Tis the season for mini eggs, hot cross buns and pastel colours... Cue a perfect excuse for baking. This Saturday my flatmate and I spent the morning with my beloved kitchen aid whipping up these bad boys, and now I think we might be the most popular people on our office floor.
Spring Cupcakes (makes 12)
1 heaped teaspoon good quality vanilla
2 ½ tablespoons strawberry jam
½ teaspoon red food colouring
· First preheat your oven to 180C degrees
· Using an freestanding mixer or handheld electric whisk cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
· Next add the eggs, flour and vanilla and beat on high for a few minutes until the mixture has come together and air pockets are forming
· Spoon the mixture into 12 super cute cupcake cases and bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until the cupcakes are golden brown but still spring back to the touch
· Let these cool completely before frosting
· For the frosting first whip the butter for a few minutes then begin adding the icing sugar a table spoon at a time whilst whisking (this will avoid all the icing sugar blowing up in your face!)
· Add the milk and whisk until all combined
· Next you need to whisk in the jam (I’d do this before the food colouring because some jams will affect the colour more than others and this way you can control how pink your frosting gets)
· Finally add the food colouring gradually until you get your desired colouring
· Frost and decorate your cupcakes into masterpieces the Easter bunny would be proud of…
Caroline’s Caramel Chocolate Creme Egg Brownies (makes 12)
We know, what a mouthful. Pun intended. This is an adaptation of the Hummingbird bakery brownie recipe which is a firm favourite of mine, but this recipe is pimped out to include caramel and creme eggs…
100g caramel milk chocolate
175g soft unsalted butter
· Before making your brownie mixture, cut your creme eggs in half, and place on a plate and stick in the freezer (they only need to stay in there for as long as you are prepping your brownie mixture for - too long and they will completely freeze)
· Preheat your oven to 170°C
· Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water
· I used a kitchen aid, but a hand-held whisk will work too, slowly add in your sugar. Then slowly add in the flour and coco until it's mixed in thoroughly. Finally, add in your eggs.
· Line a brownie baking tray with non-stick baking paper
· Spoon the mixture into the baking tray, making sure there's a nice even layer and the mixture hits the edge
· Pop your brownies into the oven for 15 minutes and then after 15, take out of the oven, take your creme eggs out of the freezer, and carefully place them on top of the brownie mixture
· Pop the brownies into the oven for another 15-20 minutes. Don't wait for your knife to come out completely clean (otherwise they won't be gooey) but looks more like cake mixture, rather than raw mixture.
Leave to cool completely before cutting and devour the entire batch in 10 minutes from excitement. Or share with friends, that's okay too!
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