If you are stuck for a teenage birthday party theme look no further. The cupcake decorating is your answer. Besides being simple and entertaining it produces eye and taste buds pleasing desserts.
We have recently hosted a party for our 12-year Megan. It was kept in truly childhood-nostalgic way with lemonade dripping from the retro dispenser, candy-floss maker churning sugary webs, popcorn casually flooding the table and village-hall bunting cheerfully billowing in the breeze.
The highlight of the day was the cupcake competition judged by grandma. Megan, being a keen and talented baker, made all cupcakes herself, craftily adding some blueberries and white chocolate to mark the grand occasion. The decoration was down to the imagination of her friends. The girls, given freedom and a rather wide selection of sugar shapes, jelly gems, chocolate shavings and wafer daisies, created the most colourful and truly summery beauties
Ingredients:
For the sponge:
- 200g unsalted butter softened
- 200g self raising flour sifted
- 200g caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 4 drops vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 25g white chocolate drops
- 100g of blueberries
For the frosting
- 300g full-fat cream cheese
- 200g unsalted butter softened
- 100g -150g icing sugar sifted (to individual taste)
For the decoration:
- Wafer daisies
- Sugar shapes (butterflies, stars etc.)
- Silver balls
- Shimmer sugar
Method:
Preheat the oven to 175deg C. Prepare the cupcake cases by placing them inside the holes of the muffin trays.
Place the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl and whisk together until creamy and fluffy. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and pour slowly into the butter whilst whisking constantly. Be weary the mixture may split in which case stop adding eggs and beat in 1-2 tablespoons of flour to rebind the batter. Once the eggs have been mixed combine with the remaining flour.
Using a piping bag place the batter into the cupcake cases until 2/3 full. Drop 2-3 blueberries and 3-4 drops of white chocolate into each cupcake
Bake for 12-15 min or until golden brown and the skewer inserted into the center of the cupcake come out clean. Let them rest on the cooling rack.
For the frosting cream the butter with the icing sugar until pale and light. Then beat in the cream cheese until smooth.
To decorate place the frosting into a piping bag and pipe a swirl on the top of each cupcake. Leave to finish by your teenage guests.
