Baby Shower Cupcakes
Method
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4) and line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.
Step 2:
Place the butter and caster sugar in a bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy, then add the eggs one by one beating well in between each addition, then add the vanilla extract.
Step 3:
Finally carefully fold in the flour until evenly mixed.
Step 4:
Spoon the batter into the paper cases. Then place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the cupcakes are golden brown and springy to the touch.
Step 5:
Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling wire.
Step 6:
To decorate the cakes, lightly dust your work surface with icing sugar and roll out the white icing until it is about 5mm thick. Using a cutter that is the same size as the top of the cupcake, cut out discs of the icing.
Step 7:
Lightly brush the top of each cake with the warmed jam, then carefully place the white icing disc on the top.
Step 8:
To make the hats and faces, take a ball of the white sugar paste icing and add a small amount of the pink food colour, kneading it into the icing until the colour is evenly distributed through the icing. Repeat this with the blue food colour.
Step 9:
Roll out onto a surface that has been lightly dusted with icing sugar, cut a disc from each colour then cut this in half. Place one half onto the cake for the hat.
Step 10:
Place one half onto the cake for the hat. For the brim cut a strip of icing and place this on the bottom edge of the hat, using a small amount of water to attach. You can make a bobble for the hat using a small ball of icing or attach a flower to the hat, cut using a small flower plunger cutter. To finish the face you can add a nose using a small ball of icing and 2 eyes made using small balls of black sugar paste icing.
Step 11:
Use baby bottle, pram or bib cutters if you have them to decorate other cupcakes.
