Meringue Buttercream Icing

A light and delicious twist on buttercream icing. This recipe is perfect for icing almost any cake. This recipe make a generous amount. You will not run out when icing and decorating two 23cm cakes.

Ingredients

6 Egg Whites
400g castor sugar
675g unsalted butter ( at room temperature )
1 tsp vanilla essence

Preparation

1. Place eggs whites and sugar into glass or metal bowl and set over a pan filled with about 5cm of simmering water.  Heat, stirring frequently, until the temperature of the egg whites reaches 60C. they will feel very hot to the touch.
2. Transfer the heated egg whites and sugar to a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Mix at high speed until they have reached maximum volume, (5-10 minutes).  Mix on medium to high speed while pinching off small pieces of butter and throwing them in.  Mix in vanilla if using.  The buttercream may look like its breaking down, but keep mixing and it will come back together.
Store in fridge if not using straight away.

Enjoy!

Unicorn Cupcakes

Another version of cupcake, ideal for kids parties.

For cupcake recipe follow this link:  cupcake recipe

I used a little pink colouring in the cake, but could be adapted with any colour.

The icing, I divided in half, coloured half pink, and other half blue.

To get the two-toned colour, I spread the blue icing thickly on a large rectangle of clingfilm, then a smaller rectangle of pink icing on top.
Roll the clingfilm gently into sausage shape, snip one end off, and place into large piping bag with star nozzle.
Pipe rossettes on cupcakes, and sprinkle with sugar decorations.

Caramel Cupcakes

This is another version of my standard cupcakes, 

For cakes:

4oz Margarine
4oz Castor sugar
4oz SR Flour
2 Eggs (beaten with 2tbsp milk) 
1tsp Baking powder

For frosting:

8oz Double cream
4oz Mascarpone
1 tbsp Icing sugar

Make cupcakes by creaming margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add egg mixture a little at a time along with the caramel flavouring, and continue beating, ( add a little flour at same time to prevent curdling mix).
Scrape down bowl, then fold in rest of flour, baking powder.

Divide into 12 paper cases in muffin tray.
Bake Gas 6, aprox 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool,
(This is good time for a cup of tea!) 

To make frosting, whisk cream and mascarpone until thickens a little, then add icing sugar and whisk until thick and creamy.
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes in design of your choice,

I put little caramel in centres of cakes before decorating with flowers and piped leaves, then drizzled a little caramel over tops, and added some caramel sprinkles.

Enjoy!

Lemon Cupcakes

These lovely cupcakes could be adapted for Easter, by putting mini chocolate egg on top, or any topper you want.

For Cakes:

4oz Margarine
4oz Castor Sugar
5oz SR Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
2 Eggs
2tbsp Milk

For Icing/Frosting:

4oz Margarine
4oz Butter
16oz Icing Sugar
1tsp cream of tartar
Extras/Optional:

yellow food colouring
lemon meringue flavouring
lemon curd
yellow rice paper flowers

Make cakes by creaming together margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
Mix beaten eggs with milk, and beat into cake mixture a little at a time.
Fold in flour and baking powder, add a little yellow food colouring until colour required.
Divide mixture between 12 cupcake papers, and bake Gas 6, until risen and springs back when touched.
Cool on wire rack.
When cool, make a hole in centre of each cupcake, and pipe a little lemon curd.

Make icing by beating margarine and butter together, then add icing sugar and 1tsp cream of tartar, mix slowly until icing sugar all incorporated, add 1tsp lemon flavouring, then beat on high until light and fluffy.

Put half of icing into another bowl and add a little yellow food colouring at a time, until colour required.
Put white icing in one piping bag and yellow in another, cut a little off the bottom.
Put large star nozzle into another large piping bag, then put both filled bags inside this one(equally).

Pipe large swirls on each cupcake, sprinkle a little icing sugar, and add rose on top.

Enjoy!

Blackberry and Vanilla Cupcakes

Loving these new Russian piping nozzles! So many ideas I want to try, watch this space!....

For cakes:

4oz Castor Sugar
4oz Margarine
4oz SR Flour
2 eggs, beaten with 1tbsp milk
1tsp Baking Powder
fresh blackberries
purple food colouring

For Icing:

2oz Margarine
2oz Butter
8oz Icing Sugar
1tsp Glycerine

Make cakes by creaming margarine and sugar till light and fluffy, add eggs a little at a time. add vanilla.
Fold in flour and baking powder.

Put half mixture in another bowl, and add a little purple food colouring at a time until colour required.

Put half a dessert spoon of each mix into 12 cupcake papers. add 1 blackberry in centre of cupcake.
Bake in oven Gas 6, aprox 20 mins until risen and centre springs back.
Place on wire rack to cool.

Beat together marg, butter and icing sugar till light and fluffy, beat in 1tsp vanilla essence.
Add half buttercream to another bowl, and add a little purple colouring at a time, until colour required.
Add white buttercream into one piping bag, and purple into another, then place both piping bags inside of another one, with nozzle of choice.
Pipe swirls on each cake,add blackberry in centre and dust with a little icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Valentine Cakes

Love these! Can be decorated any way you wish, I used a 6" heart shaped tin, and cupcakes.

For cakes:
4oz Castor Sugar
4oz Margarine
4oz SR Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1tbsp Cocoa Powder

For Icing/Frosting:

4oz Butter
4oz Margarine
16oz Icing Sugar
1tsp Glycerine (corn syrup)

For the cakes:

Beat together margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs a little at a time, adding little of the flour at same time, to prevent curdling.
Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa together, and fold into cake mixture,
Put mixture into greased tin and/cupcake papers.
Bake until risen and spring back to touch. Gas 5.

Leave larger cake in tin to cooler 20 minutes before attempting to remove and placing on wire rack to cool fully.

For Icing:
Beat margarine and butter together, then add icing sugar, beat slowly until combined, add glycerine, and beat on high level until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl and beat again, at this point you can add some flavouring, ( I added strawberry essence).

Divide icing into 3 separate bowls, half of icing into one bowl, and divide rest into other 2 bowls.
In the bowl with the largest amount add some red food colouring a little at the time until colour required, ( I prefer pastes, not liquids).
in other do the same, making 1 pink, and the other green.

When cakes are cool, give heart cake and/or cupcakes a covering of pink icing.

Put red icing in piping bag with nozzle, (I used Russian rose tube), and pipe flowers on cake.
Place green icing in piping bag, and use leaf nozzle if you have one, ( I cut a 'V" into mine) and pipe leaves in between flowers.

Enjoy!

Double Mint Chocolate Muffins

This recipe makes aprox 12 muffins, you could make them any flavour or decoration that you wish, but the basic recipe would be the same.

For the cakes:

4oz Margarine
4oz Castor sugar
4oz SR Flour
1oz cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 Eggs (beaten)
2oz chocolate chips


For Icing:
3oz Softened butter
6oz Icing sugar
Few drops green colouring
Few drops of mint food flavouring


Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa into a bowl.

In another bowl cream margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs a little at a time, with a little flour ( to prevent mixture from curdling).
Scrape down bowl.
Fold in flour mix and chocolate chips until all combined.
Divide mixture  into 12 paper cases that are already placed in muffin tray.
Bake in oven Gas 6 until risen and tops spring back when touched gently, aprox 20 mins.

Place muffins on wire rack to cool.

For icing, beat icing and butter, with colouring and flavouring till light and fluffy.

When cakes cool, pipe icing on top of cakes in any style you like, add a few sprinkles or chocolate chips for decoration if you wish.

Enjoy!

Mini Bakewell Tartlets

Shortcrust pastry ( as done in previous post)

1tbsp jam

2oz margarine
2oz castor sugar
1oz SR Flour
1oz Ground Almonds
1 egg
1tsp Almond Essence

2tbsp icing sugar
Pink food colouring

Grease 4 tartlet cases lightly (mine were 4")
Line cases with shortcrust pastry and bake blind, without colouring.

Make cake mix by creaming together sugar and margarine till fluffy.
Beat in egg and almond essence,
Fold in flour and ground almonds.

Spread 1tsp jam in bottom of each pastry case, then divide cake mix between tartlets and smooth out.

Bake in centre of oven, Gas 6, till golden brown, (aprox 20 mins).

Allow to cool on wire rack.

Mix icing sugar in bowl with a little water, but not too runny, put a little mix in another small bowl and mix in a tiny bit of pink food colouring.

When tarts are cool, spread white icing on top, put pink icing in small icing bag, with small plain nozzle and pipe parallel lines across, then with toothpick, drag gently across line to create feather effect.

Enjoy!

Coffee and Walnut Cake

An old classic today from Mums recipe book!

8ox SR flour
4oz Margarine
2 eggs (beaten)
6oz Walnuts
1tbsp instant coffee granules (diluted in a little warm water)

8oz Icing sugar
2oz butter

Make cake by creaming margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs a little at a time, with a little flour to stop curdling.
Fold in rest of flour with half of the coffee, and half of the walnuts (chopped).
Bake cake in deep round 8" cake tin (greased and floured) for 30-40 minutes Gas 5.

Test cake is cooked by using skewer in centre of cake, if it comes out clean it is done.

Cool cake on wire rack.

Beat icing sugar and softened butter till light and fluffy, add a little of the coffee essence for flavour.

When cake is fully cooled, slice through horizontally and sandwich together with half of the butter icing.
Spread rest of icing on top of cake and drag fork through lightly, 1st one way, then opposite to pattern on top,
Decorate with halved walnuts.

Enjoy!