The Basic Budget Cupcake and a Christmas Decorating Competition

Alongside some other food bloggers, I was recently asked by Tesco to judge a cupcake decorating competition.   I do feel slightly underqualified to judge a cake decorating competition;  when I bake I tend to make muffins or madelines, neither of which need decoration.   With the cakes above, I was going to pipe the frosting, but, annoyingly I managed to block my nozzle with a current.   In addition, I recently embarrassed myself at a macaron making class with my inability to pipe batter into a shape resembling a circle, even with the expert tuition and guiding hand of Edd Kimber.   I think that developing my cake decoration skills is a  task to be added to my 2011 resolutions.

I still have the never ending blog backlog; my posts are queued by very urgent, even more urgent and overdue, and this competition closes tomorrow.  If you still have time to bake and decorate you can enter here.  Simply bake, decorate, photograph and upload your creation and say a few words about it.   The prize for the top two cakes is an afternoon at the Make Lounge with the still unannounced celebrity chef (where you get to meet me and the other blogger judges), and there are 10 runners up prizes of a cupcake decorating kit.   As my reward for judging Tesco sent me one of their decorating kits, with a piping bag and nozzle, food colourings, sprinkles, a cute little snowflake cutter for use with fondant icing and some basic ingredients.

Now I appreciate that it is now late Sunday afternoon and you may not have all the ingredients for cakes in your kitchen, so I have devised a store cupboard basic budget cupcake recipe for you.     In case you are not a regular reader, you may not know that I try and eat a vegan diet about half the time.  Mainly because I feel healthier for it, and because a considerable factor in global warming is the rearing of animals for food.    I also think it is important to aim for free range and where possible organic animal products; especially with eggs.   If you are in any doubt please look at the virtual battery cage.   So in case you have run out of eggs this evening, or your local shop does not have free range, please do not buy battery, there really is no excuse.    My mantra is, if they are not free range then leave them out.   Here is a basic all in one egg free cupcake recipe.    It is not perfect, and I am working on a buttery one, but in my opinion this is a better alternative than buying battery eggs.

Egg Free Budget Cupcakes (makes 12)

140g plain flour
100g caster sugar
120ml milk
40ml vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla essence
pinch salt

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and beat until smooth.

Fill cupcakes about 2/3 full and bake at GM4 / 180C / 350F for 15 mins until risen and golden.

Leave to cook and decorate as desired.   I stirred some mincemeat into some brandy butter.

These cakes are not that sweet, if you are not going to pile a huge mound of frosting onto them I would use 120g each of flour and sugar when making them.

Thank you to Tesco Real Food for my free Cupcake Decorating Kit.