Lemon Cupcakes

It’s competition day.  That is, ‘send your child in with cakes for their birthday and out-do all the other mums’ day.  I am mildly competitive.  OK, very.  So adorned in my fav Cath Kiston apron (yes, I have two!) I set about making lemon cupcakes for my son to take into school.  Thier elegance was somewhat dampened by the football cake cases into which they nestled their lemony bottoms, but nevertheless they held their own.

Lemon drizzle traybake

I LOVE lemons….and my son has inherited my hankering for them.  I have always gone for the lemon option on a pudding menu and maintain the lemon flavour is the best one in a packet of Starburst.  My one and only craving in my three pregnancies was…lemon!  Lemon sherberts, lemon tart, lemonade, lemon curd…and today, for my poorly son, lemon drizzle traybake.

FOODIES100 Jubilee Challenge

Foodies100 were throwing down the Jubilee gauntlet to create something bakey and jubilee-ey and also win lots of Dr Oetker stuff to bake even more stuff with!

So, I had a think…Jubilee….Queen….Corgis!

This is my baking effort to celebrate the Jubilee!  Although not (really) for the corgis!

I made vanilla biscuits and then iced them.  Using royal icing I lined the biscuits and then flooded them with runnier icing to fill them in.  They may look like fancy bonios, but I can assure you they were very yummy.  In fact I needed to eat four of them to make sure of this.

To make the biscuits: beat 1 large egg with 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence.  Sift 100g of self raising flour and 350g of plain flour together then rub in 125g of cold diced, salted butter to make fine breadcrumbs. When evenly mixed add 125g golden syrup and the egg mix and form into a dough.  Squish the dough into 2 flat discs and refrigerate for half an hour before rolling out and cutting. Bake at 170ºC for 14-18 mins.  When cooked (just turning golden – don’t overcook!) remove carefully with a spatula and transfer to a cooling rack.  Careful though else they’ll break…

To ice:  I make the line icing by mixing 900g of royal icing with 150ml of cold water.  To colour use a gel and dip a cocktail stick in the dye and then mix in.  Keep going until you get the colour you want, but believe me, it happens very quickly!  Using a fine nozzle and a steady hand, pipe around the cooled biscuits to form an outline.

To make flooding icing you repeat the above but add enough drops of water to make it a smooth mixture with the pouring consistency of custard.  Then with a thicker nozzle, fill in the biscuit until it is fully covered but not overflowing.

Let them set and admire them with patriotic pride!  Then eat them.  And DON’T give them to the dogs!

Easter Cakes

These gorgeous little cakes are the Easter version of my usual vanilla cupcakes. The recipe is simple, and always makes moist, tasty sponge and creamy icing – they taste divine, I promise!
To make the cakes (about 12-18 depending on case size!):
Mix 80g softened unsalted butter, 280g caster sugar, 240g plain flour, 1tbsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt in a mixer until like breadcrumbs.  In a separate jug mix together 240ml full fat milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla essence and 2 large free-range eggs.   With mixer on a slow speed, gently add the milk mixture to the dry mix until blended then give it a quick whizz until the batter is smooth.  
Pour the batter into muffin/cake cases, about 2/3 full.  Bake for about 12-15 mins at 190ºC (170ºC fan oven) but do check according to how your oven bakes!  I turn my trays around halfway through for even baking, but that’s up to you.
Cool on wire rack.
To make the icing:
Mix 500g icing sugar with 160g softened unsalted butter until like breadcrumbs.  Slowly add a mix of 55ml of whole milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla essence.  You can add a drizzle more milk if you like – find the consistency you want.  When the cakes are cool, pipe a swirl of icing on top.  I like to use the Mr Whippy nozzle, but again – up to you!  Decorate with Smarties mini eggs – these are bright and shiny and look great on these cakes.
Eat, enjoy and impress your friends.  Well, your friends’ kids anyway!

Coconut Jam Sandwich Bars

Flicking through The Hummingbird Bakery: Cake Days book I was transported back to school days.  These biscuitty, jammy, coconutty, yummy things kept me going through many a maths lesson when I was at school and I was desperate to make some and see if I could re-enact days gone by.

Judging by the fact I have already eaten four, you will guess that they were every bit as scrummy.  And fairly easy to make.  The only tricky bit would be the meringue, but as I am blessed with a kitchenaid, this was not a problem.

I urge you to try them.  And if this means buying the book, then do so.  It is worth it for all the other delicious recipes that lie within, including the best vanilla cupcakes I’ve come across.