Cupcake o'clock!

Cute creations to keep you smiling this summer

There's almost nothing we love more at The Lady than cake - especially when we're talking about cakes as cute as these.

So we've convinced Cuckoo's Bakery to share their summer cupcake recipes with us (and you!) to celebrate the arrival of summer. Enjoy!

PISTACHIO, LIME AND BASIL SPONGE (pictured above)

(Makes 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients 

• 130g Unsalted Butter (soft)
• Basil Oil 2 tablespoons
• Caster Sugar 165g
• 3 Eggs (large)
• 140g Plain Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• Zest from 1 lime
• 50g Ground Unsalted Pistachios

Lime and Basil Frosting

• 125g Unsalted Butter (soft)
• 250g Icing Sugar
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp Basil Oil

1. Cream the butter and sugar until soft and pale in a food mixer or with a hand held mixer for around 1 minute. Add the basil oil and beat for a further 30 seconds.
2. Next, sift the flour, ground pistachios and baking powder on top of the mixture. Tip any pistachios left in the sieve in to the mixture. Add the eggs and the lime zest and beat, again at medium speed, for one minute.
3. Divide the batter between 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tin and bake at 170 C (fan oven) for 18 min. Remove from the oven and place the cupcakes on a cooling rack to cool down.

For the frosting

1. Cream the butter, at a medium speed, preferably with a hand mixer or food mixer until soft and pale – around 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Sift the icing sugar on top of the butter and blend on a medium speed on your mixer for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and continue to blend for one more minute, slowly pouring the lime juice in to the buttercream.
3. Add a little touch of green food colouring if you wish and beat again. To decorate:
4. Use a palette knife or piping bag, frost each cooled cupcake with the buttercream.
5. Decorate with lime zest and some roughly chopped pistachios.

STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM SPONGE

(Makes 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients

• 165g Unsalted Butter (soft)
• 165g Caster Sugar
• 3 Eggs (large)
• 180g Plain Flour
• 2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 100g Strawberries (washed and cut in to ½ cm pieces)
• Around 8 large strawberries
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Strawberry Buttercream

• 125g Unsalted Butter (soft)
• 250g Icing Sugar
• 3 tbsp Strawberry jam (strained)
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1. Cream the butter and sugar until soft and pale in a food mixer or with a hand held mixer for around 1 minute.
2. Next, sift the flour and baking powder on top of the mixture; add the eggs and the vanilla extract and beat, again at medium speed, for one minute.
3. Next, add the chopped strawberries and gently stir them in with a metal spoon or at a low speed on your mixer.
4. Divide the batter between 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tin and bake at 170 C (fan oven) for 18 min. Remove from the oven and place the cupcakes on a cooling rack to cool down. For the buttercream:
5. Cream the butter, at a medium speed, preferably with a hand mixer or food mixer until soft and pale – around 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Sift the icing sugar on top of the creamed butter and blend on a medium speed on your mixer for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and add the vanilla extract and strained strawberry jam and continue to blend for one more minute.

To decorate

1. Use a palette knife or piping bag, frost each cake with the strawberry buttercream.
2. Decorate the cupcakes with chopped strawberries, some meringue pieces and a drizzle of strained strawberry jam.

PIMM’S SPONGE 

(Makes 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients

• 165g Unsalted Butter (soft)
• 165g Caster Sugar
• 3 Eggs (large)
• 165g Plain Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• Zest 1 orange
• 1/2 tsp Peppermint extract
• 3 tbsp Pimm’s

Lime and Pimm’s Jelly

• ½ packet of jelly (approx. 70 g)
• 230ml Boiling Water
• 100ml Pimm’s

Strawberry Buttercream

• 125g Unsalted Butter (soft)
• 250g Icing Sugar
• 3 tbsp Strawberry jam (strained)
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1. Melt the cubes of jelly in the boiling water, and then add the Pimm’s. Leave to cool for around 3 hours in the fridge. For the sponge:
2. Cream the butter and sugar until soft and pale in a food mixer or with a hand held mixer for around 1 minute.
3. Next, sift the flour and baking powder on top of the mixture. Add the eggs, the orange zest, peppermint extract and beat, again at medium speed, for one minute. Finally, add the Pimm’s and remix for 30 seconds.
4. Divide the batter between 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tin and bake at 170 C (fan oven) for 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the cupcakes on a cooling rack to cool down. For the buttercream:
5. Cream the butter, at a medium speed, preferably with a hand mixer or food mixer until soft and pale – around 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Sift the icing sugar on top of the creamed butter and blend on a medium speed on your mixer for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and add the vanilla extract and strained strawberry jam and continue to blend for one more minute.

To decorate

1. Use an apple corer to core out the centre of the cooled cupcake sponges. Fill each hole with some of the jelly and replace the cored out sponge.
2. Use a palette knife or piping bag, frost each cooled cupcake with the buttercream.
3. Decorate with ¼ of the orange slice, ¼ of a fresh strawberry, a spring of mint, a straw and a thin slice of cucumber.

SUMMER FRUIT SMOOTHIE SPONGE

(Makes 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients 

• 165g Unsalted Butter (soft)
• 165g Caster Sugar
• 3 Eggs (large) 3
• 165g Plain Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (optional)

Raspberry and Kiwi Coulis

• 150g Raspberries
• 2 Kiwis (peeled)
• 50g Jam Sugar

Orange Buttercream

• 125g Unsalted Butter (soft)
• 250g Icing Sugar
• Juice of ½ an orange
• 1 tsp Orange Oil

1. Blend the raspberries with the 2 peeled kiwis and boil in a sauce pan with 50 g of jam sugar for 20 minutes. Transfer to a metal bowl for the coulis to cool and set a little bit. For the sponge:
2. Cream the butter and sugar until soft and pale in a food mixer or with a hand held mixer for around 1 minute.
3. Next, sift the flour and baking powder on top of the mixture. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and beat, again at medium speed, for one minute.
4. Divide the batter between 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tin and bake at 170 C (fan oven) for 18 min. Remove from the oven and place the cupcakes on a cooling rack to cool down.

For the frosting

1. Cream the butter, at a medium speed, preferably with a hand mixer or food mixer until soft and pale – around 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Sift the icing sugar on top of the butter and blend on a medium speed on your mixer for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and continue to blend for one more minute, slowly pouring the orange juice and orange oil in to the buttercream.
3. Add a little touch of orange food colouring if you wish and beat again. To decorate:
4. Use an apple corer to core out the centre of the cooled cupcake sponges. Fill each hole with the coulis and replace the cored out sponge.
5. Use a palette knife or piping bag, frost each cooled cupcake with the buttercream.
6. Decorate with a collection of summer berries and a drinking straw!

LEMON AND BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE SPONGE 

(Makes 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients

• Unsalted Butter (soft) 80 g
• Caster Sugar 80 g
• Eggs (large) 2
• Plain Flour 80 g
• Baking Powder 1 teaspoon
• Lemon Zest 1 lemon
• Blueberries 24
• White Chocolate (chopped) 60 g

Cheesecake Mix

• Full Fat Cream Cheese 240 g
• Caster Sugar 120 g
• Eggs (large) 2
• Lemon Zest 1 lemon

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Unsalted Butter (soft) 40 g
• Full Fat Cream Cheese 100 g
• Icing Sugar 350 g

1. Using a hand held mixer or food mixer, beat the cream cheese with caster sugar, then add the eggs, lemon zest and mix together on a medium speed for around 1 minute. Place in a jug and set aside.

For the sponge

1. Cream the butter and sugar until soft and pale in a food mixer or with a hand held mixer for around 2 minutes.
2. Next, sift the flour and baking powder on top of the mixture; add the eggs and the lemon zest and beat, again at medium speed, for one minute.
3. Divide the batter between 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tin, just to cover the bottom of the case. Add two blueberries on top of each cupcake batter. Pour over cheesecake mix, leaving 1/5 of the cupcake case empty. Bake at 170 C (fan oven) for 20 min. Remove from the oven and place the cupcakes on a cooling rack to cool down.

For the frosting

1. Cream the butter, at a medium speed, preferably with a hand mixer or food mixer until soft and pale – around 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and continue to beat for one more minute.
2. Sift the icing sugar on top of the mixture and blend on a medium speed on your mixer for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and continue to blend for one more minute.
3. Add a little touch of yellow food colouring if you wish and beat again.

To decorate

1. Use a palette knife or piping bag, frost each cooled cupcake with cream cheese frosting.
2. Decorate the cupcakes with blueberries.