Saturday, 3 November 2012

Cupcakes


When an event comes around that calls for a celebration, what better way to spread the cheer than engaging in the one incredibly therapeutic ritual… baking and decorating adorable little cupcakes!

My mum is an incredible baker, and her cupcake recipe is so simple to make and works every time.

Combine 125g butter, 3 eggs, 1 ½ cups plain flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, 2/3 cups caster sugar, ¼ milk, and 1 tsp vanilla in a bowl and beat for 4 minutes. Divide into patty cases and bake in a preheated 180°C oven for about 20 minutes until golden.

My favourite part of making cupcakes is the intricate task of decorating. This particular festival of creation was a bit of a family affair, as we were fortunate enough to acquire my darling uncle’s chef like dexterity, which came as an absolute gift when we decided one hundred fondant roses were to embellish our little cupcakes!

There are plenty of great tutorials on YouTube on how to make various styles of edible sugar roses. I found this one to be quite helpful and easy to follow:


Making each individual petal as delicate and dainty as we could, we sat layering petal by petal to ultimately create these beautiful little roses. Once you settle in to find your rhythm and petal placement style, this task seems to have the effect of eroding time.  I become aware that neither my uncle nor I have been conscious of the clock and in the pursuit of perfection, spent four short hours fiddling with fondant. When the last rose is assembled, what a wonderful sense of achievement!

Now to assemble these miniature masterpieces! I found it easiest to pipe from the centre of the cake in a consistent outward then upward swirl.  As with creating the sugar roses, everyone tends to go about their method slightly different, so it’s just about playing around with what works best for you!



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