Vanilla Cupcakes

This weekend we have family visiting, including two 7 year old boys. I wanted to make sure id bake something that I know they will like... vanilla cupcakes obviously! and decorated with sweets. What kid doesn't like sweets?

(Lets hope they arnt really fussy, otherwise im just going to have to eat them all - what a shame that would be ;)

Anyway, these are nothing snazzy just a plain vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream, simple but delicious.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes (makes 6 large) -

• 110g unsalted butter
• 110g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 110g self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

For the buttercream-

• 100g unsalted butter
• 200g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or you could use vanilla extract)

Preheat your oven to 180c and line 6 muffin tray holes with cases.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs one at a time, beating after each, and add the vanilla with the last.

Sieve in the flour and baking powder and gently fold in with a metal spoon.

Divide the batter between the cases and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Once baked leave to cool completely on a cooling rack.

To make the butter cream, in a medium bowl beat the butter with an electric whisk until it turns light in colour (this makes the best buttercream.)

Slowly add in the icing sugar by the tablespoon and add the vanilla extract. Mix well.

Spread onto each (cooled) cupcake and decorate with any sweets you like, I chose jelly tots!

Victoria Sponge

Victoria sponge is a classic, and probably featured in most baking blogs due to it being so damn delicious and simple.

I have memories from childhood of my nan baking one every year for my birthday, she would tint the sponge with food colouring so it was pink when I cut into it! (how thoughtful, bless her!)

So I thought it was about time I made one, but with a little twist. (Because I cant help it.)

I think of the traditional victoria sponge as having raspberry jam and/or buttercream or cream. For a little change I filled it with a delicious berries and cherries jam by Bonne Maman and this amazing two ingredient white chocolate buttercream, which I came across here on Cookies and Cups by Shelly - check out her blog if you haven't already, genius!

Ingredients:
For the cake-

• 180g unsalted butter
• 180g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 180g self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

For the filling- 

• 4 tbsp jam (any you like!)
• 150g white chocolate
• 150g unsalted butter

Start with the buttercream as it needs to cool for at least 3 hours.

Melt together the butter and white chocolate, in a pan over a low heat, it will split but that's what its supposed to do!

Let it cool down slightly for 10 minutes and then pour into a medium bowl and place into the fridge.

Preheat your oven to 180c and grease and line two sandwich tins.

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Next add in the eggs one at a time and beat after each addition, with the last beat in the vanilla extract.

Sift in the flour and baking powder then gently fold in with a metal spoon until combined.

Divide the batter between the two sandwich tins and place into the oven for 18-20 minutes. 

Once baked leave to cool for a few minutes and then lift out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Take the buttercream out of the fridge at this point to warm up slightly.

Spread the jam on one half of the cake and then with a electric whisk, beat the buttercream until light and fluffy. Then spread onto the other half of the cake, sandwich together and sprinkle the top with icing sugar!

Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

Yum, Yummy, yum.

That is what I think when I hear the pairing of chocolate and caramel. Just divine.
I had a pot of carnation caramel in my cupboard, so I thought what better way to use it up then cupcakes!
The caramel is not only in the frosting but also hidden inside the cupcake, what a great suprise?

The frosting itself is so creamy, from the addition of double cream and mascarpone, this is definately not one for an everyday snack, lets just say that!

Ingredients:
Makes 8-10 large cupcakes.

Cupcakes-

• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g caster sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• splash of milk

Frosting-

• 50ml double/whipping cream
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp mascarpone
• 4 tbsp icing/powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp caramel 
• 8-10 tsp of caramel for the centre

-A quick note, the frosting is slightly softer then usual buttercream so if you want a thicker one skip the mascarpone and double the butter.

Preheat your oven to 180c and line a muffin tin with cases.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy then beat in the eggs slowly with the vanilla extract.

Sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and a splash of milk, then gently fold in with a metal spoon until combined.

Divide the mixture into each muffin case (I made 10, but depends how large you make them.)

Then place into the oven for 15-18 minutes, mine took 15.

Once baked, take out of the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, beat the cream until soft peaks form then add the rest of the ingredients, and slowly beat until combined. 

Now with a sharp knife cut a hole in the centre of each cupcake, keep the bit you cut out to place back on top.

Fill each hole with a teaspoon of caramel then place the 'lid' you cut off back on.

Then pipe or spread the frosting over the top! (I just decorated with a few chocolate shavings.)

Buttery Shortbread

The first time I ever made shortbread was awful. Really I do no know what I did but it was just awful (this was over a year ago when I first started trying my hand at baking and failed a lot haha) hence why I haven't attempted it since, even though it seems simple, until now.

To my avail it come out perfect! Light and buttery and just crumbly and delicious. So I decided to share my recipe with you.

Ingredients:

• 150g plain flour
• 80g icing sugar
• 125g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp caster sugar

Preheat your oven to 170c and line a baking tin with greaseproof paper, I used a 20cm x 20cm tin.

In a large bowl mix together the flour and sugar, and then rub in the butter with your fingers until a dough forms. (it gets a bit sticky but its worth it!) 

Now the trick is to not over work it, so as soon as its turned into a dough press it into your prepared tin straight away and prick all over with a fork.

Place into the oven for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 150c and bake for another 10 minutes.

Keep an eye on it, you're after a nice light golden colour.

Once baked, take out of the oven and while its still hot, sprinkle over the caster sugar then leave to cool completely in the tin.

When its cool you can then take it out, tap off the excess sugar and cut it up!

Jam 'Doughnut' Muffins

I had heard of doughnut style muffins or 'duffins' for a while now and thought they sounded absolutely delicious, so when I came across this recipe for 'Nutella Stuffed Cinnamon Sugar Muffins' by Sally on 'Sallys Baking Addiction' (if you haven't already, you must check out her blog!) I thought I must have a go!

Instead of filling them with nutella though, I decided on strawberry jam, as jam doughnuts are my fav!
I also tweaked the recipe a bit to fit what ingredients I had, measurements and what not, but they still came out yummy!

Ingredients:
Makes 8.
For the muffins-

• 75g unsalted butter, softened
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 120ml milk (I used semi-skimmed)
• 190g plain flour
• 1 and a half tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 8 tsp strawberry (or your choice) jam

For the topping-

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp caster sugar

Preheat your oven to 200c and grease a muffin tin.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the egg, vanilla extract and milk.
Gently fold in the flour, baking powder and salt until just combined.

Fill 8 muffin holes with a tablespoon of batter, then top each with a teaspoon of jam. Then add another tablespoon of batter on top of that.
Now place into the oven for 10 minutes, after 10 reduce the heat to 180c, then bake for another 8-10 minutes.

Once baked, leave to cool for a few minutes whilst you melt the butter for the topping.
Put the caster sugar in a bowl and using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the muffins with the melted butter.
Then dip each muffin into the sugar so they're nicely coated, just like a doughnut!

Lemon and Blueberry Baked Cheesecake

I have made many cheesecakes in the past, but never have I ever baked one.
Honestly I have always been a bit scared too, as it sounded a bit tricky to me to get right.

What if it cracks/sinks/leaks/overcooks and so on and so forth, but I decided to give it a bash, as another unbaked cheesecake recipe sounded a bit of a cop out, as really they're so easy to do! (but still delicious) so anyway, this was my attempt.

It looks a bit dark as I may have left it in a bit too long (trial and error) but overall when you cut into it, its creamy and light in colour. (Btw it actually tasted delicious!)

Ingredients:
For the blueberry syrup-

• 150g blueberries
• 3 tbsp caster sugar

For the cheesecake-

• 300g digestive biscuits
• 150g unsalted butter, melted
• 500g cream cheese, softened (full fat)
• 140g caster sugar
• rind of 2 lemons
• 3 eggs
• juice of 2 lemons

Firstly make the blueberry syrup. In a small pan on medium heat add the blueberries and sugar until they start to become a syrup. (you can leave some blueberries hole or mash them) take off the heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat your oven to 180c and grease the pan you're using (I used a spring form pan.)

Either put the biscuits in a food processor to make fine crumbs or place into a bag and bash with a rolling pin (I chose the latter) Now pour into a large bowl and add the melted butter, stir to coat the biscuits until it looks like wet sand.

Place into the fridge for at least 15 minutes while you get on with the filling.

In a large bowl beat the cream cheese to loosen and then beat in the caster sugar, and lemon rind.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition and pour in the lemon juice with the last.

Pour half the mixture into your prepared tin and then take spoonfuls of half of the blueberry syrup and dot them around. Take a knife and gently swirl it through to mix slightly. Pour in the rest of the cream cheese mixture and do the same on the top with the syrup.

Place into the oven, for 30-35 minutes. (Keep an eye on it, I left mine in for about 40 minutes as it was supposed to be for 45 but I noticed it was turning brown.) It should still wobble a little in the centre but will firm up on cooling.

Turn off the oven and open the door slightly, leave the cheesecake in their for about an hour.
Now refrigerate for at least four hours, I decorated mine with a few blueberries!

Strawberry Cupcakes With Condensed Milk Buttercream

There's nothing like fresh strawberries in the summer in Britain, you can never get them the same any other time of the year, you just cant!
So I like to make the most of this, I have been eating them so much just with ice cream or cream, or actually just by themselves! Obviously I wanted to bake them into cupcakes (I want to bake everything into cupcakes) and I have been waiting to try out condensed milk butter cream for a while so what better time then now!

Ingredients:

(Makes roughly 10 large cupcakes)

For the cake-

• 180g unsalted butter
• 180g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 180g self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 punnet of strawberries chopped (save some strawberries for decoration)

For the butter cream-

• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 300g icing sugar
• 4 tbsp condensed milk

Preheat your oven to 180c and line a muffin tray with 10 cases.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs one at a time and add the vanilla with the last one.

Sift in the flour and baking powder, then gently fold in with a metal spoon until just combined.

Add the chopped strawberries and fold in.

Divide the batter between the muffin cases and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes. (They will take longer to bake because of the strawberries) Once baked leave to cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Now for the icing, beat the butter until it starts to go pale in colour, then slowly add in the icing sugar, and then the condensed milk until combined and you have a nice fluffy icing.

If you think its too stiff add some milk.

Pipe your buttercream onto each cupcake and decorate with your leftover strawberries.

I used a wilton 1M tip to decorate mine with, always makes whatever I bake look 'pro'.

I got mine here- 

Wilton 1M Nozzle Cupcake Decorating Tip Swirl