Gingerbread

This is my ‘better late than never’ gingerbread recipe. It featured in my christmas post, which shows the shortbread and gingerbread star cookies I gave as gifts for Christmas. Although gingerbread is traditionally a christmas thing, it’s good all year round, and ginger is fantastic for settling a funny tummy!

You will need

350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125g butter
175g light soft brown sugar
1 egg
4 tbsp golden syrup

Method

• Place flour, bicarb, ginger and cinnamon into a food processor, add the butter and mix until the mix looks like breadcrumbs.
• If you don’t have a food processor rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until resembles breadcrumbs.
• Stir in the sugar.
• Mix the egg and golden syrup together and add to the breadcrumb mixture.
• Mix either by hand or in a processor until the mixture clumps together into a ball.
• Knead the mixture to bring it all together and form a ball, refrigerate for around 20 mins.
• Roll out the dough and cut whatever shapes you like! I like to make small stars as they are good as gifts and great for the biscuit tin!
• Traditionally, people like to cut men out of the dough, which is great for children to decorate!
• Preheat the oven to 180c/gm 4 and grease baking trays, greaseproof paper always works best 🙂
• Place cut out shapes on the baking trays and place in the fridge for 30 mins (this helps maintain the shape when cooking).
• Bake in the oven for 10-12 mins for stars and 12-15 for gingerbread men.
• When baked, the cookies should be slightly darker in colour and may still be a little soft but will harden when cooling.
• When cooled decorate however you wish 🙂

I hope this recipe inspires you to make gingerbread whatever time if year!

Happy baking 🙂

Cupcakes (basic recipe)

This recipe is especially for my friend Ali , she likes to bake but always cheats with cake mixes! (Much to my disgust! Lol) I’ve told her how easy it is to make cupcakes from scratch and thought I’d post it on here for others to have a look 🙂

This recipe can easily be doubled or used as a basic Victoria sponge recipe if divided between 2 shallow cake tins.

You will need

(Makes 6 large cupcakes)

110g self raising flour ( for plain flour add 2 tsp baking powder)
100g unsalted softened butter
100g caster sugar
2tsp vanilla extract
1egg
2tbsp milk

Method

There are so many techniques that people use for sponge, I find the all in one method works well for a basic sponge. I have included 2 techniques in this recipe 🙂

The ‘all in one’ method

• Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer until well combined

The creaming method

• Place butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix until light and creamy.
• Gradually mix in the egg and vanilla.
• Fold in the flour (and baking powder if using plain flour) a little at a time.
• When mixture seems to appear stiff add the milk and then continue to add the flour.

BAKE

Separate into 6 muffin cases and bake in a preheated oven at 180c gm4 for 15-20 mins until cakes spring back when touched.

BASIC BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

150g butter
300g icing sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1tsp milk

Whisk all ingredients together until light and fluffy, start slowly making sure icing sugar doesn’t fly everywhere.

Using a star shaped nozzle, fill a piping bag with the buttercream frosting and pipe swirls on top on cooled cupcakes starting from the outside working into the middle.

VARIATIONS

I will be doing separate posts for other cupcakes as I tend to bake a few different types, these are just 2 of my favourite recipes that I bake. You can get many different decorations now from the supermarket such as stars, silver balls, glitter etc which make a simple cake look special! Fantastic given as a gift 🙂

Vanilla chocolate marble cupcakes (picture)

• Make cupcake batter as normal, when well combined split the mixture into two equal portions and mix 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder into one half.
• One teaspoon at a time, fill the cupcake cases with alternate chocolate and vanilla batter until 3/4 full.
• Take a teaspoon handle and gently swirl the 2 mixtures together in the cases, careful not to over mix.
• Bake as normal 180c gm 4 for 15-20 mins
• For the chocolate frosting I just add a teaspoon of cocoa powder into the basic buttercream frosting.

Sticky jam cupcakes

• Make basic cupcake batter.
• Put 2 teaspoons of batter in each cupcake case and make a small dip in the middle.
• Place a teaspoon of jam in the middle of each cupcake and then continue to fill with remaining batter.
• Bake as normal 180c gm4 for 15-20 mins, when cool decorate with buttercream frosting
• As I say this is my fool proof cupcake recipe that I always fall back on, and once you’ve mastered this you can become quite inventive with flavours and frostings.

Happy baking 🙂