Snowy rocky road

Now for something that requires no baking and very little prep, this was one of the stand-out hits of my Christmas goodies!  This is the perfect treat for having on standby in the fridge whenever a cup of tea needs a little bit of something tasty to accompany it.

You could reinvent this and change the ingredients, for example switching sultanas for the cranberries, or almonds for the pistachio, but the combination set out below really worked well – whatever you do, make sure you keep the mix of chewy and crunchy.

The pistachio and cranberry also looked festive sitting in the white chocolate.  I struggled to get good photos as it must have been one of the greyest, wettest, darkest Christmases ever...and, of course, I only remembered to photograph it when I was sitting with my cup of tea waiting to eat a square.  Impatience and greed does not make for good photos!

Happy New Year everyone – here’s to a year of wonderful bakes and may you never have a soggy bottom!

Ingredients

400g white chocolate, chopped
25g mini marshmallows
50g desiccated coconut, plus extra for sprinkling
50g dried sweetened cranberries
40g pistachios, roughly chopped
50g ginger nut biscuits, broken into small chunks but not crumbs

To decorate: sprinkles of your choice

Method

Line a tin approximately 15cm x 20cm with clingfilm.

Melt the chocolate, either in the microwave or in a bowl above a saucepan of steaming water (making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water).  Be gentle and don’t rush as white chocolate is more sensitive than other chocolate.

Stir in all the ingredients and spoon into the prepared tin, leveling the surface.

Sprinkle over the additional coconut and decoration of your choice; I used bronze sugar pieces.

Refrigerate until set and then remove from the tin and cut into squares.

Keep in the fridge until wanted – it keeps for days.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.

Chocolate marshmallow teacakes

 

This is my attempt at the Great British Bake Off technical challenge of chocolate marshmallow teacakes.  For non-UK readers, The Great British Bake Off is a phenomenally popular television programme where each week competitors bake around a theme; week by week the weakest is eliminated until a winner is found.  The round that is likely to elicit the most drama (and sympathy from viewers!) is the technical challenge where the bakers are given a recipe (with no warning as to what it will be) and have to create the bake with minimal instructions.  Of the recent series’ technical challenges, I think this one created the most drama and interest.

Now I buy a lot of cake tins.  I admit this.  When they arrive, I show Mr CC who – if I’m lucky – will actually look at the tin before asking me, with a mild tinge of sarcasm, where I plan on storing it (my cupboards are full of cake tins.  Very full.  Luckily I played a lot of Tetris in my youth).  This is the standard way new cake tins are greeted.  A couple of weeks before this technical challenge appeared, I had actually purchased the silicone half sphere moulds required.  Mr CC got quite into the recent series and his eyes became saucer-like as he watched the giant teacakes take shape.  I was watching thinking, ‘thank god I’m not on the show and won’t ever have to faff around making them’.  At which point Mr CC announced, ‘you HAVE to make those!’  In a split second, I opted for deceit. ‘But I’d have to buy the moulds – where would I store them?’  And guess what?  For the first time in history, Mr CC decided to remember one of my purchases and caught me out.  He remembered that I had the half sphere moulds.  Typical!

I was surprised to get a shiny chocolate finish because my flat – even without the heating on – is like a furnace.  If I hadn’t put the moulds in the fridge they would never have set.  I was all prepared for matt finish chocolate, but knowing my only critic was Mr CC who would struggle to get past the wonder of the biggest chocolate teacake he had ever seen, I knew I’d be ok – but I needn’t have worried anyway!

For the uninitiated, a teacake is a crisp biscuit base topped with sticky mallow and enclosed in a dome of chocolate.  When I tasted the biscuits on their own, I found them a little flavourless, but when tasted in the finished teacake they are perfect.

I played around with the order of making things – I didn’t fancy the pressure of making the biscuits while the melted chocolate cooled.  I have also used my tried and trusted methods rather than those given in the original recipe such as rolling out between two sheets of clingfilm rather than a floured board.  The mallow filling was divine – I love this photo of it looking all glossy and inviting:

My chocolate shell was too thick (I panicked and did two coats of chocolate), meaning they needed a period of acclimatising to room temperature before you could bite into them, but seriously – when can thick chocolate ever be considered a serious problem?  Next time I would stick to one coat, and use milk rather than dark chocolate.  The biscuit base was good but mine came out a little thick – so I’ll roll them thinner next time.

Am I glad I made them?  Yes.  Are they deliciously sticky and messy to eat?  Yes.  Do I still love teacakes?  Yes.  Have Tunnocks lost out on my business?  Er, no....these are by no means a quick bake!

Ingredients

For the biscuits:

50g wholemeal flour
50g plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
25g caster sugar
25g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon milk – you might need more, I used 2 ½ tablespoons

For the chocolate:

400g dark chocolate – I used 300g dark, 100g milk

For the filling:

3 egg whites
150g caster sugar
30g golden caster sugar
½ vanilla pod – seeds only

Method

Start by making the biscuits: place the flours, baking powder, sugar and butter into the mixer and mix until you have fine breadcrumbs.  You could also do this in the processor, or by hand with the rubbing in method.

Stir in the milk and bring together to make a ball.

Roll out between two sheets of clingfilm until it is about 0.5cm thick.

Cut out biscuits using a 6-7cm round cutter.  I got more than the six biscuits required and kept them for spares....i.e. I ate them.

Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 10 minute.  This will limit them spreading as they bake.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/fan oven 150°/325°F/Gas mark 3.

Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until the biscuits are hard.  Mine took much longer – nearer to 20 minutes.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Now melt the chocolate: melt 300g of the chocolate (you’ll use the rest later).  Melt in a bowl over a pan of simmering water – the bottom of the bowl must not touch the water.

When melted, take off the heat and leave to cool and firm a little.  If you try to line the mould with runny chocolate it will all pool in the bottom of the mould.

Spoon a tablespoon of melted chocolate into each half sphere silicone mould.  Use the curved back of the spoon to direct the chocolate so that you have a thin, even covering.  Use more chocolate if needed.

Set aside to set.  If you live in a cool house and can let them set in the air, you will retain the shine of the chocolate.  My flat is so hot that it would never set so I had to put them in the fridge.  You lose the shine but needs must.

Dip the cooled biscuits in the remaining melted chocolate.  They need to be completely covered.

Put to one side to set (or the fridge).

Now make the filling: place all the ingredients in a bowl and place over a pan of simmering water – the bottom of the bowl must not touch the water.

Whisk – with an electric hand whisk (unless you are a masochist!) – for about 8 minutes until it is silky smooth and doubled in volume.  Think whipped cream – that’s what you’re aiming for.

Spoon into a piping bag – no need for a nozzle; you pipe the filling to ensure there are no gaps.

Melt the remaining 100g of chocolate and spoon into another piping bag then seal the end. 

Leave to cool and firm up a bit.

Pipe the mallow into the chocolate moulds about 2/3 to ¾ full. (NB. I barely used half the mallow – don’t know why the recipe says to make so much.  Other bloggers have made the same comment so I don’t think it’s just me)

Snip the end off the chocolate piping bag and pipe some chocolate onto the mallow and the rim of the mould.

Place a biscuit on top and smooth the chocolate with a knife so it’s all sealed.

Repeat with the other moulds.

Leave to set (ideally not in the fridge but it’s not a disaster if you must).

Carefully, turn the teacakes out of the moulds.  Try not to touch the chocolate dome as you’ll leave fingerprints!

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.

Marshmallow fluff cupcakes

 

Certain words just get me every time; if something has one of these words in the title I am opening my purse before my brain has even questioned whether I need the item.  'Vintage' is one.  'Plush' is another.  I can now add 'fluff' to the list.  I’m still not really sure what turns marshmallow into marshmallow fluff, but before I could find out I owned a couple of jars of the stuff and wondered what to use it for!

What I can say is that it is the stickiest, sweetest substance I have encountered.  It stuck to the spoon so I used a knife to scrape it off.  It then stuck to the knife so I used a spatula to scrape that off...can you see where this is going?  It even made the baked sponge sticky.  Until I got it under control I had visions of Mr CC getting home and finding me stuck in the middle of a marshmallow fluff web in the kitchen.

Now, all of this might make you think that I didn’t bond with it (actually, I bonded rather too well – sticking two of my fingers together!) but it does have one thing in its favour – it is delicious!  I can forgive it all its ‘handling issues’!

These cupcakes are very sweet and simple looking.  I think what makes them, is the texture – that mallowy sticky sweetness.  They are sweet, I cut down on the icing sugar in the buttercream from the original recipe and they are still very sweet.  If you know anyone on the cusp of diabetes maybe steer them away from this recipe!

NB.  I bought my marshmallow fluff from Amazon, but I have noticed that some ‘old fashioned’ sweet shops also stock it.

Ingredients:

For the sponges:

175g unsalted butter, at room temperature
175g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 tablespoons marshmallow fluff
175g self raising flour
2 tablespoons milk

For the buttercream:
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
150g icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150g marshmallow fluff

To decorate: sprinkles of your choice

How to make:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

Line a cupcake pan with 12 paper cases.

Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until pale, fluffy and whippy – almost like whipped cream.  It will take a good 5-10 minutes so don’t skimp.

Beat in the vanilla extract.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding some of the flour if the mixture looks like it’s curdling.

Beat in the marshmallow fluff.

Fold in the flour and the milk.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean.

Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the tray.

As soon as you can safely handle, remove from the tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

Now make the buttercream: Beat together the butter, icing sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth.

Beat in the marshmallow fluff gradually, large spoonfuls at a time, until incorporated.

Pipe over the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.

Rocky road cupcakes

Unusually for me I was extremely dithery in what to bake this week; normally I know what I want to bake as soon as I’ve posted the previous week’s bake on my blog! I was eventually drawn to this recipe as it contains just about everything – I might as well call them “kitchen sink cupcakes”!

I’ve never had rocky road before although I’ve been aware of it. Reading about it online it seems that you can pick or choose what you want to include – biscuits, dried fruit, coconut, brownies...I even saw popcorn mentioned, but the vital components are marshmallow, chocolate and nuts. So I’ve obeyed the rules but added chopped honeycomb pieces (like you’d get in a Crunchie, not actual honeycomb!) simply because I’ve tidied my baking cupboard and been reunited with them!

These turned out to be substantial cupcakes in size, look and the amount of stomach space they occupy. Or in other words: win, win, win!

The cake is squidgy – almost a halfway between sponge and brownie; the frosting is thick and fudgy. They are a perfect combination. You can see how squidgy the sponge is in this photo, taken when the cakes were fresh from the oven:

Ingredients

For the cupcake sponge:
140g unsalted butter, at room temperature
140g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
150g self raising flour
55g cocoa powder
50g milk chocolate chips
30g mini marshmallows – or diced larger marshmallows

For the topping (this topping is very rich and therefore I recommend piping on a little less than you would a normal cupcake. If you want the normal amount of buttercream, double the quantities as this is quite a mean recipe!):
50g plain chocolate, broken into squares (I actually used ½ dark, ½ milk chocolate)
2 tablespoons water
25g unsalted butter
175g icing sugar

To decorate:
85g mini marshmallows
40g nuts, roughly chopped – I used almonds
50g honeycomb pieces
Optional: 55g milk chocolate ,melted

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

Line a cupcake pan with paper cases.

Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Don’t skimp on this stage as this is what makes the sponge light and airy.

Beat in the vanilla extract

Beat in the eggs, using a little of the flour if it looks like it might curdle.

Gently fold in the flour and cocoa powder.

When the mixture is smooth and well combined, stir in the chocolate chips and mini marshmallows

Spoon the batter into the paper cases.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean. Mine took 18 minutes.

Remove from the tin as soon as possible and leave to cool on a wire rack – removing from the tin is important as the heat of the tin will mean that the cupcakes continue to cook.

Now make the topping: place the chocolate, water and butter in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water.

Stir until melted and smooth.

With the bowl still over the water stir in the icing sugar and beat until smooth and thick. At this point you can remove from the heat and whip further off the heat.

It takes a lot of beating – firstly, until it is cool and secondly, until it’s thick enough to pipe. I mixed it until cool, then popped it in the fridge for 30 minutes before giving it a final whip up.

Pipe the frosting over the cupcakes then decorate with whichever components of a rocky road you have chosen to use.

Optional: Melt the chocolate and drizzle over the top.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.

Easter (possibly whoopie) pies

You can’t really read a food magazine at the moment without being told what the “new cupcake” is. Apparently, macarons are the new cupcakes but then I’ve also read lately that whoopee pies are the new cupcakes...so maybe they’re actually the new macarons? It’s all very confusing.

Anyway, I think these qualify as whoopie pies as they’re cakey biscuits sandwiched by a suitably gooey filling. As it’s Easter I added some chocolate glaze and chocolate eggs...I have no subtlety at all (if there’s a way of adding more chocolate to something you can rely on me to do it!)

The marshmallow filling was sticky and chewy and made a nice alternative to buttercream. I was delighted to see on the marshmallow packet that they are fat free! Who knew that marshmallows were a health food...they beat celery any day!

Eating a biscuit sandwich means you’re actually eating two biscuits at a time. This appealed to me as a very efficient way of eating biscuits! Here’s one biscuit fresh from the oven:

Ingredients

For the biscuits (this quantity makes about 14 finished pies i.e. 28 biscuits):

120g unsalted butter
240g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
40g cocoa powder
250g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 tablespoons milk

For the marshmallow filling:

2 egg whites
150g caster sugar
2 tablespoons double cream
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
10 white marshmallows, cut into quarters

For the chocolate glaze:

200g chocolate 50% cocoa content (I couldn’t find any 50% so used half 70% and half 34% and this roughly came out at 50%)
50g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons double cream

To decorate: chocolate sprinkles and any decorations of your choice

Method

Preheat the oven to 200˚C/fan oven 180˚C/400˚F/Gas mark 6.

Line two baking sheets with baking paper.

Start by making the biscuits: cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and well combined.

Beat in the eggs.

Sift the cocoa, flour and baking powder over the butter mixture and beat in.

Beat in the vanilla and milk; the batter will be softer than a traditional biscuit mix but firmer than a sponge batter.

Drop rounded teaspoons full of the batter onto the baking sheets. Space them about 6cm apart as they spread. I had to bake half the mixture at a time and use each baking sheet twice.

Bake the biscuits for about 14 minutes or until they are firm but not crisp – they should retain a certain cakey-ness.

Leave to cool on a wire rack. They will store in an airtight container at this point if you’re not making them up straight away.

Now make the marshmallow filling: Whisk the egg whites, sugar, cream and cream of tartar.

Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk until the mixture has turned thick and glossy – almost like a mousse; this took ages by which I mean about 20 minutes! It should stand in peaks.

Stir in the chopped marshmallows and whisk until they have melted and mixed in.

Remove from the heat.

Match up the biscuits in pairs as best you can – they will all be different sizes and shapes.

Sandwich using a generous teaspoon of the marshmallow filling.

Put to one side for 30 minutes or more, until the marshmallow filling has set.

Now make the chocolate glaze: break the chocolate into chunks and melt with the butter, either using the bain marie method (i.e. in a bowl over a pan of simmering water) or microwaving. I’ve really come around to microwaving chocolate as I feel I have more control over it.

Stir in the cream.

Leave to cool and firm up a bit before spooning it over the sandwiched biscuits.

Decorate with crushed flake or other chocolate sprinkles.

Leave to set.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have made.

Eat.