Tipsy Cupcakes

I haven't given you a new recipe in ages, so here goes.

6oz dried mixed fruit
3 TBspns rum

4 oz SR flour
4 oz wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
5 oz oil
5oz peeled and grated courgette/zucchini (I happened to have some fresh from the garden)

2 oz butter
4 oz icing sugar
3oz double cream,whipped
1TB rum

A good handful of flaked almonds

A couple of hours before you start, soak the fruit in 3TBS rum and a drop of boiling water.Drain but save the liquid.

Then sieve your flours,spices,baking powders.
Add the sugar,fruit and courgette

whisk the eggs and oil, add in 2 TB of the rum liquid from the fruit

Mix everything together and pop into cupcake/muffin paper cases.

Bake Gas mark 4 for around 25 mins.

Mix up the butter,icing sugar, and the whipped cream, add the rum.  Depending on the consistency you can pipe onto the cakes or spread on.

Finally top with a few toasted almonds. You can pop these in a tray and put at the bottom of the oven while the cakes are cooking.

Enjoy!

Xmas Cupcakes

Don't fancy making a large Christmas cake? bit worried about making a large cake? Then these are the cupcakes for you...

90g butter
110g brown sugar
350g dried mixed fruit
65g cherries,chopped
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger

1 large tbspn orange marmalade
2 eggs
2 tbspns brandy

Topping...
2 tbspn brandy
40g butter
1 large tbspn golden syrup
50g flaked almonds
65g cherries, chopped
1 tbspn plain flour


Cream the butter and sugar, till well blended and smooth.

Sieve the flour,baking powder,nutmeg,ginger,cinnamon

Beat the eggs with 2tbspns brandy

Take the bowl containing the butter and sugar, gradually add the contents of the flour bowl and the egg mixture, alternately.

Melt the marmalade a little and add that to the mix.

Finally add the mixed dried fruit and the chopped cherries.

Mix thoroughly.




Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases.

Spoon in the mixture about 2/3 full.



Bake Gas mark 3-4 for approx 50 mins, or until springy. Insert a metal skewer into the middle of a cake and if it comes out clean they are done.

Take another 2 tbspns of brandy and dribble a little over each cake while still warm.

Topping....

In a small pan, melt the butter,cherries,almonds,golden syrup.

Cook through till the butter and syrup are melted and the cherries and almonds are coated

Stir in 1 tbspn of plain flour and mix well.



Spoon a little of the mix over each cake, and pop back in the oven for around 10mins, until the almonds are just starting to go golden.

turn onto a wire rack to cool.




When cool, dredge with a little icing sugar.




enjoy, possibly with a cheeky glass of mulled wine and maybe a little cheese.

Mulled Wine Cupcakes

Mulled Wine Cupcakes...

.... with a chocolate centre and a chestnut butter frosting.

2 cups plain flour
1.5 tspoons baking powder
0.5 tspoons bicarb of soda
0.5tspoons cinnamon
0.25tspoons nutmeg
0.25tspoons ground cloves
3/4 cups of butter
2/3 cups sugar
2 TBspoons orange marmalade
2 eggs
2/3 cups sour cream
2/3 cups mulled wine

Combine the flour, baking powder,soda,and spices.

Cream the butter and sugar.

Beat the eggs with the marmalade and mulled wine

Add the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients to the butter/sugar mix, alternating them and mixing well.

add the sour cream and mix well.




Melt 2.5 oz of dark chocolate, add 2 TBspoons cream and mix well to make a ganache.




Line muffin tin with paper cases, fill to about 1/3 with cake mixture. Add half a tspoon of the chocolate ganache.




Top with the rest of the cake mixture, and bake gas mark 4 for around 25 mins until springy.

when cool, add the frosting.

Approx 12 roasted chestnuts, either roast your own and scoop out the flesh, or buy tinned/vacuum packed.

Blitz them in an electric mixer or processor.
Add 2 oz butter and 4 oz icing sugar and one capful of vanilla essence.
Blitz again. You don't need it to be smooth, just well mixed.

spread a little on each cupcake. this amount is only enough for spreading, if you want to pipe you will need more of the mixture.



Take the bar of dark chocolate and scrape it with a broad knife to get flaked chocolate.



sprinkle over the cakes.



enjoy.

Banana,honey and oats cupcakes

...with a honey and cinnamon frosting.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 bananas, 1 mashed, 1 chopped
4 TBspns honey
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup oats
1tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Cream the butter and sugar.
Add all other ingredients except bananas, mix well.
Add mashed banana
mix well
Lightly stir in chopped banana

distribute evenly between muffin cases, makes approx 10

bake at gas mark 4 for 20 mins.

When cool, make up some frosting.

1/4 cup butter.

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 TBspn honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pipe small gems onto each cupcake.

As always , make a cuppa, kick back and enjoy.

Cranberry and Pomegranate Cupcakes.

1 plain greek yoghurt
2 pots SR flour
1.5 pots of sugar
0.5 pot of oil
2 eggs
1tspn baking powder
3 oz cranberries
2 pomegranates

Empty the yoghurt into a bowl, rinse out the pot and use it to measure the other ingredients.

Add in the flour,baking powder,sugar and cranberries.

Beat the eggs and oil.

squeeze the juice out of 1 pomegranate, add to the eggs and oil

Add the wet ingredients to the dry.

It will look alarming purple till you mix it.




Pop into cases and bake gas mark 4 for 15 mins.



Mix 2.5 oz of butter with 5 oz icing sugar, add half the juice from the 2nd pomegrante.

Pipe onto the cakes and top with some of the pmegrante fruit.

Cherry and White Chocolate Cupcakes...with a lime butter frosting.

4.5oz SR flour
1 tsp baking powder
2.5 oz sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 oz white chocolate chips
3 oz cherries

2.5 fl oz oil
1 egg
1 TBspn orange water or orange juice

2 0z butter
4oz icing sugar
1/2 packet of lime Kool Aid

In a bowl mix the flour,baking powder,sugar,cinnamon and white chocolate

In a jug mix the oil,egg and orange, beat till frothy

I couldn't get fresh cherries so used dried. I rehydrated them in a little hot water, then dried them and rolled in a little flour.




Add the oil mix to the dry mix, then stir in the cherries.

Divide into 8 cupcake cases.



Bake at Gas Mark 4 for 20 minutes



Beat the butter,icing sugar and koolaid, add a little milk or cream if the mix is too stiff, then pipe over the cakes. It makes a strong flavoured icing so I only used a little on each cake.

Strawberry Cupcakes

Chop 1 punnet strawberries into smallish quarters,wash

8oz SR flour,
2tspns baking powder
5 oz sugar
1 tspn ginger
5fl oz oil
3 tbspns orange juice
2 eggs
2 small gala apples, peeled and cored
Few digestive biscuits and ginger biscuits

Put apple pieces into food processer and whizz till finely chopped, add dry ingredients, mix.
Whisk oil,juice and eggs, add to other mixture
Drain strawberries, squeeze them ever so slightly, and add liquid to mixture,




Add a spoonful of mix to each cupcake case.

Put 4-5 strawberry quarters in each one, top up to 2/3 level with cake mixture bake gas 5 for 15 mins till firm
Decorate with cream cheese frosting, sprinkle with crushed biscuits and top with more strawberries.

Recipe for you today, these Banana and Peanut Butter cupcakes.

Sounds weird??? well they are really lovely, but you do have to like peanut butter lol


Makes about 8

2 bananas
pinch of salt
1tspn baking power
1tspn cinnamon
2 oz plain flour
2 oz wholemeal flour
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
2 oz butter
3 oz sugar
1 egg




Mash 1 banana, add flours, baking power,sugar,butter,salt,cinnamon,orange,lemon...mix well

beat the egg and then add to dry mix, you may need to add a little milk at this point. use your judgement if the mix is too dry.

chop the 2nd banana, fold into the mixture.

line muffin tins with paper cases and 3/4 fill with mixture.

Bake gas mark 4 for around 15-20 minutes till firm but springy.





turn onto a wire rack to cool...

2 oz butter
4oz icing sugar
4 tbspns smooth peanut butter

mix well together and pipe over the cupcakes.







yummerific!

Recipe for you today...

Orange and Raspberry cupcakes.

1 plain greek yoghurt
2 pots of SR Flour
2 oz ground almonds
1 pot of sugar
1/2 pot oil
zest of 1 orange
2 eggs
1 tspns baking powder
punnet of raspberries
orange water (available in baking section in supermarkets)
5 oz icing sugar

Mix the yoghurt,flour,sugar,almonds and baking powder. (use the yoghurt pot to measure ingredients)

Beat the eggs,oil,orange zest and orange water

Add liquids to the dry ingredients and mix well. Add a little milk if the mixture seems too stiff, otherwise carry on.

Line a muffin tin, and 1/4 fill with mixture. Roll some of the raspberries in flour and add 3 to each cake.





Top up with mixture to about 3/4 full.



Bake Gas 4 for around 20 minutes until firm but spongy.




Once cool, top with glace icing..

5oz icing sugar
2 tspns warm water
2 tspns orange water

Mix well, add more icing sugar if needed to get a thick dropping consistency.

Drop a spoonful onto each cake, swirl the spoon around to get a circle of icing. Top with a raspberry.





EDITED TO ADD... OVEN TEMPERATURE CONVERSIONS.

Hello Wednesday, here we are again. Well dare I say it but my back is ever so slightly better, or rather I am having more good days than bad with it. Still wearing a support when I go out, and still uncomfortable to sit for a long time,especially in the car but it is better than it was. Yay..go team me! Lol

So peekatures, well firstly here are another 2 cards made with the fabby papers and images on Kirstys new cd, please see previous post for all the details.

The first is using the 'Lemony Sherbert' files and the second is using the 'Jemima Cuppycake' files.








Next we have a set of 3 mini canvasses, decorated at our montly art group. I love how we all do the same thing but they always turn out so different.

Last weekend I made strawberry cheesecake cupcakes, inspired by some on my friend Jean’s blog, but I used a totally different recipe lol I a behind with my 52 cakes, I can see December being a cake a day kind of month lol I have bought ingredients this week to do something with plums and a lime jelly cheesecake….watch this space.



Next, my bookcases, finally finished. They now have the top boxes added and all filled up. I got my geek on and catalogued ALL of our books, well just the ones in the living room. We have lots of half sets of books, so now we have somewhere lovely to keep them I a on the look out for the missing books. On Bank Holiday Monday we went to a second hand shop in Alnwick, a long journey for me of 90 mins, but I was all strapped up and managed to get through the day. The book shop was amazing, huuuuge, and I picked up 15 second hand books. I went armed with a 14 page list printed out after the aforementioned catalogueing!

Finally, 2 posts ago I mentioned the tag swap I was in, well my tags from the other girls have arrived, here they are. All very lovely and lots of techniques going on. Just need to think of a way to disply them now. Ideas on the matter appreciated.

...and of course my desk, very untidy, full of the remnants of cardmaking. There are also a pile of doll making books under there and a protype bag made from 12 x 12 and sticky backed plastic .It needs a really good sort, as does the floor which I won’t be showing you as it really is that bad lol

Have a great day, see you all in cyberspace.x

Beetroot and chocolate cupcakes.


4 oz SR flour
1 tspn baking powder
2.5 oz sugar
1 egg
1 small-medium beetroot,grated
2.5 oz oil
1.5 oz of  drinking chocolate
1.5 oz of chopped milk chocolate
few drops of vanilla essence


grated chocolate, chopped nuts,mini marshmallows,flake pieces or giant buttons for decoration

This makes around 8 muffin size cupcakes.

Whisk the oil, egg and vanilla essence.
Sift the flours,baking powder and drinking choc, add the chopped choc, then add the oil mix. Add the beetroot then mix really well to distribute all the ingredients.

Fill the cases 2/3 full and bake Gas 4 for 15 mins or until firm.

Here is the week 4 cake, or rather cupcakes. They are beetroot and chocolate, a tried and tested recipe(many times over ) in this house.

I made this yesterday, well not make as such. The case is a DVD rack from IKEA filled with white DVD cases, on which rest my promarkers. I slipped some colour swatches and names into the spines of the cases, and stuck a coloured sticky heart on the end of each pen. i do plan to decorate the outside of the case too...at some point.

This is where I found the 'how to' Passion for Promarkers

I have just returned from a birthday trip to Manchester and London, it's not my birthday for another 3 days yet, but we could only go last weekend. This is the bag of craft and journalling stuff i took with me lol well a girl has to have something to do inbetween rushing off to gigs and Harrods lol

This was taken just after we came out of the theatre where we watched Les Miserables.

It was a fabulous break away, we saw lots of great stuff and met up with fabby friends.xxx

More cupcakes, I haven't done any papercrafts lately, though I did make a giant snowflake but I gave it away hahaha I have some new baby cards to make, so I shall upload pics of those when they are done. I am also making some new socks. I haven't started on my Christmas cards yet, which is a little worrying, I really must do them.

For now, enjoy these cakes, after all virtual cupcakes have no calories.


christmas pudding cupcakes,


Beetroot,chocolate and orange cupcakes.
Carrot,cranberry and nut cupcakes.




Pumpkin and pecan cupcakes.


Courgette,chocolate and orange cupcakes.