This is my entry to Tea Time Treats, the blogging challenge run by Karen of Lavender and Lovage and Kate of What Kate Baked. This month Kate is hosting and the theme is Romance. So how are the butterfly cakes you see here romantic then? Well, I suppose in a strict sense of the word romance they might not be, but for me these little buns represent love.
Why? Well, when I was little, my mum occasionally used to hold her face very close to my cheek and flutter her eyelashes. I loved the tiny little movements I could feel on my cheek, barely there and so delicate. These were my butterfly kisses and although she probably doesn't know it, I used to love it when my mum did this. It was special, being so close to someone that loves you so much, and for them to demonstrate that. I think that because they only happened occasionally, they never lost their special quality for me, and I loved them all the more. So love, rather than an adult understanding of romance is where these little buns come from. I made them and I thought of my mum and all the love she gives me.
Even though this challenge was set with Valentine's Day in mind, I think we should share love all the time. So, to make your own butterfly kisses to share with someone you love I'll share my recipe here. It's easy, which is sometimes just what you need...
Butterfly kisses (chocolate butterfly cakes with vanilla buttercream)
Ingredients
120g softened butter
120g caster sugar
2 large eggs
120g self raising flour
20g cocoa powder
scant 1/2tsp baking powder
Method
- Preheat the oven to Gas 4/180C. Line 11-12 holes of a muffin tray with cases.
- Cream the butter and sugar until soft and well combined.
- Add the eggs, flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and continue to mix until a smooth batter forms.
- Divide between your cases. I got 11 this time, but they were pretty generous - you could get 12.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until springy.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack.
Vanilla buttercream
Beat 80g butter (I used unsalted) with 160g icing sugar and a tsp vanilla extract until very light and fluffy. Needless to say, I used an electric mixer for this.
To assemble, cut a cone of cake out of the top of each bun, and cut it in half. Spoon or pipe (I piped this time, but without a nozzle, so I just got a thick blob) the buttercream into the hole in your cupcake. Replace the wings of the butterfly and dust with icing sugar.
Share them with the one, or ones, you love. Sweet, light, gently chocolate-y and with a little vanilla, and just like a butterfly kiss.
11 comments:
So sweet!!! I used to do butterfly kisses when I was little. Such an adorable thing and those little cakes are rather marvellous!!
Oh C, what a lovely post. Those cakes are so pretty. My mum used to do butterfly kisses too - I'd completely forgotten until I read this.
My mum used to make these for my birthday - a true gesture of love. Yours look delicious.
These are gorgeous! Butterfly kisses in edible form - I like it :)
So simple, yet so effective. Lovely!
Thanks for posting this - it's so nostalgic. My memory of these cakes is slightly different - I think they were the first cake I ever made (with a little supervision and not the chocolate version, admittedly). So I remember being really excited because they actually turned out right (well, roughly right). I think that must have been around the time of Queen Victoria's funeral.
Beautiful! A lovely post and gorgeous cakes. There were always butterfly cakes at birthday parties when I was a child!
I'm with Phil on this one- Butterfly Cakes bring back many a happy memory of my first forays into the kitchen as a child. What a beautiful post C and thank you for entering TTT!
C, so cute! Perfect for Valentine's Day! :)
gorgeous cakes and a lovely post - I always had these with jam and cream in them but choclate and buttercream sound excellent especially for valentine treats
Dom - thank you! Glad I'm not the only one with butterfly kisses :-)
Choclette - I had forgotten about butterfly kisses until recently too.
Jean - thank you. There's something special about the cakes our mums make for us isn't there.
Baking Addict - thanks!
Suelle - thank you!
Phil - sometimes my baking is all about nostalgia, glad these reminded you of your first baking success :-)
Foodycat - thank you. Yes, we always had these at birthday parties too.
Kate - thanks for stopping by. I enjoyed interpreting your romance theme in a slightly different way!
Celia - thank you!
Johanna - jam and cream sounds particularly delicious too.
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