Monday, June 25, 2012

Choc Mint Oreo Cupcakes

I've made these before, but I thought they looked especially cute this time.


Partly because they were accompanied by a playing child. And then partly because I put some into a cupcake box.


I think it's extra hard to make cupcakes look bad when they're packaged in white. (Hence the fact that these now appear at the header of this blog!)


I'm concentrating on presentation here, but just in case you actually want to make these: make a chocolate cake batter, distribute in cupcake wells, stick an Oreo (or similar) in the top of each cupcake before baking, top with a little piped peppermint butter cream. Devour.

Friday, June 15, 2012

When it's cold

Winter is the season for sneaky mug cake. It's not pretty. But it is warm. And chocolatey.


Tuck some apples into a bed of cake. All snug and tasty, and warm, once you get to the oven part.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Bacon and Peanut Butter Cookies

We had a bakeoff at work recently and we were supposed to make something savoury. Not really my area of expertise. So I opted for another one of Joy the Baker's novel combination recipes. 

There's the bacon...
...and the peanuts...

Mix it all together and what've you got? Bacon and peanut butter cookies of course. Recipe here <-<- and also in the very enjoyable Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes.


Somehow the little chunks of meat sticking out of the cookies look a bit disturbing, don't they?


They're rolled in a little sugar, but I maintain that these count as a savoury item. Plenty of salty bacon. And a little bit of molasses - the first time I've actually used it. Turns out it's nothing like golden syrup as I'd thought. Molasses is potent stuff; dark and sticky.


I didn't win the bakeoff. But I did win the weekly team award for "the bravest biscuits ever," and they were rather a talking point. One guy told me they'd be good dipped in chocolate, but I think that would just add another layer of crazy. Your biggest challenge in making them may be resisting the lure of the bacon when it comes out of the oven all baked and crispy and inviting. If you're not careful your bacon and peanut butter cookies may stall at the delicious snack of bacon stage. But be strong. The cookies are worth a try!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Pretty Banana Cupcakes (Gluten & Dairy Free)

I love this photo. And I didn't even take it! I was busily preparing to host an afternoon tea and Jess went to work with the camera.


I got the recipe for these out of a book, but I wouldn't say it was particularly good. I had already started when I realised it needed dairy free milk... but I didn't have any on hand so just used water instead. They were still quite edible, but a bit denser than I would've liked. I used cinnamon icing which helped them along.


Anyway, it was worth it if only for the pretty photos. Afternoon tea is a lovely thing indeed.