Sweet and Simple Vanilla Birthday Cupcakes

Happy Birthday to meeeeeee!!!

It's no secret that I'm a huge cupcake fan.  I've been known to buy 4 cupcakes (hey, it's cheaper really) and eat them all - on the same day - okay within an hour!  The frosting to cupcake ratio has to be right - ie. LOTS of frosting per cake.  I like when my cheeks tingle from all the sugar.  The sweeter the better!

I had a look on Pinterest for some inspiration and scoured the regular old interweb for ideas but eventually decided on plain and simple vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream.  Simple and sweet.

Now to settle in for a takeaway (I'm not cooking on my birthday!) and top it off with a cupcake...or 6!  I've already had an appetiser cupcake - but that was purely to test it, of course!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream - Adapted from Joy of Baking
Makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk

For the buttercream
2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F) and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake cases.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Next, add the eggs one at a time beating well each time.  Finally, add in the vanilla extract.

With the mixer on low, add half of the flour to the butter mixture and incorporate.  Then add the milk and the rest of the flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Fill the cupcake cases evenly with the batter and bake for about 15 minutes.  Keep an eye on the cupcakes so as not to over bake or they will become dry.  Toothpick inserted the centre of the centre cake should come out clean.



For the buttercream:

Beat the butter until creamy.  Add the vanilla.  Gradually add the icing sugar.  Blend in the milk until icing becomes light and fluffy.

Roasted Blueberry Cupcakes With Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I like to purchase foods that are in season - for one, they taste better and they are usually cheaper.  Also, they tend to be grown closer to home, carbon footprint and all that.  Although, when a couple of weeks ago,  blueberries were in store and on sale, I broke my code and went for them.  As predicted, they were grown no where near the UK (Israel I think) and weren't the best tasting blueberries I've ever had - I don't think any will ever compare to those picked myself in Northern Ontario, where I grew up.  But, they were cheap.  Win some, lose some.

Blueberries are great sprinkled on cereal or porridge, in smoothies or just eaten as they come but I really fancied making something with them.  All sorts came to mind; cake, muffins, pie (oh my).  But after a little browsing on the interwebs I went with my favourite treat, cupcakes.   I looooove cupcakes.  I can't stress this enough.  I love the scene from Bridesmaids when Kristen Wigg's character makes that one little cupcake, because sometimes just one is enough (well, that's not quite true but it's really all that I need).  I've often made 12 to 24 or even more because that's just what that recipe yields without ever thinking that I can actually cut the recipe by half or quarters and make far less.  It finally clicked - make 6!  When I told the hubster of my ingenious idea he had a bit of a "well duh" kind of look on his face but I ignored it, being quite pleased with myself.  Now I didn't have to eat more than I should. 

Now I was pretty proud of that little discovery (it's the little things people) but what I'm really pleased about is finally getting the cream cheese frosting right.  Sadly it wasn't on this particular batch of cupcakes.  Actually I'm not not sure what I will bake to go with the bowl of frosting I have sitting in my fridge (banana cupcakes?) because in wanting to share a cream cheese frosting recipe that works, I just made some!   When I last made cupcakes the frosting went a little bit wrong and it still wasn't perfect for these little blue lovelies.  I shared my frosting woes with my mother who suggested I forget the butter altogether and mix only cream cheese and icing sugar, saying "that's how I've always made it!"  Why didn't she pipe up months ago?

Anyway, it turned out perfectly - definitely won't be dripping down the side of the cake.  I'll need to make something to go with it, and quick, before I eat the whole lot with a spoon!  Although I used low fat cream cheese so it's not too bad, right?

Maybe I'll nip out to Morrison's and see if they still have blueberries on sale - now that I have the perfect frosting!

Roasted Blueberry Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 6 (or so)

Cupcakes 
1 cup fresh blueberries (plus mroe for garnish, if using)
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons of milk, if needed 

Spread the blueberries on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated oven at 220°C for about 10-15 minutes or until the berries start to pop and burst. You'll want to eat these with a spoon but wait little grasshopper, it will be worth it. Set them aside to cool and lower the oven to 200°C.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. With a spoon, stir in the flour and baking powder until fully incorporated. Scrape those luscious blueberries and all of their juices into the bowl and stir into the mixture, breaking down the berries as much or as little as you like - I left a few chunky pieces but you can use an electric mixer to fully break them down instead. Add a little milk if required to ensure a cake batter consistency. Spoon into cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes (12-15 in a fan assisted oven!) or until a toothpick inserted in the centre cake comes out clean (but not until the tops have browned).

Adapted from Sweet Peony originally from How Sweet Eats

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 1.5 cups of frosting

125g of cream cheese
about 2 cups of icing sugar 
1 tsp of cinnamon

Combine the cream cheese, cinnamon and 1/4 cup of the sugar with a hand mixer until the mixture is no longer lumpy.  Stirring with a wooden spoon, continue to add more sugar a little at a time until the frosting reaches desired consistency.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Thanksgiving (tomorrow) to all my American friends and family!

In Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving in October.  I had always thought that we celebrated first because we were further north and the harvest came sooner.  From what I've read on the old reliable interwebs, that might be the case but it took us a long time to finally settle on the second Monday in October, something I had never heard of.  In England, we celebrate the Harvest but it seems more of a religious celebration within the Church of England than the big family gathering that has developed in Canada (and there's no day off work!)  My extensive research (this kids website) explains how Thanksgiving first derived from the Europeans.  So concludes the thorough investigation into why Americans and Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on different days.  I'm just glad I have an excuse to share these amazing pumpkin spice cupcakes that I made from the little pumpkin I bought for Halloween (it's the ONLY time I can find pumpkin in England).

 

Smaller pumpkins are sweeter for baking and have more flesh to work with whereas the larger pumpkins are perfect for jack-o-lanterns and have more seeds for roasting.  I started by cutting into the pumpkin and going into autopilot began to carve it - I'm surprised I stopped before giving it two triangle eyes and a one tooth grin.

I scooped out the seeds this way but it would have been easier sliced in half, which I did part way through.  Then I laid the two halves and the top on a baking sheet but not before drizzling them in olive oil.  I placed the pumpkin in a preheated oven (200°C) for about an hour.  Then I got to work on the seeds.  There were only a few but I thought they might make a nice garnish for the cupcakes.  I did come home from Canada a few weeks ago with a giant bag of candy corn and mini candy pumpkins which would have looked nice but they were devoured in the first week of being back in England.

For the seeds I simply rinsed them in a colander, dried them with paper towel, laid them on a baking sheet and sprinkled them with salt and pepper.  I placed them in the oven with the pumpkin and set 10 minutes on the timer.  They needed a further 10 minutes after that but just keep an eye on yours - I like mine quite crispy but the edges were starting to burn at 20 minutes. 

When the pumpkin was ready (a knife should go into it easily) I scooped out the flesh into a bowl and blended with my hand mixer until very smooth to make a puree.  The puree will keep in the fridge for a couple of days or you can freeze it if you want to use it at a later date.  It's great for so many things (check out this blogger's post) and I just may use some of these ideas for my leftover puree.  I definitely don't want to waste any!

Now for the best part - the cupcakes!!  These were one of the best cupcakes I've tried (and I've tried a lot!)

 I struggled with the frosting though.  It was my first attempt at a cream cheese frosting and after 2 failed batches I gave up.  Otherwise my recent gym visits (0) would need to increase to an amount that is just completely unrealistic.  Because when I say "failed" I mean that the consistency wasn't right for piping onto the cupcakes; it just sort of slid down the sides, but the consistency was, however, perfectly fine for eating with a spoon!  Oh dear!  I'm not sure what went wrong.  I went with a recipe I found on All Recipes that had great reviews but mine turned out very liquid-y.  The first batch went wrong because when my hand mixer ceased to work I thought the food processor would blend everything and it pretty much liquefied it all.  I should really know my kitchen tools better.  I added more icing sugar but you can see in the photo above, the icing is still sliding down the sides.  For the second batch I bought this:

I'd really like to hold out for something better that will last for years because this is the 3rd hand mixer I've had.  I'm going to do a little research and add it to my wish list.  Somehow with this new mixer I still managed to ruin the second batch.  It was much better than the first but I think I gave the maple syrup a whizz with the butter and cream cheese without adding any icing sugar and in doing so, liquefied it.  I think if I made this again I would skip the syrup altogether (you could hardly taste it) and use maple flavouring instead (like so many reviewers suggested).  Try this one or another recipe you know of and I will share my version when I get it right!  If anyone knows how to keep the icing sugar in the bowl when mixing please let me know.  It looked like CSI had been dusting for prints in my kitchen when I finished.  The little clean rectangular spot is where my camera was sitting (it's no wonder I'm not allowed to get a big fancy expensive one).

 Definitely try the cupcakes - they are great even without frosting (this coming from someone who used to make a bowl of the stuff just to eat it with a spoon - don't judge).

Recipe - yields 12 cupcakes

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter

In a bowl whisk together all dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, with a handmixer, cream together butter and sugars.  Add in eggs on at a time.
Slowly add in dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon.
Divide equally between muffin cups and bake in a preheated oven (180°C) for approximately 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle cupcake.

These cupcakes are light and fluffy and have a taste of pumpkin pie.  Absolutely delicious and a perfect addition to any Thanksgiving meal (or as a meal on their own? I made them Sunday and there are 2 left).

Can anyone help me with my cream cheese frosting hiccup?  How do I keep the icing sugar from covering my entire kitchen (I feel like I need to hang plastic sheeting before I start!)  What's your favourite Thanksgiving dish?  Mine is definitely the turkey...no wait, the sweet potatoes...no the pie, definitely the pie...do I have to choose?  I like it all!

Rock on!

Love my family!  Being away from home and most of my family members can be especially hard so when I get the chance to spend time with them in England I get very excited about it.  Back in September we visited my aunt and uncle (mentioned before here and here).  Their son, his wife and their gorgeous baby boy were visiting from Canada and there was a hoopla in their honour.  My uncles family came over and family friends - there were over 20 of us!  We drove up on a Saturday morning and arrived just after lunch.  Just in time to hit margarita ville!  Don't worry, I was quite sensible - there was no mexican hat dancing, let's put it that way!

Dinner was a sweet sweet carb fest!  We had pasta, chilli on jacket potatoes, garlic bread, a mashed potato and cheese bake (I opted not to ask how much cheese was actually in it - best not to know!), swedish meatballs (IKEA style), fried rice, and a few salads (gotta get your 5 a day).  I had two, yes two (don't you judge me) big plates full.  I had to, I couldn't get everything I wanted all in the first helping.  Then there was dessert...

I had mentioned to my aunt that I would be bringing cupcakes for dessert (any excuse to make and eat cupcakes) and thought in honour of the newest little family member I would make some decorated with little baby footprints.  But then I remembered it had been my cousin's birthday a few days earlier and I thought - as he is a guitar player, I could hone my skills in cake making, and make a guitar shaped cake.  I saw a recipe for one in my Canadian Living magazine and thought I might give it a try.  I have had a go with a few novelty cakes before but never quite like this.

First, I made 2 chocolate cakes in 8 inch square tins.  I followed the recipe from the Canadian Living magazine (my aunt in Canada gets me a subscription every year for my birthday-love it! and her!) with a few tweaks.  Here it is:

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder (this I tweaked since I couldn't find any-I melted 2/3 cup of milk chocolate and reduced the oil by about 3 tablespoons)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of cold water or coffee (I used coffee)
1 cup vegetable oil (I reduced this by about 3 tablespoons)
2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp cider vinegar (I used distilled malt vinegar and at first I was a bit worried but there was no taste, not even a hint of maltness)

Grease and line cake tins (I used sillicone ones and just lightly greased them).  Bake in 350°F or 180°C for about 25 minutes or until cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes and invert onto rack.

While the cake cooled I made the icing.   A huge batch of buttercream.

1.5 cups of butter, softened
6 cups of icing sugar
1/4 cup milk or cream
2 tsp vanilla

Beat the butter until smooth and then alternately add the sugar and milk and finally beat in the vanilla.  The measurements can vary depending on the consistency I want.   Add a little more liquid or sugar as required.  This can also be made in advance, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.  Allow about an hour to stand at room temperature before use.

I cut out a template for a guitar from plain paper.  After the cake had cooled, I placed the template (in 3 sections-bottom of guitar, middle and the neck) on the cakes and cut them out using a small knife.  Then I divided and coloured the icing as I went along, so as to try and not make too much of a mess (bit late since there was icing on the walls, floor and probably ceiling!) 

I then needed a plate long enough to accomodate the nearly lifesized cake instrument.  My cutting board was too small, and so was a baking sheet.  So I got my saw on!  I found a piece of wood-with all the DIY going on around here it's not hard to find - and neither was the saw what with all the tools hanging on the kitchen wall!  I ended up with a good sized rectangle and covered it in foil.  I put the cakes together and used a little icing between each piece to secure.  Then I gave it a crumb coat.  A new thing for me.  Which worked a treat!  I have always just dived right in with the decorating - no preparation for this gal.  The crumb coat seals in all the crumbs and gives you an easy working surface for decorating.  Here she is:

I cheated and used a packaged chocolate icing (it was nearing 10pm at this point so I thought it would be allowed).  You could always add cocoa powder or melted chocolate the the buttercream (or at least I think so-I've never actually made chocolate icing).  I used about a cup of the vanilla icing and tinted it blue.  I then spread the different colours with a knife (I really need some icing tools) like so...

Then using about a quarter cup for each I tinted the icing red, orange and yellow.  I used about the same amount to tint grey and green.  I spread the white on the cake first.  The yellow for the flames went on next, followed by orange and red and finally, I did the frets in grey and used licorice for the strings.

Turns out my cousin doesn't really like a fuss!  Whoops!  We didn't sing or anything and kept all birthday kerfuffle to a minimum.  And everyone loved the cake and cupcakes, even without the baby feet decor!

Scrummy cupcakes with edible blue glitter!!