Vanilla Cupcakes

Everyone loves a cupcake, they are super easy and fun to make, here is my favourite recipe for Vanilla cupcakes:

You will need:
120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1 and a half teaspoons of baking powder
40g unsalted softened butter
120ml whole milk
1 large egg
3 drops of vanilla extract
Chocolate bars for decoration
12 hole cupcake tin lined with paper cases
For the icing you will need:
250g sifted icing sugar
80g unsalted butter
25ml whole milk

Pre-heat your oven to 170 degrees and line your cupcake tray with the paper cases. In a large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder and butter together and mix using an electric whisk until the texture feels sandy. In a separate bowl mix together the milk and the egg and then slowly add this to the dry mixture along with the vanilla extract. Once combined pour the mixture into the cupcake cases until they are 3/4 full. Pop into the oven and leave for 20-25 minutes, once golden and the sponge springs back they are ready to come out, put on a wire rack to cool. Once the cakes have cooled down you can start on the topping, mix the sifted icing sugar and softened butter together to create the icing, if you want you can add food colouring too! Using a palate knife or a piping bag ice the cupcakes and then decorate, I used Crunchie Bars and Flake, they tasted delicious!

Are you going to be baking this weekend?

Orange, Pistachio and White Chocolate Sponge Cake

I visited a lovely cafe in Worthing called Green Cuisine not long ago and tried their Orange, Pistachio and White Chocolate cake, and I fell in love. The flavour combination is to die for, it may not be one of the healthiest things on their menu but it sure is the tastiest. I decided to recreate this cake at home using a basic sponge tray bake recipe and altering it a little. For this cake I used a deep rectangular oven tray and an electric whisk and set my oven to 160 degrees.

You will need:
225 grams of softened unsalted butter
225 grams of caster sugar
275 grams of self raising flour
2 level tsp of baking powder
4 large eggs
4 tbsp of whole milk
Zest and juice of one orange
Large handful of pistachios
2 bars of white cooking chocolate
300 grams of icing sugar
200ml of water.

In a large mixing bowl add your flour, eggs, butter, sugar, baking powder and milk and combine all these ingredients to make to cake batter, once the mixture is done add half of the chopped pistachios and all of the orange zest and juice. Transfer the mixture into your lined oven tray. Bake in the oven for approximately 40 minutes. You will know when the cake is cooked when you put a knife into the centre and it comes out clean, set aside to cool. Once the cake has cooled down fully then you can start on the topping. Melt the white chocolate in a glass bowl over a simmering pan of water. In a separate bowl mix the icing sugar together with a little of the water, once this is runny add it to the bowl of melted chocolate, this mixture will go hard very quickly so you will need to add around 200ml of water, keep mixing and adding water until you have formed a thick glossy chocolate topping for the cake. Once the topping is reading smooth over the cake and the sprinkle on the remaining pistachios. I think it is best to do this whilst the cake is still in the tin. Once the topping is completely set then you can slice up the cake into squares and remove carefully from the tin.

Pop this into a cake tin and it should last for a couple of days. Let me know if you give this a go!

Cooking, Cooking and More Cooking

I have been doing so much cooking this past week, I made the Death by Chocolate cake to take to the in-laws, I also made Nigella's Christmas Rocky Road which didn't last very long, Luca made a lovely dinner Christmas Eve, he followed Delia Smith's recipe for Roast Gammon and cooked it with roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips and cauliflower cheese. I am returning to the gym this week after eating my entire body weight in Celebrations, easing myself in not so gently with a 5km run ... wish me luck!

Delia's Scones

I had to work on Christmas Eve and when I came home I was surprised by homemade scones and afternoon tea. My little sister and the boy had set the table beautifully, they followed the Delia Smith recipe for the scones and they were the nicest I have ever had, we had them with strawberry jam and cream. Since we got Delia's Complete Cookery Course Book we have used it for so many different things, it is so well written you really cannot go wrong with a recipe, she explains things so well and breaks every step down making it really simple.

Here is a link for the scone recipe online if you fancy having a go at making these.

What is your favourite thing to bake?

Apple and Oat Cookies

Everybody loves cookies, and this recipe is perfect for this time of year with its hints of Cinnamon. These are really easy to bake, take hardly any time to prepare and they taste delicious. 

You will need:

135g of soft unsalted butter

80g soft brown sugar

80g of caster sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla paste

190g of plain flour

½ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

2 Granny smith apples

60g rolled oats

Flaked almonds

This recipe makes 10 cookies approximately.

First pre-heat your oven to 170 C and line two baking trays with baking paper.

After measuring all your ingredients, cream the butter and both types of sugar together, then add the egg and vanilla paste; make sure everything is combined well. In a separate bowl sift your flour, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda and salt together then add the dry ingredients into the bowl of sugar and butter, mix well until it forms a dough texture. In another bowl put your rolled oats, peel the apples and then grate them, drain of the juice and add the grated apples to the oats, once mixed together add this into your cookie dough. Roll the mixture into small bowls, (approximately 2 tablespoons worth of mixture) place the cookie balls onto the baking tray, leave enough space for the cookies to spread out as they cook. Sprinkle a few flaked almonds onto each ball and then bake in the oven for around 18 minutes, a little less if you like your cookies soft.

Detroit Mac N' Cheese

If you are reading this and you are slightly peckish then look away now! .... As I may have mentioned before, I am trying to eat healthy but I do believe a little indulgence once and again can't hurt that much, that's where this post comes in .. it was definitely indulgent!

I like my diet to be 80 % healthy, and 20 % naughty so Mac N' Cheese on a Sunday is allowed! After looking for something yummy to rustle up Luca stumbled across a recipe for Clarkston Union Bar in Detroit's recipe for their famous Mac N' Cheese (apparently it is one of the best places ever for this dish!)

Adapting it slightly to our tastes he created the nicest Mac N' Cheese I have ever eaten, here is a rough recipe if you fancied giving it a go:

Luca's Mac N' Cheese (with pasta instead) 

Ingredients:

Butter 40grms
Plain flour 5 heaped tablespoons
Milk 3 cups
Double cream 1 cup
Romano cheese 150grms
Cheddar cheese 150grms
Asiago cheese 150grms
Large pasta shells 500grms
Handful of breadcrumbs
One large tomato
Handful of parsley

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.

Firstly grate all three types of cheese and put a small amount aside for sprinkling later, boil some water for the pasta and once boiling add the shells to a large pan, next get a medium size pan and melt the butter, add the flour slowly and stir into a roux, add the milk and cream and whisk until the sauce starts to bubble, you may need more liquid if too thick or more flour if too runny. Take off the heat and stir in the three cheeses.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain, and then stir into the sauce, once you have combined the two, pour into an oven proof dish and garnish with breadcrumbs, the remaining grated cheese, some sliced tomato and some chopped parsley. Season as necessary with salt and pepper.

Pop into the oven for half an hour, slice a fresh baguette, pour yourself a cloudy lemonade and wash up;)
After half an hour check to see if the cheese on top has gone golden and crispy ... if it has you are done!

If you wanted a more traditional Mac N' Cheese then use macaroni, but I much prefer these huge shells.

So there you have it, a lovely indulgent dish, Detroit style!