Cupcakes

Fresh Cream Cupcakes

It’s bakemas 2020!

If it’s your first bakemas here, welcome. It is my annual mini-series in which I show you how to make a various Christmas themed baked goods – perfect if you want to impress your family and/or friends or if you’re hosting a festive get together.

There’s no need to make Christmas more frantic, especially with the holiday season already being pressured. Take away some of the pressure and demanding tasks by keeping things super simple with a batch of the fresh cream cupcakes.

I know celebrating this year is going to be different for everybody but regardless of how you’re celebrating, why not make some cupcakes? You can make as many or as few as you need. Perfect to prevent food waste and enjoy a treat.

I’ve taken the classic vanilla cupcake and jazzed it up by using some sweetened whipped cream and generously filled with strawberry jam.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients (for 12 cupcakes):

Cupcakes:

175g butter, at room temp.

175g granulated sugar.

2 eggs.

1 tsp vanila extract

175g plain flour.

1 tsp baking powder.

pinch of salt.

splash of milk, if needed.

Cream:

300ml double cream.

25-30g icing sugar.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

Filling:

strawberry jam.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep. Weigh up all of your ingredients, line a muffin pan with cupcake cases, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and grab any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and spatulas.

To start on the recipe, make the cupcakes. To keep things simple and stress free, the all-in-one method is going to be used – this is where you place all of your ingredients into a bowl and beat them together.

Into a mixing bowl, place the butter, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, plain flour, baking powder and salt – beating over a low speed to start, working your way up to a medium-high and mix until a clear cake batter forms.

If you mixture looks a little stiff, add enough milk in to help achieve a more perfect consistency.

Give the bowl a good scraping down and take the lined muffin pan.

Fill the cases around 2/3 or 3/4 of the way full, then place into your preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes (or until golden brown and well risen). Allow to cool fully before you finish them off.

If you want to make these a day or 2 in advance, feel free to go ahead and do it. Saves you time and effort on the day you intend to serve them.

To make the cream, take a clean mixing bowl and place in the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk everything together until it starts to forming peaks, this is known as soft peaks but you want to take it one stage further to achieve stiff peaks.

This is where the cream should be able to hold its shape – if you whisk the cream too much it will have a granular mouthfeel and be unpleasant. If this happens, dispose of the cream and re-whisk the cream.

Transfer into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle of your choice – I went with an open star but choose whichever nozzle you’d like.

Take the cooled cupcakes and core out the centre using either a cupcake corer or apple corer and generously fill with strawberry jam.

Top the cupcakes with the freshly whipped cream and pipe on however you’d like and that’s everything done – a super simple recipe, perfect for when you want a homemade treat.

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.

Eggnog Cupcakes

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

It’s bakemas 2020!

Keeping things chilled this Monday with a batch of eggnog cupcakes.

You may remember a couple of days ago, I make some eggnog – you will need it for this recipe.

These cupcakes are super easy and perfect festive – they have the perfect boozy eggnog flavour without it being too much. Starting with a classic vanilla cupcake, which is filled with a homemade eggnog pastry cream and topped with a creamy eggnog buttercream – what’s not to like?

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

175g butter.

175g granulated sugar.

2 eggs.

175g plain flour.

1 tsp baking powder.

pinch of salt.

uptown 50ml milk.

Eggnog Pastry Cream:

200ml eggnog.

1/4 tsp vanilla extract.

30g egg yolk.

25g granulated sugar

15g plain flour.

Eggnog Buttercream:

125g butter.

250g icing sugar.

eggnog pastry cream (as much or as little as you’d like).

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Weigh up all of you ingredients, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, line a muffin pan with cupcake cases and get any equipment you may need such as a stand mixer, sauce pan and whisk and of course spatulas.

To start on these cupcakes, you will want to make the pastry cream (as this takes the longest to make).

Grab yoru saucepan and place in the eggnog and vanilla extract. Place this on the hob over a medium-high heat, allowing to come to a boil.

Into another bowl, add the egg yolks and sugar and whisk them together until they are well combined – the mixture should be pale in colour and the volume should have increased. Add in the flour and whisk until its fully combined into the mixture.

By this point, the milk should have reached a boil. Pour around 1/3 of the milk mixture over the egg mixture and whisk until incorporated. Then gradually add the rest, as you whisk it in.

You can then transfer it back onto the heat and continuously whisk the mixture until its thickened considerably. Once thick and smooth, you can then go ahead and transfer into a small baking tray and spread it out until its a pretty thin layer, then cover with clingfilm, ensuring the clingfilm is touching the top of the pastry cream.

Try you best to ensure that a skin doesn’t form on top – allow to cool down fully.

While you wait, you can make the cupcakes.

Grab a mixing bowl and place in the butter, granulated sugar, eggs, plain flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Beat them all together until everything has become well combined and the mixture is lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency. You may find the mixture a little stiff, add in milk, roughly a tablespoon at a time until you achieve the perfect consistency.

Transfer the cake batter into the lined muffin pan and fill the cast around 2/3 or 3/4 of the ways full and then place into your preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until well risen, golden brown and when a tester is inserted into the centre, comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool fully before you try to work with them.

Now is the idea time to get started on the buttercream.

Into a large mixing bowl, place the butter and beat it on it’s own until it’s lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this usually takes around 7-10 minutes, depending how soft your butter was and what speed you have your mixer on.

Once you’ve achieved the perfect consistency, give the bowl a good scraping down just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated.

Then add in the first half of your icing sugar and incorporate it over a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high – everything should be well combined and almost fully incorporated. Repeat with the remaining half of icing sugar.

You’ll want to give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits tat may not have been fully worked in from earlier on – set aside until needed later on.

Now everything has been made and you can prepare to finish the cupcakes off.

Take the pastry cream you made earlier on and scrape it from the baking tray and into a bowl. Whisk it all together until its less gelatinous and more spreadable. Transfer into a piping bag and set aside until its needed later on.

Using some of the left over pastry cream, add it to the buttercream and just mix until everything is fully combined, then transfer the buttercream Into a piping fitted with your choice of nozzle.

Now to finish the cupcakes, core the centres out and generously fill with the pastry cream and then pipe the buttercream on top and finish with sprinkles and sugar paste snowflakes (or whatever you’d like).

That’s how you make a batch of eggnog cupcakes!

Gingerbread Cupcakes

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

It’s bakemas 2020!

Today I’m sharing my take on a batch of gingerbread cupcakes – the perfect seasonal cupcake to make and enjoy!

These cupcakes are easily one of the best you can make over the festive period as they are gingery and rich, without being too much. I know not everybody likes a strong ginger flavour but these cupcakes have all the comforting flavours, so it’s not overpowering nor underwhelming – just perfectly balanced.

These cupcakes could topped with a spiced buttercream but that could be a lot, so have kept it simple with a basic vanilla buttercream.

If you like gingerbread biscuits, then you might just like these gingerbread cupcakes – give them a go today!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients: (makes 6)

Cupcakes:

225g Plain flour.

1 1/2 tsp Baking powder.

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda.

1 1/2 tsp Ground ginger.

90g Butter.

90g Light brown sugar.

90g Black treacle.

90g Golden syrup.

1 Egg.

150ml Milk.

Buttercream:

125g Butter.

250g Icing sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla buttercream.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to start by doing some prep. To start, weigh up all of your ingredients, line a muffin pan with cases/liners, grab a mixing bowl along with a whisk and spatula. You will also need a small/medium saucepan and don’t forget to preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

To start on the cupcake recipe, grab your saucepan. Into the saucepan, place the butter, light brown sugar, black treacle and golden syrup, then place over a medium heat on the hob. Allow them to melt, then start whisking continuously until smooth and well combined.

While you wait for the ingredients on the hob, you can continue. Into a jug or small bowl, place in the egg and milk and beat together, then you can sift the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger together and set aside until needed later on.

Take the saucepan off the heat and allow to cool a little. Then go ahead and whisk in the milk and egg mixture until its fully incorporated – now add this into the dry mixture and fold everything together until the mixture is smooth and you can’t see a trace of a single ingredient.

Transfer the cake mixture into the cake cases and fill around 2/3 or 3/4 of the way full, this is the perfect amount of batter to fill cases. Then you can bake in your preheated oven for 20-22 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean).

While your cupcakes are in the oven, it’s the perfect time to have a good clean down and make the buttercream.

To make the buttercream is really easy. Grab a mixing bowl and place in the butter and beat it on its own until its lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

Give the bowl a good scraping down and add in the first half of the icing sugar. Mix it in on a low speed to start with, working your way up to a high – everything should be incorporated and be a ‘whippy’ consistency. Repeat with the other half of the icing sugar.

Once all of the icing sugar has been added, add in the vanilla extract, the mix in until everything has been incorporated. Then you can give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Place the buttercream into a piping bad fitted with your nozzle of choice.

Now the cupcakes are baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool fully.

To finish the cupcakes off, pipe the buttercream over the cooled cupcakes and finish with your choice of sprinkles.

Mince Pie Cupcakes

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

It’s the start of bakemas 2020!

That’s why I’m showing you how to make a batch of these super easy and perfectly seasonal mince pie cupcakes.

If you’re a fan of a classic mince pie and like cupcakes, this is the best cross over you could think of. It starts with a fruity brown sugar cupcake, which is filled with mincemeat, topped with a cinnamon Italian buttercream and finished with a touch of mincemeat… It’s a little different but well worth the bake.

The flavours work very well together due to the cupcake containing brown sugar and fruit, which are both in the mincemeat, so everything works in harmony.

I understand things can be hectic or stressful around this time of year, that’s why I’m keeping things super simple, so you can have all your baked treats without the stress – trust me.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Cupcakes:

175g Butter.

175g Dark brown sugar.

2 Eggs.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

175g Plain flour.

1 tsp Baking powder.

Pinch of salt.

100g Mixed dried fruit.

Buttercream:

35g Water.

125g Granulated white sugar.

1 Egg.

2 Egg yolks.

250g Butter.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Decorate & Filling:

1 Jar of mincemeat, for the decoration and filling.

Methods:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up your ingredients, lining your muffin tin with cupcake cases, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and grab any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and spatula.

To start, you’ll want to make the cupcakes. I would normally use the creaming method but instead for time and convenience I’m using the all-in-one method. Grab your large mixing bowl and place all of the cupcake ingredients into the bowl and then mix everything together over a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high speed.

Once everything is combined and you can’t see a trace of a single ingredient, you can then go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down – this is just to ensure that everything is fully incorporated and you won’t get a bite of a raw ingredient in the end baked good.

You can then go ahead and divide the cake batter equally (as possible) between your cake cases and then place into your preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a tester comes out clean, when inserted into the centre of the cupcake.

While the cupcakes are baking in the oven, you can get ahead and make the buttercream as it takes a little time to make.

When it comes to the buttercream, I like to use an Italian buttercream. It’s the perfect addition to compliment these cupcakes – I won’t be sharing the full method over here as I have a blog post showing you how to make it in more detail, so please check out the Italian buttercream blog post for the full method.

Once you have your cupcakes made and cooled fully and you buttercream has been made and placed into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle of choice, you can start assembling the cupcakes.

Start by coring the centre out of the cupcakes and generously fill them with the mincemeat (I used shop bought but feel free to make your own). Then on top of the filled cupcakes, you can then go ahead and pipe on the buttercream, however you like. Then finish the cupcakes by adding a small teaspoon of mincemeat on top – just for decoration.

Death by Chocolate Cupcakes

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Halloween is just a few days away, have you left the treats until the last minute? Don’t worry, I have you covered with these death by chocolate cupcakes – super easy and take next to no time to make.

These cupcakes are the perfect treat to make for halloween as they are very chocolatey (perfect for the chocoholic in your life) and straightforward to make.

I got the idea for these cupcakes from the more traditional death by chocolate cake and elevated the idea to another level because when is too much chocolate really too much? Is that even possible? Let’s be honest…

Well… Starting with a chocolate cupcake, which is filled with a chocolate creme pat, topped with a chocolate Italian buttercream and finished with chocolate chips. Isn’t that great, I mean, if you like chocolate anyway!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

90g Butter.

90g Granulated sugar.

1 Egg.

90g Self raising flour.

Pinch of salt.

20g Cocoa powder.

Chocolate Italian Buttercream:

35ml Water.

125g Granulated sugar.

30g Cocoa powder.

1 Whole egg.

2 Egg yolks.

250g Butter, softened.

Chocolate creme pat/custard:

125ml Milk (I use full fat but feel free to use whatever you’d like).

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract.

30g Egg yolks.

25g Granulated sugar.

10g Plain flour.

10g Cocoa powder.

Methods:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Weigh up all of your ingredients, line your muffin tin with cupcake/muffin cases, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and grab any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and silicon spatula.

To start on the recipe, you’ll want to start on the cupcake, don’t worry it’s super easy. To make the cake batter, grab yourself a clean mixing bowl and place all (except the milk) of the cupcake ingredients into it. Mix on a low speed just until all of the ingredients are combined, then crank the speed up to a high and mix for around a minute or so (the batter should be smooth and glossy).

You may need to add the milk, now would be the ideal time (only if needed).

Once you have the cake batter made, you can go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down – just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Grab your muffin pan that has been line with cake cases and scoop the mixture into them, filling them around 2/3 or 3/4 of the way full. This recipe makes 6 cupcakes (they are fairly rich and may be quite sickly).

Then you can go ahead and place the cupcakes into the oven to bake for 20 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cupcake).

While the cupcakes are in the oven baking, you can make your chocolate Italian buttercream. To start, take a small/medium saucepan and place in the water, sugar and cocoa powder and give them all a good mix together. You can then go ahead and place this on the hob over a medium-high heat, until it reaches 121˚c/ 250˚f (keep your eye on it, using a thermometer of course).

Now you can go ahead and grab a mixing bowl and place in the egg and egg yolks and whisk them together until they are very well combined, they should have increased in volume and be lighter in colour and consistency.

Continue whisking the eggs together until your mixture in the saucepan has come up to 121˚c/250˚f. You can then gradually pour the hot mixture over the egg mix while the whisk is running on a low speed – once all of the hot mixture has been added – crank the speed up to the highest you can possibly get it and whisk until you can touch the bottom of the bowl.

You can add your butter in piece by piece. Start adding your butter once you can touch the bottom of the bowl, don’t worry if the buttercream looks like it isn’t thickening – it will, just watch as you add the butter towards the end.

Once your buttercream is made, either place into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate or place into a piping bag and use straight away.

Now you can make then chocolate creme pat.

Start by adding the milk and vanilla extract into a saucepan and give it all a good mix together until its well combined – then place onto the hob over a medium-high heat.

While your milk mixture is working its way up to a boil, you can grab a bowl and add in the egg yolks and sugar. Give the two a good whisk together just until they are combined, then you can add in the plain flour and cocoa powder – whisking it all through until fully incorporated.

Once your milk has come to a boil, add around 1/3 of it straight into the chocolate mixture and fully whisk that in until its incorporated. Then you can add in the remaining as you continuously whisk the mixture – then you can place back on the hob and whisk the mixture continuously.

The mixture may not thicken straight away, this is normal. As the mixture warms up, it will thicken up (thats why you need to continuously whisk the mixture, so it doesn’t catch on the bottom and ruin the custard).

Once its fully thickened and the flour and cocoa powder have been cooked out. Transfer the custard into bowl or dish and cover with clingfilm (ensuring the clingfilm touches the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming on top of the custard – allow to cool then store in the fridge until needed).

Eventually, once everything has been made and baked, you can think about finishing the cupcakes.

Take a cupcake corer or apple peeler and core the centre of the cupcake out, then fill to the top with the chocolate creme pat. Then on top you can pipe on the Italian buttercream, I used a open star piping tip but the tip you use is up to you. Then finish with some chocolate chips and enjoy!

Apple Crumble Cupcakes

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

You know what’s better than one baked good? Two of them combined into one!

Today I’ll be sharing my recipe for a batch of super simple apple crumble cupcakes… If you give these a go, I promise that you won’t regret it. They are like a bite of autumn in each bite.

A light and flavourful apple brown sugar cupcake, filled with a homemade chunky apple filling, topped with a creamy vanilla buttercream and finished with a homemade brown sugar crumble and more of the chunky apple filling.

Now the weather is cooling down, it’s the ideal time to make more filling and comforting foods – these cupcakes are perfect. The use of spices, brown sugar and apple really make these cupcakes feel a little more seasonal.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Apple Filling:

1 Large cooking apple, chopped into small cubes.

30-50g Granulated sugar (use the amount of sugar that suits you best).

15-30ml Water.

Cupcakes:

90g Butter, room temperature.

90g Dark brown sugar.

1 Egg.

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract.

90g Plain flour.

1/2 tsp Baking powder.

Pinch of salt.

1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon.

1/4 tsp Ground mixed spice.

20g Freeze dried apples.

Buttercream:

125g Butter, room temperature.

250g Icing sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Crumble:

35g Granulated sugar.

35g Dark brown sugar.

30g Oats.

50g Plain flour.

60g Butter.

Method:

Before you get started on they recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Weigh up all of the ingredients, grab any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and food processor and line your trays/cupcake tray with parchment/cases. It’s also the perfect time for you to preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f

You can start where you like regarding the recipe, I would recommend that you make the apple filling to start, as it will need time to cool down.

To make the apple filling, take a large cooking apple and peel, core and cube. Then place into a medium-large saucepan and add in the sugar and water, heat over a medium-high heat and just cook until the apples have soften and the sugar/water have made a thickened syrupy consistency.

Transfer the apple filling into a jar until it’s needed, later on.

To start on the crumble, you’ll want to place the plain flour, granulated sugar and dark brown sugar into a bowl and mix them together.

Once they are combined, you can then add the butter, which is in small pieces. Once all the butter has been added, you can rub it together until the butter has been incorporated and the mixture has become crumblier looking – now you can add in the oats, stir until they have been incorporated.

Remove the crumble from the bowl and place onto a lined baking tray. If your crumble has lumps that are large, use a silicon spatula to break them down into smaller bits. Bake the crumble in the oven until it’s well coloured – around 10-12 minutes.

Now you can start on the cupcake, which is super easy. Take the butter and dark brown sugar and beat together until they are well combined – they’ll be lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

Then you can go ahead and add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix that in until it’s fully incorporated.

You can then go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Add the the plain flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon and ground mixed spice along with the freeze dried apple pieces. Mix it all together until everything is combined and there isn’t a trace of a single ingredient.

Give the bowl another good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Grab your cupcake tray you lined with cases earlier on and spoon the cupcake mixture into the cases – filling them around 2/3 or 3/4 of the way full. Then you can place them into your preheated oven and bake fr 20-22 minutes (or when a tester comes out clean, when inserted into the centre).

While your cupcakes are in the oven, it’s the ideal time to make buttercream (which is really easy).

Take a mixing bowl and place in the butter and beat that until its lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency (around 5-7 minutes), then you can scrape the bowl down and add in half of your icing sugar – mixing until it has been fully incorporated, then scrape down and repeat with the second half of the icing sugar.

Add in the vanilla extract and mix until its fully incorporated – set aside until you need it later on. I like to place my buttercream into my piping bag, fitted with a nozzle.

Now that everything is made, wash up and have a general clean up. Allowing everything to cool down fully before you use it.

Once everything has been made and has cooled down, you can start to finish the cupcakes off.

I like to start by coring out the centres of my cupcakes using a cupcake corer (feel free to use an apple corer, which works just as well). Then taking a generous teaspoonful of the apple filling and filling the centre of the cupcakes – repeat this for all 6 cupcakes.

On top of the filled cupcakes, you can pipe on your buttercream – you do this however works best for you. I just went with a very straightforward and simple swirl.

While the buttercream is still tacky, you can take spoonfuls of the crumble mix and press it around the edge of the buttercream, ensuring theres a good coating of the crumble.

Then to finish, you can take a small amount of the apple filling and spoon some on top of the cupcakes and you’re done!

Trifle Cupcakes

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Why have only one treat when you can have 2in1… Today I’m sharing my recipe for a batch of trifle cupcakes, the ultimate combination of a trifle and cupcake.

These cupcakes came about after having some ingredients left over and wanting to prevent food waste – so you get cupcakes and save food from landfill, you can’t go wrong.

As always, these cupcakes are super simple and contain almost all the elements a traditional trifle would or slightly amended to work in cupcake form. It starts with a vanilla cupcake, which has the centre cored out and is filled with a homemade vanilla custard (or if you want to be post, creme pat) and strawberry jam. Topped with freshly whipped cream and finished with 100s and 1000s – what’s not to love?

If you’re looking for a simple cupcake recipe with an alternative topping to buttercream – you bets get your ingredients weighed up and your oven preheated as these will be the perfect cupcakes for you!

I only made 6 cupcakes, as that’s what I could make to use up the ingredients I had ready to use up but I will be sharing the measurements for a batch of 12 cupcakes, so you can work from there with the recipe.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

175g Butter.

175g Granulated sugar.

2 Eggs.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

15-30ml Milk.

175g Plain flour.

1 tsp Baking powder.

Pastry cream:

125ml Milk.

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract.

30g Egg yolk.

25g Granulated sugar.

15g Plain flour.

Jam Filling:

Strawberry or raspberry jam for the filling.

Topping:

300ml Double cream.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

50-100g Icing sugar (depend how sweet you like the cream).

100s and 1000s or rainbow sprinkles.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep. I recommend that you start by weighing up all of your ingredients, followed by preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, lining a cupcake tray with cupcake cases and getting any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer (or a hand mixer, whichever you have access to) and a spatula.

To start, I like to make the cupcakes. For the cupcakes I used the all in one method, this is simply where you place all of the ingredients into a bowl and beat them together until they combined. So, into your mixing bowl you can go ahead and add in the butter, granulated sugar and then add the plain flour, baking powder and salt in passing through a sieve first. Then you can add in the eggs and vanilla extract.

You can then start to mix the mixture on a medium high speed just until everything has been fully incorporated and a clear batter has formed, try your best not to over-mix the batter at this stage, otherwise the baked cupcakes may have a unpleasant tougher texture.

Once your cake batter is ready, give the bowl a quick scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Then you can go ahead and add the cake batter into the cupcake cases, filling them around 2/3 or 3/4 of the way full (try and fill each of the cases as consistently as possible). You can then transfer the tray into the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre).

While the cupcakes are in the oven, it’s the perfect time to make the custard filling.

To make the creme pat/custard, you’ll want to grab a small/medium saucepan and place in the milk and vanilla extract. You can then place that over a medium-high heat and allow to almost reach a boil.

While the milk is doing its thing, you can grab a medium bowl and add in the egg yolks and granulated sugar, then whisk the two together until they are lighter in colour and consistency, the mixture should be a pale yellow-ish colour at this stage.

Add in the flour and whisk until its been fully incorporated and then you can start to add in the milk mix. I recommend you go with around 1/4 of the amount of milk, then whisk until it has been fully incorporated (this helps to temper the mixture, so it shouldn’t scramble but if it does, start over). Continue to add the milk mix in small amounts until it has been fully incorporated.

You can then return the saucepan to the hob, over a medium heat, whisking constantly and after a short while you should notice that the mixture is thickening, this is what you’re looking for (it shows that the flour and eggs have been throughly cooked and the custard is safe to consume), make sure the mixture has thickened enough to hold its shape but still be spreadable.

Once you have achieved that, you can then transfer onto a clean baking tray or a bowl and cover with cling film and allow to cool fully. The cling film is used to prevent a skin from forming on the custard and the thinner you can spread it out, the quicker it will cool down.

Now you have made the custard and the cupcakes are baking, you can go ahead and clean up.

Just before you intend on serving these cupcakes, you can make the sweetened whipped cream topping (feel free to leave the icing sugar out if you don’t want sweetened cream).

To make the cream, simply grab a clean mixing bowl and add in the double cream, vanilla extract and icing sugar and then beat until you achieve stiff peaks with the cream – remember handling the cream will continue the mixing process, so keep that to a minimum. Once the cream has thickened and holds its shape, you can transfer into a piping bag with a nozzle of your choice (I went with a star nozzle).

Later on, once everything is made and ready to use, start by whisking the creme pat until its a smoother and more pip able consistency, place the jam into a piping bag and have your sprinkles to hand.

Take a cupcake corer or apple corer and core the centre out the cupcake out, fill with a generous amount of the creme pat and strawberry jam, then pipe on the whipped cream and finish with your choice of sprinkles. Serve and enjoy, best eaten within 24 hours!

Gluten Free Lemon and Blueberry Cupcakes

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

These gluten free lemon and blueberry cupcakes are super simple and will go down a treat!

There is a little bit of a story to these cupcakes… The truth is, they didn’t start out as cupcakes but they were actually supposed to be muffins. The tops didn’t dome, so I turned them into tasty cupcakes (you know what they say, when life gives you lemons)!

The flavour combination of lemon and blueberry is always a winning combination – no matter which way you taste it and these cupcakes are no different!

These cupcakes start with a lemon and blueberry sponge cake, which is filled with lemon curd then topped with a lemon buttercream – the perfect cupcake for the Summer season, trust me.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

150g Gluten free plain flour.

150g Dairy and gluten free spread (I used PURE).

100g Granulated sugar.

3 Eggs.

2tsp Gluten free baking powder

125g Blueberries, lightly floured.

1 Lemon, zested.

Lemon curd

Buttercream

125g butter.

250g Icing sugar.

Lemon zest.

Methods:

Before you get into making these cupcakes, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all your ingredients, lining your muffin tray with cupcake liners, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and get any equipment you may need read, such as a stand mixer and a spatula.

To make a start on the cakes, you’ll want to grab a mixing bowl and place in the spread, granulated sugar and lemon zest then beat unit they are combined – they should be lighter and fluffier.

Once they’re combined, you can then go ahead and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. The mixture may look scrambled and that is completely normal when using this recipe.

Give the bowl and good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Then you’ll want to add in the flour and baking powder, passing through a sieve first to remove any lumps that may be in the mixture. You will also want to add in the lightly dusted blueberries.

Fold the dry mix and blueberries in just until hey are worked in, which doesn’t take too long. Try your best not to over-mix at this stage.

Grab your lined muffin tin and fill the cases around 3/4 or 2/3 of the way full, then place into your preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.

While your cupcakes are baking, you can started on the buttercream.

Into a mixing bowl, place the butter and beat on a medium-high speed until it has become lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

Once lighter and fluffier, you can give the bowl a good scraping down, then add in the first half of your icing sugar and beat until, it has been fully incorporated. Repeat with the remaining icing sugar.

Now you have your buttercream, you’ll want to flavour it. I went with lemon and instead of using lemon extract, I used lemon zest. Add it into the buttercream and just fold it until it’s been worked in.

Eventually, once the cupcakes are cooled down, you’ll want to core the centre out of the cupcakes. I used a cupcake corer but feel free to use an apple corer, either works well. Generously fill the centres of the cupcakes using some lemon curd.

Then take your buttercream and pipe it on or if you don’t like how the piping comes out, smooth it out and rock a more rustic look, like what I did with these cupcakes.

Strawberry Cupcakes

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so why not make these strawberry cupcakes? They’ll go down a real treat – I promise!

Just because it’s Valentine’s Day, doesn’t mean everything has to be pink or red and have hearts on it. These strawberry cupcakes are easy and full of strawberry flavour without the use of artificial flavourings!

I use freeze dried strawberries in this recipe as they add a strong strawberry flavour without adding too much moisture, therefore meaning you can add a filling to the baked cupcake, either a strawberry jam or conserve.

There is actually strawberry in every element, freeze dried strawberries are in both the cake and buttercream and strawberry conserve in the centre as a filling.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cupcake:

90g Butter.

90g Granulated sugar.

1 Egg.

90g Plain flour.

1/2 tsp Baking powder.

Pinch of salt.

5-7g Freeze dried strawberries, ground finely.

Buttercream:

125g Butter.

250g Icing sugar.

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract.

(up to) 10g Freeze dried strawberries

Methods:

Before you get into making these cupcakes, you’re best to do some prep. Start by preheating you oven to 180˚c/350˚f, measure up the ingredients and get any equipment you intend on using, like a stand mixer or mixing bowl ready.

Firstly, place the butter, granulated sugar, egg, plain flour, baking powder and salt into your mixing bowl. You can then start the mixer on a low speed, working your way up to a medium high – mix until smooth, try not to over-mix.

Next, add in the vanilla.

Now you can go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down, this is just to incorporate any bit’s that haven’t been fully incorporated.

You can then go ahead and add in the freeze dried strawberries. Fold them in by hand, using a spatula juts until they are incorporated.

Don’t forget to transfer the cupcake batter into a piping bag, which is simply for convenience.

Fill your cake cases about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way full, this is the perfect amount as the cake rise.

Place into the preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean, when inserted into the centre of the cupcake).

While the cupcakes are in oven baking, it’s the perfect time to make the buttercream.

To start on the buttercream, get yourself a large mixing bowl and place in the butter. Beat the butter on its own for 5-7 minutes or until the butter is both lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

Give the bowl a good scraping down and add in around half of the icing sugar and mix on a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high speed. Repeat with the remaining icing sugar and don’t forget to add in the vanilla extract.

Go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down again, then add in the freeze dried strawberries and food colouring and give it all a good mix until it’s fully incorporated.

Transfer the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with your choice of nozzle (I went with a star nozzle), set aside until it’s needed later on.

Once you’ve got the cakes baked and cooled along with the buttercream made, you can then start to assemble the cupcakes. Now is the perfect time to get your cupcake corer ready and get the jam ready.

Take the cupcake and core the centre out, you can discard the cored part (or eat, for recipe purpose’s of course), then fill the cavity of the cupcake with the jam, try not to over fill.

Then go ahead and pipe as much or as little buttercream as you’d like. The use of freeze dried strawberries really helps to elevate the flavour!

Anddddd that’s it. A super simple recipe for strawberry cupcakes with only natural flavourings, no artificial strawberry at all!

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my Instagram and Twitter. The YouTube video will be linked down below.

Easy Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

For today’s recipe, I’m taking a classic and making it vegan – the humble vanilla cupcake. A fluffy vanilla cupcake topped with a delightful vanilla buttercream – what more could you want?

I though, seeing as its veganuary, why not make a simple yet staple recipe? Vanilla cupcakes are easily one of the most popular cupcakes flavours out there, so it should be available for vegans!

I’ve been testing different recipes and them all ending up with different results but none of them were perfect. Some required oil, others a vegan spread and after a few attempts, I had enough of weird textures and flavours, so I took my own vanilla cupcake recipe and made some minor changes and finally found a recipe that was going to work for me and I’m sharing it with you today!

As with some recipes, they require you to buy bits and pieces you wouldn’t usually use but not with this one, the only thing you’ll need to buy different is some oat milk (that’s my favourite alternative to milk, but feel free to test other types of milk). We use the milk in place of the eggs and it works perfectly in this recipe – trust me.

As always, you should take extra precautions with ingredients and making sure they are fully vegan before you use them!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

175g Vegan spread (I used PURE, its vegan and gluten free – available at Heron frozen foods stores).

175g Granulated sugar.

175ml Oat milk (you can try other alternatives, I haven’t so can’t recommend any).

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

175g Plain flour.

1 tsp Baking powder.

Pinch of salt.

Buttercream

125g Vegan spread (I used PURE).

125g White Vegetable fat (I used Trex).

500g Icing sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Methods:

Before you get into making the cupcakes, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, weighing up all your ingredients, line a cupcake pan with cupcake cases and getting any equipment you may need ready to use.

Start by getting yourself a mixing bowl and placing the spread and sugar into it. Beat the two together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

Give the bowl a scraping down and start to add your oat milk in a little at a time, no matter how slowly you add the milk, the mixture with split and this is okay on this occasion. This will happen as you’re adding a lot of liquid into a mix which can’t handle it, it will be corrected once the flour is added.

Once all of the oat milk has been added, you can go ahead and sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix on a low-medium speed until all the dry ingredients have been worked in. You’ll know once the batter is smooth and doesn’t show a trace of a single ingredient.

Don’t forget to line your cupcake pan with cupcake cases and transfer the cake batter into a piping bag (for convenience). Fill the cupcake cases just over half the way full, this is the ideal amount.

Place into your preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until well risen and a tester comes out clean (all ovens are different, so times may vary between each oven).

While your cupcakes are in the oven baking, now would be the ideal time to make your ‘butter’ cream!

Get yourself a large mixing bowl and place in the vegan spread and trex and beat them together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this doesn’t take too long usually.

Add in your first half of icing sugar, beating on a low speed to start then working your way up to a medium high. Repeat with the second batch of icing sugar.

Once all the icing sugar has been added, add in your vanilla and beat until its fully incorporated. Transfer the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle (I went with an open star nozzle).

Once your cupcakes are fully baked (test by inserting a tester into the centre, if it comes out clean, they’re fully baked) remove from the oven and allow to cool fully before you finish them off.

Now you have your fully baked and cooled cupcakes and buttercream ready, you’re good to finish the cupcakes off by decorating them.

Pipe as much or as little buttercream you’d like on the cupcakes, repeat until you’re finished. Finish the cupcakes with some vegan friendly sprinkles (these are available online).

That’s it, you’re done! A really quick and easy recipe showing you how to make vegan vanilla cupcakes and to be honest with you, you can’t even tell they are vegan!

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my Instagram and Twitter. The YouTube video will be linked down below.

Cupcakes

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