Viennese Whirls

Before I get into telling you all about these delightful biscuits, I must address the fact that I called these "Viennese Swirls" in Sunday's post. Swirls, Whirls, all the same in my head apparently!
I can't actually say that I got to try these, I gave half to a friend for her birthday and the other half were gobbled up by my Mother within minutes (you think I'm exaggerating, I'm really not). However I was informed that they were "the nicest gift ever" and "better than Mr. Kipling's ". I decided to use this recipe, although I found that a lot of them were the same so it didn't matter too much.

These do require some attention in the piping department, other than that they're very simple to make! I almost broke my piping gun twice making these. I should really invest in some ordinary nozzles and piping bags. You by no means have to be an expert but I find them quite time consuming, if you're not hugely bother by what they look like, you could just make them into ordinary circles, I'm sure they would taste just as good! The biscuits  can be as big or as small as you would like, just make sure each biscuit has a buddy the same size. I managed to get 16 Viennese Whirls from this recipe, I think I made about 35 biscuits but a few didn't make the cut. I will definitely be making these again and sneaking some away for myself this time. Happy baking!

Ingredients:

250g butter, softened
50g icing sugar
50g cornflour
250g plain flour
1sp vanilla extract

50g butter
100g icing sugar
1tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment or grease with butter. 

2. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, icing sugar, cornflour and vanilla extract. 

3. Slowly sieve in your flour. I found that the mixture wasn't as thick as most dough but that's the way it's meant to be, so don't worry about it (like I did).

4. Place the dough into your piping bag fitted with a medium size star nozzle and pipe into swirls.

5. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until slightly golden at the edges. 

6. To make your icing, place the butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk together until smooth.

7. Leave your biscuits to cool completely before filling. Spread some jam onto the flat side of one biscuit and about 1 teaspoon of buttercream on the flat side of another then sandwich together.

8. Sift a little icing sugar or drizzle some chocolate over the top, if desired! 

Blueberry and Almond Muffins

Anyone fancy some scrumptious muffins that are quick and easy to prepare and make the perfect breakfast or snack? If you do, this recipe is for you! Before I go any further, I must confess that I don't actually like blueberries, or almonds. I did taste test them though before I passed them on to Brian's Mum and they were goooood (even though I picked out the blueberries). They probably certainly aren't the healthiest way to start your day but they do include some fruit and nuts so that makes it better, right? I'm sure you could adapt this recipe to make it a bit more healthy but I am definitely not the person you want to look to for healthy baking recipes. When I bake I go all out, completely unhealthy and full of sugar but it's just a treat, everything in moderation! However, if you would like to make healthy baked goodies, I highly recommend having a look at Chocolate Covered Katie. Her website has tonnes of amazing healthy alternative recipes that will have your mouth watering just reading them. 

Back to the muffins, this recipe makes 10 big muffins, or 18 cupcakes if you would prefer. This recipe does call for buttermilk but not to worry if you don't have any you can make some by mixing regular milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar and leaving to stand for 10 minutes. You could use any kind of berries you would like, if I were to make them or myself  I think I would use strawberries. Happy baking! 

What you will need:

200g plain flour

2tsp baking powder

1tsp cinnamon

50g ground almonds

175g caster sugar

1 egg

300ml buttermilk

50g butter, melted

200g blueberries 

15g almonds, chopped 

1. Preheat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and line your muffin tin with cases. 

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon into a large bowl and then mix in your sugar and ground almonds. 

3. In a separate, beat together the butter, eggs and buttermilk.

4. Slowly add the second mixture into the dry ingredients then fold in the blueberries. 

5. Spoon the mixture into the cases, until they're three quarters full and sprinkle with chopped almonds.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean and they have turned a golden colour. 

7. Leave to cool on a wire rack. These muffins are best served warm! 

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

I've been baking loads of yummy goodies the past two weeks, so I have a backlog of recipes for you guys. However, I made these beauties for the second time today and I just couldn't wait any longer to share it with you all! Terry's chocolate orange is my absolute all time favourite kind of chocolate, if you're anything like me you will love these cupcakes. This recipe is just a really simple twist on a normal chocolate cupcake and I've used a mixture of different recipes to make these, and the icing. I made this batch as a gift for someone so I haven't been able to try one but I'll let you guys know what they thought! This recipe makes 12 big cupcakes and I would think about 18 smaller ones. Happy baking!

What you will need:

125g butter

120g sugar 

2 eggs

50g plain chocolate, melted 

140g self raising flour

2tbsp cocoa powder

1tsp baking powder

1 orange, zest and juice 

For the icing:

100g butter
200g icing sugar
50g chocolate, melted

1 orange, zest and juice

1tbsp milk

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and line your cupcake tin with cases.

2. Beat together the butter, sugar and eggs. Add in the melted chocolate and beat again until smooth.
 

3. Sieve in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Mix together with an electric mixer (the mixture may become stiff at this point, don't worry it'll loosen with the orange juice) and then add in the zest and juice of one orange.

4. To make large cupcakes like mine, fill your cases with 3 teaspoons of the mixture and bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer/knife comes out clean

5. Meanwhile, make your icing by combining the butter, icing sugar and chocolate then add the zest and juice of one orange and the milk to loosen the mixture.

6. Let the cupcakes cool completely before you ice and decorate them as desired! 

Marble Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

I am genuinely surprised by the lack of things I make that have chocolate in them. I am a chocolate fiend, certainly not someone that prefers savoury snacks. I'm not even a massive fan of sweets, just chocolate. I have wanted to make these for ages now, I remember making a marble cake with my Nan a couple of years back, and more than anything I just love the way the inside looks. I don't really make cakes, unless they're for a special occasion. I find it easier to just make cupcakes as they're easier to give to people. Not many people got these cupcakes, they were toooo yummy for me to give away. One of the great things about these cupcakes is that you don't actually need any chocolate, just cocoa powder, which makes me feel a little better about myself when I'm stuffing them in my mouth. This recipe makes 12 cupcakes and I choose to frost them with vanilla buttercream icing, you could use chocolate icing but I thought that may be a little too much chocolate. Happy baking! 

What you will need:

150g butter
150g caster sugar
3 eggs
175g self raising flour
50ml warm milk
2tbsp cocoa powder

For the icing:
100g butter
200g icing sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
2tbsp milk

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Line your cupcake tray with 12 cupcake cakes. 

2. Mix together your butter, sugar and eggs with an electric mixer until it's pale and light. 

3. Add in your flour while still mixing and when the mixture begins to stiffen, start adding your milk. 

4. Divide your mixture between two bowls (I didn't divide mine evenly and ended up with more chocolate than plain, oops.) and stir your cocoa powder into one of the bowls.

5. Add a heaped teaspoon of plain mixture into your cases, a teaspoon of the chocolate mixture and then another teaspoon of the plain on top. I've found this works best to make the marble effect.

6. Take a skewer, or the tip of the knife and gently swirl around your mixture. Do not over swirl, it will not be pretty. 

7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool while you make your icing. 

8. To make the icing, beat together your sugar and butter (put your electric mixer onto a low setting or else there will be an icing sugar disaster) then mix in your vanilla extract and milk. 

9. Wait until the cupcakes have completely cooled to ice them and decorate as desired! 

Gingerbread Men

Do you guys have a favourite baked treat that you will make and eat all of them by yourself? Well, I do and these gingerbread men are the baked treats in question. Most of them time when I bake biscuits or cupcakes, I won't eat them, I'll try one just to make sure they taste good but other than that I rarely feel the urge to eat more than one or two. However, with these biscuits it's a completely different story. This recipe makes about twelve and I will sneak at least half of them up to my room before letting my family know they are ready. I have always loved gingerbread men, ever since I was little they will be the only thing I will ever get from a bakery. This recipe might seem a bit winter-y due to the cinnamon and ginger but I really couldn't wait until the colder months to tell you all about it. I use this recipe, I find it's the best one out there. The biscuits don't come out really hard like they would with other recipes, they're super moist. Obviously this depends on how thick you choose to make them, I've found that rolling the dough out to about a 1cm thickness works best. If you and your families are anything like me and mine, these gingerbread men shall be gone within a few days. Happy baking!

What you will need: 

350g plain flour

125g butter

175g soft brown sugar

1 egg 

4tbsp golden syrup 

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

2tsp ginger

1tsp cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon.

2. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar.

3. Beat the egg and golden syrup together, add these in and mix together with your hands until the mixture comes together. 

4. Put your dough onto a floured surface and begin the knead until it is smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for 15 minutes. 

5. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Prepare two baking trays with parchment paper. 

6. Take your dough out of the fridge and roll out to a 1cm thickness. Cut out your gingerbread men shapes and place onto the baking tray. 

7. Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes, making sure the sides don't overcook (a mistake I made with this batch). Leave to cool on a wire rack. When cooled, decorate as desired! 

Homemade Jammie Dodgers

These biscuits may just be the best thing I have ever made. Jammie Dodgers are a really old favourite of mine, I could in a whole packet in one sitting, (no shame, they're undeniably delicious) so when I saw this recipe in a magazine before Christmas I knew I had to make them. Even if it took me until April. They do take a bit of time if you don't have little heart or circle shaped cutters to cut out a piece in the middle but the two and a half hours I spent making them were well worth it. I used  the tip of a knife to cut out the little heart shape but I'm sure if you can find something in a little circular shape, that would work just as well and probably cut down the preparation time by a whole lot. Strawberry jam was my filling of choice but you can use whatever kind of jam you would like, seedless or not, I've found that doesn't really matter. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the jam stuck the two biscuit pieces together really well, I honestly thought they would fall apart and a jammy biscuit-y mess would ensue while eating. They look absolutely adorable and I really couldn't decide if I wanted to just stare at them all evening or gobble them all up in one go. This recipe makes 18 Jammie Dodgers. Happy baking!

What you will need :

250g butter

360g plain flour

130g icing sugar

1 egg yolk

1tsp vanilla extract

3tbsp milk

30g caster sugar, for sprinkling

150g jam of your choice

1.  With an electric mixer, mix together the butter and icing sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. 

2. Add your egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat together with a wooden spoon.

3. Sift in your flour and mix into a firm dough. If you find the mixture isn't sticking together add a tablespoon of milk but no more than 3.

4. Work the dough into a smooth ball with your hands, then wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for half an  hour.

5. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment. 

6. Place your dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to be about 3mm thick. Cut out an even amount of circles using a 4cm biscuit cutter, then cut out a heart/circle shape in the middle of half of them. 

7. Put the biscuits on your baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes, until they're golden.

8. Transfer the biscuits onto a wire rack to cool.

9. Once the biscuits have completely cooled, sandwich them together with a teaspoon of jam. Making sure you place a biscuit that has a hole cut out on top of one that doesn't. Sprinkle with caster sugar to finish! 

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting

These lemon cupcakes are super zesty and make the perfect homemade baked treat for Easter. They're simple to make and a really yummy way to use up any lemons left over from pancake day, I don't know about you guys, but we still had some. The icing is optional, these cupcakes are really moist anyway but it does add an extra bit of lemon-y goodness. Happy baking!

What you will need:
125g self raising flour
125g butter
125g caster sugar
3tbsp milk
2 eggs
1tsp baking powder
1tbsp lemon juice
1 zest of lemon

For the icing:
75g butter
175g icing sugar
1 zest of lemon
3tbsp lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line your cupcake tin with cases, this recipe should make 12 cupcakes.

2. Mix together your butter, sugar and eggs.

3. Add your flour, baking powder and then your milk to loosen the mixture.

4. Lastly, mix in your lemon zest and juice.

5. Fill your cupcake case with a tablespoon and a half of mixture.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until your knife/skewer comes out clean.

7. While your cupcakes are baking, make your icing by mixing all of the ingredients together. If the mixture is too runny, add more icing sugar. 

8. Make sure your cupcakes have completely cooled and then ice them with your butter cream frosting.

I think some little edible flowers or mini eggs would look so cute on top of these. Drizzling some lemon curd on top could also make a yummy addition to these cupcakes!