Cream cheese frosting recipe

Most recipes only use cream cheese frosting for rich cakes like carrot or red velvet but I like this frosting on any cake, even your basic vanilla. This will be enough to frost 12 cupcakes or 6 large muffins.

Ingredients

• 100g Soft cheese (also known as cream cheese, I prefer Philadelphia)
• 25g Unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 125g Icing sugar

Instructions

1. Add all the ingredients into a bowl with high sides (suitable for whisking).
   
2. Mix the soft cheese, unsalted butter and icing sugar with a spoon until you have a porridge-like texture (I find this step necessary so you don't get covered in a cloud of icing sugar in the next step).
3. Use an electric whisk to blend the frosting. Don't stop until all lumps of butter and cheese are whisked away (literally!) and it becomes light and fluffy - whisk for longer to make it thicker.
4. Spread over your cupcakes with a spatula or fill a zip lock bag, snip the corner and pipe.
   

The longer you whisk the frosting the thicker it will become and therefore the easier to pipe but it will be ready to spread over your cupcakes as soon as all lumps are gone.

These are the reasons I love cream cheese frosting:

• This recipe will transform any cupcake, even if you have cooked them a little too long and they are a bit crisp on top - they will still taste delicious.
  
• I find that this frosting helps to keep your cakes nice and moist if you eat them gradually over a week like me and it doesn't separate over time like butter cream.
• The frosting comes out in very white so you can add any colour to it and get a great effect. White also goes with any colour of sprinkles.
  

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.
   

Chocolate cupcakes

This is a little advancement on my vanilla cupcakes recipe, and is equally as moist and delicious! This will be plenty to make 12 cupcakes or 6 muffins.

Ingredients

• 1x large egg
• 100g baking margarine
• 100g caster sugar
• 75g self raising flour
• 25g cocoa (Green & Blacks fairtrade is my favourite!)
  

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 it more chocolate-y then add more cocoa but take out some flour. No matter the ratio, the total weight of the flour and cocoa together should be 100g.
5. If you want to add any thing to the mix (choc chips, sultanas, banana) then this is the time to do it.
   
6. Pour the mixture into a zip lock bag and pipe into cupcake cases (this saves on mess - just throw the bag away, no washing up required!)
7. Put in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes. Once you think the cakes are cooked open the oven and press down on one of the cakes, if it springs back then the cakes are done.

Vanilla cupcakes

This is my favourite recipe for classic, soft and moist vanilla cupcakes. I also find it really easy to remember because it's all the same weights. This will be plenty to make 12 cupcakes or 6 muffins.

Ingredients

• 1x large egg
• 100g baking margarine
• 100g caster sugar
• 100g self raising flour
• 1 cap-ful vanilla essence
  

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. Add a capful / half a teaspoon of vanilla essence to the batter.
4. Add the egg to the mixing bowl and fold into the mixture.
5. Add the flour and mix together until you have a smooth batter.
6. If you want to add any thing to the mix (choc chips, sultanas, banana) then this is the time to do it.
7. Pour the mixture into a zip lock bag and pipe into cupcake cases (saves on mess and washing up - just throw the bag away, no washing up required!)
   
8. Put in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes. Once you think the cakes are cooked open the oven and press down on one of the cakes, if it springs back then the cakes are done.