Afternoon Tea – Cup Day

Recently went to this amazing afternoon tea held by my lovely friend Kate at her place on Melbourne Cup Day. Everyone brought in some real tasty bites! There were this awesome fresh baked cob dips made by the host, my all time favourite jelly slice, mini cute bite size sausage rolls, beautiful cheeses, dips and crackers…..oh I want to go back on that day…

 

Well I contributed something too! I made one of my favorite cupcakes – mini chocolate cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting and some hidden strawberry purée inside! I also made poached chicken & chives sandwiches with home made mayonnaise! It was absolutely delicious! The home made mayo and fresh chives in this sandwich are the star components! I will post up that recipe soon!

Mini Lemon Curd Cheesecake

This mini cheesecake with lemon curd on top is a perfect little treat for your morning tea, afternoon tea, desserts, breakfast………Just any time of the day really! I love my baked cheesecake by itself usually without any fruits but having the lemon curd in this cheesecake, just bring the whole thing to a different level! – its creamy, its refreshing, you wouldn’t be able to stop with just one of these minis! Please see my mini cheesecake post to get the recipe and get the lemon curd recipe from my strawberrt lemon tart post.

 Method:

1. Make your lemon curd. Then follow the cheesecake recipe and after you have spoon the cheesecake mixture into the baking tray, spoon about a teaspoon of the lemon curd on top and use a toothpick and make the swirl pattern! Follow the instructions of the rest of the cheesecake recipe for baking time and how to store.

Cappuccino Slice

Its been about a month since I have moved houses, still can’t get back into my baking routine…..hence the lack of the new posts in the last couple of the months! But once I get rid of this cold, I will be back with some awesome baking posts ! I made this cappuccino cheese cake slice a couple of months ago, it was a great morning or afternoon tea treat with my coffee – yep! a double coffee hit! Always a lifesaver on those very ordinary working days!

NOTES:

Second time around when I made this, I made chocolate ganache and pour it over the filling and top with grated chocolate! That was a great addition to the slice, it reallygave the slice a much more chocolatley taste, to make this a true cappuccino slice!

 

Cappuccino Slice

• ¼ cup of plain flour
• 1/3 cup of self-raising flour
• 1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 65g butter, melted
• ¼ cup milk

CAPPUCCINO FILLINF

• 350g cream cheese
• 100g mascarpone cheese
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon coffee powder
• 50g grated dark chocolate

 Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 19cm square cake tin and line with baking paper, overhanging two opposite sides.
2. Sift the flours and coca into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, vanilla essence, butter and milk until well combined. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 10-15 minutes and then cool completely. Reduce the oven to 160C.
3. To make the filling, beat the cream cheese, mascarpone and sour cream with electric beaters for 3 minutes, or until smooth. Add the sugar in batches and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs gradually, beating well after each addition.
4. Dissolve the coffee in a little warm water, add to the filling and beat until well combined. Pour over the base. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until set. Leave in the tin to cool completely. Cut into slices, top with grated chocolate and serve.

Chocolate Chips Orange Cake

Easy,

Moist,

Tasty,

Jaffa Cake!!

This has to be one of the easiest cake I make all the time!! All you need to do is blend the orange – yes! the whole thing! with skin and all! No need to boil at first, just chunck it in the food processor or use a stick master! Then process butter, sugar and eggs together, finally fold in some flour and choc chips- there you have it, a perfect cake batter! And it is always guarantee to turn out perfectly moist and yummy!! Even if you are not a big jaffa fan, you should definitely give this try! This might just be the cake that will turn your taste buds around!

Chocolate Chips Orange Cake

• 1 Thin Skinned Orange, skin on chopped
• 200G Unsalted Butter, chopped
• 1 Cup Caster Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 1x250g Dark Choc Chips
• 2 Cups of Self-Raising Flour

Methods:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Grease deep 22cm cake pan and line base. (I used a loaf tin here)

2. Process orange in food processor until almost smooth. Add butter and sugar. Process until combined. Then add eggs one at the time. Process until just combined between additions.

3. Transfer orange mixture to a large mixing bowl, add flour and choc chips. Pour into pan.

4. Bake for 50min – 1hr. Cool in pan for 5 mins. Turn onto wire rack to cool.

 

Give this cake a go! You won’t regret it!!

 

Best Ever Mini Choc Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

These little cupcakes are a beauty! Chocolate + Strawberry is a classic combination that everybody loves, not to mention these mini babies are fill with strawberry puree as well! Double strawberry goodness! They are seriously tasty!! Firstly, the cupcakes : soft, moist, light and cocoa-ty! You really wont get a better cupcake than this! Secondly, the frosting : strawberry puree mix in with cream cheese = taste just like frozen yoghurt, it is delightful! Thirdly, the strawberry puree, this really is the hero ingredient in this cupcakes! I had quite a lot of the puree left over after making the frosting so i used them to fill up the cupcakes. And that was the best move i have ever made! The puree makes the cupcakes extra moist and really helps to blend the strawberry flavour into the chocolate cupcakes! oh myyy, making me hungry just talking about it!!! This really is the BEST cupcakes i have made so far!!! The combination of the cupcake, frosting and puree just melt in your mouth, they are so soft, fluffy and moist! You can eat the whole batch and not feel sick because the texture is just so light.

Chocolate Cupcakes (I halved below recipe to make 30 mini cupcakes)

(see my chocolate cupcakes post to see how moist and fluffy this cupcakes are!)

• 2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• 1½ tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Method:

1. Preheat Oven 180C. Line 2 mini muffin trays with paper liners.
2. Sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
3. In another mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract; whisk together.
4. Add to the dry ingredients and mix with wooden spoon until mixture is combine.
5. Add the boiling water and stir just to combine (batter will be thin).
6. Bake for 10-15  minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing (Recipe from My Baking Addiction)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole strawberries
• 120g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 240g of cream cheese, slightly cold
• 1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 31/2 cup of icing sugar

Method

1. Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add in the cream cheese and beat until combined. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners’ sugar; beat until well combined.
4. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree to fill cupcakes); mix until just blended.

Note: The frosting is able to be piped, but is on the soft side and definitely needs to be refrigerated!

Strawberry Puree Filling

• 1/2 cup whole strawberries

1. Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed

Note:

1. If your strawberries are slightly on the sour side, add some icing sugar to the puree to sweeten it.

2. I used the total of  250g of strawberries for these cupcakes + frosting.

Assemble Cupcakes

1. Cut a small hole in the cupcake
2. Fill strawberry puree in the hole
3. Put the cap back on
4. Pipe strawberry frosting on mini cupcake!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl

THIS! is a coffee cake with a twist! The chocolate cinnamon swirl in between 2 layers of the cake batter is simply delicious, a crumble topping is always a winner, plus the moistness that the sour cream provides – it is no ordinary coffee cake! And another great thing is, this recipe makes a big tray of this coffee cake, cut yourself a big piece! You won’t regret it!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl

(recipe from shutterbean)

For the Crumb Topping:

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup pecans, toasted
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1 inch cubes

For the Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Sour Cream Cake:

• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 16 ounces sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Make the Crumb Topping:

Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse for 5 seconds to mix. Add the pecans and pulse until the pecans are finely chopped and thoroughly incorporated.

Add the butter and pulse until combined. The mixture will look like very coarse sand. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the fridge.

Make the Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl:

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon and set aside.

Make the Sour Cream Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×13 baking pan, If you use a metal pan, the edges of the cake will be crispy. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth and ribbon-like. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until the mixture is smooth and starts to look fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.

Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating only until each addition is just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Pour one third of the cake batter in the prepared pan. Using an offset spatula to spread the batter evenly.

Sprinkle half of the chocolate cinnamon swirl mixture over the batter, covering the entire surface of the batter. Spoon half of the remaining batter over the swirl mixture and spread it evenly. Top with the remaining swirl mixture then the remaining batter and spread the batter evenly. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the top of the batter.

Bake in the center of the oven, rotating the pan three times during baking for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then serve.