Cupcakes a-go-go

I had a little book buying binge on Amazon. 5 new cookery books....exciting times. This incuded a couple of cupcake books as I had a job coming up that required the mastering of the cupcake.

The client wanted some fun pastel ones to appeal to all of the guests aged 6 months to lots of months. I used the Primrose Bakery book, their amounts were absolutely spot on, I'd highly recommend it.

I did some more classic ones for .....ahem....testing too :o)

These are now a Relish service, just starting the next commission......

Beet and chocolate cake

Here's a lovely squidgy beet and chocolate cake. I confess that sometimes I just make it without the beetroot because I can be bothered cooking them. Then I just grate some beetroot into the icing sugar to give bright purple (natural coloured) icing.

This recipe will be in the brochure for the Food & Drink Festival over here on 26/27th September.....but here's a sneak preview

Ingredients

For the cake:
230g self-raising flour – from Laxey Glen Four Mills
100g cocoa powder
200g caster sugar
100g dark chocolate
125g butter – courtesy of Isle of Man Creameries
250g cooked beetroot – nurtured by Robin of Purely Plants Produce
3 large eggs – laid at Staarvey Farm

To serve:
350g blackberries – from a hedgerow near you
250ml double cream – courtesy of Isle of Man Creameries

Method

Preheat the oven to 1800C . Butter and flour a 18cm (7in) round cake tin.

Sift together the flour and cocoa, then mix in the sugar. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a very low heat. Puree the beetroot, whish the eggs then stir them into the beetroot. Add the beetroot and chocolate mixtures to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes before turning out of its tin. Serve with a scattering of blackberries and big dollop of double cream.

Cupcake test day @ The Good Loaf

A catering client wanted some cupcakes for her party. I'm not bad at baking but I thought I'd call in the experts so I headed down to The Good Loaf bakery to get Liz and Sarah's help.

Before I arrived Liz had made two varieties of sponge base. Then Sarah got cracking on the icing and decorations. Yum!

Michelle's victoria sponge

The Dictator (Michelle) treated me and Stokesy to Sunday lunch a couple of weeks ago. She reckons that it is high pressure cooking for me because I'm so fussy. Me? Fussy? How ridiculous.

Anyhoo.....she came up trumps with this gorgeous cake for puds. Real strawberries, plus strawberry jam and cream as a filling is a winner as far as I'm concerned. Nice work Michelle!

And to dessert - Chocolate Amaretti Cake

Oooh look at that. Now that is what I want to end my day with. Rich, moist, dense and chocolatey.

This recipe was taught to me at Ballymaloe Cookery School. Rachel Allen was doing the demonstration that day, so whilst the female half of the audience drooled over the food, the male attendees.....well I think you can guess what they were drooling over.