Koala Cupcakes
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
Makes 12
Ingredients
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125g/4ozs butter, softened
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2 cups caster/superfine sugar
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1/2 teaspoon ground lemon myrtle (or whatever flavour you'd like these to be e.g. vanilla)
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2 eggs at room temperature
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1 1/2 self-raising flour
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1/2 cup milk
Buttercream
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100g/3.5ozs butter, softened
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3 cups icing sugar, sifted
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1/4 cup milk
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browney grey colouring (I couldn't find my black colouring so my koalas ended up a bit more brown than grey)
To decorate
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1/2 cup dessicated coconut
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12 chocolate coated almonds
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24 walnut halves
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white fondant or small white chocolate buds for eyes
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brown fondant or melted dark chocolate for eyes
Method
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a tray with papers.
Step 2 - Cream the butter, sugar with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined.
Step 3 - With a spatula, add half of the flour and then half of the milk and mix and then add the rest of the flour and milk.
Step 4 - Spoon batter evenly among the patty cases. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool.
Step 5 - For the buttercream, beat butter in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy, beat in colouring and then sifted icing sugar and milk in two batches until fluffy.
Adding nose
Step 6 - To decorate:make eyes first but piping small circles of melted white chocolate on parchment or rolling small white balls of fondant. Then make little black dots out of chocolate fondant or pipe melted dark chocolate on top of the white chocolate to form eyes. If using chocolate, wait until set. If using fondant, use a little water to adhere the irises to the eyeballs.
Step 7 - Place a chocolate coated almond as a nose and then get two walnut halves that are about the same size and place as ears. Add eyes and then finish with a sprinkle of some dessicated coconut on top. I know I put the coconut on first but I think that prevented the nose and ears from fully sticking down so I suggest doing it last.