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Sunday, 6 November 2011

Gingerbread Cupcake Sparklers!


When I first spied this recipe in The Great British Bake Off  'How to Bake' book, I knew right away that I had to make them.  I just love gingerbread and these little cakes do not disappoint, they are moist and rich with all the dark spicy flavours you expect from great gingerbread.  It's also an incredibly easy recipe.


The other reason I chose this recipe was because 'ginger and bonfire treats' is the theme for the Teatime Treats challenge run by Karen, who is hosting for November at Lavender and Lovage and Kate at What Kate Baked .  Which might just explain why I called these 'Sparklers'!!!



I have adapted the recipe a little as I didn't have any stem ginger, also the GBBO version is not iced, but I wanted to try a little piping.  Depsite having been cooking and baking for around 40 years I've never really mastered piping, I think this isn't bad for a first attempt but I need to get a bigger piping nozzle to make the squishy sort of toppings that go with cupcakes, any recommendations for which nozzles to get and where to get them, gratefully accepted.

Gingerbread Cupcake Sparklers
Makes 12 (I froze the other six un-iced)

175g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon ginger
pinch of salt
100g butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp treacle
100ml milk
100g muscovado sugar
1 egg beaten

1. Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4.  Sift flour, bicarb, spices and salt into a bowl.
2. Melt the butter with the syrup and treacle in a pan, when melted remove from the heat and allow to cool.
3. Warm the milk and sugar in another pan, stirring until the sugar has disolved. Remove from heat until the milk is lukewarm.
4. Pour the milk mixure onto the flour mixture, followed by the butter mixture and the beaten egg.  
5. Mix well to make a thick, sticky batter.
6. Spoon the mixture into 12 muffin cases.  
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until firm to the touch.
8. Remove from the oven and lift the gingerbread cupcakes onto a wire rack and leave to cool.

Butter Icing
Will ice 12 large cupcakes (I halved the quantities for 6 cupcakes)
125g unsalted butter, softened
400g icing sugar
3-4 tablespoons of milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Edible gold glitter (optional)

1. Put the butter into a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer until pale and creamy.
2. Sift the icing sugar into the bowl.
3. Add the milk and vanilla extract.
4. Beat until smooth and thick.
5. Fill a piping back with a star nozzle and ice the cupcakes.
6. Sprinkle a little gold glitter over the cupcake before the icing sets.





As this was a recipe I had marked out to make, I am also entering this for Bookmarked Recipes run by Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes from an idea by Ruth at Ruth's Kitchen Experiments.




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posted by Janice @ 12:14

18 Comments:

At 6 November 2011 at 12:55 , Blogger Caroline said...

They look great, and it's good to hear a good review of the recipe - it's on my bookmarked list too.

Your first attempt at piping looks better than mine did - I think I tried to use a writing icing nozzle - far too fine! I then bought this set from Lakeland:
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/2233/Professional-Piping-Set
and have been much more successful since!

I wanted to know how all the nozzles would come out so when I first bought them I made some melting moments with the different tips and you can see the results here:
http://cakecrumbsandcooking.blogspot.com/2008/06/butter-whirls.html

Hope that helps!

 
At 6 November 2011 at 13:46 , Blogger GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Oh, Janice, these looks so good! What wonderful flavors and so cute too!

 
At 6 November 2011 at 14:03 , Blogger Choclette said...

These look great and just right for an autumnal treat. I too with all my years of baking am not at all versed in the art of piping. I think it just needs practice and I find it hard to knuckle down and practice. Like you, I'm also not sure about what equipment to use, so I'm just off to see what C has been using.

 
At 6 November 2011 at 14:58 , Blogger Net said...

They look yummy Janice, I might have to try these myself.

A good nozzle for icing is a large or medium star - they can be used for loads of things. They're mainly what I use on my stuff. I'd also recommend disposable icing bags! I hate washing those nylony ones!

 
At 6 November 2011 at 15:33 , Blogger Kate@whatkatebaked said...

Thank you ever so much for your really really scrummy entry- I've been searching for a ginger based cupcake recipe for a little while, and these look delicious. And I'm really impressed with your icing- its a skill I need to master, and I'm off to check out C's recommendation right now...

 
At 6 November 2011 at 16:05 , Blogger Janice said...

I've found the Wilton 1M icing nozzle recommended by Holly Bell of GBBO on Amazon for £4.90 if anyone is looking for one!

 
At 6 November 2011 at 17:44 , Blogger Brownieville Girl said...

I just love ginger and these cupcakes really appeal to me - thanks for the recipe.

Fantastic first attempt at icing - I can only imagine how great you'll be with plenty of practice!!!

 
At 6 November 2011 at 17:53 , Blogger Karen S Booth said...

What a GREAT tea time treats post Janice, lovely little ginger cakes and yes they DO sparkle too......I am rubbish at piping and your piping looks good to me!
A really great ginger post and I have bookmarked this recipe!
Thanks!
Karen

 
At 6 November 2011 at 19:07 , Blogger Hannah said...

Ooh they look lovely and your piping is great for a first time!
How well did the batter rise? I'm looking for a gingerbread cake type recipe that can rise well but they all seem quite heavy.

 
At 6 November 2011 at 19:22 , Blogger Unknown said...

They sound & look deeelish Janice x

 
At 6 November 2011 at 21:26 , Blogger Shaheen said...

Ooh I love the sound of these. I like gingery things, especially cakes! I admire your piping efforts, it is something I have yet to try.

 
At 6 November 2011 at 23:49 , Blogger Phil in the Kitchen said...

I love gingerbread and, of course, butter icing so these are just fine for me. No matter how many I buy I never seem to have the exact piping nozzle I need. I suppose that's life.

 
At 7 November 2011 at 11:54 , Blogger sarahtriv said...

So cute to call them sparkers at this time of year. Hope you had some at a bonfire party!

 
At 7 November 2011 at 17:02 , Blogger tori said...

I think your piping is lovely- and these look just gorgeous.

 
At 7 November 2011 at 18:02 , Blogger Chele said...

Now they look the perfect kind of cupcake to be enjoying on a cold November night ;0)

 
At 8 November 2011 at 04:38 , Blogger Dawn @ Words Of Deliciousness said...

These cupcakes look lovely. I think your piping also looks lovely.

 
At 11 November 2011 at 08:53 , Blogger Jacqueline Meldrum said...

God these look good and I love gingerbread. Nice piping too and I can see the twirl of the sparkler in the shape. Clever!

Oh nozzles! I got these, although I haven't tried them yet.

 
At 14 November 2011 at 22:12 , Blogger Baking Addict said...

Great job on the piping. I'm not a fan of ginger but the cupcakes look great! I have a piping set from Lakeland and another from Tala. I also have extra 1M tips which are the most versatile from a baking shop (cant remember where now)

 

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I love to read your comments and try to reply when I can. I have had to enable comment moderation due to high levels of spam, so it may take a little time before your comment is visible. Please let me know if you make one of my recipes or if you have any questions I will try to answer them. Janice

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