We had lots of fun baking up a storm when Lydia came to play, and because I'm such a lovely person, I thought I'd share the recipes we chose. Enjoy!
Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
You need:
100g butter, softened (we used unsalted)
225g caster sugar (we used golden)
100ml milk (we used skimmed)
210g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
3 eggs
2tsp vanilla extract (we used pure vanilla)
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan assisted). Cream together the butter and the sugar (you can use an electric mixer for this, but we prefer to do things by hand). Then stir in the vanilla, eggs, milk, flour and baking powder, and mix until they are fully combined. Line your tin (we used a muffin tin) with 12 muffin cases (you can use a tart or silicone cake tray/cases if you prefer), then spoon the mixture in. Make sure not to overfill your cases, about 2/3 is desirable. Pop them into the oven, middle shelf if you can, and bake for 18-20 minutes until the cupcakes are risen and turning golden brown on top. Leave to cool on a wire rack, then you begin the messy part - decorating!
*This recipe comes courtesy of the FABULOUS Pink Whisk.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
You need:
140g butter, softened
280g icing sugar
1-2tbsp milk
splosh of vanilla essence
Method:
Be prepared for mess :) Simply beat the butter in a large bowl until soft, then add in half of the icing sugar. Beat well until smooth, and try not to choke on the plumes of icing sugar dust! Add in the remaining icing sugar, along with 1-2tbsps of milk and the vanilla, and beat the mixture until it has a smooth and creamy consistency. Add more milk if necessary. Decorate until you can decorate no more!
*This recipe comes courtesy of BBC Food.
Golden Syrup Loaf Cake
You need:
75g butter, softened
75g caster sugar
200g plain flour
1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2tsp of baking powder
125g golden syrup (we used 150g ish)
160ml boiling water
Method:
Preheat your oven to 160ºC and line a loaf tin with baking parchment or a tin liner. Place all of the ingredients into a food processor or large bowl and blend, blend, blend. Couldn't. Be. Easier. Pour your mixture into the loaf tin and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Once baked and beautifully golden on top, remove from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.
*This recipe also comes courtesy of the FABULOUS Pink Whisk.
Butter Biscuits with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
You need:
150g butter, at room temperature
75g caster sugar
225g plain flour (plus extra for rolling)
pinch of salt
Method:
Preheat the oven to 170ºC, and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Dice the butter into a large bowl, then add in the flour, sugar and salt. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until you can form a big ball of dough. Wrap this in cling film (evil stuff!) and leave to cool in the fridge for 15 minutes or so. Once chilled turn the dough onto a floured surface and roll out (adding some flour to your rolling pin helps to prevent the dough sticking too) at about 1/2cm thick. Using whatever cutters you have cut our your biscuits and transfer to the baking trays - remember to leave space between them. Use up all of your dough, then bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes (I'd advise keeping a close eye after 15 minutes). Once the biscuits have cooled down, decorate them however you like - we used up some of the leftover buttercream frosting and sprinkles to decorate some, and left the others plain. The hardest part of this recipe is not eating all of the biscuits at once ;)
*This recipe comes courtesy of the Good Food Channel website.
Just a light afternoon snack :)
Readers, I feel it is my duty to share some very distressing and sad news. Please do not read if you are in any way overly sensitive to book abuse. My beloved Nigella 'Domestic Goddess' recipe book got left outside in the rain, all night, and is currently very damp and soggy, drying in my airing cupboard. I can not yet say how much fatal damage has been done. I am devastated that I allowed this to happen. I should probably be locked away. Nigella, please, forgive me, for I have sinned.
What are your favourite recipes when baking up a storm? Do you have any recipe requests?
