Red Velvet Cupcakes

Valentines for me is always the perfect excuse to bake something special for my hubby and this year I decided to bake these delectable Red Velvet Cupcakes. These rich and sweet cupcakes are topped with dreamy, creamy cream cheese frosting and will not fail to enchant. Happy Valentines Day everyone, hope you are all being showered with lots of love!


Red Velvet Cupcakes

Makes 24

Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
250g plain flour
2 x 15ml tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g soft unsalted butter
200g caster sugar
1 x heaped 15ml tbsp red paste food colouring
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
175ml buttermilk
1 tsp cider vinegar or other vinegar

Buttery Cream-cheese frosting
500g icing sugar, no need to sift if using a processor)
125g cream cheese
125g soft unsalted butter
1 tsp cider vinegar or lemon juice (I used vanilla extract)
red velvet cake crumbs or chocolate sprinkles or red sugar for decoration

Preheat the oven to 170oC/fan oven 150oC/gas mark 3 and line the muffin tins with paper cases.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarb in a bowl.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar, beating well, and when you have a soft pale mixture beat in the food colouring - yes, all of it - and the vanilla.

Into this vividly coloured mixture, still beating, add 1 spoonful of the dried ingredients, then 1 egg, followed by some more dried ingredients, then the other egg, followed by the rest of the dried ingredients.

Finally, beat in the buttermilk and vinegar and divide this extraordinary batter between the 24 cases. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes by which time the redcurrant-sorbet-coloured batter will have morphed into a more sombre, but still juicily tinted, sponge - more maroon acrylic than red velvet, to be honest.

Leave them to cool on a wire rack and do not ice with the frosting till absolutely cold.

Put the icing sugar into a processor and whizz to remove lumps.

Add the cream cheese and butter and process to mix. Pour in the cider vinegar (or lemon juice or vanilla extract) and process again to make a smooth icing.

Ice each cupcake, using a teaspoon or small spatula.

Decorate with red velvet cake crumbs or chocolate sprinkles or red sugar.

Banoffee Cake

It's been a while since I last baked a banana cake/loaf which is quite surprising as banana bakes normally feature quite a bit in my kitchen. So I decided to make use of my ripe bananas and try out this banana cake from my new book, perfect! This butterless cake is really moist and delish but the real star of the show is the amazing toffee icing, it balances the cake beautifully! This is definitely a recipe to be book-marked and made again and again.

Banoffee Cake

Serves 10-12

Ingredients
For the cake:
225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs
170g Demerara sugar
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
225ml vegetable oil (or olive oil)

For the toffee icing:
220g Demerara sugar
60g butter
60ml milk
240g icing sugar, sieved
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

banana chips, to decorate (or a sprinkling of cocoa)

Preheat the oven to 180oc/fan oven 160oc/Gas mark 4. Butter a 23cm springform tin and dust with flour or Demerara sugar.

Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar on high with an electric mixer until thickened and light in colour. Fold in the mashed banana and vanilla. Slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil while still mixing.

Add the flour mixture and mix on a low speed, taking care not to overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared tin.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden. Cool fully on a rack before icing.

To make the icing, place the sugar, butter and milk into a pan over a high heat. Stir everything well and bring to the boil. Keep stirring and boil for 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and beat in half of the icing sugar. Allow to cool slightly, then add the vanilla and the rest of the icing sugar. Beat well until it thickens.

Spread the icing over the cake straightaway, as the icing will harden slightly. Top with banana chips or a sprinkling of cocoa.

Coconut Loaf Cake

I have been feeling under the weather with a head cold since Sunday, which my grandson was so kind to share with me. After a few days of nursing this cold I have reached my limit of sitting about and doing nothing, (yes I'm a lousy patient) and today decided to cheer myself up with a spot of therapeutic baking. I decided to continue my mission trying out another recipe from my new cookbook and bake this Coconut Loaf Cake. This retro style cake really reminded me of a school dinner pudding often served with custard. Unfortunately in reading the recipe it was clear to me that there was something not quite right. The first thing was the size of the tin, there was no way that the sum of the ingredients would fit into a 1lb loaf tin as specified! So I went with my baking experience and used a 2lb loaf tin instead. The second anomaly was in relation to the cooking time stated in the recipe, I had to extent the cooking time by a further 20 minutes. At first I was thinking it might be a typo regarding the size of loaf tin but upon further reading of other loaf cake recipes in the book a 1lb tin is used through-out. Some of the other recipes also appear to have more ingredients than would fit in a tin of that size. It's a shame that these types of errors exist as they could throw off a less experience baker.

Besides the above, this cake turned out to be everything I expected it to be. I can confirm it is very addictive and popular, with hubby having finished his third slice of the day after his evening meal. This recipe is well worth trying and if you follow my adaptations, included in the recipe below, it should turn out just fine!


Coconut Loaf Cake

Serves 8-10

Ingredients
For the cake:
225g butter, softened
225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
60g desiccated coconut
3 tbsp milk

For the topping:
60g raspberry jam
30g desiccated coconut, toasted

Preheat the oven to 180oC/fan oven 160oC/Gas mark 4. Butter and flour a 2lb loaf tin.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition.

Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl, then add to the egg mixture along with the coconut. Beat for a few seconds to combine. Add the milk and mix until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the tin and bake for 45-50 (mine needed 70) minutes, until golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes or so before turning onto a rack to cool.

Once the cake is fully cool, spread the jam onto the top and cover in the toasted coconut.

Old Henry Bars

Have I said how much I am loving the Make Bake Love cookbook? This has to be one of my favourite books at the moment. I am targeting myself to bake something new from it every week. I baked these Old Henry Bars as a treat for over the weekend. They are a take on an American chocolate bar that was first introduced in 1920. These peanut butter and chocolate topped, crunchy, chewy oat bars were definitely a massive hit, with the last of them finished today. Another successful recipe from this delightful cookbook!


Old Henry Bars

Makes 16 bars

Ingredients
340g oats
225g light brown sugar
225g butter, melted
4 tbsp smooth peanut butter
150g milk or dark chocolate
a handful of dry roasted peanuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180oC. Line a 23cm x 33cm baking tin with parchment paper.

Mix the oats, sugar and melted butter together in a bowl. Spread onto the base of the tray and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and while still warm, spread the peanut butter over the oat base.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Spread the melted chocolate over the peanut butter. Stud with dry-roasted peanuts.

Allow to cool and set in the fridge, then cut into 16 bars.

Peanut Butter and Sesame Cookies

I'm really loving my latest cookbook purchase, Make Bake Love by Lilly Higgins and this is the second bake from the book. I haven't made peanut butter cookies in a long time and these, with the addition of sesame seeds, sounded great! This is another straight-forward and quick recipe to rustle up. The end result delivering a very moreish and yummy cookie, with the sesame seeds giving it a gorgeous nutty texture.


Peanut Butter and Sesame Cookies

Makes about 36 regular or 60 bite-sized cookies

Ingredients
125g butter, softened
85g caster sugar
80g Demerara sugar
125g smooth peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 170oC. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and both sugars together in a bowl until soft and fluffy. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and mix well.

Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda together in a bowl, then add to the peanut butter mixture. Combine well but don't overbeat.

Roll teaspoons of the dough into balls. Roll the balls in the sesame seeds and place on the lined baking sheet. Flatten slightly.

Bake for 10-15 minutes (or 7 for tiny cookies), until golden brown. Leave to cool slightly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a rack.

Blueberry Muffins

This recipe hails from the newest addition to my cookbook collection which arrived today, Make Bake Love by Lily Higgins. It has a wonderful collection of delicious baked treats and there are so many recipes I want to try in the coming weeks, so watch this space. The recipes are all pretty straight-forward and do not require 100 ingredients, I'm all for keeping it simple most days. Blueberry muffins are an all-time classic and perfect for breakfast, lunch boxes or to enjoy with your afternoon cup of tea! I just happened to buy some blueberries in M&S yesterday that were marked down and was very pleased when I came across this recipe in the book. These muffins are moist and bursting with flavour but not overly sweet.

Blueberry Muffins

Makes 12

Ingredients
225g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
75g Demerara sugar
1 egg
150ml milk
40ml sunflower oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
160g blueberries

Preheat the oven to 190oC/fan 170oC. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases.

Sieve the flour and baking powder together in a bowl, then stir in the sugar.

Whisk the egg, milk, oil and vanilla together in a jug. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix gently. Fold in the blueberries.

Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to divide the batter evenly amongst the muffin cases. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden and risen. Remove the muffins from the tin and cool on a rack.

Chunky Sausage and Tomato Pasta

I've damaged the arch in my foot (again) after a session of Zumba yesterday. This is a result of not exercising in ages and I'm now unable to exercise, so frustrating! I can hardly walk and it's very painful when I do. Due to my injury I needed a meal that was quick to rustle up, so I opted for a favourite pasta recipe that I've not cooked in ages. It ticked all the boxes, quick, easy, comforting and really yummy!


Chunky Sausage and Tomato Pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
4 thick pork sausages, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200ml/7fl oz medium white wine
1 tbsp tomato purée
400g can chopped tomatoes
500g pack rigatoni or penne
Handful of basil leaves, torn, (optional)
Parmesan, to serve

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan (preferably not non-stick) and add the sausages. Fry for about 8 mins until golden and cooked through. Tip in the garlic and fry for 1 min. Pour in the white wine and boil until it has reduced by half.

Stir in the tomato purée and tomatoes, and season to taste. Simmer for 15 mins until the sauce is rich and thick.

While the sauce cooks, boil the pasta according to pack instructions and drain. Stir in the basil if using, and cooked pasta into the sauce, then serve in bowls with grated or shaved parmesan.

Beef Stew with mustard and thyme dumplings

The weather has become very cold in the UK, with temperatures dropping to -3 Celsius some nights. Following on from my promise to try new recipes I decided to try out a new beef stew for our Sunday meal. This stew is the perfect comfort food that we crave for during this cold weather. I've never made my own dumplings and couldn't beleive how easy they were to make, they turned out great if I do say so myself. I served the stew with creamy mash and it was delicious.


Beef Stew and mustard and thyme dumplings

Serves 6
Ingredients
1.5kg braising or chuck steak
about 2 tbsp seasoned flour
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
sea salt and black pepper
4 celery stalks, sliced
4 large leeks, cleaned and cut into short lengths
1 small swede, peeled and cut into cubes
1 small celeriac, peeled and cut into cubes
1 bottle of robust red wine
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
a bouquet garni of parsley, thyme, rosemary, bay and 2 strips of orange peel, tied together

For the dumplings:
110g self-raising flour
55g beef of vegetable suet
1 tbsp thyme leaves, chopped, or 2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp grain mustard or 1 tsp Colman's English mustard powder, or 2tp freshly grated horseradish

Preheat the oven to 150oC/Gas 2. Cut the beef into large cubes. Tip the flour into a Ziplock bag, add the meat, lock and shake to coat. Take out the meat, shaking off excess flour. Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan and brown the meat in batches all over, removing it to a plate when browned and adding extra oil as needed.

Add the onions and garlic to the pan and sprinkle with a little salt. After a few minutes, as they begin to soften, add the celery, carrots, leeks, swede and celeriac, if using. Saute for a few minutes and then return the meat to the pan. Meanwhile, heat the red wine.

Add the tinned tomatoes to the pan and chop them down into the meat and veg. When the liquid is bubbling away merrily, add the wine to just cover. Once the pot has come up to the bubble again, tuck the bouquet garni down into the depths, add a circle of greaseproof paper (a cartouche) to just cover the stew and put the lid on. Transfer to the oven and cook for 2 hours or until the vegetables are tender but not reduced to mush.

Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Sift the flour into a large bowl and throw in the suet. Add the herbs, mustard or horseradish and seasoning, and mix with your hands or a spoon until the dough coheres but is not too wet and sticky. If it becomes too damp, scatter over a little more flour and roll the ball of dough gently. Flour your hands and pull small, walnut-sized pieces of dough from the ball, rolling them between your palms into balls.

About 20 minutes before the stew will be ready, uncover and sit the dumplings on top. Put the lid back on and return to the oven. After 20 minutes, check that the dumplings have swollen and are cooked through. Serve with mash or colcannon.

Linguine Amatriciana

I've decided that this year I will be making more of an effort to make and try new recipes. It's so easy to stick with the same recipes week in week out and you end up getting bored of eating the same dishes. I came across this recipe on Nigella's site and after reading her review I had to make it. This recipe is from Anna Conte's cookbook, Cooking with Coco, which I plan on purchasing very soon after reading Nigella's review on it. In Nigella's words there isn't a recipe in this book she wouldn't want to try. I love Italian food and pasta has a regular presence in my cooking, which makes this book very appealing. This is a simple recipe but one that is really satisfying and delish! I didn't have any Bucatini pasta which is the type used in this recipe but I will be buying some on my next shopping trip to use next time.


Linguine Amatriciana

Serves 4-5

Ingredients
tbsp olive oil
350g unsmoked pancetta cubes
1 onion, very finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 dried chilli, seeded and finely chopped
100ml red wine
450g tin chopped tomatoes
400g linguine
6 tbsp grated mature pecorino
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to serve

Heat the oil in a frying pan large enough to contain the cooked pasta later and, when hot, throw in the pancetta and fry until crisp. Remove it to a plate with a fish slice.

Now add the onion to the pan, season with a pinch of salt and saute for 7-8 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for a further minute, stirring frequently. Splash with the wine and let it bubble away to reduce by half. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and cook on moderate heat for about 20-25 minutes.

Taste and add more salt if necessary and black pepper if you want, although the sauce is already quite hot due to the chilli.

Cook the linguine in plenty of salted water as usual.

Drain thoroughly.

Slide the pasta into the frying pan, add the pancetta, and shower with percorino. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes, turning the linguine over and over with 2 forks.

Serve straight from the pan, with Parmesan handed round.

Spring Chicken in Wintertime

This evening for dinner I decided to make Nigella's Spring Chicken from her cookbook Kitchen. Although this is titled "spring" chicken, it is perfect for this time of the year, a warming casserole is just what you crave at the end of a cold winters day. This casserole has an amazing depth of flavour and would work equally well served with new potatoes, rice, barley or other grains. Alternatively it could be served with a baquette or other crusty bread to mop up the juices. We thoroughly enjoyed this comforting dish and I plan to make it again soon.


Spring Chicken

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
140g pancetta cubes
12 chicken thighs (bone in with or without skin)
1 leek, cleaned, quartered lengthwise then finely sliced
1 stick celery, quartered lengthwise then finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tsp freeze-dried tarragon
1 tsp sea salt flakes or 1/2 tsp pouring salt
good grinding white pepper
1 x 500ml bottle dry cider
300g frozen petit pois
1 x 15ml tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Little Gem lettuces, suct into strips or roughly shredded
2 x 15ml tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

Heat the oil in a large, wide casserole that comes with a lid and add the pancetta cubes, cooking them until they begin to give off their juices and start to colour.

Add the chicken thighs (skin-side down if yours have skin), tossing the pancetta cubes on top of the meat (to stop the pancetta burning and to make space) as you put the poultry in the pan, and cook for about 5 minutes over a medium heat.

Turn the thighs over and tip in the prepared leek, celery and garlic. Season with the dried tarragon, salt and pepper, then stir everything around a bit, letting it cook for another 5 minutes.

Pour in the cider, then sprinkle in the frozen peas. Bring the pan to the boil then cover, turn down to a very gentle heat and cook for 40 minutes. Do check after 30, though, to see if the chicken is cooked through, and if you are using boneless thighs, then 20 minutes should do it.

Remove the lid, stir in the mustard, and then toss the shredded lettuce over the chicken, letting it wilt in the hot sauce for a couple of minutes.

Scatter the chopped tarragon over the casserole. Serve with new potatoes or rice.

Merry Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas to everyone!! Hope you are all having a wonderful festive season. Below are some of the goodies I have baked this Christmas for my family and friends to enjoy.

My Christmas Cake.

Yule Log.

My delicious Christmas Pudding.

Chocolate Peanut-Butter Cups.

Chocolate Christmas Biscuits.

Glittery Christmas Tree Cookies.

Ollie my gorgeous grandson :)

Sweet Snowballs

These Sweet Snowballs are seriously delish and are the perfect edible festive gift. An alternative to truffles, these chocolatey bitesize treats contain white Maltesers, coconut, marshmallow, cranberries, cake crumbs and rich tea biscuits! I made these to give to family and friends and they were very much appreciated.



Sweet Snowballs

Ingredients
400g white chocolate
100g rich tea biscuits
50g white Maltesers
50g mini marshmallows
50g dried cranberries
50g cake crumbs (shop-bought Madeira Cake)
3 tbsp golden syrup
100g dessicated coconut
edible glitter

Melt the white chocolate, broken into pieces, in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Meanwhile, crush the rich tea biscuits and white maltesers in a large bowl with a rolling pin.

Add the mini marshmallows, dried cranberries and cake crumbs, then the chocolate and golden syrup. Mix well. Tip the desiccated coconut onto a plate. Drop large spoonfuls of mixture onto the plate, then roll them around, coating in coconut and shaping into balls. Place on a baking tray and chill for 30 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with edible glitter if you like.

Star-Topped Mince Pies

You can't beat home-made mince pies, especially mince pies made with your own home-made mincemeat! I tend to shy away from pastry but this recipe is seriously easy and I make these year after year. I made these gorgeous mince pies especially for Sunday when we had family and friends over to celebrate the festive season. As always they went down a treat and everyone loved them. This is definitely another recipe that will feature again in my house this month.


Star-Topped Mince Pies

Ingredients

240g/8oz plain flour

60g/2oz vegetable shortening

60g/2oz cold butter, cut into small cubes

1 orange, juice only

pinch salt

350g/12oz mincemeat

icing sugar, for dusting

You will need a miniature tart tray, each indent 4.5cm/1¾in diameter, a 5.5cm/2¼in round fluted biscuit cutter and a 4cm/1½in star-shaped pastry cutter.

Sift the flour into a shallow freezer-proof bowl, then add small mounds of vegetable shortening. Add the butter, shake to cover it, then place into the freezer to chill for 20 minutes. (This will make the pastry tender and flaky.)

Mix the orange juice and salt in a separate bowl. Cover and leave in the fridge to chill.

After the 20 minutes, empty the chilled flour and shortening mixture into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to make porridge-like crumbs. Gradually add the chilled salted orange juice, pulsing until the mixture is just coming together as a dough. Stop just before it comes together (even if some orange juice is left). If all the juice is used up before the dough has begun to come together, add some iced water.

Turn the mixture out onto a clean, floured work surface and, using your hands, knead the mixture to form a dough. Divide and shape into three equal-sized discs (you’ll need to make the mince pies in three separate batches of 12, unless you’ve got enough tart tins to make all 36 pies at once).Wrap each disc in cling film and place into the fridge to rest for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.

Remove a pastry disc from the fridge and roll out on a floured work surface thinly, but so that it will be sturdy enough to support the dense mincemeat filling. Using a fluted pastry cutter, cut out 12 circles a little wider than the moulds in the tart tins. Press the circles gently into the moulds. Place a teaspoon of mincemeat into each pastry case. Reroll any remaining dough to a similar thickness, then using a star-shaped cutter, cut out 12 stars and place each lightly onto the mincemeat filling.

Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden-brown. Keep an eye on them as they don’t take very long to cook.

Remove from the oven, prising out the little pies straight away and placing onto a wire rack to cool. Allow the empty tray to cool down before repeating the steps. Repeat until you have made 36 mince pies.

Dust the mince pies with icing sugar and serve.