Meringue Nests

These meringues turned out great! As they should be, crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, with minimal cracking, 

here's how I did it:

This amount made 6 meringue nests:

2 Egg Whites
100g Castor Sugar

Whisk the egg whites on slow speed at first until frothy, then on fast speed until forms peaks.
While whisking on fast speed, add the sugar 1tbsp at a time.
When mix still forms peaks, turn down speed to slow for 1 minute.
(this will stabilise the meringue).

Place lightly greased baking parchment onto tray.

Put meringue into piping bag with large star nozzle.

Starting from the centre, pipe in a circular motion for the base, then pipe around the edge once more to create ridge.

Place in cool oven, Gas 1/2 - 1, (130c).

Bake for aprox 1 hour, then turn oven off, and leave in oven till completely cool.

Store in air tight tin until ready to use.

When ready to serve, fill with cream and fruit of your choice.

Enjoy!

Tiramisu Slices

This is something I've been wanting to try and make for a long time, thinking it was complicated, its NOT! :)

For the cake layers:

3 Eggs (separated)
3oz Castor Sugar
4oz Plain Flour
half tsp Baking Powder 

For the Filling:

300ml Double Cream
150ml Mascarpone
1tbsp Icing Sugar 

extras:
1tbsp Coffee Granules
Baileys Cream or Brandy

For the cake bases:

Whisk egg whites until forms soft peaks, add half of the sugar and whisk again.
Add rest of sugar in separate bowl with egg yolks and whisk with hand whisk until creamy.
Add half of the egg yolk mix into egg white mix, and whisk for a minute.

Add flour and baking powder into mix and fold in gently, the fold in rest of yolk mix gently.

Put cake mix into large piping bag with large plain nozzle.
Pipe "fingers" onto greased baking tray.
Bake for aprox 8-10 minutes until golden brown, ( they will spread).

Cool on wire rack.
These can be stored in air tight container until needed, or you can buy "lady fingers" and use those instead.

For filling:

Whisk double cream until thick, then add icing sugar and mascarpone and whisk until thick again.

To make up Tiramisu, you can use a tray bake tin, or make individual ones in ramekins or other small dishes.

Mix coffee granules with a little warm water so it is runny, add Baileys or Brandy according to your taste.

Place a layer of your cake fingers on bottom of tray or ramekins and use a pastry brush to soak cake liberally with coffee mix.
Spread half of you cream mix over cake, then repeat with another layer.
Finally use a fine sieve to shake a little cocoa powder over tops.

Best served chilled, before slicing
Enjoy!

Baby Shower Cake

This is a baby boy shower cake done for a friend yesterday.

It is 2 round cakes, which I infused with some pineapple juice, then filled with fresh cream and pineapple pieces, making it lovely and moist.
The out side was piped with fresh cream rosettes in various shades, giving it an ombre effect.

The 'baby bum' topper was made by shaping already coloured fondant and placing on cake board.

Cherry Filled Turnovers

Although these are cherry filled, you can use apple or other fruit fillings.

For flaky pastry:
8oz SR Flour
pinch salt
8oz Hard Block Butter

Grate the butter straight from the fridge on large setting.
Put half the butter in bowl with the flour and salt, and rub in gently, ( you still want to see small pieces of butter).
Add a little cold water at a time until dough comes together.
Knead gently on floured surface until smooth, then wrap in cling film and place in fridge for at least an hour, put surplice butter in fridge as well.

Remove from fridge and roll out pastry into large rectangle, sprinkle some of the butter onto top  2/3rds of the pastry, fold bottom 3rd over middle, then top 3rd over middle.
Turn pastry 90 deg, and repeat.
Wrap in cling film and place in fridge again, for at least another hour, or overnight.

For Cherry Filling:
8oz Frozen Sweetened Cherries (defrosted)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp Cornflour

Place cherries, sugar and water into saucepan, bring to boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
Mix cornflour with a little water until it becomes runny.
Add a little at a time, of the cornflour mix into simmering cherry mix, stirring constantly, until thickens.
Allow to cool.

Take pastry out of fridge and roll out about a 1/4 onto floured surface, trying to keep it square or rectangle shaped.
Use pizza cutter to cut into roughly 4inch squares.
Place onto greased baking tray, add a small amount of cherry filling into middle of each square.
Dampen edges and fold over into triangles, seal gently, and brush with beaten egg.
Repeat as necessary with rest of pastry, you can use trimmings once more.
Bake in hot oven until risen and golden brown.

Dust with icing sugar, when cold, you can split the join slightly and pipe whipped cream in.

Enjoy!

Ham and Tomato Quiche

This is a family sized version of the mini quiches I made previously, for the recipe, follow the link below:

Ham and Tomato Quiche

Shortcrust Pastry

For the filling use:

6 Eggs

300ml Single Cream

Grated Cheese

Chopped Ham

Sliced Tomato

No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake

For the base:

300g Crushed Digestives
120g Butter

For Filling:

500g Cream Cheese
100g Icing Sugar
300ml Double Cream

For Decoration:

Strawberries
Whipped Cream
Strawberry Gel

Make base by melting butter in large pan, then mixing in crushed digestives throughly.
Place in 8" loose bottomed cake tin and press down with back of spoon.
Put in fridge to cool.

For the filling, whip the double cream till thick, add icing sugar and cream cheese, and whip again until it forms peaks.

Divide the cheesecake mix into 3 separate bowls.
Add a little red colouring into 2 of the mixes, more in one than the other to have 2 different shades of pink.

When base is cool, spread the darkest pink mix onto base.
Add sliced strawberries around edge ( as shown in picture).
Then spread other pink mix on top gently, then finally white mix.

Decorate top with whipped cream and strawberries and chill in fridge until required.

Enjoy!

My Carrot Cake

Haven't done a large carrot cake in a while, so thought it was time, beautiful and moist, with a cream cheese frosting.

For the cake:

10oz Castor Sugar
10oz Margarine
10oz SR Flour
5 Eggs
2 Medium Carrots (grated)
4oz Chopped Walnuts
4 tsp Mixed Spice
1 tsp Cinnamon 

For Frosting:
1 Tub of Double Cream
1 Tub Philadelphia Cheese
1tsp Lemon Flavouring
1 tbsp Icing Sugar

Make cake, by creaming margarine and sugar till light and fluffy.
Add beaten eggs a little at a time, continually beating with a little of the flour (to prevent mix from curdling).
Add the rest of the ingredients and gently fold in.
Grease and line an 8 or 10" round cake tin, put mix in cake tin and bake Gas 5 till risen and golden brown. Allow to cool.

Make frosting by whipping double cream till thick, add 1 tbsp icing sugar and cream cheese and whisk till forms peaks,

Put 3tbsp of frosting in a small bowl, and 1tbsp into another small bowl, add green food colouring to smallest bowl, and orange colouring to other bowl.

Slice cake horizontally and spread some plain frosting in middle, and cover cake with rest of frosting. Sprinkle with a little of the chopped walnuts and grated carrots.
Put orange frosting into piping bag with plain nozzle and pipe carrots around edge, and use green to pipe leaves.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Souffle's

Always wanted to make these, but never tried thinking they would be difficult, they're not! :)

Ingredients:

For Sauce:

140ml Single Cream
25g Sugar
100g Dark Chocolate
25 g Butter

For Souffle's:

50g Sugar
175g Dark Chocolate
2tbsp Double Cream
4 Egg Yolks
5 Egg Whites


Make the sauce by heating the cream and sugar until it boils, remove from heat, then stir in the chocolate and butter till melted, keep warm.

For the souffle's, brush 6 ramekins with melted butter and dust with sugar.
Melt the chocolate and cream, remove from heat.
Mix in the egg yolks.
In separate bowl, whisk egg whites till peak forms, add the sugar a little at a time, and whisk again.
Add 1 tbsp of egg whites to chocolate mix and mix till combined.
Then fold in rest of egg whites.

Divide mixture between the ramekins, place on baking tray, and bake in oven Gas 6 till risen and starting to brown. (do not open oven door)
Remove from oven, dust with a little icing sugar, and serve immediately with chocolate sauce, and/or ice-cream.

Enjoy!

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Hi all, hope all you mums out there had a lovely mothers day, I was spoilt as usual, chocolate, flowers, wine (hic!) oh and a ticket to go and see Harry Potter World near London for later in the year! yay! big HP fan, even at my age.

Been a quiet couple of days here, wasn't raining yesterday, so took my 2 little Chihuahuas out for a walk, needless to say, being so close to the ground, they got their bellies full of mud in the woods.

This Winky and Molly, worn out after their walk!




Today, the cars in for its MOT, so thought I'd make some cupcakes for the home round the corner.



For cakes:

6oz Castor Sugar
6oz Margarine
8oz SR Flour
3 Eggs (beaten)
1 Medium Carrot (grated)
2tsp Mixed Spice
2tbsp Chopped Nuts


For Frosting:

300ml Double Cream
2tbsp Cream Cheese
1tbsp Icing Sugar
1tsp Lemon Flavouring
chopped nuts and grated carrot to decorate

Make cakes by beating sugar and margarine together till light and fluffy, add beaten eggs a little at a time, with a spoonful of the flour mix.
Fold in flour, mixed spice, grated carrot and nuts.
I used an icecream scoop to measure and placed one scoop in each cupcake paper case, (made 18).

Bake Gas 6 until risen and light golden brown.
Place on wire rack to cool.

For frosting: Whisk double cream and cream cheese till thickens a little, add icing sugar and flavouring and beat till thickens.


When cakes cooled, pipe frosting on cakes, then sprinkle with chopped nuts and a little of the grated carrot.

Enjoy!

Key Lime Pie

Another 1st for me! This is absolutely delicious, not over sweet and light.

Ingredients:

250g Digestives (crushed)

85g Butter

300ml Double Cream

Small Can of Condensed Milk

Juice and zest of 5 Limes

Melt butter in large pan gently, remove from heat and mix in crushed digestives well.

Place in deep loose bottomed cake tin, press down and smooth up the sides slightly.

Chill base in fridge while making filling.

Whisk together double cream and condensed milk, then add juice and zest of limes (keep a little of the zest to one side). Whisk till it thickens.

Pour mix onto base and chill in fridge for 1-2 hours.

When ready to serve, pipe some whipped cream on top, and sprinkle with remainder of lime zest.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Cupcakes

I used 10 of the cupcakes I made yesterday, and decorated them with cream cheese raspberry frosting.

Frosting:

4oz Double Cream
2oz Mascarpone 
1tbsp Icing Sugar
Pink food colouring
Raspberry Flavouring
Fresh Raspberries

Whip double cream until becoming thick and creamy, add icing sugar, cream cheese and flavouring, and whip until it form peaks.

Put 1/3 of frosting into separate bowl, and add a little pink colouring and mix.

For piping, I used a 3 bag  coupler and a Russian ball piping tube.
I put white frosting in 2 bags, and pink in 3rd bag.
Then piped rosettes on each cupcake, added a raspberry on top, and sprinkled with a little icing sugar.

If anyone would like a demonstration of these piping techniques, add a comment here, and I will do my best :)

Enjoy!

Caramel Cupcakes

This is another version of my standard cupcakes, 

For cakes:

4oz Margarine
4oz Castor sugar
4oz SR Flour
2 Eggs (beaten with 2tbsp milk) 
1tsp Baking powder

For frosting:

8oz Double cream
4oz Mascarpone
1 tbsp Icing sugar

Make cupcakes by creaming margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add egg mixture a little at a time along with the caramel flavouring, and continue beating, ( add a little flour at same time to prevent curdling mix).
Scrape down bowl, then fold in rest of flour, baking powder.

Divide into 12 paper cases in muffin tray.
Bake Gas 6, aprox 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool,
(This is good time for a cup of tea!) 

To make frosting, whisk cream and mascarpone until thickens a little, then add icing sugar and whisk until thick and creamy.
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes in design of your choice,

I put little caramel in centres of cakes before decorating with flowers and piped leaves, then drizzled a little caramel over tops, and added some caramel sprinkles.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Again, these cupcakes are delicious, takes a little more time with the colourings, but well worth it!


For cakes:

4oz Margarine
4oz Castor sugar
4oz SR Flour
2 Eggs (beaten with 2tbsp milk)
1tsp Baking powder

For frosting:

8oz Double cream
1tbsp Cocoa Powder
4oz Mascarpone
1 tbsp Icing sugar

Extras:

Chocolate Orange Flavouring
1tbsp Cocoa Powder
Orange Food Colouring
M&M,s


Make cakes by creaming softened margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add beaten eggs a little at a time.
Fold in flour and baking powder.

Divide mixture into 2 bowls.
Mix cocoa with a little water to make paste and add some into one of the cake mixes.
In other bowl, add a few drops of flavouring and colouring until colour required.

Add a desert spoon of each coloured cake mix into 12 separate cupcake papers, and bake in oven, Gas 6, until risen and cake springs back when touched.

Cool on wire rack.

For frosting:
Whip double cream and mascarpone until creamy, add icing sugar, and whip until thick.

Divide into 2 bowls.

Add a little of the cocoa mix in one bowl, and flavouring/colouring into other bowl.

Put large star nozzle into piping bag, put chocolate frosting down one side of bag, and orange frosting down other side.
Pipe rosettes onto cupcakes and add chocolate or orange M&M on top.

Enjoy!

Caramel and Apple Cupcakes

Thought I would use the caramel up left from doing the cheesecake, and oh my word! I'm glad I did, these cupcakes are yummy!

For cakes:

4oz Margarine
4oz Castor sugar
4oz SR Flour
2 Eggs (beaten with 2tbsp milk)
1tsp Baking powder
2 tbsp chopped dried apple pieces
1 tsp caramel flavouring

For frosting:

8oz Double cream
4oz Mascarpone
1 tbsp Icing sugar
Nestles Caramel and peanut M&Ms for decoration

Make cupcakes by creaming margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add egg mixture a little at a time along with the caramel flavouring, and continue beating, ( add a little flour at same time to prevent curdling mix).
Scrape down bowl, then fold in rest of flour, baking powder and apple pieces.

Divide into 12 paper cases in muffin tray.
Bake Gas 6, aprox 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool,
(This is good time for a cup of tea!) 

To make frosting, whisk cream and mascarpone until thickens a little, then add icing sugar and whisk until thick and creamy.
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes in design of your choice, and add M&M in middle, then drizzle a little caramel over tops.

Enjoy! (I certainly did lol )