Valentine's Cupcakes

I love it when there's an excuse to bake something really yummy and this time it was cupcakes for a Valentine's Cake Sale we had at school. I may have mentioned it before that in June we have a Leaver's Ball for reaching the end of our time in secondary school, and the prom committee and I are trying different ways to raise money to go towards the cost. We held a cake sale and everyone made (or bought) cakes and biscuits to sell and we made £92! So we were very pleased and it is definitely something we will do again- especially as it's an excuse to get baking! 

The vanilla cupcakes are made from half the mixture used in my Christmas Cupcakes, a recipe from The Great British Bake Off: How to Turn Everyday Bakes into Showstoppers and the same method.

For the chocolate cupcakes, you'll need:

60g (2oz) Butter or Margarine, at room temperature

60g (2oz) Caster Sugar

1 Egg, lightly beaten

45g (1½ oz) Self-Raising Flour, sifted

15g Cocoa Powder, sifted

Preheat the oven to 180^oC/350^oF/Gas Mark 4 and put 17 cupcake cases or 12 muffin cases into two cupcake trays. 

Beat the butter/margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg, a little at a item and beat thoroughly in-between additions. Fold in the cocoa powder and flour.

Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 15-20 minutes. They should be springy and firm to touch. Transfer to a wire wrack and leave to cool.

 For the icing:
140g (5oz) Butter/Margarine, at room temperature
280g (10oz) Icing Sugar, sifted

Beat the butter/margarine until smooth and light. Add the icing sugar a little at a time and beat until well combined. The longer you beat it, the fluffier it will be! Split the mixture in half and add half a tablespoon of cocoa powder to the chocolate icing and a few drops of pink food colouring to the other.
Pipe onto cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles!

 Happy Baking! 

x

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Chunky Chocolate Cookies

Well that's another year gone, and I have to admit, for the first time I was a bit nostalgic about seeing 2012 go. It was a really good year for me; I was bridesmaid for my cousin, we had the Olympics, I got my first principle part in a show, I was made Head Girl, had a good academic year and generally a good time. What was your favourite 2012 moment? Also, the beginning of 2013 didn't look too inviting: January exams (which in my opinion should be illegal), more exams and oh yes, more exams. School definitely likes to load on the pressure. And if I hear my head of year say "This is it" again over this being our last few months at school, I will not be responsible for my actions! On a more positive note, we're organising the yearbook and we have our prom! I can't wait! 

These cookies are from Jo Wheatley's A Passion for Baking. She was the winner of 2011's GBBO and there are so many things I can't wait to bake. In the book, it says this recipe make 10 but I halved the recipe and made 7 cookies roughly 4 inches in diameter, which I found quite big. So using this mixture will probably make 14/15 big ones or 20 smaller ones. 

200g Unsalted Butter, softened
200g Light brown Sugar (I used light brown sugar for both quantities)
125g Demerara Sugar
2 Large Eggs, beaten
1tsp Vanilla Extract
400g Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
a pinch of Salt
200g Dark Chocolate, cut into small chunks

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3 and cover 3-4 baking trays with baking parchment or greaseproof paper. 

Cream the butter and both of the sugars together until pale, light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well between each addition. Scrape down the sides to combine all of teh mixture. Add the vanilla extract and mix again.

Sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl and mix again until thoroughly combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

To get even sized cookies, I gathered the dough into a ball and halved it. I kept halving each section until I got the size I wanted. Roll each division into a ball and flatten to a depth of 1.5 cm and place them onto a baking tray, evenly spaced as they will expand by at least half. Alternatively, you could use an ice-cream scoop to get even sized cookies. 

Bake the cookies in batches in the middle of the oven for 5 minutes. Take them out and bang the tray sharply on a work surface to deflate the cookies and et rid of air bubbles. Continue to bake for a further 7-8 minutes for gooey cookies or 8-10 for slightly crispy cookies. 

Allow the cookies to cool a little on their baking tray before transferring to a wire wrack to cool completely  Store in an airtight container to prevent them going stale.

Happy Baking! 

x

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Christmas Cupcakes

Christmas has really started for me now. At school, we've had the Christmas carol service, at my acting company we've had our Christmas party and I've finally broken up from school! I'm really looking forward to a Christmas break with my family and lots of food! 

This is from my new book, The Great British Bake Off: How to Turn Everyday Bakes into Showstoppers. I was such a avid follower of the show that I had to have the book! So my good friend Beth bought me it for my birthday. This recipe is called English Summer Cupcakes.

For the cupcakes, you'll need:
125g (4½oz) Unsalted Margarine or Margarine, at room temperature
175g (6oz)Caster Sugar
2 Large Eggs, at room temperature
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
175g (6oz) Self-Raising Flour
Good pinch of salt
3 tbsp Milk

Preheat the oven to 180^oC/350^oF/Gas Mark 4.  Beat the butter in a bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in the sugar and beat for 4-5 minutes so that it's very light and fluffy.

Beat the eggs with the vanilla and then add the mixture a little bit at a time beating well in-between each addition. Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl to include all the mixture. Sift the flour and salt into the bowl and add the milk. Gently fold together.

Spoon the mixture into the cases and distribute evenly. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and risen. Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for a couple of minutes, then transfer them to a cooling wrack. 

For the icing: 

125g (4½oz)Unsalted Butter or Margarine

400g (14oz) Icing Sugar

3-4 tablespoons of Milk

Red, Green and Blue food colouring

Christmas Decorations

In a bowl, beat the butter until it's light and creamy. Gradually sift the icing sugar in and beat in. When all teh icing sugar has been mixed, divide the mixture into 3. For the first batch of icing, colour it red and ice 4 cupcakes using a palette knife. I decorated mine with snow and snowmen. 

For the blue icing, I used an icing nozzle shaped like a cross and used to create a swirling spiral effect. 

With last batch of icing, keep a little bit spare as the normal colour. Spread a layer of this on the remaining 4 cupcakes. Colour the remaining icing green. Using a star nozzle, pipe a wreath in short bursts of icing. Using a small round writing nozzle, use some left over red icing (or a red writing pen) to create the ribbon and berries. 

Last Christmas I made a whole batch of wreath cakes: 

Happy Baking and Merry Christmas!

x

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P.S Here's a picture of me and my friends at my 16th birthday meal!