Gloverly Cupcakes

Last week the weather suddenly changed and it started to feel like autumn. It was also National Cupcake Week. So you can probably guess what I did at the weekend….
I bought these leaf cutters a couple of years ago and I used them to make some autumn leaf biscuits. I really wanted to use them to make some leaves out of sugar florist paste so a few months ago I bought some veiners to go with them. Although the veiners weren’t quite the same size/shape as the cutters they worked quite well. I coloured some white sugar florist paste with a small amount of ivory food colouring  – I’d read somewhere that the icing will take darker colours better if it’s ivory rather than white. I rolled it out until it was fairly thin and then cut out the leaves. I then pressed the veiners into them and using a ball roller I thinned out the edges slightly. The next bit was quite messy – I put some yellow, orange, brown, red and green petal dusts on a silicon sheet and then using a fairly large paintbrush I built the colours up on each leaf, starting in the middle.

For example for the red-edged leaves, I started off with yellow in the middle. I then blended orange into the edges of the yellow going further out the edges of the leaves, and then I used red (or a mix of red, orange and brown) on the edge of the leaves. On some of them, using a thin paintbrush, I brushed green onto the veins.

To give the leaves shape, I left them to dry on a foam petal former. Once they had hardened I sprayed them with edible glaze spray to seal the petal dust and give them a slightly shiny appearance. If you don’t have the spray you can achieve the same effect by holding them over steam for a few seconds (don’t let them get too wet – the steam should just coat them). The picture above shows the leaves before I sprayed them.  The cupcakes ended up being a bit of an experiment. I haven’t moved all my baking equipment up to our flat yet since I need it in Birmingham to make a wedding cake in a couple of weeks (I’ve discovered that a saucepan makes an adequate mixing bowl). The first cupcakes I baked sunk slightly in the middle. This isn’t a problem I’ve had before and I’m not sure if this was due to the oven – the light kept coming on when they were baking so I think the temperature kept changing – or the lack of mixing since I don’t have my KitchenAid here. Either way, they turned out ok in the end. I wanted to make a flavour that went with the decorations so I chose maple and pecan – I didn’t want the flavour to be overpowering though so I kept it subtle.

Maple and Pecan Cupcakes (a Gloverly Cupcakes creation)

Makes 12

140g caster sugar

120g plain flour

40g unsalted butter

1/2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

A pinch of nutmeg

pinch of salt

80ml milk

40ml maple syrup

1 eggs

A splash of vanilla extract

40g finely chopped pecans

Line a muffin tray with 12 cases. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5 or 190 C.

Mix the sugar, flour, butter, baking powder, spices and salt together in a stand mixer (or rub in with your hands) until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Beat the milk, maple syrup, egg and vanilla together in a jug and then gradually beat into the dry ingredients until smooth (ensuring that you scrape down the sides of the bowls after each addition). Stir the pecans into the mixture.

Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 cases and then bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until they are lightly browned on top and spring back when pressed (and a skewer comes out clean). Check them and turn them around after 15 minutes.

Take out the tins immediately and leave to cool on a wire rack. Decorate once completely cool.

Maple Buttercream

250g icing sugar

80g butter

30ml maple syrup

15ml milk

A splash of vanilla extract

Beat the icing sugar and butter together on a very slow speed until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Then slowly add the maple syrup, followed by the milk and vanilla. Once it’s all been added increase the speed and beat on high for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. You might not need the milk – I made it by hand and needed the extra liquid to make it thinner to beat.