Glitzy Coffee Cupcakes

I’ve discovered edible glitter (how the heck did it take me so long?) and I want to sprinkle it on everything, but perhaps putting it on my chilli con carne was a step too far… Anyhoo, these sparkly beauties provide the perfect hit of coffee and glitz. So why not give them a whirl?

Glitzy Coffee Cupcakes (makes 24 - 28 mini cupcakes)

75g unsalted butter, softened

100g caster sugar

1 large egg

3 tbsp soured cream

2 tsp instant coffee, dissolved in a teeny tiny amount of boiling water and cooled

110g self raising flour 

For the icing:

100g unsalted butter, softened

2 tsp instant coffee, dissolved in a teeny tiny amount of boiling water and cooled

225g icing sugar

To decorate:

100g walnuts, chopped

50g dark chocolate, grated

Gold edible glitter

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan).    
2. Mix the butter and sugar until creamy and light. Beat in the egg, followed by half of the flour.
3. Stir in the soured cream and coffee, then the remaining flour.
4. Distribute the mixture into mini cupcake cases, filling each two thirds full, and bake for 12-15 minutes in the middle of the oven.
5. To make the icing, mix half of the icing sugar with the butter until fully incorporated. Stir in the coffee, then add the remaining icing sugar and beat until smooth. If it is a little stiff, add a little splash of milk to loosen it slightly and it will become easier to work with.

6. Pipe or spread onto the cooled cupcakes (I prefer to pipe with a plain nozzle so that the icing is distributed evenly on top).
7. Put the walnuts and grated chocolate in separate bowls. Dip half of the cupcakes in each, making sure the icing is well coated with either chocolate or walnuts.
8. Now for the fairy dust moment – sprinkle with glitter and Ta Da! Glitzy Coffee Cupcakes!

Chocolate Owl Cupcakes

These chocolate owl cupcakes were so much fun to make... I had a hoot! Tee hee! I made them using gluten free flour and they went down a treat at my office. You could even add some chocolate chips to the cake batter to make them even more chocolately!

Chocolate Owl Cupcakes (makes 12)

150g butter, softened

150g caster sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

40g ground almonds

40g cocoa

125g self raising flour/gluten free self raising flour

4 tbsp yoghurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate icing:

150g butter, softened

250g icing sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2-3 tbsp milk

To decorate:

3 packets cadbury milk chocolate buttons, chop each button in half

2 packets giant chocolate buttons (for eyes)

2 packs white chocolate buttons (for eyes)

milk chocolate chips (for eyes)

3 cadbury fudge bars (for nose and ears), cut into triangular shapes

white chocolate stars

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
2. Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy.
3. Mix in the eggs, vanilla and ground almonds. Then add the yoghurt and sift in the flour and cocoa. Stir through until you have a smooth chocolately batter.
4. Divide between 12 cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 minutes.

5. Meanwhile make the icing: combine butter and half the icing sugar until smooth, beat in the remaining icing sugar and cocoa, then finally add the milk to loosen the consistency slightly.
6. Once the cupcakes are cooled, spread the chocolate icing on top. Keep aside a teaspoon of icing for adding some of the chocolate decorations.
7. Layer the halved chocolate buttons on one half of the cupcake, leaving a small space in the centre for a piece of chocolate fudge for the nose. Place two smaller pieces of chocolate fudge on the top side for the ears.

8. Add two giant chocolate buttons for the eyes. Use a toothpick or the end of a spoon to dab a tiny splodge of icing onto the centre of the buttons, then gently press two white chocolate buttons into place. Add the milk chocolate chips on top of the white chocolate buttons with another small dot of chocolate icing. Pop a couple of white chocolate stars onto the side. Ta da!

Mini Schokogugelhupf (Austrian Chocolate Cake)

A gugelhupf is an Austrian ring-shaped tea time cake. I've been wanting to bake a schokogugelhupf (all together now - shock-o-google-hoff!) ever since I saw the Hairy Bikers make one in a car park in Austria, high up on the Glossglockner High Alpine Road, during their mammoth Bakeation. When I popped into Lakeland and came across these silicone mini bund moulds I knew just what to make in them - mini schokogugelhupf of course! I adapted the Hairy Bikers' recipe for schokogugelhupf to make a smaller quantity as I only had 8 moulds.

Mini Schokogugelhupf (makes 8)

75g butter, plus extra for greasing

75g dark chocolate

25g ground almonds, plus extra for moulds

75g icing sugar

2 eggs, separated

65g self raising flour

¼ tsp baking powder

For the icing:

65g dark chocolate

20g butter

½ tbsp golden syrup

1. First of all grease the moulds with butter and coat with ground almonds. Then melt the chocolate and leave to cool for 15-20 minutes.
2. Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C fan).
3. Cream the butter and icing sugar until light and smooth. Beat in the egg yolks and then the cooled chocolate, ground almonds, flour and baking powder.
4. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Then, using a metal spoon, carefully stir into the chocolate mixture.

5. Spoon into the prepared moulds and bake for 12-15 minutes.

6. For the icing melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup and leave to cool for around 10 minutes until it has thickened slightly. Spoon on the cooled cakes.

Peanut butter cookies

I love peanut butter! These cookies are melt in the mouth good. It's pretty much impossible to eat just one (fact: four had been consumed before they were finished - one in dough form, and the rest somewhere between baked and splattered with chocolate) and they taste great with or without the chocolate. Go on, get into that kitchen of yours and make a batch now. Here's the recipe.

Peanut butter cookies (makes 28)

250g butter

140g caster sugar

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

150g crunchy peanut butter

300g plain flour

75g milk chocolate (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan assisted.
2. Mix together butter and sugar.
3. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract, followed by the peanut butter and stir through.
4. Add flour and mix until a delicious peanuty dough has formed.

5. Break off golf ball sized pieces, shape into rounds and pop on a lightly greased baking tray. During baking they will spread out a little so do leave some space between each cookie.
6. Bake on the middle shelf for 15-20 minutes.
7. Once the cookies (the ones that have survived the journey that is) have cooled, melt the chocolate and fling/swirl/dollop it on top.

Choc Caramel Dinosaur Cake

Last week it was Mr Makes' Birthday. I've had my eye on this Chocolate & Caramel Layer Cake on BBC Good Food for a while now and finally decided to make it for his Birthday cake. 

The ingredients list isn't exactly short, so I had to do a little shopping beforehand. It was well worth it though and once I'd measured everything out it was pretty easy to make. The ground almonds and yogurt made the sponge so springy and moist, and the chocolate ganache was to die for!

Once stacked and filled with caramel it was a surprisingly tall cake. As I was applying the chocolate it did wobble about a little, but after half an hour or so it had set and was perfectly stable (survived an hour car journey just fine). I did have trouble finding a box tall enough to transport it in though!

You may well have guessed by now that Mr Makes likes dinosaurs, so I wanted to make a few dinos to decorate the cake. I found this great tutorial for a T-Rex over at A Baked Creation and gave it a whirl. I made the cute purple dinosaur and Mr Makes made the slightly disturbing, half eaten, green one!