PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

SO.... my obsession with peanut butter continues - not a good thing obviously in large doses, but if you can control yourself in the food department, you are definitely on to a surefire winner here, and doing better than me.

I did make extra for the neighbours - but they've literally vanished - I knock on their door at all hours, so either they are on holiday, or they are definitely avoiding me ... hmmm.

Holly phoned me from school last week, and her obsession with peanut butter is developing nicely.  This was totally her idea, so you only have her to blame when you see the Hayes family featuring on "Too Fat to Fly" (my new favourite programme - something quite comforting eating vasts amount of cake and chocolate whilst watching someone on telly considerably larger than you - the joy!)

We are now on soft food at the moment - Max had his braces put on today, so I must embrace it, as the next time we shall be eating soft food is when my children are watching some underpaid slave in the local nursing home, chuck it at my mouth in the hope that I don't eat into their non-existent inheritance for too much longer..... (They have warned me!)

Anyway, back to the peanut butter cupcakes - TOO RIDICULOULSY GOOD -so here we go.....!

INGREDIENTS

00g unsalted butter - soft
100g crunchy peanut butter
60g smooth peanut butter
220g brown soft sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
150g plain flour
large teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3 fluid ounces milk

ICING
120g smooth peanut butter
120g crunchy peanut butter
100g cocoa powder
60g unsalted soft butter
400g icing sugar
Add milk to get to right consistency
(I added a little cooled melted dark chocolate into my piping bag - but only because it was greedy - you don't have to!)

Turn oven on to 180 degrees, and then using your hand mixer whizz the sugar, peanut butter and butter together until it's all light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, and once all mixed (smell that peanut butter!), then add the vanilla essence. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl and then fold half of it in to the nutty nectar... then add the milk and the rest of the flour.

Pop them into pretty cupcake cases (or in my case cheap supermarket ones, and fill them 2/3rds full... Put the cupcake cases into baking trays with holes in them.  Then, bake in the centre of the oven for about 10 or so minutes (they may need 15 mins, but just keep a beady eye on them)..

Meanwhile, whizz up all the icing ingredients, and try not to eat too much, as trust me, it makes you want to reach for maternity wear.  If you have a piping bag, then you can do magic things on the top of your cooled cupcakes, but if you don't possess one, then just spread it on thickly.

Holly and Mike also made almond and chocolate macaroon's yesterday (the result of too many late nights and too many lazy afternoon's..) I will post them tomorrow .... but didn't want them to outdo me tonight..



Have a good Monday ...

I did do a double take at Tesco's tonight - this should spice up your night!

xxx

PUMPKIN AND CHOC CHIP LOAF

PUMPKIN AND CHOC CHIP LOAF

I know, I know, you are all done with Halloween... and I'm way too late with this recipe - but if you don't have any pumpkin flesh left over for for your seasonal soup, then you can substitute a cup of pumpkin for some variety of squash, and it will taste just as delicious..
Although, for all you Americano's - there is always Thanksgiving to prepare for...
Couldn't post a pumpkin recipe without showing you the carving we did for Max (he's about to have braces next week, so we just thought we'd show him how best to wear them)..

This is a sort of breakfast loaf, but can be eaten as cake for tea, or pudding for after supps, or just snacking in general... (even at 4.30am on a Saturday morning, when you find yourself still talking nonsense).

I made two - one for the neighbours, (kind of wanting it back now), and one for us... thank god that my brilliant cousin and her man, who are eating for 3, appeared impromptu on Sunday morning, along with a  whole host of terribly hungover guests, and finished the remaining crumbs as a pre-amble to bacon, eggs, black pud (all courtesy of the Ginger Pig) - cooked up by THE Mikey Hayes himself.

Being a Halloweeny, Thanksgivingy sort of recipe.. I have measured out the ingredients in cups - so all very easy if you have no scales to hand..

INGREDIENTS

Half a pack of butter (Half a cup)
1 1/4 cup caster sugar
3 large eggs (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pureed pumpkin flesh (or if not - you can buy canned - or use squash)
1 3/4 plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
Half tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin spice (impossible to find - but just mix equal quantities of cinammon, ginger, nutmeg and all spice)
1/3 cup milk
1 cup choc chips (dark or milk)
3/4 cup bashed up walnuts and pecans

Grease a loaf tin (actually this makes two - so obviously one at a time if you only have one).  I put baking paper on the bottom, but if you grease it well, it should be fine..
Turn oven on to 180 deg.
Mix the butter and sugar until all creamy (best with a hand mixer) and then add the eggs slowly, and then the vanilla extract and the pumpkin.
In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and spices.

Blend both bowls of ingredients together, I add the dry to the wet.. but do it slowly, then you can add the milk, the choc chips and the nuts.

If you think it may be a little too runny, I add a bit extra of self raising flour, but I have played about with the quantities, and I think it should be okay.

I mean, seriously, how easy is that? Definitely worth a go..

Pour evenly into both loaf tins, and cook in the centre of the oven for about 50- 60 mins.  Check with a skewer - and if it comes out clean, you know it's done.

Cool for 10 or so mins, and then remove loaf from pan - THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST EATEN HOT STRAIGHT FROM THE OVEN - it's all in the timing I say.

Eaten with or without lashings of butter.

Anyway, I've had a slightly exhausting weekend, half term has come to an end (I mean, it's been weeks) - and I'm thinking of pouring myself an extra large glass of vino to celebrate normality resuming.  If only I had more cake... I must send Mike over to have a serious word with the neighbours,

WHITE CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY BAKED CHEESECAKE

BAKED WHITE CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE

So... with Hugo returning from the Far East last week, and then packed off to begin a whole new chapter of his life on Sunday, I wanted to make him something that I know he loves... so I nicked the recipe from right under my mother-in-laws nose.  Doesn't it annoy you, that as a parent, you can try and try and try, but when the chips are down, all they actually want are Granny's cheesecake, Grandma's roast potatoes, and other Grandma's chocolate puddings? (I know - we are greedy, they have 3 grandmothers)....THEY ARE SPOILT FOR CHOICE, and I have tough competition.

This is simply delicious and it can stay in the fridge for at least 4 days winking at you, and giving you that come-hither look, as it does just get better and better, so best eat it all at once probably, and then you can't be tempted for the rest of the week...

It's also good to know, that if a load of your daughter's unexpected friends descend on your house at 3am on a Sunday morning, it is far better for them to tuck into cheesecake than an array of unheard of cocktails - so always be prepared I say!

INGREDIENTS

900g philadelphia cream cheese (I use the light, just to make me feel better)

2 large eggs

200g melted butter

250g crushed digestives (or chocolate ones if you fancy)

350g raspberries

300g white chocolate chips/buttons

3 tsp vanilla extract

115g caster sugar

3 tbsp cornflour

115ml double cream

Turn on the oven to 180 degrees, then the music and get cooking..

Mix the melted butter and crushed digestive biscuits in a pan, sometimes I add a little golden syrup, just to make sure that the biscuit base doesn't crumble when you cut into it later.  Once it's all mixed, press down in a spring form cake tin (one with a bottom that you can remove... wouldn't that be good), and when you have pressed it down, and it's all compact, then put in the oven for about 10 mins and take out to cool... then turn oven up to 200 degrees.

Mix the sugar, cornflour and philadelphia with a spoon, then if you have one of those hand electric mixers, now's the time to put it to use.  Beat the ingredients on high speed until it's properly mixed, then add the beaten eggs and the vanilla extract.  Now, really slowly, add the double cream until it has become a rather tasty, thick vanilla cream.  If you're not finding it is thick enough, and you are worried, you can add a little more cornflour, but it should be completely fine. So, when you are happy, you can then stir in the choccie chips and the raspberries.  If you like it a little fruitier, you can add a few more raspberries (not too many though!).

Pour onto the base, which should be ready for you on the side, and then put into the oven for around 1 hour.  If it's looking too brown on the top, cover with tin foil for a bit - but just check every now and again, it should be fine.  The way you can tell if it's done, is give it a little wobble - too much wobble means more time.  Or, you could stick a skewer/cocktail stick inside and if it comes out covered with runny hot stuff, get it back in quick..

When you are kind of convinced it's ready, then take it out of the oven, but LEAVE in the tin for hours before you take it out - otherwise it will collapse.  So, make it in the morning, let it cool, put it in the fridge (still in it's tin for the rest of the day), and then just before you serve the perfect cheesecake at supper time, wriggle it out of it's tin, dust it with icing sugar (if you have any), pop a few raspberries on the top and tuck right in.

My pictures are again a bit rubbish, but only because I had 5 people shouting at me to get the bloody thing on the table - it was delicious, but was it as good as the way Granny cooked it? Hmmm, let's just say, that in order not to cause a huge stink, they stayed very quiet.

PS:  MY FAVOURITE THING AT THE MOMENT IS FENNEL -  I know that it doesn't go with cheesecake, but I will surprise you with a really tasty twist on it later on in the week...



PPS: IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE BEST EVER STREET FOOD - THEN LOOK NO FURTHER - I have literally chased him round the country for the last few years, and eventually tracked him down at Kerb's first street food birthday in Kings Cross last Friday - YEAH... I can't find his link but he is called Jahl Muri - Calcutta street food at its most brilliant, star of Rick Stein in India, and at last, I am at peace

CINNAMON PECAN STICKY BUNS

HOT STICKY DELICIOUSLY SWEET PECAN BUNS 

AT LAST - I have thrown away the bathers, summer is well and truly behind us ... the lazy days of eating freshly caught fish from the sea, sipping chilled rose while watching the kids wrestle with sharks will have to wait for another year... but more importantly, we can all forget the hideous idea of squeezing ourselves in and out of that teeny weeny itsy bitsy bit of clothing, we can cover ourselves up in massive coats and jumpers and FEAST on anything we desire - and no one will ever know what is lurking beneath -  there has to be some advantage living here surely?

So, with that in mind, I made these delicious hot sticky, incredibly bad for you creations (and actually missed out on a mystery date because of them... but that's a whole nother story).  I made them for Rachel's Macmillan coffee morning last Friday, which by the time I had arrived at 8.30am , she had already gathered a cool 2 grand - brilliant.  I made a rather tasty coffee and walnut cake too, so shall put that one up later if it tickles the taste buds..

Anyway, I am delighted to be back writing my blog, I have missed it, and have sooo many recipes from the summer to share and loads more in my head to get us through the lead up to the C word... plus Hugo gets back from his travels on Thursday before he leaves to Uni on Sunday - so the banquets shall begin...


One last quick note - a few local excitements ... The Ginger Pig Butcher has just opened on Abbeville Road _ I have been in there at least 8 times already, and if my hair colour was any different, then there would be a picture of me on the window...

Plus.. and far more importantly - CHECK OUT THE VERY VERY HOT NEW BARISTA AT LE BOULANGER (Abbeville Road)  I mean, seriously, how much coffee can a girl drink...
Definitely hot buns that would compete with these!


CINNAMON PECAN STICKY BUNS

DOUGH
450g strong white strong flour
50g caster sugar
85g butter, cut into small pieces
7g sachet dried yeast
2 eggs, beaten
150ml full-fat milk
Olive oil (just for greasing tin)

FILLING
2 tsp ground cinnamon
85g light brown sugar
100g pecans

TOPPING
125g melted butter, plus a little extra
150ml maple syrup
75g light brown sugar
100g pecans

Place the flour, sugar and 1tsp salt in a mixing bowl, and rub the pieces of butter together until it is like breadcrumbs.  Pop in the yeast and beaten eggs, and then pour in the milk, and mix until you get a soft dough.  You might need to add a little more milk (I did).  If you have a food mixer, throw it all in there, and attach a dough hook and then you can leave it for about 7-8 minutes, but if you don't, it's a little more of a bore, and you have to knead it for about 15 or so minutes until the dough is smooth, soft and springy.  Put it in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film (or tea towel) and leave to rise in a warmish place for about an hour (or go to a party, forget about it for a while, and deal with it after a few glasses of wine)... Anyway, make sure it's at least doubled in size before you resume play.

Make filling, by placing the cinnamon, sugar and pecans in a food whizzer until the nuts are finely ground. Punch down the dough to knock out the air and then split it in two.  Roll and stretch out two rectangles (about 30 x 40 cm each).

Melt the butter (for the topping), brush over each rectangle, then sprinkle half the filling nutty mixture over each half and press it deeply into the dough - use a rolling pin to roll it over just so it's not loose on the top.  Tightly roll each rectangle (from the long side) to a long sausage shape - then pinch the ends together to seal them.  Cut each sausage into about 10 pieces (you can actually freeze these at this stage for up to a month)..

Cue instagram photo...

Now, brush two or three baking trays, (depending how vast your oven is), with melted butter.  Mix the maple syrup and sugar into the remaining butter and then pour this over the bottom of each baking tray (at this point I think I had had a few glasses - so I was just pouring huge amounts of sloppy sticky stuff everywhere I could see).  Swirl the mixture around the bottom of the trays so it is all covered, and then sprinkle with the pecans.  Put the rolls on the tray, with at least a 2cm gap between each, ready for expansion of the buns (something that will happen to you after you've scoffed the lot),  Cover with clingfilm again, and leave in a warm place for about another 30 minutes (patience!).

Heat oven to 180 degrees, take the cling film off and bake for around 30 mins until the buns are lightly browned and feel firm... serve warm with the sticky side up .....

YUM!!

CHOCOLATE TRAY CAKE WITH SALTED CARAMEL GANACHE

CHOCOLATE TRAY BAKE WITH SALTED CARAMEL GANACHE (OR ICING AS I PREFER TO CALL IT!)

This cake is ridiculously good, and very very rich, and be warned, once you have had one piece and set those taste buds into full working action, it is impossible to stop (I'm just very lucky that I have a greedy cleaner)
My darling Hugo actually finishes school today - that is it - no more - never ever, I literally cannot believe that time has gone that quickly.  He's nearly reached the grand old age of 19, and seems relatively unscarred by having me as a mother - so I am delighted.  He comes home in a few hours (yeah!) and along with Max, who has just come back from an emotional 3 day trip to the battlefields and graveyards in France and Belgium from the 1st World War, I thought that cake was a must!
And now the kids are nearly all home, Mike and I can put our Sunday behind us for good - (no kids, and a day on the sofa surrounded by crisps, chocolate, cake, ashtrays...not a good look!) thank god for children is all I can say, I knew I had them for a reason!

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE
4 and half tbsp cocoa
180g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
225g dark chocolate (broken into pieces)

170g unsalted butter
4 eggs
300g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
240ml buttermilk

FOR THE GANACHE (ICING)
140g caster sugar
250ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp brandy (or any super tasty alcohol in the cupboard)
450g dark chocolate
2 egg yolks

Heat oven to 170 degrees, and grease your baking tin (approx 13 x 9 inch one)

So.. for the cake first.. mix together the cocoa, plain flour, bicarb soda and half a tsp salt.  In another bowl, melt the chocolate and butter over a saucepan of boiling water until it's all melted and then put aside to cool.
Whisk the eggs, sugar, vanilla and buttermilk in a big jug, and mix into the slightly cooled melted choc. And, then add all the dry ingredients from the other bowl.  It will hopefully look all smooth and glossy, and also quite tasty...Put in your greased tin, and cook for around 35 to 40 mins (kind of like a brownie - so don't think it's not quite ready and cook for too long, because it is essential that it is a little wet (I will refrain from using the word moist, but you know what I mean - do the skewer test, and if it comes out with a few crumbs on it, it is probably ready)

Now, for the icing (seriously, I can't get enough) I must have eaten half the bowl before I whizzed out to see the HB's for a pre cinema supper, I felt sick before I arrived, but still managed a VAST Lebanese, followed by a whole load of shit at the cinema - anyway....)
Put the caster sugar in a little saucepan with around 50ml water. Slowly stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, and then you turn up the heat and boil until the syrup is like a golden brown (it may go through a hard crystal stage - but stick with it!).  Once its the golden brown syrupy texture, then take it off the heat and slowly add the cream.  When the bubbles have calmed down, keep stirring until smooth, add 1 tsp salt, the vanilla essence and the alcohol.  Leave to the side.
Break up all the chocolate, pour the caramel over it, and slowly stir till the choc has melted (I sometimes melt it a bit over a saucepan of water first, to speed things up).  Once it's all melted and mixed, then add the egg yolks, and leave to cool.

When it's cold (so, in my case, after the cinema) - spoon over the cake and smooth.  Add a little sea salt over the top and whatever else you fancy - I put white choc buttons on mine, but then got hungry so took them all off and ate them)  But the cake is delicious, that it doesn't need anything else, and only hope that I can manage to wait until the kids tuck in before I finish it off....

INDIVIDUAL LEMON DRIZZLE POTS

INDIVIDUAL LEMON DRIZZLE POTS 

Wow... this week escalated early...
If you want my advice, do not go out on a Monday night with one of your oldest and dearest friends, that you haven't seen for too long - do not drink too much, and certainly do not ask the waitress if she is pregnant, and when she looks appalled, really do not collapse with giggles.  I blame Sammy entirely.

So that's great that that didn't happen.

Well, the sun is still out, and I would be in the garden under the rays, but Holly (I know, seriously why isn't she at school?) has settled herself into the only sunbed... so I am in the kitchen with Max still revising, and thought, as it is his 14th birthday coming up, that we needed a treat.  I've never made my lemon drizzle cake in separate little pots before, normally I double these ingredients and make it in a loaf tin.  I actually do make it at least once every two weeks, and if we don't finish it, my cleaner cleans us out (I did catch her once emptying my entire cake tin into her handbag).  It is so delicious, so I'm hoping they'll work - they're in the oven as we speak.

INGREDIENTS

125g butter (softened)
125g caster sugar
2 eggs
125g self raising flour
zest of 3 lemons
juice of 3 lemons
Icing sugar
More caster sugar

Zest and then juice the lemons, whizz up the sugar and butter till soft and creamy.  Add the eggs and whizz some more, then fold in the flour till all mixed - add a wee drop of lemon juice and about one third of the zest.  Put into greased ramekins - probably make about 6 or 7.

Put in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees, and cook for about 40 minutes.  Meanwhile, add most of the lemon juice with some caster sugar (about a tbsp and a bit) and cook in a saucepan till the sugar is melted.

Wait till your cakes have risen and they are not too soggy inside - do the skewer test, and if it comes out clean, they are definitely ready.

When they are out, use the skewer to pierce holes all over them, and then spoon your sugar and juice mix over the top, so it all seeps through.

With the rest of the lemon juice, add the icing sugar till it's a sort of thickish consistency, and when the cakes are cool, then drizzle this with a teaspoon over the top.

They should look amazing, and taste even better.

Sometimes, if I'm feeling really bad - I will make it in two normal cake tins and put lemon butter icing in the middle - but really think maybe I shouldn't.