I’ve been neglecting the blog a bit :(. I’ve lost enthusiasm I think because it’s not quite how I want it right now but I’m not inspired to fix it… Hopefully I will catch my second win soon!

I haven’t forgotten the fat quarter project just it’s been so gloomy the past week not much oppurtunity for taking photo’s but I will write it up soon.

For now a recipe…

Sunny cupcakes with chocolate syrup frosting

Yummy!

Cupcakes Ingredients:

• 175g S/R or all purpose Flour (buy super sifted or sift)
• 150g Caster/Superfine Sugar
• 150g Butter or Cake Marg (I use Stork SB)
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• few teaspoons of milk.
• vanilla to taste
• food colouring (I used yellow and red)

Icing Ingredients:

• 60g Milk Chocolate
• 130g butter (130g is about 1 cup)
• 130g icing sugar
• 60ml (1/3 of a cup) double or heavy cream
• just under a teaspoon Maple Syrup
• and I put in a cap of cognac because I’m a drunkard j/k

Method

1. Add the flour, sugar, butter then eggs to your mixer. Mix untill smooth. Add your vanilla and then milk till you have a nice dropping consistency. In hotter climates you will have a loose batter. Add the yellow colouring to the mix and blend well, not too much colouring though you don’t want it flourescent.
2. Now fill a prelined tray with one table spoon full of mix each liner.
3. Now add a little more yellow and a drop of red to get orange if like me you didn’t buy orange colouring… I went for a sunset orange kind of colour.
4. Add another table spoon to each liner. You can be neat and try and get them smooth but I didn’t bother just dumped it on top! The cups should be pretty full.
5. Bake for around 12-15 minutes at 180c gas mark 4 or until well risen and brown.
6. Remove and allow to cool a few minutes before putting on a rack.

Now for the icing.

1. Melt the chocolate and add to the mixer with the syrup. While it’s churning and a little of your sugar then add the softened butter. If your butter is unsalted add a touch of salt.
2. Add the rest of your sugar and mix well!
3. Add the cream bit by bit while the mixer is still on. If needed add a little more sugar to firm it up. I added a little yellow colouring to get the caramel colour.

Two toned!

I’m having some people round tonight and I’m cooking but while I’ve got a spare minute waiting for people to arrive I thought I’d share this with you:

A yummy cupcake recipe! So called for their two tone icing. I had fun icing them hehe.

Minstrels Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 150g Stork SB (Or if you can’t get that: Butter – softened)
• 150g Golden castor  sugar
• 175g self-raising flour
• 3 medium eggs
• Quarter tsp Baking powder

Butter Cream (White)

• 50g Butter
• 120g Icing sugar
• 3 tbsp Milk
• 30g white chocolate chips/chunks, melted.
• pinch of salt

Butter Cream (Dark)

• 50g Butter
• 120g Icing sugar
• 3 tbsp Milk
• 30g Dark chocolate chips/chunks, melted
• pinch of salt

A little cocoa powder is good for dusting.

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180c/350f, line a muffin tray with 9 muffin papers or 12 medium sized cupcake cases.
2. Sift your flour into the bowl, add the sugar butter and baking powder. beat your eggs lightly with a fork and add the the mixture.
3. Mix with electric mixer till light and fluffy, about 2 mins.
4. Divide mixture between your cases. They should be around 2/3 full.
5. Bake for around 20 mins. Cakes should be golden brown and spring back at your touch.
6. Place on a cooling rack after cooling for 5 minutes in the pan.
7. Now make your butter cream. Add all your ingredients to the bowl but the chocolate. (you can mix it separately if you prefer hence I gave separate measurements). Be sure to sift the icing sugar. Mix well until light and fluffy. Your chocolate should be still melted but cool. If it’s hardened, rewarm in the microwave.
8. Divide mixture in half and add white chocolate to one. Mix in. then add dark chocolate to the other. mix in well.
9. Check your cakes are cool. If they are not pop your frosting in the fridge till the are. If you have a piping nozzle you can pipe on your icing. Have fun and get creative. Other wise swirl on with a knife or spatula.

Enjoy!

As the chocolate flavour is quite rich I’ve used plain cake but the icing would go just as well with a chocolate cake.

Must go get ready now! Have fun!

Was just doing my shopping online and realised that the majority of “bad” food I eat are breakfast foods. I really hate cereal and I’m not big on toast so usually opt for brioche, pain au chocolat and pancakes, besides fruit. On my better days I have yoghurt. Good for you, calcium rich and low in fat and sugar. I don’t like those generic kinds you get (muller light, ski etc etc) but make my own concoctions and thought I’d share a few recipes. These aren’t diet recipes I hasten to add, but an alternative to cereal and toast that will give you a few portions of fruit too.

Nana-cherry Yoghurt

Serves one

Ingredients:
One Small Banana
One heaped teaspoon Cherry Jam/Conserve
100g of Natural Live Yoghurt, unsweetened and unset
OR
100g Low fat Yoghurt unsweetened

Optional: Branflakes or Muesli Flakes

Method
Very simple add your yoghurt to a bowl or glass, add the jam and stir through lightly. Slice the banana and stir into your yoghurt. For added crunch you can add some branflakes or muesli.

Pip-pip berry! Yoghurt

Serves one

Ingredients:
Half a Pomegranate
Handful of strawberries
Brown Sugar meringue
100g of Natural Live Yoghurt, unsweetened and unset
OR
100g Low fat Yoghurt unsweetened

Method
Bash the back of your pomegranate with a wooden spoon to release the flesh or alternatively do it the lazy way and buy it ready picked. Slice and dice your strawberries then break your meringue into small pieces. Layer your ingredients yoghurt, pomegranate, yoghurt, strawberries, sprinkle with some broken meringue and enjoy. If you find it’s not sweet enough for you, you can add meringue to the layers or drizzle with a little honey.

Both of these make great deserts too. Serve with some home made biscuits and substitute some of the yoghurt for whipped cream. Was going to take some photo’s but I ate mine it was just too good!

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter and Bank holiday weekend!