Bonfire Night Cupcakes

Bonfire Night isn't usually associated with celebratory cakes and I firmly believe it should be, so here they are. Little pops, bursts and flashes of chocolate and vanilla, firework themed miniature cakes - you can't say fairer than that!

     I decided to use some rainbow cases that had a slightly retro feel, as I always relate Bonfire Night to being a child. The mixture of these cases and the firework display decorations has left me feeling extremely nostalgic...and full (I am after all, my own taster and critic, along with my other dutiful, family assistants!) 

     I decorated each cake differently, with their own 5th of November themed scenes! Each cake has at least one "Magic Star" chocolate and then as many gold/silver stars as I could squeeze on. I did, of course, leave just enough room for some of my inevitable, but more than necessary, cupcake glamour - edible glitter. 

This left each cake chocolaty, sparkly and with a faint galactic swirl of gold and silver. What more could any one cupcake consumer ask for?

     I decided to spread my icing on with a palette knife instead of my usual piping nozzle and bag, to give myself a flat canvas for all my miniature scenes. The cases I used are made by my beloved Kitchen Craft 'Sweetly Does It' range, and the sprinkles I used are, naturally, from "The Happy Cupcake Company" - Bath.

So, here's my recipe:

(For the Sponge)

120g plain flour

140g caster sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

40g salted butter

120ml semi skimmed milk

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

(For the Frosting)

300g icing sugar

100 salted butter

40g cocoa powder

40ml semi skimmed milk

(For the Decorating Icing)

If you don't wish to make your own decorating icing, you can simply buy white writing icing from any supermarket! If you're feeling particularly creative, follow this recipe and then use a thin icing nozzle to decorate each cake, as you wish!)

60g icing sugar

20g butter

6ml semi-skimmed milk

1 drop of vanilla extract

• When cooking your sponge, simply heat the oven to 170ºC (Gask Mark 3) and cook for 20 minutes. Then remove and leave to cool completely before frosting your cakes!

Have as much fun as you like with your cakes - the more innovate your designs are, the better.

      hope you all have a lovely Bonfire Night!

Enjoy, K x