Banana & Maple Cupcakes with a Maple Syrup Buttercream

I made these cupcakes for my sisters house warming and they were a hit! Obviously I decorated mine with some melted chocolate but there sure is enough flavour in these treats without any other toppings but the buttercream!

Cupcakes:

3 Eggs
125g Butter (melted)
200g Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Maple Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
4 Overripe Bananas
1/4 cup Sour Cream
1 1/2 cups Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Line cupcake tins with cupcake cases - makes 12.

Beat the Eggs, Butter, Brown Sugar, Maple Syrup and Vanilla with either a hand mixer or electric mixer, it will go thick after about 5 minutes. Now add in the Banana and Sour Cream and mix together.

Sift the Flour, Baking Powder and Cinnamon and then add to the wet mixture.
Mix until combined but be careful you do not over mix!

Separate the mixture into the cupcake cases, about 3/4 full and pop into the oven. They will take about 20-25 minutes. Prick the cupcakes with a knife and when it comes out clean, they're done!

Once cooled (Or the mixture will slip off!), ice the cupcakes with the buttercream either by piping or spreading on.

Maple Buttercream

125g Butter (very soft)
1/4 cup Maple Syrup
1 to 1 1/2 cups Icing Sugar
Splash of Vanilla Essence

If you are wanting to pipe the icing on, I recommend 1 1/2 cups of Icing Sugar to ensure the piping will hold its shape.

Beat all the above ingredients together with an electric mixer until well combined and the mixture is smooth. If you really want an extra KICK of maple flavour, add a tablespoon or 2 extra!

MMmmmmm YUM!! Enjoy x

Cherry Cola Cupcakes

I love taking a simple recipe and jazzing it up a little! It's the best way, I find, to create something new and exciting with a great classic!

For the Cherry Cola Cupcakes I have literally taken my favourite chocolate cupcakes and added some chopped up glazed cherries and 1 Cup of Cherry Cola.

With the icing, I have used a basic vanilla frosting and added raspberry essence, 2-3Tbsp of Cherry Cola and decorated with a glazed cherry and raspberry licorice! 

Enjoy x

A Cup of Tea - Early Grey Cupcakes

This recipe was passed on to me from my bosses partner, she made them for us and they are so delicious!! I have never tasted baking with tea in it and I was pleasantly surprised as to how tasty they are! 

This is a small recipe that makes 6 - perfect for whipping up if a friend is coming over for a catch up!

Ingredients:

100g flour

70g brown sugar

100ml cream

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1 egg

1 tea bag (earl grey)

Method:

Whisk cream and sugar well. 

Add egg and whisk again. 

Add sifted flour, baking powder & tea leaves and lightly stir. 

180 degrees 12 - 15 min

Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding with Banana & Peanut Butter "Ice-Cream"

I made this for dessert last night and as always, the husband was pleased! The Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding is a regular appearance in our house but I try and mix up with something different each time. It tastes great with some fresh berries mixed into the cake mix before cooking! This time round I tried it with a new recipe I found via www.thatssomichelle.com (it is her picture I have used as well - credit where credit is due!) A PERFECT hot dessert for winter that really is quick & easy - Enjoy xx

Mum's Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding:












Ingredients:

1C of Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
2Tbsp Cocoa Powder
3/4C Sugar
1tsp Salt
1tsp Vanilla Essence
1/2C Milk
2Tbsp Butter

SAUCE
1Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/2C Brown Sugar
1C Hot Water

Method:
Melt butter in the microwave and then add all the top ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl - incl the melted butter.
In another small bowl mix together the Cocoa Powder & Brown Sugar.
Sprinkle the Cocoa & Brown Sugar over the batter then slowly poor the hot water over top.
Cook uncovered for 7-8 minutes in the microwave.


Frozen Banana and Peanut Butter "Ice-Cream":

Method:

Chop up the Banana's onto a cookie tray and pop into the freezer. I used 3 Banana's and this made enough for 2 scoops each for my husband & I. Freeze the bananas for at least 2-3 hours. I just did it in the morning before work so they were ready for when I got home.

When frozen, pop the banana's into a blender or use a hand mixer. At first, they will go crumbly but they will start to become ice-cream like texture. YES it is as smooth as the picture looks.

Add in a tablespoon or 2 of peanut butter and mix well.

Put back into the freezer to set for 30mins - and hour.

Serve this with the Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding - my FAVOURITE flavour combo's are anything chocolate, banana and peanut butter so this is a real treat!!

Raspberry & White Chocolate Muffins

What a treat these are! I decided not to fancy them up with a butter-cream icing or anything similar as I used Fresh Raspberries I just wanted them to be simple, wholesome and delicious!! The are so yummy when warm especially with the white chocolate just a melted a little bit!!

Ingredients:

2 1/2C Self Raising Flour

100g Butter, Chopped

1C Caster Sugar

1C Milk

1 Egg, lightly beaten

1C fresh or frozen Raspberries

1/2 Cup of White Chocolate, Chopped

Icing Sugar to dust

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190 degree Celsius and line or oil spray a 12 muffin tin.

Place the flour in a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until well combined.

Add the sugar, milk, egg, raspberries and white chocolate. Mix until just moistened. Spoon into the muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes. Stand for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

Dust with Icing Sugar.

Lemon Brownies

I saw this recipe doing the rounds on Facebook and thought man that sounds easy and delicious so I gave them a go! It really is a one bowl recipe! I ended up using the recipe from www.jennycancook.com and it was just so easy and a real winner with everyone who got to try some!

Ingredients:

1C All Purpose Flour
3/4C Sugar
1/4tsp Salt
1/4tsp Baking Soda
2 Eggs
1/4C Plain Yogurt
3Tbsp Canola Oil
Zest 2 Lemons
2Tbsp fresh Lemon Juice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a square pan with foil leaving the sides over-hanging for "handles"

Put all the ingredients listed about into a bowl and stir by hand until smooth

Spread the batter into the pan evenly and bake for 20mins

Cool in the pan for 10mins and lift out onto a flat surface.

Top with Glaze (see below).

Glaze:

1C Icing Sugar
Zest 1 Lemon
2-4 Tbsp lemon juice

Put the Icing Sugar and Lemon Juice into a bowl and add the lemon juice one tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes - 2 Ways!

I found this chocolate cupcake recipe while looking at Salted Caramel Cupcakes. They are so delicious and moist! I made a batch of 24 (doubled the recipe below) and iced half of them with a Salted Caramel Icing and the other half with a Peppermint icing - DELISH!

Chocolate Cupcakes:

1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder

1 Cup Boiling water

1 1/3 Cup All Purpose Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Salt

125g Butter

2 Large Eggs

2 tsp Vanilla Essence

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius and line muffin tins. OR as I did - cook in a cupcake baker! I love mine and they cook the cupcakes perfectly!!

In a small bowl, stir together cocoa powder and boiling water until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder & salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix until all incorporated. Stir in the vanilla.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined. Add cooled cocoa mixture and mix until incorporated.

Spoon into muffin cases and bake for around 18-20 minutes.

Caramel Buttercream:

225g Butter

2tsp Vanilla Essence

1tsp Salt

1/3 Caramel sauce

3 cups Icing Sugar.

Beat the butter until smooth then add the vanilla, salt and caramel. Beat until combined. Add icing sugar until desired texture is formed. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes and then drizzle with some extra caramel sauce.

Peppermint Icing:

25g Butter

Cold Water

Peppermint Essence

Icing Sugar

Yellow & Blue Food Colouring

Melt the butter completely and add to it the peppermint essence and icing sugar. Still until the butter has been mixed in then add the water until the desired consistency is achieved. I don't use a set amount of icing sugar it just depends how much I am making which is why I add the water last. Add the food colouring to make it a Pepperminty green :)

Buffalo Chicken Dip - My hubbys fave!

This meal is going to make the man in your life melt! The first time I made this for my hubby he had nooo idea what I was cooking but was AMAZED when he tasted this!! Now, he's always asking for it!

Perfect for an evening of sport with a beer or on a Sunday night with a fresh salad when you both just feel like sitting on the couch and picking at something yum!!

You need:
1 pottle of Cream Cheese
400g Shredded Chicken
HP Sauce
Tomato Sauce
Sweet Chilli Sauce
BBQ Sauce
Grated Edam Cheese
Ranch Dressing

About an hour before you want to cook this, put all the shredded chicken in a bowl and coat with the sauces (not the ranch yet!!)! I use the HP sauce the most!! Make it nice and saucy :-)

Use an oven proof baking dish and spread the pottle of cream cheese on the bottom. Add the saucy chicken on top then sprinkle with grated cheese and a bit of ranch dressing.

Bake at 175 degrees for about 25-30mins

Serve with corn chips and a salad! YUMMMM!!

Custard Fruit Tarts!

These were just some little treats I whipped up for my husband!

All I used was store bought short crust pastry, rolled it out and cut it into circles then blind baked it in muffin tins for about 15-20mins.

Let cool in the tin, remove & fill with vanilla custard and top with fresh or tinned fruit. I've also put some marshmellow frosting on a few but freshly whipped cream would be delish!!

Apple Crumble & Cinnamon Cupcakes with a Marshmellow Frosting and Dulce deLeche Caramel

These cupcakes I put together/designed myself! I had a craving for a Apple & Cinnamon recipe but really wanted to try this Marshmellow Frosting I had came across so I decided why not make a dessert cupcake?!
This creation is a basic Apple & Cinnamon Cupcake recipe topped with a rolled oats crumble then once almost cooled I topped them with a Vanilla Marshmellow Frosting and Dulce deLeche Caramel - DELISH!

CUPCAKES:

2 Cups Plain Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
3/4 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
2 Medium Apples (the original recipe said Granny Smith but I just used Braeburns)
125g Butter
2 Eggs
3/4 Cup Milk

Preheat oven to 180°C. Prepare your ingredients. 

Sift the plain flour, baking powder and cinnamon together into a large bowl. The baking powder acts as a raising agent and will help give the muffins a light texture. Stir in the brown sugar and apples until well combined.
Whisk together the butter or margarine, eggs and milk until well combined. Blending the wet ingredients before adding them to the flour mixture makes it easier to evenly combine the two.

Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a large metal spoon until just combined. It is important that the ingredients are only just combined. If the mixture is over-mixed, the cooked muffins will have a tough texture.

Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin pans and sprinkle with the Crumble Topping (recipe below)

Bake the muffins in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. To test if they are cooked, insert a skewer into the centre of one - if it comes out clean, it is ready If not, cook for a little longer before testing again. When cooked, remove from oven and stand for 2-3 minutes before turning onto a wire rack. Letting them stand makes them easier to remove from the pans. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 day.


CRUMBLE TOPPING

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon of cinnamon, mixed spice, or flavour required
3/4 cup brown or white sugar
75 g cold butter (cubed)

Mix the top 4 ingredients in a bowl then add the butter and rub in until it is a crumb like mix. You can also do this in a processor but I find doing it with your hands works just as well and doesn't take long at all!


MARSHMELLOW FROSTING

1 Cup White Sugar
1/3 Cup Water
1/4 tsp Cream of Tatar
2 Egg Whites
1 tsp Vanilla Essence

In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla to soft peaks - put aside.
In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbly.
Gradually add the sugar mixture while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 10 minutes. 


Pipe the Frosting onto the cupcakes once almost cooled and then top with the caramel sauce of your choice!
I use the Dulce de Leche from this website http://www.dulceas.co.nz/dulce-de-leche/dulce-de-leche-milk-caramel-3.html - it's just sooo yummy!!!

Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies

This recipe is from one of my favourite and most trusted cook books - Jo Seagar's All Things Nice!

These brownies turned out amazing! So moist and delicious especially when warm... mmmmmm yum!

You will need: 

250g Dark Chocolate Melts or Chips
2 cups Chelsea Caster Sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
3/4 cup flour
1/4 self raising flour
1/2 cup Cocoa
extra 125g Dark Chocolate Melts (chopped)
Icing Sugar to decorate

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Paper line a 20 x 30cm sponge roll tin.
Melt the first measurement of chocolate melts (I use a double boiler but microwave is fine). Beat the caster sugar, eggs and vanilla in a food processor or with a hand held mixer. 
Add the melted chocolate, flours and coca. Stir in the extra chopped chocolate. 

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes until firm. Cool in the tin and cut into small bars or chunks.
Store in an airtight container. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Whittaker's Peanut Slab Cookies

These cookies were my first ever attempt and biscuits and I was very impressed as to how easy the recipe was and as to how they turned out just perfect!

Here is the recipe, it is from the Whittaker's Passion for Chocolate cook book - they have AMAZING recipes inside!


You will Need:

1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 tbsp Golden Syrup
2 tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 1/2 cups Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
3 Whittaker's 50g Peanut Slabs


Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 fan bake). Line a baking tray with paper of lightly spray with oil.

Beat together the butter, sugar, golden syrup, milk and vanilla essence until soft and fluffy. Sift in the flour and the baking powder over the beaten ingredients.

Roughly chop the peanut slabs into chunks and add to the mixture. Mix together with a wooden spoon, then use your hands to form a dough. Roll into walnut sized balls and plane on the baking tray. Flatten.

Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.
Makes 18

 

Baking: Lemon Meringue Pie

This is an AMAZING Lemon Meringue Pie recipe! You may think when you read it that it's long and complicated but trust me, once you've done it once - it's a breeze!

It tastes delicious and is an absolute fave with my husband, what makes it even more impressive is that you can boast about making it all - including the pastry and squeezing your own lemon juice for the filling!

See below for the recipe - I got it from Jo Seagar's book All Things Nice!

Serves 6-8

PASTRY
2 tbsp White Sugar
1 Egg
125g Butter - Softened
1 1/4C flour
pinch salt
1 tsp baking powder

FILLING
400g Sweetened condensed milk
1/2C fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp grated lemon rind
5 egg yolks

MERINGUE
5 Egg Whites
1 1/2C Caster Sugar

First make the pastry base. Beat the sugar and egg in a food processor until pale and frothy. In another bowl, mix together the butter, flour, salt and baking powder and add to the egg and sugar. Process until the mixture clumps together in a ball around the blade. Chill for 30mins, then press into a base and up the sides of a 23cm loose-bottomed quiche or cake tin. Chill again for 30mins, then bake blind for 20-25mins at 180 degrees celcius.

Now to the filling. Mix all the ingredients together and poor into the cooked pastry shell.

For the meringue topping, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually beat in the caster sugar until it is all incorporated and the mixture is glossy. Pipe or pile over the lemon filling. Bake in a low oven (130 - 150 degrees) for 20-25mins until the meringue is firm and crisp. Cool in the tin. Remove when fully cold and serve with whipped cream or ice-cream. Cut with a wet knife and wipe the knife between cute to neaten the slices. - Enjoy xx

SPCA Cupcake Day!

This year I decided to take part in the SPCA cupcake day! I did pre-sales of 4packs and managed to get 49 orders :-) I made $250 and was pretty happy with my effort! I couldnt have done it without my amazing husband doing the spooning if mixture :-) here us a wee collage of how it went!

Baking: Popcorn Cupcakes (Something fun!)

Today I was testing my vanilla cupcakes as I am joining in on the SPCA Cupcake Day fundraiser next weekend!
I decided to try a fun decorating idea that I saw in one of my cupcake books! It looked easy and cute and with the batch turning out perfectly I thought - why not?!

So here you have it: POPCORN CUPCAKES!

This uses vanilla cupcakes, vanilla icing and mini yellow & white marshmellows!

Once your cupcakes have cooled, ice them with the frosting (I still iced mine using a icing syringe in a cone shape) then simply stick the marshmellows all over the top!

Fill up the popcorn container with a teatowel or paper towels and sit the cupcakes inside the top with the tops poking out!

Looks soooo cute I thought :)

Baking: Homemade Alfajores

So I had my first try at making Alfajores - a delicious peruvian treat! They're not too bad but there a few things I'd change for next time though!!

Alfajores are a 2 light peruvian cookies sandwiched together with Dulce de Leche (like caramel - but better!) www.dulceas.co.nz is where I got my jar from! Sooo good on any desert!!

Baking: Caramel Slice - An absolute FAVE!

Possibly the best caramel slice you could ever taste! This recipe is sooo popular with a lot of my friends and is so super easy to make!
And the best thing about it..... it's not sickly sweet like a lot of caramel slice's can be!

This recipe is from Jo Seagars book - All Things Nice,  lots of fantastic recipes in here!!

Chocolate Caramel Slice

Base:

125g butter, softened

¼ cup Chelsea white sugar

1 egg

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon cocoa

Filling:

400g (1 can) sweetened condensed milk (I use highlander)

2 tablespoons Chelsea Golden Syrup

25g butter

½ teaspoon vanilla essence

Chocolate icing:

2 cups Chelsea Icing Sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa

25g butter, melted

Boiling water

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

First make the base. Cream the butter sugar, add the egg and then the dry ingredients. Mix process well.

Press the mixture into the base of a well greased and baking-paper-lined 20 x 30 cm sponger roll tin. Bake for 15 mins. 

While the base is cooking, prepare the caramel filling. Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, for 4-5 minutes until the mixture has thickened and become caramel-like.

Pour this over the cooked base and return it to the oven to bake a further five minutes. Remove from oven a cool completely.

When cold, ice with chocolate icing and cut into squares.

Lastly make and add the icing. Mix the first three ingredients from the icing ingredients list, adding enough boiling water to make a smooth paste. Add to slice.

Baking: NEW MIXER.... EXCITING!!

Sooo not to long ago I got this AMAZING new mixer!! It is a Sheffeild Professional Mixer and is PERFECT for all my yummy creations!

The first night I couldn't resist not making something so just had to make a yummy traditional chocolate cake!

Baking: Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

This recipe is one of the BEST I have made ( My husband will happily agree!!) I found it on Pinterest and just HAD to try it! Here is a link to the actual recipe but I will post it below aswell  - Enjoy xx

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/09/caramel-apple-cheesecake-bars.html

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples:

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup caramel topping

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or 2 forks) until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.

For the streusel topping: 
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. I like to really combine it by using my clean hands to thoroughly combine the butter into the mixture.

Sprinkle Streusel topping over apples. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy!

Baking.... Mums 50th Cake!

I just wanted to share this cake I made - was especially for my mum on her 50th! And yes - I hand made the Elephant myself out of fondant!

It is just 2 simple, moist chocolate cakes - one I added some coffee into! With a delish Chocolate butter cream icing!