Cheeky Mouse Cakes by David Atherton

If you're looking for some fun, spiced cakes to make with the kids, these cheeky mouse cakes from GBBO winner David Atherton are just the ticket.

The recipe is from David's latest book, My First Baking Book: Delicious Recipes for Budding Bakers, which is packed with brilliant recipes kids can try at home.

With this book, beautifully illustrated by Harry Woodgate, children can learn how to bake breads, cakes, pastries and biscuits to perfection and have fun too.

The recipes are wonderfully creative and tend to include a surprise ingredient. In the case of these mouse cakes, the surprise ingredient is swede! That might sound strange, but it's really not that different from using carrot or courgette (zucchini) in cakes, and it works really well with the spices.

To make the cakes, you'll start by combining sugar, oil and eggs, then stir in finely grated swede, followed by flour baking powder and mixed spice. You'll then spoon the batter into cases and bake - easy peasy!

I absolutely adore the decoration, which really does look like cheeky little mice peeping out of cupcakes!

To achieve this brilliant effect is fantastically simple. First, you'll beat butter, icing sugar (powdered sugar) and a little vanilla together to make a buttercream, then pipe swirls onto the cakes.

With the addition of white chocolate button ears, a little pearl sprinkle nose, currant eyes and a strawberry lace tail, the swirls are transformed into friendly little mice, ready to serve and enjoy!

If you're keen to make David's wonderful cheeky mouse cupcakes, the full recipe is below, complete with step-by-step images to help you at every step of the way.

Once you've given my recipe a go, I'd love you to come back and leave a comment letting me know how yours turned out.

I'd love to see your videos and pics, too! Just tag me on social media. I'm @emilylearycooks on Twitter and TikTok or @amummytoo on Instagram.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan assisted).

Prepare a 12-hole muffin with 12 fairy cake cases (shallow cupcake cases).

Put the sugars, oil and vanilla into a mixing bowl.

Crack in the 2 eggs.

Beat until smooth.

Peel and finely grate the swede, then add to the mix.

Stir in.

Add the flour, baking powder and spices.

Stir until you have a smooth batter.

Use a dessertspoon to fill the cupcake cases three-quarters full.

Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove from the tray and leave to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Put the butter, icing sugar and vanilla into a mixing bowl.

Beat until smooth (you can add 1 tsp of hot water to help loosen the mixture).

Put the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a small swirly nozzle (or use a sandwich bag and cut off the corner when you are ready to pipe).

Pipe a swirl of buttercream in the middle of the cupcake and try to make it come up to a point (this will be the mouse’s nose).

Using a small sieve, dust with icing sugar (not shown).

Gently press 2 chocolate buttons in for the ears.

Add 2 currants for the eyes.

Add a little ball-shaped sweetie for the nose.

Finally, add a strawberry lace for the tail.

Repeat until you have 12 cheeky mouse cakes!

Enjoy!

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