Friday 4 January 2013

My first blog post- Recipe: Vanilla bean cupcakes

Engagement Party Cupcakes
Hello! And thank you for taking the time to check out my new food blog, "Sweet as Plum". Most of you clicking on this first post, have probably come to it from my link on facebook or twitter and so you will know that my surname is Plummer, and hence the name of my blog :-)




Canterbury Bulldogs Cupcakes



If you are a friend of mine (or related to me), then in 2012, you will probably went to an event in which I made cupcakes. I made them for birthdays, engagement parties, footy finals and even as an auction item at a trivia fundraiser. So my first blog post is actually going to be revealing my secret- the recipe for my cupcakes!


Vanilla Bean Cupcakes- Adapted from this recipe from taste.com.au
Makes: 24
You will need quite a heavy duty hand mixer (I use this one) or a stand mixer.
Ingredients:
250g butter, softened well
2 cups caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
4 eggs, room temperature
3 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
250ml milk
Icing Ingredients:
200g butter, softened well
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1kg icing sugar mixture
125ml milk
Food colouring, sprinkles, flowers etc to decorate

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180°C  or 160°C for fan forced.
2. Line 24 1/3 cup capacity muffin/cupcake pans with cases
3. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter, sugar and vanilla bean paste until pale and creamy, approx 5 minutes.
4. Break the eggs into a small bowl and add one at a time, beating well between each addition.
5. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Add the flour, baking powder and milk, in alternate batches, starting and ending with the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.
6. Spoon mixture evenly among the lined pans and smooth the surface. Bang the tray hard on the bench a few times. This will even out the cupcakes and remove air pockets to ensure a flat top.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Cakes will be cooked when a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
For the icing:
1. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and vanilla paste until very pale.
2. Gradually add the icing sugar, beating well between each addition. Go slowly here as it will start to fly everywhere and go very dry as the icing sugar absorbs all the butter.
3. Add the milk and beat until well combined and smooth.
4. Divide the icing among bowls and tint with food colouring. Use a piping bag with a star tip, a round-bladed knife or pallet knife to ice each cake. Decorate with icing flowers and sprinkles, if desired.
5. These can be iced and frozen, just thaw completely on the bench (not in a microwave!) before eating.


 







4 comments:

  1. Good luck with your Blog, Carly. These cupcakes look amazing. I remember the movie Julie and Julia. It all started with the first Blog, and eventually along came the film of it. You need a quality controller for these :)

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  2. Thanks very much for the words of encouragement Kat :-)

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  3. Hey carly
    I know lis through school and just wamted to let you know love your blog so far
    good luck with it :) Kim

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  4. Hi Kim,
    Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, and thanks for checking it out :-)

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