28 Mar 2014

Espresso Tiramisu Mini Cupcakes


These yummy cupcakes are from Making cupcakes with lola  (the same book that the red velvet cupcakes are from. I used instant espresso powder instead of ground espresso and the coffee taste just was not strong enough so if you do use instant espresso powder double up the quantities and taste the batter/icing and add more if needed! The recipe says it makes 24 normal cupcakes or 48 mini-I used mini gold cases and think I made much more than 48,so you may want to make half the amount listed below...apart from those disclaimers which I thought I would get out of the way,  these cupcakes are great. The sponge is soft and moist with a nice bite from the chocolate chips and the marscapone and double cream icing is really nice -not too sweet and very flavorful,soft and dreamy-I would definitely use it for other coffee cakes too....












Recipe:

400g plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbinate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground espresso
275g sugar
120ml sunflower oil
150 ml plain yoghurt
150 ml milk
2 eggs beaten
200g dark chocolate chips
24 or 48 chocolate covered cocoa beans

Espresso Whip
600 ml double cream
50g confectioners sugar
2 tsp ground espresso
250 g marscapone

Preheat oven to 180◦.
Sift together all the dry ingredients apart from the sugar. Put the sugar, oil, yoghurt,milk, chococolate chips and eggs  into another bowl and whisk well with a balloon whisk. Add the wet mixture to the dry and fold in gently -do not overmix. Divide the mixture between cases and smooth tops. Bake for about 25 minutes for normal cupcake size, less for mini ones, until risen and a skewer comes out clean.Let cool before decorating.


3 Mar 2014

Profiteroles




I have been meaning to post these for an age (like all the other trillions of bakes.....). You really can't beat a classic profiterole and they are so much better freshly made than from the supermarket. They might seem a little fiddly to make but actually its fairly straight forward and this recipe is fool proof! And you could make the choux buns the day before you needed them and store in an airtight container and fill with cream on the day you needed them. Recipe is posted below and is from the Great British Bake Off book. I did find the chocolate sauce a bit dark so you could tone it down by substituting some milk chocolate instead of the dark....







Choux pastry (makes 12 eclairs or 48 profiteroles)

100g plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
75g unsalted butter, diced
3 free range large eggs at room temperature

Put flour onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Put the salt, butter and 175 ml water into a medium-sized pan and heat gently until the butter has melted completely - don't let the water boil and begin to evaporate.Quickly bring the mixture just to the boil, then tip in the flour al in one go.

Remove pan from heat and beat furiously with a wooden spoon. The mixture will look a mess at first, but don't worry - as you beat it it will turn into a smooth, heavy dough. Put the pan back on low heat and beat for about 2 minutes to slightly cook the dough until it comes away from the sides of the pan in a smooth glossy ball.

Tip the dough into a large mixing bowl and leave to cool until barely warm. using an electric mixer (wooden spoon won't give same result) gradually beat in the eggs, beating well after each addition. Add enough egg to make a very shiny and paste like dough that just falls from the spoon when lightly shaken. You may not need the last tablespoon or so of egg because the dough has to be stiff enough to pipe and if the dough is too wet it will spread out rather than puff up.

Use immediately or cover tightly and keep at room temp. Use within 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 200 ◦C. Pipe mounds of dough using a piping bag fited with a 1.5 cm round nozzle. Make them about 3cm wide and 2cm high on the prepared baking sheets spacing well apart. dip your finger in water and pat down any point tips on the choux buns.

Lightly brush with beaten egg. Bake for 15 mins then reduce oven temp to 180◦C . Quickly open and close oven door to get rid of steam and the bake for another 5 minutes. Romveove from oven and make a tiny hole (with a toothpick) at one side to let out the steam. Return the sheets to the oven and bake the profiteroles for a final 3 to 4 minutes until firm. cool on a wire rack.

Cream and chocolate sauce:
cream:
250 mls double cream
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

whisk until firm enough to hold a peak

Chocolate sauce:
100g dark chocolate
25g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons icing sugar
100 ml water

Put all ingredients into a small pan and heat gently until smooth

Just before serving fill profiteroles with cream by piping in through a hole or by splitting the buns in half and drizzle over the hot sauce