Cherry Cupcakes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC Fan / Gas Mark 4) and line a 12 hole muffin/cupcake tin with your chosen cupcake cases.

2. Place all the cupcake ingredients into a large mixing bowl or food mixer and beat together until light, fluffy and pale in colour. Using a spoon, spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling each one 2/3 full. 

3. Bake the cupcakes in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden, springy to touch and baked throughout.

   Top Tip: How to Tell if your Cake is Baked?

   How to Tell if your Cake is Baked?

   Find out more

   The Springy Centre

   The middle of the cake should feel a bit springy to the touch. As the cake cools it will continue to bake slightly from the residual heat, so taking it out at this point will ensure it doesn't over bake even when it's out of the oven. 

   Check the Sides

   Generally the sides of the cake will start to pull away from the sides of the cake tin. Although the edges of the cake might look a bit dry, they should still be a deep golden colour and not crisp and dark. 

   Use a Cake Tester

   We use cake testers all of the time at Baking Mad but you could use a tooth pick or a kebab skewer if you don't have a purpose made one. Simply pop the tester in to the middle of cake. It should come out clean if the cake is baked. If however, it comes out covered in batter (no matter how little), pop the cake back in the oven for a couple of minutes and keep checking with the tester until it's done. 

   Take the Temperature

   If you're really nervous about your cake baking properly, you could use a thermometer to test the internal temperature of the cake. Generally you should measure the temperature of the centre of the cake and it should read around 99ºC

   No-one wants a dry and crumbly cake after all that effort and hard work - so follow our top tips to make sure you know when to take your cake out of the oven for the delicious, moist cake you deserve. 

4. Once the cupcakes are baked, leave to cool on a wire cooling rack whilst you make up the buttercream.

5. To make the buttercream, beat the butter in a mixer until light and fluffy then gradually add in the icing sugar and cherry flavouring. Add the milk gradually, if needed, to loosen up the buttercream. It is best to beat the buttercream for as long as you can as the longer that you beat it for the lighter and fluffier it will be.

6. Divide the mixture in two, seperating into two separate bowls. Using a few drops of pink food colouring gel into one of the bowls of buttercream, beat the buttercream until it reaches the desired pink colour. 

7. Open up a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and spread the pink buttercream down one side of the inside of the bag and the white buttercream down the other side. Alternatively, you could use a duo colour piping bag to create the same effect. 

8. Pipe the buttercream on to the cupcakes in a circular motion and this should create the double colour effect. Finish with the lovebird or rose cake decorations.