Fresh Mint Frosting - Mmmmm !

Yesterday, I had made some chocolate cupcakes for a friend and was scratching around for a fresh and summery frosting recipe. I couldn't find anything I fancied putting on these. Lemon and orange certainley have a zing - but don't really go with chocolate. Vanilla - ok - bit boring. Chocolate - too heavy.

The back door was open and there was a beautiful smell from the fresh mint I'd newly planted.

I decided to have a go incorporating it into a frosting.

Actually - I was far from sure this was work. I envisaged the mint turning brown or being chompy in the frosting. I couldn't have been more wrong. I'm thrilled with how this one turned out.

It's fresh and fragrant and ever so subtle. It went with chocolate cake and it would equally go with lemon or apple. I fancy having a go at trying a basil frosting sometime soon to go along with a lemon or lemon poppy seed cake.

There is no recipe as such.

Very finely chop a couple of tablespoons of fresh mint. Make a very basic cream cheese icing and mix it in. I like to use soft cheese like Philadelphia and mix in standard icing sugar until I reach a nice thick consistancy.... then beat well. When ready to use, mix in the chopped mint well. I did this by hand.

The remains kept well overnight in a bowl covered with clingfilm  - and was spread on slices of left over spiced apple cake !!!

Double Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

If you like cupcakes, raspberry and cream cheese frosting - these are killer cupcakes. Possibly give you a heart attack with so many calories - and certainley add a few inches to the waistline.

These were a bit of an invention at the weekend - and it worked really well.. but fairly serious in the calorie stakes !

I'm really not sure I should post the cake mix part of the recipe, as it came from Primrose Bakery Cupcakes book. See the recipe for Raspberry cupcakes. Basically, it's a vanilla cupcake mix with three tablespoons of raspberry jam swirled through before being put into the paper cases. After baking (once cool) you are supposed to make a little hollow and put in a teaspoon more of jam before icing with a white chocolate buttercream. It IS however better than their standard vanilla recipe - though that's not too bad.

I deviated from the recipe somewhat. I used the recipe for the sponge part - but divided it between 15 cases instead of the recommended 12 in a cupcake mould. Before cooking, I put a spoonful of white chocolate cheesecake mixure on top of that. The result of which was a moist, sweet (but not overly so) cupcake with a real rich cheesecake type tang.

I think I went a bit overkill - as on top of that, I slathered a raspberry cream cheese frosting. the frosting was really just a basic cream cheese frosting with plenty added raspberry jam and icing sugar until the consistency came together. It set well - with a soft shiny sheen. There is no food colouring in the icing - it's only the raspberry jam that has given it the colour. Stupidly, I've managed to delete my image of the frosted cupcake - so you'll need to make do with one on the cooling rack pre-frosting !

140g cream cheese

60g caster sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch salt

100g chopped white chocolate

beat above ingredients slowly together until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips / chunks.

I'd recommend trying the cheesecake part on top of your favourite cupcake mix :-) Take care to cook until only just set or it's ruined..

Enough to top 12 cupcakes - bake cupcakes at 160  >170deg C

A little sickly perhaps - unless you are a lover of cream cheese icing !

Sarah-Jane Nash - SiliconeMoulds.com - March 2010

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I've been meaning to have a go at Red Velvet Cupcakes for some time.... and an ongoing thread on the Omlet Forum spurred me on for this weeks bake.

I used the recipe from Martha Stewarts Cupcakes book - with a yeild of 24 standard sized muffins (2 silicone tray loads).

The photos do no justice. The mix was a vampire blood red - far far FAR brighter  and truly shocking to say the least. It certainely put a smile on my face and I couldn't stop laughing as I made them.

Unlike my attempt with macarons, the red velvet cupcakes did keep the colour and all rose well in the oven. I also managed to get exactly 24 cupcakes out of the mixture.

Iced them with a basic cream cheese icing. The white made the red really stand out - but unfortuantely, again - the photos don't do the colour any justice.

Would I make them again ? Most certainley.... but I'd likely go with a different recipe as I wasn't bowled over with this one. It was ok - but nothing special....

Spiced Pineapple Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting & Toasted Coconut

Make them as muffins - or frost them as cupcakes. However you prefer them, you'll find these lightly spiced pineapple cakes ever so moist and tasty.

I make these in my 12 hole silicone muffin / cupcake tray and the mix generally makes the full 12 muffins / cupcakes. As I normally ice them, I've lined the silicone bakeware mould with paper muffin cases. However, if serving as breakfast muffins or uniced in lunchboxes, there is no requirement for liners. I'd suggest buttering / greasing inside the cells of new moulds for at least the first few times making cakes.

Recipe

300g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
120g caster sugar
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup / 250 > 280ml crushed pineapple (juice squeezed out)
100ml milk
1 egg
140ml pineapple juice (reserved from tin)

I

Preheat oven to 180deg C fan

I start with a measuring jug and measure oil and milk and juice together, then add the egg and mix with a fork.

Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the pineapple and wet ingredients. Mix with wooden spoon until only just combined.

Put batter into buttered silicone muffin tray - or tray / tin of your choice lined with paper cases.

Bake for 20mins or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before turning out or frosting

Sarah-Jane, Feb 2010 - http://www.siliconemoulds.com/