In one of the cooler collaborations of 2018 — even if we do say so ourselves — The Australian Women’s Weekly has joined forces with Barbie to create The Australian Women’s Weekly Barbie Cookbook.
With recipes by the award-winning pastry chef Anna Polyviou road-tested in The Weekly‘s Test Kitchen, with the help of Anna’s Junior Executive Chef Lola, there is something for all budding chefs to try at home. From eye-catching sweet treats to healthy after-school snacks, these delicious triple-tested recipes are sure to please the kids. (And the big kids!).
So what are you waiting for? Get the kids in the kitchen and give them a whirl now. Here’s a sneak-peek of one of our favourite recipes from the book…
Anna’s rainbow cupcakes
PREP + COOK TIME: 1 HOUR 40 MINUTES
MAKES 12
Ingredients
For the cakes:
2 cups (300g) plain flour
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
100g butter, softened
3/4 cup (180ml) milk
2 eggs
½ cup (125ml) vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
2 teaspoons each pink, purple, yellow and green food colouring
1 teaspoon blue food colouring
½ cup (90g) coloured sprinkles
For the bubblegum buttercream:
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
¼ cup (60ml) water
3 egg whites
250g unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons bubblegum essence
1 teaspoon each pink, purple, yellow and green food colouring
1/2 teaspoon blue food colouring
Method
For the cakes:
Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 12 hole (⅓-cup/80ml) muffin pan with paper cases.
Place flour, sugar, pinch of salt and baking powder in a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add butter; beat on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Whisk milk, eggs, oil and Vanilla paste in a medium bowl. With the motor operating on low, gradually add milk mixture to flour mixture. Increase speed to medium; beat for 2 minutes, scraping down sides of mixer once, or until smooth.
Divide mixture evenly into five small bowls; tint each with a food colouring. Transfer mixtures to separate piping bags. Pipe alternate coloured mixtures into cases until three-quarters full.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, make bubblegum buttercream.
Using a sharp knife, cut a small circle from the tops of each cake and discard. Fill cavities with sprinkles, reserving 1. tablespoons for decorating.
Lift one log of buttercream, open-side down, into a piping bag fitted with a 1 1/2cm star-shaped nozzle. Pipe onto six cupcakes. Repeat with remaining log and cupcakes. Sprinkle with reserved sprinkles.
For the bubblegum buttercream:
Stir sugar and the water in a small saucepan over high heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves.
Bring to the boil. Boil, without stirring, for 5 minutes or until syrup reaches 121C on a sugar thermometer.
Towards the end of syrup cooking time, whisk egg whites in a clean large bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. On low speed, slowly add hot sugar syrup to egg whites in a thin, steady stream.
Increase speed to high; whisk for 10 minutes or until mixture is thick and glossy.
On medium speed, add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add the essence and whisk until just combined.
Divide buttercream between five bowls and tint each with a food colouring.
Transfer the buttercreams into separate piping bags. Pipe a 20cm length of each buttercream, close together, onto a 30cm square of plastic wrap, leaving a 5cm gap at the ends.
Roll plastic wrap up from the long side to create a log. Twist both ends to enclose. Snip one end off the log. Make one more buttercream log.
Brought to you by Barbie. You can be anything.
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