Snow Day Cupcakes!

Snow is a beautiful sight. Its fun to build snowmen, get into a snowball fight and generally have a day off. Sadly I still had to go into work. No snowball fights for me boo. (I did take a couple of photos but haven't got my camera with me. I'm on my nans iPad)
I am lucky because I've got more then half the week off to see my Portsmouth hospitality crew (Big it up for the Portsmouth crew!!!) 
I seriously miss you guys! Its going to be one amazing catch up!
And I get to see my lovely boyfriend, who I'm making a very special cake for. (Can't post what it is cause he'll guess and that ruins the surprise). More on that when its finished. 

In the mean time, I've been busy making some snowy cupcakes. I got this from a random recipe book. To be honest they didn't turn out the way I wanted them to. They taste so chocolately and moist but don't look so hot (or cool since there snow cupcakes). My suggestion is that you try the cupcake sponge with the icing from here. The yeti marshmallow icing is amazing and would go well with the chocolate sponge in this recipe. (Pictures soon to follow. Edit: Pictures added.)

Recipe: Chocolate Marshmallow Cupcakes.

•        2 Eggs
•        90g/ tbsp diced unsalted butter, room temperature
•        170g/ ¾ cup of caster sugar
•        140g/ 1 cup plus 2 tbsp of plain flour
•        1 teaspoon baking powder
•        30g/ ¼ cup cocoa powder
•        ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
•        125ml/ ½ cup milk
•        35g/ ½ cup mini marshmallow, plus extra to decorate
•        Store-bought chocolate sauce to drizzle

Recipe: Marshmallow frosting

•        180g/ 1 scant cup of caster sugar
•        ¼ teaspoon cream of tartare
•        3 egg whites
•        1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•        100ml/ 1/3 cup water

Equipment:

•        Sieve
•        Bowlx2
•        Mixer
•        Measuring jug
•        Scraper
•        12 hole muffin tin filled with cupcake cases
•        Saucepan
•        Sugar thermometer  
• 
  

1.    Preheat oven to 180c/350c/Gas Mark 4. Line the muffin tin with cupcake cases.

2.    Sieve together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder in a bowl.

3.    Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy using a mixer. Stop occasionally to scrape down the bowl.

4.    Crack all the eggs into a jug.

5.    Add the eggs a little at a time with the mixer on a higher speed. (if the mixture splits add a little bit of flour)

6.    Add the sifted dry ingredients and milk in alternate batches and beat on a low speed until combined. Fold in the marshmallows.

7.    Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until well risen and a skewer inserted in the middles comes out clean.

8.    Place the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool.

9.    To make the frosting, put the sugar, cream of tar tar and water into a saucepan and mix well.

10.  Heat until the sugar has dissolved and a sugar thermometer in the mixture reads 115c/242f.

11.Meanwhile, in a separate, grease-free heat-proof bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks forms.

12. Pour a thin, slow stream of the sugar syrup into the egg whites and doesn't hit the beaters otherwise sugar crystals will form. Stir in the vanilla and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

13.Spread the frosting over the cold cupcakes using a spatula. Top with mini marshmallows and chocolate sauce. 

Bake On!
Penny 

The After Christmas Shock and January Blues

Happy 2013 Everyone! I hope you all had a fab New Year! 2012 was a truly exceptional year for me (and the rest of Great Britain. See the Olympics last year? That was us. *Cool shades on* Just saying.)
Sadly its that time of year again. The hype after Christmas is going down. Resolution's are getting us down. Going back to work is getting us down.

BUT NOT ME! I'VE GOT A NEW JOB! WOO! 
So January, do your worst!

What I'm hearing lately is all about diets.  
In my opinion. Diets are bad. You'd only get me on a diet if it was a dessert diet.
But if that's what you want to achieve then by all means go for it and I wish you the best of luck.
In fact, your'e more likely to lose weight if you start your diet during Spring months like March. As during the colder months like January, you still crave warm comforting food rather then diet food. Remember though no matter what shape you are, everyone is beautiful. 
I'm sick of hearing about stupid bloody diets. So enough of diets and onto some yummy foods.

My first pastry class of 2013 was based on my second assessment which will be next week which is so scary. But it has to be done and so I thought that I would put these recipes up. There ridiculously easy and simply tasty. 

These biscuits come up so lovely and soft. There easy to make and the flavour isn't overpowering. 

From the top, hazelnut biscuits, plain cupcakes and Jammie Dodgers made by me in pastry class

Recipe: Hazelnut Biscuits

•       115g butter, room temperature
•        75g icing sugar, sieved (plus extra for dusting)
•        115g Plain flour, sieved
•        75g Ground hazelnuts
•        1 egg yolk
•        Hazelnuts to decorate

Equipment:

•        Sieve
•        Scraper
•        Bowlx2
•        Mixer
•        Baking sheet lined with silicone paper
•        Knife

    1. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

    2. Beat in the flour, ground hazelnuts and egg yolk until evenly mixed.

    3. Roll into a sausage shape. Cut the sausage in half and then quarters. Then cut the quarters into 3 shapes.

    4. Place on tray. Bake for 10 minutes, 180c/350f/ Gas Mark 4

Sable (sab-lay) is French for sand. Not really for the texture but for the colour of the raw dough. Once again this recipe is easy and may look familiar. They bare a resemblance to Jammie Dodgers, which are sweet jam filled biscuits. But I always say, home-made is way better.

Jammie Dodgers packet from
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammie_Dodgers

From the bottom: Jammie Dodgers aka Sable biscuits, Plain cupcakes and Hazel biscuits

Recipe: Sable Biscuits aka Home-made Jammie Dodgers. 

•        250g plain flour, sieved
•        200g butter, room temperature cut into cubes
•        100g icing sugar
•        Pinch of salt
•        2 egg yolks
•        Raspberry jam

Equipment:

•        Bowl
•        Baking tray lined with silicone paper
•        Various cutters
•        Rolling pin
•        Knife

    1. Place dry ingredients into bowl. Using fingertips, rub the ingredients together until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

    2. Make a well in the centre and mix until the dough forms. Turn out onto a light floured work surface and roll out to a thickness of about 0.5cm.

    3. Cut with various cutters so that you have a base and a top like a sandwich, and place on a baking tray.

    4. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown, 180c/350f/ Gas Mark 4.

    5. Place on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled spread jam on bases with a knife and place another biscuit on top. 

   

   If you'd like the basic cupcake recipe go to here.

   Bake on! and Happy New Year

   Penny