CRAZY CUPCAKES FOR NOVEMBER

Crazy cupcakes for November

In November I am hoping to feature Firework cupcakes, more Healthy Eating cupcakes, Menopause cupcakes, Cholesterol Busting cupcakes, Trifle cupcakes and Rememberance Day cupcakes to name a few. I am also going to show how to collect ideas and translate these into cupcakes.
Remember to look back at the archive to get 4 basic cupcake recipes and lots of ways of decorating them.

Happy Baking
Enjoy

DECORATING INGREDIENTS

Decorating Ingredients


To do really good decorating it is essential to collect as many items as possible which you can see potential in. Go to the supermarket and go through the baking section and collect the things you like. These below show a sample of what is on offer in the U.K. The sweet department with its pick and mix section can provide all sorts of edible goodies which can be placed on top of icing. I also buy ready made icing in lumps ready to roll, tubes of coloured icing with thick, thin and fancy nozzles ready to pipe designs and patterns. Using chocolate such as Flakes to create "99" cupcakes and hair on faces is also a good idea.

HALLOWEEN EYEBALLS

Halloween Eye Ball Cupcakes
A selection of crazy cupcakes using plain white icing topped off with wine gums, smarties and other sweets cut up to make the designs. Look uggghh taste great. Kids and husbands will love this. Mine did, the husband that is.

Mr Eyeball

The Green Eye Hulk
Wine Ball
Blood Shot
Klimt Eye
Green Goddess
These are ideas that kids will love to make and eat. The more outrageous their ideas the better.

Variations

Colour the icing, add flavours to the icing, use different sweets, nuts and dried fruits to make the eye designs.

Enjoy

HEALTHY EATING CUPCAKES

Healthy Eating Crazy Cupcakes

These cupcakes are filled with fresh fruits and low fat natural yoghurt. They contain stawberries, blackberries and blueberries. They are a great way to use fruit in your diet. Children will love them and they are great to serve at birthday parties and family events.
Why not try with other fruits of your own choice.
See Stawberry, Blackberry and Blueberry cupcakes for the method.

ENJOY

HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES

HALLOWEEN CRAZY CUPCAKES

These crazy cupcake ideas are ideal to use as Trick or Treats on Halloween.

METHOD
1. Make the basic cupcakes using Recipe 1,2,3 or 4. Double or treble the quantities to get 30 or 45 cupcakes

2. Remove the cupcakes and allow to cool

DECORATION

INGREDIENTS

Icing sugar, food colourings, icing tubes, warm water

EQUIPMENT

Mixing bowls-one for each colour of icing, flexible knife

METHOD

1. Place the required amount of icing sugar in a bowl, gradually add warm water and mix with the flexible knife or a spoon. It is a good idea to read the instructions for your particular type on the packaging.

2. Add colouring to the icing sugar until you get the desired strength. I mix colours together to create different shades. I made 3 colours white, yellow and orange .

These are the type of results. Let the icing sugar dry. These are the type of tubes with ready made colour that you can use.
These are some of the types of decoration you can do.

Halloween as a festival started in Ireland. It was a pagan festival to celebrate the harvest and originated with the Celtic people. The tradition was taken to North America in the nineteenth century with the settlers who emigrated to the continent. Most Western countries have adopted this festival and children love to go out dressed up as ghouls and monsters to do trick or treat. The word comes from All-hallow-even because it is the evening before the All Hallows Day which is also called All Saints' Day. It is often associated with the occult and in Mexico with the Day of the Dead.

ORANGE, GRAPE and CUSTARD CUPCAKE

CUSTARD CUPCAKES
Recipe 1
5 oz self raising flour
4 oz butter
4 oz castor sugar
2 medium eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
Decoration
Make about half a pint of custard and leave to go cold
Grapes and oranges

Method

1. Get all your equipment out, mixing bowl, wooden spoon, paper cases, tablespoon, knife, baking tray, cooling wire rack, scales, sieve and set these out on the work surface. Place the paper cases into the baking tray.

2. Get all the ingredients out.

3. Weigh out the sugar and place in the bowl.

4. Weigh out the butter or margarine and place in the bowl.

5. Weigh out the flour.

6. Using a wooden spoon mix and beat the sugar and butter/margarine together until they are absolutely smooth, this can take up to 2 minutes depending on how soft the butter or margarine is. The mixture will turn pale and fluffy.

7. Break one egg and add it to the mixture, beat it in until it has blended with the mixture. Repeat with the second egg. Add the milk and blend.

8. Use the sieve to add the flour to the mixture as this will add extra air to the mixture. Gently fold in the flour. The mixture should be a nice type of dropping consistency.

9. Using a spoon divide the mixture into the paper cases, filling about 12 paper cases.

10. Switch on the oven temperature 375F, 190C and gas 5. Let the oven get warm. You can put the oven on when you start so it is already warm. Place the tray of cupcakes on a shelf just above the centre. They will take 15 to 20 minutes. To test if they are ready you can pierce with a small wooden cocktail stick to see if the mixture is still wet inside, you can just feel with your finger to see if the cakes are firm and springy to the touch and they should look well risen and golden.

11. Remove from the oven and place on the wire try to cool. This is the basic cupcake recipe. You can now decorate in the style of your choice

12. Remove a cone shaped piece of sponge from each cupcake with a sharp knife and set to one side.

13. Fill each cupcake with with a spoonful of custard.

14. Add grapes or slices of oranges or satsumas.

15. Replace the cone sponge and top off with a drop of custard and more fruit.

16. Dust over with icing sugar using a seive or a dredger.

Enjoy

STAWBERRY YOGHURT

Stawberry Yoghurt Cupcake

This stawberry cupcake is delicious and just the way to get children interested in eating fresh fruit and yoghurt. It is great to serve at birthday parties. It can become part of your healthy eating plan as yoghurt is a great substitute for cream especially if you buy the low fat variety

Ingredients

Fresh strawberries
Natural low fat yoghurt

Method

1. Make cupcakes from your chosen recipe and allow to cool on a wire tray

2. Wash and trim the strawberries

3. Slice the stawberries allowing 6 slices for each cupcake and keeping any small ones whole to go on the top of the cupcakes

4. Using a sharp knife cut out a cone shape from the top of each cupcake and place these on one side

5. Using a spoon place one spoonful of the yoghurt into each cupcake

6. Arrange the slices of stawberries over the cake

7. Replace the cone cap on the cupcake

8. Place a small amount of yoghurt on the top of each cupcake and top off with a whole small strawberry or a slice of fruit

ENJOY

BLUEBERRY YOGHURT

BLUEBERRY YOGHURT CUPCAKE

This is a way to enjoy fresh fruit and yoghurt. It can be part of your healthy eating plan

Ingredients natural yoghurt and blueberries

Method

1. Use recipe of your choice and make cupcakes, allow to cool on a wire tray

2. Wash the blueberries

3. Using a sharp knife cut out a cone shape of sponge from each cupcake and set to one side

4. Using a spoon place a spoonful of yoghurt inside each cupcake

5. Arrange 5 or 6 blueberries on the cupcake

6. Replace the cone on the cupcake

7. Place a small amount of yoghurt on the top of each cupcake

8. Place one blueberry on the top of each cupcake

ENJOY

BLACKBERRY YOGHURT CUPCAKE RECIPE

This is one of my healthy eating crazy cupcakes . When we all want to enjoy cakes but try to stick to a healthy diet and add in those 3 portions of fruit per day, this is one way to do it.

Ingredients

Natural yoghurt
fresh blackberries

1. Make the cupcakes in the usual way. Let the crazy cupcakes cool down on the baking tray. Then remove the top section with a sharp knife do this with an action that points towards the centre of the cupcake so that you cut out a cone shape. Put this on one side. If you are going to do all your cupcakes then it saves time to remove all the cones together. Arrange the cupcakes in rows .

2. Wash and dry the blackberries, leave enough whole blackberries to go on the top of each cup cake and slice the other fruit so you have 4 slices for each cupcake

3. Use a spoon to fill the centre of each cup cake with yoghurt

4. Now arrange 4 of blackberry slices on the cupcake

5. Replace the sponge cone

6. Put a small amount of yoghurt on the cupcake

7. Top off each cupcake with a blackberry

ENJOY

FLAVOURS TO ADD TO CRAZY CUPCAKES

1. Vanilla essence or vanilla pods added at the mixing stage really enhance the flavour.of flavouring .Vanilla is a wonderful flavouring . It comes from the seed pods of an orchid. Madagascar is the largest producer. Add half a teaspoon of the essence or scrape out the seeds from a fresh pod.

2. Try adding Almond Essence to the mixture, A few drops should do. Then ice the cupcake and add a real almond or sugar almond on the top.

3. Add a dessertspoon of lemon juice and the fine grated rind of one lemon to the mixture. This adds a great zest, rather like a sweet and sour flavour. Top off the cupcake with homemade lemon curd to make it really special.

4. Add a dessertspoon of fresh orange juice and the grated rind of one orange to the mixture. Top off the cupcake with homemade orange curd or a slice of fresh orange. A piece of fresh mint leaf would add to the flavour experience and make it look delicious. Eat straight away.

BAKING EQUIPMENT

The equipment you need to make the easy recipe cupcakes is as follows;

• A good space to work where you can spread out all the ingredients and items
• A large mixing bowl
• A wooden spoon
• Weighing scales
• Paper cases
• A tablespoon
• A knife
• A baking tray
• A cooling wire rack--you can use the wire rack from a grill pan
• A sieve
• Cloth or paper towels to keep the work surface clean

You can also use a food mixer to speed things up if you are going to make lots of cupcakes.

A visit to a kitchen store will provide you with all types of options on the basic list. I like to use non-stick baking trays. I like items that are dishwasher safe. You may want the items to co-ordinate with the look of your kitchen. Whatever your choice, enjoy making those Crazy Cupcakes.

As you progress and start to experiment with cupcake variations and decoration you will start collecting new items such as icing nozzles and bag, a rolling pin, flour dredger and decorative crazy cupcake holders.

RECIPES

CUPCAKE RECIPES

There are a few basic recipes for cupcakes. Here are some of the these in the different types of measure that you get worldwide from the U.K; U.S.A; Australia and Europe. Have a go at the basic recipe and then start to do variations of your own or follow some of my ideas.


Ingredients

Recipe 1.

5 oz self raising flour
4 oz butter
4 oz castor sugar
2 medium eggs
2 tablespoons milk

Recipe 2.

175 gm self raising flour
110 gm butter
110 gm sugar
2 medium eggs
2 tablespoons of milk

Recipe 3.

6 oz self raising flour
4 oz soft margarine
4oz castor sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons of milk

Recipe 4.

175 gm self raising flour
110 gm soft margarine
110 gm castor sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons of milk

Recipe 5.
1 1/4 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons of milk

These ingredients can be altered to suit you. You may want to use all organic produce. You may want to use only free range eggs. The flour is usually white refined flour but you may want to experiment with wholewheat, multi grain, granary and soya, if you have a gluten allergy. These flours will usually be drier and require more liquid. I would try the regular basic recipe and then experiment with different flours that you like and record your quantities for next time.

Method for all Recipes

1. Get all your equipment out, mixing bowl, wooden spoon, paper cases, tablespoon, knife, baking tray, cooling wire rack, scales, sieve and set these out on the work surface. Place the paper cases into the baking tray.

2. Get all the ingredients out.

3. Weigh out the sugar and place in the bowl.

4. Weigh out the butter or margarine and place in the bowl.

5. Weigh out the flour.

6. Using a wooden spoon mix and beat the sugar and butter/margarine together until they are absolutely smooth, this can take up to 2 minutes depending on how soft the butter or margarine is. The mixture will turn pale and fluffy.

7. Break one egg and add it to the mixture, beat it in until it has blended with the mixture. Repeat with the second egg. Add the milk and blend.

8. Use the sieve to add the flour to the mixture as this will add extra air to the mixture. Gently fold in the flour. The mixture should be a nice type of dropping consistency.

9. Using a spoon divide the mixture into the paper cases, filling about 12 paper cases.

10. Switch on the oven temperature 375F, 190C and gas 5. Let the oven get warm. You can put the oven on when you start so it is already warm. Place the tray of cupcakes on a shelf just above the centre. They will take 15 to 20 minutes. To test if they are ready you can pierce with a small wooden cocktail stick to see if the mixture is still wet inside, you can just feel with your finger to see if the cakes are firm and springy to the touch and they should look well risen and golden.

11. Remove from the oven and place on the wire try to cool.

This is the basic cupcake recipe. You can now decorate in the style of your choice.
ENJOY

WHAT ARE CUPCAKES

Cupcakes are small, individual cakes that are contained inside a paper or foil case. The name derives from the method of making the cakes . In the nineteenth century they were called muffins. The way to measure out the ingredients for the cake was by a container such as a cup of regular or standard size. This was used instead of weighing scales. The name could also come from the baking containers or trays that are used to cook the cupcakes. These trays contain twelve or more cup shaped spaces of equal size, which are greased and then the mixture is placed into it or within each space a paper or foil case is placed and then the cupcake mixture is placed inside. Cupcake is what they are usually called in the U.S. but similar cakes can be found worldwide with similar or different names such as Angel Cakes and Fairy Cakes.

Another cake which cupcakes are similar to is the Victoria Sponge cake. The cupcake is the same mixture but a smaller version. The cakes are made from the same four ingredients in the same ratio; butter, flour, sugar and eggs. In the recipes that have evolved these four ingredients have been slightly altered and added to, so that there are now many variations on the theme and a chance for everyone to create their own very individual cupcakes for all occassions.

Cupcakes are used for all types of celebrations such as Birthday parties, Halloween, Christmas, Anniversaries, Christenings and Weddings to name a few. The advantage is they can be made in advance and stored easily, they can be transported easily in trays and because they are in paper cases they do not require as many plates and they are suitable for all types of decoration.