Great British Bake Off Cup Cakes: A Recipe

*FYI - SPOILER ALERT*
You may or may not know this about me, but I love to bake in my spare time, I find the whole process really relaxing and soothing for the mind (especially when you get to 'guilt free' stuff your face with the end products) therefore The Great British Bake Off is a programme taylormade for me! As tonight was the night that series 4 ended, and Francis was crowned winner, I thought it apt to bake some cakes in honor of the occasion, and out came the trusty apron.

Apron strings tied, I set about readying my ingredients, these included:

For 12 Medium sized Buns:
200g Butter 
200g Caster Sugar
200g Self Raising Flour*
4 Medium sized Eggs

Equipment Required:
2 Mixing Bowls
A weighing scale
A wooden spoon
12 medium sized bun cases
Piping Bag and Nozzle
                

For the Butter Icing
Approx 35g of Butter*
140g of Icing Sugar
A splash of red food dye

On to the recipe:

1. Weigh all your ingredients out, so there ready to hand as and when required. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Start by putting your butter, at room temperature into a mixing bowl, add the sugar, combine the two ingredients until left with a creamy paste, yellow in colour.

3. Next add the eggs, again room temperature, one by one, folding the mixture each time, this produces a smooth, thick and creamy batter.

4. You should be left with a mixture that at some point in the mixing process resembled the small intestines! Now gradually add your flour, folding the mixture as you go, so move your spoon around the bowl in a figure of 8 motion.


5. Once all the ingredients are combined, your ready to spoon the mixture into your cases, when making mine I added three heaped teaspoons per cupcake case.

6. Place your tray of cakes into the oven, on the middle shelf, to ensure an even bake. 

7. After 20 minutes check your cakes, if there not yet golden brown, leave them for a further 2-4 minutes, perhaps lowering the temperature of your oven. Keep a close eye on them though!

8. Bring the cakes out of the oven and leave to cool. Whilst cooling we can begin to make our Butter Icing.

Butter Icing Recipe

1. Place your room temperature butter into a mixing bowl.

2. Gradually add icing sugar to the butter and combining the two ingredients to make a light textured cream. I find using the back of a metal spoon is easiest when doing this.

3. Slowly continue to add more and more icing sugar, waiting until the previous lot is fully mixed in before doing so. 

4. Keep mixing until all of the icing sugar has gone and you have a pale yellow creamy Butter Icing. 

5. I chose to make my Butter Icing pink so to do this simply add a small splash of red food dye and mix. Easy Peasy.

6. Spoon the icing into a piping bag and begin to pipe small dots around the edge of each cupcake,or in any design you wish.

Voila!