Snickers Cupcakes.

It was Ryans birthday yesterday & he's a tad partial to a snickers so I used that to inspire my latest cupcake experiment.

The base is a simple chocolate cupcake, with a caramel centre added once it had cooled.
Over this I piped a simple chocolate butter cream, (1:2 ratio of butter to icing sugar & cocoa powder & a tbsp milk) as well as Peanut butter frosting (recipe is HERE). I then added a little bit of edible gold shimmer.

Lessons I learnt:-
When piping with 2 frosts together they have to be of the same consistency to pipe evenly. My chocolate frosting was a bit soft & the peanut butter was a bit too stiff so the chocolate came out a lot faster.

Gold shimmer is a pain in the bum! I need to find a way to sprinkle it on without it falling in clumps, some sort of very fine shaker maybe. I did try brushing it on but the chocolate frosting kept sticking to the brush.

The Result:-
Everyone loved them though I think they were a little too chocolatey and needed more peanut butter.
I love the peanut butter frosting & shall have to use this again.

Chocolate Marmite Cupcakes

I first heard of these on the Wright Stuff, they'd been sent some in to try, and as a lover of trying new & unusual things, a marmite fan (you need to get the 50/50 butter marmite mix right), and of course chocolate, my curiosity peaked.

These cupcakes were on a lot of the big daytime tv shows, in most of the papers & of course social media. You could get the recipe but there were huge complaints that it was confusing, didnt work etc. Then I saw on twitter a link to an article about how a blogger had invented the ORIGINAL recipe, but wasnt getting any acknowledgement for it (you can read the article HERE) so off I went to look at her recipe & order the ingredients.

I started off making 12 basic chocolate sponge cupcakes. While these baked I mixed a tin of caramel condensed milk with 2 teaspoons of marmite (I had checked the day before with @MsMarmiteLover, the lady whose recipe I was using as a guideline, if using the ready made caramel would work just as well as the homemade) ... I then checked it, expecting a salty addition to the flavour. Nope, no salt, but a richer, slightly less sweet caramel flavour with a very slight marmite after taste, I think I was only getting that after taste because I knew it was there.

Once the cupcakes had cooled I removed a cone shaped amount from the centre of each & added some marmite caramel before putting the cone back.

I then followed Kerstins (@MsMarmiteLover) recipe for chocolate marmite ganache, though I used milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate,  & Marmite caramel cream cheese frosting, I had huge problems with the frosting, it was far too runny to pipe, even with more icing sugar added.....  I usually have these problems with cream cheese frosting. As my kitchen was very hot I put it in the freezer for a short time which helped a bit.

I found I'd only got 1 piping bag left (I use disposable ones as I'm lazy), so spooned the 2 toppings into it, scrapping one kind on the one side, and the other on the opposite side.

The ones at the top are plain chocolate cupcakes, the marmite ones are the bottom 2 rows. See how my piping has improved :D

The verdict:
They tasted like rich chocolate caramel cupcakes, once you think you can taste a hint of marmite & try to pinpoint it it disappears. Of course I could have added more for a stronger flavour if I wanted.
The other half (my biggest critic) loved his first cupcake, but when he tried the second he could taste the marmite more which he didnt like. The eldest, a regular marmite on toast eater couldnt taste it at all.

Angry Birds Birthday

Its been a busy couple of weeks with the children being off school where I have got little done in the way of crafting but did manage to sneak in a bit of crafting.

Kai had his 5th birthday which kind of had a Ben 10/Angry Birds theme to it with my makes taking on the Angry Birds theme.
First off....

An angry birds "Happy Birthday" banner using angry bird style writing on angry bird kinda coloured bunting.

Also, an Angry birds cake. Kai likes Asda's sponge cake so I bought a photo cake from there & used that for my base. With it being rectangular & covered in white fondant icing it was perfect to decorate (they also freeze & then defrost REALLY well.
I printed out an angry birds picture, traced it onto greaseproof paper & used that as my template. I could then roll out the fondant icing (I bought ready coloured), put the template paper on top & draw over it with an embossing tool. I'd then remove the template & cut the image out of the fondant before sticking onto the cake with a small amount of water.  It took the best part of a morning but I think it was well worth it.

200 Budget Meals - A review.

I was sent "200 Budget Meals" by Octopus books to review...

What's it all about?
This is a 240 page, colour, recipe book. The blurb on the back reads
"From Soups and starters to suppers and desserts, over 200 delicious recipes for chefs on a shoestring budget
Beautiful photographs and clear instructions make this book perfect for every cook."
It starts with an introduction that explains how to buy the right products, at the right time can help stretch your budget. It then leads onto the recipes, sectioned off under the headings "starters & snacks", "vegetable & salad dishes", "rice & pasta", "meat & poultry", Fish & Shellfish", "desserts"

How did I find it?
I've made several of the recipes from the book & find the instructions very easy to follow. I like how alternatives are given with each recipe so you can alter it slightly. The majority of the recipes are quite cheap to make, though some would be outside of my own budget. The recipes are not only cheap but also all seem healthy as well. There's a good selection of winter warmer type of meals and lighter summer salads, with varying degrees in-between. The majority also take less than 40mins to prepare & cook so great when you have time restraints.

The photos are clear and look appetising without looking too fussy or unobtainable

The recipes I tried were all very tasty, and I would recommend this book for people on a budget looking to try out some flavoursome new meals without wanting too much fuss behind it.

You can find this book on Amazon.co.uk HERE.
Thank you to Octopus books for sending me this book to try out
www.octopusbooks.co.uk

Lemon Souffle

The "Everlasting" part of Delia's "Everlasting" Souffles actually means that they remain light & fluffy after they have cooled ... not that they remain puffed up. I didnt find this out for a while after I had baked them, and after I had already felt a bit down that mine had gone down.

Having found that out I felt a lot better about my lemon souffles & can tell you that for a lemon lover they are DELICIOUS

Mmmmm, a light lemony souffle over a heavier, stronger tasting lemon curd.

I recommend you give it a go, simple to make, & tastes delicious. You can find the recipe HERE.

Chicken Curry

Curry is one of my favourite meals, and I've been hunting, and playing around with recipes to find one that my family will enjoy. It can't be too dry, or too runny, its got to have plenty of both sauce & meat, full of flavour but not too much, have a kick but not too hot ... see what I have to work with!!!

But I think I've found it! Everyone eats it, enjoys it, its healthy and easy to make. I've just got to work out for myself how much chilli pepper to put in to make it the right temp for them .... a bite without leaving the after burn.

So here it is.....

Ingredients:-
1 whole chicken
3 large onions
2tbsp oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
3 large tomatoes, chopped
400g tomato sauce mix
1 medium chilli, chopped
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp corriander powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
yogurt (to taste)
pepper (to taste

Portion off the chicken, remove all the bone & cut into cubes. Of course you could just buy ready cubed chicken, or chicken portions but this is the cheapest way. Its easy, even I can do it!! Theres plenty of tutorials on youtube such as THIS one to help you out.

Fry onions in oil until soft, add garlic, tomato, and spices and cook for a few minutes and then add 4tbsp (60ml) water & allow to reduce until soft.

Add chicken and cook for 10 - 15 mins on a medium heat, then add yogurt stirring slowly, simmer for a further 5-10mins..

Serve. I normally serve mine with rice thats been cooked in the stock from the chicken bones (cover with water, bring to the boil & then simmer for an hour or two before sieving) & a pinch of corriander.

Rainbow Salad

I loooooooooove cous cous, but I'm far more likely to pick up a packet of ready flavoured cous cous & just add water than try flavouring it myself, so its time to start experimenting.

My first try is Rainbow Salad, served with Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients:
250ml vegetable stock
200g cous cous
1/2 red pepper
1/4 green pepper
1/4 orange pepper
2 tomatoes
4 spring onions
200g canned sweetcorn
2tbsp olive oil
1tbsp lemon juice
1tbsp fresh coriander or parsley
Pinch of black pepper
1 clove of garlic (optional)

Pour the stock over the cous cous in a mixing bowl, fluff up with a fork before leaving to stand for 5 mins
Slice the peppers thinly having previously removed the stalk & seeds.
Cut the tomatoes into 1/4s
Slice the spring onions
Drain the sweetcorn & add all the veg to the cous cous.
Put the olive oil, lemon juice, coriander/parsley, black pepper & garlic into a jar & shake to mix it well.
Pour the dressing over the cous cous & stir everything together.
Serve.
I enjoyed it, it was fresh and clean ... next time I wont use Olive oil though, I REALLY dont like the taste of virgin oil
Ryan didnt like it, but it cant have been too bad as he did finish it, if things really dont taste nice he wont finish it, if it isnt to his taste he'll finish it but wont try it again.
Zack didnt like the spring onion in it, so thats easily fixed
Kai fell asleep early, missing out on his tea (He slept straight through till morning, I'm not a mean Mummy who restricts meals to certain times & if you sleep through then tough)

The next day I spread the tiniest amount of mayonnaise onto a tortilla wrap, added a slice of ham, 2 thin slices of cheese & what was left of the rainbow salad.

This made a delicious lunch for myself & the kids, not even a crumb was left.

Pasta Twist & Cheese

Recipe can be found HERE

This is what we made on week 2 on the FEAST bus. Its like a macaroni cheese bake, with a very cheesy topping. The recipe says use breadcrumbs but we used oats that gave it a slightly more nutty taste with more texture.

Pasta Sauce

I tried using the homemade tomato sauce as a pasta sauce as it was

It was rather bland, & definately needed a stronger flavour added so I tried Salami & Mushroom, mmmmmmmm, so much nicer (& rather spicey)
Shall be trying it with sweetcorn & Tuna next.

Mmmmm Quiche Lorraine

I've recently got a boost in my confidence with cooking so I'm cooking from scratch a LOT more. It can be hard to cook healthy meals that all 3 of my lads enjoy, the FEAST bus has helped out quite a bit with this. For those who have asked about the FEAST bus I'm planning on doing a blog post about it either this week if my camera (which Kai tried to take a picture of IN the paddling pool) works tomorrow, if not it will be next week, all shall be revealed.

Currently the papercraft projects I'm working on cant be shown so you'll have a few recipes I've used over the next few days to browse through.

I have cooked Quiche Lorraine twice now for my family & they think its delicious. I do it with a shortcrust base but non on the sides. Its a large quiche which not only does us as a warm tea but also as a yummy lunch the next day, or a couple of days after (it keeps well in the fridge & I personally find it even nicer cold).

first off .... The Pastry

175g/6oz plain flour (plus extra for dusting)

salt

75g/2¾oz butter (plus extra for greasing)

Water

To make the pastry, sift the flour together with a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter until you have a soft breadcrumb texture. Add enough cold water to make the crumb mixture come together to form a firm dough, and then rest it in the fridge for about 30 minutes wrapped in clingfilm.

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

Roll out the pastry on a light floured surface and line a 24cm/9inch well-buttered flan dish (I actually used a spring form cake tin, it worked great).

When cooked the base can bubble & rise a bit ... I dont mind this but if you do line the base of the pastry with baking parchment and then fill it with baking beans. Place on a baking tray and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment and return to the oven for another five minutes to cook the base

Now for The Filling

250g/9oz English cheddar, grated

4 tomatoes, sliced (optional) or a few cherry tomatoes cut in half

200g/7oz bacon, chopped (bacon bits is a cheap, easy product to use)

5 eggs, beaten

100ml/3½fl oz milk

200ml/7fl oz double cream

freshly ground black pepper

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Reduce the temperature of the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
Sprinkle the cheese into the pastry base and add the sliced tomatoes if you are using them. Fry the bacon pieces until crisp and sprinkle over them over the top.
Combine the eggs with the milk and cream in a bowl and season well. Pour over the bacon and cheese. Sprinkle the thyme over the top.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool and set further.

I personally think this far surpasses any I've bought flavour wise, even if I do say so myself :-)

A Canneloni Experiment

My other half made us Spaghetti bolognaise for Tea one evening, knowing I frequently batch cook bolognaise he ensured there was plenty ... did I say plenty? I meant LOADS! I usually freeze the bolognaise in tubs to defrost & use in either lasgna, canneloni or as a meat ball sauce. This time we'd somehow got a tub shortage, where do tubs disappear to? So after racking my brain for a little while I struck upon an idea .... fill each canneloni tube with the bolognaise & then freeze, spaced out on a tray so I can later put them in a tub. I thought that when needed I could take out the required number, defrost, add cheese sauce & bake.

Canneloni on a tray thats been covered in baking paper, ready to freeze.

Frozen canneloni transfered to tub for ease of storage.
In the morning I decided it was a canneloni day & took out the specific number I wanted to defrost, woohoo, they werent stuck together!!!! I placed them in heatproof square dishes & left them covered until evening, by this time they were fully defrosted & ready for a cheese sauce. The only problem I had was if there was a crack in the canneloni, when it thawed this opened up even more - only really a cosmetic problem.
Cheese sauce made, poured over, a small amount of grated cheese sprinled ontop before bunging it in the oven.

They were a HIT!!! When cooked the gaps in the canneloni are totally un-noticable, they taste the same as when made fresh - definately a time and waste saving endeavour that I shall be repeating.

Eek Pie

This pie is a great way to use up left over meat, I make one most mondays to use up the roast left overs. & dont let the name put you off, the main ingredient is Leeks which Kai calls "Eeks"

Ingredients:
Glug Oil
500g leeks - chopped
2 veg stock cubes (make up with 2pints water)
2tbsp plain flour (heaped)
1 sheet puff pastry
egg or milk to glaze
Left over meat
2tbsp creme freche/cream/yogurt (heaped)
Pepper (optional)

Method
Add the glug of oil to the saucepan & follow with the leeks. give a quick fry & then turn the temperature down to simmer with the lid on. Leave it to simmer for 30mins, stirring every 5-10 mins to stop it from catching.

Take off the heat & sprinkle the flour over the leeks before stirring in. Add the stock, meat, pepper and creme freche (or which ever you choose) & stir. At this stage you can also add any other veg, herbs etc that you want. Put back on the heat until it boils.

Remove from the heat & strain the juices into another saucepan - this can then be reheated later as gravy &/or soup.

Put the mixture thats in the strainer into a pie/pyrex dish and cover with the puff pastry - you can then tuck in the edges, or cut to fit. Brush over milk or egg & put into the oven - 190°C/375°F/gas 5 for about 30mins, checking towards the end of the cooking time to ensure  the pastry is golden but not going too dark.

Serve up and add the reheated "gravy".

Mmmm, creamy leek soup.

I have tried this so far with bacon, ham, and chicken so far, the ham one being the favourite of my family, but all enjoyed. Its also a fab way to get vegetables into them :)

Altering the type of stock also varies the taste enourmously, This week I boiled the chicken bones & used the stock from them giving the pie a strong chicken taste that almost hide the leek taste.

Caramel Shortbread

WARNING: Turn away if you are on a diet!

This are sooooooo not good for your waste but yummy in the tummy.

Shortbread:

225 g. plain flour
75 g. caster sugar
175 g. unsalted butter

Caramel200 g. unsalted butter
379g. can sweetened condensed milk
4 tablespoons golden syrup

Chocolate Topping
325 g. plain chocolate

brownie tin or similar, greased and the bottom lined with waxed paper

Preheat the oven to 170 C/gas mark 3/325 F

Put the flour and sugar into a bowl and rub in the butter, clumping the dough together to make a ball. Press this shortbread mixture into the tin and smooth it down, I used my sons little rolling pin to do this.

 Prick with a fork and cook for five minutes, then lower the oven to 150 C/gas mark 2/about 320 F, and cook for a further 30-40 minutes until pale golden and no longer doughy. let it cool in the tin.

Melt the remaining 200 g. of butter in a large microwavable bowl, then add condensed milk and golden syrup. Whisk the mixture well until the butter is thoroughly incorporated. Now, I read that you could heat this mixture in the microwave for 6-7 minutes until boiling, stirring thoroughly every minute, however it boiled up & over within that minute. I could only heat it in 15second bursts which meant it took a very long time - next time I'll heat it the old fashioned way over a double boiler.

What a mess!!

It's ready when it's thickened and turned a light golden brown. I found the best way to test it was on a plate that had been in the fridge, like you would jam. If a drop goes solid/ doesnt run on the plate then its ready. Pour this molten toffee over the shortbread and leave to set.

 Melt chocolate and pour over the fudge mixture and leave to cool.

Once set, cut the caramel shortbread into pieces. Makes about 24.

Dinosaur Cake

I think Rainbow Delicious is safe from me nicking any of their customers as my cake modelling skills isnt all that great, lol.

My Triceratops looks more like a fat chameleon or something ....

...but Kai recognised what it was, and was very happy with it, that was the main thing.

Homemade Eclairs / Profiteroles

One of my favourite puddings are Profiteroles and Eclairs, I count them as one as its only really the shape that alters them from the one to the other. They are sooooooooo simple to make but will impress your guests.

Ingredients:
50g (2oz) butter or Marg
60g (2 1/2oz) plain flour (all purpose flour)
2 eggs, well beaten
150ml (1/4pt) water
125g (4oz) chocolate
a small carton whipping cream

Method:

1. Grease a baking sheet and dampen it under a cold tap for a few seconds - place to one side until needed.
2. Cut all the butter and heat it in a saucepan with the water. Sift the flour into a bowl.
3. When the mixture in the saucepan begins to boil take it off the heat & tip in all the flour in one go.
4. Beat the mixture until it is smooth and comes away from the sides of the pan. This only takes a minute or two.
5. Cool the mixture for 5mins then beat in the egg a bit at a time to make a thick, smooth, glossy paste
6. Turn the oven on to 200C, 400F, gas Mark 6.
7. Put teaspoons of pastry on the baking sheet and put in the oven. (for eclairs put the pastry into lines, you could even do this with an icing bag) After 10mins turn the temperature upto 220C, 425F, gas mark 7
8. Bake for another 15-20mins, then peep into the oven. The buns should look puffy and golden brown.
9. Put them onto a wire rack & prick a hole into the side of them to let out steam, otherwise they'll get soggy & collapse.
10. Put the chocolate into a bowl. then gently heat this over a pan of water until the chocolate melts. Stir until smooth & scoop over the eclairs.
11. When the eclairs have cooled make a larger hole in the side and fill with whipped cream - I find this easiest to do with a good quality icing bag with a nozzle on, that way you can just pop the nozzle inside & squeeze the cream in.

Tada, all done & ready to eat!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Zack & I made a curried butternut squash from the Christmas Issue of Jamie Olivers cookery mag, similar to this one. Zack would normally turn his nose up at this type of thing & refuse to eat it but because he did most of it himself he was willing to give it a go.

It is delicious Winter food, warmed us all up, especially served with homemade rolls (the kids shaped them after the bread maker made the dough). There was enough for us to have for lunch the next day as well, it went down really well after walking back from pre-school with Kai.

Different Flavoured Drizzle Cakes

Having mentioned trying different flavoured syrups on Drizzle Cakes before I finally got around to it.

Bottom left is a chocolate cupcake with orange syrup drizzled over and topped with orange icing.
I made the syrup by melting sugar with freshly squeezed orange juice.
I came up with this idea after Carmen mentioned wanting to try orange drizzle cake.
I was hoping for a choccy orange taste but all we got was a very moist chocolate cake, it was lovely but I wanted it to have an orange taste to it, which it didnt. Next time I'll add orange zest to the cake mix

Bottom right is a chocolate cupcake with vanilla syrup drizzled over and topped with chocolate butter-icing.
I made the syrup by melting sugar with vanilla flavouring.
This cupcake was rather yummy, a chocolatey taste with a subtle hint of vanilla.

Top is a mocha with cream cake! Its a chocolate cupcake with coffee syrup drizzled over, topped with vanilla buttercream icing and a light dusting of cocoa powder.
I made the syrup by adding warm water to coffee granules before heating with sugar until it turned into syrup.
This was my favourite cake. It had a lovely mocha taste, with the "cream" topping making it feel rather indulgent.

Special Treat Breakfast Rolls

The talented Debbie showed how to make these Special Treat Breakfast Rolls & I just had to have a try.

I initially forgot to add the icing which it needs for that lil bit of sweetness. They are absolutely gorgeous!! definately a nice change to mince pies and went down well with my children as well. Simple to make, look rather more complex & taste divine! These are going to become a Christmas regular at ours.

Gifted Food Hampers

I totally forgot to take photos of my finished hampers, all but one which was hurried as I'd got minutes to wrap it before its recipients were due to arrive

Heres the one for my older bro & his other half - they have a fire so I put scented firecones instead of mince pies.
As baskets are usually so expensive I used a cat litter tray from poundland, brand new so nice & clean ;-p & they look just like draws, or deep trays.
Inside is firecone scented firelighters , Shortbread, Blackberry & Eldberry Jam, Chutney, Elderflower Champagne, Raspberry Vinegar and Gingerbread men. I would have liked time to add more, or even present it better but time got away from me.

Raspberry Vinegar

I grew up being given watered down Raspberry Vinegar when ever I had a bad cough - it cut through the phlegm, and left a warmth that I now tie in with being comfortable & cozy on a dark winters night.

My nan always would make my Mom a bottle for the family and as the one who suffered the most with bad coughs I probably had most of it.

Since my nan died over 5 years ago I havent had any so I decided to use her recipe this year to make my own and not only use it myself but include it in the hampers I'm making for my brothers families.

To each pound (lb) of  raspberries add 1pint of malt or wine vinegar and allow to stand for 4 days.

I used frozen raspberries but fresh ones give a much stronger flavour.

Strain through a fine sieve (do not press the fruit)

To each pint of strained vinegar add 4-5 oz of sugar.

Simmer for 10mins.

Allow to cool and bottle in sterilised bottles

You may recognise 2 of my bottles as being from a well known brand that I drink way too much of, to make them a bit more christmassy I cut red foiled paper into a circle and then placed over the bottle top, securing with an elastic band and finishing off with a bow of green rafia.

I have recently found out that raspberry vinegar is delicious as a dressing for salad, over vanilla ice cream, and also combined with oil and poured over carrots before roasting them.

To use as a cough drink dilute like you would cordial - not advised if you have a stomach ulcer.

I've frozen the pickled, left over fruit until I've worked out what I can do with it, its a pickled raspberry mush ... anyone any ideas?