So, another weekend, another bake-off. The more I bake, the more I appreciate it's therapeutic qualities. It's like I don't have to think about anything else - the recipe tells me what I need to do. It's kind of a no-brainer. As long as I've allocated the time out of my working week/weekend, I feel no guilt whatsoever-which makes a change. Sometimes even a tea (or honey and lemon - too much tea gave me spots) break makes me feel guilty/nervous/on edge but when it comes to baking - it's bollocks to the thesis for 2 hours.
So, this weekend I decided to try out the Primrose Bakery's vanilla cupcake recipe and also their banana chocolate. I made 2 batches of the vanilla at once, which I don't actually recommend doing. You end up over-beating the batter and it gets a little gluten-y. Not good when you want light, fluffy cupcakes. Anyhows, I think I just about managed to get away with it, even though the cakes were a little dense. Oh well, you live and you learn.
The little beauties.
Clockwise from left: Vanilla, Banoffee and Retrotastic Mini-Vanilla
I also did some experimenting with the banana chocolate cupcakes - I had an epiphany whilst daydreaming about cake (like you do), that banoffee would be a fab flavour for cakes...so I did a little messin' with the recipe and added some nuts, took away some chocolate (I know, but I didn't want it to overpower the cake) and made some yummy toffee-esque butter cream. I had used this buttercream (the swirly one in the picture) before - on the Red Velvet cakes on Sarah and Jon's wedding cupcakes. It is a combo of egg white, caster sugar and a whole block of butter. I had a little trauma when the mixture collapsed and when all runny, but I stepped away to rest my achy arm (the Dualit handmixer gets a bit hefty after 10 minutes) and when I came back - voila! It had thickened! To make it toffee-esque, I cheated (only a bit) and added some butterscotch flavouring I picked up a while back. It did the trick and made the buttercream even more delish. I piped it onto the cake because the consistency was perfect for making neat little swirls.
I also went exploring today (by accident) and came across this gorgeous looking bakery in Harborne (I won't name it here, it wouldn't be fair). It looked stunning from the outside and had a good cluster of people sat outside enjoying their cakes/coffees. So, I decided to do my bit for the local shops and wondered in, waiting to be smacked in the face by cakes just as beautiful as their decor. I was sadly disappointed. Their cupcakes - although displayed in pretty racks- looked pretty amateurish...I bought one out of pity and curiosity...maybe I was just judging a book by it's cover (well, a cake by it's frosting) and maybe, just maybe, the taste would make me take it all back. The cake came in a cute little box which I was impressed with:
You see what I mean? A little bit like someone has just smeared the butter cream on top without much thought. For £1.70 (takeout price), I expect some sort of style. So, put side by side - which cake would you choose?!
To give the bakery some credit (and to make me sound less like a superficial biiiitch), the cake did taste yummy. The buttercream was perhaps a bit too sweet (for me), but the maple-y flavour came through really well. The cake itself was crumbly and not sticky (a good thing I think, otherwise it would just be too much sweet/stickiness) and there was enough of it to not make you feel sick after. I would give the cake probably 7/10, but presentation about 3/10. Wow. Did I just right my first cupcake review? I think I just did.
Presentation is key when it comes to selling anything - but especially when selling cakes. Look at the Primrose Bakery and the Magnolia Bakery. Their cakes are pretty, but not precious (or pretentious for that matter). Their distinctive swirls are their USP and hey, it works. Any cupcake aficionado would be able to distinguish them from any other bakery in town. So, all I can say is give your buttercream (or even glace icing) a little bit of love! But, if in doubt, cover it in sprinkles.
