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They're fun, funky and absolutely fabulous to eat - no wonder the cupcake has become so popular.

Your recipes

We asked you to send in your favourite cupcake recipe and were deluged with over 30 recipes, including gluten-free treats and every type of cupcake imaginable from coffee and pecan to berrylicious vanilla and the winner of our competition, Little Lime Cupcakes (left), submitted by Karon Sewell of Godalming. She wins £50 worth from a selection of Squires Kitchen cupcake and baking accessories: the place to visit for all your cupcake essentials. Visit squires-shop.com

Your wonderful cupcakes...
Delia's Chocolate and Almond Cupcakes

In need of more recipes? We like:

Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook (Ryland, Peters & Small, £16.99)
Cupcake Heaven by Susannah Blake  (Ryland, Peters & Small, £12.99)
Eat Me: The Stupendous, Self-Raising World of Cupcakes and Bakes according to Cookie Girl (Ebury Press, £15) 
Pretty Party Cakes by Peggy Porschen (Quadrille, £18.99)

 

It has to be Squires!

Squires Kitchen really is a one-stop shop for all things cake-related. They also produce a very useful bi-annual magazine, Inspired by Food, £5.95, which covers everything you need for cakes, baking and Sugarcraft, including news of the latest cake-making products, tins, decorations, cutters, paste and chocolate moulds plus a few recipes including the gorgeous Gluten-Free Chocolate Hazelnut Cake and information about new products and how to use them, with the latest trends and techniques covered too. Visit www.squires-shop.com or call 0845 22 55 671

Other places to buy cupcake equipment and decorations include: 
Splat cooking - splatcooking.net
Lakeland - lakeland.co.uk
Jane Asher - janeasher.com
Cakes, Cookies and Crafts Shop - cakescookiesandcraftsshop.co.uk 
The Sugar Shack - sugarshack.co.uk

Can't be bothered to make them? 

There are shops all over the place selling these marvellous morsels...at London's Buttercup Bakery where regulars include Gok Wan, Jason Donovan, Rufus Sewell and Gary Barlow, the owner claims to be able to tell as soon as someone walks in which style of cake he or she will choose: mums usually opt for the deliciously moist tried and testeds, such as Carrot Cake; trend-setters choose cakes like Red Velvet, rich, red and sumptuous. Traditionalists like classics such as Vanilla Purist, a Buttercup best seller. Tourists plump for exotic Passion Fruit or the Elvis Presley. And the girliest customers (men and women alike) adore decorated flamboyant cakes such as the Vanilla Fantasy or Vanilla with Strawberry Curls. They do make seriously good cupcakes; pay them a visit at www.buttercupcakeshop.co.uk  Crumbs! Costa Coffee currently has a range of scrummy cupcakes in lemon or strawberry on offer. So if you're not in the mood to make your own, hotfoot it to your local branch; £1.80 each (or £1.65 take away). Hummingbird Bakery - apparently popular with Gwyneth Paltrow, who really doesn't look as if she eats that many cupcakes, The Hummingbird Bakery is legend in London's cupcake fraternity. Its vanilla cupcakes are the most popular... Crumbs & Doilies is a great favourite with Delia Online's editor. They deliver, or you can buy from them in Chelsea's King's Road at the Duke of York barracks every Saturday. They were kind enough to share their recipe for coconut and lemon cupcakes, which our editor has been known to make on regular occasions. She describes it as the moistest cupcake ever! Click here for the recipe. Visit www.crumbsanddoilies.co.uk LOLA’s Kitchen has recently opened its first independent cupcake store in London Mayfair, treating you to freshly baked scrumptious cupcakes and collaborating with Gü Chocolate Puds to create the first ever Gü Chocolate Cupcake (right), an exclusive, limited-edition only available at LOLA’s. Made with dense chocolate brownie, crammed with chunky chocolate chips and topped with a swirl of Gü’s signature 70% cocoa Belgian chocolate ganache, this cupcake, nestled in a gold cupcake case, is a must for all those who ‘ganache’. Visit www.lolas-kitchen.co.uk 

Thinking big?

The Giant Cupcake Pan is a double pan that gives you both a traditional ridge-sided cupcake shape — about ten times the size of the normal one — and also an easily decorated helter-skelter shape that you can put on top. Non-stick in heavy aluminium; £28.95 from www.prezzybox.com

In the pink!

Check out this very girlie Sweet Tooth fitted apron with frilly detail from Salamander Cookshop, £15. There’s also a matching oven mitt (£5) and tea cosy (£7) for cupcake overload! Visit www.salamandercookshop.com   

 

What about a cupcake party?

Cocoa Box runs chocolate workshops and cupcake workshops, perfect for girls' nights out, children's parties and more...and the end results are to die for! Visit www.thecocoabox.co.uk

 

Baking products to buy...

Delia Online editor Jo Hill recommends a few of her favourite baking products

Simply Steenbergs!
When baking, it makes sense to use the very best quality flavourings, which is our editor can highly recommend Steenbergs Organic’s popular home bakery range which includes Orange Flower Water, Rose Water, Fairtrade Vanilla Extract and Fairtrade-flavoured sugars – vanilla, cinnamon, lemon, lavender and award-winning rose sugar (which, as well as being fantastic in cakes and desserts, are also a good addition to a breakfast pancake and toppings for hot drinks). Visit www.steenbergs.co.uk or call 01765 640088 to buy online; products also available from independent retailers.

A Marriage made in heaven
Marriage's was established in 1824 and, six generations later, is still a family-run business in East Anglia. The quality of their flour is superb – and although I’m not a huge fan of the uber-healthy bran flours you can buy, I do love Marriage’s light brown flour, which can be used in any baking to give great results but also a bit more wheatgerm! They also produce some fantastic bread flours for machines or hand-baking. Buy 1.5kg bags of flour in independent retailers, health food shops and online via Ocado. Visit www.flour.co.uk

Judge for yourself...
Two of the most ingenious items from Judge are an adjustable cake ring (£5.99) which expands from 15.5cm-30cm in diameter and a silicone baking and pastry mat (£11.75). The cake ring is ideal for tortes and cheesecakes: a great idea for those without storage space. You can use the cake ring with the mat for cakes. Because it’s non-stick, you simply place it on the baking sheet, then form the cake tin to the correct size, line the tin with baking parchment, then fill it with your cake mix. The mat also includes handy size guides for rolling pastry out, plus a handy conversion chart and oven temperatures. From good cookshops.

Silver Spoon cake accessories 
There’s something comfortingly retro about Silver Spoon Cakecraft Decorations, which include all those traditional favourites such as chocolate-flavour strands, multi-coloured sprinkles, sugar stars and silver balls. There are also various food flavourings, from just 52p for a 38ml bottle. Children will love these – the best way to use them is to pile them on in a mass of colour for a vibrant effect! The whole range is available from Sainsbury’s. For tips and recipes visit the Silver Spoon website.  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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