Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

Hello Everyone,

another weekend, another cupcake…..

This time I felt like something really sweet and fruity, so Strawberry and Cream it was. 

These cupcakes are soooo easy to make but absolutely delicious!

To make approximately 12 cupcakes you will need:

For the batter (this is my base cupcake recipe):

100g Butter or Margarine at room temperature

100g Caster Sugar

2 Eggs

100g Self-Raising flour

1 tsp Vanilla Extract (if you don't have Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Essence will also do the trick)

You will also need:

Some fresh strawberries

Cupcake cases of your choice

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees / 320 Fahrenheit. 

Line a cupcake / muffin tray with the cupcake cases.

Give your strawberries a good wash and remove the leaves, and slice them into pieces.

Start of by mixing your butter until it gets really fluffy and light (this might take a few minutes).

Then add your caster sugar and keep beating.

Once these two ingredients are nicely combined, start adding the eggs gradually and keep mixing. If you see that your mixture is starting to curdle slightly, add a spoon full of the flour and that will fix it.

When your mixture is nice and smooth, gradually start mixing in the flour and add your Vanilla Extract. Keep mixing for another couple of minutes and you are done.

Now pour your mixture evenly into the cases and add one piece of strawberry to each. I usually press them into the mixture slightly, however, be careful not to press them in too much, because they will sink while baking and we don't want them to be just sitting a the bottom and soak the case. :-)

Then bake the cupcakes in the over for approximately 15-20 minutes. The baking time will depend on each individual oven, but the cupcakes are done when they are nice and golden, and springy to the touch.

For the cream icing I don't really go by measurements but basically by how much of a sweet tooth me and my husband are having that day.

You only need 1 tub of double/heavy cream or extra thick double cream, as much of Vanilla Extract/Essence as you like and icing sugar. That's all!

Pour your cream into a bowl, add your vanilla and some icing sugar. Then start beating. It will probably take several minutes for the mixture to become nice and thick in consistency, but the timing will depend on the type or cream you are using. 

Usually I give it a little taste throughout and see if it needs more icing sugar. If it is not sweet enough for you, just keep adding more until you have achieved your perfect creamy goodness.

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, you can add your icing.

I use disposable piping bags with which you only snip off the tip and insert your nozzle. Then stand your piping bag up in a tall glass, roll down the edges and add your icing with a spatula.

The nozzle I used this time is a Wilton 1M.

Then just get piping and creative! In this instance, I added some flower decoration which I made myself about 2 days before. Please don't judge, this was my first ever attempt in making anything from flower paste!!! But I was quite happy with the outcome. :-)

Anyways, all you need to do now is enjoy!!!

Let me know if you give these cupcakes a go. I would love to hear if you liked them!

Lots of love,

Linda

Easy Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Hi Everyone,

A few days ago we came back from a weekend trip and during a stop at the services, I found a little gem of a cupcake book called simply "The Cupcake" by Love Food, and just could not resist.

It is packed full of little cupcake goodness. My husband got the first choice of cupcake and as he loves carrot cake he chose the mini version.

They tasted absolutely divine so I just had to share them.

So here we go….

According  to the recipe, these ingredients should equal 12 cupcakes, however, when I made them, I actually got 18….. not sure why…..

Ingredients:

175 g/ 6oz butter, softened, or soft margarine

115 g/4 oz caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

300 g/ 10.5 oz carrots, grated

55 g/ 2 oz walnuts, finely chopped

2 tbsp orange juice

grated rind of 1/2 orange

175 g. 6 oz self-raising flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

12 walnut halves, to decorate

For the frosting:

115 g/ 4 oz full-fat cream cheese

1 tbsp orange juice

225 g/ 8 oz icing sugar

First of all you need to preheat your oven to 180 degrees (350 Fahrenheit) and put 12 cupcake cases into a tray.

Next, beat the butter/margarine together with the caster sugar until its really nice a fluffy. It will also get a little lighter in colour. Gradually start beating in the eggs. 

Once that's done, you need to add in your grated carrots, chopped walnuts, orange juice and orange rind. I used a spatula to fold the mixture together. Then sift in your cinnamon and flour and again fold it in. It is best to use a metal spoon because the mixture is less likely to stick to it.

The fill your cases and bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes. Keep checking them because the baking time will differ with every oven. They should be nice and golden and firm to the touch. Leave them on a wire rack to cool.

Now, we can make the yummy frosting. Add the cream cheese and orange juice to a bowl and sift in your icing sugar, then beat the mixture until it's fluffy.

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, you can add the frosting and top each with a walnut half.

All you need to do now is enjoy!!!

Let me know in the comments below what you think of them!!!

Lot's of love,

Linda

Disclaimer: The recipe is taken from the book "The Cupcake" by Love Food. The ingredients I took from the book but the instructions were re-written in my own wording.

Easter Cupcakes

Hello Everyone,

Happy Easter!!!!!

This year it is time for yummie cupcakes…. So I got my baking gear going and was off to the kitchen….

Cupcakes are a very easy and fun alternative to traditional cakes. Especially for the little ones they are a ton of fun to decorate.
You just need to choose a base recipe and then let your imagination run wild!!!

I chose a base recipe for vanilla sponge and whisked up a really simple frosting made up from extra thick double cream mixed with vanilla essence and icing sugar. Usually, I am not a fan of icings which are too sweet and this way you can sweeten it to your own personal preference.

Hopefully you are all having a wonderful Easter break!!

Lots of love,

Linda XXX

Chocolate Pralines Time

Hi Everyone,

this weekend it was finally time for my friend and I to hang out and have a good old girls day again.

We watched some good movies, drank tea and had strawberries with chocolate pralines which I made the day before.

They looked so pretty, paired with the berries that I could not go on having a peaceful afternoon without having to take photos before we could eat them. It was sooooo not easy to resist the temptation for even a few more minutes….

It is a typical blogging thing, that you need to take a picture of absolutely EVERYTHING before you allow yourself to eat, drink or use it…. but on a sunny afternoon when you are lusting after dark chocolate and fruit it is not that easy….

So after snapping my photos it was time to dump the camera in the corner and dig in…..

See you next time!

Lots of love,
Linda XXX

Spring is here!

Hello Everyone,

Last week I got to spend some quality time with my family back home in Germany. It was lovely!

For the first time in a few years I celebrated my birthday with my whole family, got to see all my friends, had some really good food and just spend a lot of time in the countryside and sunshine.

The weather was so amazing and the first spring flowers came out. They were all so pretty that I really wanted to share some pictures with you.

Enjoy!

Lots of love,

Linda

XXXX