Death By Chocolate Giant Cupcake

It was my Dad's birthday last Tuesday and he specifically wanted me to make him a giant chocolate cupcake. Thanks to my wonderful Great Nan who brought me a great mould to use. Hope you enjoy this. Happy Baking xx

Ingredients:

For bottom half of giant cupcake:
250g self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tbsp cocoa powder
220g caster sugar
220ml vegetable oil
220ml milk
3 eggs
3 tbsp golden syrup
For the butter cream:
160g unsalted butter
500g icing sugar sifted
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp milk
3tbsp cocoa powder
For the top half of the giant cupcake:
125g self raising flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp cocoa powder
110g caster sugar
110ml vegetable oil
110ml milk
2 eggs
2 tbsp golden syrup
Ganache:
150g milk chocolate
150ml cream
To decorate:
Maltezer treat pack ( or a choice of chocolates)

Method: 
1. Pre-heat your oven to 160C and grease the top and bottom parts of your giant cupcake mould, with a few drops of vegetable oil.

2. In a mixing bowl sift together all the dry ingredients for the bottom half of the cupcake except the caster sugar. Mix that in hen all the other dry ingredients have been combined. (flour, bicarb, cocoa powder). Mix together all the wet ingredients for the bottom half and make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients. Blend with a hand mixer until you have a smooth consistency. Fill the bottom half of the cupcake mould with the mixture, bake for about 45 minutes. Do this same step with the top half ingredients but bake for 20-25 minutes instead. Cool on a wire rack. You should now have two cakes one top and a bottom.

3. For the butter cream. Cream together the butter, icing sugar, vanilla extract and cocoa power until evenly combined. Add the milk in a little at a time until you have a smooth consistency.

4. Chop the chocolate into small chunks and put in a bowl. In a small saucepan bring the cream to the boil before whisking onto the chocolate. Continue whisking until all the chocolate is melted and you have a smooth silky ganache. Trim the bottom side of the top half so it will sit well on the bottom half. Put a blob of ganache on the cake board and place the bottom half of the giant cupcake to it so it sticks to the cake board.

5. Cool the ganache to a spreading consistency, I left it over night. Once the ganache has cooled to a spreading consistency, spread it onto the bottom half of the cupcake using a palette knife. Spread a large layer of ganache onto the top of the bottom half. Accompanied by a handful of Maltezers. Now spread a layer of butter cream onto that. Place the top half of the cake on top of the decorated bottom half. Decorate with as many maltezers as you want!

6. With the remaining butter cream, pipe around the join of the two cakes, spread the rest of the butter cream evenly all over the rest of the top half. Put in the fridge for 5 minutes. Place the bottom of the ganache bowl in hot water, and whisk until a thick pouring consistency is achieved. Take the cake out of the fridge and drizzle the ganache over the peak of the cake.

Happy Baking, Beth xx 

I Won a Cupcake Competition!

Hi guys, I recently have won a junior cupcake competition. With a new range of cupcakes that I have been taught how to do by the Telford Cake Lady. I practiced and practiced, then entered the competition and... Won first place!

This is my entry that I am extremely proud of:

My granny also won 3rd place in the fruit cake competition in the Wenlock Festival of Baking. She was very pleased with her entry.

Overall it was a great weekend.

Happy baking! Beth x

How To Make Animal Cupcakes

I went to a cake decorating course recently, a brilliant woman showed me 6 fabulous cupcakes and step by step way on  how to make them. When you know how to do it, it's simple. Hope you have fun and this helps.

Ingredients:

5 cupcakes- vanilla or chocolate.
Piping bag full of  vanilla butter cream with red food coloring down the side for swirl.
Black ready roll icing
Red ready roll icing
Yellow ready roll icing
Chocolate flavored ready roll icing
Green ready roll icing
Orange ready roll icing
White ready roll icing
Green butter cream in piping bag with grass nozzle.
1 Ice cream cone with chocolate cake in it. ( make sure the bottom of the cone is flat so it stands up.)
A flake
Marshmallows
Mini eggs
Chocolate butter cream
Boiled water to stick icing on or edible glue which works to.

Method:

Ice cream cupcake:

1. Take the Ice cream cone chocolate cake, and the piping bag with the vanilla then starting from the outside pipe the icing on the cake like you would a normal cupcake.

2. Pop the flake in on the side.

Nest cupcake:

1. On a cupcake pipe some green icing in the center and then spread on the cupcake, so it covers the top.

2. Then in the center pipe with the chocolate butter cream, a circle to act as a nest. Sprinkle lots of mini eggs in the middle for the eggs.

Marshmallow sheep:

1. To start take your vanilla butter cream and spread over the top of the cupcake to create a surface for the marshmallows to stick on.

2. For the sheep's head take a chunk of black icing and mould it into a ball about the size of a gobstopper. Squeeze a point of the circle into an egg shape. Poke two holes into the face to make nostrils do this with a  modelling tool that looks like a pencil or with the end of a paintbrush.

3. Slide a knife under the nostrils and open the slit slightly for the mouth. Now in the head on the top make 2 slits for the ears to go in.

4. To make the ears make two balls, slightly smaller than maltesers. Then make them each into a cone. By squeezing the top and rolling. Then take the end of a paintbrush, or pencil tool to indent the cone on the side, to flatten it slightly. Insert the ears in to the slits after putting a little of the boiled water or glue in the slits.

5. For the final part of the face to make the eyes make a very small ball of white and flatten it do this twice and put a little water on both of them place on the face. Then for the pupils make two balls the size of hundreds and thousands, flatten and put a little boiling water on each and place on the white eyes. You now have a sheep's face.

6. To make the tail make a ball from the black icing the size of a Malteser, shape into a cone and stick the tail onto the cupcake also put the head on- the other side but no need to put water on the icing because you stick it onto the butter cream. Next put marshmallows all over the butter cream, filling in all the gaps.

Ladybird cupcake:

1. Take another cupcake and pipe some vanilla butter cream in the center and spread all over the top of the cupcake.

2. Take the red icing and roll out to the thickness of about half a centimeter- cut out to fit the top of the cupcake, then place onto the cupcake. take a knife and then down the middle around half way down the cupcake cut  a slit, for the wings.

3. Take some black icing and roll out to the thickness of about half a centimeter, then using a pastry cutter- the one used last time is fine. Cut out a circle of black icing. Now take the circle and cut the icing again, but half way down with the circle cutter- take away the excess and place the black face on the red base with a little of the boiling water or glue.

4. To make the mouth take a tool that looks like half a straw, then press into the face near the bottom- smiley mouth! To make the the eyes make two pea sized balls from white icing then flatten, and put on the face with boiling water or edible glue. Then make two hundred and thousands sized balls then flatten and place on the white icing, to make eyes. Then take a half -straw like modelling tool and pierce the black icing, to make a mouth on the face. You now have a lady bug!

Snail cupcake:

1. Take another cupcake and spread a little of the green icing on the cake. Then take some chocolate ready roll icing and roll it out. Cut a circular shape the size of the cupcake and place onto the cupcake. Take some of the green icing and make into a sausage shape, then pinch one end to make a head then place length ways for the snail body.

2. Roll some red ready roll icing into a sausage then roll it up so it becomes a spiral. Put a streak of boiled water or edible glue onto the body, then place the shell on. Make the smile from the half straw tool on the face an make the eyes. Place on with boiled water or edible glue. Make two holes with the end of a paintbrush on its head. Take two small hundred and thousand icing balls, shape them into cones and place inside the hole.

3. Make some flowers from ready roll icings and small flower cutters ,and stick on the sides with the boiled water or edible glue.

Caterpillar cake:

1.  Take the next cupcake and pipe the green icing on the top with a grass nozzle.

2. Then take the yellow and the orange icing and make 4 yellow colour balls and 3 orange, about the size of a malteser each. Using one of the yellow balls shape it into a cone for the tail. Place the tail at the edge of the cupcake, and then place an orange ball in front of it, then put a yellow, then an orange, then a yellow.  Then instead of in front of the yellow ball put the orange ball on top of the yellow, and then put the last yellow ball on top of the orange. You should have a sloping caterpillar body.

3. With the straw tool create a mouth. Make two holes in the head then with the orange icing, make two small cones for antenies from ready roll icing, and place in the holes. Then create two eyes and place on the face- you now have a caterpillar. Then with blossom cutters cut out 6 flowers from red icing, and put three on each side of the caterpillar out of order so it looks realistic.

Happy baking! Beth x

Milka Oreo Chocolate Cupcakes

This week the kind people at Cybercandy sent me some delicious Milka Oreo chocolate, and they gave me inspiration for this recipe from their blog. Have fun! :-D

Ingredients

100g softened butter
150g self raising flour
150g caster sugar
3 tbs milk
Half a tea spoon of vanilla extract
2 large eggs
4-5 shakes Galaxy hot chocolate powder
Bar of Milka Oreo chocolate


For the Icing

2 tbs Nutella
100g softened butter
225g icing sugar
Splash of milk
Bar of Milka Oreo chocolate

Method


1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C and put muffin cases into a 12 hole tray.

2. Mix the butter, flour, sugar, vanilla extract and eggs together with a wooden spoon until light and airy. Then add the Galaxy hot chocolate and mix again.

3. Spoon the mix into the cases and put a square of Milka Oreo chocolate on top of each cupcake. Put into the oven for 25 mins until golden brown. Test that they are ready by gently sliding the end of a skewer or a knife into the cupcake. If it comes out clean it is cooked.

4. Place onto a cooling rack and let them cool until there is no heat from the cupcake (this is so the icing doesn't melt).

For the icing

1. Slowly add the icing sugar to the butter until nice and creamy. Add a dash of milk to make it a little bit creamier (don't put in too much milk or the icing will go runny!). Scoop the Nutella into the icing and mix.

2. Pipe the icing onto the cupcake.

3. Put a square of the Milka Oreo chocolate onto the icing.

Many thanks to Cybercandy and I hope you have enjoyed making this. Me, my daddy, mummy and sister Megan all loved these cakes as we all love chocolate!

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I adore chocolate cupcakes they are so yummy and good for celebrations or just as a treat, they are just as fun to create as well. Here's how to make them with Nutella chocolate spread. :)

Ingredients 

100g of softened butter (4oz)
150g of self-raising flour.(5oz)
150g of caster sugar (5oz)
3tbs of milk
2 large eggs
Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract
A quarter of a bag of chocolate drops
A couple of shakes of galaxy hot chocolate
A jar of Nutella

For the Icing


100g of softened butter (4oz)
225g of icing sugar (8oz)
Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract
A splash of milk
2 large tablespoons of Nutella

 Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C (Gas mark4) (Fan 160C)
2. Put muffin cases into a 12 hole baking tray
3. Measure the cake mix ingredients out and put them into a mixing bowl and whisk until blended and smooth
4. Spoon into paper cases
5. Bake for 20-25 mins until beautiful golden brown
6. Take out of the oven and place onto a wire cooling rack to cool

Meanwhile...

Make up the icing ready to pipe on to the cakes when they have cooled.

Once the cakes have cooled....

Make a small hole in each of them with a knife or apple corer and pipe some Nutella from the jar into the hole. This fills the cake with yummy Nutella in the middle!

Pipe on the icing and then you're done!:)

My sister loves these cupcakes!!!