Biscoff Cupcakes

If you didn't know me by now, I am all about the flavours! Chocolate...Oreos...Pink Lemonade... Chocolate Orange... Kinder Bueno...Reeses cupcakes etc. (you get the picture), whichever is the new yummy flavour out there I will always try to replicate that into a cupcake. 

Let's just admire this for a second: BISCOFF. Firstly, you need to get your hands on the Lotus spread if you are yet to try it because it is heavenly/ mightly sickly but works perfectly to make Cookie Butter Cupcakes. And better still it is 100% dairy free!!! Yay!

As previously mentioned I have now found my signature style, the lovely swirl and 3 separate designs on a cupcake and think it works perfectly on these Biscoff cupcakes, simply topped with a Lotus biscuit. 

The sponge themselves are moist and biscuit and contain both the Lotus spread along with biscuit shavings, then topped off with a cookie butter frosting with biscuit chunks, sprinkled with more biscuit! Sound good? They tasted even better!! 

Nom nom nomm,

Kathryn x

Spring Cupcake Designs & Mother's Day

Happy Good Friday to you all!

After looking through my Instagram photos I remembered I forgot to upload some photos of the Mother's Day orders I created. It was my first time doing a bouquet style order and although I enjoyed it, it certainly isn't as easy as it looks. Thank you so much to Laura who ordered the beautiful cupcakes for her Mother, I hope she enjoyed them as much as I loved decorating them.

You can now also PIN my images to Pinterest if you feel inspired by some of my designs :)!

Have a lovely Easter weekend!

Kathryn's Cupcakes Easter Designs 2016 - Cute Chic

Hello lovely cupcake lovers,

I've had what I like to think of as an exciting and successful week that I hope will bring lots of positive projects in the future. My website is now completely finished and I finally got round to buying my own domain name! YAY! No longer am I ... *insert name here*.com/kathryncupcakes, you can now officially find me and my cupcakes at http://www.kathrynscupcakes.co.uk 

Now onto the yummy, scrummy chocolate Easter cupcakes for 2016!

These Easter cupcake chick designs are so cute and fun to make. I used my dairy free chocolate sponge recipe along with a dairy free chocolate buttercream of course and decorated the rest with some sprinkles.

Another reason I am excited is that I have finally found my signature cupcake design, yup the simple swirl and sprinkles along with some fondant to bring character to the cupcakes.

Have a lovely weekend and Easter!

Kathryn x

Baby Shower Cupcakes

 Hello lovelies! 

Last week I was asked to bake some cute little baby shower cupcakes, not knowing if they were having a boy or girl. I had a few ideas but one special baby shower design is these adorable faces with a beanie hat, I promise you these are so simple to do and I bet you'll agree when I say they are the sweetest ickle faces you've ever seen on a cupcake. 

The customer was extremely pleased and hopefully a few more orders will be on the way. 

Congratulations!!  

Kathryn x

Back on the blogging wagon.

It's been a while hasn't it? Looking back, my last post wasn't thattttt long ago.. think we are talking April some time, which isn't all that bad (making myself feel better). 

So what brings me back to this blog then? Baking. I have decide to scrap job applications and work on my passion therefore every day I have off work, I bake and develop new recipes and creations.

Here are my most recent bakes :) I promise to get back onto the scene soon. 

Strawberry & Vanilla Cupcakes 

Cookie Dough Cupcakes 

Homemade Jammy Dodgers

Pretty Spring Cupcakes

Hello beauties :) 

I received my first proper cupcake order this week and have just delivered the batch so I hope the birthday girl loves them. It was for an 18th birthday but due to the rush and bad timing I didn't have time to get any number cutters, never mind I still think they look uber pretty! 

Have a lovely weekend! 

Signed, Kathryn x

Dairy Free Rocky Road Cupcakes

"If you're going to be alive and on this planet, you have to, like, suck the marrow out of every day and get the most out of it." Drew Barrymore

Rocky Road cupcakes are one of the easiest yet most rewarding cupcake topping going, you can simply edit this basic recipe to your desire. If you aren't raisins why not replace them with walnut pieces? Not into marshmallows? Try fudge instead!

These dairy free Rocky Road cupcakes have a chocolate sponge with dark chocolate chips with a tasty chocolate buttercream topped with glace cherries, digestive biscuits, raisins, chocolate chips and marshmallows.

Chocolate Chip Sponge
What you will need:

• 3 Eggs
• 180 g of Caster Sugar 
• 180 g Pure Margarine 
• 150 g of Self Raising Flour
• 30 g of Cocoa Powder
• 100 g Dark Chocolate Chips
• Dash of Vanilla Essence

1. Pre Heat oven at 180 degrees and line 12 cupcakes 
2. Cream in the margarine and sugar until smooth
3. Once well mixed add an egg one by one and whisk, add drops vanilla essence
4. Sift in the flour & cocoa powder and beat with a wooden until smooth
5. Add the chocolate chips and gently mix
6. Place in cupcake cases 
7. Cook for 20-22 minutes or until the top is spongy or golden brown & leave to cool

Chocolate Buttercream

What you will need:

• 200g Stork Butter Block
• 250 g Icing Sugar 
• 30 g of Cocoa Powder
• Few drops Vanilla
• Handful of Marshmallows/Biscuits/Raisins/Glace Cherries/Chocolate Chips
• Pipping Bags
• Piping nozzle

1. To decorate, cut the butter into small cubes and whisk until soft and pale. Gradually beat in the icing sugar and cocoa powder using a wooden spoon until creamy and soft.
2. Add vanilla essence
3. Fill a pipping bag with a 1M Wilton tip (or whichever you wish to use) and pipe a rose or swirl.
4. Decorate!

P.s This song will get you in the decorating mood! 

    Signed, Kathryn x

Eton Mess Inspired Cupcakes

"Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you" Oprah Winfrey 

Today's post is all about these beautiful Strawberry & Meringue cupcakes, I suppose we could call them Eton Mess?

These have a strawberry sponge with a hint of pink food colouring then a sprinkling of mini marshmallows in the mixture to add a chewy meringue feel to the cakes. Yum.


Strawberry & Marshmallow Sponge
What you will need:

• 3 Eggs
• 180 g of Caster Sugar 
• 180 g Pure Margarine 
• 180 g of Self Raising Flour
• 100 g of Mini Marshmallows
• Cap full of Strawberry Essence
• Dash of Vanilla Essence
• Pink food colouring 

1. Pre Heat oven at 180 degrees and line 12 cupcakes 
2. Cream in the margarine and sugar until smooth
3. Once well mixed add an egg one by one and whisk, add drops of strawberry & vanilla essence
4. Sift in the flour and beat with a wooden until smooth
5. Add the marshmallows and a very small amount of food colouring and gently mix (but not too much)
6. Place in cupcake cases 
7. Cook for 20-22 minutes or until the top is spongy or golden brown & leave to cool

Strawberry  Buttercream

What you will need:

• 250g Stork Butter Block
• 250-350g Icing Sugar 
• Few drops of Strawberry Essence and Vanilla
• Pink Gel Food Colouring
• Pipping Bags
• Piping nozzle
• Dr Oetker Eton Mess Sprinkles

1. To decorate, cut the butter into small cubes and whisk until soft and pale. Gradually beat in the icing sugar using a wooden spoon until creamy and soft.
2. Add the strawberry and vanilla essence.
3. Add a tiny amount of Pink Gel Food Colour and mix until a pastel pink shade.
4. Fill a pipping bag with a 2D Wilton Flower Nozzle (or whichever you wish to use) and pipe a rose or swirl.
5. Decorate with Eton Mess Sprinkles!

If you really wanted to push the boat out why not cut out the center of the cupcake and fill with your favourite strawberry jam! 

P.s. This song deserves a place here as I listened to it on repeat writing this! Years and Years hands up to you guys!

Signed, Kathryn x

Kathryns Bakes: Peanut Butter & Jam Cookie Sandwiches

Today I share with you the recipe for Dairy Free Peanut Butter and Jam Cookie Sandwiches (or just peanut butter cookies if you prefer). I used a recipe for once from The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town by Ms Cupcakes which was the simplest recipe I have ever used then used my own peanut butter butter cream recipe :) 

For the cookies you will need:

• 275 g smooth peanut butter
• 125 g pure/dairy free margarine 
• 140 g maple syrup
• 85 g caster sugar 
• 70 g brown sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 240 g plain flour 

Pre-heat the oven at 160 degrees C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper 

In a bowl mix together all the ingredients except the flour, then once fully mixed slowly add and stir in the flour. Leaving a couple of inches in between, use a spoonful for each cookie and place on the baking tray ( I had 4 balls on each baking tray). Flatten down and use a fork to criss-cross the dough.

Bake for 15 minutes. Leave to cool in the tray for a few minutes after taken out of the oven then use a spatula to remove and leave to cool completely.  

You will need: Organic Smooth Peanut Butter with No Added SugarStork Butter BlockIcing Sugar

Using 1/2 of the blocked butter, cream until smooth then add a couple of tablespoons of Peanut Butter (or to taste). Once creamed together add the icing sugar and carefully mix together. I have never measured icing sugar before as it just goes everywhere so add quite a bit and mix until you get a nice texture that isn't too soft or too lumpy. 

Peanut Butter and Jam Cookie Sandwich

Pipe a layer of the Butter Cream onto the flat side of 1 cookie. Spread a thinner layer of butter cream on the second cookie and layer with strawberry jam. Sandwich together lightly and voila!

Dairy Free Blackberry and Lemon Cupcakes

I have been so busy lately but seem to have nothing to show for it. My mother went out the other day to pick some blackberries whilst hinting that my dad had nothing sweet to take into work. So there I was yesterday trying to think of what to bake and was oblivious to this huge tub of blackberries in the corner of the kitchen just staring at me. I am not a strong fan of blackberries and the thought of blackberry butter cream makes me feel sick slightly. Despite this I decide to use them and mix it with some lemon to add some more tang. Surprisingly they taste so good but I just wish I note down how much I add of each ingredient. This can be by goal this summer! 

Some of the extra ingredients:

• 1 Lemon for lemon juice in the cake batter and frosting
• and lemon zest inside the cake 
• Spoonful of lemon curd
• A couple of handfuls of blackberries

The center of the cupcakes are filled with mushed up blackberries mixed with lemon curd! Sounds odd but it just works, trust me! 

Here it goes..

What you'll need

3 eggs (measure.. mine were approx 207g.)

207 grams of: 

Self Raising Flour

Caster Sugar

Pure Sunflower Margarine

---

1 Lemon (maybe 2)

Tbsp Lemon Curd 

Couple of handfuls of Blackberries

Stork Butter Block

Icing Sugar

Pre heat fan oven to 180 C and line 12 muffin cases. 

Cupcakes

1. Mix the butter and sugar together until smooth and pale
2. Beat in one egg at a time 
3. Cut half the lemon and squeeze the juice to the mix (to taste)
4. Slowly sift in the flour, using a wooden spoon mix with a figure of 8
5. Add the zest of 1 lemon

Fill muffin cases and bake for approx 20-25 minutes until spongy on top and a toothpick comes out clean!

Filling

1. Mush a couple of handful of blackberries using a fork
2. Add a tbsp of lemon curd and mix

Once the cupcakes are cooled scoop out the centers and fill. Replace the cake back on top

Lemon Butter Cream

1. Whisk the block of Stork butter
2. Slowly add icing sugar using a wooden spoon. You'll probably use half of a small box
3. Squeeze some lemon juice until to taste
4. Add a tiny amount of yellow food gel

Use your favourite piping nozzle to pipe and decorate using the extra compote or with a blackberry! 

:) Nom nom! Summer sorted! 

xxx 

Kathryn Bakes: Fizzy Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

It has come to my attention that when I am feeling a little down in the dumps or extremely bored, baking cupcakes is my cure! I didn't have a clue what to bake but needed something to lift this damp and dismal weather so decided to create some Pink Lemonade inspired cupcakes! 

Not quite sure what I have done to my camera settings. Every photo is grainy :( 

The highlight of these is defiantly the Lemon Sherbet Crystals which I bought from one of those oldy worldy sweet shops! The recipe is taken from Juniper Cakery, link of which can be found here. As per I didn't actually use this recipe but based my idea around it. I just wish I could of bought them lovely pink and white straws. So here goes.. my Dairy Free Fizzy Pink Lemonade cupcakes! 

Lemon Cupcakes

• 3 Eggs 
• 180 Caster Sugar
• 180 Self Raising Flour
• 180 Pure Margarine
• Teaspoon ish of Lemon Essence 

1. Pre Heat oven at 180 degrees and line 12 cupcakes 
2. Cream the margarine and sugar
3. Once well mixed add an egg one by one and whisk, add drops of lemon essence
4. Sift in the flour and beat with a wooden until smooth
5. Place in cupcake cases 
6. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the top is spongy or golden brown & leave to cool

Pink Lemon Buttercream 

• 250g Stork Butter Block
• 250-350g Icing Sugar 
• Few drops of Lemon Essence
• Juice of a fresh Grapefruit 
• Pink Gel Colouring
• Pipping Bags
• Piping nozzle
• Lemon Sherbet Crystals

1. Cut butter into small cubes and whisk until soft, gradually beat in the icing sugar.
2. Add lemon essence and some juice of a grapefruit. Colour with pink food gel!
3. Fill piping bag and pip a rose or swirl. Decorate with lemon sherbet crystals!

Kathryn Bakes: Coffee & Lotus Biscuit Spread Cupcakes!

Ahww man, I have the worse cold at the moment so have been stuck in bed for a few days, a travel jab certainly hasn't helped either! 

One thing that will always (maybe not always) will get me up is baking and here I present my Coffee (with a hint of chocolate) and Lotus Biscuit Spread cupcakes! And yes these are dairy free!! :) I used this recipe  as inspiration but  without all the fiddly things such as baking powder/salt/oil/milk etc and used my standard recipe with some cocoa powder to thicken up the mixture when I added around 6 tsp of coffee! Also used Stork Block Butter :) and Pure Margarine! 

My taste buds aren't working at the moment so I have no idea how strong/nice/not nice these cakes are haha. Fingers cross someone will like them :) 

As for the Lotus Spread, everyone must try it. My friend recently bought some back from France until we later realised you can buy it in the super market ha. It tastes exactly like the coffee biscuits and they even do a crunchy version. Try not to get too addicted though as I can imagine it isn't the healthiest of spreads. 

Kathryn x

Creme Egg Cupcakes/Dairy Free Alternative

Happy Good Friday everyone! 

Yesterday I decided to bake some Creme Egg cupcakes. Although the photo does have a creme egg on top, I replaced some with some dairy free buttons to ensure they are fit for all us lactose intolerant people out there :) Photos for them are below. 

You will need:

For the Sponge 

3 Medium sized eggs (mine together weighed 204g)

204g Caster Sugar

204g Pure Margarine (or butter) 

160 grams Self Raising Flour

40 grams Cocoa Powder

50 grams dark chocolate chips

Vanilla Essence

Creme Egg Fondant Filling

170g golden syrup

60g butter (stork in foil block- contains no milk!)

375g Icing Sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

dash of salt

Yellow Food colouring (preferably the gel colouring rather than liquid) 

Butter Cream

This was my plain vanilla recipe which I don't actually measure... So ideally found a basic recipe and replace with STORK again for a dairy free alternative :) (sorryyy) 

Mini creme eggs or dairy free buttons! 

Method

1. Pre heat oven 160C Fan /180C and line a 12 cupcake cases
2. In a bowl mix together the sugar and butter
3. Add vanilla extract and one egg at a time and mix
4.  Slowly sift together the flour and cocoa butter and fold into the mixture
5. Add the chocolate chips
6. BAKE! For around 20-25 mins. If you are unsure you can tap lightly on the sponge and see if its springy or looks 'done', or stick a skewer in the middle. If it comes out clean they are ready :) 

Take out and leave to cool.... 

In the mean time

Fondant Filling!

1. Mix together the butter, syrup and vanilla in a bowl and whisk! I highly suggest an electric mix for this ha
2. Gradually add the icing sugar
3. Take about 1/4 of this and in another bowl mix with some yellow food colouring
4. Add the yellow to the other mixture and use a fork to stir it in, only slightly. 

Once your cakes are cooled, use a cupcake core (or just a knife and cut around) to scoop the centre of the cupcakes

Fill with the fondant!

Use your favourite Butter cream recipe (ideally just some butter and icing sugar, dash of vanilla until it tastes good) and pip a circle ring 

You should ideally have some fondant left, add more yellow to this if needed and use a piping bag to fill the center of the butter cream ring.

Top with a chocolate and voila!! 

Mmmmmm!! Enjoy :) Have a lovely Easter y'all 

Kathryn xx

Dairy Free Brownies!

Yay I've been baking! It's too early to do Easter Cupcakes, plus I forgot to bring all my cupcake goodies back :( boo. I don't know why, I just had a massive craving for some brownies. I haven't ever been a fan of brownies (don't ask why) but I must of smelt or seen some somewhere and it's been in the back of my mind since. 

I used a recipe I found online for dairy free brownies but I only ever use these as a guide. 

What you'll need: 

125g Dairy Free Margarine ( I used Pure) 

100g Dairy Free Chocolate ( or near enough, 70% green and black works well or Dark Divine)

50g Ground Almonds

80g Cocoa

300g Caster Sugar

4 Medium Eggs

Dash of Vanilla Essence 

& any extras you like. I added some broken Almond pieces and some chocolate chunks :) 

Method:

1. Pre heat the oven to 180/160 fan
2. Grease and line a square baking tin.. they say 25cm ( I just used an average baking tray) 
3. In a large glass heat proof bowl, place the chocolate and margarine in and set over a pan of simmering water 
4. Let it melt and stir until glossy and set aside
5. In a bowl mix the cocoa, flour, sugar & almonds then pour in the chocolate mixture- very thick
6. Whisk the eggs in a bowl or cup and add to the bowl, mix until smooth and silky!
7. Add a dash of vanilla essence and any extras i.e. nuts/raisins/chocolate chips!
8. Pour into the tin and cook for 25 mins. It should have a crusty top with a soft bottom. 
9. Allow to cool- it will take a while. Then cut into slices and store :) 

MMMmmm!! So so good :) 

Kathryn xx

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Dairy Free Cupcakes

Mmmmm!! It was the boyfriends 21st yesterday and seeing as he loves all things peanut butter related (as do I) I thought these would be perfect! They are sooo simple to make and it was such a shambles i.e. I just add ed bits of ingredients throughout! 

Nevertheless they taste so good :) They are a chocolate sponge with peanut butter frosting with drizzled dark chocolate! 

Hope you like, if any one wants a recipe let me know and I'll post it but I am sooo busy with coursework hence why the silly little post :) 

Kathryn xx