Sooo much pooping

[Sam]

Hiya I want to try and make some more cupcakes, but I'm just wondering what recipe others use for the icing?

 

ATM I use butter cream which is 1part butter to 2part icing sugar + flavouring. I feel so bad though because thats SO unhealthy I googled it and there were so many different recipes, some people whisking up egg whites which I'd never heard of for icing

 

& also what do you use for the actual cake? I use just use a basic recipe, 100g marg, 100g caster sugar, 100g self raising & 2 eggs.

 

Thanks for any advice

[The Dogmother]

I use a standard sponge recipe and use the egg weight as a guide for the other ingredients. I tend to use cream cheese icing just because I prefer it.

[craftyhunnypie]

I use the 175g of sugar, marg, S.R flour & 3 eggs - for fairy cakes & a sandwich cake - always! The cream cheese icing is scummy. I usually make butterfly cakes that require just a teeny blob of icing in the dent, where I cut the 'wings' from.

Emma.x

[poachedegg]

I weigh the eggs and match the ingredients too - I use Stork margarine, caster sugar and SR Flour. For buttercream, half butter to icing sugar, spoon of warm water and a drop of vanilla.

[Sam]

Ooo I don't think I've ever even tried the cream cheese icing!!

I'll have to try that one, thanks!

[The Dogmother]

I find it much less sweet/sickly than butter icing.

[quickcluck]

is there a recipe for the cream cheese???

[The Dogmother]

You'd probably find one o the internet, but I just mix together Philadelphia, marge and icing sugar

[quickcluck]

thanks, sounds much less sickly...

[Snowy]

I just use low fat, cheap cream cheese beaten with icing sugar. It has a nice tang to it and as Claret says, is much less sickly.

For cup cakes I use the basic sponge recipe, matching weight of ingredients to weight of eggs. Sometimes I substitute 30g of flour for cocoa powder and chuck some chopped, cheap chocolate in (nutella makes a good, quick icing for these), or coffee - 1 teaspoon of good coffee per 100g of flour, dissolved in a little hot water, with a sweet buttercream icing. Lemony cupcakes - add lemon zest to the sponge mix and make a thin icing with lemon juice and icing sugar. Sometimes I chuck dried fruit in, but it tends to sink in a basic sponge mix (and the children have gone off raisins )

Those are my staple recipes, otherwise I do a muffin mix - favourite additions to that are mashed banana and chocolate chip or raspberries and white chocolate chips.

[Geoid]

I feel so bad though because thats SO unhealthy

Its cake, its supposed to be unhealthy

[Chucky Mama]

DD makes deliciously light cupcakes and has been commissioned by our nextdoor neighbour to make 24 for his wife's 50th birthday. He wants 'Happy 50th Birthday' on them but she is not good at piping so is thinking of spelling it out in silver balls. Any other ideas of how she might be able to do it? She has a silver theme in that the cases are going to be silver and cream coloured icing.

[craftyhunnypie]

Hows about food colouring pens? - you write on the icing like you would a normal pen - easy! Or make discs of icing & pipe on those before putting on the cakes. That way if the piping isn't so good, she doesn't have to put them on.

Or - she could make little paper flags for each cake using pretty papers & cocktail sticks. Or make mini bunting to go in the cakes, that spells out the message.

Emma.x

[Sam]

I feel so bad though because thats SO unhealthy

Its cake, its supposed to be unhealthy

 

 

I agree with the food colouring pens, tbh I wouldn't use them silver balls because they're really hard... and whenever I've seen people use them on tv shows like come dine with me, people dont usually like them because of how hard they are. Also imagine using them to spell "Happy 50th Birthday" on them may take some time!!

 

craftyhunnypie, I clicked on your "new" blog expecting a good read, maybe about the big move, but no, last updated 23rd March 2010

[Chucky Mama]

Thanks for the advice We are now thinking of using a silver pen on some little discs of fondant icing. Does that sound like a good plan or do you think that the silver might be a bit too pale?

[UKMARCH]

Hi, I have some small metal alphabet cutters which I use to cut fondant icing. It can be coloured with silver lustre powder which can be made liquid and painted on available at cake decorating shops. My youngest once made my husband a biscuit decorated with silver balls and when he bit it he cracked a tooth and ended up needing a crown! Having said that if they're on soft icing such as buttercream or runny royal icing they soften up.