Reeces Peanut Butter Core Cupcakes

Hello guys,

Recently I watched a video posted by Tanya where she and Zoe (aka Zoella) did some baking so because I hadn't baked in a while it made me want to bake! A while back I had the idea of a peanut butter core cupcake recipe and on Saturday my friend Emily came over and we did a few hours of baking! The inspiration for this was Reeces peanut butter cups (which a friend of mine has been eating lots of at the moment!) as they have a chocolate outside and a peanut centre.

Makes 24 Cupcakes

You Will Need:

For the centre:

• 45g unsalted Butter (Room temperature)
• 160g smooth Peanut Butter
• 125g icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla Extract

Alternatively you could use 24 Reeces peanut butter mini cups

For the cupcakes:

These are just a Mary Berry fairy cake recipe so if you have a favourite that makes 24 cupcakes then use your own however I used:

• 200g softened butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 150 self raising flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• 2 level tsp of baking powder

For the icing:

For the icing I used two different icings for a twisty affect however I used milk instead of dark chocolate for the chocolate butter cream so because the two colours didn't have a distinct different the swirl of colours wasn't noticeable. So make sure you use dark chocolate. To simplify it you could just do one type, but check your using the right measurements.

For the Peanut Butter Buttercream

• 210g icing sugar
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 50ml milk
• 55g smooth peanut butter

For the Chocolate Buttercream

• 420g icing sugar
• 55g butter
• 85g dark chocolate
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3-4 tsp milk (add more if mixture is to stiff)

Method:

To start preheat the oven 200 C/ Fan 180 C

To make the filling:

1. Combine all the ingredients for the peanut butter core in a bowl then mix. 


2. Separate the mixture into 24 1 inch balls for the centre of the cakes.

For the cake mix:

1.Combine all the ingredients in the order they are listed above, in a bowl. 
2. Pour the mixture into 24 cases and fill them only halfway. Then put the peanut butter ball in the centre and cove with the rest of the mixture. 

3.Put in the oven and bake for 12-18 minutes.

Once the cakes are out of the oven and fully cooled pipe the icing on top.

For the icing:

1. Mix the ingredients for each flavour in separate bowls using a spoon or an electric whisk. 

2. Then put two strips of peanut butter icing down the side of an icing bag. Then fill the bag up with chocolate buttercream and pipe the cakes. 

3. If you run out of mixture I would suggest using a new bag rather than trying to put strips of peanut butter icing down the sides of a sticky piping bag! As I used milk choc rather than dark when I piped the similarity of the icing colours meant there wasn't a real swirl however they tasted just as good!

I was very happy with how these turned out as they were delicious! If you try these or have a question leave me a comment. Have a lovely week,

Abi
♥

Easter Cupcakes!

Hello guys, 
So as it is getting close to Easter I wanted to do an Easter themed bake. After a few ideas I thought that do Carrot cake cupcakes, because of the Easter bunny. 

Easter does mean more to me than just chocolate however I think that the whole celebration whatever your beliefs are is fun. So here is the recipe, if you have any questions please leave me a comment.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

3 medium carrots, peeled and grated

100g soft light brown sugar

80g unsalted butter, softened

80g Golden syrup

2 medium eggs

150g self-raising flour

½tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

For the Icing:

50g unsalted butter, softened

110g low-fat cream cheese

225g icing sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

For the Chocolate decorations:

50g white chocolate

Green food colouring

Orange food colouring

Method

1) Melt the white chocolate until smooth, but not too runny. If you are using a microwave take it out every 30 seconds and stir to make sure it doesn't burn. Then split your chocolate 2/3 in one bowl and 1/3 in another. 

2) Add orange food colouring to the bowl with more chocolate and green to the other. Then put some orange into a resealable plastic bag and snip a tiny but of one of the corners so there is a thin whole to pipe with. Pipe lots more carrots onto a piece of baking paper (or whatever shape you choose) then you need in case some break. Once you have done do the same (in a different bag) do the same for the green and add leaves to your carrots. Leave in the freezer/fridge on a tray so they set

3) Preheat the oven to 180°C, which is 356°F. Line a cupcake or muffin tray with 12 cases.

4) First grate the carrots. Then combine the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a large saucepan and melt together over a medium heat. Remove from the heat, then stir in the self-raising flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, ground cinnamon, grated carrot and eggs. Mix well until you have a smooth batter

5) Pour the mixture into the cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 minutes until risen. When the cakes are done put a cake tester or skewer into one of the cupcakes. If it comes out clean they are cooked. Then cool on a wire rack.

6) Meanwhile, prepare the icing by combining the butter, cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract together in a large mixing bowl. It is really important you use full fat cream cheese otherwise your frosting will be to runny. If needs be drain your cream cheese before you put it in. Beat using an electric whisk until smooth. Now you can pipe the icing on or just spread on with a spoon.

7) Finally get the carrots from the fridge and if they have set gently remove from the baking sheet and put onto the cakes. Now display on a cake stand and you have finished!

I hope you have enjoyed this blog post, and that you have a very Happy Easter. I am going on holiday so probably will not be blogging for the next two weeks. I'm going skiing in the french alps and am extremely excited!

Abi

♥