National Cup Cake Week

 Her Ladyship's "Tea Cake" Cupcake

by Let them Eat Cake

Another recipe from one of our 2011 National Cupcake Championships finalists

 White Chocolate & Raspberry Cupcake (gluten free)

by Suzanne Carter, Little Suzi's Kitchen

 This gluten free cupcake was a finalist in our 2011 National Cupcake Championships

 Lime & Coconut Cupcake (vegan)

by Jennifer Buls, Absolute Treats, St Clears

"The choice of flaked coconut to top this cake presents a natural and wholesome appeal to the cupcake while adding another chewy texture.  The zing of the lime on biting into the cake is a wonderful taste surprise element."

 Rich Chocolate and Amarula Fluff Cupcake

by Rufaro Matsinde, Cocktail Couture, CC Treats, London

"The incorporation of the dark chocolate cup with the Amarula marshmallow fluff is definately something unexpected.  The Amarula flavour workos well with dark chocolate and adds a twist of flavour tot he brown sugar Swiss meringue, and is not a common flavour option on most cupcake menus.  The marshmallow filling also adds to the moistness of the cupcake and adds another texture to the structure.  The hard chocolate centre cup is also an unexpected addition, so there are four textures".

 A Cupcake By Any Other Name

by Victoria Forward, Let Them Eat Cake, Waterlooville

"The petals are made from a Swill meringue buttercream, flavoured with rosewater, piped using a Wilton 127 petal nozzle in a graduated spiral type motion.  Cakes are arranged and fixed with cocktail stick, into a polystyrene ball for support".

 Marie Antoniette Cupcake

Rosalind Miller, Peggy's Cupcakes, London

A gold-adorned Madagascan vanilla cake is iced with a layer of vanilla buttercream and a covering of sugarpaste.  Each cupcake is then individually decorated with intricate hand-piped icing and edible gold lustre dust.

Lavender Cupcakes

by Lily Vanilli

The aromatic bitterness of dried lavender, combined with soft vanilla flavours and toasted almonds give these cupcakes an intensity of flavour that is also very delicate. A lot of lavender sweets can taste soapy or too bitter. The milk base of these cakes, combined with the almond, balance it perfectly and the flavour is subtle and delicious. It's a good tip to crush lavender buds with a pestle and mortar before adding whole to anything, it releases a gentler flavour and does away with the unpleasant texture of a full flower bud.

Dark Chocolate & Avocado Cupcake

by Lily Vanilli

Avocado meat replaces butter as the fat in this frosting. The cake is rich and moist with a hint of espresso.

The frosting balances perfectly with it sweet with a hint of citrus and a definite avocado flavour. When topped with toasted walnut and dark chocolate shavings, this cake has a beautiful, slightly unusual flavour and texture and is rich in healthy fats.

Bacon & Maple Syrup Cupcakes

by Lily Vanilli

These cupcakes I first made for a breakfast event with (jelly experimenters) Bompas & Parr. The theme was 'MEAT' and the centrepiece a hog's head. Never knowingly doing anything by halves, or even three-quarters, they had decorated their place with huge diagrams of animals divided into their cuts. There was champagne with strawberries injected with ether, and I made these breakfast meat cupcakes with bacon. I tried to echo the flavours you would find in a traditional American French toast and bacon breakfast so it's very buttery and light, with maple syrup frosting, nutmeg, toasted pecan and caramelised bacon slices.

Rainbow Cupcakes

by Lily Vanilli

 This rainbow cake is perfect for birthdays someone recently wrote to me that they had made it for their 90-year-old grandma! In general I try to avoid food colourings and use natural ingredients to decorate cakes wherever I can, but this psychedelic sponge has a magical and fun quality that always makes people smile.

Mama's Cosmopolitan Cupcake

by Kevin Sibley

Kevin's Cosmopolitan combines fresh orange juice and cranberries with a generous splash of Cointreau, finished off with a crème fraiche/cream cheese topping and edible glitter.