Tag Archives: cupcakes

Rachel’s Organics Spider Cupcakes Recipe

Posted on by Abi

Spider-cupcakes

It’s nearly Halloween which means sweets galore! Although I think homemade treats are the best and with today’s recipe from Rachel’s Organics you can enjoy wonderful homemade Spider Cupcakes with a creepy twist.

Ingredients

100g plain chocolate

150g unsalted butter, softened

150g caster sugar

20g cocoa, sifted

3 eggs, beaten

125g self raising flour

1 ½tsp baking powder

2 tbsp Rachel’s Greek Style natural yogurt

Ingredients for Frosting

4tbsp golden syrup

80ml double cream

100g milk chocolate

100g plain chocolate

3tbsp Rachel’s Greek Style natural yogurt

Decorations

Chocolate sugar strands

Smarties or similar sweets (for the eyes)

Liquorice laces or Catherine wheels

Step 1. Pre-heat the oven 180°C, Gas Mark 4 and line a muffin tray with paper cases.

2. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and microwave on medium power for 1 minute until melted, alternatively place over a pan of simmering water.

3. In a mixing bowl beat the butter, caster sugar, cocoa powder and eggs, until soft and creamy. Add the flour and baking powder. Lastly add in the yogurt ensure the mixture is well combined.

4. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 20 minutes until risen and firm to touch. Leave to cool.

5. Meanwhile in a small bowl gently heat the icing ingredients (except the yogurt). Either do this in a microwave, medium power or over a pan of simmering water until the chocolate has melted, leave to cool then add the yogurt. The frosting should be soft but not runny.

6. Spoon the frosting onto each cake and carefully spread with the back of a knife. Dip each cake into  chocolate sugar strands then place the Smarties for eyes, cut the liquorice laces into 8 equal pieces and push into the icing – work quickly before the frosting sets. To make the eyes stand out and a mouth simply place some of the frosting in a piping bag with a small plain nozzle and pipe for the desired effect.

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Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

Posted on by Abi
Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

I absolutely adored the cupcakes we had for our Halloween party recently, they’re squidgy and moreish thanks to the wonderful winter spices and the cinnamon icing might just be the best thing ever! Today I’m going to share the recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing.

Ingredients

3oz/ 85g Butter or Margarine

8oz/ 225g White Sugar

8oz/ 225g Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

180ml Milk

8oz/ 225g Pumpkin Puree (you can use canned or freshly made)

10oz Self Raising Flour

1 heaped Tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger

1/2 Tsp Nutmeg

1/2 Tsp Ground Cloves

1/2 Tsp Allspice

 

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

1 standard tub of Cream Cheese (usually about 225g)

2oz/ 50g Butter

Icing Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1 heaped Tsp Ground Cinnamon

 

Method

First cream together the white sugar, brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Then add in the eggs one at a time mixing thoroughly.

Now stir in the milk and pumpkin puree until combined.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves and allspice into the mixture. Fold the flour into the mixture using a large spoon until just combined.

Now fill 23-24 cupcake cases or approx. 15 muffin cases with the batter.

Bake in a preheated oven 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Icing

The trick to cream cheese icing is not to over mix, if you do you’ll end up with a delicious runny icing but it’s no good for piping on a cake. Either use an electric mixer on low speed or mix by hand.

Mix together the butter and cream cheese until just combined. Next add in the vanilla extract and cinnamon.

I haven’t put a quantity for the icing sugar because I think it’s better to test your icing by taste and texture. Add icing sugar and mix gently until you like the sweetness and your icing can hold together sufficiently to be iced onto your cooled cupcakes.

 

 

 

 

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Easter Egg Cakes cooked in Egg Shells!

Posted on by Abi

I absolutely adored the edible ‘turtle’ eggs I saw at the Tate & Lyle Tasting house earlier in the week, I also fell head over heels in love with the gingerbread creations. The only logical thing to do…. combine the two ideas with an Easter twist!

I used the new Tate & Lyle Taste Experience Dark Muscovado sugar in my gingerbread. It added a very moreish quality and gave the gingerbread a deep rich flavour, I would definitely recommend trying it out!

To make the Easter Eggs

Start by carefully making a small hole in the end of an egg, I used a sterilised needle.

Then carefully make the hole ever so slightly larger using the needle, or your fingers if you can pinch tiny bits.

Next I used a cocktail stick to break up the egg inside it’s shell. Drain out over a bowl, I washed out the eggs at this stage.

Decorating your Easter Eggs

Decorating eggs couldn’t be a simpler, all you need is approx 1/2 cup of room temperature water, add in about 1 Tbsp vinegar and then food colouring.

Dip your eggs in the colouring and keep turning until you have reached the desired shade. I used my handy egg dipper to pick them up. Place them on kitchen paper to dry.

Gingerbread Recipe

Of course you can fill the eggs with whatever cake takes your fancy, but if you like yummy squidgy gingerbread then this recipe is great.

100g/ 4oz Butter
100g/ 4oz Tate & Lyle Golden Syrup
100g/ 4oz Tate & Lyle Treacle
100g/ 4oz Tate & Lyle Taste Experience Dark Muscovado Sugar
275g/ 10oz Self Raising Flour
2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 Beaten Eggs
225ml/ 7 to 8 floz Milk

Melt the butter, syrup, treacle and sugar gently in a pan. Leave to cool slightly.

Sieve together the flour, ginger and cinnamon.

Add the melted sugar mixture to the flour and beat.

Beat in the egg and milk.

Filling the Egg Shells

Preheat the oven to 160C/ 325F/ Gas Mark 3

Take each on your dyed eggs and wrap the base in a square of foil with the hole facing upwards. Place them gently into a muffin tin.

Fill a piping bag with your cake mixture and carefully pipe the cake batter into the hole in your egg.

Try to fill the eggs about 3/4 of the way up.

Bake them for about 20 minutes. If some of the cake oozes out of the top (as it did on a few of mine) then just nip those pieces off with your fingers.

Leave to cool and then present in an egg box 🙂

 

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