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Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes

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The chocolatey, hazelnutty goodness of a Ferrero Rocher, all wrapped up into a yummy cupcake

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Chocolate and Hazelnut are a match made in heaven, it’s true, I read it in the bible; “and on the 6th day, God created chocolate and hazelnut in His own image, to spend eternity together. However some old dudes heard Him wrong and wrote it down as Adam and Eve”. That’s how it goes in my bible anyway!

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And that is why Ferrero Rocher’s are so yummy. And Nutella. And all things Chocolate Hazelnut. The only way to make them better is to put it in a cupcake. Like I said, heaven!

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I promised you guys these cupcakes when I shared my Valentine’s Day cakes, sorry it took me so long I’m the worst, I know! The recipe I used was my fave chocolate cake recipe, in this post I’ll give you the recipe for the chocolate hazelnut swiss meringue buttercream and chocolate hazelnut ganache.

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What you wanna do is make up a batch of chocolate cupcakes and let cool.  Make up the ganache, which is double cream, chocolate and Nutella and leave to cool for about 10 minutes, meanwhile cut circles out of the centre of each cupcake, saving the cut outs. Fill the cupcakes with about a teaspoon of the ganache and replace the centres, trimming them where necessary. Make up the swiss meringue buttercream, it takes a while to make but it’s so so worth it. Before you add the Nutella when making it, set about a quarter of it aside to decorate with. There’s a lot of butter in swiss meringue so make sure you’re working in a cool environment when decorating with it. Swirl the Nutella SMBC on top of the cupcakes and drizzle with some of the ganache. Put a swirl of the white vanilla SMBC on top and place half a Ferrero Rocher on top. Yum!

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[recipe title=”Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache”]
Ingredients

  • 115g Nutella (or other chocolate hazelnut butter)
  • 120ml double cream
  • 55g dark, good quality, chocolate, chopped

Method

    • In a medium saucepan, heat cream over medium low heat.
    • Stir in Nutella and stir until smooth and combined
    • Add chocolate and stir until melted
    • Leave to cool

[/recipe]
[recipe title=”Chocolate Hazelnut Swiss Meringue Buttercream”]
Ingredients

  • 5 large egg whites
  • 1.5 cup sugar
  • 2 cups unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup nutella

Method

  •  Whisk together the egg whites and sugar in your stand mixer bowl and place it over simmering water. Heat to about 160 degrees F (about 7 minutes), whisking occasionally
  • Transfer bowl to stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment and beat on medium high speed until mixture cools, doubles in size and forms stiff peaks. This takes about 10 minutes,
  • Switch to the paddle attachment and add butter one piece at a time, mixing to combine after each addition. The mixture may curdle but keep mixing and it’ll come back together don’t worry.
  • Add salt and vanilla and mix to combine. Set aside quarter of the frosting aside for the vanilla portion (if you want just Nutella SMBC obviously you don’t need to do this)
  • Add Nutella to remaining frosting and beat to combine. Use asap.

[/recipe]

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Happy Valentine’s Day

Welcome to the World, Thing 1 and Thing 2

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In the early hours of this morning my sister gave birth to twins! So I baked some cupcakes to celebrate (naturally).

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And how could I bake anything other than Dr Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes? I had the idea for these a while ago after seeing something similar on the internet and I’ve just been counting down the days until I could do it!

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I had a bit of a struggle with these as I either needed red cake or red cases. And since I couldn’t find red cases for love nor money, it had to be red cake, which naturally means red velvet, my fave! The problem here being that I also didn’t have any red food colouring! For those of you experienced with red velvet you’ll know that the original red colour comes from the reaction between the cocoa powder and acidic ingredient (usually white vinegar of some kind), but to get a garishly bright red that most of us are used to when it comes to red velvet, you also need a ton of red food colouring. I somehow managed to get a nice good red colour from just the cocoa and vinegar plus some ruby sugarflair gel colouring (which is a dark pink) and a very tiny amount blue food colouring (thanks to my colour theory expert of a best friend for that tip!). While organising my cake decorating supplies later today I discovered I did have red food colouring after all, I guess that’s what I get for not organising that stuff sooner!

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I’m not gonna give you the red velvet recipe today as I was on a bit of an improvisation with this one, I also made my own buttermilk, this was a strictly “only use what I already have in the house” project!. When I finally write up a red velvet recipe (and I will, it’s my favourite cake) I’ll let you know how to make your own buttermilk too, a quick google will help you out there in the meantime though.

But what is red velvet without cream cheese frosting, right? And that’s the recipe I’m going to give you today. I’m a huge fan of cream cheese frosting, it’s my absolute favourite and I pretty much love it however it comes. But sometimes I find it can be a bit heavy with too much sweetness and not enough tangyness (totally a word), which is why I love this recipe. It’s really light and creamy and the small amount of sugar really lets the cream cheese shine through! Plus it’s still stiff enough to pipe.

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So, this one’s for you T1 and T2. This is your Aunty Michelle’s way of welcoming you into this crazy world

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[recipe title=”Cream Cheese Frosting” servings=”” time=”15 mins”]

Ingredients

  • 230g full fat cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 60g icing sugar, sifted
  • 160ml cold double cream*

Method

  • Beat the cream cheese until smooth
  • Add vanilla and sugar and beat until combined and smooth
  • Using a whisk attachment, add the cream a little at a time and whip until frosting is thick and ready to pipe
  • Add more sugar or cream to adjust consistency if necessary

*Note – make sure you use a double cream with at least 35% fat content and one that you know whips well. If you’re not using a good whipping cream then your frosting will not thicken up properly.

[/recipe]

 

Margarita Cupcakes

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My favourite cocktail in a cupcake!

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If you know only one thing about me, let it be that I love tequila. I don’t drink it by itself anymore (I’ll leave that to my university days), but put in a cocktail and I’m there! Margaritas are my favourite, especially if they’re frozen. Living in the UK though I am horribly deprived of good margaritas, so I just stock up on them when I’m visiting Atlanta! Luckily, I have these yummy cupcakes to keep me happy while I’m at home!

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This recipe is not my own, I found it on the wonderful Sweet Revelations. I changed a few things around (like more tequila!), but at it’s core they’re the same. I didn’t use any lime curd and chose to garnish with a sugar, salt and lime mix. I also made mine full sized instead of mini (it makes about 14 full sized cupcakes)

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I loved these cupcakes so much I made them my banner image!

These cupcakes are flavoured with lime and tequila and topped with a lime and tequila swiss meringue buttercream. These cupcakes were the first time I had ever made SMBC and I was terrified, but it turned out perfect first try (what a great ego boost!) so if you’re feeling hesitant just go for it! I even made mine without a stand mixer (I wouldn’t recommend that though, it’s harsh on the arm muscles).

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Let’s get down to the important part shall we

Lime and Tequila Cupcakes

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2  tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 2 eggs,
  • 2 limes, zested and juiced
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • tequila (for brushing)

Preheat the oven to 175C/350F and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners

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

Beat the butter and sugar together on a medium high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one and at a time and beat until fully combined. Add the lime zest and juice and mix well.

On a low speed, add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Mix until just incorporated.

Spoon until cake cases, about 2/3 full. Bake for approx 18 mins, until cakes are spongey and a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and turn out on to wire rack to cool. Generously brush tequila over the cakes while they’re still warm. If you want the tequila to get right down in there, poke a few holes with a toothpick before brushing. Leave to cool completely.

Lime & Tequila Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 2 cups unsalted butter cubed, at room temperature
  • 5 large egg whites
  • 1 cup + 2 tbsp of caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • 4 tbsp tequila (or to taste)
  • 1.5 tbsp lime juice

Grab a saucepan that is large enough to fit your mixing bowl in a few inches, fill it with a few inches of water and bring to boil, reduce to simmer.

In your clean mixing bowl (you’ll want to use the same bowl throughout the process) hand whisk the egg whites and sugar until just combined. Place over the simmering pot and whisk for about 4-5 minutes until the egg whites are hot (150F), the sugar should all be dissolved by then too. Place the bowl back on your stand mixer and using the whisk attachment whisk on medium until the whites have increased in volume and and the outside of the bowl is slightly warm to touch. Be patient because this can take 10 minutes!

Change to the paddle attachment (if you don’t have a stand mixer the beaters on your hand mixer will work fine, it’s what i used my first time making it). Beat on a low speed until the mixture is completely cooled. Increase speed to medium and add butter pieces one at a time. Scrape down the side of the bowl and continue to beat the buttercream until it is smooth and glossy. Don’t worry if the mixture starts to separate, just keep beating and it’ll come back together! Add vanilla, tequila, a pinch of salt and lime and beat until just combined. Pipe onto cupcakes immediately.

Lime, Sugar and Salt Garnish

  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp lime zest

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, sprinkle on top of freshly iced cupcakes! Finish it off with lime slices and peel!

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ooh look at those meringues in the background, watch this space for cupcakes involving those!

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Sweet Potato & Cider Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting and Butter Toasted Salted Pecans

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Inspired by bar food and just as yummy!

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I made these a while ago now and I didn’t take a lot of photos so this will be a pretty wordy post. It’ll be worth it though because these are pretty amazing cupcakes.

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The Vortex is an Atlanta institution and it serves pretty damn awesome bar food. Skipping past the burger with peanut butter and bananas that I always order, their sweet potato waffle fries that I get on the side are to die for. They serve them with marshmallow dip and the combination is awesome. When I was back home in the UK and longing for some Vortex food I thought “hey, why not make a cupcake version!” because that’s just how my brain works! And bar food is no good without a nice cold cider to go with it. And so this cupcake was born!

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The actual cupcakes taste like autumn and would be great with Thanksgiving dessert, but I would eat these any time of the year. The salty pecans offset the sweetness of the marshmallow perfectly too. They’re a great cupcake and a little on the different side too, which I always love.

They’re a bit long winded to make, but it’ll be worth the effort. I didn’t make quite enough frosting so I’d recommend adding 50% or doubling the recipe below.

Caramel Cider Sauce

  • 500ml apple cider
  • 1 vanilla pod, split length ways
  • 30g butter
  • 50g light brown sugar

Put the cider in a pan and bring to the boil. Add the vanilla bean and simmer for about twenty minutes until reduced by half. Add the butter and sugar and simmer for ten more minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.

Sweet Potato & Cider Cupcakes

  • 115g unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 225g mashed sweet potatoes, cold
  • 120ml apple cider
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
  • 190g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbinate of soda
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F and line a muffin tin with cases

Beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until incorporated.

Put the sweet potato, cider and vanilla extract in a food processor and whizz until smooth. Leave to one side.

Put the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture and the potato mixture into the butter mixture, alternating between the two, and beat until combined.

Fill the cupcake cases two thirds full and bake in the oven for about 18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and they’re springy to touch.

Remove from the pan. Saving 6 tbsp, drizzle the cider sauce over the warm cupcakes. Leave to cool.

Marshmallow Frosting

  • 230g unsalted butter, room temp
  • 6 tbsp cider sauce
  • 212g jar of vanilla marshmallow fluff ((UK people can buy it here)

Beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add 6 tablespoons of the cider sauce and beat until incorporated. Add the marshmallow fluff and fold in until fully incorporated.

Butter Toasted Salted Cupcakes

  • Large handful of pecans, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Melt the butter and stir in the pecans. Spread them out on a tray and roast in the oven for about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with salt and toss. Leave to cool. Sprinkle on top of frosted cupcakes then drizzle with any left over cider sauce.

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