Pup Cakes by Paula! is a brand new series to the Paladone blog.
Our baking expert Paula will be sharing her delicious recipes and fabulous Pup Cake ideas & creations with you – so pick-up yourselves some Pup Cake moulds and try out these tasty treats yourselves! Comment below if you have any questions, or requests!
First up we have a rum and raisin Pup Cake with rum and raisin buttercream icing. The combination of rum and raisins has long elevated all kinds of desserts; together the flavours truly shine: a concentrated burst of dried fruit cut by the boozy kick of rum, all cushioned by delicious buttercream icing. Mmm…
Pup Cakes will go perfectly with this Wonderland Cake Stand |
Making the Pup Cakes – Makes 12
170g Stork baking margarine
170g Caster sugar
170g Self raising flour
3 large eggs, beaten
2 table spoons of milk
70g raisins
2 cap-fulls dark rum
Soak raisins in the rum overnight.
Oven temp 200 Celsius or 400 Fahrenheit. Gas mark 6.
Method
1. Cream butter/margarine and sugar together in bowl. Can be done in an electrical mixer, or if doing by hand, very large muscles may be useful!
2. Gradually add eggs until well mixed.
3. Sieve in self raising flour.
4. Add rum soaked raisins and mix well.
5. Stir in 2 tablespoons of milk.
6. Divide mixture between 12 cupcake bases and pop in the pre-heated oven for about 15-20 minutes. Check cupcakes halfway through. The cupcakes are ready when the tops are springy to touch.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Making the Rum and Raisin Buttercream
250g unsalted butter
500g icing sugar
2 teaspoons of rum and raisin flavouring
Method
1. Beat butter for about 5 minutes in electrical mixer. Again if using good old fashioned man power, large muscles are definitely required for this part!
2. Gradually add sieved icing sugar and continue beating for at least another 5 minutes.
3. Add rum and Raisin flavouring and mix well. (Find at CupCake-World where they stock over 300 flavourings!)
4. Using your wonderful imaginations and artistic license, decorate Pup cakes as desired! I decided the give them some wacky haircuts, using a piping nozzle I found online that gives the effect of grass/hair. (Also try using a decorating set which allows you to pipe 2 or 3 different colours of buttercream together)
Hints and Tips!
1. You don’t have to use baking Stork, that’s just my personal choice as I find actual butter can make the sponge a little dry.
2. Any fridge items you use in your recipes can come out to come to room temp a couple of hours before you start.
3. When I’m adding a flavouring to cake or buttercream mix I usually start with half the stated amount, taste it then add more if required. Depending where you buy your flavouring or essence from, some are stronger than others.
4. Buttercream!!! I struggled with my buttercream mix for quite a long time and on one occasion even resorted to buying ready-made! Not good! Tricks are to use unsalted butter and leave it out of the fridge overnight or until it’s nice and squishy! Then…Beat the life out of it! You’ll visually see when it’s ready to add the icing sugar. The butter itself will double in size, have a nice fluffy consistency and be much lighter in colour than when you started!
5. Once your cupcakes have come out of the oven, leave them in the muffin tray for only about 5 minutes before you take them out and put on a wire tray to cool completely. If you leave them in the muffin/cupcake tray for too long the paper cupcake cases can ‘sweat’ and come away from the sponge.
I hope you enjoyed the first batch of Pup cakes – I’m off to research a yummy caramel sauce….ooooh, was that a little clue for the next Pups?! Watch this space!