Tuesday, January 3, 2012

2012 and Cupcakes

























Ending 2011 by baking cupcakes, bringing in 2012
by eating those cupcakes. This is how my new year
began along with watching the broadcasted fireworks
with my family. Celebrating the new yearcould not
have been any better.

I decided to make cupcakes for our new year treat 
as they always remind me of happy cheerful celebrations
and of course being a kid. New year always brings along
nostalgia. These cupcakes are easy and quick to make.
They also taste good as the cupcake has more of a dense
cake rather than the light fluffy sponge like cupcakes due
to the almond meal.I've also foundmost cream cheese
frosting recipes can be quitesickly sweet but this recipe
from Donna Hay is not too sweet which I adore and
becoming a 'go to' in my recipe collection.

Quick tip: If you want a nice smooth and flat cupcake
top so the frosting can be easily applied, before baking
smooth batter by running the back of a heatedspoon over
the top and  when the cupcake come out of the oven, cool
them upside on a cooling rack.

Did anyone else bake for new years?

Happy New Years Everyone.

Almond Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcakes (makes 12 sml standard cupcakes)
150g butter, softened
1/2 tspn almond essence
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 eggs at room temp
1/3 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup almond meal

(Recipe from; Aus Women's Weekly - Cupcakes)

Cream Cheese Frosting
250g Cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup icing sugar
1 1/2 tblspn lemon juice

(Recipe from; Donna Hay - Classics)

Preheat oven to 180 *C and place patty pans in 12 hole
muffin pan.Beat together butter, essence, eggs and sugar
until creamy, pale in colour and fluffy. Gradually add in sifted 
flours only mixing till just combined.Divide among the cases.
Bake for 20mins or until tops lightly spring back.
Cool on wire rack.

For the frosting, beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
Add in the sugar and juice until also smooth. I love decorating
cupcakes by always piping the icing and always adding
sprinkles. Ah sprinkles. This purchased colour combination of
pink, pearl and yellow is my favourite. I grab a packet evertime
I walk down the baking isle just in case one time its no longer there.

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