Oreo Cupcakes

As it is half-term and I've had a very boring Friday I decided that I wanted to do some baking. I saw this recipe online and decided I wanted to give it a go. 

For the cupcakes you will need:

175g Butter

165g Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

40g Coco Powder

125g Self-raising Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 pack Oreos

Before you start baking you want to pre-heat your oven to 180c (gas mark 4).

You will need to leave out your butter for a short while before baking to make it soft, this means it will be easier to work with.

To make the cupcakes you'll need to mix your butter and your caster sugar together until they are creamy and smooth. Then add your egg and mix.

After adding your egg you'll then need to add all your flour, coco powder and baking powder. I had these all combined in a separate bowl and added them this way. To make it easier you can add it gradually instead of all at once. Mix your batter until smooth and combined.

For my Oreo cupcakes I decided to add an oreo at the bottom in the cupcake cases to add a little surprise however you can leave this step out if you wish. You want to fill the cases getting them as even as possible.

Put them in the oven for 15 mins however check on them after every 2 mins from this time to see how they are cooking. Most ovens will be different so this is just a handy step to make sure you don't undercook them or burn them. You will need to insert a knife or skewer into the cupcakes, if this comes out clean then they are done and you can take them out the oven and leave them to cool.

For the icing I made a simple buttercream with added oreos. For this you will need:

100g Butter

200g Icing Sugar

Half Pack of Oreos

To make the icing always make sure that you use double the icing sugar to your amount of butter. You may think it won't work but keep mixing and it will. Cream your butter and icing sugar together until they are (surprise, surprise) creamy. You'll need to either put your Oreo's in a food processor or break them up by putting them in a bag, wrapping it in a tea towel and beating it with a rolling pin. As I don't have a food processor I used the latter and it worked well.

Once you add the Oreo's to the butter cream it will make it a lovely oreo colour. If you wanted to ice this onto your cupcakes I suggest putting a dash of milk in to make it easier however I felt like just messily putting it on with a knife, it was more fun this way and just as pretty.

You can also use half an Oreo to decorate like I did or you could crush some more Oreo's and sprinkle them on, either way is good. 

I'm really pleased with the way that these came out, baring in mind I did use gluten free flour which I don't think has made any difference to the look or taste. My family have been eating them all afternoon so I think they're a hit!

Let me know if you've tried them and any tips of your own for baking!

Madi x