My Guest Post for 'Touching From a Distance' - Cupcakin and Book learnin'

This was my first blog post on cupcaking and I wrote it for http://www.touchingfromadistance.co.uk/ . It features my recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes.

When I was asked to write a guest blog post for TFAD on the connection between cupcakes and literature I admit I wasn’t sure which direction to go in. Yet after the overwhelming response I received on twitter after posting my ‘Cupcakes for Bookworms’ the link seems obvious. What better way to pass a Sunday afternoon than sitting down with your favourite book, beverage and cupcake? No longer are we constrained to a boring biscuit to go with our cuppa and copy of Wuthering Heights, but we can express our creativity and love of books through other means. Cupcakes are the new yo-yo’s, tamagotchis, the new little black dress and everyone wants one. Wedding cakes have turned into elegant cupcake displays and no party is complete without a triumphant tower of cupcakes. This is what gave me the inspiration to amalgamate the two things I love most, cupcaking and book learnin’. And this was the result:



Cupcakes for Bookworms by ~peeka85 on deviantART



Now all I can think about is what else I can put on a cupcake or turn into a cupcake. Cupcake mania has indeed taken over. And I would like to share with you some of my favourite pieces of cupcake art:


Bloody Pumpkin Cupcakes by =Sliceofcake on deviantART


PacmanCupcakes. by ~RebeccaRoseBrine on deviantART


Super Cupcakes by ~babbit-chan on deviantART


Pansy Pots by ~Verusca on deviantART

And if you’d like to try out your own cupcakes, here’s my easy all in one recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes, this makes between 18 and 24 cupcakes depending on how big you make them (because let’s face it, you can never have enough cupcakes) but the recipe can easily be halved.

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)
210g Caster Sugar
210g Butter or Margarine (I use Stork)
4 Large Eggs (6 small eggs)
2 tsps Baking Powder
1 tbsp Corn Flour
2 tsps Vanilla Essence

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees centigrade. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and beat until a smooth consistency. The mixture should slowly drop off the spoon into a peak. Divide evenly into cake cases or muffin cases (I prefer muffin cases) making sure they are filled about 2/3 of the way full in order to get a nice rounded cake. Cook for approx 18 - 20 minutes (oven times my vary). You can test they are done by inserting a toothpick, if the toothpick comes out clean it is done. The cake should spring back when touched.

And now you’re ready to decorate with buttercream. I use 140g of Icing sugar and 140g butter but you can change this to suit your own taste depending on how sweet you want it.

Happy Cupcaking!