A tale of two cupcakes

Even after nearly 3 years of writing this blog I still get excited when I hear of a new cupcakery opening in London. Alas, these days I’m often left disappointed and more than a little sad. Not to mention out of pocket.

I read about Sweet Couture a couple of weeks ago, I think via Daily Candy, and had planned to go two weekends ago. We didn’t make it until yesterday, so the anticipation had been growing. The shop itself is small but perfectly formed. Their display reminded me of Lola’s and their flavours included all the favourites, double chocolate, vanilla, red velvet and peanut butter. As usual on our first visit somewhere we kept it simple – a vanilla for me and a double chocolate for Manny. Obviously I opted for pink frosting!

The cakes got a little, well a lot shook up on the way home (I blame the extra hot salsa on my burrito from the fantastic Benito’s Hat – that stuff is HOT!) but they didn’t get too squished – this to me wasn’t a good sign. If the frosting is so hard it doesn’t squish after being turned upside down several times by a man who shall remain nameless..Manny…hmmmm

So, the taste test. The cake part was a bit stale but not as bad as some I’ve had. Not a hint of vanilla in the cake at all though. Same with the frosting, no vanilla at all, unfortunately it tasted of nothing but butter. It was incredibly cloying and unpleasant – like eating a chunk of cold butter would be. All in all it was inedible so another cupcake ends up in my bin. Manny’s chocolate cupcake fared slightly better, ending up in his belly. I tasted a little bit and the cake itself was quite dry however and didn’t taste of much, and the frosting was ok but again had a very heavy buttery flavour. As Manny put it he didn’t have that lovely “just eaten some chocolaty goodness” feeling after eating it. I fully agree.

It’s such a shame, and we may have got it on a bad day – I may pop back and try another as the lady working there (the baker?) was really friendly and helpful and we’d hoped the cakes would be nice!

On the opposite end of the scale – a cupcake to die for. Well not literally but it was divine.

We popped to Ottolenghi’s in Islington on Saturday after some cupcake baking supply shopping at Gill Wing. Braving the HUGE queues we restricted ourselves to three items – a lemon and blueberry cupcake, a flourless chocolate bundt cake and a chocolate cake with baileys frosting. Everything looked so mouth watering it was difficult to restrict ourselves to three things – every time we thought we’d chosen we’d spot something else!

As it is near impossible to get a seat, we got our goodies to go and headed back home to scoff them with a hot cuppa tea with the heating on – Saturday afternoon bliss.

The cupcake was delicious. A moist blueberry filled base with Italian buttercream on top which melted in your mouth. Absolutely delicious.

Then it got better. The chocolate bundt, which Ottolenghi calls a tea cake, what can I say but – oh my. Well I could add, I wish I'd bought two! 

Then it got even better – Manny allowed me a morsel of his baileys cake and again oh my, the cake was incredibly chocolaty, the frosting melted in your mouth – and then the Baileys cream filling – oh.my.god I could’ve eaten a LOT of it. You could taste the Baileys but it wasn’t overpowering – absolutely fabulous.

All fresh, all flavoursome. If only the cupcake world could take that on as their motto.

Finally, I think Angel suspected this cupcake had a hidden secret. Although she may just have been trying to hypnotise it! "look into my eyes"

What's your favourite?

Quality Street are synonymous with Christmas and I know in our house the fight was always over two sweets. The green triangle (mums favourite) and the purple one (my favourite) - we used to watch other family members like hawks making sure they didn't take our favourite. Hardly the festive spirit I know but I'm sure most families are the same.

So, when I was trying to think of festive Christmas cupcakes for Cupcake Club, organised by Kelly from An American Cupcake in London, one of my first ideas was, the purple one. For those who don't know the purple one is a caramel filled chocolate with a hazelnut inside.

The cake is Mary Berry's Devils Food Cake in cupcake form, which I've made several times before and is one of the easiest and tastiest chocolate cakes I've found to make.

I then took a chunk out of the cooled cupcakes with my trusty apple corer, and filled it with dulce de leche and a roasted hazelnut. I nearly set fire to the house making the dulce de leche as I forgot about the tin and it very nearly boiled dry. I'm doubtful my lovely Lakeland milk pan will never recover but it tastes divine so was (kinda) worth it.

Now I could've taken the obvious route and just covered them in lashings of gorgeous caramel frosting, but I wanted to make the frosting something festive also. And what is more festive than my favourite Winter tipple, Baileys! So the frosting is basically butter, icing sugar and lashings, and lashings of Baileys. I have a feeling one of these cupcakes will put you over the limit for driving so if you're coming to Cupcake Club be warned!
Also I only got 7 purple ones in a whole tin of Quality Street so if you want one topped with a sweetie you'd better be quick. If not you'll have to make do with a glitter one!

Topped with some festive glitter

My second cupcake for the evening is my winning cupcake from Cupcake Camp in October - the sprout cupcake.

Fresh out of the oven

I slightly altered the recipe from last time, adding more cinnamon, a bit less raisins and more coconut and walnuts as I prefer those. If anyone wants the recipe I shall post it up.

The cupcake that is one of your five a day

I then topped it with a cream cheese and cinnamon frosting and a sprout for decoration. Don't worry it was just for the photos - I wont force anyone to eat a raw sprout. Nor will I force anyone to eat the sprout cupcake. I'm only bringing 4-6 along with me, solely for those who want to try it!

The sprout cake in all its naked glory

Hail to Cupcakes \m/

I am off to see my favourite band in the world, Manowar, in less than a week in Madrid. In five days if you're counting, and I have been since May.

I had thought long and hard about if Manowar were a cupcake what flavour would they be. And one thing kept coming back to me, the phrase the devil has all the best tunes. So my choice of cupcake had to be - devil's food cake.

I used a recipe for a Devils Food Cake from my latest cookbook purchase, Mary Berry's Baking Bible, and made cupcakes instead, altering the cooking time (they were ready in 20mins). The recipe makes approx 14 cakes, depending on your case sizes.

I decided to top the cupcakes with an ultra chocolatey ganache. I had planned to use Jack Daniel's in the ganache but then I bought a bottle of Baileys on offer in Sainsburys and I felt it would be nicer with the Baileys in and I was so right - it was delicious.

The base of the cupcake was incredibly moist and chocolatey - Manny reckons they're one of the nicest cupcakes he's had and I have to agree! The ganache, as I said, was delicious - incredibly rich with a hint of alcohol. Definitely Manowar in a cupcake - tasty, lovely to look at, rich, decadent and something you can't get enough of \m/

while my ganache was still a little moist and shiny!

Baileys Ganache Recipe

200g good quality chocolate broken into pieces (I used Green and Blacks dark)

184 ml double cream

a good glug of Baileys

Heat the cream until it just boils. Pour over chocolate and stir till it melts. Add a good splosh of Baileys. Stir in. Add some more for luck. And a bit more if you fancy it. Allow to cool - mine took approx 30mins in the fridge to reach piping consistency. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes - try not to scoff it all before doing this!

Manowar cupcake - naked

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig

I think I have found one of the easiest cupcake recipes in the world. And I have to thank Not Quite Nigella for making it even easier!

As I mentioned in a previous post, my plan for St Patrick's day was to make some cupcakes using (the real) Nigella's Chocolate Guinness cake recipe. I decided to half the recipe after reading that half was enough for approx 12 cakes, however I have a tendency to be a bit blonde and was worried that I might muck it up somehow. I had a quick peruse online and discovered one of my fave bloggers Not Quite Nigella had made these cupcakes two years ago and posted the half quantity recipe online..hurrah!

As I said, the recipe is very easy and takes minutes to make. Mine rose a little unevenly, mainly because I had a bit of a "moment" putting them in the oven and managed to trip over my feet so my lovely smooth and level cupcakes went in a bit messy. However as I'm of the 'slap the frosting on and cover any mistakes' school of cupcake decorating it didn't really matter how they looked naked, I was going to slather on some Bailey's frosting and hide any baking sins!

Nigella's recipe called for cream cheese frosting but I opted to try and make some Baileys frosting - just to make them a little more Irish, and, of course, yummy. I used the vanilla frosting recipe from the Primrose Bakery Cupcakes book, halving it as it makes a HUGE amount of frosting if not, and replacing the milk for Baileys.

55g unsalted butter

250g icing sugar

30ml Baileys (although I added more to taste!)

In a large bowl beat the butter and Baileys and some of the icing sugar till smooth (recipe says half but I add it a little at a time or I end up with a icing sugar everywhere!). Gradually add the rest of the icing sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.

I had planned to colour the frosting with some white food colouring I bought from Squires, but it smelt, and tasted a little and I didn't want to detract from the flavour of the frosting and it was a very light colour frosting anyways.

So how did they taste? GORGEOUS! The base was very moist and flavoursome, and was still moist three days later. The frosting was totally yummy and went very well with the cake - in fact I think Baileys frosting will now be a permanent feature on my cupcakes!

The top two photos show the 'naked' Guinness cupcake in all its dark and brooding glory. In the other three pics the cake is encased in some of the most fabulous cupcake cases ever, purchased from The Gourmet Cupcake Company. I have some in cerise, lilcac and black and they don't lose their colour in the oven - definitely worth investing in some if you like to bake cupcakes!

Finally, I couldn't resist a photo with my Irish gifts - guess whose husband did a gig in Dublin a couple of years ago and forgot to get me a gift until he was on the ferry home ;)

Did you mention Bailey's...twice?

Just a quickie incase you don't fancy making your own St Patrick's day cupcakes to celebrate tomorrow - Lola's are doing a rather yummy sounding cupcake available at their outlets in Harrods and Selfridges (until Sunday) and also to order online.

A sumptuous chocolate sponge base with a dash of Baileys liqueur has been topped with a heavenly vanilla and Baileys buttercream icing and decorated with a traditional green Shamrock.

I'm planning on popping over there on Sat to pick up a flavour of the month for Manny, so may pick up one of these too.

While we're talking about special days - St George's day is April 23rd and Lola's St George cupcakes are already available to pre-order.

I hope to be popping to their new store (details coming soon) to collect mine in person on the day.

Look out for my post about my St Patrick's day cupcakes tomorrow!

Shake yer Shamrocks

St Patrick's day is always a big event in parts of America. When we went to NY last year (a year ago today infact..sob) stores were full of everything to help you celebrate from tshirts and hair-dye to deely boppers. My grandfather is half Irish but I've never really seen a need to reclaim that part of me once a year, and have only once gone out for St Patrick's day with a friend from Dublin and that ended messily after a night of cheap Jamesons and Guinness!

However this year I'm planning to make some stout cupcakes to celebrate and was planning to use a Nigella recipe for Guinness cake, but with vanilla frosting as I'm not that keen on cream-cheese frosting. However after receiving this weeks Cakespy mailout that idea has changed. I will still be using the Nigella recipe for the base but will be topping them with baileys frosting after being inspired by this gorgeous cupcake from Trophy.

If you suspect that these cupcakes are comprised completely of awesome, you are right. The stout adds a wonderful density to the cake, leaning more toward chocolatey than toward a beer-y flavor; the Irish Cream in the buttercream gives it a little zing just enough so that you know it's there, but not so much that it drives you to distraction

It's just so pretty, and has left me feeling rather foolish for not thinking of making Baileys frosting as I love Baileys!

As usual Layer Cake Shop is full of fabulous decorating goodies for St Patrick's day, including green top hats and shamrock pics and some really evil, (while slightly camp) leprechaun's.

Thanks to Cakespy/Trophy for use of the pic of the cupcake and Layer Cake Shop for the topper pics

Bea's cupcake order form

Bea's of Bloomsbury put up their cupcake order form online last month and I totally forgot to blog it (sorry!). 

Flavours include the scrummy sounding passionfruit vanilla, strawberries and cream (which I tried last week...very nice!), praline chocolate, chocolate grand marnier and my favourite sounding one...lamingtons cupcake: rich coconut glazed in rich fudge icing and then covered in coconut...yum! 

There is also the option to 'build your own cupcake', which includes the option for baileys base or baileys frosting...or both..swoon!  Ther are options for gluten free and vegan cupcakes as well. 

Sorry about the pic above - just got my new mobile phone and it took a day or so to get used to it! The chocolate cake has kumquat on :)

Mmmm Baileys

I may try and get to Selfridges tomorrow to see if they have any of these gorgeous sounding Lola's cupcakes, but I doubt I'll make it...damn work! St Patrick's day is the PERFECT excuse to drink/eat Baileys!

If anyone tries them let me know!

March 17th is Saint Patrick's Day and Lola's has created a special cupcake to celebrate! We love this new rich chocolate cupcake filled and topped with delicious Bailey's Irish Cream icing and a Shamrock created especially for Lola's. You can also choose from any of our other flavours, which will all be decorated for St Patricks Day. Your order is hand delivered with a personal gift note. Available from the 10th to the 17th March. "For each petal on the shamrock This brings a wish your way - Good health, good luck, and happiness For today and every day. ~Author Unknown"