Cup Cakes

Wedding Cup Cakes! 

"Cut the cake. Gimme a little piece, let me lick up the cream
Cut the cake. Well, just a little piece, baby you know what I mean.....
....Gimme gimme gimme gimme
gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme that cake
Well it tastes so good don't pass it all around
Gimme gimme gimme......"

Average White Band 1975

For grown-ups: Dark chocolate and expresso coffee cup cakes

A few days ago I was invited to my little cousin's first birthday bash, actually technically speaking she's my first cousin twice removed but let's not dwell on that one. It was refreshing to be invited to such a tender aged celebration as it has not escaped my notice that  parties invitations these days are getting progressively more... shall we say... advanced. Initially they were twenty-firsts then thirtieths, fortieths and so on. I've even been to a seventieth in the last year or so, oh dear!

But I digress, this was a lovely afternoon tea affair with all the trimmings and not to disappoint, jelly and ice cream were on offer for the adults. But the undoubted stars of the show that all the guests oooing and ahhing in admiration had to be the beautifully iced in two tone cup cakes.

Well what can we say about cup cakes? Rivalled only by macaroon biscuits they are surely the 21st century's prime marketing triumph. Having been thoroughly re-invented from the days of my childhood where they sat modestly along side the aforementioned jelly and ice cream and rice crispies dipped in chocolate to become in recent times the must have adult accessory for every occasion. We catered for a wedding earlier in the summer where the "Wedding Cake" was a specially made wire stand covered in, you guessed it, cup cakes!! Unbelievable, and it doesn't end there, they have even spawned hundreds of specialist emporia which in this neighbourhood at least have constant queues outside.

'Light' carrot and walnut cup cakes! 

At Incredibly Fed we have started to suggest savoury parmesan and pancetta mini cup cakes with blue cheese icing on our party canape menus and have tried to create dessert cup cakes to our taste. Above is our chocolate and bitter expresso coffee cup cake definately one for the grown ups but our favourite is this one adapted from a carrot cake recipe but which reduces the amount of sugar and substitutes vegetable oil for butter.

Ingredients
175g Light Muscovado Sugar
175ml Vegetable oil
3 Eggs Beaten
3 Medium Carrots Grated
100g Raisins
100g Walnuts Chopped
Zest of an Orange
175g Self raising flour
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 Tsp ground Cinnamon
Half Tsp freshly ground Nutmeg
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence

Method
Pre heat the oven to 180 C. Place the cake paper cups in a muffin tray. Place the sugar, oil, vanilla essence and eggs in a bowl and mix then add the carrots, walnuts and raisins. In a separate bowl mix the flour bicarbonate of soda, zest, cinnamon and nutmeg and add to the wet ingredients. Pour into the cups filling each about two thirds. Place in the oven and bake for 10 - 15 minutes.

Frosting
Mix together 175g icing sugar, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 50g of soft cream cheese and tbl spoon of orange or lemon juice. Adjust quantities to taste and until suitable consistency is achieved. Spoon or pipe onto cup cakes when cooled. Top with chopped walnuts.



Posted by incredibly fed