Custard Cream Cupcakes

You can't go wrong with custard creams, they really are king of the biscuits in my eyes. Whilst much research has been done on the ultimate dunker, I'll challenge purists and say that these guys are better than a ginger nut. They may not have the sculptural dignity, but they do offer the perfect flavour balance to a brew with the added cream bonus in a bid to hold some shape.

Maybe I'm biased, but they truly are my favourite.

When hearing all about my friend's new bakery business and all the cupcakes she's making I was inspired to get into the kitchen and make my own...for myself! Cupcakes are the divas of the cake business, only best on the day of baking, but there's something to be said by having your own personal little frosted cake...or three (no one's counting)!

Vanilla sponge packed with crushed custard creams and topped with custard flavour buttercream. In order to have unlocked ultimate cupcake achievement levels, I'd have loved to have made some fresh custard to fill the centres with. But alas, I was hungry and the kitchen is too hot from last week's heat wave (my jar of coconut oil still hasn't set yet). I'm saving my efforts for the Great British Bake Off starting up next month and attempt to bake along again each week.

C U S T A R D   C R E A M   C U P C A K E S
(Recipe adapted from Primrose Bakery's Everyday, makes 12-16 cupcakes)

150g self raising flour

115g plain flour

10g custard powder

120ml semi-skimmed milk, room temperature

1tsp vanilla extract

110g unsalted butter, softened

225g golden caster sugar

2 large eggs

100g custard cream biscuits, crushed

Custard buttercream:

200g unsalted butter, softened

280g icing sugar, sifted

4tbsp custard powder, sifted

few drops of milk if needed to help combine

custard creams to decorate

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tray with cupcake cases.
• Pour the milk and vanilla extract into a jug and mix together. In a bowl, add the flours and custard powder.
• Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Continue to mix on a slow speed whilst adding each egg, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Whilst continuing to mix, pour in the third of the flour until combined and alternate between the mix and the rest of the flour mix. Add in the crushed custard creams and gently fold together with a spatula.
• Spoon the batter evenly between each cupcake case, filling up to two thirds full.
• bake for 15-18 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to fool fully on a wire cooling rack before frosting.
• To make the frosting, beat the butter on a medium speed to ensure soft before gently and slowly adding in the icing sugar and custard powder. Continue to beat on a low speed at first, then medium until well combined.
• Load the butter cream into a piping bag, pipe a swirl onto the top of each cupcake and top with two halves of custard creams.

---

Recipe: Snickerdoodles

There’s a knack to baking and some things take a little longer to perfect. Brownies being the first thing that took a little practice (there’s a very specific level of chocolate fudginess required you know). But this time its biscuits. I have a fair few cookie recipes on my blog but other than custard creams I always struggle to make a biscuit that’s not cake-like. Countless attempts and variations of butter, chilling, rolling and cutting have all failed me. Usually embarrassed enough to stick to what I know and never attempt them again.

But then there’s Snickerdoodles. First attempt at baking, no problems at all. So when life gives you snickerdoodles eat the whole lot and worry about the rest later!

Snickerdoodles
(Recipe slightly adapted from Afternoon Tea with Bea, makes 24)

225g unsalted butter, softened
315g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
350g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt

sugar dipping:

2tbsp ground cinnamon
200g golden caster sugar

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and gently beat after each. Mix in the vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and beat on a slow speed until well incorporated. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for 15 minutes.

Heat the oven to 160 degrees and line two baking sheets with baking paper. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl ready for dipping the cookies.

Roll small pieces of dough into neat balls, about golf ball size, slightly flatten and dip each into the cinnamon sugar. Space evenly onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving some room for spreading between each.

Bake for 13-16 minutes until the edges are golden and the tops look dry. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire cooling rack.

Rocky Road

Not a recipe post as such, but I thought I'd share the homemade treats I've been enjoying this week

   These have been the most successful rocky roads I've made to date, and the most simple. Just 1 packet of smashed biscuits and a scattering of mini marshmallows coated in 3 bars of melted milk chocolate and left to set in a 20cm square tin.

   I used chocolate digestives, but ginger biscuits or cookies work very well also. Smashed up crunchie bars can make these even more naughty.

Custard Creams & Bourbons

   There's nothing better than a good British biscuit. I can't hide my fondness for a good hot brew and a biscuit to dunk. But then again, who isn't fond of a good dunk?

   I got the best gift ever, biscuit moulds! Clearly someone knows me very well! I tried out the custard cream and bourbon ones this evening but still have jammy dodger ones to try.

Custard Creams
(Makes 16-20 biscuits)
     225g plain flour
     50g custard powder
     30g icing sugar
     175g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
     1/2 tsp vanilla extract
     50g unsalted butter, room temperature
     200g icing sugar
     2 tbsp custard powder

• Pulse the flour, custard powder and icing sugar in a mixer until well combined.
• Add in the butter and vanilla extract and continue to pulse until the mixture begins to come together.
• Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge, or until firm.
• Take a small ball and press into the moulds, turn out onto a lined baking tray.
• Chill for a further 15 minutes, heat the oven to 180 degrees.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.
• To make the filling, beat the butter until soft and creamy, approximately 5 minutes.
• Slowly incorporate the icing sugar and custard powder and continue to beat until smooth.
• Once the biscuits are completely cool, use a spoon of the filling to sandwich two biscuits together.

Bourbons

(Makes 16-20 biscuits)

Follow the recipe for custard creams and substitute the custard powder with cocoa powder.

   The bourbons came out of the moulds much easier than the custard creams as the dough was a lot shorter. Perhaps a little tweaking to the recipe is required for optimum mould shaping.

Custard Creams

My favourite biscuit of all time. And to celebrate my new Nikki McWilliams biscuit cushion, I baked some.

I've baked them before so you can find my recipe here. This time I didn't go for pink hearts though.

If anyone knows where I can get some biscuit cutters to make official looking custard creams then please let me know. I'd love to bake some giant ones like the ones Costa sell.

Is it bad that I could want every biscuit cushion by Nikki? If I did, I'd be one step closer to living in my dream house, a gingerbread one!

Chocolate & Ginger Cookies

The fiery warmth of ginger and bittersweet dark chocolate is the most perfect cookie flavour. These are cookies with attitude!

I saw this recipe on Milli's Kitchen yesterday and have been thinking about it ever since. I ran to get supplies straight from work and started baking immediately. As I have a little (large) soft spot for ginger I upped the spice to give a little kick.

Makes 14 cookies.

160g dark chocolate
80g milk chocolate
60g unsalted butter
2 large eggs
20g ginger purée
120g golden caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
150g self raising flour, sifted
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Melt the chocolate and butter in a plastic bowl in the microwave or over a ban Marie until fully melted and smooth. (Approximately 1 minute in the microwave).

Beat together eggs, ginger and sugar until pale and light.

Add the chocolate and sugar mix together, mix well.

Stir in self raising flour, salt and cocoa powder. Stir until well combined.

Dollop mix onto a baking sheet leaving space for the cookies to spread.

Sprinkle with ground ginger and chocolate chips.

Bake for 12-14 minutes depending on thickness of cookie.

Cool on a wire rack.