Red velvet cupcakes

A cupcake recipe I've always wanted to try has been red velvet. There's something wonderful about the subtle chocolate flavour and the excitement of biting into a cake that s bright red inside.

The thing that has always put me off is the strange ingredients and the fact that every recipe was different. So this Christmas I finally decided to give it a go. I followed the hummingbird recipe to the letter as it was my first attempt. I must admit I was a bit concerned about the vinegar. The recipe and my pics are below.

Makes: 12Preparation Time: 20 minutesCooking Time: 25 minutes
You will need
60g unsalted butter at room temperature
150g caster sugar
1 egg
20g cocoa powder
40ml red food colouring
½ tsp vanilla extract
120ml buttermilk
150g plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ tsp white vinegar
1 x 12-hole cupcake tray, lined with paper cases

For the frosting:
300g icing sugar, sifted
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g cream cheese, cold

Method1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3.2. Put the butter and the sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.3. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a very thick, dark paste. Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until evenly combined and coloured (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Turn the mixer down to slow speed and slowly pour in half the buttermilk.4. Beat until well mixed, then add half the flour and beat until everything is well incorporated. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk and flour have been added. Scrape down the side of the bowl again. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until you have a smooth, even mixture. Turn the mixer down to low speed and add the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Beat until well mixed, then turn up the speed again and beat for a couple more minutes.5. Meanwhile, make the frosting by beating the icing sugar the remaining 20g of the unsalted butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat it until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least five minutes. Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny.6. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. When the cupcakes are cold, spoon the cream cheese frosting on top.Tips: To make a red velvet cake instead, double the quantities below, divide between three 20-cm cake tins and bake for 25 minutes at the same oven temperature.

I was very pleased with the results of this recipe. The reaction between the small amounts of bicarbonate and vinegar gave the sponge a really light texture. I used paste colour as  I don't  buy liquid food colouring. So I mixed 40 MLK of water with cocoa and a generous amount of coloured paste.

Have a go it's not as scary as you think.

Nigella's pancetta and pea orzotto

I saw this recipe on Nigellas new Italian inspired show Nigellisimo and it looked like a delicious and quick alternative to a full risotto. The recipe calls for orzo pasta which I had never used before. It's small grains of pasta very similar to rice and can be treated the same. I cooked this meal in 15 minutes and that includes reading recipe and plating up.

Fry pancetta cubes in pan with dash of oil (not much is needed due to fat in pancetta). Then add peas and stir for two minutes. Add orzo, two cups of water and half a cup of white wine or martini. Allow to simmer so or zo can cook, this should take 8 mins. When reduced, add granted parmesan and stir. That's it-simple.

Christmas time is approaching

This time of year it's so dark and cold I love nothing more than reading one of my many cookery books and planning my next bakes. Christmas is time when you see all your family and friends so there are lots of opportunities to share cakes and biscuits.

Last week I made my christmas cake as always at this time of year and today I unwrapped it to feed it with brandy; a weekly routine now until the week before xmas. I always cut my christmas cake on Christmas eve when i'm surrounded by family and i can unveil it in a dramatic and over the top fashion.

I have already decided on several things I want to make over the festive period including a christmassy roulade and some snowy biscuits. only 50 days to go, lots to do...

Celebration cake 60th birthday

Not my normal style for baking as i do more cupcakes and deserts rather than iced cakes but I was asked to make this for a collegues mom. She wanted a bingo cake.  I had fun making iced decorations including a dabber, balls and I bingo ticket.

Bake a difference

Raising money for charity concern by baking a difference. Held a bake sale with lots of yummy cakes and biscuits. 

Bake a difference

Looking forward to my bake sale for a very good cause next weekend. Hoping to make lots of money by asking my friends and family to eat cake!

Peach cobbler photos

It went down well as a family pudding after a roast beef dinner. Very filling though :)

Wedding cake

I could resist sharing a photo of my beautiful wedding cake. I can't take credit for it unfortunately but it was delicious. Bottom layer rich fruit cake, middle layer lemon drizzle cake and top layer banana caramel. Delicious and went down very well with family and friends.

Hairy bikers peach cobbler

I've been watching the hairy bikers Mississippi adventure over the last few weeks. Some lovely recipe ideas as well as some very calorific recipes to- a lot of frying lol. This recipe for a peach cobbler looked delicious and easy to do. Here's the recipe if u fancy giving it a go. I exchanged blueberries for raspberries when I tried it but it's up to you. Photos to
follow...


The Hairy Bikers top tinned peaches with a delicious, fluffy blueberry topping that can be whizzed up in a flash
Ingredients
2 x 410g tins sliced peaches, in juice
75 g granulated or golden caster sugar, plus 4 tbsp
2 tbsp cornflour
75 g butter, softened
1 large egg
150 ml semi-skimmed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
200 g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
125 g blueberries
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Drain the peaches, reserving the juice from just one of the cans - you’ll get about 110ml.
2. Put the peaches and the juice in a medium saucepan and add 2 tbsp of the sugar. Cook the peaches and sugar for three minutes, or until they reach a gentle simmer.
3. Mix the cornflour with 4 tbsp cold water and stir into the pan. Cook over a low heat for 2-3 minutes or until the peach juice has thickened and looks almost clear, stirring constantly. Tip into a 1.5 litre shallow ovenproof dish.
4. To make the topping, put the 75g of sugar in a large bowl and add the soft butter, egg, milk, vanilla extract, flour and baking powder.
5. Beat like hell with a wooden spoon or electric whisk. The batter should be thick and smooth and drop easily from the spoon. Don’t worry if there are a few small lumps of butter in the mix. Stir in the blueberries.
6. Put big spoonfuls of the batter on top of the fruit. There will be a few gaps but the cobbler mixture will soften to fill them.
7. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tbsp sugar and bake for 35 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is well risen and golden brown. Serve with cream or ice cream.

Tagine time

As a wedding present I had a tagine perfect for moroccon stews. My first attempt went really well it was delicious :)
600g lamb
Aubergine
Onion
Can of chopped tomatoes
300ml lamb stock
Garlic
Harissa paste
Brown meat then remove. Soften aubergine then remove. Fry onions and garlic. Add lamb and aubergine back to pan with chopped toms, stock, paste, simmer.
Put mixture in oven dish with lid or if ur lucky like me a tagine. Cook for 1 1/2 hrs.
Served with new potatoes and veg or rice. Delicious.

Fish pie

A family favourite but has alwap been made by my mom or my husbands mom. My first attempt and it went down very well.

Salmon, smoked haddock, cod covered with homemade cheese sauce topped with mash potato.

Mint aero cupcakes

My friends favourites made with mint aero chocolate. Delicious :)

The finished hen do cake

Everyone loved it, especially the bride to be. Chocolate cake sandwich filled with jam and strawberry buttercream then iced and topped with cupcakes and hand made roses.

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee

Celebrated with family in North Devon. Due to very erratic British weather I baked these lovely Jubilee cupcakes while it was raining outside.

God Save the Queen!

Mini cupcakes so cute

                                                       My first go at making mini
                                                     cupcakes and it was a lot of fun!

Sugar roses

These are sugar rose made by hand by myself. It was only my second try at making them and I was pleased with the outcome. They are intended to go on top of a iced cake that I'm making for my cousins hen do so it should be a very pretty cake. More photos to follow at a later date...

Banoffe roulade

A family favourite! Can be recreated with many different flavours but there is something very delicious and bananas and toffee sauce with all that cream, yum. It didn't last very long!

Chocolate brownies

My famous and very popular chocolate brownies. Everyone loves them.

Chocolate creme cups

This was a delicious little desert. Chocolate creme with a florentine am chocolate dipped strawberries. A simple recipe: 200g of dark chocolate, 300ml of cream, 1 whisked egg, a pinch of salt and 1tsp of vanilla. Good for dinner parties :)

Boeuf Bourguignon

Oh my god it was delicious and definitely worth the three hour cooking time. Amazing!


Sauteing mushrooms







Browning the meat










The sauce












The vegetables







The complete meal- yum!

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

A wonderful black and white video of Julia Child cooking the classic Boeuf Bourguignon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrnXvE9Fqdo&feature=related

Julie and Julia

Happy New Year everyone!

I have spent a very lazy morning in my pj's watching one of my favourite ever films from recent years; Julie and Julia. It is a film which is ironically about someone who starts a cooking blog based on a famous chef's recipes. It is a wonderful film starring the amazing Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, I loved it at the cinema and then later bought it on DVD to watch at home.

In addition to my love of cooking I also enjoy watching movies and reading but quite often these interests overlap, this being part of the reason I love Julie and Julie so much. The film is full with recipes and ideas and I always want to start cooking the instant the film finishes. The look of the boeuf bourguignon when she removes the lid makes anyone and everyone want to cook and eat.

Anyway, it's the start of another year- 2012 which normally means everyone makes lots of resolutions which last about three weeks. I don't make resolutions for this exact reason but I will say is that I know 2012 is going to be a very special year that I will always remember and that I hope it is full of health and happiness for everyone. For my part I am going to remember to keep things in perspective and enjoy everyday because I am very lucky.