Holiday Cakes and Cupcakes - Carol Deacon

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Melt the chocolate and stir in the cake crumbs. Allow it to cool slightly then roll it into little ball shapes. Stand them on baking sheets and poke a lollipop stick into the top of each one. Refrigerate for about an hour to help the chocolate set or place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

      4 Now, if you sample one at this point you will discover immediately that they taste delicious plain (Madeira cake with white chocolate is my own personal favorite) but you can also decorate them with melted chocolate, sprinkles, or anything else that takes your fancy. The ones shown here were dipped in a mixture of milk and white chocolate.

      CHOCOLATE CRISPY MIXTURE

      This is just the easiest tea time treat to put together and the recipe I always turn to when one of the children mentions at bedtime that “Oh I forgot to tell you, school’s having a cake sale tomorrow.” Simply melt some chocolate, stir in some cereal and that’s it. You can then spoon it into cup-cake cases or as done with the Thanksgiving Turkey Cupcake on page 55 create a massive chocolate crispy dome which caused unbelievable excitement amongst those under five foot in the Deacon kitchen!

      You will need approximately 3 ounces (90 g) of cereal to every 7 ounces (200 g) of chocolate. If you are making small chocolate crispy cupcakes you could also add some mini marshmallows, chocolate beans or anything else that takes your fancy. Even a handful of dried raisins will add an interesting twist.

      COOKIES

      Cookies are an easy way to provide three-dimensional support for decorations such as the flowers and hearts on the Summer Holiday Flowers (page 52) and Valentine Heart cakes (page 48). I have used a very basic cookie dough mix but don’t let that fool you—there’s nothing basic about the taste— they’re really quite wonderful just on their own.

      9/10 cup (200 g) superfine sugar (caster)

      9/10 cup (200 g) butter (softened)

      ½ teaspoon of vanilla essence

      1 medium egg (beaten)

      31/5 cups (400 g) all purpose flour (plain)

      Additional flour or confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar) for rolling out the dough on

      1 Beat the sugar, butter, and vanilla together.

      2 Slowly add the egg, beating it in as you go.

      3 Add the flour and knead the mixture into a dough.

      4 If you have time, place in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before rolling out. This is to help stop the cookie dough spreading out too much in the oven. 4 (again) If like me you haven’t left enough time for chilling, use immediately. Don’t roll it out too thickly and hope for the best!

      5 Dust your work surface with flour (or confectioners’ sugar if you prefer a sweeter cookie). Roll out the dough and cut out your shapes.

      6 Place onto a greased baking sheet and cook for 8-10 minutes at 350° F (180°C). Place the cookies onto a cooling rack when baked and allow to cool before decorating.

      making your cupcakes

      There are many recipes for making cupcakes but the Madeira recipe on page 16 works perfectly well. The 2-egg mixture will make about 12 cupcakes so double or triple the amounts if you need more. Feel free to add chocolate chips, dried fruit, or even a dash of food coloring if you wish.

      1 Pre-heat the oven to 300°F (150° C) and place your cupcake cases into the baking tray. Nowadays there’s a huge range of paper and foil cupcake cases available in all sorts of fancy colors and designs. You can also buy silicon cases which are very bright, colorful and also re-useable.

      2 Mix up the batter.

      3 Spoon the batter into the cupcake cases. The easiest way to do this is using two teaspoons. Use one to scoop a spoonful of batter out of the bowl. Use the other to push it off the first spoon into the cake case. Doing it this way should also stop your fingers from getting sticky. Fill the cake case about two thirds full.

      4 Bake for about 25 minutes until the cakes are golden and springy to the touch.

      DECORATING YOUR CUPCAKES

      There are many ways to decorate your cupcakes once they’re cooled and your kitchen is full of their freshly baked aroma. Here are a few suggestions.

      Glacé Icing

      This is a simple mixture of water and confectioners’ (icing) sugar. the amount given here should cover 12 cupcakes or the top of a 7-inch (18 cm) round cake so double the amounts given if you need more. top the frosted cupcake with half a cherry and you have a cupcake classic.

      1 cup (125 g) confectioners’ (icing) sugar

      1 tablespoon water

      1 Sift the icing sugar into a bowl.

      2 Add the water and stir together. If it is too thick, add a little more water one drop at a time.

      3 Substitute lemon juice for the water for a sweet alternative with a tangy kick or add a dash of food color for a pale pastel alternative.

      DECORATING WITH BUTTERCREAM

      1 A bowl of buttercream and a piping bag with a large star nozzle fitted into it is a really easy way to make a plain cupcake something quite stunning.

      2 Starting from the outside of the cupcake, pipe a swirl around the outside. Continue round and round, moving in towards the center. To finish, loosen your pressure on the bag, poke the tip of the nozzle gently into the buttercream and pull upwards. The buttercream should break away from the piping nozzle leaving a point behind.

      3 If you don’t have a piping bag, a luscious dollop of buttercream lovingly spread over the top of the cupcake with a palette knife can still exert a longing pull on the tastebuds. Sprinkle on a few edible silver balls, sprinkles, or rice paper flowers and it’s ready to party.

      Butterflies

      I remember my grandmother making these and despite all the technological advances we’ve made since her day, i still believe the butterfly cake has an important place in modern society and shouldn’t be forgotten. Cut a circle of cake out of the top of the

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