Chocolate Mini Eggs Cupcakes For Easter

Me and my mum always celebrate Easter but it wasn't until this year that I realised all the baking opportunities! I just had to find something that used the iconic mini eggs! And so the Mini Egg Cupcakes were born (or should I say baked!) They were fun to make as I love the smell of chocolate cupcakes baking in the oven and I one or two eggs make have cheekily found their way into my mouth. Also, the actual cupcake has a lovely consistency and goes together really well with the fluffy butter cream. These were baked for my Godmother and her family, whom we always see at Easter. They went down very well for after dinner despite in being spoilt by her fabulous cooking!

This recipe is from one of my favourite books Cupcakes by Susanna Tee. This also had the recipe in for my Light and Fluffy Lemon Cakes. 

For the cupcakes: 

115g (4oz) Butter, at room temperature ( I used Stork Margarine) 

115g (4oz) Caster Sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

85g (3oz) Self- Raising White Flour

25g (1oz) Cocoa Powder

Preheat the oven to 180^oC/350^oF/Gas Mark 4. Put 12 baking cases into a bun tray.

Place the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. For best results, use an electric hand mixer. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and fold in the mixture. To see how to fold, click here. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until just under half full.

Bake the cupcakes in for 15-20 minutes until well risen and firm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

For the icing:

85g (3oz) Butter, at room temperature (I used stork)

175g (6oz) Icing Sugar, sifted

1 tbsp Milk

2-3 drops of vanilla essence

2 130g packs of Cadbury's Mini Eggs (or equivalent) 

Put the butter into a bowl and beat until fluffy. Add a third of the icing sugar and beat together until well combined. Repeat for the remaining icing sugar. Add the milk and vanilla extract and beat in well.

Put the icing into and icing bag, fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe around the edge of the cupcake to create a "nest" Place 3 eggs in the centre of each nest. I experimented and used a large star nozzle to get the lined effect on the nest but also used a different star nozzle to create the swirly look in the picture below. 

The Swirly Effect.

The Lined Effect.

The large Star Nozzle.

The Swirly Star Nozzle.

Happy Baking! 

x

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A Heavenly White Loaf

After the fail of my first loaf of bread didn't go quite to plan and didn't cook properly, I thought I'd try again with a recipe from Jo Wheatley. I thought this would be a good idea as so far all her recipes have worked out. I actually found the kneading of the dough really relaxing so it wasn't like hard work. And then the fact that it turned out well and tasted delicious was a bonus!

500g Strong White Bread Flour, plus some Plain Flour for kneading
3 large pinches of Sea Salt
3 large pinches of Caster Sugar
7g Dried Yeast
100ml Milk (Semi Skimmed or Full Fat)
200ml Water
25g Unsalted Butter, melted
1 Egg Yolk, beaten (optional)

Tip all the dry ingredients into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Heat the milk and water together until lukewarm. Add the melted butter and stir to combine.

If using a machine with a bread hook, combine the ingredients with a slow to medium speed until the dough comes together. If mixing by hand, use a wooden spoon or spatula. Continue to knead the dough for 7 minutes in the machine or for 10-12 minutes by hand until you have a smooth elastic dough.

Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for about an hour or until it's doubled in size.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 minute to knock back the dough. Mould it into a sausage shape and pop it into a greased 900g (2lb) loaf tin. Cover it with oiled cling film and leave to prove for 40-60 minutes until the dough has doubled and feels springy.

Preheat the oven to 200^oC/400^oF/Gas Mark 6.  If you choose to, gently brush the top of the loaf with egg and bake for 30 minutes. I noticed halfway through that it was looking very golden on top so I covered it with foil to stop it from burning. The loaf will be done when golden brown and the underside sounds hollow when tapped. 

Cool the loaf for 10 minutes in its tin and then transfer to a wire wrack to cool completely. Leave until cold before slicing. 

 Happy Baking! 

x

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White Chocolate Tiffin

Whenever I'm out and about during half term, I always seem to visit Costa at least once and I am an absolute sucker for their chocolate tiffin! I love anything chocolatey anyway, but their tiffin doesn't help the cravings. So when I was looking through my new favourite cookbook, Jo Wheatley- A passion for baking, and found a recipe for chocolate tiffin, I knew I had to try it. And it didn't disappoint! It may not look as neat as the precisely cut picture in the book, but it was just as yummy! 

You'll Need:

125g Digestive Biscuits (Around 7)

30g Desiccated Coconut

30g Glace Cherries, washed and quartered

65g Unsalted Butter/Margarine

1.5 tbsp Golden Syrup

1 tbsp Malted Drink Powder- I used Ovaltine

1 tbsp Caster Sugar

250g White Chocolate (You may want to use 300g depending if you'd like lots of chocolate topping) 

Break the biscuits into halves and place in a freezer bag and using a rolling pin, crush them into smallish pieces, then tip them into a large bowl. Add the coconut and the cherries.

Put the butter, syrup, malted drink powder and sugar in a small saucepan. Place a low heat and stir constantly until the mixture is thoroughly combined. You will notice a distinct change in the mixture as it will thicken slightly and start to bubble. Pour this mixture over the biscuits and stir until evenly coated. 

Spoon the mixture into a greased and lined baking tin- I used a         . Press the mixture down firmly into an even layer and leave to cool completely. 

Break the chocolate into even sized pieces and melt in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir to get a smooth consistency and pour over the biscuit base. Leave to set completely

Cut the tiffin into squares (I made 9) using a knife that has been run under hot water as this will make it easier to slice through.

 Happy Baking! 

x

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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!

The Mighty Mince Pies Are Back!

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me.. a partridge in a pear tree. It's nearly Christmas! And so the mince pies have come made their first winter appearance. Now I'm ashamed to say that I was never a fan of mince pies until I bakes these last year with my Mumma. I liked them so much that they are going to be my first Christmassy bake this year. 

Things have been so busy recently and also very musical. My mumma and I went to a strings concert last week and then went to see Carmen the Opera in London was very urrm unusual but still had amazing singing and music. At school ,we then had our Christmas concert where my friends and I performed as a harmony group. The following was my birthday and I had a great time but I'm now very much looking forward to Christmas! 

You'll need:

175g (6oz) Plain Flour

100g (3½oz) Margarine or Unsalted Butter, cubed

1 egg yolk, beaten

350g (12oz) Mincemeat

Icing Sugar

To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour to create a "breadcrumbs" effect. Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolk and work it into the dough. You made need to add some water if the dough is dry. 

Knead the dough gently, until smooth. Wrap in cling-film and leave to cool in the fridge for 15 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 180^oC/355^oF/ Gas Mark 4. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to a thickness of 0.5 cm. You don't want it to be thick as you'll get a whole mouthful of pastry! Using a crimpled round cutter, cut out 12 circles. Grease a 12 hole muffin/cupcake tin and line each whole with a pastry circle. Gently, press the circle fully into the hole. 

Spoon a generous teaspoon of mincemeat into each case. Roll out the left over pastry and cut different Christmas shapes and place on top of the mincemeat. Glaze the pies with milk or egg yolk and bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and sprinkle with icing sugar. These are lovely served with cream; double or brandy flavoured. 

Happy Baking! 

x

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Orange Upside-Down Pudding Cake

Well it seems ages since I've been on here writing a blog! School has got busy and I feel I can never justify neglecting that spanish coursework that needs learning in order to bake. But I found a window of opportunity to bake when my godparents came to visit and a pudding was needed. Mum had ventured into the sweet side of the kitchen (usually cakes are a "no go" area" and had baked this a few days before and we liked it so much that I made it again. It's best served with thick double cream and when it's slightly warm. It's very much a feel good pud!

You'll need:

2-3 Big Oranges

1 tbsp Brown Sugar

115g (4oz) Margarine, plus extra, at room temp.

115g (4oz) Caster Sugar

2 Eggs, at room temp.

115g (4oz) Self Raising Flour, sifted

Preheat the oven to 180oC/356oF/Gas Mark 4. You will need 1 8 inch cake tin. If your using a non stick tin, just greaes it. If not, line the bottom with greaesproof paper as well as greasing.

Grate the rind of 2 oranges and put to one side. Using a sharp knife, cut away the skin and the pith and cut the oranges into slices. Reserve the juices for later. Place the orange slices on the bottom of the tin. If you would like the entire top of the cake to be covered, you may need to use 3 oranges, if not, 2 will be sufficient. Using the extra margarine, dot the oranges with it and sprinkle over the brown sugar.

For the cake mixture, cream together the margarine and sugar using an electric mixer. Mix in the orange rind. Add 1 egg and beat well, repeat. Fold in the flour. The mixture may be quite dry; if so add in the juices from cutting the oranges. 

Spoon the mixture onto the oranges, making sure no orange can be seen. Bake for 25-30 minutes. The top may go very brown before the middle is cooked; If so, cover with tin foil and leave to cook inside. 

The pudding will be cooked when the cake is firm and springs back when touched. Also, when a skewer is entered into the middle, it will come out clean. Leave to cool for 4 minutes in the tin and then turn out onto the serving plate. Serve hot or cold. 

Happy Baking! 

x

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I am entering this into Tea Time Treats by Lavender and Lovage. The theme this month is cake.

P.S Here's a picture of me and my friends at Bryony's Alice In Wonderland themed fancy dress party for her birthday. Yes, there is a Shrek and Fiona in the picture. They were supposed to wear the outfit earlier in the year but were unable to so they wore it to this party. But, to be honest, the costumes were so good, we let them off! 

Tangy Plum Crumble

Now it's got a a bit chillier, the time has come for those classic warming winter puddings- crumble is one of my favourite! And in my opinion, there is no better than my mum's (although I suppose I am a bit biased). She makes it with a nice chewy textured topping and sweet fruit in side. The filling varies from apple, plum and apple and blackberry-really whatever needs using and what is in season. So I nicked the recipe off of her and had a go at making it myself and it was really nice but not as good as mums (maybe she has magic fingertips?) This does create quite a big crumble but when there's two crumble-lovers in the house, it never lasts long! 

For the belly warmer you'll need:

170g (6oz) Plain Flour

170g (6oz) Brown Sugar plus extra 

170g (6oz) Margarine, cubed

6 Plums (or enough to half fill your dish when they are halved) 

Preheat the oven to 180oC/356oF/Gas Mark 4. 

In a bowl, mix together the flour and brown sugar. For the crumble topping, add the margarine, and using your fingertips, rub the flour  mixture into the margarine, creating a breadcrumbs consistency. 

Wash the plums and cut them in half. Remove the stones and place into your dish. Sprinkle on 2-3 heaped tablespoons of brown sugar on top and a tablespoon of water. 

Put the crumble topping on top of the fruit and bake in the oven for 35 minutes, until the crumble is golden brown.

Happy Baking! 

x

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I'm entering this into Fabulicious Food's Simple and in Season event this month as Plums are in season.

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!