Each year, you know its approaching Easter once the Valentines Day products disappear and the Easter eggs and chicks come out. For some reason I have a bizarre liking for these tiny little yellow chicks. I even made a miniature nappy with safety pins for one. A year ago, we had put them in our mini cactus garden but I accidentally watered one and once you get water on these little chicks, they are ruined. I knew my Easter cupcakes had to include these chicks, in memorandum of the one I accidentally killed with water. RIP little chickadee. And don’t worry, these ones will live the life of a free range chick in our cactus garden afterwards.

Making a cupcake of the chocolate variety would surely be the obvious choice for Easter So I used a double chocolate raspberry cake. The main problem was that my royal icing was not as stiff as it needed to be. Perhaps I need to use meringue powder or something like that to get my icing rock hard.

Now for the technical bits and picking the original recipe apart (from a book I shall not name). Their recipe says to pipe directly onto the cake but when I did, this odd white bloom formed between the cake and the icing the next day after I left it to dry overnight. So luckily I had piped the basket weave onto the cupcake paper for some of them and that seemed fine-although eating the icing off the paper doesn’t make for good eating. Also I wasn’t able to pipe onto the cupcake all at once, I had to do it in two batches - one half and then the other half, as my royal icing was not that firm so I didn’t want them to sit upright as the effects of gravity on setting icing are obvious. So put plenty of time aside for this-2 days to be certain that the icing dries.

I’d also recommend using the a straight edge cupcake paper pan as you will want to pipe upwards and it makes it easier. Of course its up to you but I did use one of the brown paper ones that you can get at stores. It did mean that since they are larger, I got half the amount of cupcakes though so be sure to adjust for numbers. There’s nothing worse than a kid missing out on a cupcake-or an adult for that matter.

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I have to declare that whilst these little cupcakes are an arresting sight, they actually taste as good as they look. The orange rind and cream cheese make them so soft and they taste like moist orange scented friands. I am one of those people that sticks whole oranges in the freezer in case I ever need rind or juice. It would probably be better if I zested and juiced the oranges first and put them in a zip lock bag I know. Perhaps I’ll get around to doing that sometime.

I am very excited as these featured on the Cupcakes Spectacular 2008

as well as Cupcakes Take the Cake’s mini round up!

Kaleidoscope Cupcakes

For the cupcake

• 90g butter at room temperature
• 90g softened cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange rind
• 2/3 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 100g plain flour
• 25g cornflour

Fondant layer

• 1 packet of white fondant (I use Orchid brand)
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 teaspoon orange flavouring essence

Royal Icing decoration

• 1 egg white (30g)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 150g sifted icing sugar
• Food colouring gels or powders in desired flavours

1. Preheat oven to 150c fan forced or 170c non fan forced.

2. Beat all ingredients except for the flours with an electric mixer until fluffy and pale in colour. Add flours and beat until combined. Spoon into patty tins.

3. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool in tin.

4. Make white fondant icing layer (see recipe below) and quickly spread over cakes. Allow to set.

5. Make royal icing (see recipe below). Divide the icing among 6 small bowls (or however many colours you want to have). Colour each bowl of icing and cover with cling film until ready to use. Get your disposable piping bags ready and fit them with a plain small tip. Pipe patterns directly onto the cupcakes.

Fondant icing

Place icing in a small microwave proof bowl and heat on 30% heat for 30 seconds, stir and test, then another 30 seconds. It should look soft like marshmallow spread. Stir in egg white and flavouring. Use immediately. Spread fondant quickly over cakes and to smooth the surface use a wide knife dipped in hot water to smooth surface (the knife will need some water on it or it will stick to the fondant)

Royal Icing

1. Beat egg white with lemon juice until foamy on low speed increasing to medium speed.

2. Add sifted sugar by the spoonful while beating until desired consistency is reached. If too stiff, add a little warm water.

This recipe is a mix of a few and I wanted to make something a little different with the cinnamon as part of the Master Baker’s challenge.

This is the first challenge I’ve entered being blissfully unaware of these food blogging events. I wanted to do something a little spicey (chili), a little aromatic (cinnamon) and a little rich (chocolate mud).

I received this Dagoba Chili Cinnamon organic hot chocolate mix for my kitchen tea as part of a large chocolate basket from my friends Gina and Teena from Peters of Kensington. The chili and cinnamon chocolate ganache gives it that little bit extra. If an overload of chili and cinnamon is not to your taste, you could always just add the chili and cinnamon mix to the ganache and have a regular cupcake on the outside or you could always reverse it and have the chili and cinnamon in the cupcake and leave the topping as a regular gooey chocolate ganache. As it is, the quantities that I’ve stated are for those who like a little tingle of chili but an all-enveloping hug of cinnamon. If you don’t have access to Dagoba chocolate powder I would suggest a home made version with a ratio of perhaps: 2 tablespoons chocolate powder (not cocoa) to 1/4 or 1/8 teaspoon chili powder and to 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or play around with that ratio to your taste. It also depends on how hot your chili powder is.

The decoration is not hand made (I am not that dextrous) but rather some individually wrapped Sasha chocolates bought for me by my sister from Tokyo. Please don’t be scared off by the combination of flavours, my husband declared these his favourite cupcakes ever as did A&D whom we brought a fresh batch to that evening. Make no mistake, the chewy dense chocolate mud cake is gorgeous and a must bake.

Cinnamon, chili and chocolate mud cake

• 165g butter
• 100g dark eating chocolate chopped coarsely
• 1 1/3 cups (290g) caster sugar
• 2/3 cup (170ml) water
• 1/4 cup (60ml) coffee liquer (optional)
• 8-12 tablespoons Dagoba chili and cinnamon powder (depending on how hot you like your cupcakes)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup (150g) plain flour
• 2 tablespoons Self raising flour
• 1 egg

Chili, cinnamon and chocolate ganache

• 300g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup cream
• 4-6 tablespoons of Dagoba chili and cinnamon powder depending on how hot you like it
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon extra

1. Preheat oven to moderate 170C degrees/150C fan forced. Line 6 hole texas or 12 hole standard muffin pan with paper cases

2. Combine butter, chocolate, sugar, the water, liquer and powder in small saucepan, stir over low heat until smooth

3. Transfer mixture to large bowl; cool 15 minutes. Whisk in sifted flours, then egg (at this stage it will look like liquidey dark chocolate ganache). Divide mixture among cases.

4. Bake large cakes for about 1 hour, small cakes about 40 minutes. Cool in tin for 10 minutes, then turn cakes onto wire rack to cool.

For Chocolate, chili and cinnamon ganache
Combine chocolate and cream in a small heatproof bowl; stir with metal spoon over pan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Stir in chocolate powder and cinnamon. Cool in fridge until it reaches a piping consistency and pipe over cupcakes.

Did I ever mention that I am in love in hearts? Heart accessories, heart prints on dresses, heart hairclips. And always in red of course. So on our fortnightly shop at Aldi where we pick up a few goodies (Aldi chocolate is usually quite delicious as they use cocoa butter, not vegetable fat) I happened upon a packet of heart shaped strawberry jam biscuits dipped in chocolate. I grabbed these at once.

I also found a packet of Heart shaped pasta. I’ve seen all shapes of pasta, even penis shaped pasta so I find it odd that this is the first heart shaped pasta I’ve seen in my life-and please don’t read anything into the types of establishments I frequent, the penis pasta was in a novelty shop called “The Pop Shop” on Oxford Street. Of course I grabbed this heart shaped pasta too and knew that Nigella’s Penne Alla Vodka recipe could be applied to these. The red tomatoey vodka splashed sauce fittingly giving a rosy hued countenance to the pasta. I halved the recipe as Nigella’s recipe is for a dish for 10 and unless you’re having some sort of wild Valentine’s day that involves 9 other people, you might want to keep the portions smaller (of course only halving it means that there is enough for 4 other people! )

The red velvet cake recipe is from a Red Velvet cake that I made several years ago whose provenance I can no longer recall. I did find that when I used a Wilton colouring gel that the cake turned out quite dark, not the vivid red. So its back to the cheaper liquid colorings, for this cake at least. You just cannot argue with that fabulous striking red. And like red velvet should be, I made these with a layer of icing. Just because you have to go with tradition sometimes.

As for my own Valentines Day plans, they’re a secret that I’d be only too happy to share with you on February 15th, after you’ve had your fill of red hearts.

Red velvet cupcakes

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 60ml liquid red food coloring eg Pillarbox red
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour-sifted 2-3 times with cocoa below
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk

Method

1. Cream butter; beat in sugar gradually. Add eggs, one at a time; beat well after each addition. Add food colouring.

2. Add salt, flour and cocoa and vanilla alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.

Red velvet babies sliced in half ready for icing

3. Line cupcake trays with liners and fill with batter. These do not have a raising agent in them so fill them fuller than you would usually, without overfilling. Bake in for 15-20 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius. When throughly cool, remove from bases and slice in half and fill with frosting and then ice top with cream cheese frosting using star tipped nozzle and piping bag (recipe below) and add heart shaped motif (or not).

Cream cheese icing

• 30g butter, softened
• 60g cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cups (240g) icing sugar mixture

Beat butter, cream cheese and extract in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy, gradually beat in icing sugar.

Hearts alla vodka

• 1/2 good sized onion
• 1 tablespoons garlic-infused oil
• Salt
• 410g cans chopped tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon double cream
• 500g Heart pasta or penne rigate or other short, preferably ridged, pasta
• 65 ml vodka
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Parmesan for grating over at the table

1. If you are cooking this just before you eat, put the water on to boil before you start the sauce. You will need a big pan, enough to take the pasta and its sauce later.

2. Finely chop the onion, either by hand or in a processor. In a large pan, heat the garlic oil and add the finely chopped onion and a good sprinkling of salt. Cook the onion fairly gently for about 15 minutes without letting it catch and burn, which just means giving it a stir every now and again. It should be very soft and just beginning to caramelize.

3. Tip in the can of chopped tomatoes and continue cooking over a gentle heat, simmering for another 15-20 minutes. If you’re cooking this ahead, and I always do, stop here.

4. Reheat the almost finished tomatoes (or just continue as you were if you’re making this in one unbroken fluid movement), stir in the double cream and take the pan off the heat. When the water for the pasta comes to the boil add a good measure of salt and tip in the penne. Set a timer for 3-4 minutes less than the packet instructions for cooking it, as you want to make sure it’s cooked al dente and will need to start tasting early.

5. Drain the cooked pasta, tip it back in the pan and pour over the vodka, add the butter and some more salt. Turn the penne in the vodka and melting butter and then tip it into the tomato sauce unless it is easier to pour the tomato sauce over the pasta: it depends on the sizes of the pans you are using.

6. Toss the pasta in the sauce until it is evenly coated and turn out into a large, warmed bowl. Put it on the table along with a block of Parmesan and a grater.

From Feast by Nigella Lawson

Angel Food is one of those delectable sounding light as air concoctions that you like just from the sound of the name. Indeed its very light and fluffy and tastes much like how you imagined a cloud to taste like when you were a child. I have made angel food cake before but I bought some lovely cupcake holders on the weekend from DJs. They are by Donna Hay and they’re French pleated cups in a semi transparent stiff glassine-like paper. I have something like 500 cupcake cups in my cupboards so I didn’t really need these but I figured when they’re so chic and they’re 100 for $7.95, what’s an extra 100 or so? The best part was that they fit my cupcake baking tray perfectly and quite honestly, no cupcake cups ever have before.

However beware if you are using these cups, they will discolour slightly when baked so best to pop them in a new cup once you’re ready to ice if you are not storing in the fridge or just before serving. A big downfall is if you store them in the fridge in the second outer cup, the second cup becomes wet and loose and does not hold its shape at all. So ideally you’d make the cupcakes on the day you want to eat them and then slide them in new cups just before icing and serving them. Or you can refrigerate them iced and then before serving pop them in a new cup. They are ridiculously chic though so all is forgiven with the minor fiddlyness.

Angel Food Cake

• 5 egg whites at room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup pure icing sugar
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 600ml cream whipped with 1-2 tablespoons of caster sugar
• Silver cachous, butterflies or white chocolate shavings to decorate

1. Lay out cupcake pans in tray

2. Ensure beaters and bowl are very clean. Beat egg whites and lemon juice in a bowl until frothy. Add vanilla and cream of tartar. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in icing sugar until firm peaks form.

3. Sift flour 3 times. Gently fold flour into egg white mixture until just combined. Spoon mixture into pan using metal spoon and spread top evenly using a spatula. These will not rise so fill them up to where you want the cake to go.

4. Cook in moderate oven 170c for about 15 mins until cooked. Allow to cool in pan.

5. Decorate with sweetened whipped cream, cachous and butterflies/angel wings