Physical tiredness (linked to my back problems) prevents me from staying at the computer for long. Yet I have 2 or 3 new recipes to share with you, and I’ll try not to drag my feet too much. But in the meantime, I’ll share with you a (very) old cupcake recipe that was patiently waiting to be published: cupcakes specially designed for a particular occasion — the birth of a little girl. But they can also be made for a baby shower, for example 🙂
The occasion is too good… I’m taking the opportunity (at last) to announce that a little boy will be arriving at the start of summer ❤❤❤ A little boy we waited a long time for, and who already makes us so happy… So it wasn’t ONLY my back that explained my absence these past few months… In all honesty, I’ve been on cloud nine since he’s been nestled in my tummy, and my interest in baking has somewhat waned. Let’s say my mind is elsewhere 🙂 ❤
Back to the cupcake recipe! I used the one by Anne-Sophie from Fashion Cooking and it’s quite simply perfect — the cake is wonderfully soft with a lovely vanilla flavour (vanilla powder can also replace the vanilla extract). It’s truly THE recipe I keep up my sleeve, and you can vary it with the topping (sugar paste, whipped ganache, buttercream… it’s up to you).
Ingredients & preparation
2 components · Full recipe
Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 240 g (8.5 oz) plain flour
- 280 g (9.9 oz) sugar
- 80 g (2.8 oz) butter at room temperature
- 250 g (8.8 oz) whole milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- a pinch of salt
Preparation
1
Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F.
2
Place 16 paper cases in a muffin tin.
3
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt (keeping it away from the baking powder) and butter. Mix on low speed until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
4
Gradually pour in half the milk and beat on medium speed until fully incorporated.
5
Whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract and remaining milk in a bowl for a few seconds. Add this liquid mixture to the batter and continue beating until smooth (don’t hesitate to use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl). Be careful not to overmix.
6
Fill the paper cases two thirds of the way with the batter.
7
Bake in the centre of the oven for 25–30 minutes (keep an eye on them, as every oven is different). The cupcakes are ready when they are golden and a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.
8
Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before decorating.
9
If the cupcakes have risen too much during baking, don’t hesitate to level them off with a serrated knife to get a nice flat surface — essential for decorating.
Decoration
Ingredients
- jam
- beige fondant icing
- pink fondant icing
- a food colouring pen
- small pink sugar pearls
Preparation
1
I simply used fondant icing in different colours along with a few essential cake design tools to create a baby’s head shape. I turned to my friend Google for inspiration (because cake design and I are two very different things).
2
It’s really not difficult to do, but it does take a little time and patience if you want to do it properly.
3
For this occasion I also made some cupcakes with a chocolate whipped ganache (I really can’t stand buttercream…). You can find that recipe by clicking here.
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