Surf, s Up Cupcakes
Makes 24, Prep and Cook: 2 hours
250g unsalted butter, chopped,
at room temperature 1¹ ⁄ ³ cups caster sugar 2 tsps vanilla extract 4 eggs, at room temperature ² ⁄ ³ cup milk 2 ² ⁄ ³ cups self-raising flour ¾ cup finely crushed plain
sweet biscuits Mini sea icing decorations,
to decorate
FROSTING 400g unsalted butter, chopped,
at room temperature 4 cups icing sugar mixture 1 tblsp milk Liquid blue food colouring, to tint
SURFBOARDS 2 x 375g packets ready to roll
icing (Blue, Teal and Yellow) 24 x 15cm bamboo skewers Mini flower icing decorations, white and blue candy stars, to decorate
1 Line two 12-hole muffin pans (¹ ⁄ ³-cup capacity) with paper cases. 2 Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Transfer to a large bowl. 3 In two batches, stir in milk and flour until combined. Divide evenly among paper cases (about ¼ cup in each). 4 Cook in a moderately slow oven (160C) for about 18 to 20 minutes, or until cooked when tested. Stand in pans for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool. 5 To make frosting, beat butter in a large bowl of an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Beat in ½ cup sugar at a time until smooth. Beat in milk. Transfer half to a separate bowl. Tint blue. 6 Spread about 1 tblsp plain frosting over half of the top of each cupcake. Dip in biscuit crumbs, shaking away excess. Spoon about 1 tblsp blue frosting over the other side of cupcakes. Use a small spatula to create a `rough’ look. 7 To make surfboards, knead each icing, separately, on a clean bench. Roll out each between two sheets of baking paper until 4mm thick. Using a 10.5cm surfboard cookie cutter (see Tip), cut out eight shapes, re-rolling as necessary. 8 Reserve scraps separately. Shape into balls. Roll out thinly between sheets of baking paper. 9 One at a time, place skewers on the back of surfboards with part of the skewer overhanging. Cut out small strips of reserved icings. Using water as glue, gently press over skewers to enclose. Turn over. Using water as glue, stick on flowers and stars. 10 Insert surfboards into cupcakes. Top with sea decorations.