Red Velvet Cake with Blue Lace Butterfies

"Remember, Sofia has no idea about this birthday meal. Keep it quiet! So I'm thinking red velvet cake?" I read the message that my friend sent and was like: "Yessss!! Cake commission!!"

This particular cake was for a good friend who I've made birthday cakes for in the past.   

Red velvet is one of those cakes that has that luxury feel, and it wouldn't be the same without a white icing but trying to incorporate blue, (which is Sofia's favourite colour) was tough. But after a great deal of thinking, inspiration came in from an insect form. 

I was waiting for the bus when a butterfly flew past me and as I got home I was reading my cookery books for inspiration and a royal icing tutorial jumped out at me and guess what? It featured butterflies. Clearly a sign right? Or maybe just an odd coincidence? Whatever the case, the end result was worth the extra effort. 

I was very please how this cake turned out. Not because it was tasty and super sugary (because that's what you need after a heavy meal...), but more because my best friends was thrilled with the cake. 

I hope that we made your birthday really special Sofia.

These delicate butterflies are just that, DELICATE! Make extra because there will be causalities but there worth the effort in the end as they look so pretty. You have to leave these to dry overnight, so do these before you bake the cake. 

Recipe: Lace Butterflies (Adapted from Divine Cupcakes by Tamara Jane)

Ingredients:

·       1 egg white

·       Ice blue colouring paste

·       300g icing sugar

·       ½ teaspoon lemon juice

Equipment:

·       Electric mixer/hand-held electric whisk

·       Sieve

·       Bowl x 1

·       Baking paper

·       Foil

·       Paper

·       Pencil/pen

·       Edible glitter in pink

·       Disposable piping bag

·       Scissors

Step 1. Beat the egg white

1.    Beat the egg white with an electric mixer until foamy.

2.    Add the icing sugar gradually beating well after each addition.

Step 3. Colour the icing

3.    Icing is ready when peaks appear and holds shape. Beat in lemon juice and food colouring. 

Step 4. Trace a butterfly template

4.    Trace a butterfly template (use a simple one as a complex template will be tricky) onto paper and place the baking paper on top.

Step 5. Fill the piping bag

5.    Fill the bag with royal icing and cut the point off the bag so there is a 1mm diameter.

Step 6. Pipe the thin line to create the butterfly

6.    Pipe a thin line over the template. Once finish sprinkle with edible glitter and allow to dry overnight.

Step 7. Place on decorated cake 

7.    Peel off the paper and use to decorate the cake by placing around the sides of the cake.

8.    With the remaining icing pipe your message on top of the cake.

Recipe: Red Velvet Cake

·       75g unsalted butter, softened (plus a little extra for greasing)

·       300g caster sugar

·       2 eggs, beaten

·       1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·       225g plain flour

·       3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

·       1 ½ teaspoon red food colour paste

·       125ml buttermilk

·       1 tablespoon white vinegar

Equipment:

·       Wilton Tasty Fill cake pan

·       Electric mixer/hand-held electric whisk

·       Sieve

·       Bowl x 2

·       Tablespoon

·       Teaspoon

1.    Pre heat the oven to 180c/350c/ Gas mark 4. Grease and flour cake tins.

Step 2. Sift all dry ingredients together

2.    For the cake, cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl, then beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a separate bowl. Stir in the food colour paste into buttermilk.

3.    Alternately add the flour and buttermilk mixtures to the creamed mixture. Stir in the vinegar, mixing well. Pour the mixture into the prepared tins, dividing it evenly. Bake in the oven for 30-35 mins or until firm to touch. Cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

Recipe: Bulk Vanilla Buttercream frosting (Adapted from Divine Cupcakes by Tamara Jane)

·       200g unsalted butter, softened

·       125ml milk

·       1 tablespoon vanilla extract

·       2kg icing sugar, sifted

Equipment:

·       Electric mixer/hand-held electric whisk

·       Sieve

·       Bowl x 1

        Palette knife

       Optional piping bag fitted with a nozzle

1.Using a large mixer, cream the butter for 1-2 minutes.

2. Add the milk, vanilla and half the icing sugar and beat for 3 minutes or until light a fluffy.

Step 3. Beat until spreadable

3. Add the remaining icing sugar and beat for a further 3 minutes or until it is a spreadable consistency.

Step 4. Spread  the buttercream into the middle of the cake.

4. Once the cakes are completely cooled you can start putting some of the buttercream into the middle of the cake. 

5. Spread the rest of the buttercream over the top and sides of the cake using a palette knife ensuring it is as smooth as you can get it. 

6. If you have any leftover buttercream (depends on how thick you like it on your cake), you can place some in a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle to swirl around the edges. 

Its not as hard as it looks and is worth the effort and the smile on peoples faces when they see a 3-D cake.

Salted Caramel Cupcakes and My 'Primrose Friwend'

A couple of days ago I went to one of my favourite haunts in London with my friend Lauren. Both being keen bakers, we always get a buzz when we go into bakeries and moonch our way through cakes and sweets. One of our favourite haunts?

Primrose Bakery in Covent Garden. 2 cappucinos and 2 cupcakes later, we saw something that we had to have.

No it wasn't the uber cute cupcake grey jumpers that the bakeries sell, its not that cold in the UK yet. Nor the sweet aprons, we both have lovely aprons. No. It was a Primrose Bakery KeepCup. We saw it and we wanted it! Both being coffee buffs as well as cupcake buffs, we both had the same thought:

Its so damn cute and it carries coffee. I am willing to pay anything to have one. 

So we walked out with a Primrose Bakery KeepCup and a free coffee which was a nice bonus as well. We now have a running joke of being: Primrose Friwends (You must say it in a silly voice and holding up your coffee mug/cup/shoe) 

Getting back to the post however, we both have excellent tastes of course, so we both got the same cupcakes. (You know the saying about great minds, there mental.) Salted Caramel Cupcakes. Wow... they were just yum... yet it was something I've never thought to make.

As mentioned in a previous post, I'm officially qualified check out the picture below. Aren't you all so proud? 

To celebrate I made something I never tried before and now am a little obsessed with. Salted caramel cupcakes. I've made caramel, but never tried to incorporate it into a cupcake or cake. The most trickiest part is making the caramel. 

With caramel there is always a burn risk as well as burning the caramel and wasting the ingredients. This caramel may take a couple of attempts, especially if your not familiar with making something like this. So here's the warning: Don't be silly enough to walk away from the caramel or have small children in the kitchen because they expect you to share the food.  

Recipe: Makes 12 cupcakes (Recipe adapted from Making Cupcakes with Lola)

·       250g plain flour, sifted

·       1 teaspoon baking powder

·       ¼ teaspoon sea salt

·       125g unsalted butter, at room temperature

·       185g light brown sugar

·       1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·       2 eggs

·       150 ml natural yoghurt

Salted Caramel

·       180g golden caster sugar

·       90g unsalted butter

·       120ml double cream

Buttercream

·       250g unsalted butter, at room temperature

·       75ml milk

·       730g icing sugar, sifted

·       7 tablespoons of the salted caramel sauce (This seems like a lot but I really like a rich caramel frosting. Taste as you go when it comes to this frosting)

·       A little sea salt, to taste.

·       Chocolate sprinkles, if you like!

Equipment:

·       Large heavy-based saucepan

·       Electric whisk/ Wooden spoon

·       Bowl

·       Jug/ small bowl

·       Sieve

·       Teaspoon

·       Muffin tray lined with 12 cupcake cases  

·       Whisk

·       Piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle/ palette knife

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 180c/350f/Gas Mark 4 and line a 12 hole muffin tray with cupcake cases.

2.    Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Step 3. Butter, sugar and vanilla beaten together

3.    Put the butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until pale and fluffy.

Step 4. Add the eggs one at a time. 

4.    Add the eggs one at a time. Beating well after each addition.

Step 5. Completed batter

5.    Add the sifted dry ingredients and natural yoghurt in alternate batches mixing after each addition, until combined.  

Step 6. fill the cases 2/3 full

6.    Carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them two-thirds full. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until slightly raised. To check they are cooked, insert a skewer in the centre of one of the cakes-it should come out clean.

7.    Remove from the oven and carefully place on a wire rack to cool.

Salted Caramel filling:

Step 1. Don't stir just swirl

1.    Scatter the sugar evenly over the base of a heavy based saucepan and set over a medium heat. DON’T BE TEMPTED TO STIR. If you want to check how the sugar is doing, give the pan a swirl around once and a while.

2.    Once the sugar has melted and the colour has gone a light amber colour, remove from the heat.

3.    Add the butter and cream and whisk thoroughly until combined.

4.    Transfer the mixture into a jug or bowl to help the sauce cool down faster.

Buttercream

1.    To make the buttercream, put the butter into a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or electric hand whisk until soft.

Step 2. Add the salted caramel to the icing mix

2.    Add the salted caramel sauce you've just made and then beat in the icing sugar. Beat on a low speed using an electric whisk or use a wooden spoon.

Step 3. Add the milk until well combined

3.    Add the milk in until well combined and add a little salt if you like, for taste.  

To Finish

1.    Once the cupcakes are completely cold, make a hole in the middle with a teaspoon.

2.    Fill in the hole with some of the caramel sauce. Place a portion of the cake back on top of the filling.

3.    Spread or pipe the buttercream on top of the cupcakes. To finish off, drizzle some of the caramel sauce and sprinkle some chocolate decorations. 

There is nothing like the sweet salty taste of a caramel cupcake. I did share these with my loved ones (they saw them so I couldn't eat them all myself. Remember this Lauren: PENNY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD!!! So I was a little ticked I had to share). I also gave some to my good friend Lauren, because it would be cruel if I didn't. Especially if I posted this and she read it and was like:
    "Ahh! She made them and didn't share! This is unacceptable! No more nice cakes for you then!!" 
    So Lauren you shall be forever known as my 'Primrose Friwend'. I'm not even sorry. :D
    Bake on!