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. 

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. 

Mini Victoria Sponge Cakelets

These are great to make for a summer's day evening desert! They are also great fun to make and look extremely cute.

Ingredients:

150g (5½oz) unsalted butter plus extra for greasing

 150g (5½oz) caster sugar

 3 medium eggs

 1tsp vanilla extract

 150g (5½oz) self-raising flour

 50g Icing Sugar (butter icing)

50g butter (butter icing)

 8-10tbsp strawberry jam

 Icing sugar, for dusting

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.        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.       Pour the cake mix into large cake tins.

6.       Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and golden. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and set aside to cool. 

7.       Once cool, cut out circular shapes using a round cookie cutter.

8.       Make the butter icing and spread on half of the of the sponge bases, top with a spoonful of jam and sandwich together with the remaining sponges.

9.       Dust each with icing sugar to serve.

Recipe altered from - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-1379570/Recipe-Mini-Victoria-sponge-cakes.html

Mini Coffee and Walnut Cakes

Coffee and Walnut Cake is perfect to have with an afternoon brew, and are really easy to make with this simple yet effective recipe.

Ingredients:

For the cakes;

175g golden caster sugar

175g soft butter

3 large eggs

65g walnuts

1 teaspoon of baking powder

175g self-raising flour

2 teaspoons of coffee granules (instant)

For the icing and filling;

2 teaspoons of coffee granules

200g softened butter

400g icing sugar

60g walnut pieces

Method

1.       Set the oven to 180 degrees.

2.       Beat the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy.

3.       Line the base of the two sponge tins with greaseproof paper and chop the walnuts.

4.       Break the eggs into a bowl, whisk them up with a fork and add them a little at a time to the butter and sugar, beating well throughout.

5.       Sieve the baking powder and flour together and add to the butter and sugar gently, whisking with the electric mixer on a slow speed.

6.        Dissolve coffee granules in a tablespoon of hot water, then whisk into the mixture.

7.       Fold the chopped walnuts gently into the cake mixture.

8.       Divide the resulting cake mixture between the two cake tins, smooth lightly with a wet knife or the back of a wet spoon, then bake for approximately 20-25 minutes.

9.       To make the buttercream icing and filling, beat the butter until soft and pale.

10.    Add the sugar to the butter and beat until smooth.

11.   Stir a tablespoon of boiling water into the coffee granules until they dissolve, then mix the resulting coffee into the buttercream before folding the walnut pieces.

12.   Once cooled, using a round cookie cutter, make circles of the cakes and cut them out.

13. Place the first half of the cake circles upside down on the serving plate and cover the tops with the butter icing. Then place the second half of the cake circles on top, the right way up.Cover the tops again with the butter icing. 

14.   Decorate with walnut halves if you wish to.

If any cake remains, it can always be used and presented in another way. For example, I had some left and so cut little cake squares out and made mini Coffee and Walnut Bites. 

Recipe altered from: http://mistyhorizon2003.hubpages.com/hub/Coffee-and-Walnut-Cake-Recipe