HOW TO USE THIS EBOOK
Select one of the chapters from the main contents list and you will be taken to a list of all the recipes covered in that chapter.
Alternatively, jump to the index to browse recipes by ingredient.
Look out for linked text (which is underlined and/or in a different colour) throughout the ebook that you can select to help you navigate between related recipes.
Im a designer. Its in my blood. Its who I am. It affects how I look at everything in the world. I see everyday objects, such as shoes, bags or cakes, and I want to make them sexier, inject them with glamour and make them shine! For me life is the triumph of the fantastic over the dull, and when I saw the pastel-shaded world of cupcakes, I wanted to shake it up, sex it up and create something breathtakingly new.
The result was our Cox Cookies & Cake project a bakery we opened in Soho. The location was a former sex shop in the heart of Londons historic red light district; with an original Tracey Emin neon piece on the wall; staff in leather-studded aprons; mirrored ceilings and a polished black floor it all set the scene for the most dangerous thing to hit the world of cupcakes since self-raising flour.
However, when it came to the cakes themselves, I faced my limitations as a designer. I needed a skilled ptissier and business partner to make sure the cakes tasted every bit as good as they looked, with all the quality that one associates with the Patrick Cox name. Fortunately Elizabeth Hurley introduced me to world-renowned and fabulous Eric Lanlard (he made Elizabeths wedding cake) and as soon as we met I knew instantly we could work together. We created cakes that were sexy, unbelievably tasty and fun. Each cake was like a work of art.
This book takes that accessibility further. I want people to enjoy the design process themselves and have fun creating these cakes at home. So turn on the music, crank up the volume and get baking!
Patrick Cox
Im a ptissier. Its in my blood and who I am, or at least who I have been since I was a little boy staring in the windows of my local ptisserie.
In times where form often triumphs over substance and where looks too often succeed over taste, it has always been my mission to make cakes that taste as good as they look; cakes where the feasting of the eyes is not followed by a bite of disappointment, but by a feasting of the taste buds. I have been putting this philosophy into practice within my own business over the past 18 years.
Before having the pleasure of meeting Patrick, glamour was always very much part of my world, reflected in the title of my first book Glamour Cakes and my first two TV series Glamour Puds. As an artisan Ive always used cake design as my creative outlet. However, the excitement I felt on first hearing about Patricks vision, pushed my boundaries way beyond anything I would have dared to do myself.
The results of our efforts speak for themselves in this book. I hope these recipes enable you to bake a little excitement in your own home and put happy faces on your friends and family alike.
Eric Lanlard
COLA CUPCAKES
Put some fizz into your cupcakes! These little miracles will delight kids and adults, too. The cola makes the cake light and airy, and the addition of the popping candy topping makes them a truly fun experience.
MAKES 12 CUPCAKES
200g (7oz) unsalted butter
200ml (7fl oz) cola (I prefer to use the old-fashioned original one as it has more flavour)
250g (8oz) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 eggs, beaten
150ml ( pint) milk
For the cola frosting
100g (3oz) unsalted butter, softened
25g (1oz) cocoa powder
450g (14oz) icing sugar
100ml (3fl oz) cola
1 tsp vanilla extract
cola-flavoured popping candy or fizzy cola bottles, to decorate
Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas mark 6, and line a cupcake tin with paper cases.
In a saucepan, gently heat the butter and cola until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa together. Add the cooled cola and butter mix, followed by the eggs and milk. Mix together until smooth.
Divide the mixture between the paper cases. Bake for 2530 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
To make the Cola Frosting: Cream the butter in a bowl. Sift the cocoa and icing sugar together and mix into the butter a little at a time, alternating with additions of the cola. Beat to give a nice smooth frosting. (You may need to add more cola if the frosting is too stiff). Beat in the vanilla extract.
Pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes and decorate with either popping candy or cola bottles.
RED VELVET CUPCAKES
This now celebrated cupcake is usually made as a large cake and there are many variations, including some that use beetroot juice to give the rich red colour. In this recipe I use a combination of pure cocoa, vinegar and red food colouring to achieve a vibrant tone.
MAKES 12 CUPCAKES
30g (1oz) cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g (3oz) unsalted butter, softened
175g (6oz) caster sugar
2 egg yolks
pinch of salt
150ml ( pint) buttermilk
150g (5oz) plain flour, sifted
tsp bicarbonate of soda
tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp red food colouring
For the frosting
125ml (4fl oz) milk
1 tbsp flour
pinch of salt
100g (3oz) unsalted butter, softened
175g (6oz) icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
100g (3oz) white chocolate, melted and cooled
tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas mark 6, and line a cupcake tin with paper cases.
In a small bowl, mix the cocoa and vanilla extract together and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together using a freestanding mixer or an electric hand whisk set on a medium-high speed. Add the egg yolks and beat for one more minute. Add the cocoa and vanilla to the mixture.
Stir the salt into the buttermilk, mix one-third into the mixture, followed by one-third of the flour. Repeat with two further batches of each until all are mixed in.
Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the vinegar and blend this and the food colouring into the batter. Divide the mixture between the paper cases and bake for 2025 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean.
