Christmas Chocolate Mud Cupcakes with Meringue Toffee Frosting Recipe

These cupcakes are a great little treat. They keep well in the fridge and make excellent thank you gifts at this time of year. Our little miss took some to her swimming teachers, some to riding school on the last day, and some to Santa at Ballantynes. The toffee frosting is a lovely light alternative to buttercream. We added strawberries and blueberries to give them a nice cheerful Christmas theme. The cupcakes can easily be made gluten free by using Bakels gluten free flour instead of wheaten flour. 

Chocolate Mud Cupcakes with Meringue Toffee Frosting. 

1/2 cup vegetable oil
250ml cream
50ml espresso
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 and 3/4 cups flour


Preheat the oven to 160 deg. C. Put out 35 small, free-standing cupcake cases onto a baking tray.

Sift the flour and cocoa together and set aside. 
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, cream, espresso, boiling water, vanilla essence, lightly beaten eggs, brown sugar, salt, and lastly the baking soda. 



Add the flour to the liquid and gradually whisk the mixture to combine it. 

Place the mixture into a jug to make it easier to pour into the cupcake cases.








The cupcakes rise quite a lot, so only half fill each case with mixture.  











Bake for 25 minutes until well risen. The tops should bounce back when pressed. Allow to cool completely before decorating with the toffee frosting.  

Meringue Toffee Frosting

175g granulated sugar

1 tablepoon liquid glucose

40ml water

3 egg whites. 

Separate the eggs. Reserve the egg yolks for another recipe. Beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Not so much as the whites start to look dry, just stiff enough to stand up when the beater head is raised out of the mixture. 

Put the sugar, glucose and water into a small pot over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring and boil until the toffee reaches 145deg. C on the sweet thermometer or until it's a light brown colour. 

With the beater running, dribble the toffee into the beaten egg whites a little at a time. The egg whites will start to look glossy, then turn a nice thick toffee colour. Be very careful with the hot toffee! 

Working quickly before the frosting sets, use a piping bag and star nozzle to pipe rosettes onto each cupcake. If you don't have a bag and nozzle, just use a knife to spread a generous amount onto each one. 

Top each cupcake with a quarter of strawberry and a couple of blueberries. Any summer fruit will do. 

Store the frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge. 

I got a super cute and practical cupcake holder box from a $2 store in the mall - definitely worth getting for easy transportation.  

Happy baking everyone, and a very merry holiday season to you all xxx 

Shortbread shapes for the lunchbox

It's getting to that time in the school term when lunchbox filling inspiration starts to wear thin. Sometimes the biscuit choices of 6 year old's can be a little fickle, so I was more than happy when our Little Miss settled on a shortbread making project. 
This is a recipe I make often. Most people appreciate the fruit and nut variation, but this time I decided on adding a little chia. The chocolate is a concession to our Little Miss. 

Fruit, Nut and Chocolate Shortbread Shapes

255g butter
115g icing sugar
115g flour
115g custard powder
115g cornflour
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chopped preserved ginger
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons chopped cranberries
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 tablespoons white and dark chocolate buttons
a beaten egg white 

Preheat the oven to 150deg. C and line a large baking sheet

Cream the butter and icing sugar until pale and fluffy.

Sift the flour, custard powder, cornflour and salt.

Fold the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar and turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap.

Chill for half an hour. 

Prepare the ginger and walnuts by slicing them into chunks.

Roll the shortbread out between two sheets of plastic food wrap. 

Gather your selection of biscuit cutters and press out as many biscuits as will fit on the shortbread. 








Place the biscuits onto a lined baking tray. 


Gather up the off cuts and re-roll them between the plastic. Continue to cut the biscuits until all the mixture is used up. 






Beat the egg white until fluffy. 

Brush onto each biscuit and sprinkle with the toppings. I combined the cranberry and chia, and the walnut and ginger. Little Miss arranged hers with chocolate drops and mini teddies. 

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. They will brown a little where they have been glazed. 

Little Miss was very happy to take a little parcel of biscuits to both her classroom and ballet teacher. Happy baking xx

Decadent Chocolate Brownie with Roasted Winter Fruits

As the chill rolls around again, its time to take advantage of two good things of the season: decadent puddings and cheerful winter fruits. Here's a good idea for combining the two.

Decadent Chocolate Pudding with Roasted Winter Fruits

For the brownie:

250g good quality chocolate - I used Whittakers 72% Ghana
250g butter
1 and 3/4 cups brown sugar 
4 eggs
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 180deg. C. Line a 22 x 30cm or similar baking dish with baking paper. 

Place the butter and chocolate into a large heavy based saucepan and melt over a low heat. 

Take from the heat and allow to cool a little. 

Add the sugar and mix well, followed by the eggs. Mix the eggs in well using a whisk. 

The mixture will be thick, smooth and glossy. 

Sift the dry ingredients together. Slowly stir into the chocolate mix until well blended. 

Place in the lined baking tin and bake for 35 minutes until set, but still fudgy in the middle. 

Allow to cool in the tin. The brownie can be reheated in the microwave - about 15 seconds per piece will do the trick. 

For the roasted fruit:

3  or 4 granny smith apples
6 stalks of rhubarb
3 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 200deg. C and line a baking sheet with baking paper.




Peel the stringy skin from the rhubarb by starting from the cut end and pulling it away from the length of the stalk using a paring knife. Cut into 10cm lengths.

Peel, quarter and core the apples. Toss them, and the rhubarb in the brown sugar. Spread the fruit out on the lined baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes until tender. 









We served our brownie and winter fruit with whipped cream and ice cream. 

Mrs Murray's Chocolate Chip Biscuits

This recipe was given to me by a great friend of our family, Anne Murray. It's perfect for when a bulk bake up is required for family, friends or even fund raising efforts. Anne often makes a batch each for her sons and their families. 

I've made this lot for my family at the farm. Hamish and Emily are busy shifting stock, feeding out and break fencing, and Mum and Dad are caught up in the nightmare that is earthquake repairs. You'll need a large bowl, a strong(ish) arm and plenty of time to bake each tray to make this quantity. They keep really well in an airtight container, so are perfect for taking away on holiday road trips. Their deliciousness will mean they wont last long anyway.

Anne Murray's Chocolate Chip Biscuits

500g butter
500g caster sugar
395g can condensed milk
5 cups plain flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
250g bag chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 175deg. C. and line a couple of baking trays with paper.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. 

Beat in the condensed milk.

Fold in the sifted flour and baking powder. 

Then fold in the chocolate chips.

Roll into walnut sized balls and flatten onto the baking trays. 

Take care to leave a couple of cm of gap between each biscuit as they will spread during baking.










Bake for 8 minutes. 

The biscuits will brown a little due to the sugar content. 

They come out of the oven soft, but harden once cool. 

Transfer to a baking rack, then repeat with the next tray. 

I think I made about 80. I lost count. They were delicious.

Chocolate Ganache and Summer Fruits Cake for Charmaine's Birthday

 

We've been lucky enough to spend a few days with my sister Charmaine and her partner Brenna . It's become a bit of a tradition at this time of year. Little Miss 4 loves spending time in Dunedin with Auntie Char Char and we all get to share her birthday celebrations. Last year I made her Sophie Dahl's gluten free chocolate cake, this year I thought I would try Annabel Langbein's Ultimate Chocolate cake. It came highly recommended after Charmaine tried it at a recent wedding. With all this great summer fruit around it was an easy choice to team the cake with boysenberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries and plums. I used Charmaine's super vintage kitchen equipment to make her cake. I'm not sure how old her Kenwood mixer actually is, but I'm sure it can't be far off the first model. I stayed at the apartment to make the cake while the girls kept LM4 amused at the Dunedin Museum butterfly house.  

Annabelle Langbein's Ultimate Chocolate cake with Chocolate Ganache and Summer Fruits, served with a spiced Plum Compote 

3 cups self raising flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
200g butter - softened
1 cup milk
3 large eggs
1 cup boiling hot coffee - I used 3 shots of espresso topped up with boiling water

Preheat the oven to 160deg. C and grease a 25cm spring form tin - that's the type with the clip on the side and the bottom edge that interlocks with the base.

The original recipe just combines all the ingredients in a mixer or food processor and mix or blitz until well combined. Since I was using such a geriatric beater, I decided to stage the mixing a little. I started by beating the butter, sugar and eggs together.







Then I added the sifted dry ingredients, mixed a little, then adding the milk and coffee and beat until it was well mixed.










Place in the prepared tin and bake for about an hour until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.










My cake peaked and cracked a little so I trimmed the crusty bits from the top. The chocolate ganache will cover up any imperfections. 

Leave to cool in the tin for about half an hour before releasing the sides of the cake tin and inverting the cake so the base can be removed. I loosened the base with a knife. Leave the cake to cool completely before decoration or the butter cream will melt.



Chocolate Ganache

250g dark chocolate - I used Whitaker's  70% cocoa solids
250mls cream

Break up the chocolate and place it into a large bowl. Heat the cream until just beginning to boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate.



Stir until it is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to set before decorating the cake.










Boysenberry Sauce

1 1/2 cups fresh boysenberries
4 tablespoons sugar

Cook together in a small pot stirring constantly until the mixture is juicy. Now squash the berries using a folk. Cook for a few minutes more then put aside to cool.





Boysenberry Butter cream

5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons icing sugar
4 tablespoons hot Boysenberry Sauce 

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Add the hot boysenberry mixture and beat again until the mixture is light and fluffy.

It should be smooth and creamy, not curdled. Test the flavour and add a little lemon juice if it lacks tartness. Put aside until you're ready to decorate the cake.





Spiced Plum Compote

2 cups plum halves with stones removed
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
a few pieces of fresh lemon peel
the juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon





Make a syrup from the sugar, water, lemon peel and juice. Boil the syrup for a few minutes before adding the plums. Simmer for no more than 4 or 5 minutes then take from the heat and leave to sit with the lid on until they are needed.

To decorate the cake you will need the Ganache, boysenberry sauce and butter cream and an assortment of summer fruits. We added candles, and LM4 insisted we include a cocktail umbrella as she considers them awesome, especially after Brenna made her a tropical drink with one.

Slice the cake into 3  even layers and separate them out.

Place the bottom layer on a serving plate and spread it with boysenberry sauce, followed by the butter cream. place the next layer on top and repeat the process.






Place the top of the cake on and cover it in Chocolate ganache.











Depending on the ganache's degree of setting, it may be possible to just pour it, otherwise spread it with a knife.
 









Now decorate with the fruits. I started with blueberries, followed by cut strawberries, then the fresh cherries. LM4 helped me to put in the candles and umbrella.

We served the cake with the spiced plum compote and ice cream.

Happy Birthday Charmaine! Thanks for sharing your special day with us!

Chocolate Mousse - a recipe for Emily

This recipe has been a family favourite for many years, and a particular favourite of one of my youngest cousins Emily. I usually make this for most of our major family get togethers, and it is always really well received by everyone. The special dishes that family contribute make up the fabric of my memories of our gatherings over the years. We still reminisce over all the things my paternal grandmother made for us. Joan was an absolute star in the kitchen and a culinary inspiration to all her 14 grandchildren. It would have been her birthday in a couple of days; I'm thinking of making some Afghans in her honour - she always made cracking ones.

I got this recipe from CPIT when I trained their over 15 years ago, and I have been making it ever since. It is super rich, so only a small portion will do most people.

Chocolate Mousse

250ml whole milk
300g good quality 70% cocoa chocolate - I used Whittaker's
4 eggs
50g caster sugar
8g gelatine
2 tablespoons Tia Maria liqueur
400ml cream

Separate the eggs and set the whites aside. 

Hydrate the gelatine with a few tablespoons of cold water and set aside to swell. 

Beat the yolks together with the caster sugar until the mixture is pale, light and fluffy. 

At the same time heat the milk in a heavy based saucepan until it reaches boiling point. 

Pour the milk into the yolks and whisk until combined. It is particularly important to add the milk to the yolks: done the other way around the eggs will cook and scramble. 

Clean the bottom of the pot and transfer the eggs and milk back into the pot. 

Using a spatula gently heat the mixture, stirring it constantly until it starts to thicken. 

If you think its getting to hot too quickly take it from the heat for a minute or two and continue to stir. Don't allow the mixture to boil or the custard will curdle. 

Once the custard coats the back of the spoon remove it from the heat and set aside. 

Heat the gelatine and water in the microwave in short bursts until it is melted. Stir it into the custard. 

Melt the chocolate. I usually do this in a Pyrex bowl in the microwave: put it on for 30 seconds, then stir and repeat once. Now stir until the last of the chocolate lumps have melted. Don't overheat or the chocolate will be ruined and don't have the chocolate too hot or it will spoil the custard.

Stir the melted chocolate and the Tia Maria into the custard and set aside to cool. 
The mixture needs to cool until it is at room temperature. 

Beat the eggs whites until soft peaks form and transfer them to another bowl. 

The whites must be beaten in a spotlessly clean bowl or they will not reach their full volume. That's why I beat then first: otherwise I would need to thoroughly clean the bowl after beating the cream.

Now beat the cream to soft peaks and fold in the chocolate mixture.

Now fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture a third at a time. They need to be thoroughly mixed without losing too much of the air the egg whites bring to the mixture.  

Pour the mousse into a serving bowl, cover with food wrap and refrigerate for at least a few hours before serving. 

I put ours into one big bowl, but it looks equally good in individual serving dishes. 

Though it's quite an involved recipe, it is definitely worth the effort. Happy cooking Emily. I'm sure your flat mates will love you for making this one.