Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

I absolutely LOVE caramel, so, when Mam arrived home from the supermarket with a few tins of condensed milk I had to make something delicious with it. I always tend to go for Millionaire's Squares or Banoffee, but this time I was adamant to try something else. Mam has been raving about these Caramel Cupcakes she saw on Bakery Boss, so, I decided to try something new and invent my own Chocolate Caramel Cupcake. Despite what you may think, the cupcakes aren't heavy in the slightest. Both the sponge and the butter cream are light and airy which allows for the devilish caramel.

Ingredients

MAKES 12 CUPCAKES

FOR THE CAKE MIX

225g Butter (softened)

225g Caster Sugar

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

2-3 tbsp Cocoa Powder

4 Eggs

FOR THE CARAMEL

1 x 397g tin of Condensed Milk

1 tbsp Golden Syrup

50g Brown Sugar

30g Butter

FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTER CREAM

150g Butter

300g Icing Sugar

50g Dark Chocolate (melted)

2 tsp Boiling Water

Method

FOR THE CAKE MIX

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and line your muffin tray with bun cases

2) Cream the butter and sugar together in the electric mixer

3) Once a pale colour, add in the eggs, one at a time and continue to beat

4) Once combined, add the sieved flour, one spoon at a time as you beat

5) Then add the cocoa powder in beat again until all ingredients are combined

6) Put 1-2 spoons of the mix into each bun case and place in the oven for approximately 15 mins until the cupcakes are firm and spring up when touched

7) Leave to cool on a wire tray while you get to work on the caramel and the butter cream

FOR THE CARAMEL

Firstly, you can cheat a little and buy a tin of caramel - it works just as well.

 But if you feel like going all out follow these simple steps...

1) Melt the butter and sugar together in a pan over a low heat

2) When combined, add in the golden syrup and the condensed milk and stir continuously

3) Bring the mixture to the boil and then allow it to simmer for approx. 5 mins until it becomes thicker

4) Fill a piping bag with the caramel and stick the nozzle into each bun and squeeze

5) Then leave the buns to sit and use any left over caramel for decoration later

FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTER CREAM

1) Cream the butter and icing sugar together in the electric mixer (be patient this may take a while)

2) When light and fluffy, add in the melted dark chocolate, one tsp at a time and beat 

3) When combined, add the boiling water, again, a small amount at a time and beat

4) Using your piping bag, pipe the butter cream onto each of the cupcakes, covering the caramel

5) After making sure that the leftover caramel is cool, you can drizzle a small amount over each of the cupcakes for a nice effect.

ENJOY 

Calling All Coffee Lovers

Coffee Cake is Mam's all-time favourite dessert, so last week for Mother's Day, I decided to try something different and whip up a batch of Coffee Cupcakes. I usually use IREL Coffee Essence which you can only buy in Ireland, to flavour coffee cake, but seens as the number of Yummmmyy's international followers has increased greatly over the past few months, I thought that I better try to create a new way of achieving that moreish coffee taste. I decided to experiment and used instant coffee mixed with a tiny amount of boiling water which formed a coffee paste. To my delight, the paste worked perfectly and the cupcakes tasted just as good, if not better than before. 

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE MIX

225g Caster Sugar

225g Butter (softened)

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

3 tbsp Instant Coffee

1 tbsp Boiling Water

4 Eggs

FOR THE COFFEE FROSTING

200g Icing Sugar

100g Butter (softened)

3 tbsp Instant Coffee

1 tbsp Boiling Water

Method

FOR THE CAKE MIX

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 220F/ Gas Mark 4 and line your muffin/ cupcake tin with bun cases

2) Cream the butter and sugar together in the electric mixer (make sure you allow it to mix until fully combined and lighter in colour)

3) Add in the eggs, one by one and continue to beat

4) When combined, begin to add the sieved flour, again, one spoon at a time - allow the mixture to beat until it is light and smooth 

6) In a cup, mix the 3 tbsp of instant coffee with the 1 tbsp of boiling water and then add it to the bowl and beat again until combined (you can gibe the mix a stronger coffee flavour if you like simply by making more paste and adding it to the mix, but, be careful not to make it too strong)

7) Fill each bun case with roughly one tbsp of the mix and bake for approx 20 mins until the buns are golden brown

Method

FOR THE COFFEE FROSTING

1) Cream the butter and icing sugar together in the electric mixer until smooth and light in colour

2) Add 1-2 tbsps of boiling water and continue to mix

3) Again, in a cup, mix 3 tbsp of instant coffee and approx 1 tbsp of boiling water and then add it to the bowl and continue to mix

4) Decorate the cupcakes as you wish - I piped the coffee frosting, but, you could just as easily use a spoon to spread it on top.

Cupcake Minis

So I turned 21 this week which came as a bit of a shock to the system with officially being an adult and all that, but, I wasn't making the transition without one final almost tea party! Besides, what's a party without lots of cake? Along with my Chocolate Tower Cake, I decided to make a few batches of cupcake minis in a selection of different flavours for my party.  I went with a batch of vanilla, a batch of chocolate and a batch of lemon drizzle. The cake and buttercream recipes are both extremely easy to follow and I'd definitely recommend giving them a go. Just so you know, each recipe starts out the exact same and the flavours are added nearer to the end.

Ingredients

FOR ONE BATCH OF TWELVE

225g Butter

225g Caster Sugar

4 large Eggs

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

Rind of one lemon OR 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder OR 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

Method

FOR ONE BATCH OF TWELVE

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 360F/ Gas Mark 4

2) Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until nice and fluffy

3) While the butter and sugar are mixing, line your small cupcake tray with mini cupcake cases

4) Add the eggs to the mixture, one at a time, and continue to beat

5) When combined, add the sieved flour, one spoon at a time, and mix until light and fluffy

6) Add in the flavouring of your choice (the cocoa powder, lemon rind or vanilla extract) and mix again

7) Spoon roughly a tsp of the mixture into each muffin case and bake in the oven for 10 -15 mins (check the cupcakes after 10 mins and leave in if not yet golden brown in colour) 

8) Leave the cupcakes to cool fully on a wire wrack before icing - while you're waiting you can get cracking on the buttercream...

Ingredients 

FOR THE BUTTER CREAM

50g Butter (softened)

100g Icing Sugar

I tsp Lemon Juice OR 1 tsp Vanilla Extract OR 50g Melted Chocolate and 1 tbsp Cocoa Powder

2 tbsp Boiling Water

Method

FOR THE BUTTER CREAM

1) Cream the butter and icing sugar together in your electric mixer until light and fluffy (the lighter the better)

2) Add in either the lemon juice OR the vanilla extract OR the cocoa powder (if you are making the chocolate cupcake minis, add the cocoa powder first and when combined add in the melted chocolate, one spoon at a time)

3) Continue to beat and add the boiling water, again, one tbsp at a time

4) Beat for a further few minutes and you're ready to decorate

 You can then decorate the cupcakes however you wish. I piped the icing using different techniques on each of the different styles and used "Princess sprinkles" which I bought in Lidl. 

Ferrero Cupcakes

So I was really in the humour to bake something delicious this week and when I searched by baking press I began to feel a little inventive. I saw the box of unopened Ferrero Rochers that I had been trying to avoid since Christmas and thought why not try something new. I based my recipe on a standard sponge that I tweak for almost every cupcake or cake I bake and decided to add Nutella and crushed Ferreros. I wasn't 100% sure how the cupcakes would turn out but despite my worries, they were a massive hit at home and in work, and Dave, my chocolate monster boyfriend, couldn't get enough of them!

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE MIX

225g Butter (softened)

225g Caster Sugar

4 large Eggs / 5 medium

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

3 tbsp Cocoa Powder (sieved)

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

200g Icing Sugar

100g Butter (softened)

1 tsp Cocoa Powder

25g Dark Chocolate 

1 tbsp Nutella 

2 tbsp Boiling Water

EXTRAS

Approx. 6 Ferrero Rocher sweets

12 whole Hazelnuts

Nutella

Method

FOR THE CAKE MIX

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and line your muffin tray with muffin cases

2) Cream your butter and sugar together  in the mixing bowl 

3) When the mixture is creamed, add the eggs, one at a time

4) When the mixture is fully combined, begin to add the flour, again, one spoon at a time

5) When all of the flour has been added, add the cocoa powder

6) When fully combined, stop the beater and spoon one large dollop of the mixture into each of the bun cases

7) Then bake in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until the buns are firm to the touch

8) When baked, leave the buns to cool on a wire rack while you make the buttercream.

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

1) Cream the butter and icing sugar together in your mixer until white and fully combined (this may take a while -be patient)

2) Add the cocoa powder and continue to beat until combined again

3) Then leaving the mixture beating, melt the chocolate and the Nutella together in a bowl in the microwave- stop the microwave every 15 seconds and stir the chocolate

4) When melted, add the chocolate to the mixer while it is beating - one spoon at a time

5) Leave to mix and finally add in the boiling water while beating again

6) Beat for a further few minutes and leave to one side

To Assemble

1) Using a knife, cut a circular piece of the bun from each and leave to one side

2) Using a spoon, add a dollop of Nutella and a hazelnut to each cupcake and put the piece you cut from the cupcake back on top 

     

3) Using your piping bag, pipe the butter cream onto each of the cupcakes, covering any Nutella that may be on the surface

4) Cut each of the Ferrero Rocher sweets into two or three and stick a piece on top of each cupcake (You can also add the crumbs for a nice effect)

My little cousin Ella helped me make these delicious treats

Yummmmyy's 1st Birthday Celebrated with Raspberry & Almond Cupcakes

I actually can't believe that it's been an entire year since I began to blog! It was at a dinner party with the college galz when I made a batch of my Chocolate Brownies with Triple Chocolate Sauce that I was convinced set Yummmmyy up. I must have impressed the girls with my dessert, especially Rhona, who was really keen to see what else I could make. I showed her my recipe book and she was adiment I set up my own food blog. I'm so happy I took her advice as I absolutely love want I'm doing and my dream is definitely still to one day own my very own bakery where I can bake all of my favourite recipes :) 

It's been such a good year and so much has happened with Yummmmyy. I've learned so much and I really like to think that my bakes are improving week by week. In February 2013, I was awarded the Liebster Award for best up and coming blog - which I was absolutely thrilled about. 

In March I was approached by an Irish company Ads on Bags, who asked if they could feature some of my recipes on their biodegradable supermarket bags - such a brilliant opportunity.

During the Summer, I was invited to the launch of Kenco Millicano's new travel mug designed by Orla Kiely - time to mingle with other Irish foodies, aaaand myself and my boyfriend Dave were pictured at the launch in the Irish Tatler!!! 

Also during the Summer, I was a recipient of a brilliant cooler box full of Philadelphia products to try, courtesy of Kraft Foods - I felt so important being asked to test a new product. 

Like I said, SO much has happened in one year! 

Yummmmyy's Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages are also booming with a great amount of likes and followers and the blog itself has over 21400 page views !!! I am unbelievably proud of what I have done over the past year and here's hoping that I'll have another post similar to this one for Yummmmyy's 2nd Birthday!

So, to celebrate Yummmmyy's big day, I tried out a new recipe which I adapted from one I found in a cookbook given to me by my Nana Barbara, which is simply called "Muffins". I LOVE anything almond - marzipan, bakewell tarts, almond slices, almond fingers, frangipan - the list is endless! So, these Raspberry & Almond Muffins were a must try...

You Will Need...

250g Plain Flour (sieved)

80g Chopped Almonds

2.5 tsp Baking Powder (sieved)

.5 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda (sieved)

50g Ground Almonds

140g Caster Sugar

250g Raspberries (fresh or frozen)

1 Egg (lightly beaten)

80 ml Sunflower Oil

275 ml Buttermilk

150g Marzipan

12 Raspberries (for decoration)

Fresh Cream (for decoration)

Icing Sugar (for dusting)

Method

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 5

2) Line your muffin tray with muffin cases and place it in the fridge while making the batter.

3) Put the Flour, Ground Almonds, Chopped Almonds, Bicarbonate of Soda & Baking Powder in a bowl and combine

4) In a jug or separate bowl, combine the Egg, Sugar, Oil and Buttermilk 

5) Fold the wet mixture and the Raspberries into the dry mixture until all of the dry ingredients are moistened

6) Cut the marzipan into cubes

7) Take your tray out of the fridge and fill each muffin case with one large spoon of the batter

8) Place a marzipan cube into the middle of each case and top with the remaining mixture

9) Bake for 20 mins

10) Leave to stand in the muffin tray when done and serve them warm topped with fresh cream and a raspberry

Spooky Halloween Cupcakes

So we had a spooky Halloween party this weekend in the Murphy house, and of course, me, being me, HAD to bake some sort of sweet treat for our guests. Besides, what's a party without cake?! After much deliberation I decided to go for bite size Ghostly cupcakes which were seriously quick and easy to make. These are perfect for Halloween parties or even to hand out to trick-or-treat-ers for something that little bit different.

Ingredients

225g Butter (softened)

225g Caster Sugar 

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

4 large Eggs

2 tbsp Cocoa Powder (sieved)

Method

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 5 and line a bun tray with mini muffin cases 

2) Cream the butter and sugar together until nice and creamy 

3) Add eggs one by one while the mixture is still beating 

4) Then add by the sieved flour, one spoonful at a time while mixing 

5) Finally add in the cocoa powder and when the mixture is light and fluffy fill each bun case with a tiny amount of the mixture 

6) Bake for approx 10 mins and leave to cool on a wire tray

While the cupcakes are in the oven you can make your butter cream by combining 200g of Icing Sugar, 100g of Butter and 1 tsp of Vanilla Extract until the mixture is light and fluffy.  

When the buns are fully cooled, you an pipe the buttercream. I used the open hole piping nozzle for the ghost effect. I then stuck on small decorative balls for the eyes and mouths.

 Here are a few pictures of myself and my spooooooky guests...

Vanilla & Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes

I've been so caught up with returning to college and continuing to work in The Coffee Shop that I haven't written a blog post in an entire month! So right now my main aim is to write as many posts as I can about all the baking bits 'n' bobs I've been getting up to over the past few weeks. I'm going to start off with these Vanilla & Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes which I baked last week for my boyfriend Dave who is a total chocolate monster. He absolutely LOVES these bad boys, so, seens as he hadn't been feeling the best I baked a batch for the patient to attempt to cheer him up :)

* PLACE A LARGE BOWL IN THE FRIDGE BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE *

Ingredients

50g Butter (softened)

Half Cup Caster Sugar

2 Cups Self Raising Flour (sieved)

1 tsp Baking Powder (sieved)

1 Egg (beaten)

1 Cup Milk

80g Dark OR Milk Chocolate (broken into pieces)

80g White Chocolate (broken into pieces)

Drop of Vanilla Extract

1 tbsp Cocoa Powder

** TIP: You may not have taken your butter out early enough to soften, if this is the case, simply grate the butter into the mixing bowl so it softens much more quickly. **

Method

1) Preheat your oven to 190C/ 375F/ Gas Mark 5 and line a muffin tray with bun cases

2) Cream your butter and sugar together in a bowl until slightly fluffy in consistency

3) Add the beaten egg and milk into the mixing bowl and continue to beat

4) Add in the SIEVED flour and baking powder and continue to beat the batter.

5) When fully mixed, divide the batter in two.

6) To one half, add the cocoa powder and dark/milk chocolate chunks and mix

7) To the other half, add the white chocolate chunks and the vanilla extract

8) Half fill each bun case with the white mixture and then top with the brown

9) Bake the muffins for 20 mins and when done, leave to cool on a wore rack while you prepare the mousse topping...

For the Mousse Topping...

You will need...

700g Heavy Whipping Cream

350g Icing Sugar

180g Cocoa Powder

Pinch Salt

1) Place all your ingredients in your chilled bowl you placed in the fridge earlier and whip together until the mixture holds a peak

2) Put the mixture back in the fridge for a further 10 mins

3) Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes in whatever fashion you wish

Lemon & Lime Summer Cupcakes

If you're looking for something Summery and that little bit different to make for a BBQ or garden party, these Lemon & Lime Cupcakes are what you need. They take a little bit longer to make than regular cupcakes because of the lemon & lime drizzle, but they're still a pretty handy dessert :) So here goes....

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE MIXTURE...

225g Caster Sugar

225g Butter/ Margarine (softened)

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

4 eggs

Rind of 2 Lemons

Rind of 1 Lime

FOR THE DRIZZLE...

120g Caster Sugar

Juice of 2 Lemons (-2 tsp)

Juice of 1 Lime

FOR THE LEMON BUTTER CREAM....

200g Icing Sugar

100g Butter (softened)

2 tbsp Lemon Juice

Method

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and line a muffin tray with 12 muffin cases
2) Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl
3) When combined and creamy, add in the eggs, one by one and continue to mix
4) Add in the sieved flour, one spoon at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy
5) Add in the lemon and lime rind and continue to mix the fluffy mixture
6) Spoon 2-3 spoonfuls of the mixture into each muffin case and bake in the oven for 15-20 mins (you will know they're done when the tops are golden brown)
7) Leave them to cool on a wire rack while you make the drizzle...

8) For the drizzle, put the lemon juice, the lime juice and the sugar in a small pot over a low heat and stir until  combined 

9) When combined , turn off the heat and leave it to sit while you use a sharp knife to poke a cross shape into the top of each muffin

10) Using a spoon, pour the drizzle into the crack on top of each cupcake and watch it soak in ( this can be messy so I usually put the cupcakes on a tray or plate so the drizzle doesn't go everywhere!)

11) Then leave your cupcakes to sit and cool while you make the butter cream...

12) For the Lemon Butter Cream, cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy
13) Add the Lemon Juice and continue to mix
14) Use a piping bag or the back of a spoon to ice each of the cupcakes and use small lemon or lime wedges for decoration

Strawberry & White Chocolate Cupcakes

So, last week was my friend Molly's Birthday and she was having a night out to celebrate but, because of work, I couldn't make it up. I thought I better make it up to her so, yesterday I baked a batch of Strawberry and White Chocolate Cupcakes and brought them up to college and she was delighted :) 

These cupcakes are quite simple to make and you can substitute the strawberries and/or the white chocolate for whatever you please :)

The strawberries can be a little sticky and messy as they sort of dissolve when they're cooking but, I still think its safe to say that everyone loved them....

Ingredients

10oz/285g Self Raising Flour (sieved) 

5oz/140g Caster Sugar

1 tsp Baking Powder

5oz /140 g Frozen Strawberries (doesn't have to be exact)

5oz /140 g White Chocolate (doesn't have to be exact)

100ml Plain Yogurt

75ml Milk 

1 Egg (lightly beaten)

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

5oz/130g Butter

Method

1) Preheat oven to 200 C/ 400 F/ Gas Mark 6

2) Put the Flour, Baking Powder, sugar, berries and chocolate in a bowl and mix

3) Melt the butter in a separate bowl over a pot of simmering water  

4) When its fully melted, take the butter off the heat and add in the Milk, Yogurt, Essence and Egg

5) Pour the wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir briefly

6) Leave the mixture sitting and line you muffin tray with bun cases

7) Spoon approx. two spoonfuls of the mixture into each case

8) Place in oven for 20 - 25 mins until golden 

9) Dust the cupcakes with icing sugar and leave them to cool on a wire tray while you make the buttercream

For the Naturally Flavoured Strawberry Buttercream...

Cream 380g Icing Sugar and 125g Butter together in a mixing bowl.

When blended, add 2 finely sliced strawberries and mix again.

Then, using a piping bag or a spoon, ice each of the cooled cupcakes.

I used this shape piping nozzle to ice these
Cupcakes

I did have a few left over for my little cousins to try
too - I think its safe to say they liked them!!! :)

  

Easter Cupcakes

I decided that I definitely needed to make some sort of cupcakes this year for Easter and despite having made my Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream and posting about them before, I couldn't resist baking them again :) I thought they'd be a good flavour for Spring time and that the yellow coloured butter icing would look well with Mini Eggs for decoration. I also thought about baking Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla flavoured buttercream so as I go along I'll show you how to make the two flavours :)

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE MIX

225g Butter (Softened)

225g Caster Sugar

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

4 Eggs

Rind of 2 Lemons OR 1 tbsp of Vanilla Essence

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4

2) Cream the softened butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl

3) When the mixture is light and fluffy, add in the eggs one at a time and continue to mix

4) If you're making the Vanilla Cupcakes, add your spoon of vanilla essence in now

5) Spoon the flour into the mixing bowl - one spoon at a time, until all the flour is in

6) If you're making the Lemon version, add in your lemon rind and continue to mix

7) Once the mixture is light and fluffy stop mixing and leave it to sit while you line a muffin tray with bun cases

8) Put one to two spoonfuls of the mixture into each bun case and bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes until they are golden brown

9) Leave the buns to cool on a wire tray while you make your buttercream frosting

For the Buttercream...

YOU WILL NEED....

775g Icing Sugar

250g Butter (softened)

1 tbsp Lemon Juice OR Vanilla Essence

1) Cream the butter and the sugar together in your mixing bowl again 

2) When the mixture is light and fluffy add in either the lemon juice or vanilla essence and continue to mix

To assemble the Cupcakes...

Either using a piping bag or simply a spoon, ice the cupcakes and stick as many Mini Eggs on top to decorate.

I used this piping nozzle to ice my Easter Cupcakes