Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest, plus 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes total)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Directions
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl; set aside.
Put granulated sugar and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed 1 minute. Add butter, and mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in vanilla and lime juice. Reduce speed to low, and gradually mix in flour mixture.
On a lightly floured work surface, halve the dough. Flatten each half into a 10-inch disk, and wrap each in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Working with 1 half at a time, roll out dough on parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. Cut shapes from dough with a 3-inch flower-shape cookie cutter. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cut a hole in center of each with a 1-inch round cutter. Repeat with remaining disk. Wrap scraps in plastic. Freeze 30 minutes; reroll, and cut.
Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Before serving, sift confectioners' sugar over cookies.
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Monday, 9 January 2012
17: Gingerbread Cupcakes
This is Celia Plender's recipe for gingerbread cupcakes from the Good Food Channel online, which I decided to try tonight - mini ones, in fairy cake cases, rather than in the bigger muffin cases which I've been using for my cupcakes.
For the cupcakes:
150g unsalted butter
150g soft brown sugar
3 eggs
150g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Half teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon milk
For the frosting:
200g butter
50g soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
200g icing sugar
Pinch ground cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift the flour together with the spices. Gradually mix the eggs into the creamed butter and sugar alternating with the flour to stop the mix from curdling. Finally, stir through the milk. Place 12 paper cupcake cases into a muffin tin and divide the mixture between them. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. For the frosting: while the cupcakes are cooking place 50 grams of the butter in a pan with the brown sugar and cook over a low heat until melted. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk and stir to form a thick glossy toffee sauce. Leave to one side to cool to room temperature. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter until smooth, then start to sift in the icing sugar, stirring regularly. Add the toffee sauce and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Add a splash more of milk if the mixture seems too thick - the frosting should be light and creamy. Put the frosting in a piping bag and pipe onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon before serving.
For the cupcakes:
150g unsalted butter
150g soft brown sugar
3 eggs
150g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Half teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon milk
For the frosting:
200g butter
50g soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
200g icing sugar
Pinch ground cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift the flour together with the spices. Gradually mix the eggs into the creamed butter and sugar alternating with the flour to stop the mix from curdling. Finally, stir through the milk. Place 12 paper cupcake cases into a muffin tin and divide the mixture between them. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. For the frosting: while the cupcakes are cooking place 50 grams of the butter in a pan with the brown sugar and cook over a low heat until melted. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk and stir to form a thick glossy toffee sauce. Leave to one side to cool to room temperature. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter until smooth, then start to sift in the icing sugar, stirring regularly. Add the toffee sauce and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Add a splash more of milk if the mixture seems too thick - the frosting should be light and creamy. Put the frosting in a piping bag and pipe onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon before serving.
Friday, 18 November 2011
16: Mary Berry's Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ingredients
50g sifted cocoa powder
6 tablespoons boiling water
3 large eggs
50ml milk
175g selfraising flour
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
100g softened butter
275g caster sugar
Preheat the oven to 180. Grease the cake tins and line with non-stick baking parchment. Blend the cocoa and boiling water in a large bowl, then add the remaining cake ingredients and beat until the mixture has become a smooth, quite thick batter. Divide equally between the prepared tins and level the surface. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until well-risen and the top of the cakes spring back when lightly pressed with a finger. Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and peel off the baking paper. Leave to finish cooling.
This recipe is a bastard to try. I added more selfraising flour after I didn’t get a thick batter when all the ingredients were added, and I wasn’t sure whether the sandwich tins I use for Victoria sponge were deep enough. The recipe book calls for 20cm deep tins! 8 inches! It is getting very poofy in the oven, but does it need to be that deep? I’m pretty sure this is going to become a failure; I’m gonna try the shortbread or the lemon creams again after this; really annoyed but the chocolate smell is delicious.
Icing & Filling
3 tablespoons apricot jam
150g plain chocolate
150ml pouring double cream
To make the icing, warm the apricot jam in a very small pan, then spread a little over the base of one cake and the top of the other. Break the chocolate into pieces and gently heat with the cream in a heatproof bowl set over a simmering bain-marie until the chocolate has melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir the mixture to make sure the chocolate has completely melted. Leave to cool until it is on the point of setting and then spread on top of the apricot jam on both cakes. Sandwich them together with one chocolate fudge on top of the cake and the other in the middle.
50g sifted cocoa powder
6 tablespoons boiling water
3 large eggs
50ml milk
175g selfraising flour
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
100g softened butter
275g caster sugar
Preheat the oven to 180. Grease the cake tins and line with non-stick baking parchment. Blend the cocoa and boiling water in a large bowl, then add the remaining cake ingredients and beat until the mixture has become a smooth, quite thick batter. Divide equally between the prepared tins and level the surface. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until well-risen and the top of the cakes spring back when lightly pressed with a finger. Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and peel off the baking paper. Leave to finish cooling.
This recipe is a bastard to try. I added more selfraising flour after I didn’t get a thick batter when all the ingredients were added, and I wasn’t sure whether the sandwich tins I use for Victoria sponge were deep enough. The recipe book calls for 20cm deep tins! 8 inches! It is getting very poofy in the oven, but does it need to be that deep? I’m pretty sure this is going to become a failure; I’m gonna try the shortbread or the lemon creams again after this; really annoyed but the chocolate smell is delicious.
Icing & Filling
3 tablespoons apricot jam
150g plain chocolate
150ml pouring double cream
To make the icing, warm the apricot jam in a very small pan, then spread a little over the base of one cake and the top of the other. Break the chocolate into pieces and gently heat with the cream in a heatproof bowl set over a simmering bain-marie until the chocolate has melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir the mixture to make sure the chocolate has completely melted. Leave to cool until it is on the point of setting and then spread on top of the apricot jam on both cakes. Sandwich them together with one chocolate fudge on top of the cake and the other in the middle.
15: Peppermint Creams
I'm dubbing these "Peppermint Clouds" because with a small flower cookie cutter, they do look rather like clouds arranged on greaseproof paper. I'm certain they will taste equally delicious if I use lemon essence instead of peppermint flavouring.
Peppermint Creams from BBC Good Food
250g icing sugar
30ml double cream
½ an egg white
Peppermint essence
Green food colouring (optional)
200g dark chocolate, melted
Mix all the ingredients, except the chocolate, to a stiff paste, adding the essence and colour in drips until you have a flavour and colour you like. Roll the paste into a sausage about 4cm across and cut it into thick slices. Neaten into smooth, even discs and dry on a sheet of baking parchment, or roll into a sheet, cut neat fingers and dry. Dip half of each cream into the chocolate and leave to set on the paper. Double dip if you have time. Decorate if you like. Makes 30.
This is the recipe I made, omitting the cream after seeing comments from people who’d already tried it and found that it made the mixture too runny. I struggled with getting the peppermint paste to roll into a sausage, as well, because when I went to slice it, it produced squashed rounds rather than neat discs. In the end I rolled it out with a pin and used a flower cookie cutter to produce cloud shapes out of the white peppermint cream mixture. This had its own problems; the mixture is quite sticky, even with a liberal dusting of icing sugar on the chopping board to produce a ‘floured’ surface! They are currently sitting to dry. I nibbled on some cut off bits and they do taste quite nicely and sweetly of peppermint. Instructions on the essence bottle say to put no more than a teaspoon with 250g icing sugar. I also added a whole egg white to the cream mixture because the second recipe I found (see below) calls for two for less than twice this recipe, and I doubt enough of the icing sugar could have been combined with merely half one egg white. We’ll see how they taste when they’re dry. I’m going to acquire more butter and try lemon melting moments as well; something I can bring into work and share with the girls, as they are by and large quite into baking and cooking and seem like they’d be appreciative.
Lotte Duncan’s Peppermint Creams
450g icing sugar
2 egg whites
Peppermint essence
Food colouring
Dolly mixtures/silver balls/etc for decorating
Sift the sugar. Place the egg whites in a bowl and beat lightly with a fork, just sufficiently to break up the albumen. Add half the icing sugar and stir until well mixed, using a wooden spoon. Beat for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the icing sugar and the essence until the mixture is stiff. You may need to add more icing sugar. Separate the mixture into three and add different food colourings to each. Pastels are nice. Roll out and cut out into shapes - hearts, circles and stars. Decorate with the sweets. Lay the sweets out on sheets of greaseproof paper to dry out. Makes 30-40.
Peppermint Creams from BBC Good Food
250g icing sugar
30ml double cream
½ an egg white
Peppermint essence
Green food colouring (optional)
200g dark chocolate, melted
Mix all the ingredients, except the chocolate, to a stiff paste, adding the essence and colour in drips until you have a flavour and colour you like. Roll the paste into a sausage about 4cm across and cut it into thick slices. Neaten into smooth, even discs and dry on a sheet of baking parchment, or roll into a sheet, cut neat fingers and dry. Dip half of each cream into the chocolate and leave to set on the paper. Double dip if you have time. Decorate if you like. Makes 30.
This is the recipe I made, omitting the cream after seeing comments from people who’d already tried it and found that it made the mixture too runny. I struggled with getting the peppermint paste to roll into a sausage, as well, because when I went to slice it, it produced squashed rounds rather than neat discs. In the end I rolled it out with a pin and used a flower cookie cutter to produce cloud shapes out of the white peppermint cream mixture. This had its own problems; the mixture is quite sticky, even with a liberal dusting of icing sugar on the chopping board to produce a ‘floured’ surface! They are currently sitting to dry. I nibbled on some cut off bits and they do taste quite nicely and sweetly of peppermint. Instructions on the essence bottle say to put no more than a teaspoon with 250g icing sugar. I also added a whole egg white to the cream mixture because the second recipe I found (see below) calls for two for less than twice this recipe, and I doubt enough of the icing sugar could have been combined with merely half one egg white. We’ll see how they taste when they’re dry. I’m going to acquire more butter and try lemon melting moments as well; something I can bring into work and share with the girls, as they are by and large quite into baking and cooking and seem like they’d be appreciative.
Lotte Duncan’s Peppermint Creams
450g icing sugar
2 egg whites
Peppermint essence
Food colouring
Dolly mixtures/silver balls/etc for decorating
Sift the sugar. Place the egg whites in a bowl and beat lightly with a fork, just sufficiently to break up the albumen. Add half the icing sugar and stir until well mixed, using a wooden spoon. Beat for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the icing sugar and the essence until the mixture is stiff. You may need to add more icing sugar. Separate the mixture into three and add different food colourings to each. Pastels are nice. Roll out and cut out into shapes - hearts, circles and stars. Decorate with the sweets. Lay the sweets out on sheets of greaseproof paper to dry out. Makes 30-40.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
14: Bloody Cupcakes!
I both love and hate cupcakes. They are the bane of my existence and empyrean joy when I get them right; equally as deadly as biscuits, made even more so by our oven which sometimes overcooks or undercooks by 20 degrees depending on its mood, they can often be done on the outside and liquid in the middle, or I can't tell until they have had plenty of time and I've cut one open that they are still too soft in their guts. Those blasted elderflower cupcakes - which would never have happened if we hadn't got elderflower cordial so I could make James Ramsden's ice-cream - are a prime example of my difficulty with these tiny sponges. Too little cordial, and I produced perfectly soft and fluffy cupcakes with a faint taste of golden syrup and absolutely no elderflower perceptible. Too much cordial, and they were worthless wet rubbish, so damp that the paper case was wet underneath and so was the hollow in the muffin tin, and they hadn't cooked properly. Paul Hollywood's reproaches about messing with the structure of the cake batter resounded in my ears.
13: Elderflower Ice-Cream and Lemon Biscuits
This was my first real recipe, cut out from the Daily Mail, and excerpted from James Ramsden's Small Adventures in Cooking. It is incredibly simple, but it produces the most rich, fragrantly elderflower ice-cream you can imagine. I think the biscuits could do with more lemon juice than the recipe calls for, why bother adding it if not for a strong lemon taste, but that's up to the individual's taste buds.
Ice-Cream Ingredients
600ml double cream
100ml elderflower cordial
100g icing sugar
Juice of half a lemon
Biscuit Ingredients
100g softened butter
150g plain flour
2 tablespoons caster sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Tip the cream, cordial, icing sugar and lemon juice into a bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. (I did this by hand, but if you're lazy, use an electric mixer.) Tip into an ice-cream tub and leave to set in the freezer for at least 4 hours, or overnight. To make the biscuits, preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Rub the butter into the flour with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, then mix in the sugar and lemon zest with a spoon until it forms a stiff dough. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to about half a centimetre thick. Trim the edges and cut into 12 fingers with a knife and put on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until pale golden and remove. Leave to cool on a wire rack to allow them to crisp up. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
Ice-Cream Ingredients
600ml double cream
100ml elderflower cordial
100g icing sugar
Juice of half a lemon
Biscuit Ingredients
100g softened butter
150g plain flour
2 tablespoons caster sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Tip the cream, cordial, icing sugar and lemon juice into a bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. (I did this by hand, but if you're lazy, use an electric mixer.) Tip into an ice-cream tub and leave to set in the freezer for at least 4 hours, or overnight. To make the biscuits, preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Rub the butter into the flour with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, then mix in the sugar and lemon zest with a spoon until it forms a stiff dough. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to about half a centimetre thick. Trim the edges and cut into 12 fingers with a knife and put on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until pale golden and remove. Leave to cool on a wire rack to allow them to crisp up. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
12: Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Loaf
I didn't have enough butter to make the icing, but it tastes scrumptious all by itself. I had no idea how to achieve the amazing loops of marbling pattern that are apparent in the photograph in 100 Cakes and Bakes, so my cake ended up with blobs and cloud shapes of chocolate and vanilla sponge rather than graceful, patisserie-style swirls, but who cares when it tastes nice? Me, apparently; that's the perfectionist coming out again. This is a very rich cake and I made it in the loaf tin that we use for lemon drizzle cake and lemon poppyseed cake.
Ingredients
225g butter, softened
225g caster sugar
275g self raising flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
Half teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and a half level tablespoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons hot water
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Lightly grease the loaf tin and line wide baking parchment or greaseproof paper. Measure the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, eggs, milk and vanilla extract into a large bowl and beat with a hand-held electric mixer for about 2 minutes, until well blended and smooth. Spoon half the mixture into another bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and hot water together until smooth. Allow to cool slightly, then add to one of the bowls of cake mixture, stirring until evenly blended. Spoon the vanilla and chocolate cake batters into the prepared tin at random, until all the mixture is used up. Gently level the surface with a spatula. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until well risen, springy to the touch, and beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tin. Allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and removing the baking paper from the cake.
Ingredients
225g butter, softened
225g caster sugar
275g self raising flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
Half teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and a half level tablespoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons hot water
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Lightly grease the loaf tin and line wide baking parchment or greaseproof paper. Measure the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, eggs, milk and vanilla extract into a large bowl and beat with a hand-held electric mixer for about 2 minutes, until well blended and smooth. Spoon half the mixture into another bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and hot water together until smooth. Allow to cool slightly, then add to one of the bowls of cake mixture, stirring until evenly blended. Spoon the vanilla and chocolate cake batters into the prepared tin at random, until all the mixture is used up. Gently level the surface with a spatula. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until well risen, springy to the touch, and beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tin. Allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and removing the baking paper from the cake.
11: Paul Hollywood's Easy Cob Loaf
It only seemed fitting to make a Paul Hollywood loaf when I finally dared to face that nightmarish challenge that is bread. Fortunately, it didn't turn out to be as alarming as my anxieties made me think; it is rather boring, mainly waiting while the dough proves twice, each time for an hour, while resisting the urge to peep at it to see if it is indeed rising. "Lazy yeast! Where are the bubbles? Where is the deployed airbag rise I'm looking for?" I have made this twice now. The second time, I left it to prove for longer, so there was a very satisfying puff of air when I 'knocked out' the dough after the first proving, a great deflation like pushing breath out of a plastic bag. The second loaf was much better than the first, which had a thin line of slightly underbaked dough to mar its first-time splendour.
Ingredients
500g strong white bread flour
40g soft butter
12g or 2 sachets fast-action dried yeast
2 teaspoons salt
300ml tepid water (about body temp)
A little olive or sunflower oil
Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the butter. Add the yeast at one side of the bowl and add the salt at the other, otherwise the salt will kill the yeast. Stir all the ingredients with a spoon to combine. Add half of the water and turn the mixture round with your fingers. Continue to add water a little at a time, combining well, until you’ve picked up all of the flour from the sides of the bowl. You may not need to add all of the water, or you may need to add a little more – you want a dough that is well combined and soft, but not sticky or soggy. Mix with your fingers to make sure all of the ingredients are combined and use the mixture to clean the inside of the bowl. Keep going until the mixture forms a rough dough. Use about a teaspoon of oil to lightly grease a clean work surface (using oil instead of flour will keep the texture of the dough consistent). Turn out your dough onto the greased work surface (make sure you have plenty of space). Fold the far edge of the dough into the middle of the dough, then turn the dough by 45 degrees and repeat. Do this several times until the dough is very lightly coated all over in olive oil. Now use your hands to knead the dough: push the dough out in one direction with the heel of your hand, then fold it back on itself. Turn the dough by 90 degrees and repeat. Kneading in this way stretches the gluten and makes the dough elastic. Do this for about 4 or 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy. Work quickly so that the mixture doesn’t stick to your hands – if it does get too sticky you can add a little flour to your hands.
Clean and lightly oil your mixing bowl and put the dough back into it. Cover with a damp tea towel or lightly oiled cling film and set it aside to prove. This gives the yeast time to work: the dough should double in size. This should take around one hour, but will vary depending on the temperature of your room (don’t put the bowl in a hot place or the yeast will work too quickly). Line a baking tray with baking or silicone paper (not greaseproof). Once the dough has doubled in size scrape it out of the bowl to shape it. The texture should be bouncy and shiny. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knock it back by kneading it firmly to 'knock' out the air. Use your hand to roll the dough up, then turn by 45 degrees and roll it up again. Repeat several times. Gently turn and smooth the dough into a round loaf shape.
Place the loaf onto the lined baking tray, cover with a tea towel or lightly oiled cling film and leave to prove until it’s doubled in size. This will take about an hour, but may be quicker or slower depending on how warm your kitchen is. Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan assisted) /425F/Gas 7. Put an old, empty roasting tin into the bottom of the oven. After an hour the loaf should have proved (risen again). Sprinkle some flour on top and very gently rub it in. Use a large, sharp knife to make shallow cuts (about 1cm/½in deep) across the top of the loaf to create a diamond pattern. Put the loaf (on its baking tray) into the middle of the oven. Pour cold water into the empty roasting tray at the bottom of the oven just before you shut the door – this creates steam which helps the loaf develop a crisp and shiny crust. Bake the loaf for about 30 minutes. The loaf is cooked when it’s risen and golden. To check, take it out of the oven and tap it gently underneath – it should sound hollow. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.
Ingredients
500g strong white bread flour
40g soft butter
12g or 2 sachets fast-action dried yeast
2 teaspoons salt
300ml tepid water (about body temp)
A little olive or sunflower oil
Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the butter. Add the yeast at one side of the bowl and add the salt at the other, otherwise the salt will kill the yeast. Stir all the ingredients with a spoon to combine. Add half of the water and turn the mixture round with your fingers. Continue to add water a little at a time, combining well, until you’ve picked up all of the flour from the sides of the bowl. You may not need to add all of the water, or you may need to add a little more – you want a dough that is well combined and soft, but not sticky or soggy. Mix with your fingers to make sure all of the ingredients are combined and use the mixture to clean the inside of the bowl. Keep going until the mixture forms a rough dough. Use about a teaspoon of oil to lightly grease a clean work surface (using oil instead of flour will keep the texture of the dough consistent). Turn out your dough onto the greased work surface (make sure you have plenty of space). Fold the far edge of the dough into the middle of the dough, then turn the dough by 45 degrees and repeat. Do this several times until the dough is very lightly coated all over in olive oil. Now use your hands to knead the dough: push the dough out in one direction with the heel of your hand, then fold it back on itself. Turn the dough by 90 degrees and repeat. Kneading in this way stretches the gluten and makes the dough elastic. Do this for about 4 or 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy. Work quickly so that the mixture doesn’t stick to your hands – if it does get too sticky you can add a little flour to your hands.
Clean and lightly oil your mixing bowl and put the dough back into it. Cover with a damp tea towel or lightly oiled cling film and set it aside to prove. This gives the yeast time to work: the dough should double in size. This should take around one hour, but will vary depending on the temperature of your room (don’t put the bowl in a hot place or the yeast will work too quickly). Line a baking tray with baking or silicone paper (not greaseproof). Once the dough has doubled in size scrape it out of the bowl to shape it. The texture should be bouncy and shiny. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knock it back by kneading it firmly to 'knock' out the air. Use your hand to roll the dough up, then turn by 45 degrees and roll it up again. Repeat several times. Gently turn and smooth the dough into a round loaf shape.
Place the loaf onto the lined baking tray, cover with a tea towel or lightly oiled cling film and leave to prove until it’s doubled in size. This will take about an hour, but may be quicker or slower depending on how warm your kitchen is. Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan assisted) /425F/Gas 7. Put an old, empty roasting tin into the bottom of the oven. After an hour the loaf should have proved (risen again). Sprinkle some flour on top and very gently rub it in. Use a large, sharp knife to make shallow cuts (about 1cm/½in deep) across the top of the loaf to create a diamond pattern. Put the loaf (on its baking tray) into the middle of the oven. Pour cold water into the empty roasting tray at the bottom of the oven just before you shut the door – this creates steam which helps the loaf develop a crisp and shiny crust. Bake the loaf for about 30 minutes. The loaf is cooked when it’s risen and golden. To check, take it out of the oven and tap it gently underneath – it should sound hollow. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.
10: Mary Berry's Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
I made these from the cupcake recipe in Mary Berry’s 100 Cakes and Bakes, a small book that I bought from Amazon alongside some other small books on making cakes, biscuits, biscotti, macaroons and fairy cakes. I adapted it with orange extract and cocoa powder to make the chocolate orange cupcakes and I made a half recipe (six cupcakes instead of twelve) with elderflower cordial to try and produce that sweet, fragrant elderflower taste that is so enchanting. What more could anyone ask for - light, fluffy sponge scented with elderflower? It didn’t exactly work out as I had hoped, although the chocolate oranges were quite successful.
Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
I was doing so well until I put these into the oven without the milk in them. I was really cross with myself when I realised what I’d done. I am currently cooking them and they don’t seem to have done the usual mushrooming effect my cupcakes often do. Update: it was really difficult to blend entirely in the cocoa powder so there weren’t black spots of unmixed cocoa. I also added too much orange extract - half a teaspoon too much - into the buttercream, so to me it tasted a little bitter. There were two teaspoons orange extract, although Mary Berry’s cupcake recipe also calls for half a teaspoon of vanilla extract only. I thought the cupcakes tasted a bit bitter - the sponge was definitely dry, it would have been softer and moister with the tablespoons of milk, and the buttercream was a little bitter with the extra half a teaspoon of orange extract. However, Mum, Dad and Tid have now all had one to try and they didn’t share my objections; I guess that’s my irritating supertaster tongue again, whining to itself about tasting onion buried deep in mince and courgette and stuff like that. Next time I’ll be sure to put the milk in though.
Sponge Ingredients:
100g softened butter
150g selfraising flour
150g caster sugar
3 tablespoons milk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons orange extract
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Put the muffin cases into the muffin tin, so the cakes keep a good even shape as they bake. Cream the butter and caster sugar together in a large bowl. Add the two eggs, sift flour and the cocoa powder over them and beat until a smooth mixture is formed. Spoon evenly between the paper cases. Put into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until risen and cooked through, so a skewer comes out cleanly. Lift the paper cases out of the ten and cool completely on a wire rack before putting on the buttercream icing. If you can get hold of orange chocolate buttons, press them into the buttercream topping.
Buttercream Ingredients:
100g butter
225g sifted icing sugar
Half teaspoon vanilla/orange extract
Beat together all the ingredients to produce a smooth soft buttercream, then smooth over the cold cupcakes; if you can pipe it with a piping bag or syringe, that might produce a neater finish. To make chocolate or coffee icing: add two tablespoons cocoa powder or one teaspoon coffee essence to the butter icing. I used Bournville cocoa in the sponge and in the buttercream, so it might be different with another kind of baking cocoa e.g. Green and Black’s or Cadbury’s. I put a whole teaspoon of orange extract into the buttercream, it might have been less ‘bitter’ if I had only put in half a teaspoon like the recipe called for.
Elderflower Cupcakes (on a half recipe)
I used the same recipe as above, except with halved amounts, so I made six rather than twelve cupcakes. I used three to four teaspoons of elderflower cordial to achieve the tasting; I tried one at first, mixed and then tasted the batter, but the elderflower didn’t come through to me until I had added more cordial, a teaspoon at a time. Everyone’s preference is different. I made these while my dough for the Paul Hollywood simple Cob Loaf was proving (first time around). Unfortunately, when they were cooked, they didn’t taste of elder-flower; you could just about pick it up, but there was a sweet, golden syrup flavour instead. The sponge was perfect, though, soft in the middle and the top crisp and golden; I had to do the same thing as before, turning down the oven once they started browning on the top.
I was going to make them lemon and elderflower cupcakes, but I’m glad I didn’t. You simply wouldn’t have been able to taste anything else but the lemon. I might attempt to make spiced sponge cupcakes later in the week with ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg - or indeed a combination of them all, perhaps allspice.
50g softened butter
75g selfraising flour
75g caster sugar
1 and a half tablespoons milk
1 large egg
3 to 4 teaspoons elderflower cordial
Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
I was doing so well until I put these into the oven without the milk in them. I was really cross with myself when I realised what I’d done. I am currently cooking them and they don’t seem to have done the usual mushrooming effect my cupcakes often do. Update: it was really difficult to blend entirely in the cocoa powder so there weren’t black spots of unmixed cocoa. I also added too much orange extract - half a teaspoon too much - into the buttercream, so to me it tasted a little bitter. There were two teaspoons orange extract, although Mary Berry’s cupcake recipe also calls for half a teaspoon of vanilla extract only. I thought the cupcakes tasted a bit bitter - the sponge was definitely dry, it would have been softer and moister with the tablespoons of milk, and the buttercream was a little bitter with the extra half a teaspoon of orange extract. However, Mum, Dad and Tid have now all had one to try and they didn’t share my objections; I guess that’s my irritating supertaster tongue again, whining to itself about tasting onion buried deep in mince and courgette and stuff like that. Next time I’ll be sure to put the milk in though.
Sponge Ingredients:
100g softened butter
150g selfraising flour
150g caster sugar
3 tablespoons milk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons orange extract
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Put the muffin cases into the muffin tin, so the cakes keep a good even shape as they bake. Cream the butter and caster sugar together in a large bowl. Add the two eggs, sift flour and the cocoa powder over them and beat until a smooth mixture is formed. Spoon evenly between the paper cases. Put into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until risen and cooked through, so a skewer comes out cleanly. Lift the paper cases out of the ten and cool completely on a wire rack before putting on the buttercream icing. If you can get hold of orange chocolate buttons, press them into the buttercream topping.
Buttercream Ingredients:
100g butter
225g sifted icing sugar
Half teaspoon vanilla/orange extract
Beat together all the ingredients to produce a smooth soft buttercream, then smooth over the cold cupcakes; if you can pipe it with a piping bag or syringe, that might produce a neater finish. To make chocolate or coffee icing: add two tablespoons cocoa powder or one teaspoon coffee essence to the butter icing. I used Bournville cocoa in the sponge and in the buttercream, so it might be different with another kind of baking cocoa e.g. Green and Black’s or Cadbury’s. I put a whole teaspoon of orange extract into the buttercream, it might have been less ‘bitter’ if I had only put in half a teaspoon like the recipe called for.
Elderflower Cupcakes (on a half recipe)
I used the same recipe as above, except with halved amounts, so I made six rather than twelve cupcakes. I used three to four teaspoons of elderflower cordial to achieve the tasting; I tried one at first, mixed and then tasted the batter, but the elderflower didn’t come through to me until I had added more cordial, a teaspoon at a time. Everyone’s preference is different. I made these while my dough for the Paul Hollywood simple Cob Loaf was proving (first time around). Unfortunately, when they were cooked, they didn’t taste of elder-flower; you could just about pick it up, but there was a sweet, golden syrup flavour instead. The sponge was perfect, though, soft in the middle and the top crisp and golden; I had to do the same thing as before, turning down the oven once they started browning on the top.
I was going to make them lemon and elderflower cupcakes, but I’m glad I didn’t. You simply wouldn’t have been able to taste anything else but the lemon. I might attempt to make spiced sponge cupcakes later in the week with ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg - or indeed a combination of them all, perhaps allspice.
50g softened butter
75g selfraising flour
75g caster sugar
1 and a half tablespoons milk
1 large egg
3 to 4 teaspoons elderflower cordial
9: Melting Moments
This recipe for melting moments comes from "Biscuits and Biscotti", a small booklet put out by Australian Women's Weekly which contains some fabulous biscuit recipes. I used to see these on sale in the cookery section when I worked at Waterstone's, so it was the obvious first stop when I finally decided to start my own collection of baking books. I also picked up Cakes and Slices put out by Murdoch Books, Cupcake Magic by Kate Shirazi, and Mary Berry's 100 Cakes and Bakes. These melting moments are quite different from Holly Bell's but they look amazing, and when I get around to making them, I'm certain will taste amazing too.
Ingredients:
250g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla essence (or orange?)
80g icing sugar
225g plain flour
75g corn flour
For the butter cream
80g butter
110g sifted icing sugar
Zest of 1 lemon (or half lemon?)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Preheat oven to 170. Beat the butter, vanilla essence and sifted icing sugar into a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in the combined sifted flours in two batches. With lightly floured hands, roll two level teaspoon portions of mixture into balls and place about 3cm apart on baking paper lined oven trays. Flatten slightly with a floured fork. Bake in moderate oven temperature for about 15 minutes or until biscuits are a pale-straw colour. Stand 5 minutes before lifting onto wire racks to cool. Sandwich together with a teaspoon of butter cream to serve. To make the butter cream: Beat butter, sifted icing sugar and rind in a small bowl with electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in the juice.
Ingredients:
250g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla essence (or orange?)
80g icing sugar
225g plain flour
75g corn flour
For the butter cream
80g butter
110g sifted icing sugar
Zest of 1 lemon (or half lemon?)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Preheat oven to 170. Beat the butter, vanilla essence and sifted icing sugar into a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in the combined sifted flours in two batches. With lightly floured hands, roll two level teaspoon portions of mixture into balls and place about 3cm apart on baking paper lined oven trays. Flatten slightly with a floured fork. Bake in moderate oven temperature for about 15 minutes or until biscuits are a pale-straw colour. Stand 5 minutes before lifting onto wire racks to cool. Sandwich together with a teaspoon of butter cream to serve. To make the butter cream: Beat butter, sifted icing sugar and rind in a small bowl with electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in the juice.
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