Showing posts with label cupcakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cupcakes. Show all posts
I may not have a sweetie pie to get me anything adorable for Valentines Day but that doesn't mean I can't gift myself and this year I gifted myself with a beautiful cherry on top Tea Cozy that I bought from an Etsy shop called Addicted to Knitting. It came to me all the way from Australia and I am just in love with it.
I thought it went very well with my delicious egg free Vanilla Cupcakes and my cup of Pink Lemonade Tea. That tea is a real treat as well. I got it from Tealish. It is herbal and caffeine free.
NO, I am not being paid to share these things with you, I simply like them and think you would too. Along with these tasty cupcakes.
I thought you might enjoy a cupcake that is egg free. I know in America at the moment, due to the Avian flu, eggs have gotten extremely expensive, so I thought a little treat for you that wasn't going to use up any eggs was in order!
I adapted the recipe from a baking book I have entitled The Redpath Canadian Bake Book. They are egg free and can also be dairy free if you choose a vegan alternative to regular milk. I did cut the recipe in half, successfully, to make only six cupcakes as there is only one of me. I was really pleased with how they turned out!
I chose to decorate them with a simple milk and icing sugar glaze and candied cherries, but you can ice them with whatever you wish. I also baked them in silicone cupcake cups. I thought that would be so pretty for Valentines Day.
I hope you will want to bake some for your loved ones as well!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE VANILLA CUPCAKES (EGG FREE)
A few simple store cupboard ingredients. It is also easy to make these vegan if you wish but using a vegan milk substitute.
- 1 3/4 cups (219g) plain all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (191g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, or plain unsweetened almond or soy milk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 2 TBS vanilla extract (this is correct)
- 1 TBS white vinegar
I used all-purpose plain flour, unsifted. In the U.K. use plain flour, not self-raising. Also, in the U.K. I would use caster sugar, which is a fine granulated sugar.
If you are measuring by volume, spoon it into the cup and then level it off with the straight edge of a knife.
I used whole milk, but if you are a vegan, you can use unsweetened almond or soy milk to make this a vegan option since there are no eggs.
I used light olive oil. Any flavorless oil is good.
HOW TO MAKE VANILLA CUPCAKES (EGG FREE)
These cakes are very simple to make. As simple as whisking together dry ingredients, and then wet and then whisking both together.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Line a regular muffin tin with 12 large cupcake liners. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl, make a well in the center.
Whisk the oil, milk, vanilla and vinegar together. Pour all at once into the well in the center of the dry ingredients.
Whisk just until combined and no white streaks remain. Do not overmix.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes. Leave to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Decorate as desired. These will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
HOW TO MAKE A SIMPLE VANILLA ICING GLAZE
You will need a quantity of icing sugar. For 12 cupcakes I would start with 2 cups (260g). Add a few drops of vanilla and then thin it out to your desired consistency by adding some milk. Start with 2 TBS, whisking it all together very well until it is smooth, adding more milk only to give you the consistency you are looking for.
Spoon this over top of the cakes, allowing it to drip down the sides. I put the cupcakes on a wire rack over top of a sheet of baking paper to do this.
Leave to set completely.
I was very surprised at just how delicious these were. They might not have looked like much, but I was really pleased with both the texture and the flavor.
I opted to glaze them with a simple icing sugar and milk glaze which I poured over top, decorating each cake with a half cherry. This went down a real treat for lunch along with a hot cup of pink lemonade tea and a cucumber sandwich.
These two recipes for cupcakes are not egg free or vegan, but I can promise you that they are delicious. If eggs are not an issue with you, then go for it!
LEMON AMARETTO CUPCAKES - These are fabulous little moist almond cakes, topped with an amaretto syrup drizzle while they are still warm. This syrup soaks into the warm cakes, which are then finished off with a lemon drizzle icing and a smattering of toasted flaked almonds. hey are also gluten free.
WHITE CHOCOLATE AND MACADAMIA NUT CUPCAKES - These are simple cupcakes to make that always turn out beautiful. Generously filled with toasty macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips. Iced with a white chocolate frosting and decorated with chopped macadamia nuts, these are a real favorite cupcake!
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Vanilla Cupcakes (egg free)
Prep time: 12 MinCook time: 18 MinTotal time: 30 Min
Moist and full of flavor it is hard to imagine that these tasty cupcakes are made without eggs. Also, if you replace the milk with a vegan alternative, they become vegan. They are delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (219g) plain all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (191g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, or plain unsweetened almond or soy milk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 2 TBS vanilla extract (this is correct)
- 1 TBS white vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Line a regular muffin tin with 12 large cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl, make a well in the center.
- Whisk the oil, milk, vanilla and vinegar together. Pour all at once into the well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- Whisk just until combined and no white streaks remain. Do not overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes. Leave to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- Decorate as desired.
- These will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Thanks for visiting! Do come again!!
If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right hand side of the screen.
Also, if you have not checked out my YouTube Channel yet, do give it a gander. I would really appreciate it, and if you want to subscribe that would be even more appreciated! Thank you so much! It is not really fancy like some people's channels. I am very much learning as I go along, but what you get is authentic at least! There is nothing fake there! No filters, bells or whistles. Filmed in real time and unedited!
Back in 2010 when I first started this food blog I baked some traditional English Madeleines, the cupcake version. I have always wanted to re-do the photos for them as I have a much better camera now. I've always been slightly embarrassed by the poor quality of my original photos.
These are excellent cakes and I don't think my original photography portrayed them very well, or as well as they could have been.
One mustn't confuse English Madeleines with regular madeleines. They are two completely different things. Traditional French Madeleines (or Petite Madeleine) are a small shell shaped buttery cake which comes from the Lorraine region in the North East of France.
You can tell a good French Madeleine by the size of the bump which develops on the top whilst baking. A good one will have a really tall bump.
English Madeleines are also small buttery cakes, but they are baked in dariole tins. Once baked they are then rolled in sieved red jam and desiccated coconut. Topped with a glace cherry, they are delightful little cakes, both to the eye and to the palate!
Traditionally the jam is pressed through a fine sieve and then slightly warmed before brushing. When I was looking for a sieve to use yesterday I came across this in the kitchen drawer. It was the right size and shape and so I used it, only to discover later on that it was actually a sieve to put in a sink drain.
Never mind, it worked perfectly. I might actually buy one of those to use when I get my new kitchen! They are probably cheaper than traditional sieves!
The basic batter for these is a traditional vanilla sponge. Nothing outrageous. Simple.
The fiddly part however, is the sieving of the jam, brushing of it onto the cakes and then the rolling of the cakes in coconut.
Not hard to do but a bit time consuming, that's all. Well worth any effort however!
The original recipe for this was adapted from one I found in the cookery book entitled, Women's Institute Cakes, by Liz Herbert. I will now have to replace that book when I can find one. (Fingers crossed)
WI books are the best. If a cake is good enough for the WI you know it is an excellent cake! The Women's Institute is a community based organization for women in the United Kingdom, South African, Canada and Australia.
If you are familiar with the film "Calendar Girls," then you should have a pretty good idea about the WI. They are well known for their preserving, conserving, and baking!
And obviously calendars, lol.
One thing which I really love about this recipe is that you don't need any type of dedicated madeleine pan or the dariole molds. You can just use an ordinary medium cupcake/muffin tin.
Baked in ordinary paper muffin cases, these are simple, and uncomplicated. No buttering or flouring of molds or tins needed. Works for me!
They are also very similar to the Feather Squares my mother used to make for us every Christmas. They consisted of a butter cake, baked, topped with jam, meringue and coconut, then lightly toasted in the oven until the coconut was golden brown.
What a treat those were for us every year. The only drawback is that they pretty much need to be eaten on the day, because of the meringue. Sadly, we never actually got around to baking them this year.
There is no meringue in these. Just sieved jam and coconut. Incredibly edibly delicious I have to add.
My family has always been crazy about jam and cakes. Mom did not bake a lot of cakes from scratch. She was deathly afraid of her children overeating treats and sweets. When she did bake a cake it would be her Hot Milk Cake.
Oh how very much we loved that cake. She always split it and then filled it with strawberry or raspberry jam.
My father loved jam in the middle of cakes. I think, if I recall correctly, my mom filled all of her cakes with jam. We never minded one tiny bit!
These are baked simply in paper cases. They peel off very easily once baked and cooled. The original recipe says it makes 14, but I only got 12 yesterday. Not sure why.
I did make one change to the recipe. I used all butter instead of half butter and margarine. I wasn't sure if it would work alright. I was a bit worried it would be extra greasy, but not to worry. They turned out perfectly.
My sister has a phobia about using margarine and I have to say I don't really blame her. I do wonder about it myself at times. My kids were brought up on Parkay though.
Five kids, tight budget. Parkay. I felt that out of all the margarines it was the best, and tasted the best, but that could just be because of their clever marketing!
I have always fallen for clever marketing. I am a typical consumer I guess. I believe what I am being told I suppose. I trust.
Lately we have been seeing commercials on the telly for Buble water, with Michael Buble in them. I love the water, but I would never have noticed it but for their clever marketing ploy in using one of my favourite Canadian singers!
Anyways back to the cupcakes. You need to bake these. Cupcake Madeleines. As Martha would say, "They're a good thing!"
Mmmm, seriously tasty. Dangerous even. Not a traditional madeleine, but I think even better than that. But then again, I never could resist jam and cake!
Cupcake Madeleines
Yield: 14
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 10 M
A variation of the traditional English Madeleines, except using paper cases instead of the tin molds normally used. Quite, quite delicious! Cook time reflects the time needed to brush the baked cakes with the jam and roll them in coconut.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (230g) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (95g) fine granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 2 large free range eggs, beaten
- 1 cup (140g) self raising flour (see notes)
- 1 TBS milk
You will also need:
- 4 - 5 TBS red fruit conserve/jam, sieved
- 7 glace cherries, halved (can use maraschino)
- 1/2 cup (40g) desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Place 14 paper muffin cases on a baking tray. Set aside.
- Cream together the margarine, butter and sugar until soft and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla.
- Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, making sure each addition is thoroughly incorporated before proceeding. If the mixture begins to curdle, add a spoonful of the flour and continue.
- Once the eggs are completely beaten in, fold in the flour and just enough of the milk to make a soft batter.
- Divide the mixture equally amongst the baking cases. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until well risen and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cakes are completely cooled, remove the paper cases.
- Sieve the jam and place into a small bowl. Warm it slightly in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
- Place the coconut into another bowl.
- Using a pastry brush, brush a thin coating of jam over the base and sides of each cake. Roll them into the coconut to coat the jammed surfaces. The top of the cakes is now the bottom.
- Place on a wire rack to set. Brush the bottom of each of the cherry halves and use to garnish the middle of each cake. Enjoy!!
Notes:
Make Your Own Self Raising Flour:
You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
I am sharing a delicious amaretto cupcakes recipe with you today! Not only are they amaretto cupcakes, but they are lemon amaretto cupcakes, as well as being totally gluten free!
These
are fabulous little moist almond cakes, topped with an amaretto syrup drizzle while they are still warm. This syrup soaks into the warm cakes, which are then finished off with a lemon drizzle icing and a smattering of toasted flaked almonds.
It is not very often that I have baked a gluten free type of cake recipe which I am totally pleased with. These are an exception.
Normally when I bake gluten free things I end up feeling really happy that I am not gluten intolerant. I find most baked goods without flour have a wierd consistency and leave a feeling in my mouth that I don't really enjoy.
However, if I was gluten intolerant I know I would be most grateful for being able to eat baked goods of any kind! To top it all off, gluten free goodies are also incredibly expensive!
Its a shame really. Its like punishing someone for having a condition they can't help having. Its not like they made themselves gluten intolerate after all.
These cupcakes are beautiful despite being gluten free. They are moist and delicious with a lovely texture which I really enjoy. I adapted the recipe from one that I found in a cookbook by Hannah Miles, entitled The Gluten Free Baker.
For those of you not familiar with Hannah, she was the first runner-up in the British version of Master-Chef in 2007. She is a fabulous baker and has written many books on the subject.
Throughout the competition her cakes were outstanding, along with everything else. I love her vibrant style and have always enjoyed every recipe of hers that I have ever cooked, or baked for that matter.
Amaretto is a sweet almond flavoured liqueur. It comes from Saronno in Italy. It is created using apricot kernels, peach stones, bitter almonds or almonds, which are all natural sources of benzaldehyde. It is this which gives it its unique almond flavour.
I don't drink alcohol myself, but I am not adverse to using it in cooking. To that end I always keep an assortment of liqueurs in my larder. I just buy the small sample sized ones as I never need much more than a few tablespoons of it at a time.
If you don't have amaretto you can substitute 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of almond extract for every 2 TBS of amaretto that you need. As you are using it in a syrup I would also add water to make up the amount of amaretto needed.
You will still be able to heat it with the sugar to make a mixture suitable to use in the soaking of the cupcakes, and they will still be very delicious and moist with plenty of almond flavour.
Ground almonds are the same thing as almond meal or almond flour. They are all made from ground sweet almonds. Almond flour is usually made from ground blanched almonds, whereas ground almonds may use either blanched or whole almonds.
Almond flour with be much finer than ground almonds. Amond meal and ground almonds are pretty much the same, having the same consistency which is very similar to cornmeal. All are used to create delicious guten free baked goods to help replace some of the flour needed.
You will also need a small quantity of gluten free self raising flour for this recipe. You can use an equivalent amount of self raising flour in its place, but of course then the cupcakes will not be entirely gluten free.
It is very easy to make your own self raising flour. Simply add 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder along with 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of flour needed. Early on in the lockdown when flour was very scarce in the UK, I often had to make my own self raising flour.
The soaking syrup of amaretto makes these cupcakes incredibly moist and flavourfilled. The lemon drizzle icing helps to seal that flavour in, and of course the toasted flaked almonds help to decorate them beautifully as well as add additional almond flavour.
Altogether whether you bake these as gluten free or with flour, these are delicious little cupcakes. The recipe only makes six which makes them perfect for the smaller family. They do only keep a few days so you don't really want to be baking more than six anyways.
I have never frozen them so I cannot say for sure whether you can freeze them successfully or not! But really, they are so delicious you shouldn't have them around long enough to want or need to freeze them!
Lemon Amaretto Cupcakes
Yield: 6
prep time: 10 Mincook time: 25 Mininactive time: 20 Mintotal time: 55 Min
These fabulous cupcakes are incredibly moist and boast an amaretto syrup drizzle which soaks into the warm cakes with a lush finish of lemon drizzle icing and toasted almonds they spell winner. Gluten free as well.
Ingredients
For the cakes:
- 1/2 cup (120g) of butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (95g)of caster sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1/2 cup (60g) gluten free self raising flour (or 1/2 cup gluten free all purpose baking flour, plus 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/8 tsp xanthan gum)
- 1/2 cup (60g) ground almonds (almond meal)
- 1/3 cup (80ml) plain yogurt
- the finely grated zest of two lemons
For the amaretto drizzle:
- 1/4 cup (60ml) amaretto
- 1 TBS caster sugar
- the juice of one lemon
For the drizzle icing and finish:
- 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
- lemon juice to thin
- toasted flaked almonds to sprinkle top
Instructions
- Grease a six cup muffin tin and line with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Place the muffin tin on a tray.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Whisk together the flour and almonds. Fold this into the creamed mixture along with the yogurt and lemon zest. Divide the cake batter amongst the prepared muffin cups.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the cakes are firm to the touch and golden brown.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the amaretto drizzle until the sugar is dissolved. Spoon this over the hot cakes, a bit at a time, when they come out of the oven. It will be completely absorbed. Allow them to cool in the pan.
- Remove from the pan and place on a wire rack over a sheet of wax paper.
- Whisk together the icing sugar and enough lemon juice to make a spoonable drizzle icing. Spoon this over the top of each cake in an attractive manner and scatter with some flaked toasted almonds while the icing is still wet. Allow to set.
- These will keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
Just look at their beautiful texture. They don't look any different than a normal cupcake. Seriously.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons