National Cupcake Week 17th - 24th September: A cupcake round-up!

It’s that time of year again where you get to gorge yourself on lots of naughty, but pretty treats all in the name of supporting a national celebration week. And what exactly is it we are celebrating………CUPCAKES!

Unfortunately this year I have been celebrating from the side-lines! As close as I got to a cupcake was baking a few batches for a Macmillan Nurses Coffee Morning fundraiser, but even so, I thought I could contribute something to the table.

So here is a round-up of all of the cupcake-y goodness that I've brought to you in the past. They are some of my favourite recipes to cook and share, so please give them a go and share the cupcake love!

Enjoy!

First things first, you’ll need a basic fairy cake recipe! This is my go to recipe for any cakey needs.

These Lemon and Poppy Seed Cupcakes are the perfect grown up cake for a more sophisticated bake.

Kids and grown ups alike will LOVE these American inspired Oreo cupcakes

These Elderflower and Gooseberry Butterfly Cakes won a competition last year! Therefore this recipe is a must have in any cupcake collection.

My Lemon Meringue Cupcakes really are a show stopper!

This is my most favourite recipe EVER – the bakewell muffin is heaven on a plate!

One of my favourite muffin recipes, this is a twist on the classic American muffin – Blueberry and Lemon Curd muffins.

Not quite a cupcake, but these Miniature Carrot Cakes would look good on any cake stand

For a more deep and sophisticated flavour, look no further than my caramel cupcake recipe

The perfect cupcake for Christmas hosting – my After Dinner Mint cupcakes.

Another Christmassy cake, perfect for kids, red velvet Rudolfcupcakes

And that completes my cupcake-y round up for National Cupcake Week! I hope they have inspired you to get creative in the kitchen!

Elderflower and Gooseberry Butterfly Cakes

Every month, a recipe competition is hosted on the blog WeGrowOurOwn. Craig the author selects a handful of seasonal fruit/vegetables, and invites his readers to submit recipes to the blog which use one or more of the selected fruit/vegetables. He then selects finalists from those submitted (and extra points are given to those who have grow the fruit or veg themselves!) The competition is then opened up to votes.

This month, I decided to enter the competition. Craig had selected Broad Beans, Beetroot, Gooseberries, Carrots and Peas.

The gooseberries instantly jumped out at me as my gooseberry bush in the garden is currently weighed down with big juicy fruits so I set to coming up with a recipe.

Here is my final recipe which won the competition!

Elderflower and Gooseberry Butterfly Cakes

The concept is an innocent looking butterfly cake, perfect for garden parties, that has a surprise jam-like centre. There are a number of elements and processes so please take this into account. It is a lot easier than it looks!