Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery

Co n te n t s INTRODUCTION 6 BASIC CUPCAKES 10 BASIC ICINGS 24 DECORATIONS 48 FESTIVE OCCASIONS 54 SPECIAL OCCASIONS 88 SPECIFICATIONS

WEDDINGS 110

Pub date Price ISBN Word count Format Extent Illustrations Rights Authors’ home

BEYOND CUPCAKES 132 INDEX 142

September 2009 £12.99 plc hardback 978-1-85626-847-9 40,000 240 x 210mm 144pp Colour throughout World, Kyle Cathie North London

Kyle Cathie Limited www.kylecathie.com NB: Dual measurements have been used in this blad, but there will be separate editions of the final book for the UK and the US.

U.S. SPECIFICATIONS Pub date Price ISBN Word count Format Extent Illustrations Rights Authors’ home

2010 $19.95 paperback 978-1-906868-08-6 40,000 8in x 9½in 144pp Color throughout World, Kyle Cathie London, England

Distributed by NBN Books 4501 Forbes Blvd, Suite 200 Lanham, MD 20706 Phone: (301) 459 3366 www.nbninternational.com

23

basic cupcakes

Lemon Cupcakes These fresh lemon cupcakes are always very popular in our bakery and also at weddings and baby showers, especially when topped with fresh lemon buttercream icing (page 42).

Make sure you use really juicy plump lemons for the best result!

Method In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the creamed butter and sugar and beat well.

Mix the two flours together. Alternate adding the flour and milk to the creamed butter mix as follows – add one-third of the flour and mix well; add half the milk and mix well; add another third of flour and mix well.

Add the remaining milk and all the lemon juice and mix well. Finish by adding the last third of flour and the lemon zest and beat well.

If the mixture looks like it is curdling slightly, don’t panic – simply add another spoonful of plain flour and beat well.

Spoon out the mixture evenly between the cases/baking cups and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Insert a cake skewer in the centre of one of the cupcakes to check they are cooked through. They will appear quite a light golden brown colour when cooked.

Leave in the tray for 10 minutes and then place the cupcakes carefully on a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cupcakes are completely cold, they can be iced with fresh lemon buttercream (see page 42) and decorated with a sugared lemon slice (pots of these are sold in most supermarkets) or some grated peel from a lemon.

Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.

Makes 12 regular cupcakes Ingredients 110g/1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature 225g/1 cup caster/superfine sugar, preferably golden 2 large eggs, free-range or organic 150g/11/3 cups self-raising flour 125g/11/4 cups plain flour 90ml/5 tablespoons semi-skimmed/ low-fat milk 30ml/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon (roughly one lemon’s worth) grated lemon zest

Equipment Electric hand beater Preheat oven to 160˚C (fan)/180˚C/ 350˚F/gas mark 4.

Line a 12-hole muffin tray with muffin cases/paper baking cups

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basic icings

How to ice a cupcake Practice makes perfect with icing cupcakes! Strangely, it is much more difficult than it looks. But don’t worry, this step-by-step will help you achieve the perfect result.

1

To keep the consistency of the buttercream icing as smooth as possible, beat the icing with an electric hand beater before starting.

Between icing each cupcake, use a palette knife to stir the icing.

2

Start by scooping up the most buttercream you can in one go with your palette knife and place it in the centre of the cupcake (top left).

3 Keeping your knife angled so that its flat side remains in contact with the buttercream , work the icing out to one edge of the cupcake by gently pushing it using small strokes with the knife (top right).

tep sby step!

4 Take another scoop of buttercream icing and repeat step 3, this time pushing the icing out to the opposite edge of the cupcake (bottom left).

5

Add one more scoop of icing to the cupcake to bring the edges together, whilst making a central peak with the remaining icing.

6 Dip the end of your knife into the centre of the iced cupcake and, in an anti-clockwise direction, drag the knife in a circular motion to create a swirl effect (bottom right).

7

Decorate the cupcake as desired. Make sure to put any sprinkles onto the cupcakes as quickly as possible, otherwise the icing will set a little making it hard for any decoration to stick.

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festive occasions

Ginger Cupcakes With the bite of ginger and black molasses, these make for great Halloween or winter treats. Be generous with ginger fudge icing (page 44) to top the cakes and be inspired by our photos to let your Halloween imagination go wild!

Makes 12 regular cupcakes Ingredients 200g/2 sticks unsalted butter, diced 175g/3/4 cup molasses sugar 3 tablespoons black treacle 150ml/2/3 cup semi-skimmed/ low-fat milk 4 pieces of stem ginger, drained and chopped 2 large eggs, free-range or organic, beaten 300g/3 cups self-raising flour 1 tablespoon ground ginger pinch of salt

Method Melt the butter, sugar and treacle in a pan over a low heat. Cool briefly and then stir in the milk.

Add the chopped ginger to the beaten eggs and then beat into the butter mixture. Sift the flour, ground ginger and a pinch of salt and add to the warm mixture. Combine thoroughly.

Spoon out the mixture evenly between the cases/baking cups and bake in the centre of the oven for 30–35 minutes.

Leave in the tray for 10 minutes, then place the cupcakes carefully on a wire rack to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 160°C (fan)/180°C/ 350°F/gas mark 4.

When the cupcakes are completely cold, they can be iced with ginger fudge icing (page 44) and any decorations you like – have fun with these – if they are for Halloween, the scarier the decorations the better!

Line a 12 hole muffin tray with muffin cases/paper baking cups

These cupcakes are best when they are made and eaten fresh. They tend to dry out a little quicker than some of the other flavours.

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basic icings

Rose Buttercream Icing By carefully adding rosewater to our vanilla buttercream you can produce a subtle or stronger rose flavour, depending on your preference. Perfect on our rose cupcakes (page 18), this icing could also be used on vanilla or orange sponge cupcakes – you could even make a selection for Valentine’s Day or a hen night.

Method Beat the butter, milk, vanilla extract and half the icing/confectioners’ sugar until smooth. This will usually take a few minutes. Gradually add the remainder of the icing sugar to produce a buttercream of a creamy and smooth consistency. Add the rosewater at the very end and beat thoroughly. Taste to check it is scented enough. To colour, simply add a tiny drop of pink food colouring and beat in. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Beat well before re-using.

Ingredients 115g/1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature 60ml/21/3 tablespoons semi-skimmed/ low-fat milk 1 teaspoon good-quality vanilla extract 500g/4 cups icing/confectioners’ sugar, sifted ½ teaspoon rosewater, or to taste 1 small drop of pink food colouring