A light and fluffy vanilla cupcake topped with a lemon buttercream base and a blackcurrant buttercream frosting hat, finished off with a little marshmallow nose. These cupcakes are such a simple way to start festive baking! Naturally coloured, deliciously fruity and super simple to make this cake is refreshing and the perfect bake.
I created this bake because I wanted something really simple. Something that would work for Christmas, taste good and keep simplicity at its core. I love that this doesn’t take a million ingredients to make, 1/2 a day to prepare and is completely unobtainable. The base of this is my basic vanilla sponge cake, topped with a lemon based buttercream and my blackcurrant buttercream frosting, finished with a mini marshmallow.
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To start with, make a simple batch of vanilla cupcakes. I used the all-in-one method here to make things even quicker and easier. Throw all of the cake ingredients into a bowl and mix with an electric mixer until you have a nice smooth batter. Add the vanilla extract in last and give a separate mix. I always recommend that you use a thicker vanilla paste rather than a liquid vanilla extract. I feel like this creates a better, more authentic taste and the runny consistency of the liquid extract can sometimes change the consistency of the batter.
Once the cakes are cooked and a lovely golden brown colour, you can start to make the buttercream frosting. Start by making a slightly larger batch of basic buttercream frosting. Cream the unsalted butter until soft, this usually only takes 1-2 minutes. Next, add the icing sugar in two batches. I would recommend stirring it through lightly with a spoon before blending it together, just to stop an icing sugar explosion! Once done, separate roughly 1/3 of it into a separate bowl. In this bowl, stir through roughly 1/4 of freshly grated lemon zest. Place this into your first piping bag and pipe around the outside of the cupcake in a circle, leaving the centre hollow. Once done set aside.
With the remaining buttercream, start to make the blackcurrant frosting. I love the simplicity of this frosting. 3 ingredients, naturally coloured with a perfectly sweet and fruity flavour. To make this I used blackcurrant powder. This is a fine, bright powder made from blackcurrants which adds the natural beautiful vibrant colour to the buttercream. I bought mine on a recent visit to Borough Market in London, but it is also readily available online.
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The key part here is to sieve the powder. Trust me, I leant this the hard way. In order to avoid any clumps and to create a nice smooth icing, which is actually pipeable, put it through a small sieve such as a tea strainer. Once the powder has been sieved into the buttercream mixture, blend everything together until fully incorporated. Now you should have a nice smooth frosting. With this pipe it directly on top of the lemon icing around the outside of the cake, using the ‘tall tower’ technique.
Once done, place a mini marshmallow in between the two buttercream colours for a ‘nose’ effect.
I like to make smaller batches to ensure that everything is enjoyed as fresh as possible, but if you would like more feel free to double the recipe. Any leftovers can be stored in a cool, dry place for 3-4 days.
Ingredients
- CUPCAKES:
- 2 oz / 60 g Self Raising Flour
- 2 oz / 60 g Butter
- 1 oz / 30 g Caster Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Milk
- BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
- 4 oz / 115 g Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
- 8 oz / 225 g Icing Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Milk
- Freshly Grated Zest of 1/2 Lemon
- 3 teaspoons Blackcurrant Powder
- ~ 4 Mini Marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180*c/350*f/Gas Mark 4/160*c Fan Oven.
- Line a cupcake tin with cases and set aside.
- Place the butter, sugar, eggs, self-raising flour and milk in a bowl and using an electric mixture, blend until everything is fully combined.
- Cook for 16 to 20 minutes, until golden brown but still light and fluffy. You can tell the cakes are ready when they spring back when lightly pressed. You could also insert a skewer into the middle of one of the cakes and if it comes out clean, then the cakes are ready.
- Once ready, remove from the oven.
- Allow the cakes to sit in the tin for roughly 5 minutes, then place on a wired rack to cool.
- Whilst waiting for the cakes to cool start to make the icing.
- Add the butter to a mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, blend until creamy.
- Add half of the sieved icing sugar to the bowl and using a spoon, gently stir together until just combined (this helps to prevent an icing sugar explosion!), before mixing with the electric mixer.
- Add the remaining icing sugar and milk, following the steps above, do not be afraid to overmix, you want this to be nice and smooth.
- Separate roughly 1/3 of the frosting into a separate bowl and stir through the lemon zest.
- Place the lemon buttercream frosting into a piping bag and pipe a circle around the outside of the cake, discarding any extra lemon buttercream.
- Using a small sieve such as a tea strainer, sieve the blackcurrant powder into the larger buttercream mixture.
- Give everything a good mix to ensure that the frosting is nice and smooth and the powder is fully incorporated.
- Place this into the next piping bag and pipe directly on top on the cake, slightly overlapping the lemon buttercream, using the 'tall tower' technique.
- Once piped, place a mini marshmallow in between the two layers of buttercream , creating a 'nose' effect.
- Any leftover buttercream can be discarded (or eaten!) or stored in the fridge in an airtight container to be used on another bake.
Notes
Store any leftovers in a cool dry place for 3-4 days. I prefer these eaten fresh so make smaller batches but feel free to double the recipe for more cupcakes.
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