Go Jetters Cupcakes

Recipe by April Carter

Swirly icing on a delicious cupcake – with a Go Jetter on top!

INGREDIENTS

For the cupcakes:

• 170g unsalted butter, softened
• 225g caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 250g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 60g rainbow sprinkles

For the buttercream:

• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• 250g icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the decoration:

• blue, light blue, red and purple fondant
• small amount of white, orange, blue and black fondant
• extra rainbow sprinkles to decorate

mETHOD (Makes 12)

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake cases.
2. Whisk together the flour and baking powder and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined. Add the vanilla and milk, continuing to beat, and then add the remaining flour mixture, beating until just combined. Fold in the sprinkles.
4. Spoon into the lined muffin tins until each case is two-thirds full and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean.
5. To make the fondant characters, knead the blue, light blue, red and purple fondant briefly and shape into four body shapes, with small sausage shapes for arms and legs for each character. Set aside to firm up.
6. For details like Foz and Xuli’s yellow stripes, Kyan’s orange suit and Lar’s white helmet, roll out fondant onto a work surface dusted with icing sugar and cut out shapes to cover the bodies. Stick down with a damp paint brush and wrap around.
7. Use a small star cutter to cut out the orange badges and fix to small blue circles. Use a small round cutter to cut out the characters’ faces and squash into oval shapes. Use small amounts of black fondant to create their eyes, mouths and eyebrows.
8. To make the buttercream, beat the butter, icing sugar and milk until pale and creamy.
9. Ice the cooled cupcakes with a spatula and top four with the fondant Go Jetters. Decorate the remaining cupcakes with the rainbow sprinkles.

Note: the fondant decoration can be made up to a week in advance.