Chocolate Halloween Cupcakes

Beware of the cupakes! Haha! With it being the first Halloween that I've had my blog, I thought that I had to bake something spooky and Halloween related. I ummd and arrd over spider cakes, graveyard traybakes, but settled for these mild but spooky cobweb cupcakes. I have to say, I do rather like Halloween; the dressing up, the baking, the atmosphere but I do with we did it as big as America! Now they really do go to town with all the decorations and parties!  I wanted to try a new chocolate cupcake recipe so I searched and found one used for Cookies and Cream cupcakes (Will defiantly be trying those soon!) by The Primrose Bakery. I used the design of of the Spider Web Chocolate Muffins of off the Good Food website and used chocolate ganache to achieve this.

For the cupcake:

Makes 16 (but I halved it to make 8)

115g Dark Chocolate

85g Unsalted Butter (room temperature)

175g Soft Brown Sugar

2 Large Eggs (separated)

185g Plain Flour

¾ tsp Baking Powder

¾ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

Pinch of Salt

250ml Semi-Skimmed milk (room temperature)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 190oC /gas mark 5. Line muffin trays with 16 muffin cases.

Break the chocolate into equal sized pieces and melt it in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Leave to cool slightly.

In a clean bowl, using a clean whisk, whisk the egg whites to form stiff peaks. Do this before anything else, to avoid having to wash your whisk/beaters.

In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar together until pale and smooth. Slowly add the egg yolks and beat well.

Next, add the melted chocolate and beat again.

Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and salt into a separate bowl and stir together.

In a jug, stir the vanilla extract into the milk. Gradually add alternate amounts of the milk mixture and flour mixture into the chocolate mixture and beat well between each time.Using a spatula fold the whites into the batter until everything is combined.

Spoon the batter into the cases, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Leave the cakes in their tins for a few minutes to cool and then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

For the Chocolate Ganache and cobwebs:

200g Dark Chocolate

200ml Double Cream

50g White Chocolate

Break up the chocolate and put into a bowl, along with the cream. Melt together over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally to combine them. Once they are fully combined, leave the ganache to cool and thicken slightly. This will make it easier to spread it onto the cupcakes.

Once the ganache has thicken, spread some onto the top of the cupcake. Tip: If any cupcakes have peaked whilst cooking, slice off the top and eat it! This will create a smoother finish.

To create the cobwebs, melt some white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and spoon into a piping bag. Pipe a small circle on top of the cake and then bigger circles around it. Using a toothpick, draw a line from the centre outwards and it will drag some of the chocolate wit hit creating a cobweb. 

Happy Baking! 

x

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I'm entering this into Dolly Bakes and LauraLovesCakes event- Calendar Cakes!

Zingy Zesty Lemon Meringue Pie

My love for lemon is never ending! It's refreshing, tasty, versatile  and oh so simple. I've wanted to make a lemon meringue pie for a while now; ever since seeing an amazing picture in a food magazine. It was of a slice of pie with a perfectly structured lemon layer and then this mountain of pillowy, marshmellowey, I-want-to-eat-that-now-ey meringue on top. I'd said to my mum that I'd had enough of baking cakes for a while and was moving on to puddings. What with going to visit my Auntie for a few days, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to make one. I also wanted to practise making pastry and this recipe required baking blind, which I'd never done before, but there's always a first for everything!  So after a busy day catching up with a friends, it was lovely to return to the kitchen and do some good ol' baking.

 For the Pastry, you'll need:
250g (9oz) Plain Flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
1 Tablespoon of Icing Sugar, sifted
125g (4oz) Unsalted Butter/Margarine, chilled and diced
1 Egg, beaten with half a tablespoon of chilled water

If you have a food processor:
Whizz the flour, sugar, and diced butter/marg until it resembles breadcrumbs.

If not, mix the flour and sugar together and then add the diced butter/marg. With your fingertips, rub the flour mixture and butter/marg together until you have a breadcrumb consistancy. Be light on the fingers and pick out any lumps and rub them to make them smaller.

In a large bowl, add the egg mixture to the breadcrumbs and stir with a palette knife. Using your hands, bring the mixture together to form a dough, adding a SMALL bit of extra water if the pastry seems dry. Work it into a ball, wrap in cling-film and leave it to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. I was in a bit of a hurry, so I did 15 minutes in the freezer.

Preheat the oven to 180^oC/Gas Mark 4. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to a thickness of just under a £1 coin. Line a fluted tart tin (24/23cm) , loose bottomed being best, with the pastry. I used my finger tips to work the pastry into the grooves of the tin, and then a sharp knife to cut off excess pastry. Prick the base with a fork and place into the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up. If there's no room in the freezer, 15-20 minutes in the fridge will do.

After 10 minutes, place some greaseproof paper into the tin and fill with baking beans or rice and bake blind for 15 minutes or until the edges are firm. Remove the greaseproof paper and beans/rice and bake for a further 5-10 minute or until lightly golden brown. 

For the filling, you'll need:

the Zest and Juice of 3 lemons

40g (1.5oz) Cornflour, sifted

100g (3.5oz) Caster Sugar

275ml Water

50g (2oz) Butter/Margarine

5 Egg Yolks (Whites to be used later)

Stir the lemon juice and zest with the cornflour and caster sugar, until a smooth paste is formed. Bring the water to boil in a pan and add the lemon mixture. Keep stirring until it has thickened and then simmer for 1 minute, stirring continuously.  (Note: The mixture will very suddenly thicken and then start to bubble. At this point, turn the heat down to a simmer.) Remove from the heat and beat in the butter/marg, followed by the egg yolks, until smooth. Leave to cool and then pour into the pastry case. 

For the Meringue, you'll need: 

5 Egg Whites

250g (9oz) Caster Sugar

2 Teaspoons Cornflour

Use an electric hand mixer to beat the egg whites until they become stiff. Add the caster sugar in 4 stages, beating thoroughly each time and until it's stiff and shiny. Whisk in the cornflour. Spoon over the filling and use a fork or skewer to create a swirly design. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes at 130^oC at the bottom of the oven. 

 

And it seemed to be a hit with my family too! 

Happy Baking! 

x

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Follow @nicsfeasts and @NicckkNackk

I'm entering this into Calendar Cakes by Dolly Bakes and Laura Loves Cakes as this month's theme is British Summertime and lemon is just so summery and fruity.

Also, into Lottie's World of Cakes and Bakes challenge- Lottie's Bake Off Challenge as this weeks theme on The Great British Bake Off was pastry.

Strawberry Pavlova

Now if someone asked me what my favourite pudding was, it would be Strawberry Pavlova every time. It's perfectly summery and really tasty! Strawberries have always been one of my favourite fruit so I love nearly anything with them in and the crunchy meringue complements the softness of the cream and fruit. This was my first time at making meringue and was really happy at how it turned out. I'd always thought of meringue as a bit of challenge when people talk about "Stiff peaks" but now I love making it and am going to make a Lemon Meringue Pie for my Auntie at the weekend (post to follow!) And did you know that this pudding is originally from New Zealand- me neither! 

This recipe is from my Mum's trusty Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course.

You will need:

3 Large Fresh Egg Whites

175g (6oz) Caster Sugar

275ml (half a pint) Whipping or Double Cream (I used a 300ml pot)

Strawberries (Or any other fruit you want to add)

Preheat the oven to 150^oC/300^oF/Gas Mark 2.  Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and grease lightly with oil/butter/margarine. 

Place the egg whites in a clean bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. This will be when the mixture looks like it has little mountains in it. Start to whisk in the sugar, a little at a time until all the sugar is combined. By now the peaks will have become stiffer- when you tip the mixer upright, they should stand up. 

Spoon the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet forming a circle with a little dip in the middle. (This will be where the fruit sits) To make the meringue look decorative, you can take a skewer or fork and create swirls and peaks around the edge. 

Place the baking sheet in the oven and immediately turn it down to 140^oC/275^oF/Gas Mark 1 and leave to cook for an hour. After an hour turn the oven of but keep the meringue inside until the oven has completely cooled. This is to allow the meringue to completely dry out and can take from 2 hours. 

When the meringue is ready, gently peel it off the baking paper and put it onto the serving dish. In a bowl whip up the cream- personally I like it quite thick. Spread the cream onto the meringue and arrange the strawberries on top. Serve with a little icing sugar on top. 

Happy Baking! 

x

Please leave a comment below! 

Follow @nicsfeasts and @NicckkNackk

I am entering this into my first Blog Event- Simple and In Season by Ren at Fabulicious Food. 

I am also entering this into Calendar Cakes by Dolly Bakes and Laura Loves Cakes because it's the perfect summer pudding! 

And into Let's Cook With Fruits by Simply Food

P.S Earlier on in August I went to the Bristol Hot Air Balloon Fiesta with my friend Sarah. (She also appears in Pretty Pink Wedding Cake) We saw some amazing sights but we particularly like the Churchill one!