Old Fashioned Cupcakes with Strawberry and Caramel Cream Cheese Icing

There was a time in my life that I would never have left the house without makeup.

I’m talking about a full-face war mask that covered every perceived blemish underneath it.  This entailed full coverage foundation, concealer, corrector, topped with mineral powder foundation (yes, two layers of foundation), then coloured with full on thick matte lipstick, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, oodles of mascara, and a little bronzer and highlighter.  It didn’t look as bad as it sounds but subtle it was not.

I was very into the beauty side of things before and bought a lot of cosmetics.  And I mean a lot.  An amount so large, that most of it had to be given away on a regular basis in one of my purging events that I have talked about before.  Mainly because there is no way I can use that much before it goes bad and partly because, well, it made way for more purchases.

But now that I’ve entered into my thirties, I’ve noticed that going out without makeup just doesn’t bother me anymore.  As I reached the end of my twenties I came to accept the slight dark circles that I naturally have under my eyes and the constant redness on my cheeks.  I realised that my forehead isn’t as big as I think it is and even though my eyes aren’t as large as all my sisters’ they aren’t small either.

I still draw the line at having the right side of my face photographed though – my nose looks much much straighter on the left side.

Still though, I think it is with age that you come to accept the things about you that make you uniquely you.  If you know what I mean.

One thing I haven’t been able to shift with age though is an annoying little emotion called guilt.  Guilt when you fail to live up to other people’s expectations.  Guilt when family sees you as being the best at something then you don’t or can’t deliver.  I think the desire to please features strongly here too.

You see this happened when I made those damned Ganache filled Red Velvet Cupcakes.  Cupcakes – not the things which give me the most joy when baking.  But these were so good that requests came thick and fast for more and I set about making what I described as a ‘top three desert island dessert’ under much pressure and at a point in time when I was in a very low mood.   

The combination of pressure and low mood and distractions and I don’t know what else made these turn out not as good as the first batch.  Since some in the family wanted to (and did) give these to friends because they were so impressed with them, well...  It just drenched me with feelings of guilt.

They weren’t bad exactly, just not as good as before.  I tried to look back and analyse what went wrong and I realised a couple of things.  Firstly I used all plain flour and missed out the cornflour by accident.  This was because I had written ‘cake flour’ in my notepad (copying direct from the site) and didn’t substitute the amount of cornflour into the flour quantity that I know I’m supposed to do when I write down ‘cake flour’.  I also doubled the recipe since so many wanted seconds the first time but didn’t get any.  I’m not sure what happened in the doubling of the recipe but there was a lot of oil.  Maybe I should have decreased the quantity of oil a little when doubling – I don’t know. 

You can see here that the texture was dry, crispy and crumbly on the top and edges

I should definitely have used the electric whisk which I advised you all to do in the post, but I didn’t.  I used a hand held whisk because there were too many people milling about the kitchen and I didn’t want to go in there.  These are not excuses by the way, this is an analysis. 

So the oil wasn’t thoroughly incorporated into the batter and when placed into the cupcake cases, separated even more.  I also lost my ice-cream scoop.  Because this was my parents’ house and things get lost very quickly and very easily in my parents’ house.  So I had to use two tablespoons which took longer and gave the cupcakes more time to separate.  These then basically baked with a slight layer of separated oil which made the top and sides crunchy and nothing like the soft, light, fluffy ones I made before.  The taste was still great but the texture was all wrong.

The cake still tasted great though and the inside was soft

So what did I do to remedy the situation?  I set about trying to find another batch of the best tasting cupcakes I could.

When I came across these in my then newly purchased book Back in the Day Bakery by Cheryl and Griffith Day I was very hopeful.  Partly because the recipe uses the reverse creaming method which I have tried with good results before, making a cake that was very soft albeit a little dense.  I was curious to see how they would translate into cupcakes and can say that they were a tremendous success.  You know they taste good when people are eating them without them even being iced yet.

When I did manage to ice the ones left I used my own very simple cream cheese icing rather than the buttercream suggested in the book.  I rarely like simple buttercream as I find it too sweet.  I think the cream cheese cuts into that sweetness very nicely and always prefer it for simple icing.  After making the cream cheese icing, I divided it into two bowls and placed some strawberry jam and pink food colouring in one and some spoonfuls of caramel and tangerine food colouring in the other.   I find this is the simplest method of making ‘different flavoured’ cupcakes and it does make a difference in taste even though the vanilla cupcake underneath the icing is the same.  It’s a great technique if you’re baking for a fund raiser/stall/farmers market as you can get lots of flavours by using the same cupcake recipe and adjusting the icing a little.  You can try it with adding different flavoured jams, citrus zest, purees and conserves, then by coring the cupcake and adding the correspondingly flavoured jam, curd or ganache.

This is an American book so all the recipes are in volume measurements using cups (1 cup = 250ml).  I’m very comfortable using both cups and grams and have the equipment for both, so rarely convert volume measurements into grams although I will give the calculated equivalents in brackets below.  I also can’t find cake flour in the UK and when the recipe calls for it, I always use a mix of plain flour and cornflour to substitute.

Old Fashioned Cupcakes with Strawberry and Caramel Cream Cheese Icing (adapted from Back in the Day Bakery)

This recipe makes some very soft cupcakes that are just the perfect balance between dense and fluffy, although slightly leaning more towards the dense side.  The vanilla flavour is very well showcased and I feel it’s better to use vanilla paste or a vanilla pod if you have them as the taste will be so much better and pronounced.  Although the cake is good on its own, taking a bite with the cream cheese icing is just sublime.  This is definitely my favourite vanilla cupcake recipe, I feel like I don’t need to look for another now that I have this in my repertoire.  

Vanilla Cupcakes (makes 24)

·         1 cup (250ml) full fat milk

·         1 tsp vanilla extract or ¼ tsp vanilla paste

·         2 ¾ cups (400g) plain flour

·         ¼ cup (30g) cornflour

·         2 cups (400g) sugar (I used caster)

·         1 tbsp baking powder

·         ¾ tsp fine sea salt

·         ½ pound (230g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, room temperature

·         4 large eggs, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare 24 muffin tins with liners (I used muffin liners rather than cupcake liners and got exactly 24 cupcakes).

Mix together the milk and vanilla and set aside.

Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt together until well incorporated (I did this by a hand whisk).

Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix with an electric mixer until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.  I personally find it easier to mix in the butter by hand, using the tips of my fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients.  It is also far more enjoyable!

Add the eggs one at a time mix in thoroughly after each addition.  Gradually add the milk and vanilla and mix until well incorporated.

Using a large ice cream scoop if you have one (or two tablespoons, if you don’t), scoop the batter into the liners and bake for about 25 minutes.

Cream Cheese Icing

·         200g Philadelphia Cream Cheese (full fat), from fridge

·         250g unsalted butter, room temperature

·         750g-1kg icing sugar

·         Strawberry jam

·         Caramel

·         Pink and tangerine food colouring

Whisk the cream cheese with an electric whisk until lightened.  Add the butter and whisk until the two ingredients are well mixed.

Gradually add the icing sugar and mix in each addition by hand first before using the electric whisk to prevent it flying all over the place.  You can sift the icing sugar before adding to make it easier to incorporate but I don’t.  Keep adding the icing sugar until you have a consistency of icing that is fairly firm – you will be adding jams and caramel to it later which will soften it up.  I used approximately 750g icing sugar.

Divide the icing into two bowls (or more if using more than two flavours).  Add about 3 tbsps of jam (or to taste) to one and mix in, then add a little pink food colouring if you prefer – the jam turns the icing a little pink so you might not want to add the extra colouring.  Add about 4-5 tbsps (or to taste) of caramel to the other with the tangerine food colouring and mix in well.  If you don’t have pink and tangerine food colouring then simply substitute with what you do have to hand.

Assembly

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, place the icing in icing bags fitted with icing nozzles of your choice (try saying that really fast!).  decorate with sprinkles and dragees of your choice.

Ganache Filled Red Velvet Cupcakes

I am not a cupcake person at all.  I am very much a cake person; the hearty, sturdy type cakes flavoured with lemon, orange, coconut, ginger etc.  I just don’t find the same satisfaction from making cupcakes as I do with making large cakes.  I also don’t like the cake to icing ratio as usually you get more icing on a cupcake than you would on a slice of big cake, unless it’s been scarcely iced but let’s face it, the decorative icing is what lures most people towards cupcakes and which is why it will have oodles of it piped prettily on top.

That’s not to say I didn’t make my fair share of cupcakes in the past, especially when the craze started a good few years ago now.  I remember I bought almost all my cake decoration supplies due to my cupcake activities.  I was so happy when I found the Wilton 1M piping tube to create those big thick decorative curls on top.  Seems a bit excessive looking back on it, since I don’t use them as much now.  But my interests are cyclical so maybe I will come back to the more decorative side of baking at some point.

Saying that, I don’t mind making cupcakes and very occasionally do since there are a few recipes I made in the past that went straight into my favourite’s folder online (everyone has one right?).  And for me, they are good for giving as gifts too. This is partly due to the visual appeal (I can always make a cupcake look prettier than a cake) and partly because I find cupcake boxes from supermarkets very easily now, much more easier than finding large cake boxes and because I don’t have to go online to order packaging from specialist retailers then cupcakes for gifts it is.   Also, six cupcakes for a small family makes a lovely present and will always get exclamations of delight.

So when my sister requested I make something for her driving instructor (long story but he’s a great guy), the first thing I thought of was cupcakes.  Actually that was the second thing I thought of – the first was what flavour of cake.  I get very tense when asked to bake for someone I don’t know very well.  It’s not the same as baking for a stall or a family, or group of people.  This is a specific someone and people can be very particular about what they like.  Like my dad, for instance, who doesn’t like chocolate cake for no reason at all but that he doesn’t like chocolate cake.  It’s difficult to comprehend for people like me who pretty much like most things as long as it’s cooked/baked well.  

I settled on red velvet because of the looks factor and because I think most people like the taste.  Even people who don’t like chocolate cake like red velvet since it’s strictly not a proper chocolate cake.  Red velvet always has this tang to it and funny as it seems a velvet feel in the mouth – or maybe that’s just in my head because the name suggests it so?  I don’t know.  But I wouldn’t define red velvet as chocolate flavoured, especially the recipe I use which contains very little cocoa and tastes just as much of vanilla as it does of chocolate.

One thing I don’t like is cream cheese icing or rather the amount of cream cheese that a lot of recipes contain.  For a long time, I would pair my red velvets with a light white chocolate icing instead but then I devised a cream cheese icing that worked for me and have been using that ever since.  It just contains a lot less of the stuff than in most recipes so has that cream cheese tang that cuts into the sweetness of the icing but without the feeling that I’m eating sickly sweet cheese which I just can’t stand.  I also don’t heap a huge amount of it on my cupcakes.  This icing goes very well with carrot cakes too, I’ve found.

This is a red velvet recipe I found a long time ago online and have been making ever since.  It’s originally from Cakeman Raven and I have adapted very little by increasing the cocoa powder from 1 tsp to 1 tbsp, decreasing the salt from 1 tsp to ¼ tsp, using red wine vinegar instead of white wine vinegar (it just seems more appropriate) and increasing the vanilla extract from 1 tsp to ½ tsp vanilla paste (which is equivalent to 2 tsp vanilla extract). 

I’ve always been happy with this cake except for one thing.  No matter which brand of liquid red food colouring I use, I can never achieve that lovely red colour of cake that I see on TV and on American websites.  I know a lot of people find it artificial but I want that colour – not the bright neon red but just a red.  I’ve tried Dr Oetker’s, Langdale’s, Tesco brand, Asda brand and a few more whose names I can’t remember and none give me that colour.  It just turns out to be this mid-brown colour with a very slight tinge of red that’s barely noticeable.   

I think it’s the red cases that saved these, giving them the look of red velvet, rather than the cake.  I’ve heard that I might want to use red food colouring paste next time so will try that.

Despite the colour this cake is just incredible tasting.  It causes me problems because every time I make it I get requests for more.  Serious requests, which don’t stop until I’ve made a few batches of this and people have eventually had their fill.  Although I love baking, I love baking different things and don’t usually bake something that I’ve already made recently.  But people obviously need to get this cake out of their system so I have to prepare myself for tedious repetition.

The cake is very moist, fluffy and soft from all that oil.  It has the subtle chocolate flavour mixed with that delicate tang and a rounded sweetness from the vanilla.  This cake feels satisfying in the mouth and tastes exquisite.  The cream cheese icing is the perfect complement and that little bit of chocolate ganache inside (mines hardened up so it felt like biting into a truffle centre – God it was good!) just makes this the type of thing you would have in your top five desert island desserts.  Make it the top three.

Ganache Filled Red Velvet Cupcakes (adapted from Cakeman Raven)

Makes 20

·         300g sugar

·         350g plain flour

·         30g cornflour

·         1tsp bicarbonate of soda

·         1 tbsp cocoa powder

·         ¼ tsp salt

·         2 eggs

·         375ml vegetable oil

·         250ml buttermilk

·         2 tbsp (30ml) red food colouring

·         ½ tsp vanilla paste

·         1 tsp red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 180C, prepare a muffin tin with muffin cases.  Mix the sugar, flour, cornflour, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and salt together in a medium bowl. 

In a large bowl beat the eggs, oil, buttermilk, colouring, vanilla and vinegar together until very well combined.  Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix it until fully incorporated (until you get all the flour).  You might want to use an electric whisk as there is a large amount of oil here that tends to sit separate unless you can really whip it into the other ingredients.

Scoop the batter into the cupcake cases and bake for about 20-25 minutes.  Start checking after about 15 minutes though as your oven might run a little hotter than mine.  Once out of the oven, allow to cool on wire racks.

Ganache Filling

·         200g dark chocolate (not more than 60% cocoa)

·         100g extra thick double cream

Make the ganache by breaking up the chocolate into small pieces and placing in a medium bowl.  Heat up the cream in a saucepan until it comes to a simmer and is just bubbling on the edges.  Give it a stir to make sure its heated through then pour on top of the chocolate.  Leave for at least 30 seconds to a minute. 

With a smallish whisk, gently begin to mix the cream into the chocolate until they emulsify and mix in together.  Extra thick cream has a lot of fat in it and the ganache should be quite glossy. 

Cream Cheese Icing

·         100g unsalted butter, softened

·         150g cream cheese, room temp

·         500g icing sugar

·         5 tsp extra thick double cream (or double/single cream, milk)

Make the cream cheese icing by beating the cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy.  Add in half the icing sugar (no need to sift) and beat together until mixed in then add in the other half.

The icing will be quite stiff, so add in tsp of the cream until you get the consistency you are happy with.  I used 5 tsp and this made the icing soft but easily able to hold its shape.

Assembly

When the cupcakes are cool, cut the insides of them with an apple corer so have space to for the ganache.  It’s easiest to use a piping bag to pipe the ganache into the middle but if you don’t have one just do your best with a teaspoon. 

Again if you have a piping bag and nozzle you might want to use it here with the cream cheese.  The amount of cream cheese should be enough to ice all 20 cupcakes if you don’t go overboard (you can hopefully gauge from the pictures the amount I used to ice each cupcake).  Decorate as you will.