I love to bake and I wish I had more time to bake the ever
growing things on my wish list but what I love the most is baking for other
people. There is something really special about baking something for a gift, something
you know will put a smile on someone’s face and bring them some pleasure.
You may remember my post a few weeks ago about the giant cupcake that I made for a fundraiser in work to raise money for the Keep The
Beat charity that has helped my colleague Ben and his family. Well baby Eddie is
still in hospital down in Leicester and doing well but his parents have to live
down there with him, leaving their home in Bradford.
I live quite near Ben’s parents and I knew they
were traveling down to see them last weekend so I decided to send some cake down with them –
Jammy Raspberry Cupcakes and Chocolate Brownies. I wanted to make something
that they could enjoy but also share with whomever else came to visit.
I got a lovely message from Ben thanking me for the treats
but the best thing of all was to see a picture of Eddie eating one of the
cupcakes and looking so well. He is such a wee fighter and I was so pleased to
see him sitting up and happily enjoying some cake!
The cupcakes were a bit of an experiment that I have wanted
to try for a while and I’m pleased to say they were a success! The sponge base
comes from The Hummingbird Bakery Book but as always I have tweaked it to suit
my tastes.
Jammy Raspberry Cupcakes (makes 12)
240g sr flour
280g caster sugar
80g stork
240ml milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
- Preheat the oven to 160c (fan)
- Line a muffin pan with cases (I love these ones from Lakeland)
- Whisk the flour, sugar and stork together until it resembles breadcrumbs
- In a jug beat the milk, vanilla extract and eggs
- Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry and whisk until it is well combined
- Using a ice-cream scoop divided the mixture into the cases and bake for 22-25 mins until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack
While the cupcakes are cooling you can make the buttercream
Buttercream
500g icing sugar
160g unsalted butter (softened)
A few tbsp of milk
Raspberry jam
Freeze dried raspberries
- Add the butter, icing sugar and milk to a bowl and using an electric whisk or mixer beat for about 5 mins until it is pale and fluffy.
- Add more milk if the buttercream is too stiff; you want it soft enough to pipe but still hold its shape.
- Once the cupcakes are cool use a sharp knife to cut out a bit of the centre, pour in a tsp of jam (or enough to fill the hole) and place the cut out bit of sponge back on top.
- Fill a piping bag with the buttercream and pipe a generous swirl of icing on top of each cupcake. I like to use the Wilton 1M nozzle.
- Sprinkle with the freeze dried raspberries and enjoy!
Baking for other people really is the best and I think I
need to do it more often. It’s nice to do something for someone else and know
that it will bring them some happiness.
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