Champagne cupcakes

There is no better way to end a week than with a tray of lovely cupcakes. And not just any ordinary cupcakes - Champagne cupcakes. After a long-long time I hosted a brunch for my friends and as we had a bit of a bubbly theme (think Bellinis, Kir Royals and Buck's Fizzs) I thought it would be appropriate to have Champagne in whatever I was making for the dessert.

It was my sister's birthday a few days ago and as I know that she absolutely adores Lola's Cupcakes' Blueberry cupcakes and so I got her their latest cupcake recipe book. And on Friday night we were flicking through it and just by sheer accident we stumbled across this recipe and I just could not resist the temptation to give it a go. 

And early on Sunday morning I got out my KitchenAid (which I still absolutely love!) and got cooking. I have to admit that it felt absolutely incredible to pop open a bottle of Moët at 8.30 in the morning! But back to the cupcakes now. They were really easy to make and the result was absolutely delicious. Everyone had one and the consensus was that they tasted as good as they looked. All it took was half an hour in the kitchen (plus the cooling time before piping on the buttercream) and voila! They make a perfect addition to any celebration and are a definite must for a champagne brunch! 

Recipe

(Makes 12 normal sized cupcakes)

For the cupcakes

- 170g plain flour

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 160g butter, room temperature

- 160g caster sugar

- 3 eggs

- 3 tbsp Champagne (or other sparking wine)

For the buttercream

- 150g butter, room temperature

- 350g icing sugar

- 3-4 tbsp Champagne (or other sparking wine; PS! Let's admit we all want to add 4!)

To decorate

- Edible sugar pearls

Directions

Firstly preheat the oven to 180C. To make the batter, sift the flower and baking powder in a small mixing bowl and set it aside. Place the butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a whisk - either electric or a normal one) and beat the mixture for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. Then in a separate bowl combine the eggs and Champagne and with the mixer at a slow speed add it to the butter and sugar mixture bit by bit until fully combined. Then add the sifted dry ingredients at a slow speed until fully combined. To finish the batter off, beat it briefly at high speed until the mixture is silky smooth. Then line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases and divide the mixture evenly between the muffin cases (filling to almost two-thirds full) and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. When the cakes are ready transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely. 

To prepare the buttercream, place the butter, Champagne and icing sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until soft and fluffy. Spoon the buttercream into the piping bag and pipe buttercream onto the top of each cupcake in a swirl or flower design. Decorate the cupcakes with edible sugar pearls and enjoy! 

Recipe from "Lola's Forever"

Blueberry & lemon cupcakes

So much for keeping it light and healthy. My sister asked me to make something sweet for her birthday party and she managed to narrow it down to 'cupcakes' and 'blueberries'. As it was her birthday party, I did not want to do anything simple and plain (like my breakfast blueberry muffins, for example), but wanted to make sure the cupcakes have the 'wow' factor. They most certainly had the effect on my mum who tried one and then came to me to ask what had I put into the batter. They look gorgeous and very fancy and also taste heavenly - they are incredibly moist and fluffy and it kind of feels like eating clouds. But, they are quite sweet, so having more than one is out of question, at least for me. They are perfect for entertaining and when you want to avoid the mess of having a big cake - cutting it, splitting it and all the crumbs that result from that (e.g. garden party, children's party or even a tea party). They might not be the fastest to make, but they do not require any special skills and the result is worth the time spent on making them.

Ingredients
(Makes 17 muffins)
Cupcakes:
- 400g flour
- 0.5 tsp baking powder
- 0.25 tsp salt
- 110g butter, soft
- 220g sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- 220g sour cream
- 200ml blueberries

Icing:
- 110g butter, soft
- 110g cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- 220g icing sugar
- 17 blueberries to decorate

Directions
Preheat oven to 180C fan / 200C and line a 12 hole muffin tin with muffin cases. In a small bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt. In a big bowl, mix the butter and sugar and whip until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs one by one. Add the vanilla sugar and the lemon zest to the mixture. Then add 1/3 of the flour to the mixture, then 1/2 of the sour cream, then other 1/3 of the flour and 1/2 of sour cream and finish it off with the last 1/3 of the flour mix. In between of adding the flour and sour cream mix well. Finally stir in the blueberries and divide up between the muffin cases. Bake for around 17 minutes until golden.

For the cream cheese icing, beat the cream cheese, butter and icing sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Place the icing in a piping bag and decorate the cupcakes with generous amount of icing once they've cooled down. To finish off the cupcakes place one blueberry on top of each cupcake. Serve and enjoy.

Eton mess cupcakes

I do apologise for leaving such a big gap between my last post and this - had to dedicate all my time and effort to revision. But as it is all now over (and I'm not due to start my masters for another two months) there will be plenty of summer themed recipes coming up, I promise.

As you all know, it was the Jubilee weekend and in addition to this fabulous royal event I also just finished my exams and therefore my friends and I have had plenty of reasons to celebrate. And as usual, I was taking care of the dessert. It took me quite a while to make my mind up what to make - traditional Victorian sponge cake would have be just a bit too boring. But, as I found this recipe (after hours of searching) I knew it was 'the one'. There nothing as summery and gloriously British as Eton mess - the classic dessert made up of strawberries, crushed meringue and double cream. But as usual, it was quite a lot of us and therefore the real dessert was out of question, but the cupcakes suited the occasion perfectly. And to top it off, I found the perfect cupcake cases and toppers to suit the very British occasion...

Ingredients
(Makes 12)
Cupcakes:
- 110g self-raising flour
- 110g caster sugar
- 110g butter, softened
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Icing:
- 120g butter, softened
- 200g icing sugar
- 1tsp vanilla sugar

- 200g strawberries
- Meringue pieces

Directions
Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cases. Mix together all ingredients and divide the mixture up between 12 muffin cases. Bake for 15 minutes or until slightly golden.

For the icing, mix together the butter and sugars. Then puree 50g strawberries and cut up the rest into small pieces. For the meringue pieces I crushed 4 bought meringue nests (but you can always make your own).

To assemble, divide the icing mixture between muffins and cover the tops evenly, then sprinkle over with crushed meringue and strawberries and to top them off, put a teaspoonful (or so) of strawberry puree on each. Serve immediately.