Cute Sheep Cupcakes

I first saw the idea for sheep cupcakes on a Facebook post from a bakery that I follow. I then decided to give it a go for myself. They're so SO simple but look really cute and seem to be really popular!

You don't need many ingredients at all. I just used the recipes that I've previously posted for vanilla cupcake batter and buttercream and used that as my starting point.

I piped a big swirl with an open nozzle (the one with the big hole in it) and kept it quite flat rather than building it up to a peak. I then just covered it in mini white marshmallows and that's your sheep mostly done! The face was made from black and white fondant icings and just secured in place with a blob of buttercream. It's really that simple!

This one is relaxing on a little patch of grass which is a big crunchy cookie covered in green buttercream. I used a 'grass' nozzle to get the grass effect but I'm sure it'd look great even if it was just spread on flat!

 

 

I hope you give these a go to see how easy they can be! They don't need to be vanilla flavoured either! Try making a chocolate base (substituting 20g of flour for 20g cocoa powder in the original recipe) or with white chocolate buttercream. The list of potential variations is endless so get creative! I want to make the base 'welsh cake' flavour as the sheep are associated with Wales. That's an experiment for another day.

 

I hope these bring a smile to your face!

 

 



My Favourite Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

Based on a recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery, I've found this vanilla cupcake recipe to be the best one I've tried so far (and trust me, I've tried a few). It's got a really light and fluffy crumb and isn't too fatty or sugary. Without frosting, each of these cupcakes has around 115 calories in it too, so it's not too horrific if you fall off the healthy eating bandwagon by munching one (or two)!

The Hummingbird suggests combining the butter with dry ingredients and mixing until a breadcrumb-like consistency is achieved, then adding the milk and eggs in two batches.

I don't really do this. If truth be told, I usually just mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the eggs and vanilla and beat some more, then add the flour and baking powder at the end. Maybe an old fashioned way, but that's how I do it. I suppose you could just bung everything in together but you may get lumps of butter/ margarine which would result in little fatty bits in your sponge, something that nobody likes.

Anyway, I find this a really good recipe to use as a base for more adventurous cupcakes (by adding or substituting a few ingredients) but it is perfect all by itself. Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

 

120g self-raising flour

140g caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

40g butter or margarine (I use Stork)

1 egg, beaten

120ml full fat milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (NOT essence, you want the good stuff!)

 

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius and line a 12 hole muffin pan with cases.
2. Combine the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and beat for a couple of minutes until well combined and fluffy.
4. Add in the flour and salt and mix until smooth. Don't over mix it!
5. Divide between 12 muffin cases (about a tablespoon each) and bake for 18-22 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
6. Take out of the oven and place on a wire rack to cool before icing.

 

Tips

• Add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder to the flour if using an electric mixer if you want a little bit of extra lift
• Take the cakes out of the muffin tin as soon as possible to prevent cases from peeling off
• Use Stork (or another brand of margarine) instead of butter as it results in a lighter and less fatty sponge
• Use good quality ingredients (like the vanilla extract). They really do make all of the difference between a mediocre and a perfect cupcake!
• Be confident - this recipe is REALLY hard to screw up. Even when little mistakes are made the cupcakes are still pretty awesome!
• Be happy! Cakes baked with love taste soooo much better! :)

 

I'll upload some photos once I get back to Scotland and back to my beloved KitchenAid, although it's a pretty self-explanatory recipe.

 

I hope you love it as much as I do!