Violet Cream Cupcakes

Both my mum and I are huge fans of Rose and Violet creams. We usually buy each other a box for birthday and Christmas presents. Dark chocolate covering rose and violet flavoured centres. Yummy!

The supermarket we visit on holiday in Spain sells rose jam and violet jam (made in France). Two years ago I used the rose jam to make Turkish delight cupcakes. In May I bought a jar of violet jam this time with a view to using it to make a cake for my mum's birthday. I decided not to make a cake though as violet is a unique taste and not one everyone likes, so I decided to make cupcakes instead and I only made 6. I baked chocolate cupcakes using my devil's food recipe but flavoured it with violet flavouring (I bought it in Lakeland).

I filled the centres of the cupcakes with the violet jam then topped with plain buttercream coloured purple. I decided not to add any flavouring to the buttercream as there was enough violet flavour in the cupcake batter and jam. 

If you really can't stand violets or can't get your hands on the jam, this recipe works perfectly for any jam you'd like in the centre of your cupcakes. You could even use marmalade and flavour your cake batter with orange essence. Lakeland sells loads of different flavourings you could use.

The recipe here makes 12 cupcakes 

50g cocoa powder

100g dark brown muscovado sugar

250 ml boiling water

125g soft unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

225g plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2 large eggs

15-20 drops of violet flavouring 

--------

250g very soft butter

500g icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 170c fan.

Put the cocoa and dark muscovado sugar into a bowl and pour in the boiling water. Whisk to mix, then set aside. 

Cream the butter and caster sugar together, beating well until pale and fluffy then add the violet flavouring.

Measure the flour, baking powder and bicarb together in another bowl, and set aside for a moment. Add 1 egg to the creamed butter and sugar, followed by a scoopful of flour mixture, then the second egg. Keep mixing and incorporate the rest of the dried ingredients for the cupcakes, then finally mix and fold in the cocoa mixture, scraping the bowl well with a spatula.

It's a runny batter so I used a spoon to fill the muffin cases until 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean then leave to cool reading for filling and frosting.

You can now make the buttercream. Beat together butter and icing sugar until combined then beat for a good 5 minutes until it lightens in colour. If it's too stiff add a splash of milk. Then mix in some purple colouring (I use gel colours)

I have a cupcake corer (check me out!) so I used that to take the middles out of the cupcakes. If you don't have one just use a knife to cut the centres out. Fill each cupcake centre with the jam then pipe each one with buttercream.

Happy birthday Mum!!xx

Cocktail win!

Lucky lucky me won a competition. I don't win competitions (since then I've won two other competitions lol) but this one was one to put a massive smile on my face.

I'm a huge cocktail fan and through a like and share on Facebook through Independent Sheffield, I won one of each of the new cocktails on the menu at The Wick at Both Ends.

"Oh I bet you've only won 4" says hubby. But then the list came through. 11! 11 lovely cocktails to try. 

I won the competition in April but it was only this last weekend that I got chance to try them. Myself and husband hit town with my friend L to work our way through the list, before my friend P came to complete the list. Now I must add here that it was strongly advised that I alone should not drink all 11 in one evening. I could come over various visits or share with friends. But the 4 of us did manage all 11 in one evening.

The list:

So how to tackle the list? As the first to arrive I hadn't given this much though so plumped right into the middle of the list and ordered a The Beet Goes On. With beetroot, whisky, lemon, sugar and egg white this is definitely a unique cocktail and one you should definitely try but only if you like beetroot juice. The warm smoky undertones from the whisky were a nice highlight to this drink. A great start, I really enjoyed this cocktail. It was definitely the most refreshing of the night too.

What next? Hubby and L got in on this round and we ordered 3. 

Sloe Down Dear. Hubby had his eyes on this one. Sloe gin, blackberry liqueur, Apple and cranberry juices with lime and fresh mint. This was one of our favourites. Fruity without being overly fruity, a nice refreshing easy drinking cocktail 

I chose the Purple Haze. Tequila, absinthe, vimto, mint and lemon. A mojito with a twist. This was like vimto on steroids 

L had the Vanilla and Black Pepper Spiced Julep. Without a doubt the strongest cocktail we had that evening. Buffalo trace, black pepper, mint, vanilla syrup and lime. Corrr that's strong!

Next round!

Piña Colada for hubby. Who doesn't like this drink?! Very very creamy, very very tasty 

For me an Absinthe Minded. Absinthe, cherry heering, cherry syrup, lemon and sugar. I watched this being made and not happy with the straw taste test, the girl making it adjusted it accordingly. This reminded me a bit of a cherry bakewell with a marzipan top. And the little cherries on top were yummy

A big gin fan, L had a Negroni Rose. Gin, St Germain, Lillet Blanc and Campari. Bitter sweet tasting, refreshing. This was one of L's favourite 

Next round and my friend P arrived. The last 4 cocktails. I decided I should have the most expensive on the list so had the Boheminan Like Me. Pampero, Myers dark rum, absinthe, Mozart liqueur, hibiscus, chocolate bitters, green chartreuse and a chocolate and absinthe truffle. I was expecting this to be sickly but it wasn't at all. Very strong tasting, can't liken it to anything. A really unique tasting drink. 

Hubby had the Dandelion & Burdock Old Fashioned. Tequila, dandelion and burdock bitters, grapefruit and chai tea syrup, this was his favourite. Tasting a bit like brandy with a kick of that unique dandelion and burdock taste. 

The final drink for L, very creamy and rich but delicious tasting was the Rhubarb & Custard. Vodka, rhubarb and apple with custard, strawberry and popping candy. A sweetie in drink form. 

And the last drink, maybe the creamiest of the night was the Custard C.R.E.A.M. 

Vanilla vodka, caramel, half & half and biscuit mix with lots of cream and a custard cream on top. Definitely one not to drink if you're on a calorie controlled diet. 

What a way to finish off the list!

A huge thank you once again to The Wick At Both Ends and Independent Sheffield. We had a fab time working through the list. It surely was an amazing prize to win. I can't wait to go back to sample the other cocktails on the menu 

Cornflake tart

A request I was not going to say no to, particularly as I would get a chance to try some of this school dinner classic. Who doesn't remember eating cornflake tart?

Easy to make with just a few ingredients, this chewy syrupy tart is a delight for all. You can cheat and buy the pastry to make this recipe even easier but this is a really simple recipe to make with super tasty results.

Ingredients:

220g plain flour

100g cubed butter (fridge cold)

1 egg

--

110g golden syrup

30g sugar

80g fridge cold butter

100g cornflakes

110g jam

To make the pastry, put the flour and butter in a food processor and pulse until it resembles crumble/breadcrumbs. Add the egg and a little water and mix together until it starts to form a dough. Don't let it get too sticky so careful with the water. Bring together in clingfilm and chill for 20 minutes 

Preheat oven to 200/180c fan and roll out the pastry. Line a 23cm tin and prick the base with a fork. If you having baking beans, line the tart with baking paper and fill with the beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the beans and paper and bake for another 5-8 minutes until the base is golden.

While the tart case is baking, melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a large pan then take off the heat and stir in the cornflakes. 

When the tart case is cooked, spread the jam across the base of the tart then spoon on the cornflake mix and pat down so it's flat on top.

Bake for 5 more minutes until the mixture is set. Devour!

Rhubarb jam

I can't believe I've never made jam.

Well technically that's a lie, I once made sweet chill jam but that's more savoury I guess. Well I wouldn't personally spread it on toast. 

With my last batch of rhubarb (until I collect more) I thought I'd try having a go at jam. I now own a digitial food thermometer which made things easier though you don't need one to make this recipe. I got a large jar, medium jar and small jar from this batch

Ingredients 

450g jam sugar 

450g fresh rhubarb

2 balls of stem ginger in syrup (optional) 

1 lemon

You need to prep the rhubarb in advance and it needs at least two hours to soak into the sugar but you could also leave it overnight. Chop the rhubarb into 2cm pieces and place in a bowl with the sugar, ginger, zest and juice of the lemon. Stir together then leave loosely covered for at least two hours. Stir every half an hour or so to speed up the process.

When it's ready, the sugar will have dissolved slightly and there should be juice in the bottom of the bowl. Tip into a pan and heat on a medium heat until the sugar has all dissolved. Put two saucers into the freezer (you need these to test the jam for setting point). Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the fruit has cooked down and gone soft. 

Raise the temperature so it's boils. If you have a food or sugar thermometer, pop into the jam and test the temperature. You need it to read 105c as this is the point at which jam reaches it's setting point. It actually took longer to reach 105 than I thought so if you don't have a thermometer keep it boiling higher than you think it needs. 

When it reaches 105c or you think it's ready, put a small blob into one of the saucers that's in the freezer and leave 30 seconds. Then use your finger and push it. If it wrinkles the jam is ready. If not then keep it boiling and try again.

Leave the jam for a few minutes off the heat then pour into your sterilised jars and put the lids on and leave to cool. 

Eat as you wish!

Spiced rhubarb loaf cake

Yes yes more rhubarb. Why the heck not. Last week tart, so this week cake. Loaf cakes are one of my favourite things to make and the addition of mixed spice and ginger makes this lusciously warm. Serve cold or even better warmed up with cream or custard. 

Ingredients:

140g butter or margarine 

100g dark brown sugar 

2 tbsp golden syrup 

300g self raising flour

2 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground ginger 

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 eggs

250g rhubarb

Preheat the oven to 180/160 fan and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin. Boil the kettle and chop the rhubarb info 1cm pieces.

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and butter for a few minutes until lighter in colour. Beat in the syrup. Add the bicarbonate to 200ml hot water and mix in with the flour, mixed spice and ground ginger. Finally beat in the eggs and stir in the rhubarb. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. If it's browning too much on top, pop a little foil hat on top.

Rhubarb & custard crumble pie

Say what? Rhubarb and custard and crumble and pie? All together?

Oh yes!

Rhubarb and custard, a match made in heaven (well it is to most, I hate custard). Throw on some crumble and you've got a pretty perfect dessert. If you like rhubarb, which sadly many don't. What these people are missing out on!

So this recipe combines the best of both worlds; pie and crumble. You can substitute the fruit with any other that can be baked. Oh I'm dreaming of an apple version or a raspberry version. Mmmmmmm.

Make it, go on you know you want to!

Ingredients

Pastry:

225g plain flour

120g butter

80g caster sugar 

1 large egg

Milk

Pie filling:

275g fresh rhubarb 

100g golden caster sugar 

1 large egg and 2 yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp plain flour

150ml single cream

70ml milk

Crumble topping:

50g butter, melted

50g golden caster sugar

50g oats

1/2 tsp ginger 

Prepare the pastry and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes or make the day before. Either by hand or in a food processor, crumble the butter and flour together. Add the egg and sugar and enough milk to bring together. Go easy on the milk. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate.

Chop the rhubarb into 1-2cm pieces and pop in a pan with half of the sugar. (50g) Cook until the sugar has just dissolved, then leave until ready to use (I prepped mine the day before with the pastry). 

Preheat oven to 180/160 fan and roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Pop into a 24cm fluted tin ensuring there are no gaps and it comes up to the top of the sides (it shrinks slightly on baking). Prick with a fork and line the tin with greaseproof paper. Fill with baking beans (I use old dried lentils) and bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and paper and bake for 5 minutes more. Turn up the oven to 200/180 fan.

In a bowl, mix together the egg, yolks, the other half of the sugar, flour and vanilla essence. Then mix in the cream, milk and any juices from the rhubarb.

Dot the rhubarb pieces around the part cooked pie pastry and pour over the custard mix. 

Bake for 20 minutes until a skin has formed. While it's baking mix the topping ingredients together then spoon onto the top of the part cooked pie and cook for a further 15 minutes. There should be a very slight wobble when it's baked, any more and you need to keep it baking longer.

Remove from the oven and serve warm with cream or ice cream. Or just on its own. Enjoy!

Chocolate and cherry hot cross buns

A couple of weeks ago I saw that Tesco are now selling chocolate hot cross buns. They smell amazing so I thought I'd have a go at home.

Mine didn't turn out as expected, my dough was too sticky because I added too much milk, but they tasted lush to me. Especially with biscoff spread on top instead of butter. Despite not being as expected I'll make them again!

Ingredients

225g plain flour 

1 teaspoon salt 
25g butter/margarine 
7g sachet fast action dried yeast 
40g caster sugar 
15g cocoa powder 

1 level teaspoon mixed spice 
150ml semi skimmed milk
55g chocolate chips 
55g glacé cherries, chopped

Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl and rub in the butter until it resembles crumble. Stir in the yeast, sugar, cocoa powder and mixed spice. Heat the milk until luke warm then stir into the flour mix little by little and bring together into a dough. Knead until the dough is less sticky and more elastic then leave to prove for an hour or until double in size and the dough springs back when pressed.

Add the chocolate chips and cherries to the dough and knead into it. Then split the dough into around 8 pieces and roll each into a ball. Put on a greased baking sheet and leave to prove again for 45 minutes (loosely covered with oiled clingfilm).

Preheat oven to 210/190c fan and make the mix for the crosses. Mix 25g margarine with 55g plain flour and 5 tbsp water. Pop into an icing bag and pipe onto each of the buns.

Bake for 15 minutes until turning golden. Cool on a wire rack then tuck in!

And if you have some biscoff in then definitely try it and tell me it's not immense