Liquorice Cupcakes

I like the flavour of liquorice but I find I have to be in the right mood for it. I had some liquorice Pontefract cakes sitting in my kitchen that I had bought when I fancied some but had never finished them all. It got me wondering if there was anything I could bake with them and my mind immediately turned to cupcakes. After a hunt through some cookery books and a browse on the internet I was amazed to find no reference to a cupcake containing liquorice anywhere, although plenty suggest it as decoration. By this point I had become determined to make cupcakes containing liquorice and so decided to see what I could create myself.

I decided to melt the liquorice in order to add it into the cake mix and as it’s quite a thick and sticky substance by nature, I melted it slowly in a pan with some butter. This worked, although the liquorice refused to dissolve into a smooth consistency, but it did turn extremely soft and mushy which meant it still distributed evenly when beaten into the rest of the cake batter.

I was expecting the colour to be an inky black, but it actually turned more of a milk chocolate colour. The batter was also quite….elastic, is the best word for it, and I was worried that it would bake flat and hard but it actually baked up wonderfully tall and light.

The flavour of the cupcakes is quite subtle at first bite, but it builds up a treacley/molasses flavour with a slight tongue tingling sensation I always get when eating liquorice. I wanted the flavour of the liquorice to be the most prominent and so simply drizzled them with a little plain icing to add a touch of sweetness. I was really pleased how the cupcakes turned out and would love to try baking it into a layer cake, maybe paired with raspberry or lemon buttercream for an interesting twist. These are a must try for any liquorice fan.

Liquorice Cupcakes
Ingredients
2 eggs
75g caster sugar
110g butter
110g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
120g soft liquorice
2 tbsp milk
Icing sugar for decoration

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C and line a muffin tin with paper cases.
Chop the liquorice into small pieces and place in a small pan along with the butter.
Melt slowly, allowing the butter to completely melt and the liquorice to go very soft. It will not dissolve completely, but this is ok.
Beat the eggs and sugar together until doubled in volume and pale in colour.
Add the liquorice mixture and beat well until well incorporated.
Sift over the flour and baking powder and beat again.
Add the milk to thin down the mix and spoon into the muffin cases, filling three-quarters full.
Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until risen and springy to the touch.
Allow to cool before drizzling with a little icing made by dissolving icing sugar in a little water.
Makes 10

Cherry & White Chocolate Cookies

After a request from someone at work for a Monday Munchers treat involving cherries and white chocolate I came up with these cookies. Not very adventurous I’ll admit, but delicious none the same. They had a crisp outer edge with a bendy/chewy centre which was a nice change from the soft cakey cookies I made them last time.

I based the cookies on a recipe from the King Arthur Flour Company, only I halved the recipe and altered a few of the ingredients. I baked the cookies in two batches and the first batch spread far too much and they ended up joined together like some sort of crazy paving, I think it was because I tinkered with the recipe, but I added more flour and the second batch turned out much better. The recipe below includes the added flour.

I used dried Bing cherries which are un-dyed and quite tart, but this went well with the chunks of sweet white chocolate.

Cherry & White Chocolate Cookies
(Recipe adapted from the King Arthur Flour Company)
Ingredients
115g butter
100g light soft brown sugar
75g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla
½ beaten egg
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
175g plain flour
75g white chocolate
75g dried cherries

Method
Heat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Cream together the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy.
Beat in the vanilla and beaten egg.
Sift over the flour and bicarb and beat until well incorporated.
Chop the chocolate into small chunks and fold into the batter along with the dried cherries.
Place tablespoons of the cookie dough onto the baking tray, leaving a 2inch gap between each one. Slightly flatten the dough into a rough round.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden around the edges.
Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire wrack to cool completely.
Makes 18 cookies

Wholemeal Goats Cheese Scones

I had some very pungent firm blue goats cheese in the fridge that was maturing at a rate of knots and needed using up. I contemplated melting it into sauce for pasta but feared this would be too overpowering and so decided to use it to make cheese scones instead.

I used self raising wholemeal flour as I think the wheat-ier flour coped better with the flavour/strength of the cheese than white flour would have done.

It is important not to overwork a scone mixture or else your scones will turn out sense and flat. They also don’t need much rolling out as the mixture must be left thick to give a taller scone. It is also important not to twist the cutter when cutting out the scones, or else they will bake twisted and unevenly, a sharp tap on top of the cutter will give you a much cleaner finish.

The scones were lovely eaten warm from the oven; the cheese was still soft and melty and they made the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of lunchtime soup. They also tasted good when spread with a little chutney and I bet onion marmalade would be great too – no extra cheese required!

I wouldn’t recommend making these with a soft mild goats cheese, as this would dissolve into the dough and the flavour would be lost, but any strong leftover firm cheese should do it.

Wholemeal Goats Cheese Scones
Recipe adapted from Delia’s Vegetarian Collection by Delia Smith
Ingredients
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
½ tbsp milk
70g firm goats cheese (strong)
175g wholemeal self raising flour
½ tsp mild chili powder
25g butter
1 egg

For the top
20g firm goats cheese
Milk for brushing

Method
Preheat the oven to 220C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Sieve the flour and chili powder in a bowl. Cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour using the tips of your fingers. Lift the mixture up above the top of the bowl and let it fall back in to aerate it at the same time as working the butter in.
Stop when the butter is evenly distributed and the flour has formed small crumbs.
Beat the egg, yoghurt and milk together in a small bowl and then pour over the flour and crumble in the goats cheese.
Use a knife to start working the liquid into the flour and then switch to your hands to bring the mixture into a soft ball of dough. Do not knead the dough like you would bread.
Lightly dust a work surface with flour and gently roll out the dough until it is 1inch/2.5cm thick.
Cut out rounds using a 6cm cutter, pressing down sharply for a clean cut. Do not twist the cutter or else your scone will rise twisted when baked.
Place the scones onto the baking tray and brush the tops with a little milk and scatter over a little more cheese.
Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes until risen, golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.
Transfer the scones to a wire wrack to cool slightly.
Best served warm and eaten within 2 days.
Makes 6 scones.

Waiter There’s Something in My….. Breakfast!

WTSIM is a monthly event hosted alternately by Jeanne of Cook Sister, Andrew of Spittoon Extra and Johanna of The Passionate Cook. This month Johanna chose Breakfast as the theme and my entry is Crisp Cinnamon Granola.

Granola with a generous dollop of yoghurt has to be my favourite thing to have for breakfast. I just love how it’s crispy yet chewy. Fruity, nutty and oaty. Slightly sweet, lightly spiced and wholesome. I love to eat it in my pajamas curled up in bed on a lazy weekend. It must also be served in a mug (much easy to hold in bed) and eaten with a teaspoon to make it last (I hate eating anything using big spoons).

For this batch I used a base of jumbo oats, porridge oats, wheat flakes and …cornflakes. I added a mix of seeds, brazil nuts and hazelnuts along with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and vanilla. After toasting goji berries, dried blueberries and the must have classic of dried banana chips were stirred through to complete my granola.

I ate some whilst still warm form the oven and was intrigued to find that the cornflakes had become a little chewy rather than going crisp. However I think this is actually preferable as it adds another interesting texture and they ended up tasting remarkably like crunchy nut cornflakes after being baked in the syrup coating.

I added quite a bit of cinnamon to the mix, but there is just something about warm toasted nuts and oats and ground cinnamon that I adore. The aroma and flavour is (in my opinion) a match made in heaven.

Crisp Cinnamon Granola Ingredients
100g jumbo rolled oats

50g porridge oats

100g wheat flakes
100g cornflakes

25g linseeds

30g pumpkin seeds

35g brazil nuts

30g hazelnuts

2½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp natural oil

3 tbsp honey or 2tbsp golden syrup

1 tbsp hot water

30g dried blueberries

30g goji berries

30g dried banana chips

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.

In a large bowl weigh out the oats, wheat flakes, cornflakes and seeds.

Chop the brazil nuts into quarters and the hazelnuts in half and add to the oats along with the cinnamon.

Thin down the golden syrup in the water, stir in the oil and vanilla and then drizzle it over the oaty mixture.
Mix well, ensuring everything is lightly coated.

Scatter the mix onto the baking tray and place in the oven for 10 minutes until it’s starting to smell toasted.

Remove from the oven and give everything a good stir to ensure even toasting.

Return to the oven for 8-10 minutes more.

Remove from the oven. Crush the banana chips into large chunks and stir through the warm oaty mixture along with the blueberries and goji berries.
Leave to cool before storing in an airtight container.Eat in bed from a mug using a teaspoon – go on try it!

Click here for more info on WTSIM

Cheesecakeless

I'm sorry to say that if you have come here in the hope of finding some yummy cheesecake pops from this months Daring Bakers challange you will be dissapointed.
I fully intended on making them, I really did, but what with being away with work, having people to stay and then travelling home for my birthday... whoosh the month has gone and I never managed to make them.
I promise to do better next month.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

It’s my 21st birthday today and so for the Monday Munchers this week I wanted to try and bake something fun and a bit different. Somewhere in the back of my mind was an idea of baking cake in ice cream cones and then decorating them to look like ice creams. I think I probably got this idea from another blog, but I can’t remember which one. I baked one on its own to start with, to determine how full I needed to fill the cones with the cake batter. The cones I used had a little ridge in them, about an inch from the top, and this turned out to be the perfect measure of where to fill them up to allow the batter to rise to the top during baking.

It’s important to use flat bottomed ice cream cones, as they have got to stand up while you bake them. I wanted to make a choice of flavours and so made a plain sponge batter and then divided it in half and flavoured one half lemon and the other chocolate. Once baked the chocolate ones were topped with a layer of dulce de leche caramel and a whipped chocolate cream. The lemony ones were topped with lemon curd and a lemon and white chocolate cream. I also added sugar sprinkles for a fun party touch.

The cones turn a little chewy after being baked, but are still crisp and sturdy enough to hold the cake and stand unsupported. I was really please with how they turned out and they really did look like ice creams, although my chocolate ones must have been in the sun too long as they look a bit melted! (I didn’t beat the cream stiff enough before piping it on). I loved all the different tastes and textures you could get in one bite – creamy topping, sweet gooey sauce, fluffy cake and crisp wafer cone.

They are a bit messy (yet fun) to eat and after the first bite it’s a good idea to spread some of the topping down the side of the cake for ease of eating or else you might end up squishing your nose it in! They were a hit at work and were a novel twist on the traditional birthday cake with a fun party feel.
Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
For the plain batter
110g butter
100g caster sugar
110g self raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 eggs
12 flat bottom wafer ice cream cones

For lemon cakes (1/2 plain batter mix)
40g lemon curd
Zest of ½ lemon
For lemon topping
150ml double cream
60g white chocolate
1 tbsp lemon curd
6 tsp extra lemon curd
Sprinkles to decorate

For the chocolate cakes (1/2 plain batter mix)
2 tsp (10g) cocoa powder
For the chocolate topping
150ml double cream
60g dark chocolate
6 tsp dulce de leche (caramel/toffee sauce)


Method – plain batter
Preheat the oven to 175C.
Place 12 ice cream cones in the wells of a muffin tin and set to one side.
Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and beat again.
Sift in the flour and baking powder and beat until well incorporated.
Divide the cake batter equally into two bowls.
Flavour the batter as you wish and bake for 18-22 minutes until risen and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Leave to cool before topping.

For the chocolate cakes
Sift over the cocoa powder and beat well, adding a drop of milk if needed.
Spoon into 6 of the ice cream cones, but leaving a 1 inch gap at the top to allow rising.
Once cooked, spread a teaspoon of the dulce de leche over the top of each of the cakes and top with the chocolate cream.

For the chocolate cream
Heat the cream gently until it begins to simmer but not boil.
Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate and stir until smooth.
Leave to cool before whipping into a thick cream.
Pipe onto the tops of the chocolate cakes.


For the lemon cakes
Add the lemon zest and lemon curd and beat well.
Divide between the 6 ice cream cones leaving a 1 inch gap.
Once cooked, spread a teaspoon of lemon curd over the tops of the cakes and top with the lemon and white chocolate cream.

For the lemon cream
Heat the cream gently until it begins to simmer but not boil.
Remove from the heat and pour over the white chocolate and lemon curd.
Stir until smooth.
Leave to cool before whipping into a thick cream.
Pipe onto the tops of the lemon cakes and decorate with sugar sprinkles.

Makes 12 cone cupcakes

Mini Walnut Cake Pies

A few weeks ago I read a post on Bake or Break about mini pecan pies in the form of cupcakes. They looked great and I was so intrigued by this pie/cake combo that I decided to try them out for myself.

I halved the recipe as I didn’t want to make too many and as I didn’t have any pecans to hand I substituted walnuts. The recipe came together in a flash and I was excited when they went into the oven. They came out looking like miniature pies but with a slightly spongy top. I decided to let them cool in the tin for a while as they looked a little fragile, but I think I left them too long as they got quite stuck. Thankfully most of them made it out of the tin intact.

I’m not sure if I undercooked mine, but they still had soft and sticky centers, definitely more pie than cupcake but by no means a disappointment. They were very sweet but this worked well with the buttery walnuts and as they are quite small they didn’t come sickly. They were a hit with friends and I loved how quick and simple they were to put together, no messing around with pastry required and yet you end up with yummy little pies.

Mini Walnut Pies
Recipe from Bake or Break blog
Ingredients
115g walnuts
55g plain flour
200g soft brown sugar
140g butter
2 eggs

Method
Preheat oven to 180C.
Grease a muffin tin with oil and set to one side.
Finely chop the walnuts and melt the butter.
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix well.
Fill each well ¾ of the way full with the batter.
Bake in preheated oven for around 18-20 minutes.
Allow to cool for only a few minutes before removing from the tins.
Great eaten hot or cold.
Makes 8 - 10

Chilli Chocolate Muffins

I really like muffins. I love there soft and tender texture and their tall puffed up appearance, almost as if they are trying to burst out of their cases with self importance. However, you may have noticed that there are very few muffin recipes on this blog, for even though I love muffins, they do not love me, or rather they do not like being baked by me. More often than not I end up with a hard dense rock, a flat muffin with a crispy top or just cake. After trying quite a few recipes over the years I admitted defeat and accepted that I was one of those people that just couldn’t bake muffins.

All that changed when I happened upon a recipe for dark chocolate muffins on Baking Bites. They just looked so perfect, that I was longing to eat one and decided it was time to give muffins another shot.

I had been asked to make something using chilli and chocolate for the Monday Munchers this week and so decided that not only was I going to try making muffins, but that the muffins would come back with a kick.

I kept the muffin batter plain chocolate but added a little chilli powder and also stirred through some chunks of chilli chocolate to provide little pockets of spice. I tried to follow all the rules I have learnt about muffin making e.g. not over mixing the batter and allowing a few clumps to remain etc. Yet I was apprehensive when it came to filling the muffin cases as the batter looking a little thinner than I was expecting but I went ahead and baked them.

I didn’t dare look in the oven until the time was up and when I opened the oven door I couldn’t believe the tall muffins that greeted me. They had high domes and soft tops and smelt amazing. I kept expecting them to collapse while they were cooling, but they stayed standing proud.

They were very chocolaty and had a closely knit and tender crumb attributed to a muffin. The thing that pleased me most was how they didn’t develop a hard dry surface, but stayed soft and moist. The chilli flavour was quite subtle, but left a nice warm sensation in the back of your throat. Next time I may try using melted chilli chocolate in the muffin batter for more of a kick.

If you are in need of a good muffin recipe then use the one below and hopefully your muffin hunt will be over. You can of course leave out the chilli and use plain chocolate for a normal muffin. Thanks Nic for the recipe.

Chilli Chocolate Muffins
Adapted from Baking Bites blog
Ingredients
125g dark chocolate
110g butter
230g plain flour
100g soft light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp chilli powder
2 large eggs
165ml buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g chilli chocolate

Method
Preheat oven to 175C.

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Melt together the butter and dark chocolate either in the microwave or a small saucepan.In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, chilli powder and baking powder.
Make a well in the center and the add eggs, buttermilk and vanilla extract.
Give a quick stir and then pour in the melted chocolate. Fold everything together using a large spatula until all the ingredients are incorporated. It’s ok for a few lumps to remain.
Chop the chilli chocolate into chunks and fold into the batter.
Divide the batter between the paper cases, filling three-quarters full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.Allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire wrack to cool.
Store in an airtight container until required.

Makes 12-14

An Award and A Six Word Memoir

Firstly I would like to thank Gigi for awarding me a ‘E for Excellence’ award. Thanks Gigi, I’m really touched.

I wish to pass the award on to Naomi from Straight Into Bed Cakefree And Dried. She has an amazing gluten free blog full of delicious and creative recipes. Her wide knowledge and use of alternative flours always amazes me.



I was recently tagged by Johanna from Green Gourmet Giraffe for a Six Word Memoir. This involves trying to sum up my personality and capturing the essence of ‘me’ in just 6 words. It’s a lot harder than it sounds. Below are my six chosen little words.

Bake-aholic
Passionate
Creative
Optimistic
Backwards
Thoughtful

I am now passing the challenge on to six other bloggers who have to write six words about themselves, pass the tag on to six others and link back here.

Meeta of What’s for Lunch Honey?
Jen of Milk and Cookies
Pixie of You Say Tomato I Say Tomato
Naomi of Straight Into Bed Cakefree And Dried
Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms
Deborah of Taste and Tell

Gingerbread & Date Cake

I started out planning to bake a date and ginger cake, but as always, I tweaked with the recipe and this cake was the result. The cake itself requires very little added fat as the main binding ingredient is a boiled date mixture. This not only adds a great flavour but also provides a wonderful stickiness which goes hand in hand with the ginger. By substituting wholemeal self raising flour for the white flour stated in the recipe and adding oats in place of breadcrumbs give it a lovely wholesome and slightly toasted/nutty flavour. I also included a little crystallized ginger for extra spice.

I had a little slice of it warm with custard when it was straight out the oven after lunch and it was gorgeous, warming, spicy and fruity. I had a little bit later on that night and was a bit disappointed that it seemed a little dry. I wrapped it up and left it until the following evening when I was overjoyed to discover it had developed a sticky surface and become quite moist and slightly dense but without being heavy. So it seems as though it ages like a traditional gingerbread, getting better with age. If you don’t want to eat it straight away as a hot pudding I would strongly recommend keeping it for 1-2 days before eating.

I consider this cake to be relatively healthy, quite low in fat and full of fibre from the wholemeal flour, oats and dates. You could almost justify it for breakfast.

Gingerbread & Date Cake
Ingredient
45g butter
120g caster sugar
180g wholemeal self raising flour
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
2tsp ground ginger
15g crystallized ginger
225ml water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
125g dates (stone removed)
50g raisins
60g rolled oats

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease a deep 8inch/20cm round tin and set to one side.
Chop the dates into small pieces and add to a small saucepan along with the water.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and then add the bicarbonate of soda. Stir while the mixture bubbles and froths up.
Allow to cook for 3 minutes until the dates have turned mushy and then remove from the heat.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the egg and beat again.
Add the flour, baking powder, and ground ginger into the bowl. Pour the date mix, water and all, over the top and stir until all combined.
Chop the crystallized ginger into small pieces and stir though the batter along with the raisins and oats.
Spread into the greased tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and springy when pressed.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the tin and cooling completely.
When cool, wrap in cling film and leave for 24hours – 2 days before eating for best results. (Although can be eaten straight away, when warm and served with custard).