Surprise cupcake toppers

BE SURPRISED - CUPCAKE TOPPERS

Well I must admit that I have been a little bit obsessed with these lately -  there is so much you can create with these and they are just so much fun. I wanted to share the 'how to' for these for ages and finally am sitting down doing it xxx

So lets get to it.

What you really need, Fondant, corn flour, circle cutter, Rolling pin, polystyrene ball, imagination. Useful extras, impression or textured mats, variety of cutters,


What you do

Roll out your fondant fairly thin and cut a circle. Dust the polystyrene ball with cornflour. Place the circle on the  polystyrene ball and gently smooth and 'mould' it on to create your hollow half ball. Leave to dry for about an hour (depends on weather), gently ease it off and leave to dry completely.
TIP - if you find that the fondant is sticking to the ball dust the fondant circle with cornflour before putting it on to the ball.

Variety -
Using an impression mat emboss the fondant circle before it is placed on the ball.
Cut out shapes in circle before placing on ball to dry.
Decorate the fondant circle while it is on the ball using fondant cutouts etc
You can use a variety of sizes of polystyrene balls and circle cutters to create various sizes.

There is so much I could say about what you can create with these but I will leave it to your own amazing imagination.

OUT OF THE BOX - Cinnamon swirl cupcakes

Cinnamon swirl cupcakes

Light, moist vanilla cinnamon cupcake with a smooth fluffy cream cheese icing and then draped with a sweet sticky cinnamon glaze - oh these are so lovely - you will be forgiven for not sharing.

Not everything has to be baked from scratch, I don't think there is anything wrong with using a cake mix - yes I don't always bake everything from scratch, and I like it if it makes my life easier - which at times it does, and this is one of those times and oh it makes this recipe just that much easier and quicker. These were so delish, I managed to resist eating them all in a day and kept a couple to 'time taste test' and I must admit the last one was possibly better than the first so as long as they are kept in the fridge they will be good for a couple of days (if you can resist them).

This makes about 24 regular size cupcakes

1 box vanilla cake mix
What ever is required according to the box (eggs, milk, butter)
1 cup brown sugar + 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, mixed together

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Line your muffin tins with liners.

Follow the instructions on the cake mix package and mix accordingly. 

Fill muffin tins about 1/4 of the way full. Sprinkle a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon/brown sugar mixture over batter and cover with another spoonful of cake batter. Sprinkle another teaspoon of cinnamon/brown sugar over the top. Cups should be about 2/3 full (try not to fill them more than that).  Using a skewer or other pointy object , swirl the cinnamon sugar through the batter gently.

Bake according to package instructions or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool on a cooling rack.

Icing:
250g cream cheese, softened
115g butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups icing sugar

In the bowl of a mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla on medium-low speed until smooth. Add icing sugar and beat on low until just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and increase speed to high and beat for 2 minutes. Pipe or spread on to cupcakes and place in the refrigerator until ready to glaze.

Glaze:
115g butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with brown sugar and cinnamon until combined and pourable but not boiling. Alternatively place ingredients in a microwavable bowl and heat in the microwave - but watch this carefully. Spoon over iced cupcakes and immediately place in the refrigerator to set.

TIPS - These are good without the frosting, so if you are really pushed for time or not such a sweet tooth you can have them without the icing and the glaze, I of course recommend that you have the lot though.
Add some chopped nuts - I'd recommend pecans but anything will do, or don't add the glaze and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
I used Greens Vanilla cake mix to make these. If you prefer you can use your regular vanilla cupcake recipe instead of a cake mix.

Cookies for fathers day

This is a quick 'how to' for fathers day cookies - I always like to make a little something special for the wonderful people in my life, being a little busy at the moment I thought I'd do something super fast for fathers day and this is what I came up with.
With fathers day happening in Australia on Sunday I thought I'd do a quick post to share. Of course these shirt cookies can be given at any time and with a little imagination can be personalised to suit any occasion.

1. You need a rectangle cookie, (home made or bought) and fondant/RTR in colour of your choice. Roll out the fondant/RTR (emboss this now if you like).

2. Spread a thin layer of corn syrup or butter cream onto your cookie and place fondant/RTR over cookie, gentle secure icing to cookie ensuring that the sides are nicely covered.

3.Trim the excess fondant/RTR.

4. Roll out fondant/RTR and cut a small square for the pocket and a long strip for the collar - as shown in picture.

5. Roll out a different colour fondant/RTR for the tie, cut tie and make a small triangle shape - as shown in picture.

6. Put it all together - using a damp paint brush, moisten tie and stick it in place, moisten the short length of the collar and shape being sure to join the points together just on top of the tie and stick onto shirt, moisten the pocket and stick in place, using a quilting tool you can add the stitching detail on the pocket.

Making moulds

Amazing mold putty, wow I love this stuff, although rather pricey it does go quite far, it is non toxic and easy to work with and makes fantastic little moulds.

No special equipment required - only thing is you must be organised because you get about 2 minutes to work with it.

Ideally make your original out of fimo clay, or get something interesting that you want to make a mould from.

 I don't weigh the 2 parts of the putty I just get an equal quantity of each part (white and yellow)  and quickly work them together - I mean quickly, no time to get interrupted - you have about 1 minute so work fast. 

So once it is evenly mixed together you roll it into a nice neat ball, again do this fast, very fast.

Now you are ready to make the mould, press the putty over your original object, start in the middle of the object and work the putty over the entire object, pressing down gently but properly to ensure you get in all the details. Don't play around too much - just push it on and leave it - if there are thinner areas you can just apply more putty later. Just leave it for lets say 30 minutes to be safe. Go away and do something else, do not be tempted to check it out or anything, just leave it alone.

After 30 minutes you can touch it - it should be ready to 'unmould' your original and walla your mould is made and ready to use. If you will be using it for food - wash the  mould first.



Fondant spider



NOTE - The putty does come with full instructions, that you should read through first.

You can use the moulds to make a variety of things including edible items like chocolates, fondant decorations, ice, as well as baked things (it can withstand temperatures of up to 395 deg F - although I haven't tried it yet). Ensure that the item you are making the mould from has be thoroughly cleaned before you begin.

Be creative and have fun xx 

Maple Mud Cupcakes



Cinnamon and sugar, maple , cinnamon maple and pecan maple



I got this recipe from the lovely Rachael who's a cupcake queen and proud owner of  www.plushnlushcupcakes.com.au. These are so delish and so moreish, I never knew I could eat so many cupcakes in one  sitting....and take my advice do not let anyone else try them,  if you are feeling generous get over it because sharing here is just not an option. Now  you can halve this recipe but I wouldn't recommend it, unless it's for sever health issues, I recommend you do the whole batch, eat the whole lot -perhaps over a 2 day period and then bake some more.

Maple Mud Cupcakes 

250g unsalted butter cubed

200g White Chocolate

1 1/3 cup of firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup of maple syrup

1 1/3 cup full cream milk

2 cups of plain flour (sifted)

2/3 cup Self raising flour (sifted)

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 140 degC. Line 2 12 hole muffin trays.

2. Stir butter, chocolate, brown sugar, maple syrup and milk in a saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool for about 15 min.

3 Whisk sifted flours into chocolate mixture then whisk in eggs one at a time.

4. Fill cases with mixture to approx 3/4 full. Bake for about 30 min.

Maple Butter cream

500g unsalted butter softened

800g icing sugar

3 - 4 tbs maple syrup. ( depending on how strong you want the taste)

Beat butter and icing sugar with an electric mixer for about 8 minutes until light and fluffy then add maple syrup and beat for a further 30 seconds.

I only made half the quantity of icing as I had eaten half the MINI cupcakes while they were cooling down - a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar is lovely on these. I also topped the frosted/iced cupcakes with chopped pecan nuts or a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Push up Tubes

Oh I love these containers, they are designed as ice cream containers but their uses in the portable sweet food industry are endless(oh I am sure you can put savoury things in these but I just do sweet). Filled with layers of cake, cookies, mousse, jelly, fruit and of course ice cream are just some of the things you can fill them with. The quality is fantastic and they are completely reusable which is always a bonus for a container. Due to the fact that these are see through creating pretty layers is in my opinion a must, and if you want to go the extra mile you can bling up the container too, pop a personal label on and it makes the perfect little gift.

The size of these are approximately 8cm high and 5cm diameter, so I would say a single portion. These come in 4 parts and you need to assemble them. I have found that taking off/leaving off the handle is convenient when working with them. Alternatively if you have some sort of stand/cookie cooling rack to place them in so they stand upright works great too. You can of course buy the correct stands for these babies.

Ensure that you have the push part at the bottom before filling - if you fill layers and pull down as you work it will smear on the inside of your container and wont look as nice. Same goes for filling these to the top, there is a little bit of space in the lid but if you over fill you will squash the top and yes it will ruin the visual effect - however they will still be delish to eat.

 There are many ways of filling these tubes, but I will share a little bit of what I do with them.



Coconut biscuit, cream caramel layers

 For Ice cream
Make your own ice cream or like me - using bought vanilla ice cream add crushed berries, caramel, crushed cookies, chocolate bits or anything you like - create your own flavor.
Using a large piping tip and bag Pipe your ice cream into the containers - decorate the top, pop the lid on and place in the freezer.

For mini cupcakes
I have found that 2 iced mini cupcakes fit in these perfectly.
When I fill these I make sure the push up is at the bottom of the container, pop in a mini cupcake, then using a piping bag and tip of your choice pipe the icing, place the second cupcake on top and pipe more icing, decorate as desired. pop the lid on and you're done - remember be aware of the the space on top so that you don't end up squashing the icing - although it will still taste delish.




                 
For cake

Bake your desired cake in a brownie pan or any other pan - the idea is that you are baking layers of cake that you will be cutting into little circles. Once the cake is baked and cooled you can begin cutting out your circles, if you like you can level your cake, that way all you circles of cake will be the same thickness. If I have baked a beautifully risen cake I cut out my circles then halve them so that they are not too thick. I use a 4.5cm circle cutter, but you can use the container to cut out your circles too. So same principle, layers of cake and filling all the way to the top. Done

For cookies
Remember cookies do not have the same texture of cake so they can't be just squeezed in to these containers - they must be the right size - cookies can scratch the sides of the containers and well as I have said the visual appearance of these is rather important - so cut the cookies the correct size - smaller is better in this case.
So cut your desired cookie using a 4cm round cutter - if your cookie recipe spreads a lot while baking take this into account - your baked cookie should not be bigger than about 4.5cm. Decorate your cookies as desired, once dried you can fill the containers. Now when I fill the containers with cookies I do things a bit differently, I push the inner part up so it's near the top of the container and as I fill I gradually pull it down.

Just for fun
Layer of sweets/lollies/candy
Layer of cookie
Topped with a mini cupcake

Perfect party treat!!

I hope that you have got some inspiration here, there are so many incredible things that you can do with these to create a personal, delicious treat.

Happy baking and creating.

Christmas in July

Just a reminder that July is almost over so if you want a chance at getting this little gift just post a comment and you'll go into the draw.
Happy Baking

Christmas in July - sweet gift

Finally I am giving something away! Ti's the season to be silly, it's rather chilly and there's nothing like gift giving and this does not rhyme at all so let me just get down to the basics.

I have been looking and thinking for quite sometime for something sweet and something small, that can be safely mailed anywhere and finally I found it - so if you'd like the chance to win this sweet little gift that I got sent from the USA all you have to do is let me know you are interested. Post a comment, a quick hello and you will be in the running - that's it - sweet and simple.

I suppose you might need to know what it is - well it's called My Little Cupcake - it's the sweetest little cake pop mold. For those who don't know what  to do with it - it has a recipe and full instructions on the box. And if you really need some ideas or inspiration there are hundreds of talented sweet creators on the Internet, or have a look at some of my favorite inspiring creators on my face book page.

www.mylittlecupcakepop

Good luck.

The winner will be randomly drawn and lets give it a week so entries close 30 July 2011, all welcome to enter.

This is my little cupcake pop mold and the cake pops my two boys made using it, so much fun.

Caramel Nut Slice



Caramel Walnut Slice


Soft biscuit base, chewy caramel, crunchy nuts.....yum.
I came across this recipe with another one very similar, both had been torn out of magazines and popped in my to try some day recipe file.  I chose this one mainly because it was easier and didn't require any 'touching' - yes I am a baker who doesn't really like to have my hands in the food . Originally this recipe called for macadamia nuts, I didn't have any so I used walnuts instead and I would say that almost any nuts would work, I will definitely be trying this one again with other nuts.
Well, there was almost none left to take photos - saying that - I did save 2 pieces for the sake of science to try the next day and can confirm that this was still delish the next day and am sure would stay nice but would recommend storage in an airtight container. I would say that this would also be lovely to serve warm with some whipped cream.

Ingredients
BASE
1 egg
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil
2/3 cup (100g) plain flour, sifted
1/4 cup (35g) self-raising flour, sifted
TOPPING
1 cup (220g) brown sugar
175g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
250g unsalted nuts coarsely chopped (macadamias, pecans, walnuts or almonds)

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Grease and line an 18 x 28cm slice pan.
Beat the egg and caster sugar together until thick and pale. Add oil and beat until well combined. Fold in the combined sifted flours. Spoon into prepared pan and spread to cover the base evenly. Bake for 20 minutes, until puffed and light golden.
While the base is baking prepare the topping. Place the brown sugar, butter and syrup in a saucepan  on low heat. Stir for about 5 minutes, until the butter melts and sugar dissolves. Simmer, without stirring for 10 minutes, until it's caramelised, take off heat and add the nuts.
Pour the topping over the base and quickly spread evenly.
Bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, until the topping is golden.
Allow to cool in the pan, slice and enjoy.

Push up Tubes

Just couldn't help fill at least one - cookies and cream ice cream - the others are completely naked

Presentation and packaging all in one.

Wow I am loving these, the uses are endless, they are fully washable, recyclable - (and I do love to recycle) and wo.ho. they are portable! I have been having sleepless nights thinking about these - I know it's crazy but there are just so many things you can do with them, just limited to your imagination and it's size.

Well yes they are actually ice cream containers, but cookies, cupcakes, slices, sweets, mousse, jelly, cake balls well anything as long as it fits, and aren't they just the perfect little thank you gift, add a tag or a label and walla the sweetest little gift. The lid seals nicely making it so perfectly portable - fantastic for school, markets, parties or a day out with the kids.
They measure 7cm high with space on the top for a little creative addition and have a diameter of about 4.5cm.
Oh I have been baking and cutting lots of little round things. So yes my round cutters have been my most used items in the last few weeks.
Looking forward to sharing some of my 'experiments' with you!

Peppermint Crisp Caramel Tart



Peppermint Crisp Caramel Tart



I have no idea of the origins of the recipe, all I know is that it is a South Africa recipe, and I haven't met a South African who doesn't know what it is. Back in 'the old days' when you couldn't buy ready made caramel in the can, you had to boil the tin of condensed milk for say about 2 hours, then let it cool down for about another 2 hours (maybe longer) - you can still do it this way if you like, but the ready made tin is just so much easier and quicker. The biscuit used in this recipe is a coconut, butter, syrup type biscuit.

If you don't like caramel - you will not like this, but if you do, well, you may decide not to share with anyone and just eat it all yourself.


First layer





Second layer



Ingredients

1 packet of tennis biscuits or equivalent (in Australia you can use Nice biscuits or you can bake your own)

250ml cream - Whipped
1 tin caramel or condensed milk (boiled for 2 hours to make caramel)
1 small (35g) peppermint crisp chocolate - Grated

Whip the cream and add about half the tin of caramel, whip together then fold in the rest of the caramel.
In a 20cm square glass dish place a layer of tennis biscuits, then spread a layer of the caramel cream mixture.
Repeat the layers of biscuits and caramel cream mixture.
Sprinkle the grated peppermint crisp evenly over the tart.
Place this in the fridge for a few hours (over night is best then it sets nicely).
This will last for quite some time in the fridge, that's if you don't like caramel.
 

TIPS

You really don't have to use a square glass dish - that's just the one I always use, but you could use anything you have that holds approximately those capacities. You can even make pretty little individual ones.

With regards to the biscuits, I have just tried this using my coconut sugar cookie recipe (I just added coconut and a bit of golden syrup to the recipe I usually use to make the vanilla cookies)

If you absolutely have to decorate this - then I'd recommend some chocolate curls, perhaps some piped whipped cream, but no one will really care what it looks like because it tastes so yum.

And lastly you can whip the cream and fold in the caramel and just eat that!

Portable individuals, just layer to the top, pop the lid on and you're ready to go!



Chocolate biscuits

Chocolate cookie dough

I have been wanting to make chocolate cookie dough for ages and finally have done it. These smell like brownies while baking, very rich chocolate flavour and make fantastic cutout cookies.

1 cup/230g butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups plain flour/all-purpose flour

2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa

1/2 spoon salt

Beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Add flour, cocoa and salt and blend well. Once the dough has formed, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour, or until it is firm.

Preheat oven to 160 deg Celsius. Roll out dough on parchment paper that has been lightly floured and cut out cookies. Bake cookies for 10 to 15 min. Baking time depends on the size of the cookies and because these are chocolate you can't see the 'edges browning', so they are ready when you gently touch  them and no indentation remains (gently!!). Once removed from the oven allow them to cool slightly on the baking tray before cooling completely on a baking rack, they will harden up once cooled completely.

Decorate as desired.

NOTE - This dough is very firm once cooled - see cookie tips for rolling dough.

Decorated using royal icing

Coconut chocolate balls



Before being covered in chocolate


This recipe happened by 'accident' - I was making cookie dough and I always have an egg white that I end up throwing away, I decided to try and make something with it. I belong to a Face Book cake group and threw the egg white at them and got bake a variety of suggestions - coconut was the one I went with and am so glad I did! So this is how this recipe transpired. I originally halved this recipe (I just had one egg white) - and just threw in coconut until it was thick enough to roll into balls, these are so delicious that I just had to make more.
1 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
450ml to 500ml designated coconut
White and Milk chocolate

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Boil without stirring, uncovered for about 5 minutes or until the syrup reaches 116degC on a sugar thermometer. Remove from heat (the syrup should be thick but not coloured).
Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then while the mixer is on slowly pour in the hot syrup, beat on high speed for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and has cooled down.
At this stage this mixture can be used to ice cupcakes.
Mix coconut into the meringue mixture and then cook in the microwave for about 3 - 5 minutes (stirring each minute), the mixture will thicken and you will smell the coconut.
Allow this to cool down.
Now the fun begins - roll balls, using about a heaped teaspoon of the mixture, place balls on a baking paper lined tray, (the mixture should not be too sticky and is easy to work with).
These balls of coconut set quite firmly, you can pop them in the fridge for a while before dipping/coating them in the chocolate.
Optional - cover/decorate with chopped nuts or more coconut or pipe a squiggle of chocolate on top.
Store in the refrigerator. You can freeze the balls before covering in chocolate too.



Finished



Chocolate Cake adapted from Cakes to inspire and desire by Lindy Smith

The finished cake that I made using this recipe.

This is a lovely recipe, the cake is lighter than a mud cake but denser than a sponge cake, it is moist and rich. It is great to make tiered cakes as well as carved cakes. Delicious on its own or with a filling.

Chocolate cake
This recipe will make a 20cm/8in round cake (3in high).

275g/10oz plain chocolate (good quality with a cocoa solids content  of around 50%)
225g/8oz unsalted butter
150g/5oz caster sugar
8 large eggs - separated
50g/2oz icing sugar
215g self-raising flour and 10g cocoa OR(recipe stated 225g/8oz self-raising flour)

Preheat oven 160 deg C (recipe stated 180 deg C but I found that this was too high)
Prepare baking tin - grease and line tin with baking paper (the baking paper should extend about 2cm above the tin). Wrap a double layer of newspaper or brown paper tightly around the tin and secure with string. (This slows the baking down so that the outer layer of cake doesn't over cook)

Melt the chocolate in the microwave (being careful not to burn it).
Cream the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg yolks gradually to the creamed butter, then add the melted chocolate to this mixture.
In a separate bowl whisk the egg  whites until they form soft peaks, then gradually whisk in the icing sugar.
Sift the flour and cocoa and using a large metal spoon fold the flour alternatively with the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
Pour the mixture into the lined baking tin and bake for 1hour - check the cake - it should be well risen, firm and a skewer inserted into the center should come out clean - bake for an additional 15 - 30 minutes if it is not ready.
TIP - During baking cover the top of the cake once the crust has formed with a double piece of baking paper to prevent the top from over cooking. Depending on how your oven bakes, you can place a double piece of newspaper under the tin before baking.

Leave cake to cool completely in the tin, remove and wrap in plastic wrap or foil and leave for about 12 hours to allow the cake to settle.

This cake will last for about two weeks (only if it is hidden well)
Decorate and fill cake as desired.

I made a chocolate buttercream and mixed in some crushed Tim Tam biscuits, filled the cake and then covered it in a chocolate ganache, before decorating it.