Snickerdoodles

Okay so I don't think Liv and I can maintain a blog at the same time as getting a degree aha, we're just not good at multi-tasking. When we woke up to snow on Friday (all be it quite a pitiful amount) as well as a text from uni saying our lectures were cancelled Liv and I thought we'd bake. We went to the Christmas section of Cake Days so it fitted in with the Winter weather outside of course and picked Snickerdoodles, these are a cinnamon based cookie. 

We put a bit more cinnamon in than the recipe originally suggests and I think that the outcome was just right. The biscuits are coated in a cinnamon sugar as well, so these aren't really for cinnamon haters. 

Recipe
(Cake Days - The Hummingbird Bakery)

For the Dough:
60g (2oz) unsalted butter
160g (5.5oz) caster sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1 large egg
240g (8.5oz) plain flour
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/8 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 

For the Coating:
1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Method:

• Using a hand-held electric whisk or a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla essence until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are fully incorporated. 
• Sift together the remaining ingredients and add these to the creamed mixture in two or three batches. Mix well using the mixer or by hand until the dough forms a smooth ball. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with cling film and place in the fridge to chill and rest for approximately 40 minutes. 
• While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 170C (325F), Gas Mark 3, and line two to three baking sheets with baking parchment. 
• Next mix together the caster sugar and ground cinnamon for the coating in a small bowl. 
• Once the dough is ready, break off small, walnut-sized pieces of the dough and roll these in the cinnamon sugar, making sure each ball is completely coated. Place the dough balls on to the prepared baking sheets, allowing five or six cookies per sheet and arranging them 4-5cm apart to give them space to spread during cooking. 
• Pop in the oven and bake 10-13 minutes or until the cookies are a light golden colour. Allow to cool and set on the sheets for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. 

Thanks for reading, 

Naomi ♥

Eggnog Cupcakes

As it was Christmas, I really wanted to try the Eggnog cupcakes in the Hummingbird Book and also thought it was a perfect opportunity to use my new snowflake cutters. I've never had Eggnogg before so I don't really know what it tastes like but I liked the sound of the rum and nutmeg used in these cupcakes.

The eggnog cupcakes use a plain sponge but put rum and nutmeg in the frosting to give the cake the eggnog flavour.  As usual the sponge was really nice and light and as it was plain sponge it allowed you to add lots of flavour to the frosting and it not be overpowering.  When I started baking, I realised I didn't have any rum essence, so I just used rum instead to give the cupcakes the flavour. The nutmeg and rum worked really well together and the nutmeg gave the frosting a really nice colour.

Nutmeg is quite a strong flavour so I would recommend to stick to the amounts that the book says to add as it's not for everyone's taste and adding too much would overpower the frosting.

For the snowflakes I used royal icing that I coloured blue as I didn't have any sugarpaste. I used the smallest of my snowflake cutters and was really pleased with how they came out. A few of them didn't quite come out as snowflakes as the edges are really delicate and sometimes hard to get out of the cutter but overall I was pleased with how they turned out.


Recipe 
(Cake Days - Hummgbird Bakery)
Makes 12-16 cupcakes

For the sponge:
80g (3oz) unsalted butter
280g (10oz) caster sugar
240g (8 1/2oz) plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
240ml (8 1/2fl oz) milk

For the frosting:
500 (1lb 2oz) icing sugar
160g (5 1/2oz) unsalted butter
2 tsp rum essence
1tsp freshly grated nutmeg
50ml (1 3/4fl oz) whole milk
Edible christmas themed shapes to decorate

one or two 12-hole deep muffin tins

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5 and fill a muffin tin with muffin cases.
• Using a handheld electric whisk or freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt on a low speed until they have the texture of fine breadcrumbs.
• Break the eggs into a jug, add the milk and whisk by hand, then pour three-quarters of this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix on a low speed to combine.  Increase the speed to medium and keep mixing until smooth and thick. Scrape down the side of the bowl, add the remaining milk mixture and continue to beat on a medium speed until all the ingredients are mixed in and the batter is smooth.
• Fill the paper cases two-thirds full with the batter.  If any remains, it can be used to full up to four more cases in a second muffin tin.  Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until risen and springy to the touch.   Leave in the tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the frosting. 
• Using the electric whisk or a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment, whisk the icing sugar with the butter, rum essence and grated nutmeg on a low speed until no large lumps of butter are left and the mixture is crumbly.  Gradually add the milk, then increase the speed to high and whisk until light and fluffy.
• Once the cupcakes are cold to the touch, smooth the frosting on top of each cake using a palette knife and add a decorative swirl.  Decorate with shop bought edible Christmas themed shapes or make your own from sugarpaste.

Thanks for reading,

Olivia xx

Chocolate Baileys Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for my friend as part of our secret santa but have only just got round to posting about them. She loves Bailey's so I thought I'd incorporate it into some baked goods, a standard present from me (as well as giving her a bottle of it). The recipe is from 'Making Cupcakes with Lola' and I've been wanting to make them for a while. The sponge is chocolate with both whiskey and Bailey's added to it and on top is a Bailey's buttercream. After piping the icing onto the cakes I topped them off with a simple florist paste flower which I made using the large blossom cutter.

I was a little disappointed with myself for these cupcakes as I got carried away with Christmas T.V and over baked them slightly, however my friend was still very happy with them. The buttercream was really nice as it had just the right amount of Bailey's in it without it being overpowering or sickly.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year, hopefully Olivia and I can keep up with our baking this year but bare with us as we sometimes find it hard to balance both university work and baking. I got a lot of baking goodies for Christmas so I might write a post about those this week at some point.

Recipe 
(Making Cupcakes with Lola - Victoria Jossel & Romy Lewis)
Makes 12 regular or 24 tiny cupcakes

For the sponge:
100g (31/2 oz) milk chocolate, chopped
125g (1 stick) butter, cubed
220g (1 cup) plus 1 tbsp caster sugar
120ml (1/2 cup) Baileys
2 tbsp whiskey
1 egg
a pinch of salt
150g (1 cup) plus 3 tablespoons plain flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder

For the buttercream:
125g (1 stick) butter, cubed and soft
500g (3 2/3 cups) icing sugar
3 tbsp Bailey's
1 tbsp milk

muffin pan lined with 12 muffin cases or mini-cupcake pan lined with 24 mini cupcake cases

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• Put the chocolate, butter, sugar, Baileys and Whiskey in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. Heat, stirring, until the chocolate melts and you have a smooth, glossy mixture. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes. 
• Now add the egg and salt and beat with an electric hand mixer. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder into the bowl and beat until blended. 
• Divide the mixture between the muffin cases. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or a little less for tiny cupcakes. They should be well risen and a skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before decorating. 
• While the cupcakes are cooling down, make the Baileys buttercream. 
• Put the butter in a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until very soft and smooth. Sift half the sugar into the bowl, beating until incorporated. 
• Add the second half of the sugar and beat on a low speed. Slowly pour in the Baileys and milk and when they are all mixed in, beat for 3-5 minutes on a higher speed. 
• Spread the frosting over the cold cupcakes using a spatula, or spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle/tip and pipe it on top of the cupcakes. 

Thanks for reading,

Naomi ♥