Cupcake Competition Winner Announcement

Congratulations to Jodie Grant from Wetherby, North Yorkshire.  I have crowned her my cupcake champion for these little beauties. 
They are a Hummingbird Bakery recipe - Chocolate with Chocolate Frosting and pink and white iced decorations.  Jodie made these cupcakes as a housewarming present for her mum (what a thoughtful daughter she is!)

Jodie - your prize is on it's way to you in the post today

I am a big fan of the Hummingbird Bakery - they were the first UK bakery to introduce Red Velvet cupakes (my absolute favourite), so I am eternally grateful to them - my waistline however, is not so much!!!

Red Velvet

For all you budding bakers out there here are a few Hummingbird Bakery Tips: 
 

• Sounds simple, but please do follow the recipes exactly as written! Baking is a

chemical reaction, and so any experimentation with the recipe amounts can

potentially cause a recipe to fail.

• If you change an ingredient, a method, or an amount, no matter how small, then

this will change the recipe from the way it was intended to turn out.

• Don’t rush when measuring out ingredients and following the cooking method. In

haste, we can all forget to measure out or add a certain ingredient!

• Don’t worry if a batter looks runnier or thicker than you’re used to…trust it, it will

bake as it’s supposed to!

• After adding flour to a mixture, don’t overbeat as this will overwork the flour and

make the cake dense. Simply beat or stir until the flour is just incorporated.

• Ovens vary greatly, so use our suggested cooking times as a rough guide. First

bake to the shorter cooking time, and then check every few minutes until finished.

• Cakes, cupcakes and muffins are only ready when a skewer comes out clean

when inserted. They are not automatically ready when the recommended time is up!

• If you take them out too soon, they will flop and sink deeply in the middle.

• Please don’t open your oven until at least the minimum recommended time has

passed. The more items baking at the same time, the longer the baking time might

be. Too much cold air coming in from an open oven door can cause cakes to sink

or not rise properly.

• Finally: if your outcomes don’t look exactly like the pictures in the book, don’t

worry! These were professionally styled. As long as your goodies taste good and

your friends and family enjoy them, then you’ve succeeded!

P.S - a special mention has to go to Jennifer Knowlson for her valliant attempt at cupcake baking!!



"petrol flavoured"



Thank you for all your entries xx