Snickers Cupcakes

Today is RSPCA Cupcake day in Australia.

My dog is a pound dog, so this is a cause close to my heart. With alot of effort by the gorgeous Anne, we were able to raise somewhere in the vicinity of $1500. It costs $1 / day to feed a pound dog, so every bit really does count.

I volunteered to make some cupcakes, and these beauties were hands down the most popular!

It is actually a really simple premise, and only marginally fiddly. Make a chocolate cupcake. Ice it with peanut butter icing, add a slice of snickers, and drizzle over some chocolate. Yum!

This recipe says it will yield 18 cupcakes. This is not quite true, but it definitely gives more than 12. I know the mixture is quite runny, so when you fill the patty cases, you may be tempted to pour quite a bit into each case. Don't - these rise quite a bit. A few of mine ran over and fused together (though this is nothing that a serrated knife can't take care of!).

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups plain flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 caster cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk (or milk + a dash of lemon)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line a muffin tins with patty cases. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Try & use a mixing bowl that has a pouring lip.

Mix in eggs, water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla until smooth, about 3 minutes. Pour the batter into the cases & bake, until tops spring back when lightly touched, about 20 minutes. You may need to rotate the pans halfway through - just see how they are all cooking, and spin the trays if necessary. Let cool in tins before removing to wire racks.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1 cup peanut butter (I like to use crunchy)
100g butter, softened
3/4 cup icing sugar (sifted)

Cream peanut butter & butter in a mixer w/ the paddle attachment, on high speed. Reduce the speed to low and add the icing sugar, stirring on low until combined. Once incorporated, increase to high and beat until fluffy & smooth, around 3 minutes. Use immediately.

Melt 100g of chocolate in the microwave in 30 second bursts. It should only take 2. Stir very well in between each burst. Even if there are chunks after the 2nd burst, don't go for a 3rd time. Just stir w/ a teaspoon and the heat of the melted chocolate will melt any remaining bits.

Cut a snickers bar into quarters (length ways, and then in half again). Put a snickers quarter onto the iced cupcake. Use a teaspoon to drizzle chocolate over the snickers & the cupcake. Allow to set.

Len's Strawberry Birthday Cake!

Happy Birthday Lenny G!!!

This is the cake that I made for my dear friend Len. I really was proud of how it turned out! It definitley exceeded my expectations, and given that all that remained of it was crumbs, I think most people found it tasty too!

The cake selection was of course at the discretion of the birthday boy. He was accommodatingly indifferent - any cake would be fab!

Then my brother mentioned that strawberry shortcake would be a great idea. I don't know if you have seen what a strawberry shortcake looks like, but the best way I can think to describe is as a cross between a scone & a sponge cake. Small & dainty. And utterly delish. But Small. And Dainty.

Len's party had 50+ people going.

Len - I love you. I am not making strawberry shortcake for 50+ people. Not unless someone throws in 2 weeks in Tahiti at the end. But at least we had a flavour now - strawberry! I had made a strawberry meringue icing before that my gorgeous friends Mike & Mel had loved, so I knew what to ice the cake with (use it to ice plain vanilla cupcakes & pop a halved fresh strawb on top - delish!). And a quick search through my miraculous mega recipe book (aka google) and I had a recipe for strawberry cake! The icing is from a recipe by Martha Stewart, the cake is from the US website of the Country Living magazine.

A couple of quick notes:

1) Quantities. I made 2 cakes, and put 1 and 1/3rd of the batter into the square tin that made the lower tier, and the remaining 2/3rds into the circular tin that made the top tier. The recipe below is for one cake only - it won't yield the volumes to make the cake that is pictured!

2) Cake Flour - I had never heard of this. According to my google-research, cake flour has a lower amount of protein than regular flours, making for a lighter cake. As far as I know you can't buy it in Australia. The recommendation is to use plain flour subtracting 2 level tablespoons per cup used.

3) Colouring - I happened to have a selection of food dyes, but if you don't I really wouldn't worry. It doesn't change the flavour in any way.

Len's Strawberry Birthday Cake

The Cake

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt    
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup butter, softened 
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup strawberry jam
4 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon red food coloring
1/2 cup buttermilk
(or same of milk w/ a squeeze of lemon)
1 1/2 punnets strawberries, hulled & halved 
 
Preheat oven to 180' C .
 
Grease & line a large (22cm) springform tin with baking paper. Set aside.
 
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together and set aside.
 

 
Cream the butter and sugar in a mixmaster set at medium-high speed. Add the jam and the eggs, one at a time, mixing well in between each egg.  Scrape down sides of bowl and beat in vanilla extract and the food coloring. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the buttermilk, ending with a final addition of the dry ingredients.
 
 
 

 
Divide the batter equally between the pans and spread evenly. Bake on the middle rack of oven until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean -- about 25 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
 


Ice with the icing below, and then decorate with halved strawberries.
 
 
 
The Strawberry Meringue Buttercream Icing

 

4 large eggwhites 

(or 120ml if you keep a store of them like me!)

1 1/4 cups sugar  

345g unsalted butter at room temp, in cubes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups strawberry jam, pureed (I just used a Bamix thing)
 
 
 
 
 
 

In a move straight out of an OH& S crisis handbook, place the mixmaster bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water. Then run a Very Long Extension Cord across your kitchen, to plug in your handheld beater, which you then use to beat the eggwhites & sugar you have placed in the mixmaster bowl that rests on top of the almost boiling saucepan full of water.
 
Beat constantly until the sugar is dissolved & the mixture is warm to touch.

Then retreat back to the safety of the kitchen bench!
 

 
 
Attach the mixmaster bowl back to the mixmaster that is fitter w/ the whisk attachment, and whisk the eggwhite mixture on high until it holds stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until the mixture is fluffy & cooled, or about 6 minutes.
 
 
 
 

 
Switch the mixmaster to the paddle attachment, and on a med-low speed, add the butter, several cubes at a time, beating well after each addition. If at any point it appears to separate, beat on med-high again until smooth. Beat in the vanilla, and then on the lowest possible speed, mix for 2 mins (this will eliminate any pockets of bubbles). Stir in strawberry jam w/ a spatula until you have a smooth mix.

Banana Cake (by MULTIPLE request)

Hello one & all (hopefully more than one at any rate!)

To say that this is one of the most popular things I make is an understatement.

It is without fail, devoured, every time I make it. I had a flatmate who once 'banned' me from making it as he could not control the impulse to just eat the entire thing.

This recipe is from the fabulous 'Cook's Companion' by Stephanie Alexander. This is not the cheapest cookery book on the market, but it is really is a lifetime book: it will serve you for the rest of your days.

The way it the book is set out, the information, the recipe's are all fantastic, and I have never had anything from here not turn out.

I really do feel that the trick to this is to have your bananas be beyond ripe. I mean black in the skin. Stinking. Almost rotten but just not quite. This almost rotteness produces an amazing, almost slightly liqueur-esque flavour that creates a wonderful cake.

Something you may not know: Bananas freeze well! Just pop them in, still in their skins. They keep in the freezer for ages, and if you don't have time to make this cake now, you can always make it with the frozen banana's later on.

Stephanie's Easy Banana Cake

125g unsalted butter, softened  
1.5 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed, very ripe bananas
a few drops of vanilla essence
250g plain flour
1 tsp bi-carb soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground all-spice
1/2 cup buttermilk
(if you've no buttermilk mix 1/2 cup full cream milk w/ 1 tsp lemon juice)

Preheat oven to 180'c; grease & line a loaf tin.

Cream the butter & the sugar together until fluffy. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, banana & vanilla, then add this mix to the butter/sugar.

Sift the dry ingredients together, then add to the above mix in batches, alternating with the buttermilk.

Put into the loaf tin & bake for 50 mins, or until ready (skewer test -> some crumbs, not too many).

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.

Little Espresso Cakes w/ a Dark Chocolate Glaze

Hello Peeps!

And a big shout out to Amalia & Scott and their fabulous new treehouse home.

These little gems are just delicious, easy to make, and always, always popular. These were my contribution to my friends housewarming party. Whenever I am making cakes to take somewhere I find it easier to pop the glaze / icing into a container & just pop it onto the cakes once I've arrived wherever it is I am headed. That way there isn't any stress about the icing get mushed, or the general prettiness becoming spoilt.

I am house&puppy-sitting the (totally amazing!) apartment of a friend at Bondi. And because I am a great big gastro-nerd I brought my muffin tray, patty cases, and whisk with me. Yes. And what's more I publicly admitted it on my blog. But then I doubt very much that any of my 14 followers (followers! yay!) will be terribly surprised by any of this information.

Little Espresso Cakes w/ a Dark Chocolate Glaze

(makes 12)

100g butter, very soft

1 cup caster sugar

3 eggs

1+1/4 cups plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup hazelnut meal

1+1/2 tbs instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbs boiling water

150g dark chocolate, in small pieces

1/2 cup cream

Preheat the oven to 160'c. Place the butter, sugar, eggs, baking powder, hazelnut meal & coffee mix in a bowl & beat on low speed until combined, then increase to high & mix until just smooth.

Line a muffin tin w/ patty cases, 2/3 fill each one with the batter, and bake in the oven for 25 mins. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing from the tray & cooling on a rack.

To make the glaze combine the chocolate & the cream in a saucepan and warm over gentle-medium heat.Once the chocolate has started to melt, remove from the heat & stir, stir, stir. If it isn't quite melted, put back on the heat for a short spell, remove & stir some more. You don't want to overcook the chocolate, as the whole thing will spoil. Chocolate doesn't like allot of heat. You want to melt it, not cook it.

Cool glaze (I pop it into the fridge), and once cooled spread on top of the cup-cakes.

Flourless Chocolate & Raspberry Cake

Hello: and a big shout out to Yolande!

I am a big fan of flourless cakes: with their rich, dense flavours they make a great dessert, or a rich addition to an afternoon tea. Perfect with a cup of lovely coffee.

Most flourless cakes tend to be chocolate inspired: I suspect this is because chocolate holds its own form so well: if you were to mix eggs, sugar , almond meal, & say, vanilla, all together you wouldn't get the worlds best cake. Eggs, sugar, almond meal & chocolate is a very different story.

I have seen allot of recipe's for 'gluten free' cakes, using gluten free flour. I will try one of these down the track, but having eaten gluten free pasta, I can't say that I am in a particular hurry to do so! But I am curious to see if a decent, non-chocolate, gluten free cake can be made, so watch this space.

I have made flourless chocolate cupcakes for ages now, adding raspberries to the mix, and it is really just the most wonderful combination: the rich dark-choc flavours, the slight nuttiness from the almond meal, all in a wonderfully moist & dense cake, with the raspberries hidden in the mix giving a sweet/tarty hit.

Flourless Chocolate & Raspberry Cake

250g chocolate, broken into small bits

5 eggs, separated

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 + 1/4 cup almond meal (or hazelnut, whichever you prefer)

1 cup frozen raspberries

Ganache

150g dark chocolate, in small bits

1/3 cup pouring cream

Grease & then line w/ baking paper a 20cm round springform cake tin. Preheat your oven to 170'c.

Melt the chocolate.

I find the best way to do this is to zap the choc for 20seconds in the microwave (on high). Take it out, stir a bit, then pop in for another 20 seconds. Keep going until the chocolate becomes 'soft' looking (I find it is approx 3x20sec bursts), at which point stirring should be enough to turn it into a chocolate puddle. Don't be tempted to zap it again: the chocolate will overcook & then it won't be any use to you.

Take your eggwhites & put them into the bowl of your mixmater (if you don't have one, I hope your biceps are in a strong state!), fit it w/ the whisk attachment & beat the eggwhites until soft peaks form.

In a separate bowl, take the egg yolks & 1/2 cup of the sugar & beat until thick & pale.

 

Add the remaining sugar, one tablespoon at a time, to the eggwhites, beating the whole time, until stiff peaks form.

Add the almond meal to the chocolate mix, stirring to combine, then add the egg yolk/sugar mix.

With a large metal spoon, gently fold in half of the stiff eggwhites to the chocolate mix.

Once incorporated (don't overwork it), add the rest of the eggwhites, then fold in the raspberries & stir to combine. Pour mixture into the prepared cake tin, and bake for 1 hour, or until done (skewer test should give you some moist crumbs, not come out completely clean).

 When done, remove from oven, leave in tin to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a rack to cool completely (or you could serve this still -warm, w/ a dollop of thick cream, as a delicious dessert).

Meanwhile, combine the ganache ingredients together in a small saucepan, and put over medium-low heat until the chocolate starts to melt. Remove from the heat, stirring continuously until you have a lovely glossy chocolate sauce. Allow to cool (I cheat & pop this into the fridge to speed things up).

Once chilled enough that it is set, but still spreadable, use the ganache to ice the top of the chilled cake.

If serving the cake as dessert, you could drizzle the warm cake slices with the ganache for a chocoholic's delight choc-pudd!

Mum's 60th birthday Recipe Requests - Lemon Syrup Cake

So I hosted my mother's 60th birthday last night, and it was a lovely evening.

For the birthday cake I made a delicious lemon cake, and it really was so yummy! By request, here is the recipe:

Lemon Syrup Cake 
This cake is very easy to make, and it is just delicious. If at all possible, serve it still slightly warm from the oven with a dollop of thick cream. This has a wonderful lemon flavour, and don't worry about the syrup, it isn't either to citrusy or too sweet: it really is just perfect.

Ingredients
Cake
melted butter
250g self-raising flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
grated zest of 1 lemon
200g caster sugar
250g softened unsalted butter
4 large eggs
Syrup
2/3 cup caster sugar
juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 160'c. Line a 24cm springform tin with baking paper. Brush paper & sides of tin well w/ melted butter. Stir flour, salt & baking powder into a bowl.

In a food processor, blitz (really, really blitz) the lemon zest & sugar in a food processor, then add the softened butter until thick & pale.

Add 2 of the eggs, pulse well to combine, then the1/2 flour, the last 2 eggs, then the rest of the flour, pulsing to combine well in between each addition.

Tip the batter into the prepared tin, and bake in an oven for approx 1 hour.

To make the syrup, dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat.

Cool the cake for a few minutes in the tin before allowing to cool on a rack. Pierce the cake in a few places before pouring the syrup over, so that it really soaks in.

This is from Stephanie Alexander's seminal book: 'The Cook's Companion'.

She recommends allowing the syrup-soaked cake to cool completely before serving.

If this were a cake for afternoon tea or similar, serving the cake cool is what I would do.

As I noted above, last night I served it warm w/ a dollop thick cream, and it was fantastic. I'd do it this way if you were after a more 'dessert' type of treat.

Wine Match!

This is lovely with a simple glass of champagne for a tres elegant afternoon tea or dessert. A nice riesling could be good too - ask your bottle shop to recommend one to work with lemon flavours; you wouldn't want a riesling high in sugar as that would just be overwhelming I think. If you wanted the ultimate citrus hit, you could serve this with a glass of chilled lemoncello. 

Update: Raspberry & Oat Bars

I made (& then blogged about) these quite late last night, as my pesky cold wouldn't allow me to fall asleep. As they were straight from the oven when I posted the recipe, I hadn't had much of a chance try them (though the smell was just amazing).

O. M. G!! These are freaking awesome!!!

I think the choice of raspberry jam was very important: I used Harris Farm (own brand) raspberry jam.

Why Harris Farm own-brand? Well, when I  looked at the ingredient list of the many, many yummy looking jams they had & compared them (including the expensive fru-fru ones), the Harris Farm jam's list of ingredients stood out as being the best: raspberries (50%), sugar, pectin.

As in: the only 3 ingredients you would find in proper jam like Grandma used to make (assuming your grandma was into jam making that is). All of the other jams had more than 3 ingredients, including preservatives, fillers etc.

The quality of the jam is evidenced by the amazing flavour from these little bars of joy.

These, ladies & gentleman, are a recipe-box keeper!

Delights from Ottolenghi: Raspberry & Oat Bars

And a massive shout out to the gorgeous & much missed Sophie Rose! This recipe comes from 'Ottolenghi: The Cookbook' which was sent to me especially from London by Miss Rose for my birthday last year. Her birthday present for last year is still wrapped in tissue paper & sitting on my dresser: she is a much better friend than I am!

I have never eaten at either of the Ottolenghi establishments, but all I hear is how fabulous they are, and if the recipe's in the cookbook are anything to go by, I can see why it is so popular.

They have a cookbook of new vegetarian recipe's coming out, many of which can be found in a column by Yotam Ottolenghi in my favourite newspaper: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/series/thenewvegetarian

Unfortunately, the cookbooks are not available in Australia, though you may be able to order them online (though they aren't available in the US either, so maybe check a UK based website).

This was a really easy recipe, and I tweaked it a little based on what I had in my pantry: I used self raising flour instead of the plain + baking powder combo, and I used what nuts I had, so I am giving you my recipe, not the original one.

Raspberry & Oat Bars
Base
120g self raising flour
100g unsalted butter, diced
60g caster sugar
a pinch of salt
80g whole rolled oats

Filling
220g raspberry jam

Topping
280g almonds
(or 280g any combo of nuts)
100g butter
75g caster sugar
40ml milk
1 tsp vanilla essence


Preheat the oven to 170'c'. Lightly grease a 20cm square tin & line w/ baking paper.

To make the base, sift the flower into a bowl, and add the butter, sugar & salt, and rub everything together with your fingertips to form crumbs. Stir in the oats, and make sure you work it all together to get a good consistency.

Spread mix over the base of the tin; try not to press down too much, you want the base to remain light. Bake for 20 minutes, or until light brown.

Remove from the oven, allow to cool a little, and then spread the jam over the base.

For the topping, place the nuts in a large bowl. In a small saucepan heat the butter, sugar, milk & vanilla. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then pour the mixture over the nuts & stir together.

Pack the nut mix evenly over the jam & return to the oven for 30 minutes, until the nuts have turned a nice golden brown.

Leave to cool, then remove from the tin & slice into bars or squares.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

This cake is so good. Just so good. And very, very easy to make. I think this is absolutely in poll position for fave choc cake. Yes, a big call. But it is pretty bloody good.

It is from the currant issue of the Donna Hay magazine (Issue 50, page 164)

I choose this recipe mostly because I have a heap of eggwhites left over after a recent bout of ice-cream / creme-brulee-tart making. This recipe calls for 5 eggwhites, and, even better, you don't have to do the beat till airy/carefully incorporate flour scenario. I am have very mixed result with that method, and am not a fan.

I actually served this as a dessert after the Roast Chicken, with the raspberries & thick cream. So yummy!

Chocolate Mousse Cake
This is my version, it is a bit different to the one in the mag.

Cake
1 cup (120g) almond meal (ground almonds)
1+2/3 cup (270g) icing sugar, sifted
1/2 cup (75g) plain flour, sifted
1/4 cup (25g) cocoa, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder, sifted
5 eggwhites
200g butter, melted

Chocolate mousse filling
250g dark chocolate, chopped
1 tsp vanilla bean paste,
1 cups (520ml) single cream

Preheat oven to 160'c.  Place the almond meal, icing sugar, flour, cocoa & baking powder in a bowl & stir to combine. Add the eggwhites & butter & stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 22cm round springform cake tin lined w/ baking paper. Bake for 30-35 mins or until cake is springy to the touch & comes away from the sides of the tin. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Melt the chocolate with the vanilla (I do this in short spells in the microwave, you can use a double boiler etc); allow to cool for a few moments then add the cream & stir to combine, melted & smooth. Pop in the fridge to chill & harden up a bit.

Once it is set a little, spread over the cake. Top with raspberries, serve with thick cream.

NOTE: I didn't follow the mousse recipe exactly. I halved it for starters, and used 250g of good-quality cooking chocolate, a teaspoon of vanilla paste, and cup of regular cream. Once all combined etc, I put it into the fridge for an hour or so to help it 'set' / harden.

Madeleines!

These would have to be one of my all time favourite treats! One of the many things (I like to think), I have in common with Proust. This and a great capacity to talk for a long time without enunciating any point, or coming to any conclusion.

The only word to describe these is scrumptious.

I am not sure if you can make madeleines without the special 'shell' tin. I don't believe they are particularly expensive to buy (I'm not sure: my tray was a birthday present - thank you KT!). I suspect if you just drop big-tablespoon sized dollops onto a baking sheet, I think they would still be lovely, though obviously won't be in the traditional madeleine shell shape:

As you can see from the above shot, the tray is especially shaped to create the the shell back. It isn't particularly deep, but then they do rise quite a bit.

The batter is quite thick, and isn't really similar to any other I know: it really is a combination between a cake & a biscuit batter:

This recipe is from a fabulous little book called 'A little taste of France'. I have seen 'A little taste of Italy' in bookshops too, so I guess there is a series of them. The recipes in here are just fantastic! I will try & post some more from this book in the coming weeks.

Madeleine's

3 eggs
90g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
155g (1+1/4 cup) plain flour
100g unsalted butter, melted
grated zest of 1 lemon & 1 orange
(I use lemon & lime, as I prefer that combo: mix & match your own!)
Makes 14 ("or 30 small ones" . . . umm . . . my tray does 12, and that's always used up most of the batter)

Preheat the oven to 200'C. Brush a tray of madeleine moulds with melted butter & coat with flour, then tap the tray to remove the excess flower. (I have never bothered w/ this flour step).

Whisk the eggs and sugar until the mixture is thick & pale & the whisk leaves a trail when lifted. Gently fold in the flour, then the melted butter & zests. Spoon into the moulds, leaving a little room for rising. Bake for 12 minutes (small ones will only need 7 minutes), or until very lightly golden & springy to the touch. Remove from the tray and cool on a wire rack.

Serve with tea!

Baileys Cupcakes. Pretty Bloody Good!

Hey Everyone,

As promised, here is the recipe for Baileys cupcakes.

It is very easy, and actually very similar to the Turkish Delight cupcakes, in terms of the base, and the method.

I tried them two different ways, one included Baileys in the cake mix as well as the icing, and one didn't.

Additionally I tried icing them two different ways: one with just baileys in the icing, and another where I added some dark chocolate ganache. Some had crumbled Crunchie on top, other had a praline that I made.

The variations are in brakets in the recipe -- I hope it makes sense!

The Cake

125g butter, softened;

1 cup caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk (or mix tog 1/4 cup milk & 1/4 cup baileys, then add to mix)

Mix together the butter, sugar & vanilla for around 3 mins until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well in between. Sift over the flour & baking powder, and mix to combine. Add the milk (or milk/baileys mix) and stir to combine. Pop into patty cases, and cook in oven preaheated to 170' for 12 - 15 mins, until golden. Cool on wire racks.

The Icing

240g icing sugar

enough baileys to make a strong but smooth icing consistency: add a little at a time, you can always add more, but you can't take it away.

OR add a small amount of baileys so that the icing mix is very, very stiff, and barely incorporated. Then add enough chocolate ganache to bring the icing mix to the right consistency.

The Ganache

100g dark chocolate chopped w/ 1/5 cup pouring cream over low heat, stirring until melted and glossy. Remove frmo heat immediately. Wait for it to cool and thicken before adding it to the icing mix.

This recipe will make more than you need -- it is very good over ice-cream, or you can dip biscuits into it and allow to set for a chocolate 'edge'. Or, cool completely in the fridge, then take teaspoon-size amounts, roll into balls, dust w/ cocoa, or dessicated coconut, and you've got some chocolate truffles ready to go. Makes a great gift if someone is having you over for a meal.

The Praline

Preheat oven to 180', place 1/3 cup blanched almonds (I use any I have, doesn't seem to make a difference) on a baking paper lined baking sheet & bake for 10 mins.

Meanwhile, place 1/2 cup of caster sugar & 1/4 cup water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. ONLY ONCE SUGAR IS DISSOLVED increase heat and boil until turns a golden colour. Remove from heat for a couple of moments, then pour over the almonds. Once it is set (doesn't take too long, around half an hour. Just make sure it is not warm anymore) break it up into chunks with a rolling pin, or pop in a food processor and turn into fine powder.


So, I made the 2 versions of the cakes, plain and with the baileys mixed in. According to the FM (and official taste-tester) he couldn't tell much of a difference. Given it is only a 1/4 cup of baileys, this isn't much of a surprise. You could try using all baileys, and no milk, but am concerned that then the cakes may not rise properly. Also, given how rich these were, it may be a bit OTT (as opposed to praline, dark choc ganache and baileys. Not OTT at all!)

I put the Crunchie in a zip-lock bag, and ran over it with a rolling pin to break it up.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, ice them and immediatley dip the top into either a saucer full of the crumbled crunchie, or the praline (or whatever else you care to add).

I hope this all makes sense -- any questions, just make a comment, and I'll get back asap.

Cupcakes with Plain Baileys Icing & Crumbled Crunchie

 

Cupcakes with Baileys & Ganach Icing & Praline Dust

A
xx

Sweet Panna Delight!

I had intended to make this two separate blogs, but as my typing ability is severely limited at present (after my front door slammed shut on my right hand Monday morning), I will take the easy way out and merge this into one mega-sweet blog.

BTW - If you are a diabetic stock up on your insulin before reading on!

Raspberry & Vanilla Panna Cotta

So this picture doesn't do it justice, as this is what it looked like after 2/3rds of it had been eaten! It wasn't wonky when I served it to, you know, human beings!

A friend whom I adore, and a new friend I was seeking to impress, came to dinner Saturday night.

The main course was seafood tagine, which was just so amazingly simple & delicious: a combination of barramundi, calamari, prawns, roasted red capsicums & tomatoes. Throw in lots of cumin, a few handfuls of fresh coriander, and cook. It turned out better than I could have hoped.

It also enabled me to put to good use the amazing tagine my thoughtful FM & said adored friend gave me for my birthday.

For dessert, I decided to make something I had done before, but with a twist.

This recipe is from the Donna Hay Modern Classics 2 cookbook. It is actually a Peach & Vanilla Panna Cotta recipe, but as peaches aren't yet in season, and the FM fancies anything raspberry,

I thought I'd try it this way.

In the recipe you are meant to make a sugar water, poach the peaches, slip them of their skins, and add gelatine to the poaching liquid to make the jelly.

In my version, I steeped about 500g the frozen berries in a bottle (750ml) of sparkling rose.

I then made the sugar water (1.5 cups water w/ .5 cup sugar), and using a slotted spoon put 4/5ths of the raspberries into the sugar water. They go quite mushy, but I think this just adds to the intensity of the flavour. Add enough gelatine to set the liquid (1tsp should set 250ml), and then toss the reserved berries over the base of the dish, before pouring over the gelatine mix.

Refrigerate until set (per above).

(With the sparling rose mix used to steep the berries, pour it, and a few of the berries, into a saucepan & reduce by half. It has the most vibrant & intense flavour, and is great to pour over ice-cream, yoghurt, other berries, to dip madelines into. I also once added to an ice-cream I was making as it was churning to make an amazing raspberry swirl . . . delish!).

Next make the Panna Cotta, which really couldn't be simpler:

3 & 3/4 cups of cream , 1 cup of icing sugar & 1 tsp vanilla extract into a saucepan over med heat (except I used vanilla paste, as I like the look of the vanilla seeds through the cotta). Stir to combine, and then gelatine (again 1tbs per 250ml, softened in cold water). Add the gelatine & the water used to soften it, simmering over a low heat for 4 mins until dissolved.

Cool to room temperature, and then pour on top of the set raspberry jelly.

You want to refrigerate this for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Cover with clingwrap, so it doesn't take on the smell of anything else in the fridge as it sets.

JUST BEFORE SERVING, dip the pan into warm water, and upend. Slice & serve immediately.

If you do this too long before serving, it will start lose its shape a a little (per the top photo, which was about 24 hours old).

Turkish Delight Cupcakes

(and hello to my facebook friends!)

This recipe is the best basic cupcake recipe I have found, and I have adapted it into many different variations.

It is based on one I found in the April 2009 edition of Australian Gourmet Traveller.

For the Cakes:

125g softened butter; 1 cup caster sugar; 1 tsp vanilla extract (or paste); 2 eggs; 1.5 cups plain flour; .5 tsp baking powder; .5 cup milk

For the Icing: 240g icing sugar; 2 tsp rosewater; turkish delight to decorate.

Heat the oven to 170'C. Beat the butter, sugar & vanilla until light & fluffy (2-3 mins). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each one. Sift over the flour & baking powder, and stir to combine. Add the milk, stirring again to combine. Spoon into patty cases, smooth tops, and bake for 10 - 15 mins. Cool on a rack.

Combine the icing sugar, rose water & mix together. I find that the consistency is too stiff to ice with, so I add some room-temp water a VERY SMALL AMOUNT at a time, until I get the desired consistency (a thick-ish drizzle).

Ice the cup cakes, and top with a bit of the turkish delight.

Some of the variations I have used include using rum instead of rosewater; toast some shredded coconut, and as you ice each one, roll the top in coconut. Don't wait until you've iced them all to do this, as you need the icing to be quite wet for the coconut to stick, and if sets very quickly.

I have also used rose petals instead of turkish delight, for a baby shower.

I have also used baileys, and rolled the cake in smashed up honeycomb for a more decadent version!

Always the same amount of icing sugar (240g); just add as much liquid as you need. If you pour in too much, just add more icing sugar to balance it back.

A Big Thank You to the 5 people who are now my followers! Yay!

Let me know if you want the tagine recipe: it is very easy, and you could do it in a casserole dish, or even a baking dish with some alfoil.

A.

x

This is the rum & toasted coconut version; in the upper right of the photo is the two-tied chocolate & praline birthday cake I also made for the day.