My excitement upon returning to University this year and discovering the new addition of Bake Society; was matched only by their announcement of DISCOUNTED cup cake decorating classes. I realise that I sound vaguely socially challenged here, but frankly I don’t care and happily embrace the label if deemed necessary.
Upon entering ‘Crafty Cakes’ sugar-craft store and being hit by a heady blast of vanilla, sickly sweet fondant and freshly baked cakes any negative vibes, brought on by the punishingly long walk from the city centre to the St Thomas area, were expelled. The evening was an absolute success filled with gossiping, coffee and the production of ‘uber’ cute cake art. I was overwhelmed by the friendly staff and chilled atmosphere for the whole two hours, and would thoroughly recommend any of their classes, even to the most artistically challenged among us.
Following the class I was inspired to design the ultimate festive cup-cake which prompts immediate Christmas vibes upon consuming; a bold challenge I realise. However I feel in the recipe below that I have adequately met the brief combining the classic mince pie within a fluffy cup-cake and of course it simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the taste of brandy butter and terry’s chocolate orange…enjoy!
The Ultimate Festive Cup-Cake – with 2 types of icing
Ingredients:
Cakes
· 175g self-raising flour
· 100g muscovado sugar
· 1 tsp mixed spice
· Pinch of cinnamon
· 175g butter
· 3 eggs
· 2 tbsp milk
· 140g mincemeat
· 1 orange (zested) – use half the zest for the cakes and half for the Chocolate orange ganache
Brandy Butter Icing
· 115g butter (softened)
· 60ml semi-skimmed milk (room temperature)
· 2 big tablespoons of brandy butter
· 1tsp vanilla extract
· 500g icing sugar
Chocolate Orange Ganache
· 200g Dark Chocolate (preferably Bourneville)
· 200g Milk Chocolate
· 400ml Double Cream
· ½ of the zested orange
Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven – 190C/fan 170C/gas 5
2. Line a 12 holed muffin tin with paper cases
3. Put the sugar and butter in a bowl and beat for about 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy
4. Beat the eggs separately and add the milk to them
5. Combine the flour spices and zest in another bowl
6. Then add 1/3 of the egg mixture to the creamed butter and sugar – beat thoroughly
7. Add 1/3 of the flour and combine thoroughly
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until all of the ingredients are combined
9. Put a spoonful of cake mixture into each muffin case
10. Add a spoonful of mincemeat to each case and then cover with another spoonful of cake mixture
11. Bake for approximately 15 minutes – they should be golden brown, then remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack
For the Brandy butter icing:
1. Beat the butter, milk, brandy butter, vanilla extract and ½ the icing sugar until smooth
2. Gradually add the remaining icing sugar
3. It is then important to taste and check the brandy butter content – according to taste you can add more
For the Chocolate Orange Ganache:
1. Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a medium size heatproof bowl
2. Put the cream into a pan along with the orange zest and heat up until simmering point (don’t boil)
3. Pour the hot cream onto the chocolate and leave for 2 minutes
4. Then stir until all the chocolate has melted
5. Place in the fridge for about an hour, stirring occasionally until the mixture has reached spreading/piping consistency
For other toppings a simple praline made out of pecans and sugar goes fantastically with the chocolate ganache icing, and I would recommend the addition of a Belgian chocolate truffle or a homemade brandy snap biscuit to top off a cake with brandy butter icing. However feel free to go wild and use your imagination, experimenting with lots of different festive flavours…perhaps try a ganache infused with the flavour of mulled wine by adding a muslin cloth of mulled wine spices to the cream when it is heating up (but obviously remember to remove it before adding to the chocolate).
Image Credits: whitworths-sugar.co.uk, megan-deliciousdishings.blogspot.co.uk