Triple Chocolate Cookies Recipe

So today I really fancied some home made cookies, and decided to go all out and make triple chocolate cookies! If you're going to eat cookies and be unhealthy you might as well go all the way and put as much chocolate as possible in them, right?

Valentines Day Cupcakes

Want to impress your other half with some amazingggg tasting cupcakes? This is the perfect recipe; it's easy, look good and taste even better!

What you'll need:

For the cakes:

A baking tray lined with 12 cupcake cases

100g Butter (at room temperature)

100g Caster Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

100g Self Raising Flour

1  Tbsp Milk

For the Buttercream:

150g Un-Salted Butter (at room temperature)

300g Sieved Icing Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Red or Pink Food Colouring

1 tbsp milk

A piping bag and round tip nozzle

For Decorating:

White Fondant Icing

A Small Heart-shaped cutter

Letter Icing Stamps

Now you've got everything you need let's get started!

Pre-heat your oven to 190 degrees

Firstly, either using a hand held mixer or an electric stand mixer, cream together the sugar and butter until it is light and fluffy:

Then add the eggs, milk and the vanilla extract and whisk again:

Until it looks like this:

Then add in the flour and fold it in using a large spoon:

Divide evenly between the cupcake cases

bake in the oven for 15-20minutes (when they are done if you gently press the top of one it will bounce back up)

While They're cooling, we can start to make the Buttercream

An electric Mixer is best for this as by hand will take a lot longer and a lot of arm strength!

Place the butter in the mixer and mix for 5 minutes until it is light in colour and really soft:

Then add a small amount of the icing sugar and mix again for a few minutes:

Keep adding small amounts at a time and mixing in-between, and add the vanilla extract, milk and colouring with the last bit of icing sugar.

Mix for a further 2 minutes making sure to stop to scrape down the sides every now and again so that it all gets mixed up together:

Put your round tip nozzle into your piping bag and the spoon in your buttercream, pushing it down so it is right at the tip and then twist the top to stop it coming out.

Keep you piping bag vertically upright, and starting at the outside of the cupcake squeeze the buttercream on going round and then into the centre then do a final squeeze, release the pressure then pull away from the cupcake. This will create a nice round swirl on top of you cake.

Then take your fondant icing and place of a surface that is dusted with flour, dust your rolling pin aswell and roll out the icing to the thickness of a pound coin.

Using your letter stamps, stamp 12 XOs onto your fondant icing

Take your heart shaped cutter and cut around each XO

Then place these on top of each cupcake and that's it, your cupcakes are ready to share with your loved one this Valentines Day!

Clotted Cream and White Chocolate Fudge

So I decided I wanted to attempt to make some fudge this week, something I've never done before, as I always thought it was a difficult thing to do but it turns out it's really easy! So for those of you out there who have never been brave enough to try it, it really is easier than you think!

What you're going to need is:

227g Cornish Clotted Cream

275g Caster Sugar

100g Golden Syrup

1tsp Vanilla Extract

100g White chocolate and an extra 50g for decorating

A lined or greased baking tin

Firstly put the cream, caster sugar, golden syrup and vanilla into a sauce pan and heat slowly, stirring as it begins to melt together.

 Then cover the saucepan and bring to boil for 3 minutes. Either use a thermometer to check when it has reach 116°C or drop a small amount into a cup of cold water and it it form a ball then it is ready. 

 Take off the heat and stir constantly until it thickens and becomes matte in texture, adding the chocolate just before it thickens to much. The chocolate will melt in the mixture so there is no need to pre-melt it.

Pour the mixture into the baking tin ensuring it is spread out evenly.

 Melt the remaining chocolate and put into a disposable piping bag or a sandwich bag and cut a small hole in the corner.

Drizzle the chocolate over the top of the fudge.

Leave to cool down in a cool place, once it has cooled if the chocolate has still not set, place in the fridge for an hour or so.

Then cut up and enjoy your amazing tasting fudge!

Gooey Caramel Shortbread

So I made some Caramel Shortbread the other day and the caramel was so gooey and sweet it was amazing! so much that I wanted to share the recipe with you all, so you can make some and see how amazing it is for yourselves. 

I used a food processor, you don't have to you could mix the ingredients by hand but this saves time. 

Pr-heat your oven to 150 degrees

Add 1 cup of Plain flour to the food processor

Then add 1/4 cup caster sugar...

and a pinch of salt

Then add 125g Butter and a drizzle of vanilla Extract, wizz it all up in the food processor until it starts clumping together like this:

Take the mixture out and kneed it slightly in a bowl till it forms a nice dough.

Then flatten it out into your baking tray/dish. I didn't use any greaseproof paper which meant it was hard getting it out after so my advise would be to line your tray with some first!

Then place it in the oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Then you'll need to make your Caramel sauce. 

In to a sauce pan place 1 cup caster sugar and then enough water to cover the sugar. 

On a low heat, slowly boil the sugar, DO NOT STIR! 

As it starts to boil it will look like this:

Don't take your eye off it because it will only take a matter of seconds to go from this to a light brown colour. So quick I didn't have time to take a picture! As soon as this happens take it off the heat as if it goes too dark then it will have burnt and not taste nice at all! (this happened to me the first time I did it and it was horrid) 

Then add 50g of butter and half a cup of cream to it and stir this in. You should get a nice gooey caramel that looks like this:

Although it's tempting make sure you let it cool a little before tasting as it will be really really hot!

Once it's cooled, spread it over the top of your shortbread

While this is setting slightly, melt 200g of Chocolate

Then spread this on top of the caramel:

Pop it in the fridge to set and then soon you'll have scrumptious gooey caramel shortbread ready to eat!

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

Vanilla Cupcakes can be the basis of any amazing decoration or flavoured buttercream or icing. They are a fabulous starting point for any baker. So I wanted to share with you all my recipe for vanilla cupcakes which I swear by.

 This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

What you'll need:

A whisk (electric or hand)

100g Margarine (room temperature)

100g Caster Sugar

100g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

2 eggs

2 tsps Vanilla Extract

A Baking Tray

12 Cupcake Cases

Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees.

Whisk the margarine and sugar together till you get a light and fluffy mixture.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk again.

Fold in the flour to the mixture using a spoon. 

Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases and bake in the over for 15-20 minutes. When they are done you'll be able to tough the top and it will bounce back up. 

Leave to cool before decorating.

I'll soon be posting some of my favourite ways to decorate cupcakes, but in the mean time let me know what your favourite ways to decorate are in the comments. If you have any styles or flavours you want a recipe for then ask in the comments and I shall post a recipe!