Cupcake Craziness

This week has been a week of meetings, cupcakes, work, cupcakes, fete, AND cupcakes! I simply adore cupcakes but this has been a little much and I will be happy not to make another late-night or early-morning cupcake for a few weeks.  My little ladybug has also taken to skipping around the house singing the word "cake" so you can see how much cake has featured in our lives, this week!

Thursday afternoon marked our annual school fete.  As is now 'tradition' (or my personal tradition, at least),  my class was responsible for the cake stall.  Even though I knew this was going to be THE craziest week at work, I just couldn't help but get excited about planning my baking.  So I used A moment on the lips... as my recipe book and here's what happened...

Whole Orange Cupcakes with Zesty Cream Cheese Frosting

I used my Orange Cake recipe and baked the cupcakes for 20 minutes.  They turned out perfectly.  Take care not to overcook, however, as they'll get dry very quickly.  The sharpness of the frosting cuts through the sweet orange beautifully.

Sticky Date Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream and a Salted Caramel Drizzle

Sticky Date is my all time favourite dessert and these cupcakes completely did it justice.  Again, I used my Sticky Date Cake recipe and baked for 20 minutes.  They were light and spongy like a steamed pudding - beyond amazing! This is the buttercream recipe and I used the caramel sauce that I drizzle over the top of my Salted Caramel Cheesecake.

Chocolate Sponge with Chocolate Whipped Cream and Sprinkles

The only Chocolate Cake recipe I ever use is my Mum's because it's the best.  The batter is ridiculous and you have to make sure that you employ some self control so that you manage to get some cake into the oven!  These were topped with chocolate whipped cream and sprinkle because they make me smile.  

White Chocolate Mud Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

This is such a lovely recipe that works every time and is absolute heaven for white chocolate lovers....mmmm.  The cupcakes take a lot longer to bake than the others (45 minutes) but would still be worth it if they took 45 hours!  Cupcakes like this make people happy.

They looked amazing all packaged up and the rush was on to get in quickly enough to purchase a box of loveliness!

I urge you to try at least one of these wonderful recipes and let me know all about your beautiful baking adventures!

F. x

A little slice of heaven.

 For the first time in the longest time, I'm snuggled on the couch with a cup of English Breakfast and a Scotch Finger....bliss! Being back at work full time now and juggling all that goes with being a working mummy means that moments like these are few and far between. It also means that I'be neglected you all for far too long. But, I promise that what I'm offering you today with more than make up for it.
This...is ah-mazing.
I give you, my Salted Caramel Cheesecake. I give you not only my Salted Caramel Cheesecake BUT my Salted Caramel Cheesecake with Vanilla Cream and Caramel Sauce! Forgive me, now?

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

500g plain sweet biscuits 

60g almond meal 

150g unsalted butter, melted 

350g ricotta 

500g cream cheese 

175g (1 cup) brown sugar 

4 eggs 

2 tbsp golden syrup 1

/4 tsp table salt 

2 tsp vanilla extract 

250mL pure cream 

240g (1 cup) sour cream 

1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted 

Caramel Sauce 

250mL pure cream 

60g butter, chopped 

175g (1 cup) brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C. Blitz the biscuits and almond meal in a food processor until you have a course crumb.  Add the butter and process to combine.  Press the mixture onto the base and sides of a 20cm springform tin and pop in the freezer while you make the filling.

Using an electric mixer, beat the ricotta and cream cheese for 5 minutes or until very smooth.  Add the sugar and beat for another 3-4 minutes.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, before adding the syrup, salt and 1 tsp vanilla.  Mix until well combined.  

Pour the mixture into the biscuit shell and then place in a large baking tin.  Pour boiling water into the tin so it comes halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.  Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm to the touch (with a slight wobble to the centre)  Remove the cheesecake from the baking tin with the water and allow to cool.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, although overnight is best.

Place the cream, sour cream and the remaining teaspoon of vanilla in a mixing bowl and whip to soft peaks.  Swirl the cream across the top of the cool cheesecake.

To make the caramel sauce...Place all ingredients into a saucepan over a low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil.  Allow to cook for 5-7 minutes or until thickened.  Set aside and allow to cool.  Serve with the cheesecake.

Love this!

F. x

Sweet treats

It's no secret that my favourite dessert is Sticky Date Pudding. In fact, I display an abnormal compulsion to order it should it appear on a menu. It's perfection in all its juxtaposing facets: spongy in texture and dense in flavour. Who can go past its sickly sweetness and deep amber colour?

This recipe is slightly more versatile than one I have previously shared. It is baked as a cake and easily prepared in the food processor. You can serve large squares of this incredible pudding cake with warm caramel sauce and ice cream and stick to the traditional, or (as I have done today) cut it into "two-bite" sized bars with a smear of caramel for a light afternoon morsel. No one is going to accept a bowl of hot pudding and ice cream for afternoon tea but they'll be all over this is a jiffy.

The secret to getting neatly cut bars is to put the cake (once cooled) in the freezer for half an hour before cutting. This firms it up and takes off the stickiness that makes slicing difficult. Once out of the freezer, use a serrated-edge knife to portion the cake as you wish. These little bars suit me because you never feel quite as guilty stealing a second one! If you are serving in this way, also set aside your sauce for a couple of hours to cool (and thus, thicken sufficiently). This naughty sauce is a perfect one to have stashed in the fridge for topping ice cream, drizzling over cakes or shortbread (the sweetness cuts through a tart cheesecake remarkably well) or for attacking with a spoon when no one else is looking.

Sticky Date Cake

315g fresh dates

375mL boiling water

1 1/2 tsp baking soda (bicarb)

150g unsalted butter, softened

175g brown sugar

3 eggs

225g SR flour, sifted

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C. Place dates, water and bicarb in the food processor with the cutting blade. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.  Pulse the processor 3-5 times to roughly chop the dates.  Change to the mixing blade before adding butter and sugar. Process until well combined.  Mix in eggs and flour until just incorporated. Pour mixture into a greased and lined 30cm square slice tin. Bake for 30 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in tin for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Sticky Caramel Sauce

150g unsalted butter, chopped

250mL single cream

265g brown sugar

Place all ingredients into a saucepan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.  Bring to the boil, keep stirring and cook for 8 minutes.  Caramel will thicken as it cooks.  Serve hot for a thin sauce or at room temperature if you prefer it thick and gooey.

Don't you wish you were at my house for afternoon tea today?

F. x