Caramel and White Chocolate Blondies

I bought a can of carnation caramel and so was searching the internet desperately trying to find some different caramel baking recipes. I then came across this by Jane's Patisserie, who has some absolutely amazing looking recipes. I had to try them, and they did not disappoint! The caramel and white chocolate together were amazing. I had never tried blondies before last year, but I think I like them better than proper brownies now!

Recipe

 125g butter, melted
230g light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla bean extract
140g plain flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
100g white chocolate chips
50g caramel (I use Carnation Caramel)

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 170C/350F and line a 8×8 square tin

2) Mix together the melted butter with the sugar and then add the egg and vanilla extract.

3) Mix in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt until fully combined.

4) Fold in the white chocolate chips, then pour into the baking tin. Drizzle the caramel on top of the Blondies and bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes.

5) Leave to cool fully in the tin then cut into squares.

Liddie xxx

Chocolate Éclairs

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I am now a postgraduate student at university and so I currently don't have a lot of spare time! But I have still been baking whenever I get a chance and need to start adding the recipes to my blog so I don't forget them! A couple of months ago I made some chocolate eclairs that turned out really well. I used a recipe by Mary Berry. Not the best end result pictures due to my camera running out of batteries, but I can promise they were amazing!

Recipe

49g (1¾ oz) butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing

75g (2½ oz) plain flour

2 large eggs, beaten

300ml (10fl oz) double or whipping cream

For the icing

100g (3½ oz) plain dark chocolate, broken/chopped

100ml (3½ fl oz) double cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 220C (fan 200C/425F/Gas 7). Grease a large baking tray. Put the butter in a  pan with 150ml water and heat until the butter melts. 

Bring to the boil, tip in the flour, then remove from the heat. Stir vigorously.

When a smooth paste develops, return the pan to the heat, stirring. The mixture will dry out a little and form a soft ball that comes away from the sides of the pan.

Remove the pan from the heat again, leave the mixture to cool slightly, then gradually add the eggs, beating really well between each addition until the mixture is smooth and glossy.

Spoon the mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle. Pipe the mixture onto the baking sheet into 7.5cm (3in) lengths, leaving room between each éclair for them to spread a bit.

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 190C (fan 170C/375F/Gas 5) and bake for a further 20 minutes. Split each éclair in half lengthways and transfer to a wire rack to cook completely.

Make the icing: Heat the cream in a pan until it just starts to boil. Pour this over the chocolate and let it sit without stirring for 5 minutes (to melt chocolate). Then stir and wait for it to combine with the cream. Let it sit until it is cool and thick enough to coat the éclairs without dripping off them.

Once the éclairs have cooled, whip the cream and spoon or pipe it into the bottom half of the éclairs. Dip the top half of each éclair in the icing, then place on top of the whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Liddie xxx

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

 I've not really had much experience with red velvet cake, apart from one slice a while ago. I thought it was delicious but have only just got round to making some of my own. I used the hummingbird bakery recipe, and they turned out really well. I used another cream cheese icing that I've used in previous posts, as this always turns out really well for me and I love the subtle flavour of cream cheese. The cakes do take a LOT of red food colouring, so I think I'll only make them for special occasions, but still well worth a go if you fancy making them - and they look very impressive.  

]

Recipe (makes about 8 large cupcakes)

• 60 g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 150 g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 20 g cocoa powder
• 40 ml red food colouring
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 120 ml buttermilk
• 150 g plain flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1½ tsp white vinegar

Cream Cheese Icing

250g icing sugar - sifted

62g unsalted butter (room temperature) 

62g cream cheese (good quality e.g. Philadelphia) 

Method

Preheat the oven to around 160c fan.

Whisk the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, and then whisk in the egg.

In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a very thick, dark paste. Add this to the butter mix and stir until it is thoroughly combined. 

Add half the buttermilk, mix on slow speed (or slowly with spoon) until combined. Then stir in half of the flour. Repeat this process until you have used all of the flour and buttermilk. Mix well until it is all evenly combined. 

Add the bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar and mix well until combined and you have a nice smooth mixture. Pour this into cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. 

To make the cream cheese icing, sieve the icing sugar to get rid of any lumps. Then add the butter and cream cheese until just mixed. Be careful not to over mix as the cream cheese can quickly turn watery. 

Cut off a small section from the top of your cupcakes. Pipe or spoon on the cream cheese icing, and then crumble up the cake tops and sprinkle on top. And there you have it, red velvet cupcakes! Enjoy!

Liddie x

 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Biscoff Cream Cheese Icing

I absolutely love biscoff biscuits. Dipped into a hot cup of tea, they are just amazing and so addictive! When I saw the biscoff spread in shops and the biscoff recipes floating around the food blogs, I knew I had to try it out. And these cupcakes didn't disappoint! The chocolate coupled with the biscoff cream cheese and topped with a biscoff biscuit were one of the best flavour combinations I've ever made. I would definitely recommend making these, I don't know how anyone could not like these cupcakes! 

Recipe (makes about 8 cupcakes)

113g butter/margarine
113g caster sugar
2 eggs
90g self raising flour
30g cocoa powder

Biscoff Cream Cheese Icing
250g icing sugar
62g cream cheese
62g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon biscoff spread

& Biscoff biscuits to decorate


Firstly, preheat the oven to 160c. Mix together the margarine and caster sugar until light and fluffy.

Whisk in the eggs until combined.

Fold in the self raising flour and cocoa powder until mixed thoroughly. Pour into cupcake cases and bake for around 25 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

Whilst the cupcakes are cooling, make the cream cheese icing. To do this, sieve the icing sugar to remove any lumps. Then whisk in the butter and cream cheese until just combined; be careful not to over whisk as this can create a watery icing. Add in a tablespoon of biscoff spread and mix in (I found this amount created the perfect subtle flavour of biscoff, but feel free to add more if you need to). 

Add this to a piping bag with a 2d nozzle and pipe onto the cupcakes. Then top with a biscoff biscuit and enjoy!

Liddie x

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

I always try and take advantage of the summer months for baking recipes that are perfect in the sunshine. Usually these involve fruit - and I knew I had to use the heatwave as an excuse to bake these strawberry cheesecake cupcakes. Soft, light sponge complete with a hidden strawberry surprise inside and topped with cream cheese icing. I have to admit, the first cream cheese icing recipe I used (and that is in the pictures) didn't turn out like I had hoped. However, since then I have discovered the perfect recipe (thanks Nigella!) which I used in my biscoff cupcakes and so you can see from the photos how well it pipes and holds together. It is so tasty too, and is so much better than butter cream icing! So I have included that recipe here instead of the one I actually used. 

Recipe

170g margarine/butter
170g caster sugar
3 eggs
170g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

For the cream cheese icing

125g unsalted butter, softened
125g cream cheese (good quality)
500g icing sugar, sifted.

Plus a handful of digestive biscuits and around 8-10 fresh strawberries. 

Firstly, preheat the oven to 160c.

Cream together the margarine and caster sugar until fluffy.

Then, whisk in the eggs until combined.

Fold in the self raising flour and baking powder (a teaspoon of baking powder works wonders for creating a soft, fluffy sponge)

Bake in the oven for around 25 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the cream cheese icing. To do this, simply sieve the icing sugar to remove any lumps. Then whisk in the butter and cream cheese until combined. Try not to over whisk the mixture as cream cheese icing is known to become runny - simply whisk until just combined. 

Once the cupcakes are cool, hollow out the centre and press about half a strawberry into the middle. 

Cover with icing. I wish I had found my favourite cream cheese icing recipe when I made these so I could have made the icing a bit neater. But seeing as they are supposed to look like cheesecake cupcakes I didn't mind too much! Sprinkle on some crumbled digestive biscuits - and enjoy!

Liddie x