All things Beautee: All in a cupcake

Hey everyone!

Its been a while I know January tests have been happening and for the past 2 weeks the revision has been intense.

I had my first 2 assessments today and I am so drained I need a rest! so no studying today but since I'm so used to looking at the laptop or reading or writing I had to catch up on my blogging you could say its the only thing I know right now lol.

I didn't do my beauty resolutions or best of 2010 but I will soon once the pressure dies down a little and I get to complete a list of favorite products, but for now i will update on you on what I had been up to in the kitchen this past winter break.

About 3 weeks ago I was studying like crazy! and having been stuck in the house studying and finishing coursework I craved cupcakes and not just any cupcakes really good quality ones like the ones you see at Lola's bakery. But to be honest I wasn't prepared to go out and pay £2.75 per cupcake and knowing it wasn't going to be all homemade.

So I researched online for recipes and different types I found the Red Velvet recipe and really wanted to give it ago, however things didn't go to plan and I ended up making Chocolate buttercream icing cupcakes and I am glad to say I'm happy I chose them!

I made around 2 dozen cupcakes and me, my mum and sister iced them hence the different designs I made the rose looking ones

I got the recipe from this website I still used the Red velvet cake mix recipe but didn't add the Red coloring, I liked the idea of using Buttermilk or yogurt in my case since we didn't have buttermilk but it basically makes the cake more moist and yummy!

To make these cupcakes I followed a video and the recipe at the same time however due to lack of preparation and panicking I missed out a whole cup of flour resulting in this

Cup cake flop!

However they still came out good just a little rough around the edges everyone loved them just remember to prepare all the amounts you need in separate bowls and I really advise using an electric mixer like Kenwood or Kitchen Aid or even an eggbeater.

HERE is the video I watched and the recipe I followed to accompany the video

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

6 tablespoons red food coloring

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk or yogurt

1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Please note that these measurements are in american terms so refer to this really helpful page by Delia smith that describes the difference

Preperation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour three 9- by 2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper.

To make the cake: In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pans for 1 hour. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Chocolate Butter cream Icing:

To make the Icing I litrally put the above title into google and serched around for a good recipe but I ended up finding my old cupcake book by Primrose bakery and its so simple I love their recipes!

Here is their recipe for Vanilla buttercream Icing, for chocolate I added a bar of cooking milk chocolate and dark chocolate. This is enough to ice around 20 cupcakes.

110g (4oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

60ml (2fl oz) semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature

1tsp good-quality vanilla extract

500g (18fl oz) icing sugar, sifted

Here are a few pics of how they came out!