Smurf Cupcakes

(Or, dessert 2 of 2 when we Smurfed a little party for Rowanne's Un-Birthday!)

I was something of a hoarder as a child. Nothing gave me greater pleasure than to keep all my special gifts wrapped, unspoilt and above all, in their original packaging, not even taking them out for long enough to play with.

I remember, one birthday, I was given a 'Grow Your Own Crystals' science kit, and though I longed to watch the bright, almost neon blue crystals magically appear on the thread you were supposed to suspend in copper sulphate solution, I never dared to do so, for fear of ruining the box it came in (which was full of little compartments for everything to go in - just the kind of complicated packaging a boy like me loved!).

How lame was I?

Still, it was more than likely better that way; years later, when I learned about displacement reactions in Chemistry, I remembered that birthday box of chemicals and was secretly glad I'd never opened it. I was the sort of child who would have drunk the solution.

Incidentally, Mr. Other P also had one of those kits, but he actually did grow crystals with it. We don't talk about it very often though, as during one particularly fraught childhood argument with his brother (who we'll call Mr. D), they were flushed, unceremoniously, down the toilet. It is a tale of great sadness, I am sure you'll agree. Worthy even of Tolstoy himself.

I digress.

Sadly, the hoarding has followed me into adulthood. I have a baking box, full of all manner of sugar decorations, cupcake wrappers, candles, and as regular readers will already be aware, Kewpies. In this box are several pots of coloured sanding sugars, which rarely get used (I impulse buy), and in particular a blue one, which greatly resembles copper sulphate as it happens, so perhaps that wasn't such a pointless digression after all.

I had been waiting for a chance to use it when I happened upon this bag of Smurf marshmallows - tell me you aren't as enchanted by them as I was - and knew that a batch of blue cupcakes was only mere moments away.

I have titled this photograph The Outcast.

I couldn't really see the appeal of The Smurfs when I was a child, much preferring Peanuts, or He-Man and She-Ra, but I have grown fonder of them as I have grown older, secretly lusting after my friend Al's collection of 1980s Smurfs themed Nutella pot glasses. More to the point, they are the only thing that would look at home on a sparkling blue cake, so you can see why my appreciation for the cartoon characters has increased.

Bored of my usual cake recipe, I tried a new one for this, and it's one that I have been contemplating for years. It involves adding boiling water to the cake batter - you can see why I was curious - and in the picture accompanying the recipe book it is from, it looks like the most amazing chocolate cake ever. But it wasn't; it was dry and it was awful. So I am not going to include it here. Or tell you where it was from, as the writer of the book in question is my absolute favourite, and I don't want to murk the waters of her reputation. You do understand.

It does give me a chance to give you a little tip though, should you care to know how I deal with dry cakes. I drench them, either in Bailey's Irish Cream, or vanilla sugar syrup. So if it ever happens to you too, do not despair: the answer is in the liqueur cabinet. Or the pantry, if you choose the syrup. I don't want to be seen to encouraging alcoholism.

You can have the icing recipe, since that was yummy.

Peppermint Cream Cheese Icing

You will need:

150g cream cheese, at room temperature

350g sifted icing sugar

1/8 tsp peppermint extract

1. Simply beat everything together until creamy and smooth.
2. Slather over your waiting cakes - this should do 10 cupcakes, but I do use a lot, so you may get more.

If you are then going to cover the cakes with sanding sugar, I recommend you pour it onto your work surface first, and dip the frosted cakes into it, rather than trying to sprinkle it on. But you do as you please. I'm not in charge.

A beautiful out-take.