Oreo Cupcakes

A great indulgent cupcake using crushed Oreo biscuits in the chocolate sponge and buttercream. Kids young and old will love them!!

Recipe

Makes 12
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
150g golden caster sugar
3 medium eggs
125g self raising flour
25g cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 packet of Oreo biscuits, crumbled

Buttercream
200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
400g icing sugar
1/2 packet of Oreo biscuits, crushed quite fine
1/2 packet of Oreo biscuits, cut in half

1. Preheat the oven to 180C or gas mark 4 and line a 12 hole muffin tin with 12 papercases.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and  fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time with a spoonful of flour and beat again.
4. Using a metal spoon fold in the remaining, flour, cocoa, salt and crumbled Oreos, until well combined.
5. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 minutes. Leave to cool completely in the tin before icing.
6. Cream together the butter and icing sugar using an electric mixer until well mixed and then stir in the finely crushed Oreos.
7. Pipe a swirl on top of each cake and the decorate with a halved Oreo biscuit.

Christmas Spice Cupcakes

These are a great alternative to the traditional Christmas fruit cake with ground almonds, cinnamon and mixed spice but without the heavy fruit.

Recipe

Makes 12

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter, softened

200g golden caster sugar

4-6 drops almond extract

4 eggs, lightly beaten

150g self raising flour

175g ground almonds

1 tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Icing

60g unsalted butter, softened

85g full fat cream cheese

225g icing sugar, sifted

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Christmas sprinkles

1. Preheat the oven to 180C or gas mark 4. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with 12 paper cases.
2. Place the butter, sugar and almond extract in a large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in the eggs. Sift in the flour and fold into the mixture with a metal spoon, followed by the ground almonds. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until risen and golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
4. Cream the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer for a couple of minutes. Add the icing sugar and cinnamon and beat until smooth but be careful not to over beat as the mixture can go runny. Pipe a swirl on top of each cake and finish with sprinkles.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

This is a great modern take on a tradition classic pudding.

 

Recipe 

Makes 12

Ingredients

100g unsalted butter, softened

100g golden caster sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

2 large free range eggs

100g SR Flour, sifted

Zest 1 unwaxed lemon

50g lemon curd

Meringue Topping

2 large free range egg whites

100g golden caster sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180C or gas mark 4 and line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases.
2. Mix the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time with a little of the flour to prevent curdling and beat until fully incorporated. Fold in the remaining flour and the lemon zest until well combined.
3. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases and add a teaspoon of lemon curd on the top of each. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and light and springy. Leave the cakes in the tin to cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. For the meringue topping, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, whisking until stiff peaks are formed and mixture is thick and glossy.
5. Heat the grill then pipe the meringue onto the cupcakes and grill until the meringue is golden brown. Keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly. Leave to cool.

Easy Chocolate Chip Brownies

This particular recipe is really quick and easy to make as all the ingredients are mixed together at the same time.

Recipe - Makes 20

Ingredients

400g golden caster sugar
225g unsalted butter, melted
60g cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
225g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g white chocolate chips
Icing sugar to dust

1. Preheat oven to 180C or gas mark 4 and line a tin (23 x 33 cm) with grease proof paper.
2. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer until well combined.
3. Spoon the mixture into your tin, level and put in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
4. Leave to cool completely in the tin before cutting into pieces. Dust with icing sugar.

Apple Cake

This recipe has been made by my mum for years and everyone who tries it always asks for the recipe. My sister and myself now carry on the family tradition and it has become a real family favourite. It freezes well so is a great standby to have in the freezer for a last minute treat. It can be eaten hot or cold and served with cream, custard or ice cream. I have also made it with rhubarb and ginger so you could try different fruits.

Recipe

Ingredients

4 oz butter

4 oz granulated sugar

6 oz S R Flour

1 large egg, beaten

4-5 tbsp milk

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1 lb cooking apples. peeled, cored and sliced

Juice of half a lemon

1 oz demerara sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180C or gas mark 4 and grease and line a 7 inch cake tin.
2. Melt the butter in a pan then remove from heat and stir in sugar, flour, egg and enough milk to give a dropping consistency.
3. Put half of the mixture at the bottom of the tin and spread to cover the base. Place the sliced apples on top and then sprinkle over the spices, lemon juice and demerara sugar. Add the remaining cake mixture on top.
4. Bake for about 40-45 minutes.

Mocha Cupcakes

I recently treated myself to the new book from The Hummingbird Bakery, Cake Days and have been dying to try some of their recipes. This is the first one I have tried from the book and they went down a treat at a friends birthday party, only they went down so quickly the birthday boy himself missed out!!!

                                                           

Recipe

Makes 12-16

Ingredients

240ml whole milk

15g hot-chocolate powder

5g instant espresso powder

80g unsalted butter, softened

280g caster sugar

240g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

Frosting

50ml whole milk

30g hot-chocolate powder

500g icing sugar

160g unsalted butter, softened

12-16 chocolate decorations

1. Preheat the oven to 190C or gas mark 5 and line 1or 2 muffin tins with muffin cases.
2. To make the sponge, gently warm the milk, without boiling it, then remove from the heat and add the hot-chocolate powder and coffee powder. Stir until dissolved and set aside.
3. Using a hand-held electric whisk or an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, whisk the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt together on a low speed until the texture of fine breadcrumbs.
4. Break the eggs into a jug, pour in the mocha-flavoured milk and whisk together by hand. Pour 3/4 of the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix on a low speed to combine. Increase the speed to medium and continue mixing until you have a smooth and thick batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the remaining milk mixture and continue to mix on a medium speed until all the ingredients are incorporated and batter is smooth once again.
5. Spoon the batter into the paper cases, up to 2/3 full. If any batter is left over, use it to fill up some more cases in another tin. Pop in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until well risen and springy to the touch. Allow to cool slightly, then remove from the tin and place on a wire rack, letting the cakes cool completely before you add the frosting.
6. To make the frosting, warm the milk gently in a saucepan, add the hot-chocolate powder and stir to dissolve. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.
7. Using the electric whisk or electric mixer with the paddle attachment, whisk the icing sugar with the butter on a low speed until the mixture is sandy-textured and no large lumps of butter are left. Gradually pour in the cooled chocolate milk, still mixing on a low speed, then increase the speed to high and whisk until light and fluffy.
8. When the cupcakes are fully cooled, pipe a swirl with the frosting and decorate with a chocolate.

Toadstool Cake

It's my daughters 12th birthday today and she requested a toadstool cake for her sleepover party tomorrow. I was able to try out my grass nozzel for the first time and was pleased with the result.