Friday 6 July 2012

Pink Peppermint Cupcakes

Pink Peppermint Cupcakes


These pink peppermint cupcakes were inspired by the infamous grasshopper pie. You haven't heard of Grasshopper Pie? Well, you are just going to have to google it yourself, I have a blog post to write!

My cupcakes evolved from the design in my head of a  peppermint cupcake atop an Oreo cookie encased in a silver cupcake case and topped with a creamy white frosting and a sprinkle of chocolate was brought to a rather abrupt halt by a severe lack of silver cupcake cases in the County of Gloucestershire, well the three shops that I had the chance to visit anyways.


And so, these are my pink peppermint cupcakes, still a surprise Oreo in the bottom, but now topped with a creamy and light pink peppermint frosting.


Peppermint Cupcake Recipe

Most traditional sponge cake recipes are an approximation of this traditional equal measures recipe.

Ingredients
You have to start by weighing your eggs in their shells. I used two eggs and this made 10 cupcakes. My two eggs weighed 137 grams. You need the same weight of

Margarine or butter
Caster / Superfine Sugar
Self-Raising Flour
Culinary Peppermint oil (I used Pure Peppermint Extract from Star Kay White)
Oreo Cookies (One for each cupcake)
Optional mint green food colouring

Method

Line your bun tin with your cupcake cases and pop an Oreo cookie in the base of each cupcake case if you want to use them

Cream together the margarine or butter, sugar and a teaspoon of the peppermint oil with a stand mixer, hand mixer or wooden spoon until light and creamy.

Beat in the eggs, mix well

Mix in the flour until just incorporated.

Things always taste better when they look like what they taste like, if you want to, add some mint green colouring. I used a mint green liquid colour from Squires Kitchen. (I think actually I overdid it a tiny bit)

Fill the cupcake cases with the batter until they are about two thirds full.

Bake at 180 C or 350 F for 15 to 20 minutes.


Fluffy Pink Peppermint Frosting

I delayed making these cupcakes for days, whilst I mused on what the frosting should be, then, I developed this recipe to be white because I wanted the frosting to have the look of whipped cream on top of the cupcake and then I decided to make the frosting pink!

Ingredients
250g / 5oz solid vegetable fat / shortening (Trex)
250g / 1 cup icing / confectioners sugar
1 397g / 8oz can condensed milk
2 to 4 teaspoons culinary peppermint oil

Mix the solid vegetable fat with about half the sugar and beat in a mixer or with a hand mixer until smooth.
Add the rest of the sugar and beat again until smooth
Next tip in the whole can of condensed milk and beat again until the icing is soft but still firm
Add 2 teaspoons of peppermint oil, mix in and then taste. Add a bit more peppermint if you like it more perpperminty.
Add a couple of drops of gel food colouring if you like. I used a tiny amount of Wilton Rose.

Decoration

Piping the Frosting



The frosting is piped with this Wilton Nozzle 2F

Hold the nozzle perpendicular to the cupcakes to get this flower effect. Squeeze slowly and pause before lifting the bag.

Pipe the flower in the centre first and then pipe a circle of flowers around it. Finish by piping another flower on top of the first one in the middle



Making the Fondant Birds


You will need

A little sugar paste / fondant or modelling fondant in whatever colour you fancy. I coloured mine with a tiny amount of Wilton Gel colour in Leaf

A bird mould. This is the Wilton Nature Mould

Lustre dust. I used Squires Kitchen Magic Fairy Sparkle in Absinthe

Mould the birds by pushing a small amount of fondant into the mould. Press down gently and remove any excess fondant. Then gently flex the mould and lift the moulded fondant out. If you find your fondant is stretchy and or sticky, pop the fondant into the fridge for 20 minutes and then try again.




Add the lustre by dipping a clean paint brush into the lustre and gently brush it over your moulded bird

I thought you might like to see the difference between the bird moulded in fondant and what it looks like when it is brushed with the lustre.

Pop one of the birds on top of each cupcake and you are finished.

One last thing - Grasshopper Pie Recipes. Just in case you were still wondering


That's all for today
Thanks for popping by and please call again soon

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