I’m always looking for an excuse to fall spectacularly off the dieting wagon, and never has there been a better excuse than National Cupcake Week, happily only three days away and running from September 12^th – 18^th.

Launched in 2009 by the journal British Baker, it celebrates the passion, vibrancy and innovation of the British Baking Industry – from high street favourites to one-off French patisseries. A range of special events are being held over the coming week, with promotions and bake-offs being staged across the nation.

The organisers have teamed up with CLIC Sargent – the UK’s leading children’s cancer charity – and are asking bakers and cupcake lovers to help raise donations for this worthy cause by buying cupcake pins or holding cake sales.

Since the launch of National Cupcake Week in 2009, there have been cupcake bake offs, theatrical cupcake installations and bids to bake the world’s biggest and smallest cupcakes. So, if like us girls at the office, you fancy indulging in a cupcake or several over the coming week, stay glued to National Cupcake Week’s twitter and facebook page to be updated with the best baking events in town.

And if you fancy jumping on the band wagon early and have an open window in which you might like to try a bit of baking yourself, join me in sampling one of the winners of the 2011 Cupcake Championships fabulous recipes – the Midnight Safari Cupcake from highly esteemed CC Treats:

Midnight Safari – Rich Chocolate and Amarula Fluff Cupcakes (makes 12)

Ingredients:

112g Plain flour

175g Granulated sugar

50g Callebaut Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp Baking powder

½ tsp Salt

1 egg (room temperature)

118ml Strong black coffee (warm)

118ml Buttermilk (room temperature)

60ml Vegetable oil

1 tbsp Pure vanilla extract

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees (160 degrees Fan oven) Line muffin tin with cupcake cases.
In an electric mixer bowl, sift in all the dry ingredients. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and using the paddle attachment on the mixer, mix for two minutes on medium speed.
Pour the liquid batter into the prepared muffin pan up to 2/3 full.
Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then place cupcakes onto racks to cool completely.
Enjoy!