Priceless.com & My Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Ice cream Cone Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
Originally uploaded by cupcaketastic.

I received an email from a representative working the the advertising agency who handles MasterCard Priceless.com a user submitted website. They have requested using some of my Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes in their campaign. How cool, I'll keep you posted. Yay.

Toffee Tumble Cupcakes

Toffee Tumble Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by cupcaketastic.

Vanilla Cupcake with French Vanilla Custard, Choux Pastry Balls and hard crack Toffee.

This recipe has been requested by another lovely Flickr member JoL check out her creations, I especially love her Gingerbread.

Recipe is from the Australian Women's Weekly 'cupcakes' book. I did change it to just a vanilla cupcake from an almond cupcake as my oldest is allergic to almonds.

Ever since I got this book I have been wanting to give this recipe a try. Each part ie, cupcake, toffee, custard and choux pastry is relatively simple, but overall takes at least a couple of hours from start to finish.

Overall a visually impressive cupcake, a bit hard to eat due to its height but definitely fun. Next time I'm going to fill each choux pastry ball with a dark ganache, to give it more depth. The custard is yummy but there is a little too much corn flour for my tastes.

We did have some left over for the next day, the toffee melted and was obsorbed by the cake, and the puffs were not crunchy anymore, but still yum. This is definitely a make and eat on the same day cupcake. Good Luck.

Toffee Tumbles

Almond Buttercake

150g butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon almond essence
2/3 cup (150g) caster sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup (50g) self-raising flour
1/2 cup (75g) plain flour
1/2 cup (60g) almond meal

Choux Pastry

60g butter
3/4 cup (180ml) water
3/4 cup (105g) plain flour
3 eggs, beaten lightly

Vanilla Custard

1 1/4 cups (310mls) milk
1 vanilla bean, split
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
1/4 cup (40g) cornflour

Toffee

1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) water

1. Make choux pastry; make vanilla custard.


2. Preheat oven to moderate (180oC/160oC fan forced). Line 12-hole standard pan with paper cases.


3. Beat butter, essence, sugar and eggs in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.


4. Stir in sifted flours and almond meal, in two batches. Divide mixture among cases; smooth surface.


5. Bake cakes about 20 minutes. Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool.


6. Cut a 2cm deep hole in the centre of each cake, fill with custard; replace lid.


7. Spread tops of cakes with a little more custard. Top with a layer of puffs. Stack remaining puffs on cakes dipping each in a little custard.


8. Make toffee; drizzle over puffs.

Choux Pastry

Preheat oven to hot (220oC/200oC fan forced). Grease oven trays, line with baking paper. Combine butter with the water in medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Add flour, beat until mixture forms a smooth ball. Transfer mixture to small bowl, beat in egg with electric mixer in about six batches until mixture becomes glossy. Spoon mixture into piping bag fitted with 1 cm plain tube. Pipe about 300 tiny dollops of pastry (about 1/4 level teaspoon), onto trays; bake 7 minutes. Reduce oven to moderate (180oC/160oC fan forced), bake for a further 5 minutes or until puffs are crisp. Repeat with remaining mixture.

Vanilla Custard

Bring milk and vanilla bean to a boil in small saucepan; discard vanilla bean. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in small bowl with electric mixer until thick. With motor operating gradually beat in warm milk. Return custard to small pan; stir over heat until, mixture boils and thickens. Cover surface of custard with plastic wrap; cool.

Toffee

Combine sugar with the water in small heavy-based saucepan. Stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, without stirring, until mixture is golden brown. Remove from heat; stand until bubbles subside before using.

Jaffa Cake

Steve's 30th Jaffa Cake
Originally uploaded by cupcaketastic.

The other week I was asked to whip up a 30th birthday cake for a mate. Having very little in the cupboard in the way of ingredients and pretty low in enthusiasm, I created the Jaffa Cake, not an original combination orange & chocolate but it is always a crowd pleaser. I had a baked 12 inch Orange Butter Cake, in the freezer which had sank in the middle, but flipping it over hid that little problem. So I covered in wonderful Chocolate Glaze and encrusted the top with smashed Jaffas, a ring of whole Jaffas around the bottom finished the look (and stopped me from eating too many leftovers). Vola - Happy 30th Birthday!

Orange Butter Cake with Marmalade Buttercream

These recipies have been requested by Alicat3 from Flickr if you have time pop over and check out her photos which are all stunning and truely show a love of food and all things funcky. She claims to have found the Ultimate Brownie Recipe which I MUST try sometime soon. So a request from her is a real boost for me. The following are not my recipies but from The Whimsical Bake House by Kaye & Liv Hansen this book is my fav cookbook at the moment I highly recommend it. All I did was add the Marmalade Twist. Enjoy!

Orange Butter Cake

Trial Buttercream Wedding Cake - Mini
Originally uploaded by cupcaketastic.

Grease two 10 x 3-inch round pans. Preheat the oven to 350oC. Have all ingredients at room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat at high speed until light and fluffy:

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups sugar

Add and beat well:

6 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

On a piece of wax paper, sift together:

3 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Add the dry ingredients alternately to the butter and egg mixture with:

3/4 cup milk
3/4 sup strained fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange zest

Pour 3 1/2 cups of the batter into one prepared pan and the remaining batter into the other. Bake the less full pan for 20 to 25 minutes and the fuller pan for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cakes on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes before turning them out of their pans.

Yield: 9 cups of batter


Italian Meringue Buttercream (Kaye's Buttercream)

In a saucepan, bring to boil:

1/2 cup water
2 1/4 cups sugar

Use a clean brush and cold water to wash down any sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan as the water heats. When the sugar comes to a boil set a timer for 7 minutes, and let boil.

After 5 minutes, in the bowl of an electric mixer, begin to whip at high speed:

1 cup egg whites (about 12 large egg whites)

Whip until stiff. They should be done when the timer goes off.

With the mixer on high speed, slowly beat the sugar syrup into the egg whites, pouring the syrup to the side of the bowl to avoid the whip.

Continue to beat until the bowl is cool to the touch, about 10 minutes. Slowly add:

1 1/2 pounds (6 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces

When the buttercream begins to jump out of the bowl, reduce the speed to low. Mix in at low speed.

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Beat until light and fluffy. At some points the mixture might look curdled. Just keep beating; it will become smooth again.

Yield: 8 cups

Can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. When using chilled beat until smooth and creamy.

Separate the required quantity of buttercream and mix through a good marmalade to taste.


Both recipies taken from The Whimsical Bake House, Kaye & Liv Hansen.