Valentine Day Lettered Cakes
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Difficulty:
moderate
Difficulty
Preparation:
1 hr 30 min.
Preparation
Ingredients
for
12
- For the cupcakes
- 1 cup self-rising flour
- 2 Tbsps cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup Buttermilk
- 1 tsp White vinegar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp red Food coloring
- ¼ cup butter
- ¾ cup caster sugar
- 1 egg (beaten)
- To decorate
- 1 ¼ cups white Sugar paste
- powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsps Apricot Jam (warmed)
- 2 ¼ cups pink Sugar paste
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ⅔ cup Dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids, chopped)
Preparation steps
1.
For the cupcakes: heat the oven to 160°C (140° fan) 325°F gas 3. Place paper cases in a 12-hole bun tin.
2.
Sift the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl.
3.
In another bowl mix the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and red food colouring.
4.
Beat the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg a little at a time. Mix in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by half the buttermilk mixture, then another third of the flour, the remaining buttermilk and finally the last of the flour mixture.
5.
Spoon into the paper cases. Bake for 20 minutes, until risen and springy to the touch. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.
6.
To decorate: roll out the white sugarpaste thinly on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. Cout out 12 rounds using a scallop edge cutter.
7.
Brush the tops of the cakes with a little apricot jam and attach the white sugarpaste rounds, curving and pleating them with your fingers.
8.
Roll out about half the pink sugarpaste and cut out 12 letters, using a cutter or card stencil. Place the letters on a sheet of non-stick baking paper.
9.
Make up the icing according to the packet instructions. Put the icing into a piping bag and pipe dots onto the letters and leave to set.
10.
Roll out the remaining pink sugarpaste and cut into 48 small strips. Fold the strips so that the edges meet to resemble bows and attach to the white sugarpaste rounds with a dab of water.
11.
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering (not boiling) water. Remove from the heat and stir gently. Set aside to cool a little.
12.
Put the chocolate into a small piping bag with a plain nozzle and pipe lines on the pink bows.
13.
Attach a letter to each cake with a dab of jam and leave to set.
