Lemon and Raspberry Cupcakes

It was my 1 year' anniversary at my workplace and I made some cupcakes to celebrate this. I made some banoffee cupcakes and raspberry and lemon cupcakes from my new book from Peggy Porschen. I have to say I struggled to get 12 cupcakes from the amount she described so I increased the measurements slightly. I also found the icing ever so slightly sweet, so I added less icing sugar. BUT even with the sweet frosting it was more than delicious.

Lemon and Raspberry Cupcakes

 For the decoration

12 raspberries

For the frosting
120 g full-fat cream cheese
100 g unsalted butter, softened
220 g icing sugar, shifted
finely grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons

For the sponge

120 g unsalted butter

120 g caster sugar

pinch of salt

finely grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons

2 large eggs

120 g self-raising flour

2-3 raspberries per cupcake so 24-36 in total

For the sugar syrup

70 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

70 g caster sugar

To make the frosting

Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl  and beat until smooth and creamy. Place the butter and icing sugar and lemon zest in a separate bowl. Cream together until very pale and fluffy.

Add the cream cheese, a little at the time, to the butter mixture and mix at medium-high speed until the frosting is combined. Add the banana purée and chill until set.

To make the cupcakes

Place the butter, salt and lemon zest in a mixing bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy.

Beat the eggs lightly in another bowl and add slowly to the butter mixture while whisking quickly. If the mixture starts to separate or curdle, stop adding the egg and beat in  2-3 tablespoons of flour. This will rebind the butter.

Once all the egg has been incorporated into the butter mixture, shift in the remaining flour and stir until the batter is just combined. This will ensure the sponges stay light and fluffy. 

 Using a piping bag or a tablespoon, carefully place the batter into the cupcake cases until two-thirds full only. Drop 2 or 3 raspberries into each cupcake. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the inserted wooden skewer comes out clean.

To make the sugar syrup

While the cupcakes are baking, prepare the sugar syrup for soaking. Place the lemon juice and sugar into the saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until all the sugar dissolved then set aside to cool down slightly. 

Once the cupcakes are baked, let them rest for about 10 minutes outside the oven. Using a pastry brush, soak the tops of the cupcakes with sugar syrup while they are still warm: this allows the syrup to be absorbed faster. Leave to cool on a wire cooling rack.

Fill the chilled frosting in a plastic piping bag fitted with a large pain round nozzle and pipe a swirl of frosting on top of each cupcake.

To finish, place a raspberry on top of the frosting for each cupcake. 

Banoffee Cupcakes

It was my 1 year' anniversary at my workplace and I made some cupcakes to celebrate this. I made some banoffee cupcakes and raspberry and lemon cupcakes from my new book from Peggy Porschen. I have to say I struggled to get 12 cupcakes from the amount she described so I increased the measurements slightly. I also found the icing ever so slightly too sweet, so I added less icing sugar. BUT even with the sweet frosting it was more than delicious.

Banoffee Cupcakes

For the decoration

50g sugar florist paste(different colours)/marzipan

pink or white pearls

1 banana

For the frosting
120 g full-fat cream cheese
100 g unsalted butter, softened
220 g icing sugar, shifted
1 banana mashed 

For the sponge

120 g unsalted butter

120 g caster sugar

pinch of salt

seeds of 1 vanilla pod

2 large eggs

120 g self-raising flour

40 g plain chocolate (minimum 53% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces

For the sugar syrup

70 ml water

70 g caster sugar

scraped vanilla pods

For the filling

100 g soft caramel 

Make the decoration at least a day ahead.

Kneed the sugarpaste or the marzipan with a small amount of paste food colour, if using, until smooth and pilable. Roll out the paste to a thickness off approximately 2mm.

Place the blossom cutter on the paste and press firmly. Lift off the cutter and release the blossom. Cut a few at a time. Lightly dust the blossom veiner with icing sugar and one by one place each blossom shape in the venier and press. Carefully bend the venier outwards to release the shaped blossoms and place in a well of palette or on a foam pad. Leave to set for at least a few hours or preferably overnight. 

Once dry, you can add shades of colour to your blossoms by brushing with a tiny amount of petal dust using a fine artist's bush. With a brush place a small amount of edible glue in the middle and place a pearl in the middle with a tweezer.

I also made some banana decoration. I sliced one banana then covered the surface with sugar. With a blowtorch caramelise the surface...and that is it:)

To make the frosting

Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl  and beat until smooth and creamy. Place the butter and icing sugar in a separate bowl. Cream together until very pale and fluffy.

Add the cream cheese, a little at the time, to the butter mixture and mix at medium-high speed until the frosting is combined. Add the banana purée and chill until set.

To make the cupcakes

Place the butter, salt and vanilla seeds in a mixing bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy.

Beat the eggs lightly in another bowl and add slowly to the butter mixture while whisking quickly. If the mixture starts to separate or curdle, stop adding the egg and beat in  2-3 tablespoons of flour. This will rebind the butter.

Once all the egg has been incorporated into the butter mixture, shift in the remaining flour and stir until the batter is just combined. This will ensure the sponges stay light and fluffy. Fold the chopped chocolate through the batter using a rubber spatula.

 Using a piping bag or a tablespoon, carefully place the batter into the cupcake cases until two-thirds full only. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the inserted wooden skewer comes out clean.

To make the sugar syrup
While the cupcakes are baking, prepare the sugar syrup for soaking. Place the water, sugar and vanilla pod into the saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until all the sugar dissolved then set aside to cool down slightly. Discard the vanilla pod.

Once the cupcakes are baked, let them rest for about 10 minutes outside the oven. Using a pastry brush, soak the tops of the cupcakes with sugar syrup while they are still warm: this allows the syrup to be absorbed faster.

Leave the cupcakes to cool down completely then using a melon baller, scoop out the tops of each cupcake.

To add the filling, decorate
Using a fork, crush the ripe banana and then mix it together with the caramel cream. Place the banoffee mixture into a plastic piping bag and use to fill the scooped-out holes of the cupcakes.

Fill the chilled frosting in a plastic piping bag fitted with a large pain round nozzle and pipe a swirl of frosting on top of each cupcake.

To finish, place a sugar blossom or a slice of caramelised banana on the top of the frosting for each cupcake.

Tiramisu cupcakes

I made these cupcakes after watching Eric Lanlard's Baking Mad series on Channel 4. This is his recipe although instead of making 12 muffins I made 24 mini muffins. The chocolate covered coffee beans are delicious but hard to get your hands on as is isn't sold in supermarkets-I ordered them from Ebay-and they are yummy.

Tiramisu Cupcakes

For the cupcakes

125g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 large eggs

125g golden caster sugar

1 level tbsp instant espresso granules dissolved in 2 tsp boiling water

50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the frosting

500g mascarpone

250g golden icing sugar, sieved

2 tbsp Marsala wine

To decorate

Cocoa powder, to dust

Chocolate coated coffee beans

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin/24-hole mini muffin tin with paper cases. Sieve the flour and baking powder together into a bowl.

Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until pale and creamy. The mixture should double in volume and will take a few minutes. Once whisked, fold half the flour into the mixture.

Mix the coffee into the butter and pour half into the mixture. Add the remaining flour, then the rest of the coffee and butter and gradually fold in.

Divide the mixture between the paper cases and bake for 25 minutes until risen and a skewer comes out clean when inserted. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, whisk the mascarpone with the icing sugar then add the Marsala. Pipe on top of each cupcake and give a generous dusting of cocoa powder. Finish by placing a few chocolate coffee beans on top.