Banoffee cupcakes

Week 42, Bake 42.

Banoffee cupcakes. This idea came to me one night (as they do) and so I decided to create a banoffee cupcake to take into work for my fellow therapists. As an added wow I thought I should use my new chocolate transfer paper!

Ingredients:

• 125g of soft butter
•  175g of caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 large bananas mashed
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 2 tablespoons of hot milk
• 1tsp of baking powder
• 225g of plain flour
• 1 packet of green and blacks dark chocolate
• 170g of butter (for the icing)
• 2 cups of icing sugar
• 60ml of water
• 100g of caster sugar
• 118ml of double cream
• 2 tsp of vinilla essence
• chocolate transfer paper

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170c.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. 
3. Beat the eggs into a cup and add a little at a time whilst beating the butter/sugar mixture. 
4. Now fold in the mashed bananas. 
5. In a small mug, mix the baking soda and milk together until dissolved. 
6. Now add this to the cupcake mixture and fold in the sifted flour and baking powder. You dont want to loose too much air at this point.
7. Divide into cupcake cases (I piped mine in) and cook for 15-20 minutes. 
8. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and cool. 
9. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. 
10. Now the exciting bit, get out the chocolate transfer paper and spread thinly your chocolate over it. Let it cool in a cool room. My flat was actually quite warm from all the cooking so it took longer to set. 
11. Once it is almost set carve out your shapes in the paper. 
12. Now, make the butter cream icing. Beat the butter till light and fluffy. 
13. Gradually add in the icing sugar and beat together. 
14. Either pipe or spread the icing over the cupcakes. 
15. Now make the caramel, in a clean saucepan mix together the water and sugar. 
16. Let it boil on a medium-high heat until it becomes amber. 
17. Now pour in the double cream (and vanilla essence) this will bubble and spit a lot so make sure you have your extractor fan on (I am very proud to say my fire alarm didn't go off!). 
18. Put back on the heat and continuously stir for 3 minutes. 
19. Now let it cool for a minute or two and then drizzle over the top of the cupcakes. 
20. Divide up the chocolate shards and pop into your cupcakes and your done!

End of term butterfly cupcakes

Week 28, Bake 28.

I cannot believe that I have worked at my new job for a whole school term now! Admitenly our school terms are about 2 weeks shorter than everyone elses but I can't believe it is actually summer now, mainly because the weather is doing nothing to convince me it is summer. Anyway so as it is the end of term instead of giving sweeties like the other speech therapists I decided to bake cakes. For two reasons, (1) as it would count towards my 52 bakes and (2) despite the fact that I love baking, I don't really like sweets! Shocking isn't it.

When I asked my kids at school if they would like butterfly cakes, the girls looked really excited but the boys shrugged in a 'not bothered' sort of way. Typical boys. Anyway I have to say that my two highlights of this term were seeing the olympic torch and our school street party. Not a highlight was probably when one of my children thought I was 30 (in actual fact im 23!) or when the same child asked why I'm a 'Miss'. Horrible children!

Method:

• 180g of plain flour
• 20g of corn flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 a teaspoon of salt
• 2 eggs
• 175g of caster sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vinilla extract
• 120ml of vegetable or sunflower oil
• 120ml of buttermilk (or 120ml of milk with 1/2 a teaspoon of lemon juice left for 5 minutes)
• 150g of butter (very soft)
• Icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vinilla essence
• a splash of milk

Ingredients:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c.
2. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. In a seprate bowl break two eggs and whisk them together (if you have an electric mixer use that...I actually don't have one).
4. Now beat the sugar into the eggs and whisk for another 30 seconds.
5. Add in the vinilla extract and the oil then beat it in.
6. Now sift a third of the flour into the mixture and whisk it in. The whisk in a third of the buttermilk and then continue the pattern of mixing the flour and milk in.
7. Arrange the cupcake cases in your pan and fill them to three quaters full.
8. Pop in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes.
9. Once they are ready, leave them in the pan for a minute then transfer them to a cooling rack.
10. Meanwhile beat the softened butter and slowely add the icing sugar into the butter. To be honnest I cannot really remember how much icing sugar I use, I just do it by taste and sight.
11. Once the buttercream is quite stiff, add in the vanilla extract and enough milk to make it easy to pipe.
12. Cut the tops off your cupcakes, making a circle as you go round and then cut the circle into two.
13. Now pipe the buttercream icing into the exposed cake section and places the spare bits of cake on like wings.
14. A quick dust with icing sugar and your done!

A simple retro classic.

A cupcake for the W.I.

Week 17, Bake 17.

I have moved! I am now in the (very changeable weather) county of Somerset. I have not started my new job yet, that's tomorrow but I am already on the quest of making friends. I know no one in this county (other than one of my school friends who lives an hour away), so on Monday when I was wondering round one of the most beautiful little towns I came across a row of craft shops! Sadly all but one were closed on Mondays, nevertheless I went into the one which was open and as I was leaving it I saw a poster for a new W.I. group.

The stereotype of the W.I. (or Women's Institute) is eighty something women all sitting in a circle knitting tea cosies, or if you have watched the calender girls, sixty something women stripping off and using tea cosies to hide their personal areas. This poster for the W.I. was different. It featured the 1950's woman with the phrase 'we can do it' on it. After a bit of clever googling I realised that these women who were setting up a new W.I. were young, and so trying my hardest to be brave and confident I have decided to go tomorrow night to the W.I.
Why not? The W.I. is pretty much what I am about, they enjoy knitting, making jam, cakes and doing charity work. So I emailed them and they are very happy to have me and said that the first meeting will be about what the W.I. does and we will be eating cake. So that is why this weeks bake will be (mostly) taken to the girls at the W.I. tomorrow.

So here it is... Earl Gray Cupcakes: my two favourite things, tea and cupcakes... what could be better?

Ingredients:

• 175ml of milk
• 2 Earl Gray tea bags
• 115g of unsalted butter
• 225g of caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 250g of plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 teaspoons of corn flour
• 75g of butter (for the icing)
• 2 lemons worth of juice and zest
• 400g of icing sugar

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c. (Having just moved into my flat I have realised that all the numbers on my cooker have been rubbed off... so I'm currently guessing a lot!)
2. Heat the milk in a saucepan until it simmers then pop it to one side to cool and add the Earl Gray tea bags in it and let it just sit for 3 minutes.
3. Squeeze the tea bags and let the milk cool.
4. Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
5. In a mug beat the two eggs together and then add them into the butter mixture one tablespoon at a time. Beat well.
6. Now sift one third of the flour (adding in the baking powder and cornflour), then add one third of the tea infused milk, repeating this until it is all beaten in.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, cool for another 20.
8. Meanwhile beat the butter, lemon juice and half of the icing sugar together.
9. When smooth add in the rest of the icing sugar and then pipe it onto the cupcakes.

And that's it! The two best things in the world combined... tea and cupcakes.

I will let you all know how the W.I. night goes, I am totally nervous about meeting a room full of new people but hopefully these cupcakes will give me confidence.

C is for cookie...

Week 12, Bake 12.

I have had a very good week this week. I have been offered and accepted a job as a Speech and Language Therapist at a school for dyslexic children (my perfect job). So to celebrate, this weeks bake is special. Cookie monster cupcakes!

This bake is in two pieces really, cookies and cupcakes.
Ingredients: (cupcakes)

• 180g plain flour
• 20g of corn flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 eggs
• 175g of caster sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
• 120ml of vegetable oil
• 120ml of buttermilk

Ingredients: (cookies)

• 300g of plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 170g of unsalted butter
• 120g of white sugar
• 215g of brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla essence
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 300g of chocolate chips of dried fruit

Ingredients: (decorating)

• 125g of soften butter
• Icing sugar
• A splash of milk
  
• Blue food colouring
• Black food colouring
• White royal icing

Method:

1. Pre heat the oven to 180c.
2. For the cupcakes: sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs together using an electric mixer for 10 seconds then add in the caster sugar and beat for 30 seconds.
4. Now add in the oil and vanilla essence and beat again until it is all combined.
5. Now on a slower speed, tip in half of the flour and then once combined add in half of buttermilk. Now add in the final amount of flour and buttermilk and beat until it is all combined.
6. To make the small cookies for cookie monsters mouth, use a teaspoon to measure out a small amount of cookie dough and place them onto a baking sheet.
   
7. To make the bigger cookies (which you will be eating separately) use an American measuring cup, fill it with the batter and then pour this into each cupcake case.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
9. Leave them to cool on a wire rack.
   
10. Now for the cookies: sift the flour, salt and baking soda.
11. Now melt the butter. In a separate bowl, pour the melted butter into a mixing bowl and stir in the sugars.
    
12. Add the egg and yolk and beat it into the butter/sugar mixture.
    
13. Stir in the dry ingredients and then stir in the chocolate chips/raisins.
14. Cover the dough and let it rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
    
15. Meanwhile prepare the icing. Beat the butter in a bowl and then add the icing sugar a bit at a time and beat it.
16. Now add a splash of milk, the vanilla essence and the food colouring.
17. Beat all together and then spoon the icing into a piping bowl with a small star nozzle.
18. Cut a slit into the cupcake to make the mouth and cut a cookie in half.
19. Pipe round the mouth and then shove the cookie into the mouth and finish piping the rest of the cupcake.
    
20. Roll out eyes for the cookie monster and paint eye balls on them with a paint brush and black food colouring.

This is how I cook:



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Red Velvet Cupcakes

Week 2. Bake 2.

My brother is home this week and out of all of the bakes on my list he wanted me to bake a red velvet cake, so being the good little sister I am, my bake this week is Red Velvet Cupcakes.


I have never had Red Velvet Cupcakes let alone made them. So here is the recipe for my Red Velvet Cupcakes.

(on a different matter, I have just learnt how to spell ingredients - so chuffed as I am dyslexic!).

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of red food colouring
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 60g of salted butter (room temperature)
• 150g of caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 120ml of buttermilk
  
• 140g of sifted plain flour
• 10g of sifted corn flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of white vinegar
  
• American butter cream icing

Method:

1. In a small bowl mix the cocoa powder together with the red food colouring. Add the vanilla essence.
2. In a separate bowl beat the room temperature butter together with the sugar until light and fluffy. This took me about 5-6 minutes as I don't have a Kitchenaid mixer sadly, so I beat all my cakes by hand until I can afford one.
3. Now beat the egg in a cup, and slowly add it to the butter/sugar mixture one tablespoon at a time, beating constantly.
4. Now add the cocoa mixture to the big bowl and beat it for a minute or so.
5. Pour in half of the buttermilk and beat it into the mixture, then add half of the flour (add the plain flour and the corn flour together to do this).
6. Now beat the mixture, add the rest of the buttermilk, beat it in and then add the final amount of flour.
7. At this point add the final ingredients, the vinegar and the baking soda into the cupcake mixture and mix for a minute or two.
8. Now put the cupcakes into cases and bake at 170c for 20 minutes.
9. Once they come out of the oven, leave them for a minute in the tin and then transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack.
   
10. The finish off the cupcakes with either cream cheese frosting or butter cream icing (like I did).

I don't think that I will make these cupcakes again, for one reason, I don't like the fact that they are basically chocolate cupcakes and yet they are red. Chocolate cupcakes should be chocolate coloured. Another reason why I don't think I will make them again is that they are not my regular cupcake recipe and as a result I don't think they are as light and fluffy. (Check back for my cupcake recipe). So as recipes go, its not the best, but it tastes good!


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My first craft fair...

I am very sorry that I haven't written a blog post recently, but I have been rather busy with my parents B&B. Anyway here is my account of how my first craft fair went and the key things that I have learnt.

What I have learnt from my limited craft fair experience:

1. Edible glitter is even better than sliced bread.
2. However great edible glitter is, it does get EVERYWHERE.
   
3. It appears that my cupcakes have positives and negatives. Positive, when a child sees them they get a huge smile on their face (the sort you would see in a Disney movie). Negative, they can make even the nicest children have a tantrum when their parents tell them they can't have one. I really hope that as a result the children who were denied cupcakes are not on the naughty list.
   
4. Know your audience, it appears that a small village in Norfolk don't get the chic cupcakes or the vintage tea cup candles - they prefer pewter manicure sets and leather mugs (how can a mug be leather, its ridiculous!). So understand whether your craft fair prefers modern crafts or traditional.
5. Take something to do so you don't just sit there expectantly like a loser.
   

At least next year I know what not to make.