Early Easter chocolate cupcakes

It may be a little early to be making Easter cakes but I'm not sure if I will be making any next week but had an egg and flour that had to be used up so made some cakes.

I used the Hummingbird cupcake book, just a normal chocolate cupcake recipe. I did add chocolate chips but they seemed to drop to the bottom even though I put them in the batter. They didn't burn but they were a little crispy and it annoyed me a bit that it didn't really work.

The icing is just the usual chocolate butter icing, which I seem to have mastered which was good. The recipe said to use 300g of icing sugar but I used 200g as I always have too much and have to bin most of it but that amount worked.

I added mini eggs to the top make them more Eastery.

The cakes were so soft and crumbly really delicious and would be perfect with ice cream.

Melt my heart cupcakes

Me and my boyfriend decided not to do Valentine's Day this year, just seeing it as a commercial waste of money when everyday should feel like Valentine's when you are in love with someone.

Anyway, I did decide to make some cupcakes for him as I have been off work all week and haven't done any baking.

I made chocolate cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery cupcake book, but with an added twist. I decided to put on top halfway through baking some chocolate hearts in a hope they would melt a little and add some gooey-ness to the cakes. I got the idea while watching Lorraine earlier in the week, the chef made chocolate souffle and put a Lindt chocolate ball in the middle.

They melted a bit but I haven't tried one yet to see if it is still gooey or has got hard when it has cooled. I'm hoping a bit gooey.

I decided to do vanilla icing rather than chocolate and then put pink edible glitter on the cakes with the hearts so people know which is which.

I seem to have conquered the icing, but my cupcakes are never pretty looking but do taste amazing.

Just have to hope the boyfriend likes them.

Cupcakes - My own creation

When it comes to cupcakes I always try the recipes from the book, word for word.

However, my boyfriend wanted something a little different.

I made vanilla cupcakes with chopped up dark chocolate took the middle out and spread chocolate orange spread, with chocolate orange icing. All what the boyfriend asked for.

I used the basic vanilla sponge from the Hummingbird Bakery book and other bits from other ones.

I have only tried the sponge which was nice but I worry that the filling and icing may be a bit too much.

I just hope the boyfriend likes them.

 with added cocoa powder

 pre-icing

Regaining my cupcake crown with lemons

It has been a while but after some experimenting I have made my way back to cupcakes, mainly because it is boyfriend's mum's birthday and she loved the lemon cakes last time so I dusted off the Hummingbird Bakery book and set about grating some lemon zest.

When the cakes were done and cooled a took out the middle of some and filled the centre with lemon curd and on others I did a layer of lemon curd so not sure how lemony they will be.

I also made the lemon icing with a suggestion from my mum I used proper butter in the icing and it definitely worked and made them a lot stiffer.

All that is left now is to see what my boyfriend's mum thinks about them...the true test.







Red Velvet cupcakes with a difference



I suppose I have always been a little frightened of making red velvet cupcakes, some of the recipes seem very involved and complicated.


Also I have had issues with cream cheese frosting.

However, yet again Marian Keyes is my saviour! Although you have to put in the vanilla essence, white wine vinegar, cocoa powder etc in a particular order and mix in between can seem a little daunting, I thought as it had no icing I would give them a go.

Also no frosting, you make the cream cheese filling bit with the cream cheese and sugar and once you have made the chocolate part you layer them and mix them to get the marble effect.

I was a little unsure but they turned out really nice and were worth the number of bowls to get the different bits.

My cupcakes always turn out massive though but I think everyone appreciates them

Red velvet cupcakes done! Now what's next....

Saved by the Cake - Blondie cupcakes

For my birthday I was given  Marian Keyes' new book 'Saved by the Cake' - a cake cook book.

I am a big fan of Marian Keyes' other books including her fiction and journalism articles so it was a no brainer when I saw she had a cook book I asked for it for my birthday.

There are a load of great recipes, and as Marian is not a cook they are laid out in easy terms that even a novice won't be put off.

Flicking through I was tempted to do quite a few the cheesecakes look amazing but instead I decided on Blondie cupcakes.

Blondies are like brownies, but use white chocolate instead of milk. In this instance as well Marian has decided to make cupcakes. Best of all they have no icing as at the moment icing sugar seems to be my nemesis.

Over the weekend at a bit of a loose end I decided to give them a go.

You melt butter and the white chocolate together, I did it in 30 second blasts in the microwave, the smell of butter is not nice though I really didn't like.

You only use the electric whisk to mix the eggs and sugar, you fold the flour and everything else together with a spatula which is a little different from other recipes. It did make it lighter though, you then add the nuts and the rest of the chocolate, put it in the cases and put in the oven.

They are delicious lovely creamy chocolate and the hazelnuts, the recipe said you should use macadamia nuts or hazelnuts.

They were easy to make and really nice.

Give them a go.

Mini me my mini cupcakes

Everyone knows that at Christmas you tend to get presents that are appliances that you know you will never use. Every once in a while, however, you get one that you never knew you wanted but once you have it you wonder how you ever survived without it.

This is what I received at Christmas, my gran-parents bought me a mini cupcake maker oven.

So today at a loose end I thought I would give it a go.

Mixed up the mixture, vanilla cupcake mix and put them in the cases and watched them cook. They took quicker than the 20 minutes recommended, but I was surprised at how well they turned out and they tasted delicious.

However, they were really difficult to ice and decorate but everyone likes them so much they had to have more than one... but that might be because they are mini.

The cakes in the maker...

Chocolate Orange cupcakes

I had a week off this week and on my last day I decided to make some chocolate and orange cupcakes.

I used a recipe out of my Primrose bakery cook book.

You use fresh orange juice, orange zest and melted dark chocolate.

After zesting and jucing the orange by hand, my hands did look as if I was applying some sort of Essex style fake tan, I also got orange juice on my t-shirt the one time I decide not to wear my apron. So oranges can be tricky.

I was a little concerned at first as the mixture was like a mousse and I wasn't sure that it would be light enough for a sponge.

They took a bit longer than usual to cook about half an hour whereas usually they take about 15-20 minutes.

However, they came out really well. I personally couldn't taste the orange in them but other people have said they could and how nice they were.

The icing it just chocolate and I had some chopped milk chocolate left over from my failed macaroons so decided to use that on the top just to get rid of it really.

I would recommend these easy to make and a nice change from just chocolate.

Peanut Butter cupcakes

Another weekend another opportunity to make some yummy (proper) cupcakes.

Again from Primrose Bakery I choose Peanut Butter Cupcakes.

Very, very rich but yummy! You start with smooth peanut butter, butter and dark brown sugar, straight off you can tell these are not going to be healthy.

But cupcakes now and again don't hurt and when they are this delicious where is the harm.

You mix that all then add the flour, baking power and vanilla essence, then mix it all up.

I will admit it does look like a massive bowl full of peanut butter.

Leave to cook, in the book they suggest chocolate icing with peanut butter drops. Instead I chose to mix the smooth peanut butter and the chocolate icing together. Then added white and milk chocolate curls.

Delicious!

Pre-icing:

Mars cupcakes...well cornflake cakes

I finished work early today and wanted to do some baking, so I thought I would do some easy ones.

So I picked the Mars Bar Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery Cupcake book, the ingredients butter, cornflakes, golden syrup and of course Mars Bars. Basically you melt syrup and butter, add chopped up Mars bars then add the cornflakes.

Put them in the cases, let them cool add the butter icing and all done.

However, one word of warning they are very sickly, I think I should have added more cornflakes to the mixture to make it less sickly.

I suppose really they aren't really cupcakes no baking involved but I didn't burn anything so all good. I would recommend.

Pretty baking with a cherry on top

For Christmas I was given the Great British Bake Off cook book from the series on the BBC, in a hope to help me with my domestic goddess quest.

So first off the bat for me to try was the cherry bakewell cupcakes - using ground almonds, cherries and strawberry jam.

The recipe uses raspberry jam but I bought strawberry. You cut out the middle and fill it with the jam, very yummy.

You couldn't really taste the almonds that much, but the strawberry, sponge and icing made it delicious.

However, I do think I put in too much lemon juice in the icing but I'm still learning. 

Really nice and light cupcakes, also really tasty.

Now I just have to decide what to do next, do I dare move on to pastries and breads?

Not a happy cupcake bunny....

So I attempted to make some unusual cupcakes, cola cupcakes.

This recipe is from the Cox and Cookies cake cookbook, it was a little strange melting butter with coke but the cakes looked ok.

It was a slightly different cooking method from my other ones and I think it showed. I tried one and I'm not convinced, I don't really think they taste of anything maybe a hint of chocolate but not coca cola at all.

I was a bit disappointed really, no one else has had one and I feel tempted to chuck them away. I don't know if I didn't cook them for long enough either but I also worry about burning them. I don't know it feels like two steps forward eight steps back today.

The cola and chocolate icing is nice though, here they are...

I don't know... I suppose it can't go well all the time.

When life gives you lemons make.... lemon cupcakes!

No birthdays this time just the urge to make cupcakes.

Lemon cupcakes - a simple sponge with lemon zest, which makes them lemon-y, same with the icing just add grated zest. I was quite surprised that it was the zest that made them taste that way rather than juice or syrup.

I was a bit concerned at first about the icing it wasn't quite as thick as the other butter icing and I wasn't sure it would make a swirl like the chocolate cakes I made a couple of weeks ago. But actually I think it looks quite good as just a layer of icing rather than a swirl.

There are just a couple of things I wish I had done and will do next time. I will take the middle out and put lemon curd in and put sugar lemons, what you usually have at Christmas, on the top as decoration.

They were really nice though I was a bit surprised as I didn't think they would be as nice as they were. Another success.

Choccy woccy cupcakes

Yesterday was my boyfriend's birthday and as is becoming a tradition I made cupcakes. He asked for hazelnut and chocolate cupcakes.

Basically they are chocolate cupcakes with the middle taken out and chocolate spread put in its place, then covered with butter icing with added chocolate spread, basically it is a chocolaty overload!

Let's hope he likes them.

You know I think I am getting the hang of this baking malarky....or have I spoken to soon?

I am going to try another item from the baking list and see how I get on.

The road to cupcake kingdom is not an easy one

Over the weekend in my baking haze I made another batch of cupcakes.

This time I decided to make strawberry cheesecake. A simple vanilla sponge, with strawberries in the bottom and a cream cheese icing and broken digestive biscuits.

My journey to cupcake heaven was going so well, I had mastered the oven so as to not burn the bottom of my cupcakes while leaving the inside completely raw and had a level of calm when baking.

However, this time I hit a bit of a speed bump. The icing....it was really, really runny! I just think I had put too much cream cheese in or not enough icing sugar. So instead of putting the biscuit on top I mixed it in, it worked in the end not as much icing just a thin layer but still yummy.

Next I am either going to do lemon cupcakes or coconut and pineapple. Not sure which yet.

More Cupcake Lady-in-Waiting than Queen

To celebrate my lovely mum's birthday she picked what cupcakes she wanted and me and the boyfriend set about making them.

We made marshmellow ones, vanilla cakes with the middle out with melted marshmellow in. That part was my boyfriends job and it was hilarious seeing him with marshmellow all over his fingers, as well as a teaspoon which was stuck to the mellow. He worked out how to do it in the end though, and they were delicious.

I do love making cupcakes and I am kind of good at it, but only made a few batches but they have been pretty good. So my quest is still ongoing. I'm back to work next week but me and my sister have a bake date so I will let you know how we get on.

Here are some photos of my marshmellow cupcakes and hazelnut and chocolate cupcakes....

My journey to become a domestic goddess

I am off work this week so never fear the blog will get the love and attention it deserves.

So, I am off and I have taken this time to put my saga to become a domestic goddess to the test. Today I am planning to make cottage pie.

Now to any normal cook that sounds like an easy task, for me however, not so. I once managed to set fire to a whole roll of kitchen roll just cooking spag bol, still to this day not sure how it happened. I was cooking mince turned my back to wash my hands, turned back the whole thing was in flames.

Anyway, we won't relive that.

To start me on the right cottage pie track I bought a Hairy Bikers Mum knows Best cook book. Loads of classic recipes. I did think that cottage pie would be fairly easy and I would be able to do it. I will be prepping in a bit so wish me luck and I'm sure that you will hear all about it later on this week.

Also it is my mum's birthday this week and to celebrate she has picked some cupcakes, which I am going to make... my third batch, so keep fingers crossed and I will let you know how I get on. Who knows I may be on my way to being a domestic goddess... ?