Sweet Treats

When the chill of January seeps into your bones and starts getting you down there's nothing like a little sweet treat to perk your spirits.

1. Macarons from The French Oven in Newcastle,  2. Mr Stanley's Rose Creams, 3. Rococo Chocolate lollypop.

Viennese Whirls

Last night I came home from work craving my pajamas, a lazy take away and a evening in front of the TV with Kris and the cats.  Those plans were scuppered by you, Sky Arts.  For some reason or another, the Sky Arts film crew were filming a scene for an upcoming drama in the courtyard outside of my garden.  There were huge lights, cameras, generators and lots of people milling around just beyond my little garden fence.  Realising I wasn't going to get the quiet relaxing night I so craved I took myself to the kitchen for a little therapeutic baking and to keep an eye on what was going on outside, of course.  

The result of my baking were these yummy little Viennese Whirls.  Viennese Whirls were a constant favorite in my childhood home.  The cream, the jam, the delicate crumbly biscuit I mean, what's not to love?!  Sunday morning always saw us gathered round a plate of the adorable cookies, the Sunday papers scattered over the dining room table and a huge pot of tea surrounded by five mugs.  There's something about a Viennese Whirl I find so comforting, I just felt I had to delve back into my past and recreate those lazy Sunday mornings I used to love so much. I mean, I wasn't getting my lazy Saturday night so made damn sure to get my relaxed Sunday morning.

Viennese Whirls

Ingredients:

250g unsalted butter, very soft

250g plain flour

50g icing sugar

50g cornflour

1tsp vanilla extract

2tbsp milk

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160C and line a baking tray with parchment.  Take a circular cutter, around three inches in diameter and trace 16 circles onto the parchment around one centimeter apart.  Flip the parchment over so the ink is on the bottom.

Place the butter, sugar ad flours into a food processor and pulse to combine.  Once the dough starts to come together scrape the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.  Pipe whirls of dough onto the lined baking tray using your stencils as a guide.

Bake cookies for 15 minutes, or until just golden and allow to cool on the tray.  Once cool sandwich the cookies together using butter cream and jam.  Eat with a pot of tea and the Sunday papers.  Slippers are essential. 

Holga for Nikon

Last week, my lovely boyfriend came home from work clutching a tiny little parcel.  Upon my inquiring on the contents he handed it over and said 'it's for you'.   Excitedly, and a little suspiciously, I opened the little white box to reveal a teeny lens for my camera.  Closer inspection told me it was none other than a Holga lens purpose built for a Nikon DSLR.  How fun!    We already own several Holga cameras but I'm sure fellow owners will probably share my distaste for the super expensive film and the uncertainty of the image quality.  So many times have I become owner to a little blue wallet full of black prints.  My amazing little lens takes all of that worry away, allowing you to view your images straight away.

I just love the gloomy atmosphere it gives to the image.  Just perfect for a winters stroll down the banks of the industrial River Tyne.

Passion Fruit Curd

Passion fruit is one of my very favorite flavours and I'm always looking for new ways to include this delicious fruit in my baking.  I recently came across a recipe for passion fruit curd in one of my monthly foodie reads and instantly folded the corner of the page for future reference.  And by future reference I mean the time it takes me to get to the market, buy ten passion fruits and arrive back home clutching my bounty with an excited grin on my face.

So far I have slathered this beautiful curd upon home made scones, hunks of sourdough toast, fresh crumpets and have even gone as far as to simply spoon it right into my open mouth.  It really is that delicious!  I would recommend cooking the mixture for longer than the recipe states as this is quite a soft set spread and I'd prefer it a little stiffer.  

Passion Fruit Curd

Ingredients:

8 ripe passion fruits

3 large eggs

150g caster sugar

2tbsp cornflour

  

Method:

Put the passion fruit pulp in a food processor and whizz to separate the seeds from all the juicy bits. Scrape into a sieve set over a medium saucepan, pushing through as much pulp as you can. Reserve 2 tbsp of the seeds, then discard the rest. 

Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and set over a low heat. Whisk until all the butter has melted then, using a wooden spoon, stir constantly until the passion fruit curd has thickened to a similar consistency as lemon curd. Don't be tempted to turn the heat up to speed up the process as the eggs will curdle; make sure you stir right around the edge, too, as this is where it might catch first. 

Sieve the curd into a clean bowl to get rid of any eggy bits that may have curdled. Stir in the reserved seeds and cool, before spooning into jars and chilling. Curd will keep in the fridge for a week. Eat smothered on hot buttered toast, crumpets or scones (see related recipes).

Red Velvet

For some reason or another red velvet cupcakes have always alluded me.  Every time I've tested a recipe I was faced with the exact same problem. They didn't rise, they had hard and cracked tops and just didn't look like a cake you'd ever want near your mouth.  I've always blamed the oven, I mean, it can't be me.... can it?

Since the move I've obviously gained a brand new oven, so now was the perfect time to test my hypothesis!  Was it the evil old oven with the seal hanging off (thanks mister landlord) or was it in fact, me.  Rather than following any old recipe, I took elements of all of my failed attempts and created a recipe which I believe could solve my little problem.  Turns out I was right, it was the bloody oven!  These cakes came out perfectly!  The rose beautifully and have an amazingly light and fluffy texture.

When it came to showing my first red velvet success I instantly knew I had to use my adorable red car cupcake wrappers from Just Bake!  Normally I'm not a fan of cupcake wrappers, too fussy for my tastes but the moment I laid eyes upon these little sweethearts I was smitten.  Reminiscent of the wonderful Orla Kielys car print designs, they're just perfect for showing off your creations.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients:

65g unsalted butter, softened

150g caster sugar

130g plain flour

125ml buttermilk
1 large egg

1tbsp cocoa powder

1/2tsp baking powder

1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2tsp white wine vinegar

1tsp red food colouring paste

pinch of salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 160C and line a cupcake tray with 12 liners.

Sift together flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt then, in a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk and red food colouring together.  Set aside.

In a bowl attached to an electric mixer whip the butter and sugar together until the mixture turns pale and creamy.  With the speed up high, add the egg and whisk for a few minutes.  Add 1/2 of the flour mixture followed by the buttermilk and colouring before adding the remainder of the flour.  Mix well to combine.

Working quickly mix the bicarb and vinegar together allowing it t fizz up slightly before adding it to the cake batter. Quickly fold in into the cake batter.

Divide the batter between the cupcake liners and bake for 23 minutes until risen and a skewer inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the tin for five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.