It all started with a brown piece of LEGO®. To me it looked like a shiny cube of delicious milk chocolate. Wouldn’t it be great if it actually was chocolate? The cream coloured pieces could be sweet white chocolate and the glossy black pieces a rich dark chocolate. If only that were possible, I thought. Well, with the help of some magic blue stuff, I made my chocolate LEGO® dream come true. It was pretty simple to make them too.
However, once I had made my sweet chocolate specimens, they seemed a little small and insignificant. What I really needed was a vehicle to carry my chocolate LEGO® and lift them up for the world to see. So, I decided on a simple vanilla cupcake and some creamy vanilla icing as a platform for my glorious chocolate LEGO®. The problem was though, the vanilla cupcake idea seemed a little lame and boring. LEGO® is so fun and colourful, so I figured the cupcakes should be bright and vivid too. I saw this great idea, on a blog on Valentine’s Day, where the blogger made a cupcake with a red cake heart concealed inside. So I borrowed this idea, but modified it a bit. I placed a colourful LEGO® cake piece inside my cupcakes. Now, I really had a cupcake worthy of my chocolate LEGO® and all my LEGO® dreams were complete. I really have to stop imagining everything can be made into food….what next!
Here’s how:
Chocolate LEGO® pieces
I bought food safe silicone moulding materials online at this store. I made the mix by following the simple instructions. I put the mix in a small square dish and then placed the LEGO® pieces into the mould. You need to wait over an hour for the mould to set. I then, removed the LEGO® pieces and was left with a square mould with LEGO® shaped holes. I then melted some milk chocolate, about 50g for my 8 LEGO® pieces. I poured the melted chocolate into the mould and left to set for about 2 hours in a fridge. I removed the chocolate pieces, which now looked like chocolate LEGO® 🙂 Yay. I then repeated the same process with dark chocolate and white chocolate.
LEGO® cake inserts for cupcakes
For the coloured LEGO® cake shapes, that are concealed within the cupcakes, I used my basic Battenberg recipe. The Battenberg tin gave nice rectangular shaped cake pieces, that I was easily able to cut LEGO® cubes from. You could always use a deep rectangular shaped tin ( about 8 x 6 x 4 inches in size) There was some extra coloured cake left over, which I chopped up and brought into the office. You could make half a Battenberg recipe and you would have less coloured cake pieces left over. Or you could double the cupcake recipe (make 24 instead of 12) and use up all the coloured cake.
Battenberg / Coloured LEGO® cake inserts
– 170g of butter
– 170g of castor sugar
– 3 eggs, beaten
– 170g of self-raising flour
– few drops of food colouring (I used red and blue)
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and flour a Battenberg/ deep rectangular tin. My Battenberg tin was 8inches x 6inches and had 4 individual sections to put the different colours.
Cream together the butter and the sugar in a food processor until it becomes light and creamy. Gradually add the beaten eggs. Then, carefully fold in the sieved flour. Take half of the mixture out, and place in another bowl. Add a few drops of red food colouring to one batch. To the other half, add a few drops of a blue food colouring. Spoon the mixture into the separate sections of the tin. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes. To test if it’s ready, place a clean knife through the centre, the knife should come out clean if it is fully cooked. If the cake rises over the tin, use a serrated knife to even off the top. Let the cake cool in the tin, once fully cooled, remove from the tin and place on a wire rack. Next, cut the cake pieces into LEGO® shaped cubes. Test and check that they fit into the cupcake case. They should be just a little shorter than the cupcake case, and you will need 12 coloured cake cubes if you are making the recipe below. Leave the LEGO® cake pieces aside until the cupcake mix is ready.
12 large cupcakes
– 175g of self raising flour, sieved
– 125g of Butter
– 175g of castor sugar
– 2 free range eggs, beaten
– 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract
– 3 tblesp. of milk
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with large paper cupcake cases. Put the butter and sugar into a food processor and mix until it becomes pale and fluffy. Add the beaten eggs and the vanilla to the butter and sugar and continue to mix. Finally add the sieved flour and milk in two or three batches, scraping down the sides with a spatula, between each addition. Once all the mix has been thoroughly combined, you are ready to assemble.
Take a dessert spoon of the mixture and place in the bottom of the cupcake case. Stick one of your LEGO® cake pieces, in the centre of the cupcake. Then, carefully fill the case with the rest of the cupcake mixture. It does seem odd, putting raw cake on top of cooked cake, but it all goes back into the oven and will taste great in the end. Continue this process for the other 11 cupcakes. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes, just until well risen and golden. Leave on a wire rack to cool.
Icing for 12 cupcakes
-75g of butter
-250g of icing, sieved
– 2 tablespoons milk
– 1-2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Beat the butter with a wooden spoon or electric mixer, until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sieved icing sugar, beating well between each addition. Add the vanilla extract and one tablespoon of milk. You may not need the second tablespoon. Basically you need a smooth silky paste that is not too loose. If it’s a hot day and your icing is too soft, place in the fridge to chill before piping.
Once the cupcakes have fully cooled, pipe on the icing with a piping bag. Place the chocolate LEGO® pieces on top and serve. I served mine on a plain white board with a couple of real LEGO® pieces scattered around the board.
LEGO ® is a registered trademark of the LEGO Group.
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