Fat Friday #23 Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Happy New Year Folks! Oh my goodness! Its the new year already? Oh crap, here come the new year resolutions. I might do a separate post on my new year resolutions (if any!). So this is the first Fat Friday of 2015.... take that diet new year resolutions! Also I have to apologise for the lack of a photo. The file got corrupted during editing and I had to delete the original, so sorry about that. Great start to the new year, enjoy this recipe!

Recipe: 12 cupcakes (Recipe adapted from Primrose Celebrations by Lisa Thomas and Martha Swift)   

Cake:

·110g unsalted butter

·225g golden caster sugar

·2 large eggs

·1 vanilla pod, with the seeds scraped out

·120ml whole milk

·150g self-raising flour

·125g plain flour

·1 bar of caramel galaxy chocolate bar

Buttercream:

·110g granulated sugar

·3 tablespoons water

·125ml double cream

·1 teaspoon Maldon salt

·200g butter

·400g icing sugar

Equipment:

·12 hole muffin tin lined with tins
·Hand whisk/wooden spoon
·Bowl x 3
·Knife
·Chopping board
·Saucepan x 2
·Jug
 
 Method
1.Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/gas mark 4. Line the muffin tray. 
2.Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
3.Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until combined.
4.Place the vanilla seeds and milk in a jug.
5.Combine the flours in a separate bowl.
6.Add the flour and milk mixture in thirds, one at a time and mixing in between, into creamed mixture.
7.Carefully spoon the cake mixture into the paper cases. Add a piece of chopped up galaxy bar to each cupcake and push it down into the cupcake.
8.Bake for 25 minutes until slightly raised and golden. Leave the cupcakes to cool in the muffin tray for 10 minutes. Then place on a wire rack to completely cool.
For the butter cream
1.Place the granulated sugar and water in a saucepan on a medium heat. Do not stir the mixture but just swirl it once and a while.
2.While the granulated sugar is boiling, pour the cream and salt in a small bowl to heat gently.
3.Once the granulated sugar has turned an amber colour, remove from heat and immediately add a little cream.
4.Stir with a wooden spoon to combine, be careful as it may spit.
5.Add the remaining cream in small amounts, stirring constantly. Once all the cream has been incorporated, transfer into a separate bowl to cool.
6.Once the salted caramel sauce is cooled, beat it with the butter. Add about half of the icing sugar and beat until combined.
7.Add the rest of the icing sugar until smooth.

To finish

1.The cooled cupcakes with a swirl or with a piped rose and sprinkle with glitter and decorations that you like.

How did you enjoy your new year? Did you do anything special?

Christmas Eve Cooking

Baking at the last minute? Or just want to make something festive at this time of year? Here is the blog's rundown of festive recipes!

 Stained Glass Cookies

 Christmas Tree Cupcakes

 Killer Snow Woman Cupcakes

Yeti Cupcakes

Snow Day Cupcakes



Yule Log Cake

Banoffee Cupcakes

 Chocolate Orange Tart

Salted Butter Toffees

 

So that's my Christmas baking list! Have a really great Christmas eve, a merry Christmas and I'll see you on Boxing Day with Fat Friday!

Merry Christmas

 

 

 

Fat Friday #20 Chocolate Orange Tart

Its right in the middle of December at this point and I'm sure that most of you are either done your Christmas shopping early or are struggling fighting the crowds for those pressies. Well if your like me the main concern is food, especially at this time of year! I'm think rich, decadent, comfort food which is perfect for Fat Friday. This Chocolate Orange Tart will delight as well as impress on the table. Serve with a creamy vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce if need more of a chocolate hit!
I must state that I'm giving full credit to my friend and college buddy for the lovely photo. Why not pay her a visit on her cake website?

 

 

Recipe: Makes 1 tart

·       450g dark chocolate

·       300g butter

·       3 eggs

·       3 egg yolks

·       90g caster sugar

·       2 oranges zested

Pate Brisee:

·       250g soft flour

·       205g very cold butter

·       5g salt

·       55g ice cold water

Equipment

·       Bowl

·       Saucepan

·       Bowl

·       Jug

·       Wooden spoon

·       Rolling pin

·       Knife

·       Chopping board

·       4 small round tins

·       Baking beans

·       Baking sheet lined with silicone paper

·       Cling film

·       Fork

For the Pastry

1.    Rub the flour, salt and butter together until just combined. If you over work the mix, the butter will mix too much. 

2.    Add the iced water and bring the dough together.

3.    Once the dough has been brought together wrap in a neat parcel and chill in the fridge while you make the other parts of the dish.

4.    Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4/180c/350f

5.    Cut the chilled dough into 4 pieces. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, until about 2 mm thick.

6.    Line the metal cases with the dough and roughly chop any remaining edges. Prick the dough base lightly with a fork.

7.    Place a little clingfilm into the dough cases and fill with baking beans.

8.    Blind bake for 18 minutes or until completely cooked through.

9.    Take the baking beans out of the tart and bake a little longer to dry the cases out.

Tart Filling:

1.    Melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave or over a bowl of hot water.

2.    In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and sugar together.

3.    Mix the orange zest into the chocolate.

4.    Pour the chocolate into the egg mixture slowly and whisk.

To Finish:

1.    Pour the chocolate filling into the tart casing and bake on 170c/325f/Gas Mark 3/ for 12 minutes.
2.    Once cooked and cooled. Place the tart in the fridge overnight.

Have a great weekend!

Monday Catch-Up: Halloween is Over...Let Christmas Begin...

Its the weekend after Halloween and two weeks after my last Monday Catch-Up, and as most of you now if you've read it, I've been suffering with a bad back. Its been really holding me back from doing everyday stuff. So I've learnt that you really need to look after yourself or it just gets a million times worse. Don't make my mistake, just take care of yourself when you're poorly.

I've had a busy week, I've been baking quite a lot for Halloween including salted caramel brownies, pumpkin pecan bars, pizza chunks and chocolate cupcakes (all gluten free btw-Your welcome Zoe) with Sugar and Crumbs "sugar and spice" icing sugar, that I got from the Cake and Bake Show this year.

Rob and I had a little bit of a 'get together' at our flat, for Halloween and as a house warming, where the drinks flowed and tacky games were played, it was such a laugh and I think everyone had a good time. It was a moment to be enjoyed and we forgot to Instagram any of it. It is a good thing as it proves that we didn't need to document that moment in our lives because we were living it!

My mum also dropped by last weekend, in which we went shopping and had lunch :) which was lovely! I haven't seen her in 3 months and she was so excited to see me and Rob. 

I also had a side trip to Lush Poole, which I got a couple pre-Christmas gifts (for myself...).I'm also pleased to let you all know that I'm almost done with all my Christmas shopping. Its only the 3rd of November and I've got 3 more gifts to buy and I'm fully done! Woo! So when the shops are crammed in December, I'll be at home with my cup of herbal tea and a cookie all snugged up and smug because I did my Christmas shopping ridiculously early. Is it wrong that I've done my cards as well... that's not wrong... is it?

So now that Halloween is done... Bring on Christmas!

Gluten-Free Birthday Chocolate Cake with a Vanilla Heart

Gluten free cakes. No matter how you want to try gluten free products, in my opinion, aren't as good as the real thing. I was asked to bake a gluten free chocolate cake for a good friend. I like a challenge! It was also a good excuse to use the Tasty-Fill Cake tin from Wilton, that I shoved in the back of the baking cupboard, which I recommend for a special occassion. So this is a nice excuse to back an epic birthday cake which had a heart of buttercream.

I've tried doing this with cake carving last year,which I think was my first baking post (aww memories). It was the hidden heart cake which needed some practice but otherwise tasty! 

While I have you I completely recommend using Doves Farm Gluten Free flour as the end cake result was really good for a gluten free cake. 

Recipe: Make a giant cake (Recipe adapted from Cupcakes from Primrose Bakery)

·       230g dark chocolate at least 70% cocoa solids

·       120g unsalted butter, at room temperature

·       350g golden caster sugar

·       3 large eggs, separated

·       370g Doves Farm Gluten-Free Plain flour, sifted

·       2 teaspoons gluten free baking power

·       1 ½ teaspoons gluten free bicarbonate of soda

·       ½ teaspoons salt

·       4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

·       500ml semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature

·       2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Buttercreams

Follow the method for the Vanilla Buttercream here!

·       220g unsalted butter, at room temperature

·       120ml semi-skimmed milk at room temperature

·       2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·       8 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

·       1kg icing sugar, sifted

Follow the method for the Chocolate Buttercream here!

·       175g dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa solids

·       225g unsalted butter

·       1 tablespoon semi-skimmed milk, room temperature

·       1teaspoon vanilla extract

·       250g icing sugar, sifted

Equipment:

·       Bowl x3

·       Mixer/wooden spoon

·       Measuring Jug

·       Sieve

·       Teaspoon

·       Tablespoon

·       HeartTasty-Fill Pan from Wilton

·       Palette knife

·       Light oil spray for greasing the tin

·       Heatproof bowl

·       Saucepan filled with water

·       Metal spoon

·       Disposal piping bag

·       Scissors

·        

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 170c fan/190c/375f/Gas Mark 5 and grease the tin with the light oil spray.

Step 2. melt the chocolate in a bain marie

2.    Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until completely melted. Set aside to cool.

Step 3. Cream the butter and sugar

3.    In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until pale and smooth, which should 3-5 minutes using an electric mixer. Put the egg yolks into the creamed mixture and beat well.

Step 4. Add the melted chocolate to the creamed mix

4.    Add the melted chocolate to the creamed mixture and beat well.

Step 5&6. Combine the dry bits and milk and vanilla

5.    Combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in separate bowl all sieved together.  

6.    Combine the milk, and vanilla extract in a jug.

7.    Add one-third of the flour to the creamed mixture and beat well. Pour in one-third of the milk mixture and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk has been added.

8. Clean your whisk!

The Unwhisked Egg Whites

Soft peak egg whites

9. In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites with a clean whisk, until soft peaks form.

Step 10 the finished batter

10. Carefully fold the egg whites with a metal spoon into the cake batter.

11. Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and bake for 30 minutes. Insert a skewer in the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean its done.

12. Remove from the oven and leave the cakes in their tins for about an 1 hour  before carefully placing on a wire rack to cool. Once completely cool, you can ice the cake.

13.  To assemble use a palette knife to spread the icing in the grooves and spread until level.

14.  Put the cakes on top of one another. Then ice the outside of the cake with chocolate icing, making sure that it’s covered, even and nicely iced.

15.Put some of the vanilla buttercream in piping  bag and cut a tiny hole. Start writing your message on top of the cake and top with popping candy and chocolate hearts or other decorations.

  I was so scared it wasn't going to work and then my friend cut it and....

Wow! Heart of Vanilla! My friend did have a wonderful birthday. I was invited on her night out and it was a wonderful night out. I hope you had a great birthday Zoe and I hope you loved the cake! (I'm in the star dress with the fading purple hair. Yes I've done it again. Thats 4 times my hair has been purple in my little lifetime).  

Also I hope your planning your Christmas baking! Check out the siggie below featuring my Christmas dress! 
Merry Christmas Bakers!