Eton Mess cupcakes

Eton Mess Cupcakes-

Recently a neighbour brought round some homegrown raspberries and strawberries, of course all handpicked strawberries aren't perfect and some needed surgery and a good wash. Anyway, I decided to make Eton mess cupcakes.

Cupcakes- makes 12

4oz margarine

4oz caster sugar

2 eggs

4oz self raising flour

-combine margarine and sugar until creamy

-add each egg individually and mix with a pinch of flour to prevent curdling

-add remaining flour and mix

-spoon into cupcake cases

-bake in a pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes at 180c

Then I made a regular vanilla buttercream

8oz icing sugar

4oz butter

splash of milk

-combine and add milk to bind

-pipe or spread onto cupcakes

I then added broken meringue pieces, strawberry pieces and raspberries.

Of course you could serve them like this but I decided they weren't messy enough!

Pre-drizzle

I then took a couple of handfuls of fruit and blitzed them, I passed it through a sieve to get rid of seeds and added a little icing sugar to thicken and sweeten. Then I simply drizzled the cupcakes with the compote I had made and put the rest in the freezer!

And there we have it, yummy! Let me know if you give them a go.

Eton Mess cupcakes

Eton Mess Cupcakes-

Recently a neighbour brought round some homegrown raspberries and strawberries, of course all handpicked strawberries aren't perfect and some needed surgery and a good wash. Anyway, I decided to make Eton mess cupcakes.

Cupcakes- makes 12

4oz margarine

4oz caster sugar

2 eggs

4oz self raising flour

-combine margarine and sugar until creamy

-add each egg individually and mix with a pinch of flour to prevent curdling

-add remaining flour and mix

-spoon into cupcake cases

-bake in a pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes at 180c

Then I made a regular vanilla buttercream

8oz icing sugar

4oz butter

splash of milk

-combine and add milk to bind

-pipe or spread onto cupcakes

I then added broken meringue pieces, strawberry pieces and raspberries.

Of course you could serve them like this but I decided they weren't messy enough!

Pre-drizzle

I then took a couple of handfuls of fruit and blitzed them, I passed it through a sieve to get rid of seeds and added a little icing sugar to thicken and sweeten. Then I simply drizzled the cupcakes with the compote I had made and put the rest in the freezer!

And there we have it, yummy! Let me know if you give them a go.

Cadbury chocolate cupcakes

Cadbury's chocolate cupcakes-

My trusty chocolate cupcake recipe- makes 12

4oz margarine

4oz caster sugar

2 eggs

3oz self raising flour

1oz cocoa

-mix sugar and margarine until creamy

-add each egg individually with a pinch of flour to avoid curdling

-add remaining flour and cocoa

-spoon into cake cases

-cook in a pre-heated oven for 15-20 mins at 180c.

My usual chocolate icing is just butter, icing sugar and cocoa but I find it's hard to get a nice colour without the icing being over cocoa-ey. So this time I used melted chocolate for a more indulgent taste.

Buttercream-

6oz Icing sugar

3oz butter

splash of milk

40g bar of Cadbury's 'Dairy Milk', melted

1 tablespoon cocoa (to colour)

-combine icing and butter

-add a splash of milk to bind

-add melted chocolate and cocoa and mix

-pipe or spoon onto cupcakes

I used white chocolate stars and edible glitter to decorate.

Simple but yummy, Enjoy!

Cadbury chocolate cupcakes

Cadbury's chocolate cupcakes-

My trusty chocolate cupcake recipe- makes 12

4oz margarine

4oz caster sugar

2 eggs

3oz self raising flour

1oz cocoa

-mix sugar and margarine until creamy

-add each egg individually with a pinch of flour to avoid curdling

-add remaining flour and cocoa

-spoon into cake cases

-cook in a pre-heated oven for 15-20 mins at 180c.

My usual chocolate icing is just butter, icing sugar and cocoa but I find it's hard to get a nice colour without the icing being over cocoa-ey. So this time I used melted chocolate for a more indulgent taste.

Buttercream-

6oz Icing sugar

3oz butter

splash of milk

40g bar of Cadbury's 'Dairy Milk', melted

1 tablespoon cocoa (to colour)

-combine icing and butter

-add a splash of milk to bind

-add melted chocolate and cocoa and mix

-pipe or spoon onto cupcakes

I used white chocolate stars and edible glitter to decorate.

Simple but yummy, Enjoy!

Nail Art love

This summer something I've been getting into is Nail Art. Pinterest gave me a wealth of ideas to try including this design.

I call these firework nails but basically I painted my nails silver then added blobs of pink and purple polish in the corner and used a cocktail stick to give the effect. 

Then I got in the Jubilee/olympic mood and bought a red, white and blue nail art set which worked as pens and polish and came with gems to decorate.

Then I finally got the hang of the nail pens and did union jack nails for the Olympic opening ceremony.

As I type another creation is drying....

map nails! Very simple really, I painted my nails white then dipped each one in vodka (or any clear alcohol) then pressed on a piece cut out from a map. When you peel it off the design is left behind, apply top coat straight away.

I'm looking forward to trying this with other papers and newspaper or book pages.

Nail Art love

This summer something I've been getting into is Nail Art. Pinterest gave me a wealth of ideas to try including this design.

I call these firework nails but basically I painted my nails silver then added blobs of pink and purple polish in the corner and used a cocktail stick to give the effect. 

Then I got in the Jubilee/olympic mood and bought a red, white and blue nail art set which worked as pens and polish and came with gems to decorate.

Then I finally got the hang of the nail pens and did union jack nails for the Olympic opening ceremony.

As I type another creation is drying....

map nails! Very simple really, I painted my nails white then dipped each one in vodka (or any clear alcohol) then pressed on a piece cut out from a map. When you peel it off the design is left behind, apply top coat straight away.

I'm looking forward to trying this with other papers and newspaper or book pages.

Sun-less-summer

So an update on my summer so far, which contains very little sun!
My parents had a week off last week so we had a few day trips out. We went to Chester when there was a carnival on. Sorry the pictures are rubbish but there was pirate ships, devils and angels.

Then we went to an amazing french restaurant where I found a new love for chicken liver pate and sea bass! I also tried some of my Dad's flourless chocolate pudding, soo good!

I had an experiment with bento boxes and made this. It didn't look beautiful and dainty but was very tasty.

We also went on a day trip to Liverpool, I very much enjoyed the Rolf Harris art exhibition. We also went to Albert Dock and I had my first trip to Wagamama. I liked the lambananas too.

I recurring theme is that I love lots of things in the shops but lack money. Here are some lovely things....

 Although I did get some 50p tulips- Bargain!

Oh, and we have a new pudding at work : Brownie Sundae.The little things cheer me up.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer/ looking forward to it.

Sun-less-summer

So an update on my summer so far, which contains very little sun!
My parents had a week off last week so we had a few day trips out. We went to Chester when there was a carnival on. Sorry the pictures are rubbish but there was pirate ships, devils and angels.

Then we went to an amazing french restaurant where I found a new love for chicken liver pate and sea bass! I also tried some of my Dad's flourless chocolate pudding, soo good!

I had an experiment with bento boxes and made this. It didn't look beautiful and dainty but was very tasty.

We also went on a day trip to Liverpool, I very much enjoyed the Rolf Harris art exhibition. We also went to Albert Dock and I had my first trip to Wagamama. I liked the lambananas too.

I recurring theme is that I love lots of things in the shops but lack money. Here are some lovely things....

 Although I did get some 50p tulips- Bargain!

Oh, and we have a new pudding at work : Brownie Sundae.The little things cheer me up.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer/ looking forward to it.