Winter Tales Recipe and Tutorial: Chilli Chocolate Log Cabin Cupcakes

What better way to warm up during the cold autumn and winter months than with a little hint of chilli in your home baking! Paired with rich and creamy dark chocolate the dash of chilli essence adds a wonderful tingle of heat to your taste buds; perfect for the adventurous at heart. With the addition of a picturesque edible log cabin, just like Little Red Riding Hood’s unfortunate grandmother’s, and charming hand piped chocolate trees, both dusted with icing sugar snow, these Chilli Chocolate Log Cabin Cupcakes make a delightful winter treat for everyone! Why not set them lovingly inside Christmas themed cupcake boxes and surprise your loved ones! Be warned, however, you’ll find them such a hit with everyone that you may need to bake them again and again!

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Chocolate Cupcake Recipe (makes approx. 12 cupcakes)

226g self raising flour
226 butter
226g caster sugar
2-3 tablespoons of cocoa powder mixed into a paste with boiling water
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs

Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 3 / 160C / 325F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake cases. Cream your butter and sugar first. When creamy add your eggs and combine together with the flour. Mix well until silky and add in the cocoa powder paste and baking powder, mix again and fill your cases with the batter. Bake for around 20 minutes to 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when tested.

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Chilli Chocolate Ganache Filling

100g dark chocolate callets, chips or buttons
6-12 drops of natural chilli essence
50ml double cream

In a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering hot water on medium heat melt the chocolate with the double cream. Whisk every few minutes until fully melted and add in the natural chilli essence to taste. Remove from the heat and whisk for around 2 minutes before chilling for 10-15 minutes in a freezer. Repeat the whisking and chilling process until your ganache is the consistency of thick peanut butter. Once ready use a good cupcake corer to remove the centres of your cakes and fill with your delicious chilli chocolate ganache! Once filled set these aside and begin making your delicious chilli chocolate buttercream.

Chilli Chocolate Buttercream Recipe

250g butter
250-300g icing sugar (keep testing when adding to make sure it is the consistency and sweetness you are comfortable with)
6-12 drops of natural chilli essence
100g melted dark chocolate callets, buttons or chips
1-2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
808 or 809 plain round piping tip
Disposable piping bag

Dice the butter and add to your mixer to cream. Then gradually add icing sugar and the remaining butter (cut into cubes) until you get a smooth, creamy texture. Add the cocoa powder, melted chocolate and chilli essence.

For more hints and tips see our tutorial on how to make buttercream here.

Once your buttercream is ready fill up a disposable piping bag fitted with a piping tip (we used a plain round tip such as an 808 or 809 tip) and generously swirl your ganache filled cupcakes! Now set aside to create your little log cabins!

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How to Make the Miniature Edible Log Cabins and Trees

You will need…

Pretzel sticks (if in the UK try the Polish or World foods aisle of your supermarket)
Candy melts
Disposable piping bag
Dutch waffles (aka stroopwafels) OR pieces of ‘wheaties’ cereal for the roof
Icing sugar
White nonpareil sprinkles (optional)

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Step one: Carefully cut down your pretzel sticks to around 2.5cm in length. You’ll need quite a few of these so prepare a lot. If you have any leftovers save them in an airtight container for snacks later on.

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Step two: Begin ‘glueing’ your log cabin together by carefully piping a thin line of candy melt atop of each pretzel ‘log’ as you go. For extra support you can ‘glue’ small vertical pretzel sticks into the inside along the ‘log wall’.

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Step three: To create the roof pitch shape of the house cut down some sticks into descending sizes. Stick these together using the method in step two to create a triangle. Candy melt this to your log cabin wall.

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Step four: Cut out some squares of your caramel stroopwafels the size of each side of the roof.

Step five: Using a blade tool carefully punch a hole in one of the roof sides, fill with a little candy melt and angle in a small piece of pretzel stick for a chimney. ‘Glue’ the sides to your house.

Step six: To add windows and doors simply draw them on using a black edible ink pen and a steady hand! (optional)

Step seven: Added some little candy trees made from coloured candy melts. To create these yourself see our Peppermint Forest cupcake recipe and tutorial!

Step eight: Nestle your adorable log cabin atop your cupcake and dust with a sprinkling of icing/confectioner’s sugar to create a festive snowy scene!

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Hurrah! Now it’s time to really see your cupcakes come together! Pop your adorable little log cabins atop a generously swirled cupcake, stick your hand piped trees around your cabin and dust with icing sugar through a sieve for a lovely snowy scene!

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Bellini Cupcake Recipe for The Devilled Egg

Every year the fun filled winter season tempts us all with decadent desserts and luxurious liqueurs. This year is obviously no different as we present this grown up gourmet Bellini cupcake; perfect for celebrations and soirées! This light and fluffy Prosecco cupcake is filled with home made peach and brown sugar confiture, generously swirled with vanilla pod infused buttercream and finished with a sweet (no pun intended) white chocolate and Prosecco ‘snowball’ truffle. We created this cupcake recipe especially for Bristol based culinary school, The Devilled Egg. This festively frivolous cocktail inspired cupcake is sure to make you a hit on the dinner party circuit! Why not make your way to The Devilled Egg Kitchen Academy’s blog for our full recipe!

Bellini Cupcake by Juniper Cakerybelliniportrait1bellinilandscape

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Winter Tales Recipe and Tutorial: Vanilla Snow Queen Cupcakes

As cold, frosty mornings set in across the land here in the UK it’s time for the Snow Queen to begin her reign. What better way to see in the chilly season with these Vanilla Snow Queen cupcakes; soft and light vanilla cakes filled with luxurious white chocolate ganache, swirled with white vanilla buttercream and finally finished with a beautiful, sparkling crown! Display them atop a lovely silver platter or a pristine white tiered cake stand sprinkled with edible glitter for an extra frosty look. The wonderful thing about these particular cupcakes is they manage to be both fun for the kids yet full of glitz and glamour for more grown up sophisticated parties!

Vanilla Snow Queen Cupcake by Juniper Cakery

Vanilla Snow Queen Cupcake by Juniper Cakery

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe (makes approx. 12 cupcakes)

226g self raising flour
226 butter
226g caster sugar
4 eggs
1 bourbon vanilla pod

Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 3 / 160C / 325F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake cases. Cream your butter and sugar first and when ready add your eggs and vanilla. Once combined add the flour, mix well and pour your batter into your cases. Bake for around 20-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when tested.

White Chocolate Ganache Filling

200g white chocolate callets, chips or buttons
100ml double cream
Glass bowl
Whisk
Saucepan of hot water

In a glass bowl pour in the chocolate with the double cream and set into a saucepan of hot water. Stir gently with the whisk until melted and incorporating together. Remove from the hob and leave the bowl of chocolate and cream to set either in a refrigerator or on a windowsill in cold weather (cover with cling film if doing so). The ganache will be ready to fill your cupcakes with when it has the consistency of peanut butter.

Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

250g butter
250-300g icing sugar (keep testing when adding to make sure it is the consistency and sweetness YOU’D like)
6-12 drops of natural vanilla essence
Icing and buttercream whitener

Add half of the of butter diced into pieces. Cream the butter in a mixer. Then gradually add icing sugar and the remaining butter (cut into cubes) until you get a smooth, creamy texture. Add the flavour to taste and add a few drops of icing whitener at a time until you’re happy with the colour.

For more hints and tips see our tutorial on how to make buttercream here.

How to Make the Snow Queen’s Crown

You will need…

Gray sugarpaste / fondant (we used coloured plain paste with liquorice gel paste food colour)
Tylo powder
Lustre dust
Fondant rolling pin
Straight edge blade tool
Ball tool
Edible glue
Paintbrushes

Step one: Add some tylo powder to your white or gray sugarpaste / fondant. You should only add a small amount; around 1/4 of a teaspoon per 250g.

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Step two: Using a fondant rolling pin roll out your paste until around 3mm-4mm thick. With the straight edge blade tool cut out an elongated crown shape around 5-6cm in width at the bottom (but growing larger towards the top) and height.

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Step three: Using the blade tool cut out a series of un-regimented ‘spikes’ along the top of the crown. Still using the blade tool indent ‘spikes’ along the crown’s bottom.

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Step four: Roll out some gray fondant and cut a small strip. Cut ‘spikes’ along the top.

Step five: Using some dabs of edible glue attach the jagged strip from step four along the middle of the crown.

Step six: To create the pearls on the Snow Queen’s crown indent sections of the crown with the ball tool. Roll up some small white fondant balls and attach by adding a dab of edible glue into the indentation and lightly pressing the small ball into it. Alternatively you could use pearl beads.

Step seven: To shape your crown carefully stand it upright and paint the edges with edible glue before gently pressing together. Leave to set.

Step eight: Once your crown is set brush generously with silver lustre dust (avoiding the white fondant balls you’ve just attached). Leave for a few minutes and then dust once more.

Step nine: To make the pearls shimmer lightly brush them with a new paintbrush and some pearl lustre dust.

Once your crown is ready you can assemble your Vanilla Snow Queen cupcakes! Pipe each cake with your vanilla buttercream, gently nestle your crowns into the frosting and sprinkle generously with snowflake sprinkles! You can also add some edible glitter for some extra sparkle if you wish.

Vanilla Snow Queen Cupcake by Juniper Cakery

Vanilla Snow Queen Cupcake by Juniper Cakery

Voila! Congratulations on your collection of gorgeously glimmering Vanilla Snow Queen cupcakes; perfect for the frosty festive season.

 

Winter Tales Recipe and Tutorial: Peppermint Forest Cupcakes

We commence the frosty yet festive season with a collection of winter themed cupcake recipes and tutorials created to help make your party stand out and keep the frazzled stress levels at bay. These adorable and sweet (no pun intended) Peppermint Forest cupcakes evoke a crisp Winter Wonderland paired with Germanic fairytales and a childhood favourite board game for the American-bred half of Juniper Cakery… Candyland! We loved the idea of this so much that all of our ‘Winter Tales’ recipes and tutorials encompass a fairy tale-esque theme. Why not try our recipe and cupcake decorating tutorial for a truly magical batch of treats!

Peppermint Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Peppermint Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Peppermint Cupcake Recipe (makes approx. 12 cupcakes)

226g self raising flour
226 butter
226g caster sugar
4 eggs
6-12 drops of natural peppermint extract

Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 3 / 160C / 325F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake cases. Cream your butter and sugar first. When creamy add your eggs and vanilla extract. When combined together it is time to add the flour. Mix well until silky and pour the batter into your cases. Bake for around 20 minutes to 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when tested.

Peppermint Buttercream Recipe

250g butter
250-300g icing sugar (keep testing when adding to make sure it is the consistency and sweetness YOU’D like)
6-12 drops of natural peppermint extract
Pink gel paste food colour
White nonpareils to sprinkle
White edible glitter to sprinkle
828 open star piping tip

Dice the butter into pieces and add half to your mixer. Once the butter is smooth gradually add icing sugar and the remaining butter (also diced into cubes) until you get a smooth, creamy texture. Add the flavour to taste.

For more hints and tips see our tutorial on how to make buttercream here.

How to Make Your Peppermint Forest

You will need…

60g white candy melts
Disposable piping bag
White nonpareils to sprinkle
White edible glitter to sprinkle
2.5 PME Writing Piping Tip
Baking or parchment paper

Step one: Lay out a flat sheet of baking parchment paper (you may need more depending on how many trees you’d like to make).

Step two: Melt the candy melts by stirring them in a glass bowl set over a pan of boiling water. If you decide to melt them in the microwave take care not to burn them as they would become unusable.

Step three: Fit a disposable piping bag with the writing tip.

Step four: Add the melted candy melts into the disposable piping bag you just prepared.

Winter Tales Peppermint Forest Cupcakes

Step five: On the baking or parchment paper(s) pipe out some tree shapes varying from around 1.5cm to 6cm. Whilst still melted sprinkle with edible glitter or sprinkles. Leave to set.

Step six: Pipe your cupcakes generously with your lovely pink peppermint buttercream. We used the 828 open star piping tip which can be found at the link provided.

Step seven: Once your trees have hardened carefully lift them from the paper and insert them into the buttercream atop of your cupcakes. Nestle enough in to create a charming candy forest!

Step eight: Once your trees are in place sprinkle them with white edible glitter and white nonpareils.

You should now be left with a pretty collection of peppermint cupcakes festooned with festive candy Christmas trees; perfect for a sweet winter treat!

Peppermint Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Peppermint Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

 

Autumn Recipe and Tutorial: Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

These addictive and decadent Golden Apple Strudel cupcakes are perfect to satisfy an autumnal sweet tooth. They are crumbly, soft cakes with brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice baked in, filled with chunky homemade apple sauce, swirled with apple buttercream and topped with a gold dusted fondant apple; wonderfully simple and tempting, we’re sure you’ll agree!

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

Strudel Cupcakes Recipe (makes approx. 12 cupcakes)

226g self raising flour
226g butter
226g brown sugar
4 eggs
2 handfuls of raisins or sultanas (for some boozy decadence leave these to soak in a teacup of whiskey overnight before adding into your batter - remember to drain the whiskey first before adding to avoid sloppy, overly moist batter)
2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoon allspice

Pre-heat your over to Gas Mark 3 / 160C / 325F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake cases. Cream your butter and sugar first. When pale and creamy add your eggs, spices and raisins. When combined add the flour. Mix well and then pour your silky batter into your cases. Bake for around 20 minutes to 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when tested.

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

Apple, Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Filling

5 large cooking apples
3 teapsoon cinnamon
140g brown sugar
14 tablespoons water

Peel and chop up your apples in chunks around 1cm in size. In a saucepan add the chopped apples, cinnamon, brown sugar and water on high heat. Bring to boil and then lower the heat to medium and let simmer until the apple pieces have softened and the water has reduced a little. Take off the heat and mash before pouring into a jar. Leave to cool. Once cooled down you can core your cupcakes with a good cupcake corer and spoon your delicious apple mixture inside.

Apple Buttercream Recipe

250g butter
250-300g icing sugar (keep testing when adding to make sure it is the consistency and sweetness YOU’D like)
6-12 drops of natural apple essence

Add half of the of butter diced into pieces. Cream the butter in a mixer. Then gradually add icing sugar and the remaining butter (cut into cubes) until you get a smooth, creamy texture. Add the flavour to taste.

For more hints and tips see our tutorial on how to make buttercream here.

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

How to Make the Golden Apples

To make your golden apple cupcake toppers you will need…

Golden coloured sugarpaste / fondant (we coloured ours with Caramel / Ivory gel paste food colour)
Small leaf plunger cutter
Edible glue
2 paintbrushes (one for the glue and a dry one for applying lustre dust - remember to use brushes that have ONLY been used on/for food items)
Gold lustre dust
Taped modelling tool
Fondant rolling pin
Icing sugar

To make classic red apples instead you will need…

Red sugarpaste / fondant (use Christmas Red gel paste) for the apples
Brown sugarpaste / fondant (use Dark Brown gel paste) for the stalk
Green sugarpaste / fondant (use Juniper Green gel paste food colouring) for the leaf
Small leaf plunger cutter
Edible glue
1 paintbrush (remember to use brushes that have ONLY been used on/for food items)
Taped modelling tool
Fondant rolling pin
Icing sugar

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

Step one: Shape some sugarpaste / fondant into the body of your apple. Begin with a ball and smooth your fingers over it to create a slightly tapered base and rounded top.

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

Step two: For the leaf simply roll out some sugarpaste / fondant onto an icing sugar dusted surface and use the plunger cutter to cut out a small leaf. Leave on a curved surface (e.g. a teaspoon) to dry into a more natural shape. OR you could shape a small piece of sugarpaste into a leaf shape and indent the centre with a line using a veining tool.

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

Step three: To create the stalk shape a small amount of sugarpaste / fondant into a apostrophe-like shape with a flat top.

Step four: Attach the stalk and leaf by pushing the tapered modelling tool into the top of the apple, add a dab of edible glue into the indent for the leaf, insert the stalk into the top of the apple and lightly press the leaf next to the stalk where you’ve applied some edible glue.

Step five: If you’re creating golden apples leave your apples to dry fully. Once dry dust generously with gold lustre dust. Leave to sit for a few minutes before dusting again until you get a gorgeous glimmering gold!

Now you have your own Golden Apple Strudel cupcakes; perfect for any seasonal party!

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

 

Macmillan Coffee Morning: Strawberries ‘n’ Cream and Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes!

Every year we happily created hundreds of delicious cupcakes to help raise funds for the Macmillan Cancer Support Coffee Morning! This year we whipped up some classic cupcakes in the form of Strawberries ‘n’ Cream, Lemon Drizzle, Raspberry Ripple and Rainbow Vanilla. Unfortunately, the latter two flavours flew out of the door so fast that we couldn’t move quick enough to snap a lovely photograph, but trust us when we say that they were a delight to behold!

Strawberries and Cream and Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes

Macmillan Cancer Support is an exceptionally wonderful charity who offer emotional, physical and financial guidance for cancer patients and their families. Both last and this year’s fundraising cupcakes helped raise nearly £400 for the charity and we’re aiming for bigger and better things next year!

Strawberries and Cream and Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes

Our Strawberries ‘n’ Cream cupcake consisted of a lovely soft and fluffy cake filled with homemade strawberry confiture,finished with bourbon vanilla pod and strawberry two tone buttercream toppled with Callebaut white chocolate callets.

The zesty Lemon Drizzle cupcake we created is a light lemon cake filled with homemade lemon curd, frosted with bourbon vanilla pod infused buttercream, topped with vibrant lemon drizzle and gold sugar pearls.

Strawberries and Cream and Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes

 

Spiced Apple & Caramel Cake with The Happy Egg Co.!

Autumn always brings forth some wonderfully warming and indulgent flavours when it comes to food and celebrations. As Guy Fawkes’ Night festivities commence in the United Kingdom this month’s cake is nothing short of a subtle yet sumptuous treat; perfect to enjoy during the Bonfire Night shenanigans! Imagine slicing into a fragrant cake spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and ginger; covered and filled with home made caramel sauce and scrumptious apple buttercream; and then drizzled with even more caramel sauce! Wouldn’t that be the perfect addition to your dinner table this 5th of November and during the rest of the chilly season! If you’re outside of Great Britain we’re sure you’ll still enjoy this recipe too. The rich spices, tangy apple frosting and sweet caramel pair wonderfully with any autumnal soirée. The little fondant apples sat happily amidst dripping caramel resemble glistening apples bobbing in a barrel of water ready for party games.

Spiced Apple & Caramel Cake by Juniper Cakery

Spiced Apple & Caramel Cake by Juniper Cakery

Simple Spiced Cake Recipe (makes approximately 3 x 1″ layers of an 8″ diameter round cake)

453g self raising flour
453g butter
453g brown sugar
7 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teapoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

The Happy Egg Co. Eggs

Cream your butter in a mixer then add the brown sugar. Add in the flour along with half of the happy eggs for around one minute. Once half of the happy eggs are combined add the remaining and the spices to taste. Mix for about 5 minutes.

Pour batter in the pan until 2/3 full and place on the top shelf of a pre-heated oven at Gas Mark 3/325F/170C. Bake for around 30 minutes. Repeat this step to create your second and third layer.

Apple Buttercream Recipe

500g butter (around two packs in the UK)
300-400g icing sugar (keep testing when adding to make sure it is the consistency and sweetness YOU’D like)
6-12 drops of natural apple essence

Add half of the of butter diced into pieces. Cream the butter in a mixer. Then gradually add icing sugar and the remaining butter (cut into cubes) until you get a smooth, creamy texture. Add the flavour to taste.

For more hints and tips see our tutorial on how to make buttercream here.

Spiced Apple & Caramel Cake by Juniper Cakery

Easy Caramel Sauce Recipe

260g caster sugar
4 tablespoons of room temp water
140ml double cream
50g butter

On medium heat dissolve the sugar with the water whilst stirring in a saucepan. Raise the heat until the sugar mixture bubbles and turns a lovely golden brown (this should take around 5 minutes). Take off the heat and stir the cream and butter into your caramel sugar mixture. Leave to cool and it’s ready to fill and pour atop of your cake!

To assemble your cake smooth caramel sauce and apple buttercream between each layer of cake. Next apply a thin layer of buttercream over your cake evenly leaving extra buttercream for later. Smooth and leave in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes to an hour. Once chilled smother the rest of the lovely apple flavoured buttercream over the sides and top and smooth with a spatula. Now carefully pour the caramel sauce over the cake and use a clean spatula to push the sauce to the edges so it drips luxuriously! Finally you can decorate the top with little fondant apples, fudge pieces, cinnamon sticks or caramel filled truffles!

Spiced Apple & Caramel Cake by Juniper Cakery

We do hope you thoroughly enjoy this warm and taste bud tingling recipe during the ensuing chilly months. Try a generous slice with a cup of spicy chai tea or gingerbread flavour coffee for an uplifting treat!

 

Halloween Tutorial: D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes!

Here is our third instalment of our fang-tastically ghoulish Halloween Tutorial series for this month! This week we show you how to whip up and decorate a batch of fun D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes. These vibrant cakes are perfect for getting children involved with creating some spook-tacular Halloween party treats (they’re also great for fun-loving grown ups too). The great thing about these cupcakes is that you can sit and make a selection of different eyes, tentacles, teeth etc and mix and match them to form your own monsterous creation. We’re sure you’ll think these cupcakes are so ‘ghoul’ you’ll want to scare everyone away rather than share them!

D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

What you will need…
A batch of piped cupcakes in bright colours (we used Vine green, Grape/Violet and Orange)
3 brightly coloured balls of sugarpaste / fondant
1 ball of white sugarpaste / fondant
Toothpicks (cut the sharp ends off if planning to decorate these with kids)
Fondant rolling pin
Ball tool (with a larger and smaller ball on each end)
Edible glue
Sprinkles (optional)
Edible glitter (optional)
Scissors
Paint brush
Icing sugar or cornstarch to dust your surface
Candy melts
Disposable piping bags

D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step one: Pipe some generous swirls atop your cupcakes in a variety of colours. We used 809 (open round tip), 868 (fine toothed pastry tip) and 828 (larger toothed pastry tip).

D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step two: To make eyes roll out balls of white sugarpaste. Indent them with a large ball tool and apply some edible glue inside the impression. Roll up a smaller ball of coloured sugarpaste and gently press this into your white ball. Indent the smaller ball with a smaller ball tool. Roll up another colour in an even smaller size and press this in. Finally take a toothpick or blade tool and create indented lines to create an iris.

D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step three: After making the eyeballs you need to assemble them onto toothpicks to position them into your cupcakes. To help stop them sliding down the toothpicks apply a bit of melted candy melt into your toothpick where the eyeball will fit. Before it sets slide your eyeball onto the top and leave to dry. If you’re ready you can insert the eyes into your cupcake when set!

D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step four: To create teeth simply play with white fondant to create sharp fangs, picket fence-style buck teeth or more human shaped dentures.

D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step five: When it comes to tentacles shape some coloured sugarpaste / fondant into a variety of ‘slug’ shapes (make sure these are long enough to sit from your cupcake to your chosen surface… e.g. plate or cake stand). Add some ‘suckers’ by indenting with a small ball tool, some edible glue and small rolled up balls of coloured sugarpaste.

Step six: Try adding some extra customisation with sprinkles, cut out sugarpaste shapes or edible glitter!

D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step seven: Now for the super fun part! Design and decorate your cupcakes with as many eyes, teeth, tentacles, spots etc as you wish.

D.I.Y Monster Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

By the end of this tutorial you should be left with a batch of monsterous treats perfect for petrifying parties and spooky soirées!

 

Halloween Recipe and Tutorial: Red Bloody Velvet Cupcakes!

We’ve had a lot of requests for our Red Velvet Cupcake recipe over the past few months, which we’ve saved especially for this ghastly yet fun recipe and tutorial; Red Bloody Velvet Cupcakes! They’re great for petrifying parties or spooky soirées and are a perfect conversation starter at any Halloween hootenanny! These cupcakes are a lovely light cocoa red velvet cake swirled with delicious vanilla pod infused buttercream, stabbed with a shard of sugar glass and dripping with ‘blood’. Certainly a gruesome gourmet cupcake for the Halloween festivities!

Red Bloody Velvet Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Red Bloody Velvet Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Basic Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe (makes approximately 12 cupcakes)

Here is our recipe for perfect Red Velvet Cupcakes which we have used for years now and never fails to bring a smile to everyone’s face! We have had some people query the use of buttermilk and cider vinegar in general Red Velvet recipes (this one included) and whilst you can simply add some cocoa powder and red gel food colour paste to your normal cupcake recipe the point of a Red Velvet Cake is that it encompasses a gorgeously fluffy, velvety texture (hence the name) which is produced by the addition of these two ingredients. Baking is a science so it really helps to understand what ingredients you’re adding and why! To help we’ve typed up a quick description of what buttermilk and cider vinegar do!

Buttermilk is an acidic ingredient which essentially tenderises the gluten in cake recipes creating a softer feel and a better rise.

Cider Vinegar is also acidic and reacts with the bicarbonate of soda in cake recipes to create carbon dioxide whilst baking which helps baked goods to rise.

125g plain flour
1 tablespoons cocoa powder (sifted)
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
50 grams soft unsalted butter
100 grams caster sugar
1-2 teaspoons of red gel paste food colouring
6-12 drops vanilla extract
2 medium eggs
90 ml buttermilk (When we began whipping up Red Velvet cakes buttermilk was pretty much unheard up in UK shops. Fortunately, you can now purchase buttermilk in Tesco and Asda stores, BUT you can make a buttermilk substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice per cup of full fat milk and leave to stand for 5 minutes.)
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
12 cupcake cases

Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 3/325F/170C.

Mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl.

Now for one of the fun parts… In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until soft and pale. Then add in the red gel paste food colouring until a gorgeous rich red shade.

Gradually add in the dry ingredients along with the eggs to your lovely rubescent butter and sugar mixture. Then add in the buttermilk and cider vinegar!

Fill your cupcake cases until 2/3 full and place on the top shelf. Bake for around 20/25 minutes.

Basic Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

250g butter
300-350g icing sugar / confectioner’s sugar
1 bourbon vanilla pod
Piping tips (we used the large round 808 tip by Ateco)

Add half of the of butter diced into pieces. Cream the butter in a mixer. Then gradually add icing sugar and the remaining butter (cut into cubes) until you get a smooth, creamy texture. Add the seeds inside of the vanilla pod by slicing the pod lengthways and scraping the little seeds out with a knife.

Red Bloody Velvet Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

‘Blood’ Recipe

1/2 - 1 teaspoon of red gel paste food colouring
6 tablespoons of icing sugar
1 tablespoon of honey or golden syrup
1 tablespoon of room temperature water (though you may need to add more or less depending on the consistency you’d like)

In a small bowl mix together the red gel food paste colour with the sugar, syrup and water and set aside.

Sugar Glass Recipe

150g caster or granulated sugar
88ml water
Candy Thermometer
Stove top
Small saucepan
Cake release spray
Flat cookie tray/sheet

In a sauce pan add the sugar and water together and set on the highest heat.

Prepare a flat cookie sheet by spritzing lightly with cake release.

Stir occasionally and leave to bubble until the sugar mix reduces and reaches around 132 degrees C or 270 degrees F. You should start to smell a faint burnt caramel scent. The mix may also begin to go a slight champagne gold colour too.

Remove the pan from the heat. Quickly pour your sugar mixture onto a clean baking sheet or tray with a rim or lip around it’s edges. Quickly spread the mix to the edges by tilting the sheet or tray. Don’t worry if the mix doesn’t reach the tray edges; sometimes the cake release spray will stop this spreading too much. Leave to cool and harden (this may take from 30 minutes to 1 hour).

Don’t leave your ‘glass’ for too long, however. Sugar glass is hygroscopic, which means that it quite readily absorbs moisture from it’s surrounding atmosphere. As soon as the mix has cooled and harden quickly smash it in the required jagged shards before it loses that lovely brittle and hard quality!

Now it’s time to assemble your Red Bloody Velvet Cupcakes! Pipe some generous swirls of your lovely vanilla buttercream atop your cakes, stab a large shard into the top of each and then using a disposable piping bag with your ‘blood’ mix pipe messy dripping splattered blood where the sugar glass meets the cupcake. For extra gore why not fill your cupcakes with gooey strawberry preserve!

Red Bloody Velvet Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

 

Halloween Recipe and Tutorial: Haunted Black Forest Cupcakes!

We always get excited when the Halloween festivities come creeping around the corner. We love planning (and eating up) fun ghoulish tutorials and recipes, carving out pumpkins, buying in spook-tacular baking supplies and of course over using the pun ‘spook-tacular’. With all this in mind here is a fun recipe and tutorial so you can create these ghostly Haunted Black Forest Cupcakes at home! These spooky cupcakes are our non-alcoholic spin (great for the kids!) on the traditional Black Forest Gâteau cake. They’re soft dark chocolate cupcakes swirled with delicious cherry buttercream finished with floating fondant ghosts; perfect for petrifying parties or spooky soirées!

Haunted Black Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Haunted Black Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Basic Dark Chocolate Recipe (makes approx. 12 cupcakes)

226g self raising flour
226g butter
226g caster sugar
6 eggs
2 heaped tablespoons of cocoa powder
100g of melted dark chocolate buttons, callets or broken pieces
12 cupcake cases

Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 3/325F/170C.

Cream your butter in a mixer then add the caster sugar. Add in the flour along with half of the eggs for around one minute. Once half of the eggs are combined add the remaining and mix for about 5 minutes. Add in your melted dark chocolate and cocoa powder. Mix.

Fill your cupcake cases until 2/3 full and place on the top shelf. Bake for around 20/25 minutes.

Cherry Buttercream Recipe

250g butter
300-350g icing sugar / confectioner’s sugar
6-12 drops of cherry essence
Cherry Pink gel paste food colour
Piping Tip (We used the Ateco 858 tip that we stock)

Add half of the butter diced into pieces. Cream the butter in a mixer then gradually add icing sugar and the remaining butter (cut into cubes) until you get a smooth, creamy texture. Add in your cherry essence. Finally add some pink gel paste food colour with black gel paste food colour until you get your desired dark cherry colour.

What you need to make your spooky ghosts:

Black Edible Ink Pen
White fondant / sugarpaste
Kebab sticks
Large plain circle cutter
Tylo powder
White candy melts
Fondant rolling pin

Assembling your cupcakes and creating your fondant ghosts…

Haunted Black Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step one: Pipe your cupcakes with swirls of your delicious cherry buttercream.

Step two: Cut down three kebab stick to about 4 to 5 inches in height (though you should compare this alongside your cupcakes).

Haunted Black Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step three: Mix some tylo powder in with some white sugarpaste fondant and form into spherical balls about the diameter of a 10 pence piece (or a quarter if you’re US bound).

Haunted Black Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step four: Melt some candy melts. (Tip: We pop some in a disposable piping bag, melt them in the microwave and then snip the bag.) Apply a little to the top of the kebab sticks and carefully slide the sugarpaste balls on.

Step five: Leave these to dry and harden. You can stand your sticks upright by pushing them into a cake dummy or a thick cardboard box… or by even leaving them to stand in a high and narrow container (e.g. a coffee pot).

Haunted Black Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step six: When the balls are a little firmer push these into the centre of your piped cupcakes.

Haunted Black Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step seven: Roll out some white sugar paste to around 2mm thick and cut out as many circles as there are cupcakes using a plain circle cutter.

Haunted Black Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step eight: Carefully lay your circles out over the kebab stick and fondant ball ‘lollipops’ in your cupcakes and arrange the bottoms of them to look like flowing ghostly shapes. This takes a steady hand as you can end up smearing the buttercream underneath!

Haunted Black Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Step nine: For the finishing touch carefully draw some creepy (or funny) faces on your little ghosts!

Hurrah! Finally you have a little army of ghosts ready to celebrate the Halloween season!

Haunted Black Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

 

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