Monday 24 January 2011

Baking Adventures - Allergies.


Everyone learnt to bake cupcakes at primary or with their mums using the most simple recipe ever:
50g Self-Raising Flour
50g Caster Sugar
50g Butter 
1 egg

Ever since then I have been mucking around with the recipe and altering it to make fluffy, soft moist cakes that can withstand life outside a container for more than a day; mainly because my pet hate is dry cake.  I will assume there is a large portion of the world who are meticulous with their food and share my emotional inclinations towards cake.  

In recent months, I have been experimenting with cupcake toppings, I'm sure most of you know that there are very many frostings to choose from and that you can use any colours, and any flavourings in them.  My favourites are ganache, butter cream, royal icing, chocolate frosting and cream frosting.  Last week when I made cupcakes I wanted pink vanilla butter cream to top them, but I was cautioned by my mum as she is allergic to cochineal.  This next tip is handy if you want to make colourful cupcakes or topping but have friends and family with allergies.


I ended up using our coffee/cocktail syrup which is the 'Monin Organic Syrup'.  As an alternative to pink colouring I used grenadine syrup which is more commonly used in a 'Shirley Temple'.  The product is quite thick so it does not particularly alter the texture of the icing or frosting that you are making and you only need to use a cap full.  If you want to use the syrup as a flavouring as well as a colouring just keep adding cap fulls of the syrup until you can just about taste the flavour.  I say 'just about' because this is a syrup and too much of it will make for one sickly topping.  After the topping has been spread, piped or whatever you guys do to get your topping on to your cakes, add some sprinkles, slices of fruit, sweets or just simply dust some icing sugar on top for that classic cupcake look.  I went for sprinkles and some glace cherries.


I hope this was a handy tip for anyone who bakes. 
Natasha.

4 comments:

Shelley said...

oh man! butter cream icing is delicious! and your cupcakes turned out wonderfully!

Natasha cooks cakes and bakes said...

thank you so much Shelley Ann.

Anonymous said...

If you'd like to bake a lighter sponge Natasha then substitute the butter for margarine. This way has actually been scientifically proven to make a lighter Victoria Sponge :)

Natasha cooks cakes and bakes said...

why thank you anonymous person, I will have to try that at some point.