Fran’s cupcakes

I was just thinking my section needed some colour. That soda bread really was a bit drab! Lo and behold, Fran makes these lovely cupcakes and photographs them with some cunning constrasting colours.

The newspapers have recently been going on about the “cupcake craze”. I’m not convinced it’s quite up there with the rave scene, but cupcakes do seem to be popliar. It’s just a shame said newspapers have been so sloppy in publishing their recipes. Both a recent piece in the Guardian (though the Magnolia bakery recipe only accompanied the story in print…) and another in The Times (the Tomasina Miers recipe is on the site for that one) were badly subbed and hard to follow – esp the latter, where it says “sift the flour and baking powder twice” without having previously included any baking powder in the ingredients list. Hate it when recipes are published like that!

Thankfully, Fran pulled it out off, using the Magnolia recipe, plus the icing from this one. The icing worked best after it had been well and truly zizzed (you know, with a handheld blender – always a zizzer in our household). One note – they need loads of cochineal if you want to achieve the full-on, garish red sponge. I might be tempted to experiment a bit with beetroot, as it helps give sponge a rich, red colour. Either way  – delish.

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Published:
02.02.09 / 10am
Category:
Daniel's Cakes