Red velvet cupcakes

I had never heard of Red Velvet cake until recently. Firstly, I tried some in the cafe at my work, then Crumbs and Doilies had it as their flavour of the month, then I saw them everywhere on all my favourite cupcake blogs. This was something I only tried this week and it's been a while since I've shared a recipe, so here goes:

Ingredients

• 1x large egg
• 100g baking margarine
• 100g caster sugar
• 75g self raising flour
• 25g cocoa (Green & Blacks fairtrade is my favourite!)
• 1 bottle of red food colouring (Silver spoon cake craft is the best for colour)
  

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC or Gas mark 4 or 350ºF
2. In your mixing bowl beat together the margarine and sugar with a spatula until smooth.
   
3. Break the egg and add to the mixing bowl, fold into the mixture.
4. Add the flour and cocoa, mix together until you have a smooth batter. If you want to make it more chocolate-y just add more cocoa here but take out an equal amount of flour - make sure that whatever ratio you use, the flour and cocoa should equal 100g.
   
5. Pour in the entire bottle of red food colouring (yes, the entire bottle! If you added more cocoa you will need more food colouring to make them just as red)
   
6. Put the batter into a zip lock bag and pipe equally into cupcake cases.
   
7. Put in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes. Once you think they are cooked press down on one of the cakes, if it springs back then the cakes are done!
8. Frost with lots of cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with chocolate flakes or curls.
   

Blue and pink edged cupcakes

After I made my black and white cupcakes I wanted to do some edged cupcakes again.

These lovelies were made with vanilla cakes and cream cheese frosting, I then edged with blue and pink ball sprinkles.

I actually used sprinkles from two different sets. I matched them up because they both have a similar matte look. Even though the blue ones came in a set with red and blue sprinkles I think the pink and blue look great together, it's sort of a blue-purple colour, lush!

Black and white cupcakes

It's been a while since I've blogged, I need to catch up!

I made these cupcakes with my favourite vanilla recipe and used some of the designer icing tubes that seem to be popping up everywhere at the moment. I chose black and white tubes then I decorated with black writing icing, white jimmies, white stars and white sugar balls.

I have to say I'm not keen on icing. I'm so used to cream cheese frosting now that I found the icing to be dry, it hardens very quickly and even the cupcakes underneath seemed to dry out more quickly. I think that cream cheese frosting keeps your cakes nice and soft.

I did however, love icing the cakes and then dipping only the edges in white jimmies. I love that look where the sprinkles are only around the edge. I think I might try it again ;)