My love affair with cupcakes started some years ago on a Saturday evening when I had nothing to do and was intent on getting my shiny red Kitchen Aid dirty.
Needless to say those pesky chocolate cupcakes were a disaster. Some rose, some sank, some overflowed. Looking dismally at the royal mess before me I decided that I would get them right. It took a good couple of tries but I reckon I got something right along the way. The L O V E of baking cupcakes encouraged me to pursue the dream I had inside me, to open Jack and Jill Food Co. and the rest, as they say, is history…
We L O V E cupcakes at Jack and Jill Food Co. because…
- Cupcakes are just so P R E T T Y
- Which makes them absolutely I R R E S I S T I B L E
- A “bare” cupcake for me is like a blank canvas to an artist. There are so many options when it comes to what’s I N S I D E and what goes O N / T O P.
- If you have a internal battle with self control, a cupcake is the perfect answer to P O R T I O N / C O N T R O L (snigger – two is always an option)
- A N Y O N E can bake a cupcake!
In keeping with spreading the L O V E this February, here are some of our recipes that we thought we would share with you.
Tres Leches Filling:
Ingredients
- 1 x can each of condensed, coconut and ideal milk
Method:
- Open and pour into a mixing bowl and whisk together
- Pull mixture up into a 10ml syringe and inject each cupcake
Chocolate Ganache Filling:
Ingredients:
- 240gm of dark chocolate (we like to use Midnight Velvet from Beacon)
- 120gm pouring cream
Method:
- Place the chocolate and cream in a pot and melt gently
- Stir mixture continuously
- Allow to cool, but not solidify completely
- Spoon in to hollow made in cupcake and ice
Marshmallow Icing:
Ingredients:
- 4 x egg whites
- 250ml castor sugar
- pinch of salt
Method:
- Get a pot of boiling water on a rolling boil
- In a mixing bowl, that will fit snuggly onto your pot, pop egg whites and pinch of salt and beat till foamy
- Place mixing bowl on pot, add sugar to foamy egg whites and beat at high speed for approx. 10 minutes
- Remove from boiling water and beat for another 5 minutes, till cool.
- Before placing in a piping bag, give the marshmallow mixture a good stir and then pipe to your hearts content
- Complete the look by toasting your icing with a kitchen blow torch or dipping in chocolate for that sweetie pie effect!!
Dipping Cupcakes:
Ingredients:
- 320gm white / milk or dark chocolate of your choice
- 60ml sunflower oil
Method:
- Melt chocolate
- Add sunflower oil to chocolate and stir till incorporated
- Gently dip the marshmallow iced cupcake into the chocolate
- Allow excess chocolate to drip off and then turn right side up
- Place in fridge to set
Decorating Tips:
- Use quality butter & icing sugar for delicious results
- Use large nozzles
- Use edible toppings, people have the compulsion to put the whole cupcake into their mouths
- Practice makes perfect 🙂
We L O V E the following cupcakes, and all are available on order or pop-in on C U P C A K E / F R I D A Y and test your self control…
- Vanilla
- Tres leches
- Red velvet
- Delux red velvet
- That pesky chocolate
- and a naughty chocolate cupcake with caramel loved by the S M A R T / T E A M (Yum!!)
In the end, all you need is L O V E and C U P C A K E S!
Written by Jill Nowers of Jack & Jill Food co. • Our in-house Culinary Creative
- Photography: Eye Poetry Photography
- Food & styling: Jill Nowers of Jack & Jill Food co.
