So I hear you ask what is Cupcake Camp? It’s an international series of events created by and for people who love cupcakes. The idea behind Cupcake Camp is to bring local cupcake fans together with the best professional and amateur bakers for an afternoon of cupcake tastings, great conversation and family fun whilst raising money for a good cause. They have taken place in over 50 cities around the world, raising thousands of pounds for charity.

Our Raspberry Ruffle cupcakes

So on Saturday 7th May, Martina and I set up our table with lots of yummy cupcakes and started giving out cupcakes, free of charge; you make a donation at the door. The attendance was fantastic, people streamed through the doors of ‘The Great Hall’ at Queens all day. Lots of families attended, young and old and everyone had a chance to talk about recipes, frostings and decorating ideas. We had a lovely time meeting and mixing with all our fellow bakers.

The event also offered everyone the chance to compete with their baked creations for prizes and baking glory. Now, I don’t normally win anything, it just doesn’t happen, so imagine our surprise when we won a prize. We won Best Overall Cupcake with our Raspberry Ruffle Cupcake and wow we were blown away. We always knew that this little number was very special but now we have proof. The judges decided that it deserved the prize which for us was a trophy and a goodie hamper donated by The World of Kitsch.

Our Raspberry Ruffle cupcake won Best Cupcake!

I’ve also added a few tips along the way to help you get it right first time.

Make sure that you check out our Dos and Don’ts post too!

Raspberry and White Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 250g soft butter
• 250g caster sugar
• 250g self raising flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 4-5 tbsps milk
• raspberries
• 100g white chocolate

Method:

1. Beat 250g soft butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Make sure the butter is at ROOM TEMPERATURE! I know every recipe says this but I can’t stress to you enough how important this is. If the butter isn’t soft, it won’t cut into the sugar and it won’t distribute evenly throughout the batter.
3. Why light and fluffy? You need to beat the butter and sugar until all the little grains of sugar slice through the butter turning it white and soft. Beat it for 4-5 minutes, chill, take it easy. Scrape down the bowl at least twice, (sometimes mixers leave a thin layer of butter around the bowl untouched, if this gets into your batter you’re in trouble!)
4. Add 4 large eggs, one at a time, beating well between each.
5. You want the eggs to be well incorporated because once the flour is added you Don’t want to beat the batter too much (this will toughen them up) but you DO need to beat the butter, sugar and eggs as much as you can (though don’t go overboard)
6. Add the flour gradually along with the milk and vanilla extract.
7. When you get to this step you want to avoid dumping all the dry ingredients in at once. WHY? Because if you add all the flour at once and have to beat and beat until everything is incorporated, then you’ll end up with tough cupcakes. The gluten gets over beaten and the cupcakes sink and disaster looms.
8. Add the raspberries and white chocolate and mix lightly.
9. Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners 1/2 full.
10. Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 180°C or Gas mark or until a cake tester comes out clean. This steps sound easy, but it isn’t. You must pre-heat your oven for at least 10 minutes, or you may find that you will have cool spots in the oven, which can cause some of your cupcakes to overflow. Do not disturb the cupcakes or they may sink. Now lets get started on the frosting…

Frosting Ingredients:

• White chocolate frosting
• 200g soft Butter
• 400g Icing Sugar
• 100g White Chocolate
• 3-5 tablespoons whipping cream

Method:

1. Beat the butter at high speed until soft. Add the sifted icing sugar gradually on low speed until it’s light and fluffy.
2. Remember, it’s much better if the butter is at room temperature to start with, rather than trying to take short cuts to soften it. Go slowly when adding the icing sugar, unless you want to look like a ghost, dusted in white.
3. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a pot of hot water and leave to cool. Stir the cooled chocolate into the buttercream, and add the cream.
4. Sometimes when you add liquid to buttercream it can thin the consistency, so go easy with the chocolate and cream. If the buttercream should thin too much after adding the melted chocolate then reduce the amount of cream. You can try to counteract this by adding some more icing sugar. Keep adding the icing sugar until it thickens out.
5. Fill a piping bag with the frosting and decorate the cupcakes.
6. Top with a fresh raspberry and eat!

Adding the raspberries and white chocolate to the cupcake batter

Scooping the batter into the cupcake cases

The raspberry and white chocolate cupcakes, ready for the frosting

ENJOY.

• Be prepared! Measure everything and let the vital ingredients sit out from the fridge to come to room temperature;
• Know your recipe! Read it, study it and work through the steps in your head before you start;
• Know your oven! Check the temperature, use a thermometer if necessary but find out if any hot or cold spots exist. If you have a fan oven remember to reduce the temperature slightly; and
• Do not disturb! Under no circumstances open the oven door, not even to peek. If you really have to, then leave it to the last 2 minutes of baking.

Happy baking!

Why not sweep your loved one off their feet this year with a breathtakingly beautiful selection of cupcakes?!

Valentine's Day cupcakes

To celebrate St Valentine’s Day, Cupcakes and Fairycakes are giving you the chance to win a luxurious “Season of Love” Cupcake Gift Box. This romantic treat is the perfect way to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year with a loved one.

This gorgeous box is brimming with irresistible cupcakes to tease and tantalise your Valentine this year. It contains lusciously decadent Champagne cupcakes, Red Velvet, Raspberry & White Chocolate and Death by Chocolate Cupcakes.

Chocolate hearts with raspberry frosting

How to enter

All you have to do for a chance to win is name our Champagne Cupcake.

Our sponge is infused with champagne and topped with a sweet champagne buttercream frosting – just e-mail us with your ideas: info@cupcakesandfairycakes.com

The competition ends Friday 11th February 2011 at noon when we’ll announce our winner.

Chocolate heart with chocolate frosting

So why not show your romantic side and tell that special someone that you’re a 21st century sweetheart and cupcakes are the new chocolates.

Place your orders with us early because this special selection will disappear fast. Our Valentine selection is priced as:

• Box of 6 – £9.50
• Box of 12 – £20.00 and
• Box of 24 – £36.00

Remember, we can deliver to the BT1- BT17 for £5.00

Christmas Eve is a special day for everyone but in my house it’s made even more unique being as it’s my oldest daughter’s birthday. This year she was 9 years old and requested a Cupcake Baking Party for her friends and herself.

This took some planning: 11 aprons, 11 bowls, 11 wooden spoons, 11 whisks, 11 piping bags with a range of nozzles.. Phew, I was exhausted and I hadn’t even had the party yet!

Emily, my daughter, decided to design her own recipe cards and we made her own invitations, so it really was a well planned event.

The house was already decorated for Christmas, so all we did was add some cupcake bunting, a cupcake table cloth, a giant cupcake centre piece and before we knew it we had our cupcake baking party.

Judge for yourself how you think it went:

The bakers!

Making chocolate and vanilla cake-pops

Dipping the cake-pops in white chocolate

The kids frost and top their cupcakes

Some of the finished masterpieces!

The party was a great success and everyone had so much fun! Not only did they all learn how to bake their own cupcakes and cake-pops, but they got to keep the aprons, utensils, recipe cards and everyone had a gift box of 4 cupcakes to take home.

We have a passion for everything Cupcake and love to bake, experiment and create little works of art in the form of cupcakes.

The blog is where we’ll share our ideas, recipes and news with you – and we’d like to start with a recipe for one of our favourite cupcakes..

Raspberry Ruffle Cupcake Recipe

These delicious treats are moist, rich and packed full of flavour.

I’ve always been a huge fan of coconut and I grow raspberries in my garden, so the ‘Raspberry Ruffle Cupcake’ was born.

Raspberry Ruffle Cupcake recipe

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 125grms Soft Butter
• 125grms Caster Sugar
• 125grms Self Raising Flour sifted
• 2 Eggs
• Madagascar Vanilla
• 30grms Coconut
• 30grms crushed Raspberries

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C
2. Line your cupcake tin
3. In a mixer cream the butter and caster sugar until white and creamy.
4. Break the eggs into a small bowl and mix in the Vanilla.
5. Add half the eggs and half the flour to the butter mixture.
6. Mix until well combined then add the rest of the eggs and flour.
7. Add the raspberries and coconut and mix until combined.
8. Divide the cupcake mixture between the 12 liners and place into the oven for 20 minutes.

Buttercream Frosting – Ingredients

• 250grms soft butter
• 500grms Icing Sugar
• 1 teasp Madagascar Vanilla
• 5-10 raspberries
• 25grms coconut

Method

1. In the mixer cream the butter, icing sugar and vanilla until white and creamy.
2. Add the raspberries and coconut and mix until combined.
3. Using a spatula fill a piping bag and swirl onto your cupcakes, alternatively use a palette knife to swirl on the buttercream, sprinkle or roll in coconut and top with a fresh raspberry.

ENJOY

Check back soon for lots of ideas and recipes for Winter..