hummingbird cupcake recipe didn't make many cakes!

[Bronte]

I used traditional bun cases but the recipe only just made 12. Would never have made 12 in muffin size cases. The mixture seemed ok..they make a very light texture but for preference I am more a fan of traditional Mary Berry cake recipe.
The bars and cookies look good though.

The book doesn't actually get great reviews. I think there are some problems with the recipes being scaled down.

I quite like the chocolate cupcake recipe. Although it is a bit on the dry/crumbly side, it works really well with their fluffy buttercream. The black bottom cupcakes are fab. But the other cupcake recipes I did not think much of. Well, the ones I've made, anyway!

But I usually get 16-18 cupcakes, wold prob get 10/11 muffins if I did that size? Nb they have pointed that out at the beginning of the book.

The big cake recipes much more successful - the carrot and the Hummingbird are both gorgeous, also the blueberry and the lemon/poppy seed.

The raspberry cheesecake brownie looks amazing, I keep on meaning to try it but for some reason have not yet.

I had the opposite problem

The peanut butter and chocolate cookies made loads more, took 4 x longer to cookk than the recipe and were gigantic!

Well I get 18 muffin sized cakes from the recipes in the Hummingbird Cake Days book, I haven't made cakes from any other book since I got it, they all work beautifully.

I'm unsure what they mean about sizes in the blurb, when they talk about US and UK muffin case sizes. I have only ever seen two sizes here (apart from teeny tiny petit four cases) - fairy cake size and muffin size, so I'm not too sure what they are blethering on about.

So far, I've had lots of success with their recipes (if not my waistline...). My cupcakes came out a bit flat, but I took tha tto be A Good Thing, since it makes them easier to ice.The brownies are stupendous.

Have you tried those raspberry cheesecake brownies, midnight ? If so, how were they?

Everything i have made from the book has been a success, except for the nutty apple loaf which broke up when I took it out of the tin but I think I left it in too long and the chocolate hardened which made it stick to the tin. I don't get the blurb bit about sizes of cupcakes and muffins as i can make quantity they say but with normal size cases. And theyturn out very yummy. :) it's got me really into baking which I never was before!

The Cake Days book has larger quantities so you will get more from each recipe. I find that the original book makes small cupcakes but that means you can put loads of icing on them like they do in the shop. I halve the icing amounts when I make them. I also agree that the cookies are generous but again thats how they make them in the shop.

The Raspberry brownies are great too! And I love the Brooklyn blackout cake, and the Black bottom cupcakes and the blondies, and well, all of them!!!!

I have cake days and love the book, if I make it in fairy cake cases it produces double the amount that muffin cases would make. Not made a bad recipe yet, and everyone adores them.

I made the lemon cupcakes in normal cases and they were fab. The icing was lovely just a bit too much of it, even for me . Funnily enough I was looking through this last night as I feel like baking something. I have made the raspberry brownie cheesecake thingy which was very nice.

Yes I agree, I can only get 11 out of the recipe, using muffin cases. I usually make a double batch. I really like the light fluffy texture though, and the fact that they aren't as greasy as some cakes can be.
I do find that the frosting quantities are too big though - one batch is way more than enough for 12 cakes.

I have made a few other things from the book with great success: the chocolate chip cookie recipe is absolutely incredible, and the strawberry cheesecake cupcakes are delicious. The cream cheese frosting recipe is the best I've found.