RESIDENTS JOUrNAL

Gavan baking up a storm

In the kitchen with

mr moms
The Residents Journal meets Gavan Knox, founder and mastermind of Mr Moms Cupcakes
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avan Knox lives in south west London with his partner Scott and their two children. Having learned to bake with his mother as a child, it wasnt until he had his own family that he rediscovered his youthful passion. I love the creative element of cooking and baking, he says. You start with a number of ingredients and end up with something completely different true alchemy. Thats how his delicious business venture, Mr Moms, was born. We moved house and my partner presented me with a kitchen-warming gift of a KitchenAid mixer. That was when I really launched into baking, Gavan tells me. After adopting our children, I took a year off work and started to bake and bake and bake! Being a stay-at-home dad gave me the opportunity to hone my skills. But why Mr Moms? I chose the name to acknowledge the American style of my cupcakes, Gavan explains. It also perfectly described my (then) role as a stay-at-home dad. Its no news that baking is becoming a popular national pastime, but I wonder how he deals with the charge often levelled at cupcakes: are they a little, well delicate? Cupcakes are very much seen as the girly side of baking, Gavan laughs. I want to even the playing eld a bit. Dont get me wrong Im not calling for a battle of the sexes, but lets face it men eat cupcakes too! Looking at the list of avours, its clear that Mr Moms certainly caters for all tastes. Aside from the more traditional recipes, Gavan also creates some mouth-wateringly unusual combinations. From pumpkin sponge with cinnamon caramel centre and chai-spiced cream cheese frosting at Halloween, to a festive lebkuchen spiced sponge with gluhwein buttercream frosting and, most intriguingly, a matcha green tea and vanilla sponge with blueberry compote centre and matcha green tea buttercream (which works wonders as a brain boost, Im assured), Gavan has covered all the bases. For me, its less about how well the cupcakes are decorated, and more about the avours, he says. I have also created bespoke cupcakes for people based on their favourite avours that always makes a great gift. Setting up a new business can be a slow and difcult process, as Gavan has realised. The question that always crops up is: where do I start? Youve got god knows how many batches of cupcakes sitting in your kitchen, in wonderful avours, but how do you get them to customers? For a while, I was stocked by Wallace & Co in Putney on a trial basis, and thankfully my cupcakes proved popular there. Id love to have a high street presence one day; maybe not a shop on every street, but a few intimate and comfy tearooms. It would be great for Mr. Moms to be protable enough that I could step

back from my ofce job and still be able to provide for my family. Whats the best part of the job though? Seeing the look on peoples faces as they try new avour combinations taking something they might otherwise be dubious about and turning it into something they love, Gavan replies. I love baking, and making people happy, and who doesnt want to wake up every day doing something they love? n

Exclusive recipe
La Secrte dAmour* Cupcakes
Makes 12
Vanilla sponge with a secret heart centre, topped with Champagne-infused frosting and freeze-dried strawberries: a delicious way to say I love you this Valentines Day. Ingredients For the heart sponge 100g self-raising our 100g golden caster sugar 100g unsalted butter, softened 2 medium eggs 1tsp good-quality vanilla extract 3 tbsp semi-skimmed milk 1 tbsp LorAnn Oils Red Velvet Bakery Emulsion (available from Amazon) For the vanilla cupcake batter 240g plain our 280g caster sugar 1 tbsp baking powder tsp salt 80g unsalted butter, softened 2 large eggs 240ml semi-skimmed milk 2 tsp vanilla extract For the frosting 500g icing sugar 160g unsalted butter, softened. 2 tbsp Champagne To decorate Freeze-dried strawberries Method To make the heart sponge: Preheat oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4. Mix all ingredients, except colouring, in a food mixer on a medium speed until a smooth batter is formed. Then add the red velvet emulsion, and mix on a slow speed until combined and a uniform colour is achieved. Pour into a at, greased baking tray or brownie tin (a depth of mixture between 10-15mm) and bake for 10-15 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean when pushed into the centre of the sponge. Allow to cool in tray for 10 mins, then remove from tray and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. (Leave oven on at same temperature for next stage.) Once cool, use a small, heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut shapes (for a perfect t, the cutter should stand inside the cupcake cases).

Mr Moms currently delivers to the London area, particularly the south west, including Putney, Wimbledon and Richmond For information on avours, pricing availability and limited-edition seasonal avours, check out Gavans website and blog (mrmoms.co.uk). You can also nd him on Twitter @MrMomUK

*Le Secr et de lA

mour

To make the cupcakes: Line a 12-hole mufn tray with cupcake cases. In a food mixer, combine the our, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter. Use the paddle attachment and mix until the mixture resembles dry sand in texture. In a separate jug/bowl combine the eggs, milk and vanilla extract and lightly whisk to combine. With the mixer on a low speed, pour the liquid ingredients in a steady stream until about 100ml remains in the jug. Increase the mixer speed to medium and continue until all the ingredients are well combined. Scrape down the bowl sides and add remaining egg mixture, then continue to mix on a medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Pour nished batter into cupcake cases to quarter the full level, stand heart shapes in batter and, while holding them upright, steadily pour additional batter around until cases are twothirds full. The batter should now be surrounding the hearts and keeping them upright. Top tip: Before they go into the oven, mark the cases to show which way the hearts are facing so you know the direction in which to cut the nished cakes to show off their full glory. Bake on the middle shelf for about 20 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean when pushed into the centre of the cakes. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then remove and transfer to a wire rack. To make the frosting: In a food mixer bowl, add the icing sugar and butter and, with the paddle attachment, mix on a slow speed until combined. Increase speed to medium, and drizzle in Champagne until fully incorporated. If the frosting becomes too runny, add a little more icing sugar to stiffen it. At this point, you may add some colouring to the frosting. Frost the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with freeze-dried strawberries to complete.
As told to Jennifer Mason

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