Clementine Cupcake Recipe

Yesterday I made some pretty amazing cupcakes. Okay you're thinking, calm down with the arrogant claims; but I'm telling you, I can hardly stop myself stuffing my face with the lot of them. Lovely and moist, with a distinct but subtle - almost marmalade - flavour they are pretty much everything I like in a cake.

Espresso Coffee Cupcakes

Do you ever get bored of chocolate? No, neither do I. When I'm in the mood for a spot of cupcake-making I generally find myself drawn to either a chocolate cupcake or chocolate buttercream. But last week I fancied something a bit different: I had a craving for coffee cake.

Green Tea cupcakes

Recently I decided to indulge two of my favourite things at once: tea and cakes. But not in the usual way: you know a lovely cake with an accompanying cuppa. No, this time I planned to enjoy both in one creation. Luckily, the lovely Rachel that I met on my cupcake course last year had sent me a recipe for green tea cupcakes that I adapted a little. In truth, although I loved the way the matcha frosting turned out, the tea flavour in the cupcake was a little bit too subtle for me. But then I do love my tea... I might be tempted to up the tea content in the cakes in future and lose the cocoa powder altogether. Still, they went down very well with everyone else so here's the recipe I used.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla & Rose

I was giving a dinner party recently and wanted to be all thoroughly planned and organised. But in my more typical style it wasn't until a couple of days before that I got a chance to sit down and plan the menu. I quickly settled on the starter and main course but couldn't make up my mind about dessert until I stumbled upon Maison Cupcake's recipe for Chocolate & Raspberry Trifle: it sounded perfect as it could be prepared in advance thereby taking the pressure off on the day itself. The other big bonus was that the base of the trifle required chocolate sponge. I had an old friend coming for tea that day and hadn't made anything yet - chocolate cupcakes would offer a double whammy of delight!

Upmarket Cupcakes

I've realised I am becoming quite fussy when it comes to cupcakes. The more baking I do myself, the more I feel it's unacceptable for so-called bakeries to make a boring old vanilla cupcake, stick a few sweets on top and charge upwards of £1.75 for it. So what a delight to stumble upon Molly Bakes yesterday. I had a lunchtime bowling date for a friends birthday and on the way home decided to pop into UpMarket at the Truman Brewery to grab a bite to eat. One delicious Ethiopian injera wrap later it was time to head home. But just as I was thinking "hmmmnnn, what I really fancy is something sweet", the Molly Bakes stall appeared before me as if a vision. My growing scepticism about cupcakes may have encouraged me to walk on by were it not for the lavender cupcakes I spotted.

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

I really hate wasting food; it just feels wrong on every level. But there are some things that no matter how infrequently I buy them, I seem to find myself tossing, mouldy, into the bin a week or two later. One such culprit is the black banana. Truth be told I'm not the world's biggest banana fan. Oh I like them and everything, but if I'm reaching for a piece of fruit it's generally fairly low down on my list of preferences. Coffee Boy purportedly loves them though, so from time to time I buy him a bunch. But clearly he doesn't love them quite enough as I often find them hanging sadly upon the banana stand (yes, yes, I know I have far too many kitchen gadgets) looking black and pretty yucky.

Christmas Gingerbread Cupcakes

I have been going fairly cupcake crazy since my course last month but I've been struggling to find events to bake for. With my family coming for Christmas I had the perfect excuse to bake some Christmas Cupcakes. I had previously made some for Miss O's party that were like little mini Christmas cakes topped with fondant icing and florist paste Holly leaves, as well as some double chocolate ones decorated with stars, but this time I thought I'd try something different.

An Ulterior Motive

It is a fact that Coffee Boy is an excellent present buyer. He always buys me really great gifts, and I never have to drop any heavy hints. I realise I am very lucky to have such a thoughtful partner but this year I suspect there was a fairly strong ulterior motive to the birthday present he got me: a cupcake making course. I was really pleased that he had not only come up with an original pressie but that he had done his research and found a highly recommended place that offered the course. Having finished my latest project recently I finally got a chance to go along to Cakes 4 Fun in Putney this week.