Who doesn’t love a good cupcake? Go ahead and try these fun ideas at your next birthday bash!

Lemon poppyseed cupcakes 
SERVES 14  •  TOTAL TIME  45 min, plus cooling

Yoghurt ⅔ cup

Vegetable oil  ⅔ cup

Eggs 3

Zest of lemons 3 lemons

Caster sugar 300 g

Self-raising flour 300 g

Salt ½ tsp

Poppy seeds, plus extra for garnish 40 g

FOR THE LEMON BUTTER ICING

Butter, room temperature 250 g

Icing sugar, sifted 500 g

Lemon juice 3 tbsp

Zest from lemon 1 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line a 12-hole muffin tin.

2. Whisk together the yoghurt, oil and eggs. In a separate bowl, rub the lemon zest into the caster sugar, then combine with the remaining ingredients. Pour in the egg mixture and mix to form a smooth batter. 

3. Fill the cupcake liners two-thirds full with batter.

4. Bake for 12–15 minutes until golden and the cake springs back when poked.

FOR THE LEMON BUTTER ICING

1. Beat the butter in a bowl until light and creamy.

2. Mix in the icing sugar in three batches, then mix for 2 more minutes until smooth and fluffy.

3. Mix in the lemon juice and zest.

TO ASSEMBLE

1. Dollop or pipe the lemon butter icing onto the cooled cupcakes. Decorate with a sprinkle of poppyseed, lemonzest and edible flower, if desired.

Red velvet & toasted marshmallow
SERVES 18  •  TOTAL TIME  1 hr, plus cooling

FOR THE CUPCAKES

Flour 1 ¾ cups

Cocoa 3 tbsp

Baking powder ¾ tsp

Salt ½ tsp

Sugar 1 ½ cups

Vegetable oil ¾ cup

Eggs 2

Vanilla essence 2 tsp

Red food colouring 2 tbsp

Buttermilk 1 cup

Bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp

White vinegar 1 tsp

FOR THE MARSHMALLOW TOPPING

Egg whites 3 

Cream of tartar ¼ tsp

Granulated sugar ¾ cup

Vanilla extract ¾ tsp

FOR THE CUPCAKES

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line two 12-hole muffin tins with cupcake wrappers.

2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. Add the sugar and oil to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until the oil is incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between
each addition. Add the vanilla and the food colouring, then beat until thoroughly combined.

4. Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the sugar mixture in alternating batches, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat the batter until the flour is just incorporated.

5. Add the bicarb and vinegar to a small glass and mix to incorporate. Add this mixture to the batter and beat through for 15 seconds until well combined.

6. Spoon the batter into the muffin holes – try adding the same amountsto each hole. We spooned four tablespoons (about 60 g) of batter into each cupcake holder.

7. Bake for 20 minutes, until the cupcakes bounce back when poked. Take out of the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tray, then remove.

Recipes & styling: Sjaan van der Ploeg
Photography: callen jefferson/hmimages.co.za

Cupcakes are one of our favorite childhood treats, but instead of having regular chocolate or vanilla ones, why not have mojito cupcakes?

The post 2 Delicious And Decadent Cupcake Recipes appeared first on MyKitchen.

Red velvet cupcakes are a dessert perfect for any occasion! But why stick to just red? You can have fun with all sort of colours in this recipe.

MAKES 12 // COOKING TIME 35 min, plus cooling time

INGREDIENTS
For the red velvet cupcakes
250 g flour
2 tbsp cocoa, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100 g unsalted butter, softened
200 g caster sugar
2 large eggs
175 ml buttermilk
2 tbsp red food colouring
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
For the cream cheese icing
250 g icing sugar
250 g cream cheese, softened
60 g unsalted butter, softened

METHOD
For the red velvet cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a muffin tray with 12 paper cases.
2. Mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarb in a bowl.
3. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar. When you have a soft, pale mixture, beat in the eggs, one at a time.
4. Add the buttermilk, food colouring, vanilla essence and vinegar. Mix well.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Using an electric beater, mix on a high speed until everything is fully incorporated.
6. Divide the batter between the 12 cases.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool completely.
For the cream cheese icing
1. Sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl.
2. Add the cream cheese and butter. Using an electric beater, mix until smooth.
3. Ice the cooled cupcakes.

Recipe & styling: Diane Heierli
Photography: Christoph Heierli

The post Go colour crazy with these classic red velvet cupcakes appeared first on MyKitchen.

Yep, we’re back to the beetroot! It makes an amazing baking ingredient and you won’t need to add any food colouring to your batter to achieve that luxurious red colour. We definitely think you should give our beetroot red velvet cupcakes a try this weekend.

MAKES 24 // COOKING TIME 1 hour

INGREDIENTS
For the cupcakes
100 g butter
1 tbsp cocoa
3 eggs
100 ml buttermilk
180 g sugar
110 g flour
100 g ground almonds
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
2 beetroots, grated
For the icing
230 g plain cream cheese
½ cup icing sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lemon

METHOD
For the cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 180°C and line 2 × 12-hole muffin trays with paper cases.
2. In a pot over low heat, melt together the butter and cocoa. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, beat together the eggs and buttermilk.
4. In another bowl, sieve together the sugar, flour, almonds, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the butter mixture, then add the egg mixture and mix well. Fold in the beetroot.
5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases and bake for 15–18 minutes, until cooked through and spongy to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from the tray and allow to cool completely.
For the icing
1. Mix all the ingredients together, adding a few tablespoons of water if needed for the right consistency.
2. Ice the cooled cupcakes and decorate with lemon zest.

The post Beetroot red velvet cupcakes appeared first on MyKitchen.