Gloverly Cupcakes

I’d never made a 100th Birthday cake before, so I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to make one. It was for our close friend’s Granny, who is called Rose, so the request for pink roses on the cake was perfect. The cake was a light fruit cake, a delicious recipe from an old cook book that our Mum has, great for this time of year! 

I Also made them some chocolate and lemon cupcakes to match the main cake. All decorated with tiny hand made roses. The recipes for the chocolate cupcakes can be found here.

Here’s the recipe for the light fruit cake:

180g Butter

180g Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

185ml Milk

440g Mixed dried fruit (I used 130g of raisins, 130g currants, 130g sultanas, 25g glacier cherries and 25g mixed peel

300g Self Raising Flour

1 1/2 tsp Mixed Spice

• You will need an 8” or 20cm round cake tin, greased, with base and side lined. Tie a double band of brown paper (or newspaper) around the outside of the tin for extra protection.
• Pre-heat the oven to 140°C, gas mark 1
• Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon for 2-3 minutes or use an electric mixer.
• Place into the prepared tin and smooth with the back of a metal spoon.
• Bake for 2-2.5 hours until lightly browned and it feels springy in the centre when lightly touched and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and cool in the tin.

After our 2 weeks of cake courses at Squires, I put my rose making skills to good use. Although when the temperature was over 30 degrees for a few days last week, I had to abandon making them till the weekend as it was just too hot and the sugarpaste dried far too quickly, not a problem we have very often in England!