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.
The Australian Women’s Weekly Barbie. You can be anything. The Australian Women’s Weekly Barbie Cookbook is available now at The Warehouse nationwide.” target=”_blank”>Barbie Cookbook is available now at The Warehouse nationwide.
