February 07, 2021 · By Isobel Hush

Cupcake Day

Its cupcake day today which naturally we are not going to miss out on. Inspired by some of the ingredients found in our fragrances we have pulled together 3 delicious tasting recipes for you to try at home.

First we have Raspberry, inspired by our Framboise Noire fragrance. Next up is Salted Triple Caramel, clearly influenced by our delicious Salt Caramel fragrance. Lastly is Zingly Lemon which you can find in both our Blackberry Woods and Unicorn Tears fragrances.

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Raspberry Cupcakes

Ingredients

170g soft butter
3 med eggs
170g caster sugar
170g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
Few drops of vanilla extract
1 box of raspberries
Ready made raspberry coulis or
Chocolate decorations e.g. hearts, sprinkles

Method

To make this cupcake recipe, preheat the oven 180C/350F/Gas mark 4.
Place 8-10 large muffin cases in a muffin tin or 12-15 medium size cases.
Pop all the ingredients for the sponge in a bowl, and using an electric mixer, beat until thick and creamy.
Half fill the cases and pop 2-3 raspberries on top of the mix, slightly pushing them in.
Cover each raspberry with some more mix then pop into the oven for about 15-20 mins until golden and risen. Leave them to cool on a wire rack.
Pipe your buttercream in a nice swirl on top of the cakes, drizzle some raspberry coulis over and decorate with chocolate hearts and a raspberry.

Photo by Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis on Unsplash

Salted Triple Caramel Cupcakes

Ingredients

Caramel Cupcakes

1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (200g) packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick or 115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk*

Thick Salted Caramel Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick or 115 grams) salted or unsalted butter
1 cup (200 grams) packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
2–3 cups (240-360 grams) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
salt, to taste
optional: salted caramel candies for decoration

These are the BEST cupcakes! Caramel cupcakes topped with salted caramel frosting and salted caramel candies. @sallybakeblog

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners, plus a second pan with only 2 liners. Fill empty cups halfway with water to prevent the pan from warping. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate medium bowl, beat the butter and sugars together at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat until combined. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until no flour remains, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Slowly stir in the milk. Do not overmix the batter.
Fill each cupcake liner only 1/2 way full with batter. Bake cupcakes for 22-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting, about 1 hour.
While the cupcakes are cooling, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once melted, add brown sugar and heavy cream. Stir constantly over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Add salt. Allow to bubble for 3 full minutes, no more. Remove from heat and allow to slightly cool, only about 15 minutes. Do not place in the refrigerator to cool. With a hand mixer at medium speed, beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, until you reach desired consistency. Add a little heavy cream if you’d like the frosting a little creamier or thinner (I usually add 1-2 Tablespoons). Add more salt if the frosting tastes too sweet. Frost cooled cupcakes and adorn with salted caramel candies. Cupcakes stay fresh in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature and 5 in the refrigerator.

Notes

Milk: You can also use buttermilk– do not use skim milk or 1% milk.
Frosting: Extra frosting can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Allow it to come to room temperature again before frosting anything.

Photo by Yulia Khlebnikova on Unsplash

Zingy Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cakes:
125g of softened butter
125g of caster sugar
2 medium eggs
100g of self raising flour
2 tbsp of milk
2 lemons
For the icing
175g of softened butter
350g of icing sugar

Photo by Cristina Matos-Albers on Unsplash

Method

Heat the oven to 180 degrees.
Using a whisk, beat together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, flour (sifted), milk and the zest of the two lemons and a little squeeze of juice.
Mix everything until it is a smooth mixture.
Spoon one and a half tea spoons of the mix into the cake cases.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins.
While they are cooking, make the icing by whisking the butter in a bowl. Then add the icing sugar and mix.
Add the zest if any remaining lemon zest and however much of the rest of lemon juice. (depending how zingy you want them to be)
Put the cakes on a cooling rack to cool. When they have finished cooling, pipe or spread the icing in to the cakes.
You could add a lemon flavour sweet of a small pice of chopped up lemon if wanted. And there you have it, one batch of delicious Zingy lemon cupcakes ready to take to a party or picnic or just to put in a box to save for another day. Make sure you have eaten them in a week or they won't taste as good as they are meant to.