1 for 1000

The basic frostings I use for the cupcakes are buttercream and cream cheese. For the savoury ones I generally use a savoury cream cheese frosting or a goats cheese cream.  The first hundred times I made buttercream it didn’t come out right. Most of the times it was gritty; often, it was greasy; other times it would split and curdle! It has taken many, many tries to get it right but it’s worth experimenting! The recipe I use is……I don’t have a recipe! I have some very basic measurements and the rest I eyeball. I check it constantly to make sure it’s perfect and pamper it until it is. Either way, here is how I make:

The Best Buttercream You Will Ever Have

5oz/140g Butter, at room temperature

10oz/280g confectioners sugar

2 to 6 tbsp milk/water/liquid flavouring of your choice

Add the sugar slowly to avoid a mess and taste it along the way until it’s your desired sweetness. I often don’t use all the sugar.

If it feels greasy or gritty, add milk or another liquid. Add 1tbsp at a time and beat well between additions.

I find that you can add A LOT of liquid as long as you emulsify it properly. Like I said, I’ve had a lot of trouble with my buttercream curdling in the past and just earlier I made green tea, chamomile and chai buttercreams adding about 1/3 of the buttercream volume in water.

If you are persistant and beat it long enough (And I mean about 5 minutes, NOT 50) it will be airy, light and delicate while still holding it’s shape for piping. I like my buttercream really well whipped but make yours to your taste. If you like it firmer, add less liquid or more sugar.

For flavourings the sky really is the limit. You can add anything from store bought essential oils and flavourings to your own home-made flavours. I have been experimenting with tea flavours and I find that if you are adding something with no fat it’s more easily incorporated if you add a lot of sugar to thicken it, like a light syrup. You can also add pureed and chopped fruits, nut butters, chocolate spread, cocoa powder…anything really!

For more dense, rich recipes cream cheese frosting works better in my opinion. The cream cheese tang compliments rich chocolates, red velvet and carrot cakes like no other frosting and it’s so, so easy to make!

Awesome Cream Cheese Frosting

16oz/450g cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup/113g butter, at room temperature

2 cups confectioners sugar

Cream the butter alone until it’s very soft and add the cream cheese gradually until it’s well incorporated. .

Add the powdered sugar slowly and mix well.

You can add vanilla extract or lemon zest to make this frosting pop, but even on it’s own it’s fantastic!

If your frosting isn’t keeping its shape as well as you would like, try adding a little more butter and refrigerating the frosting before piping

Four Yolk Lemon Curd

4 large egg yolks

150g/5.25oz sugar

100ml/a little less than 1/4 cup lemon juice FRESH!

70g/ 1/3 cup butter, cold and cubed

Beat the yolks and the sugar until the sugar has dissolved completely and the mixture has turned almost white. Put it in a sauce pan and on the heat on very low hear.

Add the lemon juice and butter and whisk until thick. It should cover the back of a spoon. Take off the heat and whisk once more before putting in a jar.

It keeps really well, you can keep it in the fridge for about 4 weeks without any issues. I very much doubt it will last that long though!