'Using Up Stuff' Cupcakes

I had oranges in the fruit bowl and blackberries in the fridge. I could have just eaten then as they were, but where's the fun in that?

So I made a batch of chocolate cupcakes from The Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days recipe book and iced half with orange buttercream frosting and the other, yep, you guessed it, with blackberry buttercream frosting.

I started off with a few spare oranges and a small punnet of blackberries, and have ended up with over a dozen delicious cupcakes...magic!

Ingredients:

80g butter, softened
280g caster sugar
200g plain flour
40g cocoa powder
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
240ml whole milk
2 eggs

Let's get making...

Preheat the oven to 190C/gas mark5 and line a muffin tin with muffin cases.

1. Beat together the butter, sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and the salt until it look like little crumbs.
2. Whisk the milk and eggs together in a jug and add three quarters of this to the dry mixture. Beat slowly to begin with and then as the ingredients begin to combine, crank it up and mix until everything is nice and smooth. Pour in the remaining milk mixture and continue mixing until everything is smooth again.
3. Fill your muffin cases two thirds full and bake for 18-20 minutes.

To make the butter frosting, take 75g of softened butter and beat until fluffy. Slowly add 250g of icing sugar and combine. Add two tablespoons of milk and one teaspoon of vanilla and another 250g of icing sugar. Beat until well combined and if needed, add up to two more tablespoons of milk.

I then divided the frosting into two bowls. Into one I add the grated zest of one orange and into the other, a punnet (150g) of blackberries. Although, be sure to save 6 of the best looking blackberries to put on top of your yummy chocolate and blackberry cupcakes, once they have cooled and are iced.

White Chocolate and Raspberry Cupcakes

One of the great things about adding fruit to your cupcakes is you can trick yourself into thinking that they must be one of your five a day. Not to mention that the tart taste of the raspberries goes perfectly with the sweetness of the chocolate.

Ingredients:

115g self-raising flour, sifted
115g caster sugar
115g soft unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tbsp of milk
1 tsp of vanilla essence
1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
200g mascarpone
75g white chocolate
1 punnet of fresh raspberries
1 tbsp of icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 190/gas mark 5


Let's Get Making:

1. Beat the sugar and the butter until light and fluffy.

2. Add the vanilla essence and one tbsp of the flour (this stops the mix splitting), then add the eggs one at a time, beating after each one, followed by the milk.

3. Mix the bicarbonate of sad in with the remaining flour, then gradually add the four to the cake mix.

4. Pick twelve of the prettiest raspberries from the punnet and put to one side. Lightly crush those that remain and carefully add to the mix.
5. You are now ready to fill your cupcake cases, only two third full, mind.
6. Place in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes, until lightly brown.

Whilst the cakes are cooking, melt 75g of white chocolate. Wait until it is lukewarm and then beat with 200g of mascarpone until it is smooth and glossy. Top each cake with a teaspoon of the mascarpone mix, and put a raspberry on top. Dust each cake with a little bit of icing sugar and finally, enjoy!

Yellow Heaven

I recently bought, Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan. Although I did promise not to buy any new books until I have read some of the hundreds that are piled up or on shelves all over my house. However, I just couldn't resist this one. Firstly, anything with reference to cupcakes, must be good. Secondly, nearly every chapter begins with a recipe, that must make it a recipe book. Giving me the loop hole to my promise (I said no more fiction books.)

As well as having lots of delicious delights inside the book, it also came with a few recipe cards, one of which I tried out last night.

Lemon (Getting What You Want) Cake

Ingredients for the cake:

115g self-raising flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
115g softened butter
115g caster sugar
2 large eggs
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
(Although not in the recipe, poppy seeds would be great in this cake, so go on add a few...maybe more than a few, try 2 tablespoons.)

Ingredients for the icing:

60g icing sugar
2 tsps water
1 tsp lemon juice

Let's get making:

Preheat the oven to 150c/gas mark 3 and grease a loaf tin.

1. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl.

2. Then add all the other ingredients and beat well.

3. Spoon the mixture into loaf tin and bake for twenty minutes. (Although when I made this, I needed to keep it in the oven for 40!) The cake should be yellow, not brown, but not gooey inside.

It really is that simple!

Whilst the cake is cooking (whether it is for 20 or 40 minutes, check it at 20 minutes, see how it's getting along and take it from there), make the icing by mixing the 60g of icing sugar, a teaspoon of lemon juice and tiny amounts of water until it is sweet and stiff.

Apply the icing while the cake is still warm, spreading thinly until it cracks.

Although this cake may not be the prettiest of cakes, it certainly is up there with the yummiest. Jenny goes as far to say that those who taste it will do anything you want but I'm not sure I could keep it long enough to use as a bribe. Next time I shall make two, one for me and one for getting what I want.

Mini Egg Treasure Hunt

Forget running around the garden hiding eggs, just pop them in your cupcakes. These Easter cakes the yummy answer to the Easter egg treasure hunt.

Ingredients:
Serves 24

125g unsalted butter, softened

125g caster sugar

125g self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

2 medium eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 packet Cadbury's Mini Eggs

For the Frosting:

50g unsalted butter, softened

100g chocolate, melted

300g icing sugar

3 tbsp Milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Let's get making:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C or Gas Mark 5.
2. Beat the butter in a large bowl until it is softened. Add the sugar, flour, salt, eggs, milk and vanilla and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
3. Spoon the mixture into the cases, and then press one Mini Egg into the centre.
4. Place muffin tin in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until cupcakes are a light golden colour.
5. Remove the tins from the oven. Leave the cupcakes to cool in the tins for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

To make the frosting:

1. In a large bowl beat the butter until it is fluffy. Beat in the melted chocolate. Gradually add half of the icing sugar, stirring first (to prevent it going all over the counter, and you) and then beat until well combined.
2. Slowly beat in the milk and the vanilla. Then add the remaining icing sugar. Beat in more milk, if needed.

Pipe the icing onto the cakes, when cooled and then top with a Mini Egg.

And there you have an Easter egg treasure hunt on a plate!

If Popeye came to your BBQ...

...he'd probably bring this.

With the sun shining it's time to dust off the barbecue, pop your shades on and enjoy the bank holiday weekend. But if you're bored of the usual BBQ nosh, this salad is the perfect solution, and is a little bit fruity!

Popeye and Olive Oil Salad

Serves 8

Ingredients:

500g spinach

1 punnet of strawberries, sliced (keep a few aside for the final touches)

 4tbsp pecans, toasted

100g blue cheese, crumbled

Dressing:

40ml raspberry red wine vinegar

3tbsp sugar 

1 teaspoon dry mustard

90ml cup olive oil

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Let's get making

1.Toast pecans over low heat and then set aside to cool. 

2. Toss the pecans, strawberries and spinach together in a large serving bowl.

3. Combine dressing ingredients and shake well. Pour over salad.

4. Toss again and then add the crumbled blue cheese. Finish off by garnishing with a few sliced strawberries.

Now all you have to do is slap on some factor 30 (eating strawberries is great, looking like one, not so great) and put a few steaks on the barbie. Oh and don't forget the beer. Strawberry beer, of course.

Blue Denim Cupcakes

I love Red Velvet cupcakes. They taste divine and look amazing; red cakes-genius!
Blue Denim cupcakes are my own little creations, my ode to the Red Velvet if you like. They are essential a
white chocolate cupcake that have had a stone wash and topped with cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients:

250g unsalted butter, softened

250g caster sugar

250g self raising flour

Pinch of salt

4 medium eggs

4tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

200g white chocolate, melted

1 tbsp blue food colouring

Let's get making:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C or Gas Mark 5.
2. Beat the butter in a large bowl until it is softened. Add the sugar, flour, salt, eggs, milk and vanilla and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
3. Fold in the melted chocolate and food colouring

4. Spoon the mixture into the cases.
5. Place muffin tin in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden on top.
6. Remove the tins from the oven. Leave the cupcakes to cool in the tins for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

Whilst your blue cupcakes are cooling, you can make the cream cheese frosting. For this you will need:

125g cream cheese

250g icing sugar

90g unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 lemon, juice only

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Store in the fridge until the cupcakes are ready to be frosted.

 And there you have it, the Blue Denim Cupcake...

Each Poach Pear Plum

Poached pears are a yummy summer dessert and they must be good for you, it's only fruit! (Cooked in a rather sugary liquid but I won't tell if you don't.)
Each time I make this, I use a different fruit juice (mostly because I can't remember which one I used the last time), but the berry ones are the best. Those rich in colour are great as they dye the pears as they cook, making them a treat for the eye as well as the belly.


Serves 4
Ingredients:

4 pears, peeled
4 plums
600ml fruit juice
400ml water
1tsp vanilla essence
1 cinnamon stick

1. Boil the fruit juice and water in a pan, add the vanilla essence and cinnamon stick.
2. Turn down to simmer and then add the pears and plums. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the liquid.
4. Serve with natural yogurt, ice-cream or double cream. For an extra treat, top with dark chocolate sauce.

With the remaining juice in the pan, add some sugar, a splash of white wine and simmer down to make a lovely sauce to accompany your fruity feast.

The LBD of Cooking

There are some things you can pull off that will never fail to impress, just like your favourite LBD, and this sauce has to be one of them. Perfect with ice cream, poached pears, chocolate cake (just in case it isn't chocolatey enough already for you) or even just for dipping marshmallows in.

Ingredients:

250 ml water
100 g sugar
160 g light corn syrup
75 g unsweetened cocoa powder
55 g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Let's get making:

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the water, sugar, corn syrup, and cocoa powder.

2. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once it’s just begun to simmer and boil, remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate until melted.

Although it might be tempting to delve straight in, it is best to allow the sauce to stand for a while and thicken.

Nuts About Nutella

Apparently, spooning Nutella straight out of the jar isn't the only way of eating it. (Although it works for me.)
In Nick Sandler & Jonny Actons book, the Branded Cookbook they explore different recipes using everyday, branded ingredients-Nutella being one of the.

Nutella Truffles is my favourite nutty, chocolatey recipe from the book. (If it is possible to have a favourite-they all use Nutella, after all!) I love this recipe because it is simple, a little bit messy and in hardly any time at all, you have your very own treats similar to those fit for an ambassador.

Ingredients:

4 ice-cream wafers
2 tbsp almonds
3tbsp whole blanched hazelnuts
2 tbsp Nutella

Lets get making:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4
2. Crumble the ice-cream wafers with your fingers until they are the size of large breadcrumbs.
3. Bake the almonds and hazelnuts in the oven for about 8 minutes and then let them cool. Remove 12 of the whole hazelnuts for later on. Process the remaining nuts in a food processor until finely ground.
4. In a bowl, mix the ground almonds and hazelnuts and half the crumbled ice-cream wafers with the Nutella. (Put the remaining crumbled wafers in a small bowl.)
5. Using a teaspoon, pick up a blob of the truffle chocolate and press in a whole hazelnut until it has disappeared into the chocolatey abyss. Then place in the bowl of wafer crumbs and roll around until it is coated with an even layer. Repeat again and again until you are left with around 12 truffles.
6. Store the truffles in the fridge. They should keep for a few weeks in an airtight container. Not that I have tested this, mine didn't last that long.

Easy Wok

Thanks to my careful observational skills, whilst a friend was cooking dinner for me, I managed to make a mental note of the cooking process (and ensured he wasn't trying to poison me), for this simple yet tasty meal. It requires hardly any preparation and the cooking time is only about 15-20 minutes. Which all makes for the perfect recipe and leaves more time for the more important things in life, like actually eating it.


Ingredients

Serves 2

1tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
1 courgette, sliced
1 sweet red pepper, sliced
2 chicken breast fillets, sliced
1 head of broccoli, florets sliced in half
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
3 tbsp oyster sauce
Chinese Spices (Schwartz's Chinese 5 Spice is a good mix)
Dried egg noodles

Let's get making:

1. Saute the onion, courgette and red pepper in a wok.
2. Add the chicken and cook until browned.
3. Stir in soy sauce, oyster sauce and Chinese spice. Add the broccoli florets and cover to steam for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. In a pan of boiling water, cook the dried egg noodles, following packet instructions (usually 4 minutes) and then drain.

5. Mix the chicken and vegetables with the noodles and serve.

It really is that easy!

Banoffee Pie

With a little convincing, I can fool myself into thinking that because this recipe involves using a banana or two, it must be healthy. Ignorance is bliss and so is this banoffee pie.

Ingredients


300g oaty biscuits (Hob Nobs are good and the chocolate covered ones are even better)
60g butter, melted
397g tin Nestlé Carnation Caramel
3 large bananas, sliced
350ml double cream
1 tbsp icing sugar
100g dark chocolate

Let's get making:

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180C
2. In a food processors, crush the biscuits and then add the melted butter and mixed until combined.
3. Press the mixture into a 24-cm tart tin, with a removable base, making an even layer of buttery biscuit goodness.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly toasted and leave to cool.

5. Transfer the biscuity base onto a serving plate and spread on the caramel. Leave to chill for 1 hour.

6. Just before you are ready to serve, whip the cream and sugar together to form soft peaks. Then arrange the banana slices on top of the toffee and cover with the whipped cream.

7. Melt the chocolate and when it has cooled slightly, drizzle over the cream.

P's in a Pan

This recipe is so easy, yet tastes divine. It's perfect for a dinner party, or to impress a special someone with a special meal. (It works every time!)

Ingredients:

8 pork
2 handfuls of rosemary
6 garlic cloves
80ml of olive oil
Juice of 3 lemons
2 smooth-skinned pears
3 parsnips
2 ripe peaches
700g potatoes
Salt and pepper

Let's get making:

1. To make the marinade for the chops, pound the rosemary, crush the garlic, add the oil and lemon juice and stir together. Rub on the chops and leave to marinade for 1-6 hours, in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 220 or Gas Mark 7.
3. Slice the pears, parsnips and peaches into quarters lengthwise. (Don't forget to remove the core of the pear.) Cut the potatoes into small pieces.

4. Put the pork, pears, parsnips, peaches and potatoes into a roasting tray, tossing a few times to coat everything with the marinade. Seasons with salt and black pepper and then roast for 45 minutes-1 hour, depending on how big your chops are.

Serve with mint sauce and/or a big glass of red wine.

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's tray-baked pork chops with herby potatpes, parsnips, pears and minted bread sauce.

One Bowl Brownies

I love chocolate. I also love not having a huge mess left in my sink after baking. Imagine being able to have both things in just 40 minutes (okay, maybe 42 by the time you have washed out the bowl), a delicious chocolatey treat and hardly any mess.

Ingredients: 

112g dark chocolate (70% is best)

170g butter

400g white sugar

3 eggs

5 ml vanilla extract

125g plain flour

115g chopped walnuts

Let's get making:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and grease a 13 x 9 inch pan.
2. Melt chocolate and butter in large bowl until butter is melted.
3. Stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and nuts.
4. Spread in greased 13 x 9 inch pan and bake for 35 minutes. (Try not to over bake, but like you would want to leave them in there any longer than they absolutely have to be.)

Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, double cream or all three.

Marshmallow Melts

Toasting marshmallows has got to be the best part of camping, I mean who really wants to sleep surrounded by insects, be at risk of being eaten by wild animals or wash from a bucket?
But why go through the ordeal at all when you can have Marshmallow melts in the comfort of your own, insect free, home, with very little mess. All the magic happens in one bowl, what more could we ask for? Apart from a cocktail in the hand that isn't holding the beaters.


Ingredients:

250g unsalted butter, softened

250g caster sugar

250g self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

4 medium eggs

4 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

24 marshmallows

1 Jar of Fluff

Let's get making:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C or Gas Mark 5.
2. Beat the butter in a large bowl until it is softened. Add the sugar, flour, salt, eggs, milk and vanilla and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
3. Put one marshmallow in each paper case.
4. Spoon the mixture into the cases, covering the marshmallow
5. Place muffin tin in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until cupcakes are a light golden colour.
6. Remove the tins from the oven. Leave the cupcakes to cool in the tins for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
7. When cool, spread a generous helping of Fluff onto each cupcake, (avoiding the temptation of spooning it straight into your mouth).