Giant cupcake recipe

Cupcakes are still as popular as ever but this giant cupcake is a great way to change things up a bit.

Made using a giant cupcake tin, this cake is a real showstopper, but it's deceptively easy to do. You can buy the tin (or silicon moulds) online from Amazon for less than £15. The cake can be cut into slices for 8-10 people and it's so much more fun than having a mini cupcake each. To make the really easy 'case' effect, we've wrapped the bottom half of the cake in fondant icing. You can also easily adapt the decoration to whatever special occasion you're making this for.

Ingredients

• 450g softened butter 
• 450g caster sugar
• 8 large eggs 
• 450g self-raising flour
• 4 level tsp baking powder 
• 2 tsp of vanilla
• 3 tbsp milk
• Giant cupcake tin

For the pink cupcake case:

• 250g white fondant icing
• Pink food colouring
• Strawberry jam

For the buttercream topping:

• 110g unsalted butter, softened
• 500g icing sugar
• 60ml milk, room temperature
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• Pink food colouring

Method

1. Set the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan/Gas Mark 4 and grease the tin using cake release spray or groundnut oil.
2. Cream the butter and sugar and add the vanilla. Beat for about 5 minutes. Add one egg at a time with a third of the sieved flour and baking powder until it has gone then add the milk and beat slowly until it is mixed in.
3. Place half of the mixture in each side of the tin to about ¾ full and bake for 50 mins. Times really depend on your own oven, so start to check the cake at 50 minutes, then every 10 minutes and do not remove from the oven until the cake is springy to the touch. This might take up to 1 hr 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 20 minutes before tipping out. If the cake has overflowed or has risen too high don’t worry, you can trim this with a bread knife or a cake leveller. It’s easier to do this while it is still in the tin.
5. Hold the cooling rack tight over the top of the tin and turn them out to cool. Once the cake is totally cool (probably an hour or 2) you can start decorating it.
6. Colour and roll out the fondant icing to a ¼ of an inch thick. It has to be 25cm in length and 8cm high. Then use a texture mat to add a flower pattern to the fondant.
7. Melt some jam in the microwave and leaving the cake in the upside down position brush over the base of the cake. This helps the fondant stick. Place the fondant around the cake and trim the excess. You can fold a little over the top (which is the bottom) so you have a clean edge. Press your finger round the indentations so you get the shape of the base back. Then turn the cake (not gripping too hard or you will squash it) the right way up.
8. Beat the butter, icing sugar, milk and vanilla together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Put a third of the buttercream in another bowl and add pink food colouring to it. Reserve this for your buttercream roses. Spread jam on the bottom half of the cupcake, then the icing and sandwich the two pieces together.
9. Ice the top with the rest of the buttercream in a design that suits you. Victoria has covered the cake in buttercream roses and you can find out how to create them in more detail using our cake rose decorating video .To create the two-tone effect, fill your piping bag up with the cream icing then add the pink on top. Twist the top of the bag and squeeze into a bowl until you see the pink coming through.
10. Top your giant cupcake with sugarcraft butterflies or flowers.

Watch how to make our giant cupcake

Tips for making giant cupcake:

Make sure the cake has fully cooled before attempting to decorate it with the buttercream icing as if it’s still warm, the icing will just slide off.

This icing method is much more foolproof than the swirl you'd see on smaller cupcakes. Expert baker Victoria Threader says “I tend to ice my giant cupcake with flowers or stars as they are easier than a continuous swirl.” You can add extra decorations like chocolate buttons or sprinkles too.

Can you make a giant cupcake without a cupcake mould?

We have seen it done. You can make a giant cupcake in 4-5 layers using 3-4 layers of sponge baked in regular round cake tins and a fourth or fifth layer cooked in a rounded metal bowl, which you invert on the top. This method is much more complex, and less foolproof, than using a specialised cake tin.

How do you serve a giant cupcake?

This cake, like a multi-layered cake, is quite tall and thin, so the slices you get are very high. That means you need to cut them quite thinly in order to get small portions. To do this, store the cake in the fridge until serving as chilled sponge is easier to cut. Wipe your knife between each cut so you get a nice clean cut. If you want the cake to serve more people, you can cut it in a grid pattern instead of segments.

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