Welcome back to another lactose free recipe. For this week’s recipe I wanted to to do a recipe that honors my love for anime and create an adorable little creature from some of the most iconic anime films. Soot sprites (or susuwatari) are small helpful adorable fuzzy beings with large eyes and long limbs. They help by carrying coal and are feed Konpeitō, a Japanese candy.
These adorable Studio Ghibli inspired cupcakes are chocolate flavored with vanilla butter cream icing. A grass tip is used to create the soot sprites fuzziness. Finished with large edible eyes and real Konpeitō these cupcakes are adorable and easy to make.
Konpeitō its decently hard to find here is Australia. I normally order mine off amazon. You can always use any candy or star sprinkles to replace them or leave them out altogether if you wish.
The recipes here have been tested with lactose free ingredients multiple times to ensure their success and deliciousness. As always, this recipe is lactose free providing you use the right ingredients. Always make sure your ingredients are safe.
Ingredients
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Chocolate Cupcakes
- Decorating
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 180°C (350f) and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
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Place the margarine and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat well.
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In a separate bowl sift the cocoa and flour. Sift this mixture into the bowl with the margarine.
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Add the milk and mix until smooth.
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Spoon the mix into the prepared cupcake pan. Try to fill them halfway.
- Bake for 12 to 16 minutes. Test the cupcakes by inserting a skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, then the cupcake has finished cooking.
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Let the cupcakes sit in the hot pan for a few minutes then transfer onto a wire rack to cool.
- The cupcakes need to be cooled completely before we can move onto icing them. You can prepare the cupcakes ahead of time and store them in an airtight container. Decorating
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Dye a generous amount of icing black with the gel food coloring. Gather your candy eyeballs and Konpeitō.
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Fit a piping bag with the grass piping tip and fill with the icing.
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Grab a cupcake. Starting from the outside edge hold the bag close to the cupcake. Squeeze until strands start to form. Drag the bag until the strands reach the desired length, Stop applying pressure to the bag and pull so the strands come off the tip. You want to squeeze and pull in the direction you want to fur to go. So from inwards to the outer edges of the cupcake. Keep doing this until you have formed a ring around the edges of the cupcake.
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You want to repeat this process until the entire cupcake is covered in the fur.
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Grab your candy eyeballs and place two into the centre of the cupcakes.
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Place several Konpeitō onto the cupcakes.
- Congratulations you have now made Studio Ghibli Soot Sprite Cupcakes.
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Serve, devour and enjoy.
