Let them eat cupcakes. MAXINE GORDON finds life is very sweet for North Yorkshire bakers.

WHEN Steve Holding tells us to come early on Saturday morning or there’ll be none left, he’s not exaggerating.

The chef has been in the kitchen at his café, The Pig & Pastry, in Bishopthorpe Road, since 3am, baking breads and decorating cupcakes, ready for the weekend rush.

Tempting the lucky locals today is an array of artisan breads – and trays of scrumptious-looking cupcakes, topped with swirls of thick butter cream and decorated in sugar daisies, Maltesers and pieces of mint Aero.

Cupcakes may seem fun and frivolous, but they have a dedicated set of followers who are only too happy to part with serious money for a box of colourful confection. Mail order companies have sprung up, promising to deliver the petite packages of perfection to your door.

Emma-Louise Trotter set up The Bespoke Cupcake Company in Harrogate last year, selling to customers as far as Leeds, Ripon and House of Avalon in Petergate, York. Her specialities include banoffee pie, lemon sorbet and Black Forest cupcakes. A box of six costs £12.50.

Weddings and corporate events are big business, says 24-year-old Emma-Louise, who can put company logos on top of her cakes in edible icing. “I’ve done cakes for Sheffield United and First Direct. I think they are more personal than giving out a pen or a mug.”

The appeal of the cupcake is also its size, she says. “It’s like having your own cake, just for you. They are trendy too and everybody wants a piece of the trend.”

Baking is enjoying a boom time – the splurge of cookery programmes on TV in tandem with the recession has lead to a rise in sales of home-baking products. The market grew by almost 13 per cent between 2007 and 2009, but is expected to expand by another nine per cent this year, raking in sales of £576 million.

Much of this increase is thanks to the renewed popularity of the cupcake, which has spawned its own designer shops and even cookery books.

The cupcake even has its own national week – running from Monday to Sunday. The Great Britain Cupcake Championships have just been held too – and won by David Bennett, a Michelin-starred chef who now runs the Sunshine Bakery in Chapel Allerton, Leeds.

A cake competition is also proving a TV hit with viewers, who are currently glued to The Great British Bake-Off (Tuesday, BBC2, 8pm), where a team of enthusiastic amateurs are battling it out to see who can make the best buns, pastries and breads.



And thousands of cupcakes will no doubt be made later this month when Macmillan hosts its annual World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on Friday, September 24. Last year, the event raised £7.9 million for the charity.

At The Pig & Pastry in York, Steve says adults love cupcakes as much as kids.

“They are mostly geared towards kids, but adults buy them too. They like them because they are small and pretty – it tends to be ladies who go for them.”

And cupcakes are ideal to make at home with children.

“They are not sophisticated,” says Steve. “They are supposed to be fun. You can put on them what you like. They are ideal for doing with kids. I sometimes get my kids to help decorate them on a Saturday morning; they wash their hands first!”

Steve makes 60 ready for sale every Saturday. He sells them for £1 each or in boxes of four for £3.

Although they are easy to make, Steve has some tips for the icing.

“As soon as you have made the icing, pipe it, or use a small palette knife to decorate the cake. Then you have to decorate them as soon as possible. So get your sprinkles on or whatever you are using as the icing will start to skin over.”

Steve has provided some cupcake recipes to try at home, along with lots of decorating ideas.

Have fun!


Recipes

Cupcake recipes from The Pig & Pastry, Bishopthorpe Road, York

Steve Holding says: “I use paper muffin cases and muffin tins – these are larger than bun cases and bun tins.”

Vanilla cupcakes
(makes 12)

Ingredients:
180g plain flour
210g sugar
60g butter
10g baking powder
Pinch of salt
180g milk
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Sieve the flour, mix in the sugar, salt and baking powder.

Add the diced cold butter and rub in (as if you were making pastry or scones).

Whisk together the milk with the eggs and vanilla, then add to the flour mix.

DO NOT over mix. Your mix should resemble a thick pancake batter.

To make the cake batter easy to divide, I scrape every last morsel of cake mix into a pouring jug – this way you can pour the batter into the paper cases without getting batter all over the tray – if this happens, you’ll need to chisel out the cupcakes when they’re baked.

Fill the muffin cases only three-quarters full.

Makes 12 in muffin cases.

Place in oven – 180C or 170C fan oven. I find the centre of the oven helps to bake an even cupcake, too high, and the cakes result in ‘peaked tops’ which will need chopping off before decorating.

When ready, the cakes should be light golden (15 to 20 mins) and lightly springy to the touch (if you’re unsure, I always check any cake with a skewer or a small thin knife – place the skewer in the centre of the cake, when removed, the skewer should be clean).

Put cakes straight on to a cooling rack – leave for a minimum of one hour before decorating


Chocolate cupcakes
 (makes 15)

Ingredients:
200g plain flour
40g cocoa
280g sugar
10g baking powder
Pinch of salt
80g butter
240g milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Same method as the vanilla cupcakes, but remember to sieve the cocoa with the flour.

Toppings:
• Basic vanilla frosting
500g icing sugar
50ml milk
a few drops of vanilla extract
160g soft butter

Beat together until smooth – but beware: the icing sugar can go everywhere if you’re not careful.

• Chocolate frosting
450g icing sugar
150g butter
60g cocoa powder
60g milk

• Chocolate malt frosting
250g icing sugar
1 tsp cocoa
125g softened butter
4 tblsp boiling water and 50g Horlicks

Decorating ideas:

• Oreo cookies cupcakes
Top a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting and finish with mini Oreo Cookies.

• Maltesers cupcake
 Chocolate cupcake, topped with chocolate malt frosting and crowned with Maltesers.

• Grasshopper cupcakes
Chocolate cupcakes (with a shot of Kaluha added into the cupcake mix – adjust the milk accordingly). Top with vanilla frosting which has had a teeniest bit of green colouring, a half teaspoon of peppermint oil (or creme de menthe) and finally, decorated with chunks of mint Aero or bits of chilled After Eights.

• Fortune cookie cupcake
Vanilla cupcakes, topped with vanilla frosting and a fortune cookie – dip the fortune cookie in white chocolate and allow to cool first

• Chocolate peanut butter cupcakes
My favourite: chocolate cupcakes but for the frosting, use the chocolate frosting recipe and replace the cocoa with some smooth peanut butter. Top with Reeses Pieces if you can find them, or peanut M&Ms or slices of chilled Snickers bars

• Other suggestions:
You can use Hundreds and Thousands, sugar daisies, mini marshmallows, gummy bears, sugar stars, love hearts, M&Ms, Smarties, little silver sugar balls, or Mini Eggs at Easter.