MORE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

If you have been with my cooking blog for a while now you have probably realised that cupcakes are one of my favourite things to make. Today i made some of my chocolate specialty cupcakes but i decorated them a bit differently to usual and thought i would share.

HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES

Hey everyone,
I wanted to share with you the cupcakes which i made for a Halloween party to give you some ideas and inspiration as this seasonal event is quickly creeping up.

I used a basic cupcake recipe which you can check out here. The decorations used were Robert and Gordon papers, black sprinkles, white frosting and black and orange bat sprinkles which were all purchased from eBay.

I think these cupcakes are really cute and a great way to celebrate the seasonal event. A perfect treat to bring to a Halloween party which asks you to bring along some food.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS CUPCAKES

Hey everyone,
So as you probably know by now because it's nearly the end of the month, October was Breast Cancer Awareness month. So inspired by this, i decided to make some very pink cupcakes!

The actual cupcake is very simple to make and i just used a basic recipe which i will include. Where the effort and fun really was is with the icing and decorating. I used frosting, pink sugar, Robert and Gordon wrappers and breast cancer sprinkles. All of these items were purchased from eBay.

Ingredients

200g unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup milk

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced oven. Line muffin or mini-muffin pans with paper cases.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, vanilla and sugar in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition (mixture will separate at this stage). Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir in half the flour. Stir in half the milk. Repeat with remaining flour and milk until combined.
3. For 1/3 cup-capacity muffin pans use 2 level tablespoons of mixture. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes. Alternatively, for 1 tablespoon-capacity mini muffin pans use 1 tablespoon mixture. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Stand cakes in pans for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

UPCOMING: HALLOWEEN AND BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

Hey everyone,

I love themes and holidays so i am excited to give you a little sneek peek of the next two i will be celebrating on here. Halloween and Breast Cancer Awareness cupcakes will be up by the end of the month. I have recently found ebay to be amazing in finding cake decorating supplies so here is a little preview of what wrappers and decorations i will be using for each theme.

Halloween Cupcakes

Breast Cancer Awareness Cupcakes

So as you can tell, i am super excited for my supplies to arrive so that i can make these delicious cupcakes to inspire you guys to celebrate also.

JAPANESE BAKERY FAVOURITES!

Hey everyone,

Something you probably don't know about me is that i am obsessed with Japanese food. Anything from Sushi rolls and Japanese Curry to Edamne and Agedashi Tofu. I think this is partly due to the fact that the ingredients they use consist of some of my favourite foods including; eggplant, tofu, potato, rice, soy sauce, roux and soy beans. Something else that i adore about Japanese food are their desserts! If you are lucky enough to have a Japanese bakery somewhere near you i reccomend checking out the food, you won't regret it! From one of the Japanese bakeries i go to, these two items are my favourite.

 Sweet cranberry bread filled with butter, sugar and cranberries. Garnished with Almonds flakes. 

Plain sweet bread with blueberry jam and cream. Garnished with almond flakes.

I also love Japanese Bakeries Blueberry danish, Coconut plait, Shallot roll, Curry Donut, Chocolate and Lime Platypus' and their sweet rolls/buns/breads.



BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins are super delicious and really easy to make :)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

Blueberry jam

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder.
3. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fill muffin cups right to the top and swirl the blueberry jam on the top of the muffin.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Tips:
- Mix in some fresh blueberries throughout the batter mix before cooking for extra blueberry taste.
- Mix the jam through with the batter and instead put a crumble or museli on the top.
- Replace the word blueberry with raspberry or strawberry for a different flavour.

CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRIES

Chocolate covered Strawberries

Ingredients:

Melting Chocolate (type depending on your preference)

Strawberries
Marshmellows
Icing Sugar

 Directions:
1. Melt your chocolate either in a saucepan over the stove or microwave in a bowl.
2. Dip your strawberries in the chocolate.
= SUPER EASY

Tips:
- Add some marshemellows for added sweet.
- Sprinkle with icing sugar.
- When it comes time to serve, add some whipped cream.

- Note i used dark chocolate

STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM CAKE

Strawberries and Cream Cake.

This cake is perfect for when you want to bake something a little different to your usual and basic sweet treats. It is a delicious, strawberry tasting cake with tasty toppings which make it look super cute!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon strawberry flavouring
3/4 teaspoon pink or red food colouring

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottoms of 2 (9-inch) cake pans with parchment paper. Lightly coat each pan with baking spray; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together; set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium-high speed with an electric mixer for approximately 4 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add preserves and then add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl and add vanilla extract, strawberry flavouring and enough food colouring to achieve desired color.

4. Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture and ending with flour mixture. Spread mixture evenly in the prepared tin.

5. Bake on the middle rack of oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

 Tips:
- Decorate with icing of your choice. I used Betty Crocker "Vanilla" Frosting.
- Melt some chocolate pieces in a tiny saucepan and use a piping bag or piping gun to place a design on top of the icing.
- Considering this is a strawberry cake, it's only fitting to put a fresh strawberry on top :)