Duck In A Pond Cupcakes Recipes

Steps:

• Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil or paper liners. Whisk the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a small bowl. Combine the cocoa powder and boiling water in a medium bowl and whisk well. Let stand 5 minutes, then whisk in the sour cream and vanilla; set aside.
• Beat the eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium low; beat in the vegetable oil until combined. Beat in the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the cocoa mixture. Finish mixing with a rubber spatula. Divide among the prepared muffin cups. Bake until the tops spring back when pressed, 16 to 22 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool 5 minutes, then remove the cupcakes to the rack to cool completely.
• Make the fins: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the white and black candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring, until melted. Let the candy melts cool slightly, then transfer to a resealable plastic bag. Snip off a corner and pipe 12 fin shapes 1 1/2 to 2 inches high on the baking sheet. Refrigerate until hardened, about 10 minutes.
• Make the frosting: Beat the butter and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until combined. Add the vanilla; beat on medium high until creamy, 3 minutes. Add the milk and beat until fluffy, about 1 more minute. Tint with blue gel food coloring until the frosting is swirled.
• Spread the frosting on the cupcakes and top each with a candy melt fin.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease then line 2 x 20cm cake tins with baking parchment and grease the parchment too.
• Crack the duck eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and whisk for about 5 mins until pale and fluffy. Keep whisking as you add the melted butter, a little at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
• Fold in the flour and baking powder with a large metal spoon until you can't see any pockets of flour. Divide the mixture between the two prepared tins and bake for 35 mins or until bouncy to the touch and a skewer poked into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool in the tin, then turn out onto wire racks when cool enough to handle.
• To make the buttercream, tip the butter into a big bowl and whisk with an electric hand whisk. Add the icing sugar, 2-3 tbsp at a time, until it's all incorporated, adding the milk halfway through the process. Scrape the seeds out of a vanilla pod, add them in and whisk again. Transfer half the buttercream to another bowl and, if using, stir your food colouring into one of the mixtures. I used blue and a dash of green to create a classic duck egg shade.
• When the buttercream mixtures are ready and the cake is cold, level the cakes with a bread knife, cut each one in half through the middle and stick all the layers together with the uncoloured buttercream. Cover the whole cake with a thin layer of the coloured buttercream - this will seal in any crumbs. Chill the cake for 30 mins, then cover with the rest of the buttercream and use a palette knife or pastry scraper to make the buttercream flat.
• To finish, sprinkle about 1/4 tsp of cocoa powder onto the cake to create a speckled design. Repeat this in different sections of the cake, then top with a cluster of mini chocolate eggs and serve. Will keep for 2-3 days.