Today is my cousin’s twin boys’ 3rd Birthday. Happy Birthday boys! Of course a Birthday cannot pass without taking cake to work/uni/school or in this case kindy. Thinking about it, it’s really quite a strange thing to do. Why, when it’s your Birthday should you be the one to give people cake? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? What do you think?

That’s probably just me but at least if you bring your cake you can be guaranteed that you’ll get exactly what you want. The twins’ request for their kindy cakes was orange and purple and the rest was up to me.

The recipe for the cakes came from Women’s Weekly ‘Bake’. I’m slowing ticking off recipes from it but I don’t think I’ll finish my challenge (making everything in the book) for quite some time yet.

These cupcakes were nice and dense, not too sweet and lasted very well (kept in an airtight container).

The first step, like a lot of cakes is to cream the butter and sugar. I did that in my Kitchenaid (can you tell I’m in love?).

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

Alternating between the flour and milk, add them a little at a time and mix until combined.

If you’re making chocolate cupcakes, now is the time to add the cocoa. You can add any type of flavouring you like at this stage. Some of the suggestions in the book are: chocolate and orange, passionfruit and lime and banana and choc-chip.

Fill the cases about 2/3 of the way.

Bake the cupcakes in a 160C/320F  fan-forced oven for 15-20 minutes. Check them when it gets close to 15 minutes as the size of case you use changes the cooking time.

Cool the cakes on a wire rack.

While the cakes are cooling it’s time to make the icing. Beat the butter until it’s pale and fluffy. If you’re making white icing, beat it until it’s very light in colour.

Add the icing sugar a little at a time. Keep beating until it’s light and fluffy. If you need to, add a little milk.

When the icing has reached the desired consistency, separate it into a bowl for each colour of icing. Obviously if you’re only making one colour you can leave it in the original bowl.

Add the desired colours and mix until the colour is even and to your liking. The purple icing looks rather grey in this photo as I’m still mastering, ok beginning to learn about photography.

Ice the cupcakes however you like. I used a piping back for mine as my palette-knife skills still need some work.

Add the finishing touches and voila! I used Arnott’s tiny teddies to decorate my cakes. I don’t know what made me think to use them but they were my favourite morning tea snack back in my school days. What was your favourite school morning tea?

Don’t forget to enter my 100th post competition!

 

Happy Birthday cupcakes

Yield: 24

Quick-mix patty cakes from Women's Weekly 'Bake'

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Ingredients

• 125g (4oz) butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 tbsp cocoa (if you want to make chocolate cakes)

Butter-cream icing - a Claire K Creation (not really I just make it up based on a million other recipes out there)

• 125g (4oz) butter
• 2 cups icing sugar
• a little milk (if needed to get the right consistency)
• food colouring of choice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 160C (320F) fan-forced. Lay your patty-pans on an oven tray or line a patty-pan tray with cases (I don't do this).

The recipe says to throw everything in and mix it all together. I've had disasters with this before so this is what I did.

1. Cream the butter and sugar then add the eggs and vanilla extract.
2. Add the flour alternating with the milk and mix until combined. If you're making chocolate cakes add the cocoa.
3. Spoon the mixture into the cases until they are about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes (keep and eye on them).
4. Cool the cakes on a wire rack then spread with butter-cream icing.

Butter-cream icing

1. Cream the butter until it's almost white then gradually add the icing sugar. If you're only making one colour, add the colouring while you're creaming the butter. Add a little milk if the mixture is too hard or a little icing sugar if it's too runny.
2. To make white icing - beat the icing for about 10 minutes.