500 Cupcakes

500 Cupcakes

Cupcakes are the treat of the times, and 500 Cupcakes is a storehouse of delicious easy-to-follow recipes, written in clear language and illustrated with hundreds of full-colour photographs.

An all-new chapter in this new edition features the latest craze in cupcakes - themed cupcakes with easy-to-achieve designs.

The introduction provides a comprehensive look at equipment and ingredients, plus a description of the cupcake-making process, from getting started to storing and transporting the yummy results.

The collection of recipes spans from classic flavours and shapes to new favourites for every style and taste - including recipes for special diets.

500 Cupcakes really is 'the only cupcake compendium you'll ever need'!

Inspiring recipes, that make after school treats fun. Plus the perfect book for schools organising a cake stall to inspire bakers.

500 Cupcakes
New Holland
Author: Fergal Connolly
ISBN: 9781742572147
Price: $19.95

 

 

Day at the Beach
Roll out the striped towel, open the parasol and enjoy the waves lapping at the beach - all in miniature on top of the cupcake!

Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:

225g Unsalted Butter, softened
225g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
115ml buttermilk
11/2 tsp vanilla essence

For the Icing and Decorations:
1 recipe Designer Buttercream (page 251 of 500 Cupcakes)
2 few drops of food colouring
225g digestive biscuit crumbs
18 cocktail parasols
18 fruit-striped sweets, cut into 2-inch pieces

Method
Preheat the oven to 175g. Place 18 paper baking cases in muffin tins.
Place all the ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Spoon the mixture into the cases. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove the tins from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then, remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

Leave 2/3 of the buttercream white. Tint the other 1/3 ocean blue. For each cupcake: Ice 2/3 of the top with white buttercream and sprinkle with giestive biscuit crumbs for the beach.
Ice the other 1/3 with blue buttercream, creating 'waves' with a knife. Lay the sweet on the diagonal across the 'sand' for a beach towel and insert he parasol at an angle to make the beach umbrella.

Daisy Daze
Snipped-on-the-diagonal miniature marshmallows, cut sides dipped in coloured sugar, form the petals on these flowery cupcakes.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
225g Unsalted Butter, softened
225g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
115ml buttermilk
11/2 tsp vanilla essence

For the Icing and Decorations:
1 recipe Designer Buttercream (page 251 of 500 Cupcakes)
Yellow food colouring225g miniature marshmallows
18 lemon gumdrops, lemon balls, or other small circular lemon treats
Yellow decorating sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 175g. Place 18 paper baking cases in muffin tins.
Place all the ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Spoon the mixture into the cases. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove the tins from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then, remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

Tint the buttercream yellow. For each cupcake: Ice the top. Place a lemon gumdrop in the centre. Snip each miniature marshmallow in half lengthwise, press cut side in yellow sugar and arrange sugared side up around the gumdrop like a petal.

Bride Doll
For a little girl's birthday party or bridal shower, these doll cupcakes can be customised with icing colours and decorations. Mini dolls on picks are available at craft stores and cake decorating shops.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
225g Unsalted Butter, softened
225g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
115ml buttermilk
11/2 tsp vanilla essence

For the Icing and Decorations:
1 recipe Designer Buttercream (page 251 of 500 Cupcakes)
18 mini dolls on pricks
Sugar pearls
White sugar flowers

Method
Preheat the oven to 175g. Place 18 paper baking cases in muffin tins.
Place all the ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Spoon the mixture into the cases. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove the tins from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then, remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

When cool, remove the cupcake wrappers and turn the cupcakes upstide down. Reserve ½ of the buttercream.

For each cupcake: Ice the top. Insert a doll in the centre. Spoon the reserved buttercream into a piping bag or a sealable plastic bag with an end corner sniped and pipe it to form a straples bodice on each doll. Create a pattern on each dress using sugar pearls and flowers.