More pumpkin! I have to admit I don't really have any interest in Hallowe'en myself but I went to Alton Towers scarefest last week with my flatmate who absolutely loves Hallowe'en. So for her I made these pumpkin cupcakes with a 'broken glass' topping (you definitely need a sugar thermometer for this decoration but it's sooo worth it!)
As I wanted to decorate these cakes with sugar shards that actually stick into the cakes themselves I didn't want a buttercream icing/frosting. This icing is very sloppy but does set slightly!
As I wanted to decorate these cakes with sugar shards that actually stick into the cakes themselves I didn't want a buttercream icing/frosting. This icing is very sloppy but does set slightly!
Adapted from Allrecipes.co.uk and Martha Stewarts broken glass (Oct 2011)
Makes 24-28 cupcakes
Cooking time: 25 mins
Ingredients:
280g plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
110g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
5 tablespoons brown soft sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
180ml milk
250g pumpkin puree
Makes 24-28 cupcakes
Cooking time: 25 mins
Ingredients:
280g plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
110g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
5 tablespoons brown soft sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
180ml milk
250g pumpkin puree
Cinnamon cream cheese icing:
1 00g cream cheese, softened (such as Philadelphia or supermarket own brand)
50g butter, softened
300g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Broken Glass decoration:
375g granulated sugar
185ml water
Some sort of red 'blood': strawberry sauce, cherry jam or red coloured icing
Directions
1. Preheat an oven to 190 C (375 F). Grease 24 muffin cups, or line with paper cupcake cases. I got a bit giddy and bought black and orange Hallowe'en cases!
2. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, mixes spice, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda then set aside.
3. Beat 110g of butter, caster sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in colour. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next.
4. Stir in the milk and pumpkin puree after the last egg. The mixture will look really sloppy but don't worry! Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the cupcake mixture into the prepared muffin cases.
1 00g cream cheese, softened (such as Philadelphia or supermarket own brand)
50g butter, softened
300g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Broken Glass decoration:
375g granulated sugar
185ml water
Some sort of red 'blood': strawberry sauce, cherry jam or red coloured icing
Directions
1. Preheat an oven to 190 C (375 F). Grease 24 muffin cups, or line with paper cupcake cases. I got a bit giddy and bought black and orange Hallowe'en cases!
2. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, mixes spice, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda then set aside.
3. Beat 110g of butter, caster sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in colour. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next.
4. Stir in the milk and pumpkin puree after the last egg. The mixture will look really sloppy but don't worry! Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the cupcake mixture into the prepared muffin cases.
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5. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
6. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the icing by beating the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer in a bowl until smooth. Beat in the icing sugar a little at a time until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and ground cinnamon; beat until fluffy. Once the cupcakes are cool, cover them with icing (it may be easier to spoon the mixture on rather than use a piping bag).
7. You can now set the cakes to one side for a bit and concentrate on the sugar. Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan on a high heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to medium-high and once the sugar reaches 148 C (300 F) take it off pronto! Pour onto a baking tray and tilt it to spread the liquid sugar right to the edges of the tray so it is in a thin layer. Leave to cool and harden in the tray.
8. This bit is pretty fun. Smash the 'glass' up into shards using the handle of a spoon or something similar and push them into your cakes however you desire. Drizzle the red sauce around the shards and serve!
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