Hogwart's Halloween Feast: Treacle Tarts, Pumpkin Pasties & Butterbeer Cupcakes

"By the time Hallowe'en arrived, Harry was regretting his rash promise to go to the deathday party. The rest of the school was happily anticipating their Hallowe'en feast; the Great Hall had been decorated with the usual live bats, Rubeus Hagrid's vast pumpkins had been carved into lanterns large enough for three men to sit in, and there were rumours that Albus Dumbledore had booked a troupe of dancing skeletons for the entertainment."

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

There's no use hiding just how much I love Harry Potter. I've queued up at midnight for book editions to be released, had DVD marathons and visited the Leavesden Studios umpteen times. And if you're not a Harry Potter fan, chances are you won't be reading this and will never know how to make the best pumpkin pasties of your life.

But, guys, Harry Potter is for life, not just Halloween. 

So in order to preserve these recipes from the Hogwart's Halloween feast, Flick and I hopped on the Floo Network for supplies in Diagon Alley (via Flick's kitchen) and here they are...

In absence of Hagrid's pumpkins and a troupe of dancing skeletons, Flick did her best to keep me entertained with cups of tea, some singing and some regular dancing. She's multi-talented you know.

TREACLE TART

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"When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the puddings appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding...As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families."

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Treacle Tart
(recipe adapted from BBC Good Food, makes 4 individual tarts, or 1 medium tart)

115g plain flour

55g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

1 egg

45g breadcrumbs

225g golden syrup

pinch of ground ginger

zest of 1/2 a lemon and 1tbsp of lemon juice

1. Rub together the butter and flour in a large bowl until it resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Stir in the egg and knead on a lightly floured work surface until the dough is smooth.
3. Roll out to about the thickness of a pound coin and place into tart tins. Use a small ball of leftover dough to press into the edges of the tart tin. Prick the base with a fork and leave to cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Heat the oven to 190 degrees, cover the tarts with baking paper, fill with baking beans and bake blind for 10-15 minutes. The tart should be light and just starting to turn golden.
5. For the treacle filling, mix all ingredients together. Pour into the pastry tarts and bake for 20 minutes.

PUMPKIN PASTIES

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"Anything from the cart, dearies?"

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 

Pumpkin Pasties
(makes 16)

390g pumpkin flesh, grated

200g gruyere, grated

1tbsp freshly chopped sage

1tbsp freshly chopped parsley

2 cloves garlic, grated

dash of cream

one pack of puff pastry

1 egg yolk, beaten

1. Heat the oven to 190 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the pumpkin flesh, 150g cheese, herbs, garlic, cream and generously season. Leave to one side.
2. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry to about the thickness of a pound coin. Use a round pastry cutter to cut each pasty. Pull out each of the pastry rounds so that they look more pumpkin shaped.
3. Lay half the pumpkins onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper, leaving a little room between each.
4. Spoon the pumpkin mix onto the middle of each pastry pumpkin leaving space round the edges to brush with beaten egg yolk.
5. Place the pumpkin tops on, score three lines from top to bottom of each of the pumpkins to help them take their shape. Place a pumpkin seed on top for the stalk.
6. Sprinkle on the remaining 50g of grated gruyere and bake in the oven until golden, 15-20 minutes.

BUTTERBEER & PUMPKIN CUPCAKES

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"Why don't we go and have a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, its a bit cold, isn't it?"

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 

Butterbeer & pumpkin cupcakes
(makes a dozen)

Spiced pumpkin cupcakes:

225g pumpkin flesh, grated

1tbsp root ginger, peeled and grated

40ml buttermilk

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

200g unsalted butter, softened

210g caster sugar

250g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tray with cupcake cases. In a stand mixer, or with a handheld whisk, mix together the pumpkin, ginger, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, butter and sugar until combined.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices (no need to sift these).
3. Continue to slowly beat the pumpkin mix and add in the flour mix in stages, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is well mixed.
4. Divide between the cupcake cases and bake for 15 minutes, until golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack whilst you make the buttercream.

Butterbeer buttercream:

140g salted butter, softened

280g icing sugar, sifted

splash of full fat milk or cream

1tsp vanilla bean paste (the stronger the better)

1tsp caramel flavouring (better still, butter flavouring if you can find it)

few drops of orange colouring

1. In a stand mixer or hand whisk, beat the butter and icing sugar slowly together until smooth. If needed, add a splash of milk or cream to loosen.
2. Continue to beat in the flavouring and colouring until fully incorporated.

Pipe the buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes and decorate with smashed pretzels, butterscotch and any other treats you fancy. A drizzle of caramel would be great too!


And if that's not quite enough for a feast, then check out some more ideas on my Pinterest board...

Follow Sophie Loves Food's board harry potter on Pinterest.

"Mischief managed."

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Recipe: Hidden Oreo Cupcakes

I'm not really sure who makes the rules. People seem to think that the cupcake craze is over. Perhaps for some, but not for me. Essentially, they're cakes in mobile form without the need for awkward slicing and delegating who gets what sized slice.

So with that in mind, I decided to bring together a few of my recent favourite treats (Oreos, chocolate and hidden centres) and bake these cupcakes. Sharing is optional.

Oreo cupcakes have been around the Pinterest block a few times, but here's a recipe in UK measurements for you to store away for a rainy day.

Hidden Oreo cupcakes

(Makes 12)

175g unsalted butter, softened

caster sugar, 165g

3 large eggs

40g cocoa powder

125g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 pack Oreos

For the Oreo Buttercream:

140g unsalted butter, softened

280g icing sugar

1-2 tbsp milk

2 packs Oreos

Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tray with paper cases. Add an Oreo to the bottom of each case.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and gently beat after each addition. Add the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder to the bowl and mix. (Use a splash of milk if you feel the mixture needs a little loosening). Spoon evenly between the cupcakes cases, filling each approximately two thirds to the top.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

To make the buttercream, beat the butter in a stand mixer until pale and fluffy. Sift the icing sugar into the same bowl and add the milk. At this stage I tend to start mixing gently by hand with a wooden spoon to avoid getting covered in clouds of sugar. Return to the mixer and continue to beat until your buttercream is smooth and fluffy. Add 2 packs of crushed Oreos. To crush, either blitz in a blender or give them a bashing with a rolling pin in a sandwich bag.

To ice, smooth buttercream over the tops with a palette knife, or use a piping bag with a circular nozzle. Top with any remaining Oreos.

Cupcakes will keep for a few days stored in a cool place in air tight containers.

A selection of alternative Oreo recipes from other friendly food bloggers:

Baking Queen 74's slow cooker white chocolate Oreo blondies
Lauren Abery's Oreo double chocolate cheesecake
Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary's Oreo button cookies
Little Sunny Kitchen's Oreo brownies
Recipe's from a Pantry's no bake blueberry Oreo cheesecake
The Petite Cooks' homemade love Oreo cookies

Lemon and Chia Seed Muffins

Chia seeds are a great replacement for poppyseeds in these lemon muffins.

The seeds are super nutritious, full of fibre, protein and omega-3 fats. Sourced from a flowering plant native to South America, these were a staple in the diets of ancient Mayans and Aztecs known to improve the energy and stamina of their warriors.

Wheat-free Hazelnut Cupcakes

When one of your favourite London bakeries publishes a book, you get it. 

The secret recipe of my favourite brownies in Town and of course the Curly Wurly cake that stole the show on Eurovision this weekend are now mine!

In a conscious bid to add more wheat-free recipes to my blog I chose to try out this hazelnut cupcake recipe. Completely and utterly worth it. This is by far the most moist cupcake you'll ever find and I'm enjoying the left over buttercream for breakfast, its that good.

So here's the recipe...

Maple Syrup & Coffee Pancake Cupcakes

After a bit of a foodie week last week, I have high hopes for the same again this week. Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday after all...if you needed an excuse.

Mini Marshmallow Cakes

   A very wet, cold and miserable week has just past. I figured that the only way to survive such a week was with marshmallows and cake.

Spiced Pumpkin Mini Cakes

Spiced pumpkin mini cakes
(From Martha Stewart, makes 24)
     2 cups plain flour
     1tsp bicarbonate of soda
     1tsp baking powder
     1tsp salt
     1tsp ground cinnamon
     1tsp ground ginger
     1/4 freshly grated nutmeg
     1/4tsp ground allspice
     1 cup packed soft brown sugar
     1 cup caster sugar
     1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
     4 large eggs, lightly beaten
     1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease trays and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice; set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, caster sugar, butter and eggs. Add dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
• Divide batter evenly among the trays, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, or a cake tester comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

I had some chocolate custard left over from my Brooklyn Blackout cupcakes, which goes perfectly with the spicy pumpkin cake. Recipe here. Then topped with some blitzed cake crumbs and a pecan half.

Brooklyn Blackout Cupcakes

   As it's Chocolate Week I made some super chocolatey Brooklyn Blackout cupcakes. These cupcakes were made popular by Ebinger's Bakery in Brooklyn, New York. A rich chocolate cake filled with rich chocolate custard and frosted with the same rich custard and covered in cake crumbs. 

   These cakes were named after the blackout drills in New York in World War II performed by the Civilian Defence Corps. All lights in the city were turned off and windows were covered with black material to practice so that ships sailing off to battle could not be spotted by enemy planes.

Brooklyn Blackout Cupcakes
(Adapted from Hummingbird Bakery, makes 12 cupcakes)
     100g unsalted butter, softened
     260g caster sugar
     2 eggs
     45g cocoa powder
     1/4 tsp vanilla extract
     3/4 tsp baking powder
     3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
     a pinch of salt
     170g plain flour
     160ml whole milk

For the chocolate custard:
     500g caster sugar
     1tbsp golden syrup
     125g cocoa powder
     200g corn flour
     85g unsalted butter
     1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• Heat the oven to 170 degrees and line a muffin tray with cupcake cases.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Slowly beat in the vanilla extract, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt until well mixed.
• Add half the flour, then all the milk, and finish with the remaining flour.
• Mix well until everything is well combined.
• Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases and bake for 20 minutes.
• Leave the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.
• For the chocolate custard, put the sugar, golden syrup, cocoa powder and 600ml of water into a large saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat, whisking occasionally.
• Mix the cornflour with 120ml of water, then whisk into the cocoa mixture in the saucepan. Bring back to the boil, whisking constantly. Cook until very thick, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
• Pour the custard into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and chill until very firm.
• When the cupcakes are cold and custard cooled, use a pairing knife to cut out a cone shape from each. Put all 12 into a food processor and blitz to make fine crumbs.
• Fill each cupcake with a piping bag (I didn't use a nozzle for this) and then finish with a swirl on top. 
• Sprinkle the cake crumbs over each cupcake to decorate.

Mini Caramel Coffee Cakes

   I thought I'd share a quick recipe of one of my midnight bakes this week. These mini cakes were a little experiment with a jar of caramel that's been sitting patiently in the cupboard. Of course they were waiting for a little java buzz and some chocolate caramel buttercream.

Mini caramel coffee cakes
(Makes 6 mini cakes)
     85g unsalted butter, softened
     55g soft dark brown sugar
     1tbsp golden syrup
     1 large egg, lightly beaten
     100g self raising flour
     1tsp freshly grated nutmeg
     2tbsp espresso coffee

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a bun tray with 6 cases.
• Beat together the butter, sugar and golden syrup until light and fluffy. 
• Gradually beat in the egg.
• Sift in the flour and nutmeg and, with a spatula, gently fold in with the 2tbsp espresso coffee.
• Spoon the mixture into the paper cases and bake for 15-20 minutes. Until golden and firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool before topping.

For the topping,

     150g unsalted butter, softened

     1tsp vanilla extract

     280g icing sugar

     2tbsp caramel sauce

     115g milk chocolate, melted

• Place the butter and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat until the butter becomes pale.
• Gradually sift in the icing sugar, beating well after each addition.
• Add the melted chocolate and caramel and continue to beat until well combined, light and fluffy.
• Pipe swirls onto the cooled cakes (I used a Wilton 2d...my favourite!)

Find me on Instagram, @S_LovesFood.

Mini Lemon Meringue Cake for One

      I was so excited to find a recipe to make just one cupcake. Some days there's nothing better than a home made treat. I wouldn't quite trust myself with a whole batch to myself so making just the one is ideal. Filled with lemon curd and topped with a small cloud of meringue, this mini cake is zingy and sweet.

Mini Lemon Meringue Cake
(Makes 1, recipe adapted from Sweet Road)
     1 tablespoon margarine, or softened butter
     2 tablespoons golden caster sugar
     4 tablespoons & 1 1/2 teaspoons almond milk (I used soya milk), room temperature
     1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
     3 tablespoon & 1 1/2 teaspoons plain flour
     1/4 teaspoon baking powder
     a pinch of salt
     Mackay's lemon curd
     egg white from 1 egg
     couple of spoons of caster sugar

• Heat the oven to 190 degrees celsius and grease a mini cake tray.
• Combine the margarine and sugar together until well incorporated.
• Add 2 tablespoons of the soya milk and mix.
• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the butter mixture.
• Add the remaining milk and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
• Once cool, hollow out the cake and fill with a spoon of lemon curd.
• For the meringue, beat 1 egg white until stiff on a high speed. Melt a spoon or two of caster sugar in equal amounts of water. Once melted, add to the stiff egg white by pouring down the side of the bowl so as not to touch the whisk. Continue to beat into silky and the mixture has cooled, felt by the bowl. Pipe onto the cake and give it a quick blast with a chef's torch.

Mini Coconut and Lime Curd Cakes

   What better way to start seven days off than a birthday weekend! Not my birthday, but Mother Loves Food's. On Friday afternoon I pushed my way through the sweaty train crowds with flowers and baking supplies for the weekend.

   First up was a Limoncello cake from Peggy Porschen's Boutique Baking book. I seem to struggle with aesthetics when baking anything from this book. Maybe its the fact that everything in there is just so beautiful, its a little daunting! That and the fact that most recipes in there require three same sized sandwich tins, which I do not own. I never learn that throwing it in one big tin doesn't work quite the same.

   The result, an inch high cake. It did have a good rise for the extremely wide tin I put it in but not the impressive towering oozy boozy lemon cake I'd envisaged. Instead, I carefully filled it with some lemon curd and Limoncello buttercream and drizzled with more Limoncello and a sprinkling of gold stars.

   Next up were these little lime cakes baked for my mum to take into her work tomorrow. Of course I sneaked one to test, especially after overheating in a hot kitchen in this heatwave. I was so excited to try my new baking tray for mini square cakes from Lakeland, the perfect individual size servings and the cakes slipped out with very little encouragement. I always worry when not using cake liners.

   Each little square lime cake is filled with Mackays lime curd and topped with coconut soaked in lime juice. With a little help of some icing sugar, the curd has the perfect sweetness to cut through all the lime. 

Mini coconut and lime curd cakes

(Makes 24)

     250g unsalted butter, softened

     250g caster sugar

     4 large eggs

     2 teaspoons vanilla extract

     zest of 2 limes

     250g self raising flour, sifted

     drop of milk

     half jar Mackays lime curd

     juice and zest of 1 lime

     3 tablespoons desicated coconut

     3 tablespoons icing sugar

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and grease two mini cake trays.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• In a separate bowl beat the eggs. Add a tablespoon at a time to the butter mix, beating well after each addition.
• Add the lime zest and vanilla extract and gently stir to incorporate.
• Fold in the flour with a large metal spoon until the mixture just comes together.
• Fill the baking trays a quarter of the way up, about 1 tablespoon per cake, before adding a teaspoon of lime curd to each and topping with the rest of the cake mixture.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and the cakes start to come away from the sides of the tray.
• Leave to cool in the tray for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the icing, whisk together the icing sugar, lime juice and coconut and spoon onto each cake once cooled. To finish, top with a sprinkling of lime zest.

Strawberry & Champagne Duffins

   I find Twitter to be one of the most useful blogging enablers. I get the sense of being in a little baking community where I can quite easily while away an hour or so chatting, exchanging tips and inspiration. But mainly, drooling over everyone's latest bakes that help to add to a never ending 'to-bake' list and an ever expanding bookmarks folder on my phone.

   So when I saw a tweet from the lovely people at Mackays asking for some bakers to join them and get baking with jam, I couldn't wait to join in. After an email suggesting a few ideas, a lovely stash of jams and curds arrived on my doorstep the very next day. At the very top of my 'to-bake' list was Duffins. One of those hybrid style bakes that people rave about. And because they sell them at my favourite cake place, I just had to give them a go.

   And now I know exactly why people rave about them. These are quite possibly the best things I have ever baked. Ever. I baked them last night and filled them this morning to take into the office but I'm already plotting alternative filling combinations. Custard and lemon curd. Apple and ginger. Lime and chocolate.

   I'm a little bit of a jam doughnut fiend. A popular choice for office birthday celebrations and also a reminder of eating them as a little person at my grandparent's. These Duffins, in case you didn't know, are a hybrid of a jam doughnut and a muffin. And because Mackays make an awesome strawberry and champagne preserve, they're just that little bit fancier!

Strawberry & Champagne Duffins
(Makes 22, recipe from Afternoon Tea with Bea)
     420g plain flour
     4tsp baking powder
     1/2 tsp salt
     1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
     330g caster sugar
     2 eggs, lightly beaten
     375ml sour cream/buttermilk
     2tsp vanilla extract
     130ml sunflower oil
Coating & dipping
     250g unsalted butter, melted
     300g caster sugar
     1/2 jar of Mackays Strawberry preserve with champagne

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease two 12 hole muffin trays.
• Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
• Add all the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Don't overmix.
• Spoon the mixture into the muffin tray, filling them three quarters of the way up.
• Bake for 22-30 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
• Whilst the Duffins are baking, put the melted butter and sugar in their own shallow bowls and set aside.
• Once ready, remove the Duffins from the oven and tip out.
• Immediately dip the muffins in the melted butter, then roll in the sugar to liberally and evenly coat.
• Fill a piping bag with jam. Push the nozzle/tip through the top (or bottom if you want it to look neater) of the doughnut, up to midway. Pipe about 1 tbsp of jam inside each doughnut.

   I'm now left with one question...is it acceptable to have only champagne preserves from now on? To follow other jammy bakes, keep an eye on #bakingwithmackays

Raspberry and Rose Muffins

   With a few hours to spare this afternoon I felt it was only right to spend them baking. This is the bonus of early shifts...despite the 04:30am alarm!

   Following on from my recent ramble of trying to bake a little healthier, I picked up some pretty massive raspberries whilst waiting for my train after work to pop them into a recipe I tweaked from this month's Women's Health. By tweak, I mean a lot of improvisation. I thought I had enough maple syrup, but had to make up 30g with the vanilla syrup I make for my coffee. The recipe wanted vanilla extract anyway, and it worked!

   The recipe was for a healthier version of a victoria sponge cake, but I made individual muffins as I love my new Wilton muffin tray so much. I also skipped the yoghurt take on a victoria sponge's jam and cream and added a fresh raspberries into the cake batter and drizzled the baked muffins with a rose icing to finish.

   I've really enjoyed the bakes I've made so far from these recipes in Women's Health, definitely opened my eyes to healthier alternatives to refined sugars. Simple alternatives really do make all the difference. The other recipe I've tried is lemony hazelnut and blueberry muffins, recipe here.

Raspberry and Rose Muffins
(Adapted from Women's Health May/June 2013)
Makes 12 medium muffins
     160g unsalted butter, softened
     160g white spelt flour, sifted
     2 eggs
     2 tsp baking powder
     160g maple syrup
     1 tsp vanilla extract
     small squeeze lemon juice
     pack of fresh raspberries
     few drops pink food colouring
     few drops rose essence
     half a cup icing sugar

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and place 12 muffin cases into the tray.
• Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl until fluffy.
• Add 2-3 tbsp of flour and beat in the eggs until the mixture is light and fluffy (if its curdling, add another spoon of flour).
• Add the remaining flour, baking powder, maple syrup and vanilla extract and fold.
• Divide the mixture between the muffin cases, poke in a few raspberries in each and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.
• Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the muffin try before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the rose icing, I mixed half a cup of icing sugar with a few drops each of rose essence and pink colouring. Top up with a few splashes of water and stir well. Pour into a piping bag and drizzle on the cool muffins.

I also dusted a little gold 'space dust' on top...couldn't help myself!

Lemony Hazelnut & Blueberry Muffins

   Even though I haven't baked or blogged for a while I have still been indulging in many a sugar filled treat. Giant Jaffa cakes, dairy milk, speculoos and custard creams to name a few. So when I saw recipes for nourishing cakes filled with fruits, nuts and natural sugars in this months Women's Health, I thought I'd give one a go.

   I chose to make the lemony hazelnut and blueberry cake as it sounded similar to the Hummigbird blueberry and lemon bundt that I love baking. My brother always asks for the 'one with blue spots'!

   With blueberries and hazelnuts these cakes are packed with vitamin E and anti oxidants, perfect for skin. Something I struggle with being a sweet treat fiend!

Lemony hazelnut & blueberry cakes
(Adapted from Women's Health May/June 2013)
     60g hazelnuts
     130g soft unsalted butter
     110g white spelt flour
     1tsp baking powder
     2 large eggs
     65g honey
     65g maple syrup
     Finely grated zest of 1/2 a lemon

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a muffin tray with cases
• Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for 5 minutes. Leave to cool for a few minutes before removing any skins and blitzing in the blender into a fine meal. 
• Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. With an electric hand mixer, beat in all of the other ingredients. Be careful not to overmix to keep the cakes light and fluffy. 
• Divide between the muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes or unil a skewer comes out clean. 

Honey yoghurt topping

     175g fat free fromage frais

     1tbsp honey

     Few tbsps of blueberry jam

     Handful of blueberries

• Lightly whip the fromage frais until thick, drizzle in the honey and whisk again until incorporated
• Swirl in blueberry jam and top the cooled muffins with some of the yoghurt mix and fresh blueberries. 

The recipe in the magazine makes a sandwich cake, but I decided to divide the mix into a dozen muffins to try out my new Wilton muffin tray!

Passionfruit, Blueberry & Poppy Seed Muffins

   Passionfruit is a new favourite of mine, and since getting a jar of curd I've attempted to put it on most things. With night shifts looming this weekend, I decided to bake some muffins from Gizzi Erskine's new book.

Passionfruit, blueberry & poppy seed muffins
(From Skinny Weeks and Weekend Feasts) Makes 16 small muffins
     225g self raising flour
     50g oats
     75g caster sugar
     1tsp baking powder
     1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
     a pinch of sea salt
     2tbsp poppy seeds
     zest of 2 lemons
     200ml milk
     75ml lemon juice
     125g unsalted butter, melted
     1 egg
     250g passionfruit curd
     150g blueberries

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees.
• Mix flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, poppy seeds and lemon zest together in a large bowl.
• In another bowl mix the milk and lemon juice, slowly adding the butter, egg and 100g of the curd.
• Pour into the flour mix and combine well.
• Gently stir in the blueberries.
• Divide between the muffin cases.
• Using a piping bag, pipe about 2 teaspoons of curd into the centre of each muffin.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and the curd has sunk a little.

You can also use lemon, lime or orange curd.

My other passionfruit recipe can be found here, passionfruit cupcakes with white chocolate icing.

LoveTea: Paksong Oolong Cupcakes

   If its not obvious, I love cake. You may therefore be surprised to hear that I also love tea, just as much as cake. I've not baked with tea much, other than my honey tea bread, so when the guys at LoveTea sent me some Paksong Oolong tea I was excited to try it out in a bake.

   LoveTea is a genius idea. It gives tea lovers the opportunity to try different gourmet teas each month. This month's tea comes from the only tea garden in Laos, The Paksong Tea Garden. Seeds from wild growing trees on the Lao-Chinese border were used to plant the garden and were highly prized on their quality by Chinese Emperors; they even saved it for the imperial family and court dignitaries. Sounds like my kind of tea!

   The dry leaves of this tea smell like strawberry jam and once infused produce a delicate buttery floral flavour. I thought that the flavour would be complimented with lemon to add a little freshness to this golden tea.

Oolong tea infused cupcakes
(adapted from Black Dog blog)
     285g plain flour, sifted
     400g sugar
     2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
     1 teaspoon baking powder
     1 teaspoon salt
     300ml buttermilk, shaken
     100ml sunflower or vegetable oil
     2 large eggs, room temperature
     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
     1 teaspoon lemon juice
     1 cup hot oolong tea

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and fill a cupcake tray with cases.
• Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
• In another bowl, combine all wet ingredients, except the oolong tea, together.
• Slowly add the wet to the dry ingredients. Add the tea last and stir well to combine.
• Divide between the cupcake cases and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden and a tester comes out clean.

   I opted for chocolate buttercream because I had some spare in the fridge that needed using up. A mascarpone frosting would go just as well. Or even a white chocolate and thyme frosting as suggested on Black Dog. 

Find my chocolate buttercream recipe here.

   If you fancy sampling some gourmet tea then Matthew, Master Brewer at LoveTea, is offering a 40% discount to you lovely readers. Just pop discount code 'SLF40' at the checkout over at LoveTea.

Malteser Bunny Cupcakes

Serves 6

Cupcakes:

     1115g unsalted butter, softened
     115g caster sugar
     2 eggs, lightly beaten
     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     115g self raising flour, sifted (take away 2 tablespoons and replace with Chocolate Malt powder)
     1 tablespoon milk

Chocolate buttercream (serves 12):

     150g unsalted butter, softened
     260g icing sugar
     50g plain chocolate

Mini Malteser bunnies.

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tray with cases.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Slowly add eggs, one spoon at a time, and lightly beat after each addition. Add the vanilla extract.
• Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the sifted flour and chocolate malt, before adding the milk.
• Divide evenly between the cases. Finely chop a few Malteser bunnies, or regular Maltesers, and poke into the cake mix in each case.
• Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until golden.
• Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a ban marie.
• Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a stand mixer and add the melted chocolate once slightly cooled.
• Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with a Malteser bunny.

Passionfruit Cupcakes with White Chocolate Icing

   Passionfruit is something I've only tried very recently...in a cocktail! Since then I've been wanting to try it out in some bakes. A friend - the one who encouraged me to start this blog last summer - bought some passionfruit curd into the office for me. Maybe because he had to endure my ranting about just how good lemon curd is in porridge (a discovery courtesy of Steph from Riverside Baking) even though he doesn't eat porridge. And maybe because of another rant about just how expensive passionfruit is to buy in the supermarket. So thanks for the curd Andy, and for listening to my daily rants! 

   I decided to make some cupcakes filled with oozing passionfruit and a white chocolate icing. The white chocolate I used was a cheeky little corner from the Valrhona white chocolate plate I bought home from my Sunday Afternoon Tea at Podium. I've refrigerated the rest of this to make some more cupcakes or cookies this week, but you could double up the cupcake quantities and make 12 and use all the icing.

Serves 6

Cupcakes:

     115g unsalted butter, softened
     115g caster sugar
     2 eggs, lightly beaten
     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     115g self raising flour, sifted
     1 tablespoon of milk

White chocolate icing (serves 12):

     200g white chocolate
     20g crème fraîche
     80g unsalted butter, softened
     225g cream cheese
     1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

A few tablespoons of passionfruit curd.

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tray with cases.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Slowly add eggs, one spoon at a time, and lightly beat after each addition. Add the vanilla extract.
• Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the sifted flour and then add the milk.
• Divide evenly between the cases.
• Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until golden.
• Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate either in the microwave or over a ban marie.
• In a stand mixer, beat together the crème fraîche, butter, cream cheese and vanilla. Add the melted chocolate when slightly cooled.
• Once the cupcakes have cooled, core and pipe the passionfruit curd into the centre. (I warmed the passion fruit curd with a small splash of hot water and mixed well in order to losen it and make it easier to pipe).
• Rather than piping the icing, as I didn't find the mix stiff enough, I just spread a spoon of icing over each cake and evened with a small spatula.

I'm now a fully fledged passionfruit fan, so if anyone has any suggestions of how else I can use this curd then I'd love to hear them!

Leiths: Raisin Bran Muffins

   Another recipe from my Baking workshop at Leiths, these raisin bran muffins are really 100 times better than they sound. Imagine an Elvenses bar, but better and so quick and easy to make. This recipe can also be found in Leiths Baking Bible. I'll be baking more of these pretty soon, such an easy breakfast to grab on the go!

Makes 12

     200ml semi-skimmed milk

     115g butter, softened

     100g All-Bran cereal

     115g golden caster sugar

     2 eggs, beaten

     170g self raising flour, sifted

     1 teaspoon baking powder

     Half teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

     Half teaspoon ground cinnamon

     140g raisins

     Honey and oats for decoration

• Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases.
• Warm the milk and butter in a saucepan on a low heat until the butter has melted.
• Place the cereal and sugar in a bowl, stir in the butter and milk.
• Allow to cool to lukewarm before adding the eggs.
• Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and raisins. Try to incorporate the mix well without stirring more than 20 times - other wise the muffins will become tough.
• Divide between the paper cases and bake for 25-30 minutes. 
• Cool on a wire rack before glazing with honey and adding a sprinkle of oats.

See my other post from this workshop for a raspberry sponge with elderflower mascarpone recipe.