New beginnings (and Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes)

I don't know how, but something has changed fast. 

Previously...

Things are plodding along for a while, little things building up at the back of your mind, and then suddenly something big and bad happens. You go through this horrible time and it genuinely feels like the be all and end all. You react like a crazy person; you do things you will undoubtedly regret and cringe at in the future. But you do it anyway because it makes you feel better for a minute at that the time and that minute feels like temporary relief. Then you feel doubly horrendous for not coping with the horrible situation in a dignified manner. But eventually, you realise that you are only human: you have to make exceptions: you were not yourself. You start to morph back into the original 'you'. Once again, you can think clearly before you act, and you understand your own emotions. You begin to see possibilities, instead of that dark abyss. 

When that day comes, I'm willing to bet that it's sunny outside. Jetted blue sky, balmy air, smell-of-suncream - the real thing. Summertime. 

On this day, you may do a number of things:

Listen to music, for one. Undemanding, uplifting music. Ukeleles are very welcome. 

Take photographs of everything pretty and everything not. Even regular stuff is rendered beautiful in the sunshine. 

Pull on a pair of shorts and confidently leave the house with short sleeves. Realise that showing neck-nape is effortlessly cute and decide to get your hair cut short and tousled. 

Read the most unchallenging book you can find. It must defy academia. Beach huts in pastel shades on the front cover, most likely. Every chapter laden with soppy scandals that keep you glued to your garden chair until your face is freckled. 

Make one of those incredibly lazy lunches that can only be achieved and enjoyed on sunny days. Hunks of bread, mustard, corned beef, sundried tomatoes, rocket salad, parmesan. Long glass of fruit squash. 

After lunchtime, consider the remains of the day. The whole afternoon lies before you. Get out your recipe books and choose something to make, to cook, to bake. Take all the time that you need to leisurely create. 

As you have probably guessed, I recently encountered such a day. Either that, or I have far too much time to sit and conjour up how that would really be. 

On said day, I made chocolate cupcakes filled with raspberry cream and drizzled with a white chocolate web. They were adorable to look at and far too easy to eat. Recipe coming soon! 

: )

Banana Fruit & Nut Muffins

Up until recently, muffins were one of my biggest baking nemeses. No matter what recipe I used or how gently I mixed the batter, the end result was always tough, rubbery and stumpy.

However! One day I found the perfect muffin recipe. I felt elated when twelve perfectly risen, bouncy, fluffy, light muffins emerged from my oven. Sad as it may seem, my hands were quivering, I had butterflies flitting around in my tummy, and I could not quite believe it.

So I treasure this recipe - the staple muffin recipe that I will go to for years, adapting the recipe to suit any flavour whim.

I was lucky enough to find two blackened bananas reclining in my fruit bowl, as bananas tend to do. Classic excuse for a bit of baking, I'd say : )

 Banana Fruit & Nut Muffins (makes 10-12)

80g plain flour

80g wholemeal flour

50g porridge oats

pinch salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

50g caster sugar

50g soft brown sugar

1 large egg

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

3 tbsp vegetable/sunflower oil

125 ml boiling water

50 g raisins

10-12 pecan nuts, crushed

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degreees F. Line or butter a muffin tin.

Sift and combine the dry ingredients in a large hole and make a well.

Pour the hot water over the raisins and leave to soak.

Whisk together egg, sugar, oil and mashed banana in a bowl or jug.

Pour into the dry ingredients and mix lightly until just combined and no more.

Pour in the hot water and raisins and fold them in gently. Try not to over mix.

Divide the mixture between the muffin cases/holes and crumble a pecan nut on top of each one.

Bake for around 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Thank You, Tesco!

Tesco has launched a Christmas Cupcake decorating competition and as soon as I found out I simply had to get started on my entry. Despite my tenacious belief that Christmas should not be rushed (this year I noticed the shops getting into festive mode in September! September!)...I made an exception, considering the deadline is 29th November!

Veering away from the idea of snowmen and Christmas trees, I wished to make something really rustic and  reminiscent of a Christmas Wreath. This also meant that I got to have my very first fruit-crystallising experience! I was extremely tempted to dip half the clementine slice in dark chocolate but I controlled myself, for the sake of the cake's appearance. Simplicity all the way!

The sponge is flavoured with clementine zest, cinnamon and cloves and the buttercream icing has a squeeze of lemon juice in it.

Spiced Clementine Cupcakes (makes 6)

2oz butter, very soft

2 oz caster sugar

2oz self-raising flour

1 egg

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp warmed milk

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch ground cloves

1 tsp clementine/orange zest

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C/375 degrees F/Gas Mark 5.

Beat together the butter and sugar.

Add the dry ingredients (sifted) and beaten egg, and beat well.

Stir in the milk and orange zest.

Fill muffin or bun cases about half full and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Have fun decorating the cakes as you wish! (I used lemon buttercream, crystallised clementine, dried cranberries, and golden balls, finished with a tiny snowdrift of icing sugar and ground cinnamon!).

French Fancies

French cakes are the epitome of fairy tea party food. There is something touching about their pale pastel coats and featherlight innards. Fiddly they may be but, with a little patience and a delicate hand, the end result was so rewarding that I could justify the frivolity of the whole idea!

I have sampled their supermarket counterparts many a time, with great childish delight, but it came to me that all you need is a basic sponge cake recipe and a bit of imagination to make your own. I have just adapted a recipe for little lemon cakes from GoodFood magazine (thank you!) and, against usual fondant fancy rule, added a layer of jam (which I think is essential to prevent them being cloying).

I coloured the pink ones naturally using sieved raspberries, which I think gives a much pleasanter flavour than artificial food colouring. I went a bit overboard with the blue colouring (which I discovered you must be extremely sparing with!) as you can probably tell...! But even so, I was really proud of these but, as they are soo time consuming, would probably only make them again for a very special occasion!

French Fancies (makes 10)

4oz butter

6 oz self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

6oz caster sugar

2 eggs

5 tbsp milk (warmed)

zest of 1 lemon and 1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/Gas 4/Fan 160 degrees C.

Put everything in a bowl and beat really well until perfectly smooth. Pour into a square or rectangular baking tin and bake for about 35 minutes.

Take the cake out of the baking tin after resting for only a minute or so or else the corners will turn out like toast!

When the cake is cool, cut into appropriately proportioned squares and then cut each square in half across the middle and sandwich together with jam (I used raspberry but apricot, strawberry or perhaps lemon curd would work well too). Top the centre of each square with a blob of basic buttercream icing (it's a wise idea to put the buttercream in the fridge before using it so that it's firm and easier to ice over).

Now for the fun bit!

Prepare as many different colours of glacé icing as you wish but don't make the icing too runny. Use a teaspoon to dollop some icing on top of the buttercream peak and gently coax it down the corners and the sides of the cake with the spoon. Eventually...(!) you shall end up with perfectly coated little cakes, ready for you to jazz up as you so desire (stripes, chocolate polka dots, sugar flowers...).