I ♥ CAKE

Champagne & Strawberry Cupcakes

It’s been a while since my last post since it’s been the crazy exam period over the last couple weeks but this weekend was the 21st birthday of one of my gorgeous besties, Miss Gemma Taylor, so I was extreeemely excited to make her some cakes for the special occasion. She wanted lots of cupcakes that could be shared easily among friends and family so I made three batches of different cupcakes. Since it was such a special occasion I wanted to have a really elegant indulgent theme and this is what I came up with…

For the first cupcake I went with a Champagne & Strawberry Cupcake cause obv champagne is essential at any 21st!

• 150g butter
• 150g caster sugar
• 175g self-raising flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Beat together the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. 
2. Add the eggs one at a time until fully combined.
3. Add the vanilla then sift in the flour and beat for a couple of minutes until you have a light, creamy mix.
4. Spoon into cases and bake in a preheated oven at Gas 4 for about 20 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean.

Champagne Buttercream 

• 150g soft butter
• 400g icing sugar
• 2 tsp hot water
• 3 tbsp champagne

1. Beat together the butter and icing sugar, sifting in a couple tablespoons of icing sugar at a time and beating until combined. When you feel the mix is becoming to stiff, add a splash of the hot water to soften it slightly.
2. Add the champagne a tablespoon at a time until you have your preferred consistency and taste.
3. Pipe on to the cooled cupcakes and decorate with strawberries dipped in white chocolate.

I also decorated my cupcakes with Strawberry Pearls which I found at Lakeland, they have a really sweet strawberry flavour and give some extra colour to the decoration!

Also a big thank you to my little sister for designing the labels for the cake boxes!

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes 

For the second cupcake for Gemma’s 21st I made Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes because they’re really rich and indulgent and perfect for a special occasion.

• 125g butter
• 150g light muscovado sugar
• 2 eggs
• 100g self-raising flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Beat together the butter and sugar using an electric whisk until light and fluffly. Slowly add in the eggs until well incorporated.
2. Sift in the flour, cocoa and baking powder and beat for a couple of minutes until you have a light, creamy mix.
3. Spoon the mix into cases and bake in a preheated oven at Gas 4 for about 20 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes come out clean.

Chocolate Fudge Icing 

• 100g plain chocolate
• 2 tbsp milk
• 50g butter
• 75g icing sugar

1. Put the chocolate, butter and milk into a saucepan and heat very gently, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter have melted.
2. Take off the heat and add in the icing sugar. 
3. It is best to spread this on top of the cooled cupcakes when it is still warm as it will spread more easily and have a smooth glossy finish.

Decorate as you wish but I used raspberries because they look really elegant and give a nice tangy flavour which cuts through the rich chocolate!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

For the third cupcake for Gemma’s 21st I went with a classic Red Velvet. These cupcakes are so soft and perfect with the silky Cream Cheese Frosting!

• 60g butter
• 150g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 10g cocoa powder
• 20ml red food colouring
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 120ml buttermilk
• 150g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
• 1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar

Caramel and Chocolate Cookies 

These cookies are so sweet and chewy and it’s worth it to make your own caramel so you can impress all your friends! This is another Hairy Bikers inspired recipe, the original didn’t have chocolate but as everyone knows everything is better with chocolate so I added some to the recipe. Hope you enjoy!

For the caramel: 

• 50g caster sugar
• 1tbsp water
• 1 baking sheet lined with baking paper

1. Place the sugar and water in a pan and heat for 1-2 mins over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, stirring only occasionally.
2. Turn up the heat to bring to a fast simmer and cook for another 5-8 mins WITHOUT STIRRING until the syrup begins to caramelise.
3. When the syrup turns a deep golden brown colour pour it onto the baking tray immediately and tip the tray to flatten it out slightly.
4. REMEMBER! Do not touch the caramel at any point of the cooking process, it is crazy hot and YOU WILL BURN YOURSELF IF YOU TOUCH IT!! Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before working with it.
5. Once it’s cooled take another sheet of baking paper and place it over the caramel. Crush the caramel between the paper using a rolling pin until the caramel is in small shards.

For the cookie dough: 

• 125g softened butter
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g plain flour
• 1/2tsp baking powder
• 50g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
• 2 baking sheets lined with baking paper.

1. Beat together the sugar and butter until pale and fluffy.
2. Stir in the plain flour and baking powder until the dough begins to come together. You will need to use your hands to fully combine the ingredients. 
3. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead in the chocolate and then the caramel. You will need to knead the dough for a couple of minutes to make sure all the ingredients are fully combined.
4. Roll the dough into a log and separate into 15 pieces. (3 chunks then 5 pieces from each chunk if that helps!)
5. Roll each section into a ball and place onto the baking sheets. Once on the sheets flatten each ball slightly then bake in the oven at Gas 4 for 10-12 mins, one sheet at a time.
6. Leave to cool on the trays then transfer to a wire rack.

Nutella Cupcakes        

It’s my last ever class at university tomorrow (AH!) so in our last Spanish class we decided to bring in cakes. I decided to make cupcakes since they’re easy to share and they’re so easy to make. I went with Vanilla Cupcakes (recipe below) and instead of just plain chocolate cupcakes I decided to make Nutella Cupcakes, because who doesn’t love Nutella?! I cannot express how good the Nutella Icing is, I had some left after decorating the cupcakes and me and my sister have been eating it with strawberries. It’s too good (not really healthy but I tell myself the strawberries make up for it!). 

If you want an extra Nutella hit in your cupcakes, once they’ve cooled cut out a small section from the top of the cupcakes and fill with a dollop of Nutella before icing them!

• 150g butter
• 150g caster sugar
• 160g self-raising flour
• 15g cocoa powder
• 3 eggs

1. Line a muffin tray with paper cases and preheat the oven to Gas 4.
2. Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix with an electric whisk until smooth. Divide between the paper cases.
3. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.
4. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Nutella Buttercream     

• 250g icing sugar
• 80g soft butter
• 30ml milk
• 80-100g Nutella

1. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl along with the butter and beat with an electric whisk until combined. Add the milk a splash at a time when the mixture starts to get a bit dry.
2. Beat in the Nutella, adding as much as you prefer to get your desired taste. Beat the mix until it becomes light and fluffy.
3. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.  

Vanilla Cupcakes  

Basic vanilla cupcakes are so easy to make and keep everyone happy!

• 150g butter
• 150g caster sugar
• 175g self-raising flour
• 3 eggs
• 1tsp vanilla

1. Line a muffin tray with paper cases and preheat oven to Gas 4.
2. Put all the ingredients into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mix is light and creamy. Divide between the paper cases.
3. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted to the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Vanilla Buttercream

• 150g softened butter
• 250g icing sugar
• 1tsp vanilla
• 2tsp hot water

1. Put the butter in a bowl and gradually beat in the icing sugar with an electric whisk until smooth.
2. Add the vanilla and water and beat again until smooth.
3. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.

MACARONS: Coffee Flavour with Chocolate Ganache and Speculoos

As I’m sure everybody knows, macarons are infamously difficult to make. One of my friends invented the term “The Macaron Tears” because they can just be so frustrating to make, with one batch turning out fine and another batch going completely wrong even though you didn’t change a thing! Anyway inspired by my recent trip to France I thought I’d have another go at them… and they finally worked! 

When I was in France my friend introduced me to something that can’t be found anywhere in Scotland: SPECULOOS. I’m in love with it. It’s a spread made from caramelized biscuits and I made sure to stock up on it to bring back home with me. The taste was so familiar because it’s made from the little biscuits that you usually get with your coffee, so that’s why I went with coffee flavour macarons. And since traditionally macarons are filled with ganache I decided the chocolate ganache would complement the other flavours perfectly. 

• 200g icing sugar
• 100g ground almonds
• 3 egg whites
• pinch of salt
• 3tbsp caster sugar
• 2tsp coffee extract (or 2tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1tsp boiling water)

1. Firstly, line two baking sheets with non-stick baking parchment. If you want a guide for when you’re piping the mix on to the sheets then use a small round cookie cutter to draw circles on to the paper, making sure to place the paper pen-side down on the baking sheets.
2. In a separate bowl combine the icing sugar and ground almonds.
3. Tip the egg whites into a clean dry mixing bowl, add the salt and beat with an electric whisk until they only just hold a stiff peak.
4. Continue to whisk, adding a teaspoonful of the caster sugar at a time. Mix well between each addition and by the end the mix should be thick, white and glossy.
5. Add the coffee extract and mix until fully incorporated.
6. Using a large metal spoon, fold in the sugar and almond mix. The mix should be thoroughly incorporated and when ready it should fall from the spoon in a smooth molten mess.
7. Fill a piping bag and pipe evenly sized rounds onto the baking sheets. Once all the rounds have been piped, drop the baking sheet onto the counter to expel any air bubbles. At this point scatter on any decorations you want, I sprinkled on some cocoa powder.
8. Leave the macarons for at least 15 minutes (and up to an hour) until they have formed a dry shell. You should be able to touch them without the macarons feeling sticky or wet. This step is really important because it helps them form their crinkly “feet” and produce a shiny shell. Preheat your oven to G 3 at this point.
9. Bake the sheets one at a time in the middle of your oven for 9-10 minutes. The tops should be crisp and the bottoms dry. Leave to cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. 

Chocolate Ganache 

• 150g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 150ml double cream
• 1tbsp light brown sugar
• pinch of salt

1. Put the cream and sugar in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved and the cream has come to the boil. 
2. Add the salt, take off the heat and then add the chocolate and leave to melt.
3. Stir until smooth and then leave to set and thicken slightly before using.

To assemble the macarons, separate into pairs and pipe one side with the chocolate ganache and spread the other side with Speculoos. Press the two sides together and display on your favourite cake stand. Serve with a nice strong espresso for an authentic French touch!

Banana Bread

My mum used to make banana bread all the time when I was wee and there’s nothing better than a little home comfort to get you through the horrible uni essays/dissertations everyone’s doing right now!

• 270g soft brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 200g ripe peeled bananas, mashed
• 280g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1tsp bicarb of soda
• 1tsp ground cinnamon 
• 140g butter, melted

Birthday Brownies

It was my birthday night out this weekend and I had the ladies round for dinner and drinks before we went out. I wanted to make cake for dessert and I’ve been craving brownies so thought this was the best time to make them! Since it was recently St Vals day I cut them into all different sized hearts and decorated them with chocolate butter icing, giant choc buttons and fudge pieces… They were delish!

Brownie Batter

• 200g plain chocolate (or milk choc but make sure it has a high cocoa percentage otherwise the brownies will be too sickly!)
• 175g butter
• 325g caster sugar
• 130g plain flour
• 3 eggs
• 1tsp vanilla

1. You will need to grease and line a couple of rectangular baking trays, I divided the mix into two baking trays so the brownies would be slightly thinner and easier to cut into hearts. While you do this preheat the oven to Gas 3.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water as this will cause the chocolate to burn.
3. Once the choc and butter is completely melted remove from the heat and transfer into a mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar until combined.
4. Sift in the flour and mix until combined.
5. In a separate bowl mix the eggs and vanilla. Then add to the batter and mix until combined.
6. Divide the mixture between the two tins and cook in the oven for 30-35 minutes. The top should just be starting to flake and the middle should be soft.
7. Leave to cool completely before removing from the tins. Use various sized cookie cutters to cut out the brownies. I used heart shaped cutters but you could use any other shaped cutter you wish!

Choc Buttercream Icing

• 75g soft butter
• 125g icing sugar
• 1tbsp cocoa powder
• 3tsp hot water

1. Beat the butter until smooth then sift in the icing sugar a few tbsp at a time and beat until smooth. Add the hot water 1tsp at a time whenever you feel the mixture stiffening. 
2. Sift in the cocoa powder and beat until smooth and thoroughly combined.
3. Decorate the brownies any way you fancy by piping on the icing and topping with some choc buttons or choc chips for example!