Thursday, September 12, 2013

Chocolate Cupcakes



The list of toppings for these little cupcakes are endless, I made cappuccino ones, vanilla ones (which are pictured), you could nutella them and put chocolate frosting on them, I think I may go make another batch so I can actually do that right now! So whatever tickles your fancy , do it! These are super versatile :)




100g butter, 150g caster sugar, 2 eggs, 1tsp vanilla , 125ml milk, 25g cocoa, 2tsp baking powder and 175g plain flour

Preheat the oven to 180C and pop 12 really cute cupcake cases in a tin.. right your set!

With a handheld beater beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, and beat in the eggs one by one until well mixed. Beat in the vanilla and milk. Then lightly stir in the cocoa, baking powder and flour until just mixed. Spoon into the cupcake cases (about 2 thirds full) and bake for 18mins. Pop onto a wire rack to cool and get super imaginative with the toppings!!



Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Oaty Banana Muffins

Perfect for a breakfast on the go or just if you want something sweet with a nice cuppa! These are done in no time and they freeze well if you want half the batch for a week or so later :) Banana bread meets oat and raisin cookies... whats not to like !

Topping:
30g rolled oats
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tbsp butter (melted)

Muffins:
2 bananas (skin pretty brown and ripe)
1 large egg
180ml buttermilk
130g flour
100g oats(quick will do)
165g packed brown sugar
1tsp baking soda
2tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
75g raisins

Preheat the oven to 200C

For the Topping:
Combine the oats, cinnamon, brown sugar and
melted butter in a small bowl and set aside.


For the Muffins:
In a small blender, whizz the bananas egg and buttermilk until smooth and well combined.
In a large bowl combine the flour, oats, sugar, soda, baking powder , salt and cinnamon. Pour in the banana milky mixture and stir until only just combined. Don't overmix! Stir in the raisins and spoon into baking cases until quite full. Sprinkle with the topping and bake for 20minutes, they will be done when a skewer inserted into the muffin comes out clean.













Raspberry Frangipane Bars

These are to die for! Almondy and with a tart kick of raspberry all on a buttery biscuit base, I've already had 3!! Must step away..... but sure one more won't hurt will it ? :D

For the Biscuit:
150g plain flour
60g icing sugar
145g butter (cold)
1tsp water

Raspberry Jam Layer ( I just used good quality store bought)

Frangipane Layer
150g butter (soft)
150g icing sugar
2eggs + 1yolk
1tsp almond extract
1tbsp spiced rum
150g ground almonds(whizzed again in a food processor)
250g raspberries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease an 8x8 square tin
For the Biscuit: In a food processor, pulse the flour and sugar till fine and mixed. Pop in the butter and process until a dough starts to come together, put in the tsp of water and give it one last whizz and tip the dough into a greased tin. Use a palette knife to spread the dough into an even layer and place in the fridge to firm up. Bake for 15minutes until just golden.

While the biscuit is hot spread a good layer of raspberry jam over it completely.

For the frangipane: Beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, and beat in the eggs one by one and then the yolk. Mix in the rum and almond extract until well combined. Stir in the almond flour with a wooden spoon and then spread over the jam layer. I then pushed raspberries into the frangipane before baking, but at this time of year they can be a bit expensive so they are totally optional but make for a lovely moist and tangy cake.

Bake the Cake for 20 mins and then I had to put foil to cover the cake as it browns quickly. Bake for a further 10mins until firm to touch and a skewer put into the frangipane later comes out clean. Cool in the tin and cut into 16 little squares of happiness!