Chocolate and Marshmallow Cupcakes

Just a quick one today as this is quite similar to the previous chocolate cupcakes I did. These were a different recipe though. Please ignore the recipe of chocolate cupcakes in the other entry! I made them from that once again and they came out very dry, I think I got one of the quantities wrong. Very sorry! The recipe for chocolate cupcakes 2 was very good though (link below), don't be tempted to add extra baking powder, they don't need it! Although the recipe only makes 8 cakes rather than 12.

I adapted it to have less frosting with a small piped dollop of marshmallow on top, in a similar style to the previous ones. To make it, I used 2 egg whites and 100g sugar. Whisk over simmering water until it forms stiff peaks (takes ages, about 8-10 minutes)and then carry on whisking off the heat until it reaches room temperature. They were supposed to have a chocolate star on top as well but I had trouble with the make-shift baking parchment icing bag so they all looked like a bit of a pigs ear!

 I also used a cake plunger to pull out some of the centre of the cupcake and fill that with marshmallow too. Yummy! The light, creamy filling really works well in these!It took me a couple of goes to get the hang of the cake plunger. Press it in quite deep, most of the way down, and you have to twist it before pulling it out again for it to work. Then cut the very top of the removed part off to place back over the filling. The buttercream is fairly standard but make sure it's not too thick so that bits of cake don't get caught when trying to spread it.

All in all, putting marshmallow in chocolate cupcakes is a good idea!

Chelsea Buns

I made these apricot and cranberry chelsea buns based on a couronne recipe on a blog for food tech coursework.  For those who don't know, a couronne is kind of like a big chelsea bun ring so that wasn't a big change (I almost follwed the recipe, honestly!). The recipe is based on Paul Hollywood's classic couronne recipe but using cranberries instead of raisins. Its yummy! Mine were a little dense because I didn't have enough time to let them prove properly but they're still very good.

 The units are slightly unusual; most of the ingredients are given in grams and cups but then you get to 1/2 cup cranberries. I am not in the slightest familiar with using cups (the system makes no sense to me!) and was not sure how big a 'cup' should be (cups come in different sizes, which one are they referring to?!). The apricot definitely dominated the flavour and could have done with more cranberries, but that was probably due to my guess work in quantities. 

Thre only other thing I changed was adding a honey glaze to the top after baking, definitely recommended! Overall good recipe. 

Recipe: http://www.notderbypie.com/apricot-cranberry-couronne/

Mini Banoffee Pies

These had their ups and downs. I used Mary Berry's banoffee pie recipe for a whole pie and used  a muffin tin to make them smaller. The only problem I had with the recipe was the pastry, it turned out strangely short and flaky. And that was despite using slightly more water than it said to so I think that there was not enough butter (or too much flour, depending on how you want to look at it). Its not bad, but has a strange texture for shortcrust pastry.

The toffee worked well, there is far too much for making mini pies though. I have a whole pot left over! (what a shame!) Its wonderfully thick and creamy and is very forgiving on any hole or cracks in the pastry because it doesn't seep through.

Problem no. 2 I had was with the cream (not with the recipe though), I made this for food tech coursework and we're supposed to make changes to the recipe we use so I thought I'd add vanilla to the cream but it curdled. The double cream whipped amazingly quickly and I don't think I over-whisked it. Does vanilla essence curdle cream?? (Probably something I should have checked before adding it!) I had to leave the cream out but they're still yummy.

Overall, not the most successful bake but they still taste good so can't complain!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Millionaire's Shortbread

 This is a recipe from Ultimate Sweet Treats and is really yummy! The caramel is particularly chewy which definitely forces you to slow down and chew (probably a good thing!) We'd run out of soft brown sugar for the caramel so I used some golden caster and some demerera sugar instead. I've never made this type of caramel before so i'm not sure how chewy or dark it's supposed to be or how the different sugar affected it but it still tastes good so i'll say it can't matter too much!

Definitely another recommended bake! Easy to make but has to cool after the caramel goes on and again with the chocolate so does take a while. Of course if you're impatient like me then you can stick it in the fridge.

Chocolate and Orange Marble Cake

This was from 'Ultimate Sweet Treats'. It's really more for children but the recipes are still pretty good. I always thought of marble cake as chocolate and vanilla and I don't know why it had never occurred to me to flavour both parts of the marble cake. The recipe was fairly simple, basic sponge with orange zest and tbsp of orange juice and 2 tbsp of cocoa powder in half of the mix. The chocolate and orange together are lovely and very autumnal. I did find that the orange overpowered the chocolate though. I'm not sure if that was because I had small tablespoons or it just needed a little more than what the recipe said.

To  create the marble effect, it said to spoon half the mixture into the corners of the tin before adding the cocoa powder to the rest of the mix and putting that in the tin as well, then stirring it a little with a knife. It does work but it still turns out with more chocolate mix on the top so it was a slightly lopsided marble effect. Does anyone have any tips as to how to do marbling?

The recipe was just for the cake but I added a swirl of buttercream on top. Not only does it decorate the top but the creaminess definitely adds to the texture.

Despite needing more chocolate, very yummy! The orange smell fills the kitchen; it's wonderful! Might try adding pieces of Terry's Chocolate Orange to the cake or icing. (Sorry, no photo today)

Profiteroles

I've made these a few times before and have become one of my favourites! First time was at school last year and that was the best recipe for them that I've found. Unfortunately, I turned out to be allergic to the chocolate I had for the topping. At  least I found out before I put the sauce all over the entire batch! See? There are benefits to eating your ingredients! Luckily, we already had posh chocoate spread in that worked perfectly as the topping for a few of the them.

I often have probems with the choux being a little too soft. I made a point of baking them for longer than I have previously. They seemed much crisper when they came out and were still better than previous batches but were still slightly on the squidgy side. I'm not sure why. I think I cut a big enough hole to let the steam out so I'm not sure if it was the cream that was the problem. Does anyone know when exactly you should put the cream in? (as soon as they're cool or right before serving?) Also, should they go straight into the fridge after they've been filled?

Despite being a little on the soft side and causing an allergic reaction, not bad! Yummy pudding!

(Apologies that the photograph isn't up to the usual standard, they're not the most photogenic of desserts!)

Chocolate Cupcakes

Another improvised recipe today. Starting with a basic cake recipe, I replaced some of the flour with cocoa powder. I was making pudding so only made 4 and the quantities of cake mixture and butter icing were pretty much perfect but 6 squares of chocolate was too much to make the chocolate decorations (3-4 squares would probably be about right).

 I cheated a little with the chocolate and melted it in microwave, then put it in an icing bag with a small, round nozzle and piped various shapes onto a piece of baking parchment... then cheated again by cooling them in the fridge. Melting the chocolate in the microwave didn't make much of a difference but cooling them too quickly did take the shine off the chocolate. Slightly annoying but not a huge issue if you're a little short on time. Don't be put off if you think you can't draw, I can't either and the messy/rustic look works pretty well! However, I wouldn't recommend spirals or similar shapes because they're not strong enough structures to stand up with out breaking. Even some of the hearts were a little precarious!

After making the butter icing, I put about a third of it into a piping bag, then added a little cocoa powder to the remainder (turned out the right proportions of each).  

I'm really pleased with how these have turned out! I've never tried to make things with chocolate before and I think they look pretty good (and yes, they taste nice too!) I don't usually write out recipes but this was semi-made up so thought I'd include it today.

Recipe (makes 4):

• 2oz caster sugar
• 2oz butter
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 oz self raising flour
• 1oz cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp baking powder

Butter icing and decoration:

• 2oz icing sugar
• 1oz butter
• 1/4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 4 squares dark chocolate

(Baked at 170 for 15-20 minutes)