Special Cupcakes

This gorgeous hardback book contains over 50 recipes for exciting, new and special cupcakes. There are cupcakes for festive celebrations such as Christmas, parties, Valentine's Day, Weddings and Baby Showers as well as recipes for cupcakes using interesting ingredients and unusual flavours.

Recipes include:Banoffee and toffee fudge, Caribbean mango and palm sugar cupcakes, Strawberry and Soured Cream Cupcakes, coconut with passion fruit icing cupcakes, Animal Magic Fudge Cupcakes, Peach melba cupcakes, Black Forest Cupcakes, Tiramisu cupcakes, Wickedly Dark Chocolate and Chilli Cupcakes, Giant Cupcake, Pina-Colada Cupcakes, Chocca-mocha with peppermint frosting cupcakes, Blueberry and vanilla yogurt and Strawberry daiquiri cupcakes.

A basics section covers essential equipment, ingredients and decorations as well as basic recipes and techniques, decorating tips and packaging and presentation ideas.

Review by recipebookrevi­ews.com

"Special Cupcakes, written by Wendy Sweetser is a beautifully presented cupcake book with easy to follow cupcake recipes and icing recipes. The photography by food photographer Ian Garlick compliments each cupcake recipe to demonstrate how your cupcakes will look as you follow the well laid out cupcakes recipes. There are over 50 cupcake recipes in Special Cupcakes to bake and enjoy. The author also gives ideas for cupcake presents to help you share the joy of these delicious treats.

…The simple cupcake recipe is included in the basic cupcake recipe section making this an ideal book for the cupcake beginner. This includes how to test if your cupcakes are cooked and then adding simple flavours, toppings and colours to decorate cupcakes. The reader is guided to the next stage of presenting cupcakes in decorative boxes, cellophane bags and ribbons as gifts such as birthday cupcake recipes. Now the fun begins and even the most experienced cupcake baker will learn something new as Wendy Sweetser moves on to the many ways to decorate cupcakes other than a simple vanilla cupcake recipe.

The unique feature of Special Cupcakes is that the book thinks of every special occasion and provides cupcakes recipes. So for example for the Halloween cupcake recipes we see a colourful Halloween pumpkin and ginger cupcake with decorative pumpkins, witches hats and spiders as decoration. A charming chick sits atop the Easter cupcake whilst the Christmas cupcake recipes range from toppings of homemade marzipan fruits, snowmen, reindeer, Santa Claus, Christmas tree, presents, stockings, etc. A delightful section describes how to make a cupcake Christmas tree display that can be sat on the Christmas lunch table and eaten after the meal or can form the centrepiece for a Christmas buffet.

Special cupcakes recognise that not everyone can enjoy cupcakes and the healthy cupcake recipes section in this cupcake recipe book has homemade cupcake recipes for those who have to avoid eggs, dairy products, fat or sugar for health or lifestyle reasons.

There is a leaning towards America in Special Cupcakes but this is soon overcome when you learn that frosting is icing and that readers are only limited by their imagination. So whilst the Independence Day cranberry and maple cupcake recipe and baby shower cupcakes looks delicious UK readers could substitute the frost topping with their flag colours and emblem of choice or use the recipes for a Christening buffet. This is the wonderful thing about Special Cupcakes; one best cupcake recipe soon gives ideas for another cupcake recipe. What may start out as an easy chocolate cupcake recipe soon develops into a wonderful edible work of art. Wendy Sweetser helps the reader's imagi­nation by adding handy tips to each of her delicious cupcake recipes. Other cupcake tips include alternative toppings and how to avoid curdling when using alcohol.

Children will love the animal faces toppings such as the elephant cupcake using marzipan or sugarpaste. Some might think that cupcakes are just for girls but boys may love the pig cupcake or the ugly bug recipes.

There is a feel of romance about cupcakes and they do make loving gifts. The romantic section, such as the St Valentines cupcakes recipes section is ideal for those celebrating the 14 February, a wedding anniversary or an engagement. Good cupcake recipes include using the butterfly fairy cake as an almond and white chocolate kiss or icing a love heart and arrow with the couple's initials.

Recipe Book Reviews thoroughly recommend Special Cupcakes above other cupcake recipes books for its wonderful recipes, ease of reading and stunning photos. Special Cupcakes is published by New Holland Publishers, London, 2011."

SAMPLE RECIPE
Pineapple and Lime Cupcakes (pictured bottom left)

Fresh or tinned pineapple can be used to make these cupcakes but if using tinned, opt for fruit in juice rather than syrup and drain it well on kitchen paper before chopping into small pieces.

Preparation time: 30 minutes (plus cooling)
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes: 12

Cupcakes
140 g (5 oz) light muscovado sugar
2 large eggs
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
115 ml (4 fl oz) sunflower oil
140 g (5 oz) pineapple, peeled weight, fresh or tinned, chopped into small pieces
175 g (6 oz) self-raising flour

Frosting
40 g (11⁄2 oz) unsalted butter, softened
140 g (5 oz) cream cheese
2 tsp lime juice
2 tbsp pineapple jam
Crystallised pineapple, to decorate

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4. Line a 12-cup muffin tray with paper cases.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the muscovado sugar, eggs and lime zest together until thick. Add the oil in a thin stream, whisking all the time so it is incorporated evenly into the egg mixture. Dust the pineapple pieces in a little of the flour.
Stir in the rest of the flour and the pineapple. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases and bake for about 20 minutes or until a skewer pushed into the centre of one of the cakes comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting, whisk together the butter, cream cheese and lime juice until smooth. Stir in the pineapple jam.
Spread the frosting over the cupcakes and decorate with crystallised pineapple.
Tip!

You can buy crystallised pineapple but it’s very easy to make your own. Dissolve 115 g (4 oz) caster sugar in 115 ml (4 fl oz) water, bring to the boil and add 3 thin pineapple rings or slices. Lower the heat and simmer until the pineapple is transparent and starting to caramelize. Drain well, snip into small pieces and dust with caster sugar. Any leftover can be stored in an airtight container.

Author Biography
Food writer Wendy Sweetser has contributed articles to numerous publications including OK!, The London Magazine, Period Living and You Are What You Eat. She is the author of 15 cookery books, including three titles published by New Holland. She is a member of the UK Guild of Food Writers and the Slow Food Association