for this recipe I made enough for approximately 18 miniature cupcakes.

Ingredients:
50g Butter
 50g Caster sugar
 30g 70% dark cocoa powder
 25g Sel-raising flour
 1 egg
 For the icing and decoration;
50g Icing sugar
30g butter
Chocolate Rolos

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/ gas 4.
2. Using an electric hand whisk, mix the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and beat the mixture.
4. Sift in the cocoa powder and flour and gently fold in until combined.
5. Pour the cake mix into the mini cupcake cases.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen; a knife should come out of the cakes clean when inserted. Leave out to cool.

7. To make the icing; cream the butter and icing sugar together. More icing sugar may need to be added. 

8. Pipe onto the cakes and place a Rolo on top for decoration. 

Neopolitan Cupcakes

These are a great summer treat! This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

 Ingredients
 110g caster sugar
 110g butter
 110g self raising flower
2 large eggs
I tbsp vanilla extract
4tbsp 70% cocoa powder
Milk
For the icing
100g butter
100g icing sugar
Red food colouring
Chopped strawberries or raspberries for decoration (optional)

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tin with cupcake cases.
2. Mix together the butter and caster sugar with an electric whisk. Add in the eggs one at a time and whisk.
3. Mix in the flour slowly and mix in between adding. Add the vanilla extract and any milk that may be required so the consistency is such that it drops off the whisk or a spoon.
4. Split the mixture in two. For the first mixture, spoon this into one half of the cupcake tins only.
5. For the other mixture, add in the cocoa powder (more may be added depending on how chocolatey this part of the cake needs to be). The consistency can be returned to what it was with more milk.
6. Spoon the chocolate mixture into the other half of the cupcake cases.
7. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
8. For the icing, cream together the butter and icing sugar to form a paste. Add the red food colouring.
9. Apply the icing to the cakes. Add decorations if required.

Enjoy!

Minion Cupcakes

Homemade minion cupcakes! I needed a science theme for some cupcakes and I thought minions would be ok. These are great for many generations, or those that love Despicable Me as a movie.

Ingredients
Different colours of Fondant Icing
Baked Cupcakes
Black icing tube

Method: 
1. Roll out yellow fondant icing and cut out circles with cookie cutters that are roughly the same size as your cupcakes to decorate.
2. Roll out grey and white fondant icing as well. These colours can also be made.
3. Cut out smaller grey circles and some strips for the goggles of the minions. Stick on top of the yellow layer on top of the cupcakes.
4. Make even smaller white icing circles and put these as the eye whites.
5. Decorate with hair, eye pupils and mouths with a black icing tube.

Mini Carrot Cakes

This is exactly the same recipe as from my Cheeky Rabbit Carrot Cake, only with subtle differences.

Ingredients:
200g Self Raising flour
200g Caster sugar
200g Butter
4 Eggs
170g Carrots, finely grated
100g Chopped Walnuts
1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
1tbsp Ground Nutmeg
Butter Icing
Fondant Icing (optional)

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees, and either grease silica round moulds with butter or line a cake tin with cupcake cases, or grease a normal baking tray.
2. Make the cake batter recipe with the flour, sugar, butter and eggs.
3. Peel, head/tail the carrots and grate them. Add to the cake mix along with the walnuts that are finely chopped. Add in the cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Add the cake mixture either to your mini round moulds, the cupcake cases or the baking tray. Put in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out dry.
5. Take out and leave to cool once cooked.
6. Make the butter icing (1:1 ratio of icing sugar and butter) more may need to be added as necessary.
7. Take the cakes out of the silica moulds, or using a round cookie cutter cut out circles of the cake from the normal baking tray. Spread the butter icing on top of the cakes.
8. Optional decorating is to add a mini carrot on top of each of the small cakes. This can be done either if the carrot decorations are bought or they can be made.
9. Food colouring may be used to dye the fondant icing the relevant colours. Create the carrot pieces and put on top of the cakes. 

Raspberry Ripple Vanilla Swirl Cupcakes

Based from a normal vanilla cupcake recipe, I edited the ingredients with raspberry infusions to create some scrummy treats!

Ingredients:
110g butter, softened
110g caster sugar
2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
110g self-raising flour
1-2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp Seedless Raspberry Jam

For the buttercream icing;
140g butter, softened
280g/10oz icing sugar
1-2 tbsp milk
a few drops of red food colouring

Dried raspberry pieces and other to decorate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a 12-hole 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 until the mixture is of a dropping consistency.

4. Spoon the raspberry jam into the mixture and fold, making sure that the jam does not mix with the cake mixture entirely - a subtle marble effect wants to be achieved.

5. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until they are half full.
6. Bake in the oven for 10-15 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.
7. For the buttercream icing, beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half the icing sugar and beat until smooth.

8. Then add the remaining icing sugar with one tablespoon of the milk, adding more milk if necessary, until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

9. Add the red food colouring until a very pale, light pink colour is achieved.
10. Ice the cupcakes using a knife (can also use icing bags). 

11. Decorate the tops of the cakes with the dried raspberry pieces and other decorations such as milk chocolate stars. 

Recipe altered from - http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cupcakes_93722

Polar Bear Cupcakes

This is a simple decorating recipe on how to get your cupcakes to look like polar bears! This is great for Christmas, but also any time of the year.

Ingredients:

Cooked cupcakes

White chocolate flakes

Large white chocolate buttons

Black/brown icing tubes

Butter icing

Method

1.       Cook normal cupcakes.

2.       Place the undyed butter icing onto the cakes and sprinkle the white chocolate flakes on top until the entire surface has been covered.

3.       Using two chocolate buttons, place two into the cakes at 45 degrees for ears and one for the muzzle of the polar bear.

4.       Use the black/brown icing tube to make the nose and mouth on the button used for the muzzle, and place two blobs onto the cake above the muzzle and below the ears for eyes. 

Original pack from Tesco