tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33651068271301261212024-03-15T08:43:58.253+00:00What Laura MadeBecause I can't stop thinking about baking and I thought I'd share...
Happy Baking xLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.comBlogger206125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-82502318033135521742015-11-29T12:12:00.000+00:002015-11-29T12:12:01.827+00:00Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Just a quick post today to share these delicious Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes by Cupcake Jemma. </span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I love pumpkin, so this time of year is exciting for me. Although my </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">housemate thinks it's poison... She's a weirdo, how can you not love pumpkin?<br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">She is away for a week and so this was the perfect opportunity to bake these cupcakes, she is lucky to have such a considerate housemate. </span></span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is a recipe by my girl crush Cupcakes Jemma and her recipes never fail to please. If you can get you hands on some of the pumpkin purée that is in the stores at this time of year, I highly recommend you try this one out. </span></span><br />
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</b><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aTQIkoqL5ys/VlrqmTqQBBI/AAAAAAAAEuc/vGaKX4uxsm0/s1600/IMG_0455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aTQIkoqL5ys/VlrqmTqQBBI/AAAAAAAAEuc/vGaKX4uxsm0/s400/IMG_0455.JPG" width="400" /></a><b><br />
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</b></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #454545; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit;">Spi</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #454545; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit;">ced Pumpkin Cupcakes</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #454545; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit;">by Cupcake Jemma</span></span></div>
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</span> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #454545; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: inherit;">makes 24 cupcakes</span><br />
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<i><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For the cupcak</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">es</span></i></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">220g caster sugar</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">175g soft dark brown sugar</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">300g self-raising flour</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">½ tsp bicarbonate of soda</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2 tsp ground cinnamon</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 tsp ground ginger</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 tsp ground nutmeg</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 425g tin of unsweetened pumpkin puree</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">200ml vegetable oil</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">4 large free-range eggs</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">50g pumpkin seeds</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>For the cream cheese icing</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">150g unsalted butter, softened</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">240g cream cheese</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">840g icing sugar</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 170°C.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Whisk the sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer to get rid of any lumps, then sift in the remaining dry ingredients (apart from the pumpkin seeds), and 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Whisk the wet cupcake ingredients together in a bowl, then add to the dry mix, beating until smooth and glossy.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Fill the paper cases two-thirds full with mixture but don't bother to smooth it out.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />Bake for 20 minutes, or until they spring back when touched.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Leave to cool, transferring to a wire cooling rack after 5 minutes.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile, gently toast the pumpkin seeds in a pan over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, tossing often until golden and starting to pop, then set aside to cool.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For the cream cheese icing, beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until pale and smooth. Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl, then add to the butter mixture in two stages, beating well between each until beautifully smooth - if the mix seems too loose, add a little more icing sugar until the consistency is just right.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Once the cupcakes are cool, decorate them with the cream cheese icing, then sprinkle the toasted seeds and sprinkle on top.</span></span><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Baking x</span><span class="s2" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com7London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-79799513949285438602015-10-16T16:10:00.000+01:002015-10-16T16:10:03.528+01:00The Chocolate Show, London Olympia - October 16-18th 2015<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’m very sorry to all my readers (apparently someone actually reads my dribble) for my lack of blog entries this year. I don’t know where the time has gone, but I’ve had a fantastic year so far and unfortunately my blogging has been put to one side. I have taken on a few new endeavours and my focus was to be selfish and to do other things that I enjoy and it’s worked out fabulously. More on that later…on to </span><a href="http://www.salonduchocolat.co.uk/accueil.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the Chocolate Show</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">…<br />
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</span><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BbaH3ojT5-g/ViEGMXhhlkI/AAAAAAAAEsg/sau9PUAxC68/s640/blogger-image-48442840.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="399" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BbaH3ojT5-g/ViEGMXhhlkI/AAAAAAAAEsg/sau9PUAxC68/s400/blogger-image-48442840.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was very lucky to be asked to attend the VIP preview evening to witness the Chocolate Fashion Show, featuring couture outfits made of and inspired by chocolate (including one from The Fat Duck) and an exclusive performance from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory The Musical's Charlie Bucket and Willie Wonka and the Spice Boys. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On arrival I was excited to receive a goodie bag with chocolate treats from a number of the stalls including </span><a href="http://en.valrhona.com/accueil.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Valrhona</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.jeff-de-bruges.com/en" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jeff de Bruges</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.blanxart.com/eng.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blanxart Chocolate</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.baru.be/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Barú Chocolate Marshmallows</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and several more. <br />
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</span><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_CFEiztncR4/ViEGN_WSvOI/AAAAAAAAEso/lUlbZT_7wZU/s640/blogger-image-1042106240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_CFEiztncR4/ViEGN_WSvOI/AAAAAAAAEso/lUlbZT_7wZU/s400/blogger-image-1042106240.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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My flatmate (come pack-horse) came along to help me try ALL the samples (and consequently carry all our bags). <br />
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</span><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6s4wSDlzkq4/ViEGZHo8_7I/AAAAAAAAEtI/u07KmYxddSA/s640/blogger-image--1996071513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6s4wSDlzkq4/ViEGZHo8_7I/AAAAAAAAEtI/u07KmYxddSA/s400/blogger-image--1996071513.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <br />
We were excited to try the new chocolate range from Magnum. Considering how much I love their ice-cream, I was excited to try it out before it hit the shops… although truth be told, as an ice-cream fiend, I would have liked a side of ice-cream – just saying!<br />
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</span><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IJTJ4K2qQpU/ViDq5bMql7I/AAAAAAAAErw/LDS9puBVziI/s640/blogger-image--876330725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="398" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IJTJ4K2qQpU/ViDq5bMql7I/AAAAAAAAErw/LDS9puBVziI/s400/blogger-image--876330725.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><br />
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<img border="0" height="400" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YCz__8NTPYg/ViDq3baBSYI/AAAAAAAAEro/s_w13tR8inU/s400/blogger-image-335074440.jpg" width="320" /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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There were numerous stalls, but the one that grabbed my attention was the pop-up shop by </span><a href="http://belleepoque.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Belle Époque Patisserie</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and their partner Valrhona. Their lady-rep kindly took me through all the desserts they had on display and I settled on the “Dulcey and Fig”.<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The dessert reads “Shaped like a pillow this dessert is about comfort. An intense fig compote crackles as you being to feel the soothing sweetness of the Dulcey chocolate melt through. A tribute to the famous fig roll of our childhoods.”<br />
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</span><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9j_ScwoG79o/ViEGLLr9wzI/AAAAAAAAEsY/V6XWpAQt_Hg/s640/blogger-image--1646298067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9j_ScwoG79o/ViEGLLr9wzI/AAAAAAAAEsY/V6XWpAQt_Hg/s400/blogger-image--1646298067.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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My review – “on nom nom”<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was also very lucky to receive a take home dessert which I will devour this evening. It was called “Four tarts, Four colours” and is a sample of each flavour of Valrhona chocolate on top of a tart. <br />
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</span><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kaKE7kd86rU/ViEGQfN5c5I/AAAAAAAAEs4/XaxYDwj39ec/s640/blogger-image--1601289512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kaKE7kd86rU/ViEGQfN5c5I/AAAAAAAAEs4/XaxYDwj39ec/s400/blogger-image--1601289512.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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If you get the chance to head down this weekend I would recommend checking out Paul A Young baking his famous fudgy brownies and GBBO winner Edd Kimber.<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My flatmate and I also picked up some treats from the </span><a href="http://www.yumyumtreefudge.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yum Yum Tree Fudges</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and some freeze-dried raspberry popping candy from </span><a href="http://www.alittlepieceandlove.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A Little Piece and Love</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">… popping candy isn’t just for kids!<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gDPEgvPy0tA/ViEGPRS46kI/AAAAAAAAEsw/NtwNevSIdlI/s400/blogger-image--1287023472.jpg" width="320" /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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Now I’m off to devour it all…<br />
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</span><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0qdzTRI-920/ViEGRhSm6jI/AAAAAAAAEtA/z1y0DFEjMoc/s640/blogger-image-206945387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0qdzTRI-920/ViEGRhSm6jI/AAAAAAAAEtA/z1y0DFEjMoc/s400/blogger-image-206945387.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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Happy Baking x</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-82093804236887945942015-03-24T23:11:00.000+00:002015-03-25T22:33:35.176+00:00Hazelnut Moments with Choc Berry Filling<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This weekend I visited my lovely friend Laura who lives just outside London. We had a lovely weekend driving around the English countryside as she showed me the cute villages around where she lives.<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gvl-K-XH1vQ/VRHozxz4b-I/AAAAAAAAEc8/Mlesab-Z4Xk/s1600/IMG_1321.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2qP4jNHCp3I/VRHoyfvDu8I/AAAAAAAAEc0/pIZiLlu3Ens/s1600/IMG_1320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2qP4jNHCp3I/VRHoyfvDu8I/AAAAAAAAEc0/pIZiLlu3Ens/s1600/IMG_1320.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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One of my favourite things to do is drive in the countryside and since I can't drive (legally), it's a treat when a friend can take me. We visited a few charity and vintage shops and I wanted to buy all of the tea cups. But I resisted. We also went to a little shop called Bakewell. It was very hard to not load up my basket with a shop worth of baking bits but I managed to come out with just a cake box and THE BEST INVENTION EVER... a reusable non-stick baking mat.<br />
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</span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0S830_MiY6Q/VRHoISJdDkI/AAAAAAAAEco/Da9TCWx5Y-g/s1600/IMG_1333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0S830_MiY6Q/VRHoISJdDkI/AAAAAAAAEco/Da9TCWx5Y-g/s1600/IMG_1333.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was kindly given one of these a few years ago. I cut the mat to fit perfectly into my cookie tray meaning no more baking paper (also good for the environment - REDUCE first, recycle second). However, I have two trays! It's been on my list for while, so I was allowed this purchase. If you bake and/or cook regularly these are a must have and I highly recommend. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most of friends know I don't ever show up empty handed so I took along these decadent treats to say thanks for having me. I wish I had the non-stick mat before I made them... Make sure you use fresh raspberries and eat them with a fresh pot of tea :)<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xgl3mF_bdGA/VRHoCPnEpGI/AAAAAAAAEcM/F_hLRz4jrP4/s1600/IMG_1310.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Hazelnut Moments with Choc Berry Filling</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">by Women's Weekly Macaroons & Biscuits<br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JrMBbtV7dAo/VRHoGsG4xoI/AAAAAAAAEcc/6oyM8zArV4g/s1600/IMG_1311.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">90g unsalted butter, softened</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">½ teaspoon vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">55g caster sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 egg</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">50g ground hazelnuts</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">110g plain flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">25g cocoa powder</span></div>
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<i>For the filling</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">90g dark eating chocolate, melted</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">60g unsalted butter, softened</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">110g Nutella</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">35g fresh raspberries, chopped coarsely<br />
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beat butter, extract, sugar and egg in a small bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Stir in the ground hazelnuts, then sifted flour and cocoa. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Divide the dough in half; roll each half between sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. <br />
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Preheat oven to 180°C. Line oven trays with baking paper. <br />
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Cut dough into 4cm fluted rounds; place on trays 2.5cm apart. Bake about 8 minutes. Cool on trays. <br />
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Make choc berry filling by beating cooled chocolate, butter and Nutella in a small bowl with an electric mixer until thick and glossy. Fold in the raspberries. <br />
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Spoon choc berry filling into piping bags fitted with 2cm fluted tube. Pipe filling onto flat side of half the biscuits; top with remaining biscuits.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Baking x </span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com4London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-63754153112749797682015-03-17T22:58:00.000+00:002015-03-17T22:58:41.909+00:00Stem Gingernuts<div class="p1">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Spring lied to me! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Saturday morning I woke up early for yoga, to a chilly but mild, bright sunny day. I could see all the way to Ally Pally from the top of my street...</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J8BC4ZQ05oQ/VQitUa-3RFI/AAAAAAAAEbk/3_k3mvG6oII/s1600/IMG_1246.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was only in my yoga class for just over an hour; but by the time I came out it, winter had returned and then sun was nowhere to be seen. I walked home in the cold, without gloves hoping it didn't start to piss down with rain. Luckily I felt so good (if not sore) from my yoga. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I got home and after warming up my hands, which had not quite yet turned blue but we're not far off, decided to stay in and bake cookies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had a jar of stem ginger in my fridge and found this gem of a recipe in The Great British Book of Baking. It's a simple recipe that doesn't need any equipment besides a bowl and spoon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l5YkpudIXQg/VQis-6zYiVI/AAAAAAAAEbA/g0j7TtwCwdU/s1600/IMG_1268.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fingers crossed Spring returns soon. </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Stem Gingernuts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">by The Great British Book of Baking</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">350g self-raising flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon ground ginger</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">200g caster sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">115g unsalted butter</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">85g golden syrup</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 egg, beaten</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">35g (2 pieces) stem ginger, drained and finely chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 170°C </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sift the flour, ground ginger, bicarbonate of soda and sugar into a mixing bowl. Gently melt the butter with the syrup in a pan over a low heat and set aside until barely warm. Pour this mixture into the mixing bowl, add the beaten egg and the stem ginger and mix with a wooden spoon. When thoroughly combined, roll the mixture into 24 balls, using your hands. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Arrange on the prepared baking trays, spacing them well apart to allow for spreading. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until good golden brown. Keep an eye on them and, if necessary, turn the trays around halfway through the cooking period so that he biscuits brown evenly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leave the biscuits to cool on the trays for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Store them in an airtight container.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8CFrpPTLq34/VQitAPhZhHI/AAAAAAAAEbM/A6xNYlRP2tE/s1600/IMG_1269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8CFrpPTLq34/VQitAPhZhHI/AAAAAAAAEbM/A6xNYlRP2tE/s1600/IMG_1269.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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Happy Baking x </span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com1London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-7364885254444324512015-03-10T20:37:00.000+00:002015-03-10T20:37:24.559+00:00Gluten Free Lemon, Sunflower Seed and Blueberry Muffins<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Spring has arrived in London! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had such amazing weather at the weekend. It was coat off, park walking, beer garden kind of day on Saturday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My friend Nat and I had already planned a few weeks back to explore one of London's parks and decided to head to Hampstead Heath. I don't think we could have picked a better day. We spent nearly 2 hours walking around the Heath and enjoyed this view from the Top of The Hill before heading to the closest beer garden to enjoy the remained of sun for the day. <br />
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</span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gD2CpWb15ik/VP9RfllXDtI/AAAAAAAAEaE/Gio52FRm6EI/s1600/IMG_1199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gD2CpWb15ik/VP9RfllXDtI/AAAAAAAAEaE/Gio52FRm6EI/s1600/IMG_1199.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sunday wasn't as sunny, so I decided to do some more baking. I have baked a few recipes from this cookbook, but there are a number of recipes I still wanted to try. I had some leftover sunflower seeds and always have blueberries to hand. The recipe said it would make 8, so I thought I would use my smaller cases to get a few extras. It was so light and fluffy that it made three dozen! The trick with this recipe is to beat the sugar and eggs on high for the full 3 minutes and be careful when mixing in the other ingredients so you don't knock out the air. Did I mention these are also low in fat and gluten free… perfect treat for spring! <br />
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</span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VuATuu7UYKA/VP9Rb026gPI/AAAAAAAAEZ0/0zQuoBUF21Y/s1600/IMG_1225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VuATuu7UYKA/VP9Rb026gPI/AAAAAAAAEZ0/0zQuoBUF21Y/s1600/IMG_1225.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>L</strong></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>emon, Sunflower Seed and Blueberry Muffins</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">by Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache</span></div>
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2 large unwaxed lemons</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 medium free-range eggs<br />
160g caster sugar<br />
250g topped, tailed, peeled and finely grated courgette<br />
180g white rice flour<br />
160g ground almonds<br />
2 tsp baking powder<br />
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda<br />
1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
60g sunflower seeds<br />
150g blueberries<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 180°C and line the muffin tray with paper cases. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finely grate the lemon zest on to a plate. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric beater for a full 3 minutes until pale </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and creamy coloured. Add the grated courgette and lemon zest and beat again. Set the beaters aside. With the help of a spatula, beat in the flour, ground almonds, baking powder bicarbonate of soda, and salt until they are all mixed in. It is important to works as quickly as you can here. Equally fast, add the sunflower seeds and the blueberries. Give it all a good firm stir. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Spoon the mixture into the paper cases so that the mixture (which will be quite lumpy and stiff) comes right up to the top of each case. Place in the middle of the oven for 35 minutes. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Take the minutes out of the oven and cool on a wire rack. Don't be afraid of a blueberry-stained and slightly cracked muffin top.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Baking x</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-88945753797086317632015-03-05T20:55:00.000+00:002015-03-05T20:55:24.299+00:00Cinnamon Toast Cupcakes<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two posts in one week! I'm on fire.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of my friends on Facebook made these at the weekend and they looked delish, so I couldn't resist making them too. It seems she is obsessed with The Cake Book by Cupcake Jemma as I am.<br />
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<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFuKBCpGXB8/VPZBqkh6iWI/AAAAAAAAEY0/VUEYhQ50MD0/s1600/IMG_1163.JPG" height="400" width="400" /><br />
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The recipe is a bit strange. You actually make buttered toast to go in the mixture as well as to sprinkle on top along with cinnamon sugar.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I still remember when I was about ten discovering the cinnamon/sugar combination and was hooked. I made my own little shaker and heavily buttered my toast and covered every inch with the cinnamon sugar... Not the healthiest of breakfast but so so tasty!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love cinnamon to this day and I still have a shaker (without the sugar) which gets added to most breakfast foods I eat. Apparently it's good for you too.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would recommend you use brown bread as per the recipe. I only had brown multi seed and some people (my housemate) wasn't a fan of the crunchy bits.</span><br />
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</span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4M7WcdpnIVc/VPZBtQ0zpoI/AAAAAAAAEZE/w1t1s3B_u4g/s1600/IMG_1164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4M7WcdpnIVc/VPZBtQ0zpoI/AAAAAAAAEZE/w1t1s3B_u4g/s1600/IMG_1164.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></a><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cinnamon Toast Cupcakes</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> By Cupcake Jemma</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
Makes 24</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em><br />
</em> <em>For the cupcakes</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4 slices of brown bread<br />
270g unsalted butter, plus extra for spreading, softened<br />
225g caster sugar<br />
25g soft dark brown sugar<br />
200g self-raising flour<br />
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda<br />
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon<br />
4 large free range eggs<br />
2 tablespoons whole milk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em><br />
</em> <em>For the buttercream icing</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">300g unsalted butter, softened<br />
675g icing sugar<br />
ground cinnamon<br />
4 tablespoons whole milk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4 tablespoons granulated sugar</span></div>
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Preheat the oven to 170°C fan. Toast the bread until slightly burnt, then butter both sides and bake in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until crisp enough to snap. Remove and leave to cool, then whiz in a food processor or grate with a box grater and set aside. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the cupcakes, whisk the sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer to get rid of any lumps, and then sift in the remaining dry cupcakes ingredients. Add the eggs, butter and 50g of the buttered toast crumbs, and then beat for 60 seconds. Pour in the milk and whisk for 20 seconds to make sure it's all incorporated. Fill the paper cases two-thirds full with mixture, but don't bother to smooth it out. Bake for 20 minutes, or until they spring back when touched. </span></div>
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Leave to cool, transferring to a wire cooling rack after 5 minutes. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, make the icing. Beat the butter with an electric mixer for 4 to 5 minutes or until pale and smooth. Sift the icing sugar and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon into a large bowl, then add to the butter in two stages, beating well between each. Pour in the milk and beat for a further 3 to 5 minutes, or until smooth and silky. Once the cupcakes are cool, decorate with the icing and scatter the remaining toast crumbs on top. Combine the granulated sugar with a pinnace of cinnamon, then sprinkle over the cupcakes and serve.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xlsGavesdc4/VPZBtgwckqI/AAAAAAAAEZI/kPuKQPoRm4k/s1600/IMG_1165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xlsGavesdc4/VPZBtgwckqI/AAAAAAAAEZI/kPuKQPoRm4k/s1600/IMG_1165.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Baking x</span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com3London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-49254901319024651182015-03-01T21:37:00.000+00:002015-03-01T21:37:48.173+00:00Women's Weekly - Lavender Shortbread<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>ZH-CN</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>AR-SA</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since my last post I've been thinking about how I can go about setting baking goals... and sticking to them. So I've decided that I'm going to bake OR cook something from each of my cookbooks. I have quite a few and a large percentage of them I have never used and therefore I have to use them or lose them... as my mum use to say!<br />
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I would say that I will do this every week or month as it just won't happen, but I'll play out specific days in my diary that I can complete a recipe.<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q81S4CsNBsg/VPN0Y0Lb9jI/AAAAAAAAEXw/8h4DR582ic4/s1600/IMG_1170.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></div>
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So my first recipe is from a cookbook my dad sent me a few years ago… the Women’s Weekly High Tea cookbook. He knows me well! I have had this jar of lavender in my cupboard and just needed the perfect recipe to use it up. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NlOYm2apRGk/VPN0VKWFw7I/AAAAAAAAEXY/XrXaQguUeyY/s1600/IMG_1167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NlOYm2apRGk/VPN0VKWFw7I/AAAAAAAAEXY/XrXaQguUeyY/s1600/IMG_1167.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
Lavender Shortbread</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">by Women's Weekly </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">250g unsalted butter, softened<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">75g caster sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon water<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">300g plain flour<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">100g rice flour<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tablespoon dried edible lavender, chopped coarsely<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons Demerara (light brown) sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease oven trays. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beat butter and caster sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy, transfer to large bowl. Stir in the water, sifted flours and half the lavender, in two batches. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Turn dough onto floured surface, knead gently, until smooth. Shape dough into two 6cm x 20cm rectangle logs, cut into 1cm slices. Place about 2.5cm apart on oven trays, sprinkle with demerera sugar and remaining lavender. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bake shortbread about 20 minutes. Stand 5 minutes, transfer to wire rack to cool. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r9TAbAkgmhA/VPN0Wp2FXfI/AAAAAAAAEXg/5R0U26D8T_U/s1600/IMG_1168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r9TAbAkgmhA/VPN0Wp2FXfI/AAAAAAAAEXg/5R0U26D8T_U/s1600/IMG_1168.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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And if you live in Australia anywhere near Byron Bay, grab yourself some of this tea, it goes perfect with a side of shortread.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Baking x</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com1London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-31924495083062976892015-02-19T22:04:00.001+00:002015-02-19T22:04:38.778+00:00Simple Store Cupboard Chocolate Birthday Cake with 100's & 1000's<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's been awhile since I have blogged and I plan to remedy these long absences with a some baking projects/goals that I have set for myself for the remainder of the year. January and February for me are always a bit of a write off in terms of getting anything done. I'm a slave to my desk during these months as it's our renewal season and for me my new year starts at noon on the 20th of February</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(which is tomorrow... wooo!)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> along with the rest of the Marine Insurance Market. But as this year falls on a Friday, the "new year" including getting back to the gym and baking projects starts Monday!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did however, want to share a cake I made for my housemate Tom's birthday at the weekend. I had several bags of 100's & 1000's sitting in my cupboard for a while now and I've been waiting for an occasion to make a cake and literally cover the whole thing with them.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-azeJE7uQ69Y/VOZWuzF7VPI/AAAAAAAAEVY/qQzvbtmyepA/s1600/IMG_1114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-azeJE7uQ69Y/VOZWuzF7VPI/AAAAAAAAEVY/qQzvbtmyepA/s1600/IMG_1114.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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He requested a chocolate caked <a href="http://what-laura-made.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/triple-chocolate-fantasy-cake-take-2.html" target="_blank">as per usual</a> and I decided to the make the Simple Store Cupboard Chocolate Cake recipe from Decorated by April Carter as I'm in love with this book... and it lives on my bedside table!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I made a complete mess of the kitchen and 100's and 1000's not only covered the cakes, but the whole kitchen floor. But it was totally worth it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FEleuDhLUmk/VOZUioQ_HHI/AAAAAAAAEVM/sAAhw-qif7U/s1600/IMG_1090.JPG" height="400" width="400" /><br />
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The mountain of chocolate icing...<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jTSBz0qHdRc/VOZUfjlP86I/AAAAAAAAEU8/-Cb0J4mwyXI/s1600/IMG_1113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jTSBz0qHdRc/VOZUfjlP86I/AAAAAAAAEU8/-Cb0J4mwyXI/s1600/IMG_1113.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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Happy Birthday Tom!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yu0cD-pl3R4/VOZUgOnNGdI/AAAAAAAAEVA/OW_p42byLZU/s1600/IMG_1107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yu0cD-pl3R4/VOZUgOnNGdI/AAAAAAAAEVA/OW_p42byLZU/s1600/IMG_1107.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Baking x</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-64429204728858898232014-12-10T08:51:00.000+00:002014-12-10T08:51:06.938+00:00Decorated by April Carter <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few weeks ago I was lucky to get invited to the book launch of <a href="http://what-laura-made.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/decorated-sublimely-crafted-cakes-for.html" target="_blank">Decorated by April Carter</a>. Since then the book has kept its place next to my bed for nighttime reading and I've been pouring over the delicious recipes and stunning photography.<br />
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BaJbf4KG77k/VIdlNAa6SaI/AAAAAAAAERQ/qFkgg7Okncg/s1600/ginger_whisky_01.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></div>
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I finally decided to go with the recipe that first caught my eye, the Gingerbread Cake with Whisky Caramel. At the back of April's book are some handy tips on decorating, so what better an opportunity (excuse) to purchase a few new cake tools and try some new techniques.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">April's instructions on assembling, icing and decorating cakes are easy to follow and with my new cake leveller I was very pleased with how precise my layers were.</span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had a lot of fun putting this cake together and here's how it went... </span></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Firstly the levelling of the cake</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UqRCVyo5nLA/VIdlU0tj-cI/AAAAAAAAESY/Pv0MbhXqKTE/s1600/ginger_whisky_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UqRCVyo5nLA/VIdlU0tj-cI/AAAAAAAAESY/Pv0MbhXqKTE/s1600/ginger_whisky_10.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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Next the stacking of the layers</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mbxp-qHWOIE/VIdlTim5l7I/AAAAAAAAESI/eqEgk9svGTw/s1600/ginger_whisky_08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mbxp-qHWOIE/VIdlTim5l7I/AAAAAAAAESI/eqEgk9svGTw/s1600/ginger_whisky_08.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then the crumb coat</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LvU2YOBumR4/VIdlSCFcW-I/AAAAAAAAESA/7smxHQIJHeQ/s1600/ginger_whisky_07.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></div>
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And finally the drizzling of that heavenly whisky caramel</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">mmm delish!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MW8wbJXEBbQ/VIdlWSk_rwI/AAAAAAAAESg/IL5qf8DGlY0/s1600/ginger_whisky_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><br /></div>
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<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8D8gF-cwDhM/VIdlNlZobcI/AAAAAAAAERU/lNhIJ5_jKs8/s1600/ginger_whisky_02.jpg" height="266" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" width="400" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was a little obsessed with how uniform the inside of the cake looked; cutting in straight lines has never been my strong point (just ask my mum!) but with April's pearls of wisdom, and my new leveler, her Ginger Cake with Whisky Caramel has been an all round success.<br />
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And here it is, the final product... a perfect gingery/caramel/whisky treat just in time for Christmas.<br />
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<img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UgzPoo5x0-c/VIdlO_vjz4I/AAAAAAAAERo/FGt_UjDJ_SE/s1600/ginger_whisky_04.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></div>
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Happy Baking x<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Decorated by April Carter (Hardie Grant, £20.00) Photography: Danielle Wood</i></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Czbf_jwwmi0/VIGkUSC05aI/AAAAAAAAEQ8/wmjqisFHhe8/s1600/Decorated_FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Czbf_jwwmi0/VIGkUSC05aI/AAAAAAAAEQ8/wmjqisFHhe8/s1600/Decorated_FINAL.jpg" /></span></a></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com1London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-26322662060635994192014-11-11T13:25:00.000+00:002014-11-11T13:25:53.652+00:00Pumpkin Pie <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The cold snap has officially arrived in London; with a definite hint of winter. This is my favourite time of year and I have been anxious to finally christen ‘the pie dish’… I’ve only had it <a href="http://what-laura-made.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-travelling-pie-dish-take-2.html" target="_blank">since April</a>, and that was after technically ordering it in October last year. It’s been awhile. <br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-djAqwW7U374/VGIMQ67gWqI/AAAAAAAAEPw/Tbbuxqhh97Q/s1600/IMG_0295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-djAqwW7U374/VGIMQ67gWqI/AAAAAAAAEPw/Tbbuxqhh97Q/s400/IMG_0295.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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This post is mainly for the benefit of my friend Craig; he asked me for the recipe and so I thought I would share it on my blog. However, it’s currently 38°C in Australia and pumpkin pie or any pie is that last thing I want to eat in that heat... unless it’s a chilled pie made of ice!! </span></div>
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Pumpkin Pie</strong> <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">from Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>Basic Pie Crust </em> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">No pre-baking required</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">260g plain flour<br />
1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
110g unsalted butter<br />
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Grease a 23cm pie dish. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Put the flour, salt and butter in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add 1 tbsp water and beat until well-mixed. Add second tbsp water and beat until you have a smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest for an hour.<br />
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Roll out on a floured surface and line the pie dish, trimming the edges. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3.<br />
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<em>For the filling</em> <br />
1 egg<br />
425g tin pumpkin puree (such as <a href="https://www.verybestbaking.com/Libbys" target="_blank">Libby’s</a>) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">235ml evaporated milk<br />
220g caster sugar<br />
1/4 tsp ground cloves<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon<br />
1/4 tsp ground ginger<br />
1 tbsp flour<br />
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Put everything in a large bowl and mix until smooth and well combined. Pour into uncooked pie crust and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the filling is set firm. I did find I had to bake it for a bit longer, but that is just my oven. <br />
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Leave to cool completely, and serve with a big dollop of whipped cream.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And finally have all your friends come around to eat it... I've tried and I can't eat a whole pie myself.</span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-06EE4b1mO3k/VGINeyWXSFI/AAAAAAAAEQI/Xz8zzvSgpOU/s1600/pie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-06EE4b1mO3k/VGINeyWXSFI/AAAAAAAAEQI/Xz8zzvSgpOU/s400/pie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Happy Baking x</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-52019003402157227892014-10-28T21:52:00.001+00:002014-10-28T21:52:46.971+00:00Decorated: Sublimely Crafted Cakes for Every Occasion by April Carter<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This evening I was lucky enough to be invited along to the book launch for the latest book by April Carter, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Decorated-Sublimely-Crafted-Cakes-Occasion/dp/1742707726" target="_blank">Decorated: Sublimely Crafted Cakes for Every Occasion</a> at Books for Cooks in Notting Hill, London.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hdQPVytMl38/VFALgZPyW_I/AAAAAAAAEPE/RiC_ZRwdipc/s1600/IMG_0210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hdQPVytMl38/VFALgZPyW_I/AAAAAAAAEPE/RiC_ZRwdipc/s1600/IMG_0210.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, April and her amazing cake</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gjQiNajscE4/VFALbaoo2NI/AAAAAAAAEO8/569JVdGk-rc/s1600/IMG_0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gjQiNajscE4/VFALbaoo2NI/AAAAAAAAEO8/569JVdGk-rc/s1600/IMG_0209.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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I met April back in 2012 when I attended her <a href="http://what-laura-made.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/cake-pop-class-with-april-carter-at.html" target="_blank">Cake Pop</a> class at the Make Lounge in London. Before that and ever since then I have enjoyed following her blog <a href="http://www.rhubarbandrose.co.uk/" target="_blank">Rhubarb and Rose</a> and also her adventures via Instagram. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <br />
I'm very excited to now have my hands on a copy of her new book and looking forward to trying out some of the fabulous recipes. I might start with the Gingerbread Cake and Whiskey Caramel... what doesn't sound amazing about that!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aUIfvaeHYaI/VFALgovd0vI/AAAAAAAAEPI/fUWPaaH3jHA/s1600/IMG_0211.JPG" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple, Parsnip and Rosemary Syrup Cake tasters </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xccOuyzGaQU/VFALg9FACWI/AAAAAAAAEPM/2TAVCq8_ipk/s1600/IMG_0212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xccOuyzGaQU/VFALg9FACWI/AAAAAAAAEPM/2TAVCq8_ipk/s1600/IMG_0212.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea-Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />I recommend everyone should put this on their Christmas list or just go buy it now.<br />
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Happy Baking x</span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0Notting Hill, London W11, UK51.5110287 -0.2053889999999682925.988994199999997 -41.513982999999968 77.0330632 41.103205000000031tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-37774182455624000052014-10-26T11:30:00.000+00:002014-10-26T11:32:31.386+00:00The Cake Book by Cupcake Jemma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have always loved <a href="http://www.crumbsanddoilies.co.uk/" target="_blank">Crumbs & Doilies</a> and so when I saw that the lady behind it all Cupcake Jemma had written a cookbook I was very excited.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_-CQ1av-N-w/VEzWhfOdeRI/AAAAAAAAEOU/xyrfXSLvAJ4/s1600/Cupcake-Jemma.jpg" height="400" width="275" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
I bought The Cake Book in the summer; but its been a crazy summer and the book lived in a box for a few months. Since I've moved into my new flat I have been a little obsessed with it and I have made numerous of the delicious recipes.<br />
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The recipes in the book are fresh, fun and easy to do. There is also Youtube tutorials which are very helpful (listed below). It definitely makes it easier to visually see when caramel change colour to the lovely amber colour and how quickly it happens.<br />
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A couple of treats of I have made recently... <br />
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Lemon meringue cupcakes<br />
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I must say, homemade lemon curd is something I wish I had made a long time ago. Its incredible and simple to make.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CRybPpI0DX8/VEzZttwZ4DI/AAAAAAAAEOg/Y7ZWpNOOnqQ/s1600/IMG_9998.JPG" height="400" width="400" /><br /><br />And when my friend Jane was visiting from Australia, we decided to tackle salt caramel and made these delicious Caramel Mudslide cupcakes! So decadent.<br /><br /><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zcSDsPLgI7o/VDqXOnR4FoI/AAAAAAAAELc/S2Wku9nktgs/s1600/IMG_0054.JPG" height="400" width="400" /><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bnmjIgu4Rx0/VDqXOCFehCI/AAAAAAAAELY/BNqSCDFlHSM/s1600/IMG_0055.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></div>
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Jane was a great bakers assistant...<br />
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and took her duties seriously ensuring the quality was up to scratch!<br />
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I highly recommend you checking out her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoMum0pwewO8_WtTlUQxGHw" target="_blank">Youtube</a> page... I definitely want to try the Chocolate High-Hat Cupcake next!<br />
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Happy Baking x </span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-49059199138538351562014-10-03T17:44:00.001+01:002014-10-03T17:44:55.270+01:00Konditor & Cook Baking Class<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get a spot on the trial baking class for Konditor & Cook. It was a steal at £10, especially since we all came home with 3 cakes each.<br />
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<o:p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SNoY-CHRFS4/U_txBYOBD0I/AAAAAAAAEFY/6JJ1iWoByeM/s1600/photo%2B4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SNoY-CHRFS4/U_txBYOBD0I/AAAAAAAAEFY/6JJ1iWoByeM/s1600/photo%2B4.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LAmzag3L7i0/U_txBpPhnWI/AAAAAAAAEFc/oGuLLSQj19E/s1600/photo%2B5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LAmzag3L7i0/U_txBpPhnWI/AAAAAAAAEFc/oGuLLSQj19E/s1600/photo%2B5.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></span></div>
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My colleague Lucy came along and we spent 4 and a half hours learning “all about sponge”. I have made many sponges, but sometimes things just don’t turn out how they should and I’m always willing to find out why, so this class was perfect. <br />
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It was a busy few hours, but after all our hard work we each had a six inch curly whirly cake,<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a lemon chiffon,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and St. Clementine tart</span></span></div>
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to take home with us. Our teachers Lau and Marie were very energetic and had so many useful tips that I have already put into practice, though my egg cracking still needs work!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4eSZwadJNzg/U_txPmRG9NI/AAAAAAAAEFs/mdiVbTZ8rg4/s1600/photo%2B3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4eSZwadJNzg/U_txPmRG9NI/AAAAAAAAEFs/mdiVbTZ8rg4/s1600/photo%2B3.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></span></div>
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The best tip of the day (for me anyway as I really despise lining cake tins) was to use tin foil. No greasing, measuring or cutting needed!! It literally has changed my life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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If you haven't tried any cakes from Konditor & Cook then best you do, they are incredible. Or if you fancy leaning to bake them yourself, I would highly recommend one of their <a href="http://shop.konditorandcook.com/collections/cake-school" target="_blank">baking classes</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Their cookbook is definitely on my Christmas wish list for anyone struggling to think of the perfect gift for me… and you might just get a cake from me in return! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Baking x</span></span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-75087662356742209822014-09-22T23:07:00.001+01:002014-09-22T23:07:59.411+01:00The Amazing Unicorn Rainbow Poop Cake<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's been a pretty crazy summer to say the least. At the start of June I had my 2nd P&I exam; annoyingly the day after my birthday. It meant I got the day off, however I spent it doing practice exams and flash cards. I did use some of my birthday luck to pass my exam and to keep me focused my youngest sister Alice was arriving from Australia a few days later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once she arrived, we managed to ease her out of her jet lag gradually(!) by heading down to the Glastonbury music festival. And then to recover from that we packed our bags again and headed off to Ireland and Scotland. It was an incredible trip; definitely the best I've had in years. Scotland is definitely of my favourite places and was a pleasure to spend it with one of my favourite sisters.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister pestered my to make her my carrot cupcakes while she was here...<br />
I was pleased to see she enjoyed them. I think 3 were consumed in one afternoon alone </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a few days back in London to relax, Alice and I had a teary goodbye at Heathrow as we headed our separate ways. As much as I wanted to sit around being homesick, wondering when I would see any of my family next, I started packing again as the lease on my flat ran out a week and a half later. Luckily my friend Tom took me in until we found a new place in North London a month later.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My flatmate Tom and I on the 1st day in our new flat...<br />
check out the bunting! **love it**</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite having an amazing summer, I have missed being able to bake and the first weekend in my new flat I already had a baking order lined up. It was a bit of a trial run in my new kitchen, but it was such a joy to be baking again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was excited to do this order; the instructions were a vanilla cake with rainbows and glitter... But now with the official name of "The Unicorn Rainbow Poop Cake."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The cake is a basic Victoria sponge from <a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1997/classic-victoria-sandwich" target="_blank">BBC Good Food</a> with a buttercream icing. If you would like to give the rainbow swirl a go, check out Cupcake Jemma's fantastic tutorial which you can watch <a href="http://youtu.be/MA1m9F1Z4do" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And thanks to <a href="http://markboxphotography.carbonmade.com/" target="_blank">Mark Box</a> for the amazing photos, as always! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy birthday to the BDD birthday Kittens!!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Baking x</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Sorry I realise that's 2 rainbow cake posts in a row, they are just so much fun to make! </i></span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-88985545636242929412014-04-30T08:59:00.000+01:002014-04-30T08:59:33.379+01:00Rainbow Cupcake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are a number of baking blogs I follow for inspiration. One of my favourites blogs is by Lyndsay and her website is <a href="http://cococakecupcakes.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Coco Cake Land</a>. I have followed this blog for a few years now and she has made some incredible creations (without using too much sugarpaste), and her photography skills are amazing too. There are also some really helpful tutorials and step-by-step instructions and recently she has been into brightly coloured creations which I have wanted to try. <br />
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Last weekend, my friend LK invited me along to the pub for her birthday and I wanted to give her one of my cupcakes, so it was a good chance to try out something bright and colourful. <br />
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The idea was pretty simply; I used my normal vanilla cupcake recipe with vanilla butter-cream and split both the mixtures into 3 bowls and added my colours. Then I set up a piping bag in a pint glass and filled the bag with the coloured mixture. Ensure you keep the amounts down either side even so you get a good spread of each colour.</span></span></div>
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I was really impressed with how they turned out, so vibrant!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u-XcgA1j7fo/U1-J-alYKVI/AAAAAAAAD-4/7SF570HelyQ/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></span></span></span> <br />
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And my friend LK was pretty happy too, Happy Birthday LK!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Happy Baking x</span></span></span></span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com1London, UK51.508515 -0.1254871999999522851.192402 -0.77093419999995227 51.824628000000004 0.51995980000004771tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-37108772924823978812014-04-19T22:54:00.002+01:002014-04-19T22:54:56.973+01:00Happy Easter<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just a quick blog update on this lovely long weekend. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hope everyone is enjoying the blue skies we have had so far, well at least in London.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm off to a Sunday Roast with my pals tomorrow and thought I would make a simple cake to take along.<br />
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Since my friend Kate doesn't eat milk or dark chocolate (weirdo), this white chocolate cake should do the trick, complete with Milkyway Mini Eggs The recipe can be found here at <a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10209/frosted-white-chocolate-easter-cake">BBC Good Food</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Easter!! x </span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com2London, UK51.508515 -0.1254871999999522851.192402 -0.77093419999995227 51.824628000000004 0.51995980000004771tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-12725223424110235932014-04-14T21:55:00.000+01:002014-04-16T23:06:15.997+01:00My 7 Year Anniversary Celebrated with Strawberry & Cream (cheese) Cupcakes <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today (14th April) marks the 7 year anniversary of my arrival in London. This year the weather has replicated the lovely summer we had the year I landed. At the time however, I was hoping for an escape from the heat of Brisbane and I never really appreciated how lovely it actually was at the time. <br />
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I still remember my first day in London; it was 24 degrees and we sat in Regents Park with our Tesco picnic and I wondered why so many people had their clothes off... Do they not care about skin cancer and the hole in the ozone layer?? Anyway 7 years is a long time and at times, it feels like it's flown by and other times it does feel like an eternity. I had a moment the other weekend when I saw an old friend and we realised it had been 5 years since we’d seen each other. It was strange to think that since I only ever planned staying for 2 years, the fact I hadn't physically seen someone in 5 years was bizarre.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yesterday the weather man was predicting good weather and as a result I had managed to pre-plan a ploughman’s picnic to take to Hyde Park for my friends and we enjoyed the sun for a few hours (all with our shirts on though). </span></div>
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Looking forward to the next 7 years!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Strawberry and Cream (cheese) Cupcakes</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Makes 12</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Ingredients</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">150g unsalted butter, softened</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">150g caster sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">175g self-raising flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 eggs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">12tsp strawberry jam</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Icing</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">300g icing sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">50g unsalted butter, softened</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">125g cream cheese, cold</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mix all the ingredients (except the jam) together with beaters. </span></div>
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Cook in an oven at 180°C fo</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">r 18-20 minutes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Try not open the oven to check till about 18 mins is up - they should be slightly brown on top and check with a skewer. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leave to cool and prepare the icing. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To make the icing, beat together the icing sugar and butter. Take cream cheese out of the fridge and add all in one go. Beat for a few minutes until light and fluffy. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When the cupcakes are cooled, use an apple corer to remove the middle of the cupcake and fill with a teaspoon of jam. Replace the middle and then they are ready to be iced. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Top with a Strawberry Haribo and enjoy with a cup of tea for the full English experience. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy 7 Years to me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Baking x</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.508515 -0.1254871999999522851.192402 -0.77093419999995227 51.824628000000004 0.51995980000004771tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-13605031820226927132014-04-11T19:26:00.001+01:002014-04-11T19:26:53.225+01:00Butterscotch Sweets<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of my new years resolutions was to try master some new baking techniques. One of the techniques I wanted to be be more confident at is making toffee/caramel/sweets etc. I've always found it a bit daunting watching sugar boil away on the stovetop, but with a bit of practice I am hoping it won't be such a scary thing.<br />
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The book below was given to me from one of my lovely lady friends a few years ago and I always loved looking at the pretty pictures, but I had never actually tried anything. I have one excuse for not trying any of these recipes sooner and that's because its an Australian cookbook and a number of recipes use <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=copha&espv=210&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=_i9IU7OHOe7d7QacsIHwBw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1291&bih=712">copha</a>. I'm not sure if there is an UK equivalent, I am sure there is one, so if you know what it is, please let me know and I'll stop making excuses. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I found this butterscotch recipe easy to make. There was just a lot of waiting for my thermometer to start beeping when it hit the right temperature. The only thing I realised I didn't have enough of were moulds. Luckily I had these Ikea silicone ice trays prepared just in case, as you have to be quick when its ready to come off the stove as it starts to set.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Butterscotch Sweets</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Ingredients</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 cups caster sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2/3 cup thickened cream (double-cream)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2/3 cup of water</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lightly grease a couple of chocolate moulds (enough to hold about 20 sweets).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a large, heavy-based saucepan over low heat, mix cream, sugar and water and keep stirring until sugar dissolves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add cream of tartar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Increase the heat to medium and without stirring, boil mixture until it reaches 115</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">°C.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Add the chopped butter and boil until mixture reaches 135°C. Stir mixture occasionally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Quickly drop teaspoon size drops of the mixture into the moulds. Set at room temperature in a dry, cool place for 45 minutes. Turn out of moulds and store in an airtight container.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Baking x</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com1London, UK51.508515 -0.1254871999999522851.192402 -0.77093419999995227 51.824628000000004 0.51995980000004771tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-59461446165755635022014-04-03T13:32:00.000+01:002014-04-03T13:32:22.765+01:00The Travelling Pie Dish - Take 2<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If you follow any of my social media lately you would be aware of (bored of) my recent pie dish updates. And so I thought I would take this opportunity to explain the story of the pie dish and why it was such a story to finally receive it and to say thanks to all involved. <br />
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A few years ago, back when I had started baking in London, my housemate at the time was also into baking and she found this lovely pie dish on <a href="http://what-laura-made.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/pie-pie-pie-pie.html">Etsy</a>. Back then I had very little baking equipment or baking dishes and therefore this was a welcome addition to our limited collection. I would like to mention that at this time I still think I was using a wine bottle as a rolling pin, but it did the job.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original pie dish</td></tr>
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A number of pies were made by various housemates, <a href="http://what-laura-made.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/apple-and-blackberry-pie.html">apple & blackberry</a>, <a href="http://what-laura-made.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/apple-pie-nana-peg-would-be-proud-of.html">apple</a>, <a href="http://what-laura-made.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/just-in-time-for-spring-low-fat-berry.html">low fat berry</a>, <a href="http://what-laura-made.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/high-tea-society-2011.html">pumpkin</a> and one of my favourites,<a href="http://what-laura-made.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/christening-of-pie-dish.html"> lemon meringue</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When I moved out 18 months ago I was again without a pie dish. By now, my baking equipment collection had expanded, and I also didn't want to purchase just any pie dish, I wanted a similar pie dish that just felt 'homely'. I’d booked to go to New York last November to visit my friends and this provided the opportunity to find a new dish (as it's an American company) and luckily I found the perfect one. I had ordered it with plenty of time for it to be delivered before I got there, but sadly it didn't arrive and appeared to have been lost in transit. I left NYC a week later with no pie dish.<br />
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The following day, my friend informed me that it had arrived the day after I left! I was happy, but annoyed that she would now have to go to the trouble of posting it. By this time, I was going home to Australia for an extended stay and my friends were also heading off on their travels, so it wasn't posted until February this year. It finally arrived on the busiest day of the year at work for me, and I decided to wait until and open it after this week was over. <br />
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On the Friday, I took the box out to the dining table to cut the tape and stupid me in my tired state, let the dish slip out the other end. I have about 6 tiles in my flat… and it managed to fall (still in the bubble wrap) directly on to the tiles and smash. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pEAl2Q0PpR0/Uz1Tp_LCpaI/AAAAAAAAD8Q/q0sfgcjftZY/s1600/photo+1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pEAl2Q0PpR0/Uz1Tp_LCpaI/AAAAAAAAD8Q/q0sfgcjftZY/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I was so gutted :(<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After all this I wasn’t going to bother about it for awhile, but then one of the underwriters was travelling out to our New Jersey office and I asked if he minded carrying it back for me. He said he was happy too and I managed to find another similar pie dish, but a pumpkin one this time. I got it delivered to the NY office and he kindly brought it back in his luggage for me and this time I managed to get it home and opened without smashing it. YEY!<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fsTKeHR7RG4/Uz1Tp9eB3SI/AAAAAAAAD8U/XP9EworI4B4/s1600/photo+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fsTKeHR7RG4/Uz1Tp9eB3SI/AAAAAAAAD8U/XP9EworI4B4/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></span></span> <br />
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So the next important question… is what pie to bake first??? <br />
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Happy Baking x </span></span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.508515 -0.1254871999999522851.192402 -0.77093419999995227 51.824628000000004 0.51995980000004771tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-46845954562205394112014-04-01T21:10:00.002+01:002014-04-01T21:10:32.861+01:00Dum Dum Donutterie<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today, my friend Emma and I decided to try something new for our weekly lunch hour meet up in the city and break from our normal coffee spot. I suggested it, mainly because I had heard about the new <a href="http://dumdums.co.uk/">Dum Dum Donutterie</a> that has opened up in the trendy <a href="http://www.boxpark.co.uk/">BOXPARK</a> in Shoreditch. It was a bit of a trek for a lunch hour as it is a mile from my work, so I jumped on a Boris bike and met Emma halfway and we power-walked the rest.<br />
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</span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-88IypNEyUj8/UzsR-4DnkAI/AAAAAAAAD7w/aCWTuHAXVN4/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-88IypNEyUj8/UzsR-4DnkAI/AAAAAAAAD7w/aCWTuHAXVN4/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To be honest, I am not a huge donut lover. When I was younger I worked at Donut King, but was never really a fan of the hot cinnamon donut. Instead if I was to eat any, I preferred what we called the 'yeast mixture' donuts which was a different batter to the cinnamon donuts and they were fried and then baked. I also don't like to get too excited about new 'fads', especially when I heard about a croissant/donut creation. Both were decent in their own right, just leave them be!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, after today, I might just have to take that back. When Emma and I arrived, the two guys behind the counter were very friendly and more than happy to explain to us EVERY flavour they had. Even though we looked like we weren't paying attention as we were too busy trying to get the right light for our instagram photo's... hey, its Shoreditch, I can be a hipster.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2wdcusCbMbA/UzsSABkO6-I/AAAAAAAAD78/ttecH_DZrdc/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2wdcusCbMbA/UzsSABkO6-I/AAAAAAAAD78/ttecH_DZrdc/s1600/photo+4.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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We decided to share a donut and a 'cronut'. The donuts are baked and not fried, which means they have a lot less saturated fat than a normal donut (I guess we didn't have to power walk afterall). I chose the Almond Creme & Pistachio cronut and Emma went for the Morello Cherry Puree Fondant and Pistachio donut. SOOO good!!<br />
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As you can see there are a few amazing flavours to try, so we will be back again soon for sure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Cronuts x</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0Shoreditch, London, UK51.526 -0.07799999999997453451.516120500000007 -0.098169999999974528 51.5358795 -0.057829999999974534tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-61320451849604899152014-03-03T21:45:00.000+00:002014-03-03T21:45:43.008+00:00Almond Macaroons<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love macaroons! I've probably said it before, but they are just so simple and delicious. Also, my Nana use to make them too, so I guess they are a nostalgic treat.<br />
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I also love almond, and so they seemed like a perfect combination. </span><br />
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I must admit though, I over-cooked these quite a bit. The recipe said an hour and after 40 minutes they were well over-done, so keep an eye on them. I nearly just threw them in the bin, but its amazing how critical you can be of your own work sometimes. After deciding I would just take them into work, I was later informed by one of my colleagues that they were his favourite of all the baked goods that I had put in the tea room since I started supplying my workplace with treats a few years ago.<br />
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I think I need to try them out again now, and watch them in the oven!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-30Um7UXeAaE/UxTsxvvHUZI/AAAAAAAAD3w/jKk93m7NqBE/s1600/photo.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></span></div>
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<b> Almond Macaroons</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Ingredients</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 egg whites</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">110g caster sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">125g ground almonds</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon almond extract</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">35g plain flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">18-20 whole blanched almonds</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 150 degrees and grease two oven-trays. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until dissolved between additions. Fold in ground almonds, extract and sifted flour, in two batches. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Drop tablespoons of mixture about 5 cm apart onto trays. Place one blanched almond on top of each macaroon. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bake for about 45mins - 1 hour. Cool on trays.<br />
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Happy Baking x </span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.508515 -0.1254871999999522851.192402 -0.77093419999995227 51.824628000000004 0.51995980000004771tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-20513209360316758342014-02-24T12:23:00.000+00:002014-02-24T12:23:16.396+00:00Oat and Raisin Cookies<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It's Monday morning and it’s a mild winter day and the sky is blue, what more could you ask for… well maybe to be able to not be a work and go and enjoy it, but hey!<br />
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Since I'm still trying to "spring clean" my baking cupboard, I found this Hummingbird Bakery recipe for Oat and Raisin cookies recipes perfect for using up some bits hiding in the depths of my baking ingredients. I love raisins/sultanas in cookies, cakes (though I know a friend who will completely disagree) and these cookies are so simple and great with a cup of tea for that 3pm office break in the middle of February, or anytime really.<br />
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<b>Oat and Raisin Cookies</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Ingredients</i><b> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">270g unsalted butter, at room temperature</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">160g caster sugar</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">160g dark brown sugar</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2 eggs</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">380g plain flour</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 teaspoon salt</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">110g rolled oats</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
220g raisins<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y9QFtiMCty4/Uwpwr9b-leI/AAAAAAAAD3A/iBtopR4WcIw/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y9QFtiMCty4/Uwpwr9b-leI/AAAAAAAAD3A/iBtopR4WcIw/s1600/photo.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Put the butter and sugars in a mixer and cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition. Turn the mixer down to slow speed and beat in the vanilla exact. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sift together the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon in a separate bowl, add the oats and mix well. Add to the butter mixture and beat until well mixed. Stir in the raisins with a wooden spoon until evenly dispersed. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Arrange equal amounts of cookie dough on prepared baking trays. Make sure the that the cookies are spaced apart to allowed spreading while baking. Bake in the preheated oven for about 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown and firm. Check them regularly to make sure they are not burning. When you are happy that they are cooked through, remove from the oven and leave to cook slightly on the trays before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Happy Baking x</span></span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.508515 -0.1254871999999522851.192402 -0.77093419999995227 51.824628000000004 0.51995980000004771tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-51845707972580966772014-02-09T18:46:00.000+00:002014-02-09T18:46:59.715+00:00Wedding Dress Iced Cookies <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are now officially in the dark of winter, but there is light ahead. To be honest I've been enjoying the cold. I finally get to wear the purple beret that's been in my cupboard for the summer months wanting to come out. Though apparently I wear a little too much purple... I disagree :)<br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tp7ZpOZMJ_g/UvfLa_Zu4UI/AAAAAAAAD2c/ILiHekmjpcM/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tp7ZpOZMJ_g/UvfLa_Zu4UI/AAAAAAAAD2c/ILiHekmjpcM/s1600/photo+4.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br />
When I was in Australia, one of my friends bought me this beautiful copper cookie cutter. It was the finally straw for me and my plastic cookie cutter collection and I realised it was time to upgrade. Though now having a copper cutter, I kind of want all copper ones, but that might prove difficult when finding the shapes I want. It's a start anyway. So I've given away the plastic cutters to a new loving family, well most of them anyway, the dinosaur ones stayed for now.</span></span></div>
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I have a long way to go in the art of cookie deco</span>ration and I want to push myself to become more comfortable with it, but colouring in between the lines was never my forte.<br /><br />
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I did get some lovely compliments on these and they were definitely tasty. Next up... Valentines day cookies!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UyNHd1_yQRY/UvfLbnXTajI/AAAAAAAAD2k/w5C1Ve1Dk0k/s1600/photo+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UyNHd1_yQRY/UvfLbnXTajI/AAAAAAAAD2k/w5C1Ve1Dk0k/s1600/photo+5.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br />
Happy Baking x</span></span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.508515 -0.1254871999999522851.192402 -0.77093419999995227 51.824628000000004 0.51995980000004771tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-66615215746074016822014-01-14T20:12:00.000+00:002014-01-14T20:12:59.563+00:00Chocolate Whoopie Pies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy 2014 Everyone</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Feels good to be back in the kitchen after such a long break. I had such an amazing time over Christmas and New Year seeing my family and friends. And of course meeting my nephew who is literally the best thing ever. Its a strange thing to love a child so much that is not even mine. But he is the easiest little guy to love and it was tough to leave him, along with the rest of my family and friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So this year I have a few New Years resolutions, and for my baking it's to master a tiered cake. I don't get asked to do them as I have never done them before and they scare my slightly. Before I get to practicing this, I want to have a "spring clean" of my baking cupboard and use ingredients that have been sitting around for way too long.<br />
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First up for the year are some whoopie pies. I have had this jar of fluff in my cupboard for too long and who doesn't love a whoopie pie. They may slightly ruin a few people New Years resolutions for healthy eating, but hey, they are delicious and perfect with a cup of tea in a cold January!<br />
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Happy baking x</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.511213899999987 -0.1198243999999704151.195100899999986 -0.7652713999999704 51.827326899999989 0.52562260000002958tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3365106827130126121.post-24270232774779270562013-12-02T19:33:00.002+00:002013-12-02T19:33:15.356+00:00Mini Brandy Chocolate & Margarita Cuptails<div class="p1">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love this time of year as it is officially the Christmas season and all the decorations and lights go up. I was not going to put my decorations up this year as I leave for home on the 11th of December, but I put some of the lights up on the weekend and I cannot resist now not hanging the rest of the decorations.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I am an Australian, I do miss the hot Christmas' and I am very much looking forward to it this year. However, after living the UK for the past 6 years I am actually going to miss the cold Christmas, especially the mulled wine. Luckily, I have some great friends who have ‘happily’ accompanied me along too as many Christmassy things that I can physically fit in before leaving for sunny Brisbane. Though hearing carols at the Southbank Christmas Markets in November was even a bit much for me… Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" does get slightly irritating after about the 20th time!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These little festive treats I actually made a number of weeks ago. The order was for some 60's themed cupcakes, so my first question was Mad Men or psychedelic? If I went down either route without clarifying, I think it could have gone horribly wrong. It was quickly confirmed that I should go down the “Mad Men” 60's theme route and I started thinking, what do you think about when you think Mad Men... and BOOZE topped the list.<br />
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</span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B38IkFPG1fE/UmQ-7CgCIMI/AAAAAAAADxo/KLEmkaObBOU/s1600/cuptails_13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B38IkFPG1fE/UmQ-7CgCIMI/AAAAAAAADxo/KLEmkaObBOU/s400/cuptails_13.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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These CUP-TAILS as they call them would serve as a great accompaniment to any party as they are small enough to be served alongside canapés. And the kick of booze in the cake and icing is probably better and tastier than a shot of tequila… though I would not mind of side of that as well!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Brandy Mini Chocolate Mini Cupcakes<br />
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<img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1PFfvlxNR2k/UmQ-9BOWDUI/AAAAAAAADx4/nS-NdoIgmaM/s400/cuptails_12.jpg" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" width="400" /></div>
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Makes 23 - 30 mini cupcakes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Ingredients</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">40g unsalted butter, at room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">140g caster sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">100g plain flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">20g cocoa powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 1/2 tsp baking powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 tsp salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 large egg</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">50ml brandy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">80ml whole milk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>For the icing</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">75g unsalted butter, at room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">225g icing sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">30g cocoa powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3/4 tsp finely grated orange zest</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15ml whole milk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15ml brandy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius, and line mini cupcake tin with cases. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mix together butter, sugar, flour cocoa powder, baking powder, orange zest and salt in a mixer. Keep mixing until the ingredients have come together and resemble fine breadcrumbs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Break the egg into a jug, add the brandy and milk and mix together. With the mixer on a low speed, slowly pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl to include every bit of the mixture. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Divide the cake batter between the muffin cases, filling each one two-thirds full. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back when lightly pressed, then leave to cool completely on a wire rack. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To make the icing, on a low speed, mix together the butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder and orange zest until combined and sandy in consistency. Pour the milk and brandy into a jug, then pour this into the butter and icing sugar mixture, while still mixing on a low speed. When all the liquid is incorporated, increase the speed to high and beat the frosting until soft and fluffy. Pipe or smooth icing onto cupcakes with a palette knife and decorate with chocolate sprinkles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Margarita Cuptails</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Makes 23 - 30 mini cupcakes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Ingredients</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">125g unsalted butter, at room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">125g caster sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tablespoon tequila</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 eggs, at room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">125g self raising sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 tsp baking powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>For the middle</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">260g lime jelly</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>For the icing</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">125g unsalted butter, at room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons tequila</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">250g icing sugar, sifted</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon semi-skimmed milk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line cupcake trays with liners.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the butter, sugar and tequila to the mixer and cream together for 7 minutes, or until light and fluffy. </span></div>
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Add the eggs, one by one, and mix for 2 minutes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mix the flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl, then add to the mixer and mix until incorporated. Add the milk and mix for a further minute. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Divide the mixture between the cases and bake for about 12 minutes. </span></div>
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Remove the baked cupcakes from the oven and then transfer immediately to a wire rack to cool. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To make the icing, cream the butter and the tequila together in the mixer for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. <br />
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Add the icing sugar and milk and mix for a further 2 minutes until well blended. <br />
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Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once the cakes are cooled, remove the centre of each cupcake. I found the easiest way to fill the cupcakes was putting the jelly into a piping bag, much easier than trying to use a spoon, especially for mini's. <br />
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Ice the cupcakes with a palette knife or use a piping bag - which again I find easier as they jelly will tend to jump about using a knife! Its jelly, it doesn't sit still :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I decorated these with some green neon sprinkles, but you could do some lime rind. </span></div>
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Arriba!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u9XfseifU9s/UmQ-3LkN_oI/AAAAAAAADxU/OBSNsJCsP9Y/s1600/cuptails_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u9XfseifU9s/UmQ-3LkN_oI/AAAAAAAADxU/OBSNsJCsP9Y/s400/cuptails_10.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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Happy Baking x</span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283772849368887113noreply@blogger.com1London, UK51.511213899999987 -0.1198243999999704151.195100899999986 -0.7652713999999704 51.827326899999989 0.52562260000002958