Rose Candies

This year I decided to save some pennies and make my own birthday cake and I thought some cupcakes would make a lovely accompaniment to the main cake.
The  cupcakes I made are a standard vanilla cake with a raspberry in the bottom, with vanilla butter cream and a rose shaped candy on top.  To make the rose shaped candies all you need is a mold sheet with roses in and some candy melts.

Method: enough for seven roses

1. First things first, you need to clean the mold with warm water and soap.  After doing this, dry thoroughly using a dish cloth and using a cotton round, clean the inside of the molds as this will help the melted candy to stop sticking to the mold and breaking.
2. Place a handful of candy melts in a piping bag - do not cut the end of the bag until the candy has melted - and place on a plate in a microwave.
3. Microwave the candies for 2-3 minutes, depending on the wattage of your microwave.
4. Cut a small nib in to the piping bag and pipe the melted candy in to the molds - do not over fill.
5. Once you've filled the molds gently lift the mold sheet about 1-2cm above the table and let it fall on the surface - this is to knock all of the bubbles out so the shape of the candy is perfect.  Repeat this until all of the bubbles have gone and leave to set in a cool room, or the fridge.
6. Once set rub the top of the rose mold and gently push out the candy, so it falls on the surface the right way up.
7. Finally, place the rose shaped candy on top of your cake.

This method applies to all candy molds, there are also a variety of colours in the Candy Melts range.  They do not come in different flavours unfortunately, but all I can say about the general flavour is that it tastes like chocolate

Rasberry Butter Cream

This is a recipe that my mum taught me to do, I wasn't sure how to preserve the flavour of the raspberries for the butter cream and I am not the biggest fan of using artificial flavourings for fruity frostings, or cakes.  So, this is how to make raspberry butter cream for cupcakes, cake filling, and cake toppings.

Ingredients: enough for 12 cupcakes
Raspberry coulis -

• 1/2 punnet of Scottish Raspberries - I find at this time of year they are the most flavoursome.
• 80g caster sugar
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• Few drops of vanilla flavouring

Butter cream -

• 700g icing sugar
• 140g unsalted butter (Lurpak) 

NB: This recipe makes quite stiff butter cream which is perfect for any kind of frosting that involves a nozzle.

Method:

Raspberry coulis -

1. On a low heat, in a small pan, add all the ingredients and stir lightly, gently mashing the raspberries as they are cooking.  NB: wear an apron to avoid any splashes landing on your clothes and staining them.
2. Place a sieve above a soup bowl, balancing it across the bowl.  Pour the coulis on top the sieve and using a tea spoon press the coulis against the sieve so the juice drops through to the bowl with no seeds.
3. Throw away the excess that's left in the sieve and pour the juice in to a large bowl and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Butter cream -

1. Add all the ingredients in to the large bowl with the raspberry coulis in and using an electric whisk whizz up the butter cream.  Remember, the longer you whizz it for the fluffier it will be but also consider the heat that your electric whisk gives off - you don't want your butter cream to start melting.  If this happens simply put it in the fridge.
2. Add to your cakes

 The raspberry butter cream is on the right and the vanilla on the left.  To make butter cream in this design you need a Wilton 2D Drop Flower Tip, to learn how to do this click here to watch my demonstration on YouTube.

Standard Vanilla Butter Cream

This is just a standard vanilla butter cream recipe that can be used on cakes of most kinds and is very adaptable.  You can add other flavours to the vanilla butter cream, using it as a base flavour, for instance: vanilla fudge, mint, raspberry, orange and lemon.  You can add any colour to the frosting as well :)

Ingredients: enough for 12 cupcakes

• 500g icing sugar
• 80g butter (Lurpak)
• tsp vanilla extract/flavouring
• 25ml semi-skimmed milk

Method:

1. Add all of the ingredients together in a big bowl and mix together with an electric whisk.  Use a low setting at first to avoid a huge icing sugar dust cloud and then switch to a higher powered setting until it is light and fluffy.

This is a standard vanilla cupcake, cooked with a raspberry in the bottom, with vanilla butter cream on top and a rose shaped candy on top.  To learn how to make the rose shaped candies read here.

Marshmallow Fluff

You got to love marshmallow fluff, but you must admit that it is expensive, you can only buy it in specialist stockists like Harvey Nichols, and it's full of nasty preservatives and chemicals! 

It's a great cake filling and can be used to make fudge too.  I'm using it today for filling my 21st birthday cake instead of jam or butter cream. 

This recipe is for seriously fluffy and seriously sticky marshmallow fluff, using natural ingredients for a tasty dessert!

Ingredients: enough for 2 cakes, 4 jam jars (for presents) and a fair few cupcakes!!!

• 470ml runny honey
• 470ml caster sugar
• x3 egg whites
• Tsp vanilla flavouring

Method: WARNING - STRENUOUS: Please use an electric whisk!

1. Add everything to a big bowl - you need a big bowl because when you start whisking it it rises quickly and you don't want it overflowing!
2. Whisk on full power for 10 minutes, or more until it's white, fluffy and sticky!

NB: the mixture does start off brown and it is bitty from the sugar, but the longer you whisk it, and the faster you whisk it the whiter, and smoother the fluff goes!  This recipe is good if there are two of you making it because then you can swap half way for a break whilst your friend whisks!

You can store this in the fridge, or use it straight away! Enjoy this seriously fluffy and seriously sticky marshmallow fluff!

Macaroni Carbonara

Everyone loves carbonara, it's simple to make and it's super tasty!  Admittedly, it isn't the healthiest of pasta options, what with it being full of dairy but you can use fat reduced products and it will still taste as lovely.  This is the carbonara I made earlier in the week, I didn't have any spaghetti so I used macaroni, which was just was as lovely.

To make the carbonara you will need....

Ingredients: enough for 4 with some left over for tomorrow's lunch

For the pasta:

• x1 small bag of macaroni shells
• x2 tbsp chicken stock (liquid knorr, or one whole knorr stock tub)
• Salt and pepper

For the sauce:

• x1 regular sized tub of reduced fat creme fraiche 
• Grated parmesan
• Mozzarella
• Splash of milk
• x2 garlic cloves
• Dash of white pepper
• x1 pack of un-smoked bacon

Method:

1. In a large pan of boiling water, add the chicken stock, salt, pepper and macaroni shells. Boil until cooked (some pasta shells from different shops or different makes take longer than others, I used Morrison's own macaroni shells and it took 15 minutes for them to cook).
2. After the pasta has been boiling for 10 minutes, chop up the bacon in to small cubes, removing as much of the excess fat as you can.  Add to a small frying pan and lightly simmer until golden on the edges.
3. Strain the pasta in a colander and tip back in to the original large pan.  Chop up some garlic in to small pieces and add to the pasta, then add the milk (enough to cover the bottom of the pan), then the creme fraiche, mozzerella and as much parmesan as you would like.  Stir gently on a low heat until the cheese has melted and then stir in the bacon.
4. Turn the heat up on the pan and give the pasta a quick heat blitz before serving it.

Enjoy hot or cold, for lunch or dinner! Happy eating!

Chili con carne with extra veggies!

If I was going to have chilli con carne just the way I like it every time - yes this would include ordering it at a restaurant - then I would have it how my mum makes it.  I know we all love our mum’s cooking, but trust me when I tell you that her cooking is pretty damn good.  She’s always full of ideas and knows how to use leftovers properly.

My mum’s chilli recipe uses more kidney beans, peppers and onions then actual meat, making sure that we eat as much of the good stuff as possible.

So, I did my own chilli recipe – using the same basis as my mum - and I also tried spinach instead of white rice as an accompaniment.

This is the chili con carne with extra veggies recipe! Enjoy!

Ingredients: enough for 4!

• 500g lamb mince
• x1 courgette
• x3 peppers
• x1 can red kidney beans
• x4 shallots
• x1 red onion
• x1 tbsp beef stock (knorr)
• Salt and pepper
• Sprinkle of chilli flakes 
• x1 tin chopped tomatoes
• x4 tbsp corn flour
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce

NB: It’s always good to use shallots for this sort of recipe because they are a lot more flavoursome than onions.

Method:

1.     Chop up all your vegetables and have them in a bowl ready to go!

2.     Add the mince to a deep frying pan, on a medium heat, crumbling it in with your hands.  Add salt, pepper and ½ tbsp of beef stock, the shallots and a sprinkle of chilli flakes for flavour.
NB: There’s nothing worse than eating bland mince meat so make sure you get the flavour in to the meat first thing.

3.     Once this is half-cooked, add the rest of the vegetables and the whole can of kidney beans, and gently fry.  Put a lid, or if not, a bigger pan on top so that the heat can circulate and soften the vegetables.  Cook for 10/15 minutes.

4.     Add the whole can of chopped tomatoes, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and ½ tbsp of beef stock for flavour.  If you want spicier chilli, then now is a good time to add some more chilli flakes, or some chopped fresh chilli (remember to de-seed the fresh chillies!)
NB: when tasting food from the pan, always use a metal spoon, never a wooden spoon, or spatula, otherwise you’ll only be able to taste the spoon. EW!

5.     Turn the heat down a bit lower and place a lid or frying pan on top and leave for 15/20 minutes occasionally stirring.

6.     Stir in the corn flour so the chilli becomes less runny.

7.     Plate up the spinach – a handful for each plate – and serve the chilli con carne with extra veggies on top.

If any of you have any chilli con carne recipes that they would like to share then please post them in the comment box below.  I’m interested to see how other people eat theirs!

I hope you enjoy this recipe.