Cheeky, chubby fairies on fairy cakes

Fairy Cakes

What is the difference between a fairy cake and a cupcake?

First of all it seems that a fairy cake is smaller than a cupcake. Mary Berry, in her book 100 Cakes and Bakes, states that a cupcake is also a different shape to a fairy cake – ‘the cases are deeper and have less angular sides.’

Another difference is in the ingredients as usually fairy cakes are made using a standard sponge cake recipe with eggs, flour, sugar and butter. However, cupcakes can be any type of cake, just made smaller. Although some may be made with a sponge recipe, cupcakes can also be made from carrot cake recipes, chocolate cake recipes and many other variations.

The toppings are different too. A fairy cake is traditionally topped with a little royal icing or an icing made with just water and icing sugar. Cupcakes are commonly topped with lashings of swirling buttercream, cream cheese or meringue frostings.

Fairy cakes are popular for children’s parties but cupcakes are probably more popular for the grown-ups – a slightly larger and more indulgent pleasure!

My fairy cakes are made with a simple chocolate sponge recipe – the recipe can be found here http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/how_to_make_fairy_cakes_45428

My inspiration to make little fairies to sit on top of my fairy cakes came from Fiona Cairns in her Birthday Cakes book. They are made from sugar paste and sit on a little royal icing sprinkled with some coloured sugar strands. Mine are rather chubby, cheeky looking little fairies but look quite at home sitting on one of my vintage cake stands and delighted my grandchildren!

Tea Time Treats

I’m entering these fairy cakes into April’s Tea Time Treats challenge hosted by Kate at What Kate Baked. The challenge is alternatively hosted by kate and Karen at Lavender and Lovage and is a great way to find inspiration, recipes and lovely blogs:-

What Kate Baked   http://www.whatkatebaked.com/2013/04/april-tea-time-treats.html

Lavender and Lovage   http://www.lavenderandlovage.com/tea-time-treats

I recently made a foodie gift package for a friend and wanted to make something that was pretty as well as tasty. First I made some rosewater meringues – swirled with pink colouring. Then I made Lavender scones which were gorgeous! They are really easy – I just added a handful of crushed Lavender flowers to my usual scone recipe. I then made some apple curd which I have to say was the perfect compliment to the Lavender scones. My friend also used the apple curd in a tart and said it was delicious!

Apple Curd

Ingredients

4 medium sized quite sour eating apples

water to cook the apples

100g butter

275g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon

2 eggs

Method

Peel, core and chop the apples into small pieces. Cover with a little water in a pan and cook until soft. Mash or blend the apples then add them to a bowl over a pan of boiling water (or a double boiler pan). Add the butter, diced, sugar and lemon juice, and heat gently stirring until everything is dissolved. Beat the eggs then add them slowly to the mixture, stirring all the time. Continue to stir over the heat until the mixture thickens then pour into a jar and cover.

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I finished my cookies with a topping of coloured sugarpaste cut from the same size heart shaped cutter and then decorated them with little blossoms cut from sugarpaste. They’d make a pretty gift too, perhaps for Mothers’ Day or Easter.

Ingredients

100g Butter

80g Light soft brown sugar

80g Honey

200g Plain flour

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1 tblspn Lavender flowers

Method

Melt the butter, sugar and honey together in a pan. Stir well until all dissolved and then leave to cool a little. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, rubbing the lavender flowers into the flour with your hands.

Pour the butter, sugar and honey mixture into the dry ingredients and combine together. Wrap the dough into clingfilm and place into the fridge for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 180c.

Take the cold dough mixture and roll out to the thickness you would like your cookies to be. cut into shapes with a cutter and place on a lined baking tray. They will take about 10 minutes to cook. If you can resist eating them all immediately as they are you can decorate them when cooled!

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This cake is a chocolate sponge baked in a heart shape, with a white chocolate fudgy topping and completed with swirls of pink marshmallow fluff. It’s a chocolately, gooey, heavenly cake just perfect for Valentine’s Day!

Chocolate Cake:-

175g light muscovado sugar

175g butter, softened

175g egg – approx. 3 large or 4 medium, beaten

25g plain yoghurt

175g self-raising flour

25g cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Oven 175c – I used a heart-shaped baking tin (equivalent to 7”/20cm round)

Beat the sugar and butter together well then add all the other ingredients and beat for a minute until just combined. Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for approximately one hour or until the sponge starts to shrink away from the side of the tin and a skewer comes out clean.

White Chocolate fudge Topping:-

50g butter

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 tablespoon golden syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

200g white chocolate

Put the butter, cornflour, golden syrup and vanilla extract in a pan over a medium heat. Stir continuously while heating gently until all the ingredients are combined and thicken. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring well until melted. Allow to cool a little (but not fully as it will go quite stiff) and then spread onto the top of the cake. Alternatively you could bake two sponges and use this as a filling.

I then made a Marshmallow Fluff topping to finish this decadent cake! The recipe is in ‘Bake Me I’m Yours – Sweet Bitesize Bakes’ by Sarah Trunvic. Find out more about her book at www.maisoncupcake.com I love this book as not only does she give some ideas for lovely projects, the recipes are simple and easy to follow and turn out perfectly.

Calendar Cakes

I’m entering my Chocolate Heart Valentine’s Cake into this month’s Calendar Cakes Challenge.  The challenge is hosted by Dolly Bakes and Laura Loves Cakes  and this month’s theme is called ‘My Achy Cakey Heart’ including bakes to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

I started with 5 blood oranges and grated the skin into a large pan. To this I added the juice of the oranges and the juice of two small lemons. I added more liquid to make 1 litre in total. The other parts of the fruit were placed in a muslin bag, tied up tightly and added to the pan. This mixture was then boiled for a few minutes. It was then left to stand overnight.

The next day I removed the muslin bag and squeezed all the juice from it back into the pan, then discarded the remains. 1 kg granulated sugar was then added and the pan heated gently, stirring to dissolve it. The pan was then brought to the boil and left to boil rapidly for about ten minutes. I then started to test for setting by taking a little on a teaspoon and placing it on a very cold saucer. It set quite quickly and was poured straight into jars.

Homemade marmalade is perfect on toast for breakfast but is also tempting for afternoon tea spread thickly on  your favourite tea loaf!

For some more lovely marmalade inspiration and tips see Laura Loves Cakes http://lauralovescakes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/winter-preserving-workshop_4.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+Lauralovescakes+(lauralovescakes)

This recipe is for Parsnip, Pecan and Ginger Muffins and is an adapted and also slightly healthier version of the Country Living cake as that had lashings of cream cheese and maple syrup frosting on top! I can’t find an online version of their recipe but if you visit their blog there is a link to purchase the February magazine and the recipe is really worth trying. http://countrylivinged.com

Alternatively there is a delicious looking Parsnip and Maple Syrup cake recipe at BBC Good Food

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/12983/catherine-berwicks-parsnip-and-maple-syrup-cake

Parsnip, Pecan and Ginger Muffins

Ingredients:-

Makes 12 muffins

150 ml sunflower oil

150 ml soft brown sugar

3 medium eggs, beaten

150 g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

125 g grated parsnips

100 g chopped pecans

Method:-

Pre-heat the oven to 160 c

Beat the oil and sugar together well. Add the beaten eggs and sieved flour, ginger and baking powder and beat for a minute only. Finally, fold in the grated parsnips and chopped pecans. Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cases and bake for approximately 30 minutes.

These muffins are light and tasty but not too sweet and would be lovely for breakfast! Parsnips are a surprisingly good cake ingredient and I’m planning to try more cakes with them in

For more information about Clandestine Cake Clubs see http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk  They are springing up all over the country and are the perfect way to meet new friends through a shared interest of all things cake!

I’ve convinced myself that this is actually a healthy cake option as it has oranges, pistachios and avocado – if you ate that as a salad you’d feel very virtuous! Yes it does contain fat and sugar though so just a small slice is recommended although it is a bit moreish!

Calendar Cakes

I’m entering this cake for this month’s Calendar Cakes Challenge hosted by Dolly Bakes and Laura Loves Cakes.  The theme for January is New Year, New You!

Healthy cakes or with healthier ingredients or unusual fruits and vegetables are encouraged as part of this challenge. I love to experiment with fruits and vegetables in baking cakes so I’m really looking forward to looking at all the other entries!

Orange, Pistachio and Avocado Cake

Ingredients for the cake:-

200g butter, softened

200g caster sugar

3 medium eggs

zest 2 oranges

1 tablespoon orange curd ( or marmalade)

200g self raising flour

1 avocado, peeled, stoned and mashed

50g pistachio nuts

For the orange drizzle syrup topping:-

Juice 2 oranges

100g sugar

Method:-

Preheat the oven to 170g. Grease and line a deep 8″ tin.

Cream the butter and sugar together well. Add the beaten eggs, orange zest and orange curd (or marmalade) – stir in gently then add the flour and fold this in carefully. Finally, gently fold in the a mashed avocado and pistachios. Pour into the baking tin and bake for approximately 1 hour.

While the cake is baking prepare the orange syrup by heating the orange juice and sugar in a pan until the sugar is dissolved. Then bring to the boil for a few minutes until it starts to thicken a little. Turn off the heat and leave until the cake comes out of the oven. While it is still hot, prick the cake with holes and pour the syrup over the top. Leave to cool in the tin. Enjoy!

To make orange curd:-

Zest and juice of 1 medium orange, 55g butter, 110g sugar, 2 beaten eggs.

Heat the zest and juice with the butter and sugar in a double saucepan or a bowl over a pan of boiling water. Stir well till the ingredients are dissolved and mixed well. Add the beaten eggs, stirring well. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens then pour into a jar.

NB. I used blood oranges for this recipe as they are currently in season but you could use any oranges or try the recipe with lemons.

Avocado Cake:- http://blissfullyscrumptious.com/2012/03/27/avocado-cake/

Avocado Nutrition:-

Avocados provide lots of essential nutrients, including fibre, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid. They contain also almost a quarter of the recommended daily intake of folate and are a good source of lutein, a carotenoid that is an antioxidant. They also contain the related carotenoids zeaxanthin, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, as well as tocopherol (vitamin E).

Avocados help the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha and beta-carotene and lutein, in other foods. Eating foods like fruits and vegetables along with monounsaturated-fat-rich avocados helps your body absorb these carotenoids.

Avocados also contain oleic acid which helps you to feel full. As well as increasing feelings of fullness, the oleic acid in avocados can help to reduce bad cholesterol. This is helpful in reducing risk of heart attacks and heart disease.

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Ingredients:-

For the pastry

225g plain flour

125g cold butter, diced

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1 tablespoon lavender flowers

1 egg

For the filling

397g tin condensed milk

3 medium eggs

Juice and zest of two lemons

Method:-

Preheat the oven to 190c and grease a 20cm loose bottomed flan tin.

Make the pastry by rubbing the butter into the flour lightly, then mixing in the lavender and sugar and finally mix the egg in to bind the ingredients. This can be wrapped and popped into the fridge while the filling is made.

Beat the condensed milk, eggs lemon juice and zest together well.

Roll out the pastry and line the sides and bottom of the flan tin with it. Pour in the filling and place in the oven for about 30 – 35 minutes. The pastry should look golden brown and the filling should be set but still a little soft.

The condensed milk adds a sweetness without the pie being too sweet as a whole and the lemon is very subtle. The lavender added to the pastry gives a lovely flavour combination with the lemon. I finished mine off by sprinkling a little sieved icing sugar and a few lavender flowers over the top. I found this bake to be lovely eaten cold with a cup of lemon tea!

NB. I have lots of dried lavender flowers from my garden but if you don’t have access to lavender you could try making the pastry lemony by adding lemon zest.

Happy New Year!

I seem to have been making lots of chocolate cupcakes recently – cupcakes make a lovely gift – and chocolate is always popular!

I made the cupcakes with a basic sponge recipe but replacing 25g of the flour with 25g of cocoa powder and adding some chocolate chips.

The topping is a chocolatey fudgey buttercream and then I added various decorations individually made with sugarpaste.

For the topping:-

In a pan, heat 50g butter, 1 tablespoon black treacle, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir well while allowing all the ingredients to melt. Remove from the heat, add 100g chocolate and let it melt into the mixture. Stir well and then leave to cool. I then add this chocolatey fudgey mixture into a plain buttercream. I use 500g icing sugar and 300g butter and beat well. The mixture will allow plenty of topping for 24 cupcakes.

Merry Christmas!

I love mince pies at Christmas and there’s just nothing more delicious than freshly homemade ones. It’s surprisingly easy to make mincemeat and some simple short-crust pastry and there’s still time to make lots! There are lots of recipes around and I seem to have evolved my own version as I like to keep things simple.  (Health warning – freshly baked mince pies are very moreish and you may end up eating more than you should)

Mincemeat

1 large cooking apple, grated

Juice and zest 1 lemon

Juice and zest 1 orange

1 small bottle pear cider

200g dark brown muscovado sugar

200g raisins

200g sultanas

100g dried cranberries

50g vegetable suet

50ml rum

Place all the ingredients except the rum in a large pan and bring to the boil, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Then allow to simmer gently for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely and then stir in the rum. Pack into jars – this mixture will make around 2lb

For the pastry I use a simple short-crust pastry without any sugar added as I find the mincemeat has enough sweetness.

To make 12 mince pies I use 225g plain flour and 125g very cold butter – mix together lightly until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add enough very cold water to mix together – I prefer it a little wetter than too dry. Then wrap in cling-film and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Then roll out the pastry and cut with round cutters – you’ll need a round larger than the size of your tin for the base and a smaller one for the lid. I cut snowflake decorations from the leftover pieces to put on top. Prick with a fork, brush with milk and bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown.

Sprinkle with a little caster sugar or icing sugar to serve.

I served my mince pies with a delicious home-made lemon curd ice cream – it was quick and easy too and totally delicious! You can find the recipe for this gorgeous ice-cream thanks to Charlotte at http://www.charlotteskitchendiary.com/2012/12/05/homemade-lemon-curd-and-ice-cream/

To make special fruity mince pies just add fresh chopped fruit to the mincemeat and mix well before making the pies and baking. I used chopped apricots, fresh cranberries, zest of a lemon and added some demerara sugar to sweeten the fruit a little….

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