Easy Easter Cupcakes

Our kitchen is in a huge state of disarray; there are cupboard carcasses installed in some areas, piles of tools everywhere, no flooring, no sink, no worktops… but we do now have our range in and hooked up to the electric. Alas, still no gas connection, so we can’t use the hobs, but we can at least use the oven! With minimal space, utensils and bowls/pans etc, I needed a really quick and easy recipe to make my Easter bake this year. Enter these easy cupcakes; they’re simple lightly spiced sponges with loads of Mini Eggs added for Eastery goodness. Obviously Mini Eggs are seasonal, but Smarties or M&Ms would work just as well!

Coconut and Blueberry Cake

This is the first birthday cake of the year at work; a light sponge topped with a generous amount of fresh cream and a mountain of blueberries. Although it might not be the prettiest cake, it's quick and easy to make, and went down a storm with my colleagues! 

Orange, Maple and Grape Traybake

This week a colleague brought a bag full of home-grown grapes into work that were free for the taking. Naturally, the first thing that came into my head was cake. I’d never made a cake with grapes before, and wasn’t entirely sure if it would work so I perused the internet for inspiration. After looking at a handful of recipes that included dessert wines, I found this New Zealand recipe for a simpler, lighter cake. I’ve adapted it slightly, and the end result is actually much better than I had expected! The recipe has no butter, oil or lard, but it makes such a light, moist sponge, that’s a little sticky on top. Go on, try it! You’ll be surprised!

Coconut and Cherry Cake

 

I made this cake for my Nan’s birthday. She loves coconut and glacier cherries, so I figured I’ll fill a cake with both of them! It’s simple, but delicious. The recipe makes a small two tiered cake (about 15cms in diameter) so if you want to make a full sized sandwich cake, double the recipe.

Chocolate Chip Ginger Cake

I made this cake for my Mum’s birthday earlier this week. It’s actually the first cake I’ve ever made in our new house, in the tiny crappy oven… My baking supplies are very limited at the moment, with things still in boxes here and there, but I managed to find out one cake pan and mixing bowl to be able to make this yummy chocolate chip ginger cake. It’s a simple, easy recipe, but tastes so good! Sorry about the photo too – I forgot to take one until we’d already cut it up and started eating it!

Lemon and Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

This is a great alternative to a lemon drizzle cake - not that there's anything wrong with a lemon drizzle cake, of course! And if lemon isn't your thing, try using the juice and zest of oranges instead.

Spiced Blackberry Ripple Cupcakes

I'm back with my first bake in weeks, but I went back to my Mum's to use her oven... ha ha. Our house is still a little dusty from all the work we're doing so I thought it would be better to go back to where I knew it was clean! The blackberries used in this recipe were picked just around the corner from my house, and combined with the spices in the sponge, they make for a great transitional flavour combination as we head from summer to autumn.

Oreo Upside Down Cake

This just takes cookies and cream that one step further. Oreo upside down cake! I made this as a birthday cake for another colleague, and I had it in my head that I needed make a cookies and cream cake, with fresh cream. I thought that with the thick layer of cream in the middle, covering the whole thing in buttercream too would be just a bit too much (if there is such a thing), so to make the top look a little more interesting, I decided to try making an upside down cake with whole Oreos. It's not as tidy as I was hoping, as the cake batter got under some of the cookies, but it still looks, and smells, pretty good!

Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

Last week was a hard week. There are so many changes are happening at the moment, both good and bad, and I've lost myself a little bit along the way. I needed something simple and comforting, which is why these cakes came about on Friday. Fresh strawberries and whipped double cream make the perfect and impressive summery topping for these simple vanilla cupcakes.

Banoffee Cake

 

It’s my Grandad’s 65^th birthday today, so we had a big family BBQ last night to celebrate. After a lot of umming and ahhing, I decided to try making a banoffee cake for his birthday cake and I’m glad I did, because everyone loved it! The whole thing was demolished within about 10 minutes, even after everyone said that they were too full on BBQ food to eat anything else! So, of course, I had to share the recipe!

Lemon Funfetti Cake with Marshmallow Frosting

 

I made this as a 50^th birthday cake for a colleague. She loves lemon cake, and I’ve wanted to try making something funfetti-fied for a while now, so I figured I’d combine the two in this colourful cake! It's lovely and light and is bound to brighten any one's day!

Butterfly Cakes

After having spent an amazing couple of nights in Bude and taken part in Spin for Life, I wasn’t left with much time to prepare for Father’s Day… I’d got a card and present sorted for my Dad, but my sister was hosting a BBQ at her house in the afternoon and come 11am Sunday morning, I still had nothing to take with me. Looking through the cupboards, I could only find the bare essentials for making cupcakes, so I figured, why not just make traditional butterfly cakes? I think I’ve got so lost in coming up with new ideas, and trying different flavours, that I’d forgotten how good a plain old butterfly cake can be! So, here’s to going back to basics!

Mini Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes

This weekend, my parents hosted afternoon tea for the rest of our family. There was SO much food; from sandwiches and quiches, to scones with cream, jam and fresh strawberries. I made these mini cupcakes as my contribution to the spread, and they went down a treat! This recipe made about 30 mini cupcakes, which would probably equate to a dozen regular cupcakes.

Jack Daniels Brownie Cake with Toasted Marshmallow Topping

 

This is what I created for my boss' birthday this year. A biscuit base, with a chocolate cake that's midway between sponge and brownie, topped with lots of gooey toasted marshmallows. It looks a little messy, but tastes damn good!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

 

This is a bit of a 'retro' cake - I remember pineapple upside down cake from when I was really little, and I  haven't really seen it around much since. I don't know why - it's light and fruity, perfect for pudding after a heavy meal, and it makes a fun centre piece on a dessert table at parties. Plus it's fun to make!

Death by Mini Egg Gateaux

When deciding what to make for Easter this year, the only thing I knew it needed to contain was mini eggs and chocolate. I couldn’t decide whether to make chewy chocolate cookies, rich chocolate sponge cakes or gooey chocolate brownies… so I though sod it. Why not just make all of it? And then, why not make all of it in one amazing, indulgent gateaux, overloaded with chocolate?! After all, that’s what Easter is really about, right? So this, my friends, is my wonderful creation: Death by Mini Egg Gateaux. A chocolate cookie base, topped with a chocolate sponge cake, finished with a thick layer of chocolate frosting and oodles of crushed mini eggs. Seriously bad for you. But totally worth it.

Red Velvet Layer Cake

I made this cake for my Grandparents’ Ruby Wedding Anniversary at the weekend – it was the obvious choice with it’s deep red colour and it made a great centrepiece on the dessert table. The buttermilk makes for a moist, dense sponge that is perfectly paired with this cream cheese frosting. It’s very rich though, so remember that a little goes a long way when it comes to cutting it into slices!

Tia Maria Cake

This coffee vodka cake is SO good! I'm not usually a fan of coffee cake, but since this is made with Tia Maria rather than cold brewed coffee I figured I had to try it. I think I've been converted...! I made this as a birthday cake for a colleague and we just ate it as a slice of glazed sponge, but I think ideally it should be served with a generous helping of clotted cream and a handful of fresh berries.

Coconut Lime Gateaux

The first birthday cake of the year! This coconut lime gateaux is light and refreshing, and it has the BEST marshmallowy frosting! It does take a little more time and effort than your standard buttercream frosting, but it's totally worth it. I promise.

Maple and Pecan Bundt Cake

Another recipe adapted from Bake - this sponge is super light, moist and very moreish, plus it's really easy to make. We had this for dessert last night with single cream, but it would go just as brilliantly with an afternoon cuppa.