Something I've never made made before, but always wanted to try...
This was my 2nd attempt, all I did, was reduce the cooking time by 3 minutes.
Makes 2
60g Good Dark Chocolate
60g Butter
50g Castor Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
40g Plain Flour
Cocoa powder
Grease the 2 individual basins with butter and dust with the cocoa powder.
Heat the butter and chocolate in pan gently till melted, then remove from heat,
Stir in the sugar with wooden spoon till smooth.
Whisk in 1 egg and yolk of the other with essence.
Add the flour and beat in with wooden spoon till smooth.
Place in moulds on baking tray, and bake in centre of oven, Gas 6 for exactly 12 minutes.
Remove from oven, then slide knife around inside of mould and turn into bowl.
Serve immediately with a scoop of ice-cream or cream.
Yummy!!!
Enjoy!
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!
This is an easy to do recipe, ideal for breakfast or as a snack.
Can be done ahead and frozen.
Ingredients: Yields 12
6 Eggs
1/4 Pint Milk
1 Chopped Onion
Chopped Pancetta or Bacon
Grated Cheese
Grease a 12 piece cupcake tray.
Brown off pancetta and onion together, and place on kitchen paper to drain fat off.
Divide bacon mix into the 12 cupcake tins.
Add a little grated cheese on top.
Beat the eggs and milk together in a jug, with seasoning, then pour on top of bacon mix.
Bake in oven Gas 5, till risen and starting to brown.
When done, use a tablespoon to scoop out muffins and place on plate, eat straightaway, or leave to cool before freezing.
Enjoy!
Thought I would try 2 different methods of making a cupcake mixture, one the creaming method, and the other a rubbing method, to see what difference there is?
Creaming: Yielded- 12
4oz Margarine
4oz Castor Sugar
4oz SR Flour
2 Eggs (beaten)+ 1tbsp milk
Beat sugar and marg until light and fluffy, add beaten eggs a little at a time, with a little flour, fold in flour.
Put 1 tbsp of mix in each of 12 cupcake papers.
Bake Gas 6 till risen and golden brown.
Rub In: Yielded 8
Use the same ingredients above:
Put flour and sugar in bowl and mix together.
Put softened marg in and rub in till resembles breadcrumbs.
Beat in egg and milk mix till smooth.
Put 1 tbsp of mix into 8 paper cases, and bake as above.
The obvious difference is that you get more cupcakes with the creaming method, as the eggs are beaten more.
I also found the creaming method cakes are a lighter cake, and rise better.
If you particularly want a flat cupcake, depending what decoration you are going, then use the rubbing in method.
Its up to you, I found they both tasted the same, I will continue to use the creaming method, as I believe it is more evenly mixed.
Have a try....
Enjoy!
This is another of Mums recipes that brings back memories.
I had some pastry left from the almond tarts, so made these.
Grease and line a 12 cupcake tray with the pastry using a round cutter.
For Filling:
4oz Margarine
4oz Castor Sugar
2 Eggs (beaten)
4oz Desiccated Coconut
Strawberry Jam
Beat together margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
Bet in eggs and coconut.
Add 1/2 tsp jam in bottom of pastry tarts, then add 1 dessert spoon of cake mix in each, spreading and sealing the edges.
Bake Gas 6, until risen and golden brown.
Enjoy!
Thought I would go back to basics for my pastry and make some almond tarts at the same time, the pastry uses half butter, half lard.
Lard wasn't used so much these days as thought to be unhealthy, but watching a recent foodie program, it actually has less mono saturates than butter, it makes a lovely buttery crispy pastry.
Pastry:
8oz SR Flour
2oz Butter
2oz Lard
cold water
For Filling:
4oz Castor Sugar
4oz Margarine
3oz SR Flour
2oz Ground Almonds
2 Eggs (beaten)
1 tsp Almond Essence
Flaked Almonds
Strawberry Jam
Make pastry by rubbing in butter and lard into flour, until resembles breadcrumbs.
Add a little cold water at a time until pastry comes together, do not over mix.
Wrap in cling film and put in fridge for 30 minutes ( or can make day before).
Roll out pastry and line tartlet tins, add 1tsp of jam in bottom.
Make filling by creaming margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs ( and almond essence) a little at a time, adding a little of the flour at same time to prevent curdling.
Fold in rest of flour and ground almonds.
Fill each tart with cake mix, then sprinkle some flaked almonds on top.
Bake Gas 5, until risen and golden brown.
Cool on wire rack.
Enjoy!
I was inspired watching Masterchef USA the other day, and decided I would try making profiteroles, something I've never got round to making before, OMG I'm so glad I did!
These were easier than I thought.
They are filled with caramel cheese cream, and topped with caramel.
This recipe made about 4 trays, I filled half of them, and the spare shells were frozen.
For the pastry:
6oz Butter
7 1/2oz P Flour
6 Eggs (beaten)
3/4 pint of water (400mls)
For Filling:
large tub of mascarpone
1 dessert spoon of milk
1tbsp icing sugar
1 sml tin of Nestles caramel
Draw 1" circles onto parchment paper, the turn over and place on baking tray, dampen slightly with water.
Cut the butter into small pieces and put in large pan with the water.
Heat gently until butter melted, then bring to boil quickly, remove from heat immediately.
Beat in sifted flour until the mixture is smooth and leaves the side of the pan.
Allow to cool...
Then beat in eggs a little at a time, keeping the mixture stiff.
Put in large piping bag with large plain nozzle, and pipe onto marked parchment.
Press down any peaks gently with damp small brush.
Bake in oven Gas 6 until risen, golden brown and has a crispy shell.
Don't take then out the oven too soon, as they will deflate.
For the filling, beat together mascarpone, milk and icing sugar, (add 1tsp caramel flavouring if you wish).
As soon as profiteroles are cool, poke small hole in bottom, and pipe filling in, making sure they are filled.
Dip top in caramel.
Spare shells, allow to cool, the freeze, also the finished profiteroles can be frozen, place flat on tray with parchment, and place in freezer, once frozen, you can put then in bags or boxes, and back in the freezer.
Enjoy!
Something I've never made made before, but always wanted to try...
