Saturday 29 October 2016

Post 2016 N0.32 - BakingBoutique turning 1!!!

Hey guys!

This blog post is in praise and admiration of BakingBoutique's first birthday. Woo-hoo! I have been waiting for this moment for so long, posting every week for the past month. And now, it's finally here!  

 It only feels like yesterday when I were pulling the computer strings in order to get my blog up and running. Up until this present day, I am extremely content, regarding BakingBoutique and its achievement within the blogging community. All of that hard work, effort and commitment right from the beginning had paid off big time and I only have you to thank for and also Blogger. If I hadn't stumbled across Blogger a year ago, none of the above would be possible.

In honour of my blog's first year anniversary, I've made  Pumpkin Cupcakes which I'm sharing with you today. This recipe had been  sourced from "The Hummingbird Bakery: Cupcakes & Muffins Recipe Book". From this book, I discovered my first ever recipe, published onto BakingBoutique(link will be left at the end) . There are so many other recipes which I'd definitely be open to using in due time.

As of now, in order to make these seasonal cupcakes, you'll need the following:

120g /1 cup of plain flour

140g / a scant ¾ cup of caster sugar

1 tbsp of baking powder

½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon, plus extra for decoration

a pinch of salt

40g / 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter,at room temp

120ml / ½ cup of whole milk

2 medium-sized eggs

Preferably 200g / 6½oz of canned pumpkin puree (below will be a video of me concocting my own handmade pumpkin puree)

For the icing you'll require:

300g / 2 ½ cups of icing sugar,sifted

50g / 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temp

125g / 4oz of cream cheese,cold.

If you're opting to make your own pumpkin puree, you'll need 

1 pumpkin and water


Method of making the pumpkin puree:

Warning: The pumpkin may be tricky to cut into quarters, therefore seek assistance, especially with sharp knives.


Begin by cutting the pumpkin into quarters, peeling and cutting into chunks.

Place in a large saucepan, covering with water. Bring to the boil.

Cook this for 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Drain well and allow to cool. Then puree the flesh in a food processor or mash with a potato masher. I took the easy route with a food blender.

Once pureed and kept in a suitable container, it can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or deep freeze for 3-6 months. 


Now onto the preparation of the cupcakes:

Firstly, preheat the oven to 170C (325F), Gas Mark 3.

Tip the flour,sugar, baking powder, cinnamon,salt and butter into either a freestanding electric mixer or a handheld one, beating on a slow speed until you get a *sandy consistency and all ingredients are combined. Gradually pour in the milk and beat until well mixed.

*Sandy consistence is when the sugar hasn't quite dissolved into the mixture properly.

Add the eggs to the mix and beat well (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the  side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Stir in your pumpkin puree by hand until evenly dispersed.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases (for an festive feel, I'd gone for orange cases)until two-thirds are full. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden and the cake bounces back when touched. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.



Lastly, time for frosting!

Beat the icing sugar and butter in a freestanding/ handheld electric mixer on a medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.

Add in the cream cheese all in one, beating at the same speed until it is completely incorporated. urn the mixer speed up to medium-high. Beat until the icing is light and fluffy for at least 5 minutes. Do not overbeat , however, as it can become runny quickly.


Once the cupcakes are completely cool, spoon or pipe the Cream Cheese Icing on to,garnishing with a light sprinkling of cinnamon.

Shots

Pumpkin Puree




















Cupcakes






Check out the candle I had brought- literally smells of gingerbread.





















Leading up to the ending of this post...

Here's the link of the first recipe I posted onto BakingBoutique:
Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

Congratulations Candice for winning GBBO!!



Books I recommend to read this Autumn:

The Sun Is Also A Star                Swing Time 
     



















Check out Boomerang- the latest app by the creators of Instagram. 


I only recently discovered this song but now I can't seem to get the tune out of my head!!


See you next week!

#sweetreats xx 

10 comments:

  1. So in love with these bakes, they look delicious. Congrats on a year of blogging! xxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I'm really surprised with the overall taste- it had tasted amazing, despite the fact that I've never had a pumpkin cupcake.

      #sweetreats xx

      Delete
  2. Oh my gosh they look delicious, they'd be perfect for a halloween party or even an autumnal gathering ! I love the hummingbird bakery cookbooks They've got some brilliant recipes in . I was so glad when Candice won bake off, I've been routing for her since the beginnning !

    lots of love, Marianne xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I totally agree. If I'm being honest, I was mainly supporting Selasi and Benjamina. But once it came down to the final three, I really wanted Candice to be crowned as GBBO winner.

      #sweetreats xx

      Delete
  3. First of allll congratssss!!! 💓 Second recipe sounds so yummy! 💓💓 I can't wait to read The Sun Is Also A Star sounds so awesome!!
    Haniya
    booknauthors.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I mean if I'm being honest, it's not my FAVE cupcake recipe as this cupcake flavor isn't my favorite. But iit still tasted great and looked pretty impressive. Those books were recommended to me and now I'm in love with them.
    #sweetreats xxx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh I want read that book the sun is also a star is on my TBR
    Thanks for this post
    xx

    www.sakuranko.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's alright! Thank you for reading!

      #sweetreats xx

      Delete
  6. Aw yum! These look so good! I feel as though you get better at baking in every post, keep it up! <3

    Stella xx
    onegirlblogger.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you so much! I throughly agree with you. I guess with the fact that I bake alot is practice.😊

    #sweetreatsxx

    ReplyDelete