Fat Friday #46 Red Berry Brownie

Happy Friday! Nothing better then a sweet, tart and chocolatey brownie to kickstart the weekend! This recipe is adapted as I actually ran out of sugar, so I used icing sugar instead. The result was amazingly fudgey and very chocolately. Give them a bake this weekend!

Recipe (Adapted from Primrose Bakery Everyday by Martha Swift) 
Ingredients:

• 250g unsalted butter
• 75g golden caster sugar
• 75g icing sugar
• 40g cocoa powder
• 150g plain flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 150g dark chocolate chunks
• 150g white chocolate chunks
• 200g fresh strawberries and raspberries (chopped)
• 3 eggs

Equipment:

• Microwave/Saucepan filled with water, with a heatproof bowl on top
• Brownie tin lined with greaseproof paper
• Bowl x 2
• Wooden spoon

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to GM 4/180c/350f. Grease and line with greaseproof paper.

2) Melt the butter on the hob over a pan of hot water or microwave in the oven until completely melted. Set aside.

3) In another bowl, put the sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, flour and chocolate chunks and mix until combined.

4) Pour the melted butter into the dry ingredients, and stir (like a boss) until thoroughly mixed in. 

5) Add the strawberries and raspberries and very gently fold them into the mixture.

6) Pour the batter into prepared tin and spread evenly.

7) Bake for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool into the tin. 

Happy Friday!

Fat Friday #39 Triple Chocolate Cookies

Its the cookie in its ultimate form! Dark, milk, white and caramel buttons all in one biscuit. These cookies are ideal to take into work at a party for snacks or fuel for revision. (Or do what I did, and horde them away to eat when you need a chocolate fix) 

Recipe: Makes 25 cookies (Recipe adapted from Primrose Bakery Christmas by Martha Swift) 

•      200g unsalted butter, softened
•      250g golden caster sugar
•      1 egg
•      1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•      150g dark chocolate
•      320g plain flour
•      1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
•      ¼ teaspoon baking powder
•      150g roughly chopped milk chocolate
•      50g caramel buttons
•      50g roughly chopped white chocolate

Equipment:

•     Baking sheets lined with silicone paper x 3
•     Saucepan with a little water
•     Heatproof bowl
•     Bowl
•     Sieve
•     Wooden spoon/handheld whisk
•     Wirerack

1.Place the dark chocolate in the heatproof bowl and place over the saucepan of warm water. This will melt the chocolate.

2. Meanwhile sieve flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and set aside.

3.Cream the butter and sugar together, in another bowl,until creamy and fluffy.

4.Add the vanilla and egg to the creamed mixture.

5.Pour in the melted chocolate until combined.

6.Lastly, add the dry mixture and fold into combine into a soft dough. Place in the fridge for the dough to firm up for 10 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven to 180c/160f/Gas Mark 4 in the meantime.

8. Portion the dough into 25 small balls and squash until flat and about 1cm thickness. (If you want to be precise, their about 28g per cookie).

9. Place 5 or 6 cookies on a baking sheet, to allow the cookies to spread. Bake for 5 minutes, turn the trays around and bake for a further 4 minutes. The cookies should be firm on the outside but still a little soft in the middle.

10. Leave the cookies on the baking sheets to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Have a great weekend and happy baking! 

Fat Friday #33 Chocolate Guinness Mini Cupcakes

 "Top of the morning to you laddies!" Next week Tuesday it will be St Patricks Day and do you think of when you think St Patricks Day? In honour of this we're making Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes.Green, Guinness, leprechauns... all of which describes a good St Paddy's day celebration to me. But if you aren't keen on drinking Guinness, give these cupcakes a try because it isn't a strong overpowering flavour of the drink.(Even though its meant to be good for you. They used to give hospital patients, apparently. Well that's what my grandad said. But then again he is Irish, so he would say that!) So sit back, eat a cupcake and watch a little of Father Ted.

(Edit: I was going to do a Mothers Day FF post but I'm sadly not spending it with my mum this year. However, I will be sending her something nice to make up for it.)
(Edit the second: I also would recommend making 12 normal sized cupcakes as well. You can use the same amount of ingredients)

Cake Ingredients (makes 30 mini cupcakes. Recipe Adapted from The Cake Book by Jemma Wilson):

·       125ml Guinness Stout
·       125g unsalted butter
·       37g cocoa powder
·       200g golden caster sugar
·       1 large eggs
·       ½  teaspoon vanilla extract
·       70ml soured cream
·       112g plain flour
·       1 ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Cream Cheese Frosting

·       75g unsalted butter
·       120g cream cheese
·       420g icing sugar

Equipment:

·       Bowl x 2
·       Mini muffin tin lined with mini muffin cases
·       Saucepan
·       Whisk
·       Sieve
·       Jug

Cake Method

1.Pre-heat oven to 160c/350f/Gas Mark 4.
2.Put the Guinness and butter in a pan. Allow the butter to melt but not boil. Whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat.
3.To the egg, add the vanilla extract and soured cream, the beat until well combined.
4.Gradually pour in the Guinness mixture, whisking continuously.
5.Mix the flour and bicarbonate of soda together in a separate bowl, then add to the wet mixture, beating until smooth.

6.Transfer the mixture to a jug, as it will be very liquid and carefully fill the papercases until 2/3 full.
7.Bake for 20 minutes or until they spring back when touched. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cream cheese icing method

1.Beat the butter and cream cheese until pale and smooth.
2.Sift the icing sugar into a different bowl, then add to the butter mixture in two stages and mix thoroughly to combine.

Don't forget it is Mothers Day on Sunday. So grab her a bunch of flowers and a cupcake!
Have a great weekend!

Mrs H Vintage Fair

Just a quick post to let you folks know that, this Saturday (21st Saturday 2015), I'm going to be in a vintage style dress selling you beautiful folks, fudge, toffee, meringues and chocolate for you to consume and enjoy. Yups, you'll have the opportunity to met the gal behind Cupcakes, Cake and Passion BUT not only that you'll be supporting a really amazing cake business run by a lovely friend of mine. The business is called Cake by Chloe. I'll be with the mastermind behind the business, Chloe herself (ekk!) and our friend Evan.

Oh I forgot to mention by the way that we made everything. All of the sweets will be homemade, fresh and so mouth-wateringly good. We snagged some of the maple pecan fudge and erg... so good!! Definitely grab that because, wow, it is so creamy and sweet. Ok enough about fudge! Even though it might be the best fudge ever (just saying...). Also, if she will allow me, I'll try to update on social media as much as I can including twitter and instagram on the day.

You will be supporting a great business run by very talented cake baker and decorator, so why not pop over and say hello? Entry is £1.50 and you get a tea or coffee. We all hope to see you there. Here is the link to the event and don't forget to give Chloe's business page visit as well as the Mrs H Vintage event page too.
Hope to see you there!

Event Information Page
Cake by Chloe
Mrs H Vintage Event

Fat Friday #28 Gluten Free Raspberry Love Hearts

It's a week and a day until dreaded Valentines day. I'm sure you know how I feel about Valentines day here. Erg, but its a good excuse to bake cute heart shaped things, such as this weeks Fat Friday. We're looking at gluten free raspberry love hearts. You can make them with normal plain flour, but I chose to use gluten free flour to use it up. These are great on there own or served with ice cream or whipped cream as a dessert. The recipe is easy to make so you can make them up to the day before as a surprise for your valentine. Or you can scoff them yourself. Either way!

 

Biscuit recipe (Recipe adapted from The Great British Bake off Showstoppers by Linda Collister):

·       100g ground almonds

·       200g Gluten free plain flour (I used Dove brand), sifted

·       80g icing sugar

·       Pinch of salt

·       125g unsalted butter, diced and chilled

·       3 large egg yolks

Raspberry filling:

·       200g fresh raspberries

·       2 teaspoons cornflour

·       3 tablespoons icing sugar, plus a extra for dusting

Equipment:

·       Bowl

·       Sieve

·       Saucepan

·       Heatproof bowl

·       Clingfilm

·       8cm heart cookie cutter

·       Smaller heart cookie cutter

·       Baking sheet lined with baking parchment x 2

·       Rolling pin

Biscuit Method:
1.    Put the almonds, flour, salt and icing sugar into a bowl. Add the butter and rub into the dry ingredients until crumbly.
2.    Add the egg yolks until the mixture forms a dough. Leave in the fridge for 15 minutes.
3.    Roll out the dough until 2mm thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out the heart shapes, then use the smaller cutter to cut out the middle.
4.    Gather up the trimmings, re-roll and repeat until no more dough is left. Make 12 hearts and 12 smaller hearts.
5.    Place the hearts on a baking sheet and chill in the fridge for another 15 minutes.
6.    Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Bake for 12 minutes until lightly coloured.
7.    Leave the biscuits on the baking sheets for 10 minutes to cool. Transfer to wire rack.

Filling Method:
1.    Put the raspberries, icing sugar and cornflour in saucepan on a medium heat.
2.    Stir gently until the juices start to run.
3.    Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thick.
4.    Pour into a heatproof bowl to cool.

To finish:

1.    Spread the cold raspberry filling over the uncut biscuits, top with an uncut biscuit.

2.    Dust with icing sugar and consume with a loved one or stuff by yourself while watching a tacky rom-com or a horror film each to their own.

If you want to see some more loved up recipes try these:
Anti Valentines Gluten Free Zombie Biscuits
Limoncello truffles
Valentines heart shaped biscuits

Have a great weekend and feel the lurve! 

Fat Friday #24 Mulled Wine Cupcakes

 Its been 24 weeks since Fat Friday has graced this blog. Do you remember the first Fat Friday? The title did not even grace the screen at this stage. But here we are! I'm hoping that in 2015, there will be more blog posts will continue and there will be plenty more! But back to this Fridays post.
If your feeling the January blues, why not bring back some of the Christmas magic? These mulled wine cupcakes have a hint of spice and chocolate. Along with the icing it makes these cupcakes a real festive treat... in January...

Recipe Name: Mulled Wine Cupcakes (Recipe adapted from Primrose Celebrations by Lisa Thomas and Martha Swift)

Recipe: 12 cupcakes 

Cupcakes:

·90g butter

·200g soft dark brown sugar

·50g granulated sugar

·1 egg plus an egg yolk

·175ml mulled wine (try this recipe)

·1 teaspoon orange juice

·¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

·1/2 teaspoon baking powder

·¼ teaspoon salt

·½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

·50g cocoa powder

·140g plain flour

Buttercream:
·50g unsalted butter
·Juice and zest of ½ orange
·¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
·175g icing sugar
·125g mascarpone

Equipment:

·12 hole muffin tin lined with tins
·Hand whisk/wooden spoon
·Bowl x 3
·Knife
·Chopping board
·Saucepan x 2
· Jug
·Sprinkles
 Cake
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 egg and egg yolk, one at a time and mix,
4.Add the mulled wine and orange juice and mix until evenly combined.
5.Fold in the dry ingredients with a metal spoon until just combined.
6.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.
7.Bake for 20 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 butter, orange juice, zest, cinnamon and half of the icing sugar in a bowl and beat with a hand whisk until smooth.
2.Add the remaining icing sugar and beat again.
3.Beat the mascarpone on a medium speed for about 30 seconds until just combined.
4.Place in the fridge until you’re ready to ice the cupcakes.

To finish

1.Ice the cooled cupcakes with a swirl or with a piped rose and sprinkle with sprinkles or glitter!  

Do you keep the festivities going after Christmas? Hope your all having a great New Year so far!

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?