Alice in Wonderland Cupcakes

Last week I was honoured with the task of making 21st birthday cupcakes for a colleague's daughter, Alice. Alice (a befitting name!) is a big Alice in Wonderland fan, and she celebrated her milestone birthday with an Alice on Wonderland themed party.

The cupcakes were a big hit and, most importantly, they brought a big smile to the birthday girl's face :)

In designing the set, I did some research about the story as it was so long since I had read it. I also remembered a recent NQN post.

Clocks, teacups, toadstools, hearts, rabbits - just some of the iconic imagery from Alice in Wonderland.

Toadstool

Wonky Clock

Queen of Hearts

The cupcakes were a mixture of chocolate and vanilla and to ensure the cupcakes stayed moist for the party, I topped them with ganache and allowed them to set for several hours before decorating with fondant.

Ganache is so wonderful on cupcakes and it is very easy to make. You just need to give yourself some time for it . Here are my own ganache recipes for you to try. The sweetness of the white chocolate ganache is balanced out with the vanilla bean, and the chocolate ganache is lovely and rich without being bitter.

White chocolate and vanilla bean ganache

1/2 c pure cream

300g white chocolate, finely chopped

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

2. Heat the cream to boiling point then remove from heat.

3. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until combined, then add the vanilla bean paste.

4. Allow to cool and set (ideally) overnight.

Rich chocolate ganache

1/2 c pure cream

110g dark chocolate (I use 70% cocoa)

90g milk chocolate

1. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
2. Heat the cream to boiling point then remove from heat.

3. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until combined.
4. Allow to cool and set (ideally) overnight.

A few tips

• You can store extra ganache in the fridge for up to a week, but ensure your cream has at least a week's shelf life from the date you use it. Then when you need to use it, remove it from the fridge and soften it by warming it up in short bursts (10 - 15 seconds) in the microwave.
• If you are make a larger amount of ganache, you can store it in the freezer in smaller containers. Then just take it out and let it come up to room temperature before you need to use it. You can then soften it in the same way you would if it were straight out of the fridge.
• If you want to pipe ganache over cupcakes, it can be whipped. Just be careful not to take it too far.. Stop as soon as it reaches the desired consistency and before it starts losing its gloss.

Happy baking, everyone :)

Happy birthday once again, Alice - I'm glad you enjoyed the cupcakes!


Ladybird x