Cupcakes: March 2012

Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Easter Cupcakes - Fuzzy baby chickens

Hi Cupcakes :)

Megan and myself have really been getting into the Easter spirit this week and have been experimenting with Easter style cupcakes. We've posted our first tutorial video on YouTube on how to make cute fuzzy baby chicken cupcakes.

Follow this link to check out the tutorial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqlzp3g2IpY&context=C4ba650aADvjVQa1PpcFNdDvwtrOZB0uzbkGKxEVpwZUisNW9j21s=

Aww freshly hatched fuzzy baby chicken :)

These are so cute and easy, they look really good with other mixed Easter cupcakes. Best of all they are so easy you can do them with kids for a family activity (with very little mess).

You'll need:

Cupcakes
Buttercream frosting
Shredded coconut
Mini M&Ms
Orange Jelly beans

The process to is as follows:

STEP 1. Bake your cupcakes, you can use your own recipe for this- we've got a really simple one on YouTube too if you want to follow it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcMOJRZZrn0&context=C4ca3c07ADvjVQa1PpcFNdDvwtrOZB0tOLSZWumW4fw32Ahd2fjXA=

STEP 2. Frost the cupcakes with Buttercream frosting. Again you can use your own recipe or check out ours:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ru3kUF-zwo&context=C43878c0ADvjVQa1PpcFNdDvwtrOZB0hpZWjrAA-7FkUcPTYmltSs=

STEP 3. Colour your shredded coconut. This is as simple as putting it in a freezer bag with a few drops of food colouring and shaking. (Demonstrated in the video)

STEP 4. Pop on your M&M eyes and your jelly bean beaks

You can make them any colour you like :)

In the next couple of weeks leading up to Easter Megan and myself will be bringing you 3 more Easter tutorial videos and blog posts so you can make an assortment of Easter goodies and present them beautifully.

Stay tuned :)

Peace and love,

Amy

Megz and myself bunny-ing around the 22do cupcake factory

Wednesday, 14 March 2012

Buttercream frosting- flavours

Hi fellow cupcake enthusiasts,

Recently you may have tuned into 22do's Buttercream frosting tutorial on Youtube. This clip was a short tutorial on how to make really simple but delish buttercream frosting/icing for cupcakes. We gave some hints a tips on how to make your frosting a good consistency for piping (not too runny, not too foamy, nice and firm). Check it out for the recipe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ru3kUF-zwo&context=C4bd86c2ADvjVQa1PpcFNdDvwtrOZB0sgafb-tNaykMsC016P2NS0=

Today I wanted to share some variations on your basic vanilla buttercream that are really simple but allow you to make a range of flavours and colours without using colouring. So here they are:

Chocolate

Add 2 tbsp of sifted cocoa powder and 2 tsp of extra milk.

Orange

Substitute 2 tbsp of milk with 2tbsp of orange juice (freshly squeezed is best) and the finely grated rind of 1 orange.

Lemon

Substitute 2 tbsp of milk with 2 tbsp of lemon juice and the finely grated rind of one lemon.

LEMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Raspberry

Add about ¼ cup of fresh or frozen (thawed) raspberries. Mush into a sauce before adding and only add a small amount of sauce at a time until the desired colour is reached. If you add too much the frosting may curdle slightly but will still taste yummy.

Cookies n Cream

Add ½ crushed packet of your favourite biscuits such as Oreos, Tim Tams or Mint Slice. This makes a very stiff icing that you can dollop onto cupcakes for a nice effect. It is unsuitable or piping.

OREO BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Passionfruit

Add the pulp of 2-3 passionfruit. If your passionfruits are particularly juicy then you may not need all of the milk normally used in butter cream.

Topping

For a simple way to flavour your butter cream frosting you can add 2 tbsp (or more) of your favourite ice cream topping....caramel, chocolate, strawberry, mango- passionfruit and more. The possibilities are endless...well as endless as the supply at your local supermarket that is. Keep in mind you may not require all of the milk usually used to make butter cream icing.

So there are just a few for you to try.

My obsession at the moment is with mango and passionfruit flavoured buttercream which is made from a mango passionfruit sauce/topping bought from the supermarket. It is amazing, it makes me want to lick the bowl clean.

Oreo frosting is one of our most popular, people cannot get enough of oreo cupcakes, and they look so good with a mini oreo on top.

Try them all, and I'm sure you will all be inspired to invent your own variations using your favourite fruits and flavours. We'd love to hear your suggestions and ideas too, or if you've ever encountered problems using these ingredients. So leave us a comment and we'll get back to you, or give your flavour a try.

Peace and love, and happy cupcaking,

Meg and Amy