Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes!

It's been a while!

My god it has been a while!

I have been so busy lately completing my degree, but now I am FREEEEEE and that can only mean one thing...baking, baking and more baking!

Anyway I'm back with another tasty recipe...

Are you ready??

I've never really been a fan of peanut butter, but I was asked by a friend to make her some cupcakes that involved peanut butter.  So I decided to make my brownie cupcakes with peanut butter icing.

Here they are!

Surprisingly Delicious!

Here's how I did it!

Ingredients

For the brownies:

- 185g unsalted butter

- 100g best dark chocolate

- 85g milk chocolate

- 85g plain flour

- 40g cocoa powder

- 50g white chocolate chips

-50g of milk chocolate chips

- 3 large eggs

- 275g golden caster sugar
- 12 muffin cases
- 12 hole muffin tin

For the icing:

                                 - 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened                           

                    - 100g smooth peanut butter                  

- 100g icing sugar

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Reese's Peanut Butter cups (quartered)

- 1 tablespoon double cream
- Piping bag and nozzle

Method

1. Cut the butter and the dark and milk chocolate into small chunks and put into a bowl.  Put the bowl over a saucepan that has a small amount of water in it (about 2 inches).  Make sure that the bowl is not touching the water. Put over a low heat until the butter and chocolate have melted, stirring occasionally to mix them. Once all combined and liquidy, remove from the heat and set to the side to cool at room temperature.  
2. Pre-heat your oven to 160C fan/ 180C conventional/ gas mark 4 and prepare your cupcake tin with your choice of cases.  I chose cute pink polka dot ones :)
3. In another bowl break in the eggs and add the golden caster sugar.  With your electric mixer on maximum speed, whisk the eggs and sugar together until they look thick and creamy, almost a milk shake sort of consistency!  It may take a while if your mixer isn't very powerful, but keep going, it'll get there eventually! When it's ready it'll be pale in colour and double its original size.  
4. Next, pour the cooled chocolate and butter combo, over the egg and sugar mixture, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula.  Do not over mix, you want to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.  Gently use a figure eight motion, plunging in at one side and taking it under and out the opposite side.  It'll be a marbled brown colour when it is ready, just remember to be gentle.  
5. Sieve the flour and cocoa powder into the mixture, the fold it in using the same motion as in step 4.  It'll look fudgy in consistency when it is ready, stop before you think you should, to make sure that you're not over mixing.Once that is done, stir in the white and milk chocolate chips until they’re dotted throughout. Phew! Take a breath, you're done mixing for now, it's the ovens turn to tag in!
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared cases, make sure that you use all of the mixture to make the most out of the recipe.  Pop it in the middle of the oven for around 25-35 minutes, to check give the tray a slight shake, if it is ready then they will not wobble in the middle.  Another test is to stab it with a cocktail stick, if it comes out more or less clean then they are done.   The tops should look like shiny, cracked, paper! 
7. Leave them on a wire rack to cool whilst you get on with the icing.  
8. In a bowl, combined the butter and peanut butter using your electric mixer on a medium to high speed.  It'll be pretty sticky so now you can add the double cream and vanilla extract at this point, which will add a bit of liquidity.  Once they are combined gently sift in the icing sugar in small batches.  Keep mixing together until it is all combined and smooth in consistency.  
9. Once the cakes are cool, fill a piping bag, with your nozzle of choice attached (I used the Wilton 2d nozzle) but any nozzle will do, or if you don't have any piping bags or nozzles then you could use a knife to roughly apply the icing to the tops of the brownies.  Top them all off with some of the Reese's peanut butter cups.    
10. Sit back, relax and enjoy!

I hope that you enjoy making these cupcakes, I know I did (I probably enjoyed the eating more if im honest!).  Check back for more indulgent recipes coming soon :) If you have any requests, leave me a comment below!

Mini Victoria Sponge Cakes!

Hello you lovely lot :)

It's been a while since I've Blogged (slaps back of hand!) Naughty Me!

Anyway i'm back and I'll now be blogging with a vengeance so watch out!

I just wanted to share with you my recipe for these gorgeous, what I like to call, Mini Victoria Sponge Cakes!

They are basically a vanilla cupcake with a section cut out, filled with jam and then topped with buttercream!  

So simple! 

So tasty! 

So here's how I made them:

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

175g Self Raising Flour

175g Caster Sugar

175g Unsalted butter/margarine 

3 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (good quality) 

For the buttercream

250g Icing sugar

150g Unsalted butter (softened) 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons of whipping cream

Also any Jam for the filling (I chose raspberry)

Method

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180'C/350F

For the cupcakes

1. With a mixer, mix together the butter and sugar until light in colour and creamy in texture.

2. Sieve in the flour, mix and then add the vanilla.

3. Finally add the eggs and mix until combined.

4. Spoon the mixture into a 12 hole muffin tray lined with muffin cases.

5. Place in centre of the oven and bake for approx 20 minutes (or until golden and springy to the touch)

For the buttercream

1. Combine butter and icing sugar with a mixer.

2. Add the vanilla and mix.

3. Add double cream and mix.  (If mixture is too dry add more cream, if too moist add more icing sugar)

4. Once cakes have cooled, cut out a round section from the centre of the top of the cupcake. (keep the cut out piece) 

5. You should have a little well, into which you should put a dollop of jam.

6. Then top the jam with as much buttercream as desired and then top with the piece that was previously cut out.  

7. Finally once they are all done, dust with a little icing sugar.

Et Voila!

Enjoy!

Muffins! Muffins! Muffins!

Guess what I made today? 

Can you guess?

It rhymes with puffins...?

That's right...MUFFINS!!

But not just any muffins, just the most delicious raspberry and white chocolate muffins.

I was in Morrisons doing a spot of shopping when I was hit with some Muffin-spiration!

We all know what a great combination raspberries and white chocolate are, don't we?  Then it dawned on me that I had never made anything with this combination before, which is just not acceptable!

So if you want to know how to make these delicious muffins, stay tuned.

Ingredients

- 300g plain flour

- 2 tsp baking powder

 150g caster sugar

- 1 large egg

 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 225ml milk

- 50g butter (melted)

- 100g fresh raspberries

- 100g chopped white chocolate or chocolate chips

Equipment

- Mixing bowl

-Electric mixer

- Measuring Jug

- Spoons

- Weighing Scales

- 12 hole muffin case

- Paper Cases

- Sieve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas mark 6 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cases.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and sugar into a bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, crack the egg and whisk in the vanilla extract, add the milk and butter (ensure the butter has cooled before adding it to the milk as it may curdle!)

4. Stir the wet ingredients (on a low speed) into the dry.  Lightly toss the raspberries in some plain flour (this is to stop them sticking together in the mixture) then stir into mixture along with the chocolate, do not over mix!

5. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 25-30 minutes and bake until well risen and just firm to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.

They should look a little something like this!

Once cooked feel free to eat them hot or cold!

Warm, with a scoop of Carte D'or Vanilla Ice cream is my preferred method of consumption (hehe!)

Enjoy baking them and eating them, they are really worth a bake!

Until next time...

  

Nutella Cupcakes

Well would you look at that! 

Has my favourite toast topping found it's way into my butter cream? 

I think it has, and let me tell you...it is AMAZING!!!

Not only are they amazing, but they are so simple to make and require very few ingredients.

Sit back and enjoy as I talk you through this delicious recipe that you can try at home.

Lets start with what you'll need:

Equipment

- Electric mixer (you can use a hand mixer but it may take longer)

- Mixing bowl (if you don't have a stand mixer with a bowl attached)

- Measuring cups and/or weighing scales

- Jug

- 12 space muffin tin

- Muffin cases (good, strong quality)

- Piping bag and nozzle

Ingredients

For the chocolate sponge:

- 110g of Self Raising flour

- 20g of cocoa powder (good quality like Bournville)

- 140g of caster sugar

- 40g of unsalted butter (room temperature)

- 120ml whole milk

- 1 egg

- 1/4 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)

- a pinch of salt

For the Nutella buttercream:

- 230g unsalted butter (room temperature-take out before baking sponge)

- 250g icing sugar

- 10 tablespoons Nutella

- 70 ml of double cream (if mixture too dry, add more)

- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas mark 3

2. Put the muffin cases in the tin

3. Sieve the flour cocoa powder and salt into the bowl

4. Add sugar and butter and mix together using electric mixer, until you get a sandy texture.

5. Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla together in a jug, then pour half into the bowl with the dry mixture, beat together until combined on a high speed to remove any lumps.

6. Turn the mixer down to a low speed and add the remaining milk and egg mixture, remembering to scrape down the sides with a spatula.  Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until smooth.

7. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until half-two thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until the sponge bounces back when tapped, or a cocktail stick inserted into the middle should come out clean.

8. Remove from the cakes from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

They should look something like this!

For the buttercream;

1. Beat the softened butter on a medium speed with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until creamy.

2. Sieve in 250g of icing sugar and continue to mix on a medium speed, it should be quite thick.

3. Add the Nutella and vanilla and continue to beat.

4. Add the double cream and mix for another 30 secs-1 minute. (if the mixture is too thick add more cream 1 tablespoon at a time.  If too thin add more icing sugar a spoon at a time). 

5. Add the buttercream to the piping bag and pipe onto the top of the cakes.

Sit back, relax and enjoy!

I hope you have as much fun making these beauties as I did!

After all you can never have enough Nutella in your life!

Let me know if you have any recipe requests you'd like me to do, in the comment box below :D

Enjoy!

Welcome to my blog!

Hello lovely people of the world!

Welcome to my Blog!

I finally decided to make a blog after months of deliberating whether anyone would read it, whether anyone would be interested and whether I'd be any good at it.

So here it is, my blog, it's not much to look at right now, but i promise it will get better.  I hope to post two to three times a week, with a mixture of Beauty, Baking and Babbling posts.  

My Beauty posts will consist of everything beauty, be it nails, make up, skincare, haircare, hauls, reviews, likes and dislikes and much more!

My Baking posts will hope to show off my baking skills, I will be trying out recipes, baking cakes, demonstrating skills (piping, decorating, etc.) and basically as much food porn as i can cram into a post!

Finally my Babbling posts will consist of just that...babbling!  I love to talk about anything and everything!   I will share things about my life, tips and tricks, opinions, views, things I'm loving, things I'm hating, lifestyle and everything that does not fall into either Beauty or Baking.

I hope you enjoy!

Here goes nothing!