Strawberry Prosecco Cupcakes

My love of prosecco is well documented on this blog, there really is nothing better than popping that cork and settling down for a good gossip with the girls.  Last week we went extra with our flutes, topping them with a plump, red strawberry before adding a dash of wild strawberry liquor. Needless to say it was utterly delicious, which got me thinking about cupcakes.  How can I incorporate this delicious flavour into a little bun, thus these strawberry prosecco cupcakes were born.

The best thing about these cupcakes is the surprise on peoples faces when they bite through the sponge to discover a full, juicy strawberry hiding inside.  What a treat.

With Mothers Day on the horizon I can imagine many a deserving mother who would be delighted with the gift of these babies.  Serve them up alongside a chilled glass of prosecco for the queen of Mothers Day treats, you'll even get bonus points for making them with your own hands.  No store bought cakes for you, oh no!

Strawberry Prosecco Cupcakes

Ingredients

• For the cake :
• 175g (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 175g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 175g (1 1/2 cups) self raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 3tbsp whole milk
• 12 strawberries


• For the frosting :
• 125g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 300g (2 1/2 cups) icing sugar
• 100ml prosecco
• popping candy and straws to decorate

Cooking Directions

1. Heat your oven to 170C and line a 12 hole cupcake tray with liners. Set aside. 
2. In the the bowl of an electric mixer whip the butter and sugar together till light and creamy, around 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time mixing between each addition. Add half the flour and mix, add the milk followed by the rest of the flour and the baking powder. Mix till combined the mix in the vanilla extract.
3. Using an ice cream scoop fill each cupcake liner to 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes until risen and springy when touched. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing to a baking rack to finish cooling.
4. To make the frosting first mix the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until pale and soft. Add the icing sugar and 3/4 of the prosecco. Turn the mixer on low and gradually increase the speed. Whip for 5 minutes, if the frosting looks too stiff add a touch more prosecco until you reach a nice piping consistency.
5. One the cupcakes have cooled slightly brush the tops with the remaining prosecco then take a small knife and hollow out a cone in the center of each cupcake, pop a strawberry in each hole. Fill a piping bag, fitted with an open star nozzle, with the prosecco frosting and pipe a cute swirl on each cake. Sprinkle with the popping candy and pop a little straw in the top.

SHARE:

St Clements Cocktail

Our final cocktail of the Fentimans three is a nice little fruity number, the St Clements.  This one is a virgin, so non-drinkers and designated drivers won't feel too left out of the festivities.

 

Freshly squeezed orange juice topped up with Fentimans bitter lemonade served over ice and garnished with a sprig of rosemary.  

If, like me, you like to spike your juice then I gotcha.  Simply add a shot of gin to the bottom of your glass to turn this puppy into a St Clements 75.  I'm planning on serving these up while decorating the Christmas tree this year.  I'm itching to throw on a bit of Elvis and shimmy around the living room sipping on a St Clements 75. I hope you'll join me! 

 

St Clements Cocktail

Ingredients

• 150ml freshly squeezed orange juice
• 150ml Fentimans Bitter Lemonade
• Crushed ice
• Rosemary for garnish
• Twist of lemon for garnish

Directions

1. Fill two champagne flutes with ice, half fill each glass with the freshly squeezed orange juice. Top up with the Fentimans Bitter Lemonade and garnish with a sprig of rosemary and a twist of lemon.

SHARE:

Cranberry Moscow Mule

With the festive season fast approaching we've all got our mind on one thing, parties. Or is that just me?  The first thing I think of when planning a party is an easy signature cocktail you can serve your guests on arrival.  A cocktail so simple but so beautifully tasty it'll have everyone reaching for their Instagram accounts, #thirstythursday.

When Fentimans got in touch with me asking if I'd like to try out some of their delicious mixers my mind instanly went wild with festive cocktail ideas.  So much so I couldn't narrow it down to just one, I narrowed it down to three instead. You're welcome.  Look out for the other two drinks coming later in the week.

For this Christmassy version of a Moscow Mule I used Fentimans Ginger Beer with Muddled Lime mixed with cranberry juice.  Check below for the full recipe.

First up is one of my absolute favorite cocktails to sip on a chilly night. There's something so charming about a Moscow Mule, I mean who wouldn't want to sip on a drink served in a copper mug?  I bought mine in TK Maxx but you can get some pretty hammered versions over here.

Cranberry Moscow Mule

Ingredients

• 120ml vodka
• 150ml Fentimans Ginger Beer with Muddled Lime
• 100ml cranberry juice
• 1 lime
• Handful of fresh cranberries
• Sprigs of rosemary

Cooking Directions

1. Fill two copper mugs with ice, pour over the vodka then squeeze half a lime into each mug. Pour in the ginger beer and top up with cranberry juice, stir together. Garnish with a handful of cranberries and a sprig of rosemary. 

*This post is sponsored by Fentimans

SHARE:

Cherry Amaretto Popsicles

For as long as I can remember (in blogging years, anyway) I've had an American style popsicle mould on my wish list.  Not one of those god awful plastic things with spouts, so popular with sticky children, but a nice uniform mold with a metal lid and wooden sticks.  For the longest time I just couldn't source this desirable bit of kit, and I was forever tormented with images of perfect popsicles on Pinterest. Finally, after trawling through pages upon pages of multi-coloured monstrosities on Amazon, I happened across the mold of my dreams.  Popsicles, you're my wife now!

Prepare for an influx of frozen treats, don't say I didn't warn you!

Now, go get that bottle of Amaretto you've been hiding.  Grab yourself a glut of cherries and get freezing, I even promise not to judge if you use plastic kiddie molds.

Me being me I just had to sneak a bit of booze in there, but if you're making these for little mouths, just leave it out.  They'll only be kind of delicious..... just kidding. 

Cherry Amaretto Popsicles

Ingredients

• 1 tin Full Fat Coconut Milk
• 150g Caster Sugar
• 2tbsp Amaretto
• 1/4tsp Almond Extract
• 350g Frozen Cherries
• 50g Caster Sugar
• 1/2tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1tbsp Amaretto

Cooking Directions

1. For the white layer mix the coconut milk, sugar, Amaretto and almond extract in a large bowl and set in the fridge to chill for a few hours.
2. For the cherry layer, place the cherries and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over a medium low heat for around twenty minutes or until nice and thick. Stir in the vanilla and Amaretto. Pour the cherry mixture into a blender and blend down till smooth. Set in the fridge for a few hours until completely cold.
3. Starting with your cherry mixture, pour around 2cm of the gloopy mixture in the bottom of your popsicle molds and alternate with layers of the white mixture ensuring to leave around 1cm gap in the top of your molds. Give each popsicle a little swirl with a knife, place the lid on the mold and pop in the freezer for two hours. After two hours, slot in the popsicle sticks and return to the freezer till completely frozen. Around six hours.

SHARE:

Sunshine and Pimms

If there's anything that screams British Summer time its a nice cold glass of Pimms on a perfectly manicured lawn.  However, in my case I'll be enjoying it on a slightly balding garden with an annoying downward tilt.  Nothing a good old Pimms won't fix, I'll just close my eyes and imagine.

When TheBar.com got in touch and asked me to share a recipe for this traditional Summer drink I was delighted.  Normally I'd try and put my own spin on things but why tamper with perfection?  Although, I do have a hankering to turn this delicious cocktail into an ice lolly, more on that later...

The thing I love most about Pimms is the ease of putting the drink together.  It's just as simple to make a tipple for one as it is to make for ten making it the perfect drink to serve for a Summer garden party, weather permitting of course.  Mix up a few big jugs of Pimms and let the good times roll.

Pimms Summer Cup

Serves 1

Ingredients:

25ml Pimms Cup No1

2 Strawberries, quartered

Cucumber slices

Lemon slices

Sprig of mint

Ice

Lemonade

Ginger beer

Method:

Fill a tall glass with ice and add a few slices of cucumber, lemon and the strawberry quarters.  Pour over the Pimms then fill the glass half way with ginger beer, top up with lemonade.  Give it a little mix, pop a sprig of mint in the top and enjoy.

This is a collaborative post with theBar.com

SHARE:

Mint & Passion Fruit Rum Punch

It's the bank holiday weekend here in rainy old Blighty, and if there's one thing us Brits love it's a jolly good knees up on an extra day off work.  What better way to celebrate than to whip up a nice fruity cocktail, even if it is grey and drizzly outside.

This is such a delicious cocktail and looks hella pro, the best thing is you can make it well in advance leaving you plenty of time to lap up all the compliments from your guests.  I've included the measurements for two cocktails bellow but feel free to double or even triple the recipe to keep you sauced up all weekend long.

Mint & Passion Fruit Rum Punch
Makes 2 cocktails

Ingredients:
Juice of 3 limes, plus an extra lime sliced thinly for decoration
3 passion fruit, plus extra to decorate
Handful of fresh mint, plus extra to decorate
1/2 stick of lemon grass, bruised and chopped into pieces
125ml sugar syrup
175ml white or golden rum
Fizzy water
Ginger beer
Ice

Method:
In a large jug stir together the lime juice, the pulp from three passion fruit, mint, lemongrass, rum and sugar syrup.  Muddle it all together with a wooden spoon and place in the fridge for at least an hour or up to 24 hours.

When ready to make your cocktail, strain the contents of the jug through a sieve making sure to press out all of the delicious liquid.  Fill two tumblers with ice and push two slices of lime down the side of each glass, using the ice to keep them in place.  Pour half of the fruity liquid in each glass and top up with tonic and ginger beer.  Top each cocktail with a sprig of mint and half a passion fruit.

SHARE:

Baileys Flat White Martini

There's something about Baileys that just screams decadence.  The velvety smoothness is the perfect accompaniment to a special occasion, and with Valentines day just around the corner you'd be crazy not to try your hand at these flat white martinis.

This super simple cocktail not only tastes amazing but gives the illusion that you really know your stuff behind the bar, even if your usual go to drink is a vodka and soda.  Have two of these ready for your honey coming home this Valentines and I promise they'll be putty in your hands, just make sure you don't burn your M&S dine in for two.

Baileys Flat White Martini
Serves 2

Ingredients:

25ml espresso
25ml vodka
50ml Baileys

Method:

Add all of the ingredients with some ice to a cocktail shaker.  Shake and shimmy that thing until it's all nice and cold.  Strain into two chilled martini glasses and enjoy!

SHARE:

Rum and Raisin Cupcakes

Rum and raisin is one of those flavours that comes with age, much like olives and blue cheese.  Things you physically couldn't let near your mouth as a child are relished as an adult.  I remember a time I despised all three of these things, now I'm dangerously close to getting gout from over indulgence.

So what do I do, I take some raisins that I've let soak in spiced rum overnight and ram 'em in some fluffy cupcakes.  Who can't get behind this? You'd have to be some kind of monster to refuse such a treat.  Remember this is a no kids allowed treat, unless you're anything like my mother who'd dip my dummy in whiskey so I'd sleep soundly.   But hey, I turned out OK *glances over at my heaving booze trolley*. 

Rum & Raisin Cupcakes

Makes 14

Ingredients:

200g raisins

100ml spiced rum

250g unsalted butter, softened

200g caster sugar

150g light brown sugar

4 large free range eggs

350g self raising flour

1tsp baking powder

3tbsp whole milk

125g unsalted butter, softened

500g icing sugar

2tbsp spiced rum

2-3tbsp whole milk (you may need slightly more or less)

Method:

The night before you want to make you cupcakes pop the raisins in a bowl and cover with the rum.  Leave to infuse overnight.

Preheat oven to 170C and line two cupcake trays with 14 cases (you may have slightly more or less batter)

In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, around five minutes mixing should do it.  slowly beat in the eggs, mixing well after each addition.  Add the flour and baking powder to the bowl and mix carefully till combined followed by the raisins, any remaining rum and the milk.  Stir through till evenly distributed.

Using an ice cream scoop fill each cupcake case to 2/3 full and bake for 22 minutes, till golden on top and springy to the touch.  Allow to cool in the tins for five minutes before transferring to a rack.

Once cool beat together the icing sugar, butter and rum.  Add the milk a tablespoon at a time until you reach a good piping consistency.  Fill a piping bag with a closed star nozzle and pipe a swirl atop each cake. Top wth sprinkles and enjoy. 

SHARE:

Jack Daniels and Coke Cupcakes

You guys don't half love a boozy bake.  Whenever I look at my blog stats one particular post always stands out in terms of popularity, my gin and tonic cupcakes.  I've seemed to shy away from cupcakes on my blog; probably because I bake them at work all day, every day, but that's enough of that.  What a way to reintroduce cupcakes than with these super kick-ass Jack Daniels and Coke blighters.  

These delightfully squiffy babies consist of a cola sponge, hollowed out and filled with a Jack Daniels spiced chocolate ganache. They're then topped with a swirl of Jack Daniels butter cream, followed by more ganache and a jelly cola bottle.  I'd recommend these cupcakes for any adult occasion but I can't help but notice how perfect they'd be for Fathers Day, what a coincidence that it's coming up next week!

I'm already planning a bit of a cuptail (that's a cocktail cupcake to you and me) series for my blog, combining my passion for cake and a good old booze.  What cocktail would you like to see magicked into a cupcake wrapper?

Jack Daniels and Coke Cupcakes

Adapted from How to be a Domestic Goddess

Makes 20 - 24 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

250ml full fat Coke

250g unsalted butter

85g cocoa powder

220g plain flour

400g caster sugar

2tsp baking powder

2 large eggs

250ml soured cream

For the ganache:

600g plain chocolate

300ml double cream

4tsp Jack Daniels

For the Buttercream:

250g butter, softened

750g icing sugar

4tbsp Jack Daniels

4tbsp milk (more if needed)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 175C and line two cupcake trays with liners.  In a large saucepan bring the coke and butter to a simmer until melted together.  Sift in the cocoa powder followed by the sugar, whisk until combined.

In a large jug whisk together the eggs and soured cream until smooth, slowly add the egg mixture to the cola, whisking constantly.  Add the flour and baking powder, fold together till everything is smooth and silky.  Fill the cupcake cases 3/4 full and bake for twenty minutes.

While the cakes are baking prepare the ganache.  Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl, set aside.  In a small saucepan bring the double cream to a simmer, once small bubbles start to form pour the cream over the chocolate and leave for two minutes.  Stir till smooth and combined before stirring in the Jack Daniels.  Set aside to thicken slightly while you await your cupcakes.

Once your cupcakes are baked and cooled use an apple corer, or a sharp knife to hollow out the centre of each cake.  Fill each hollow with ganache and set aside while you make your butter cream.

For the butter cream place the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, cover with a tea towel and mix on a medium speed.  Once combined add the Jack Daniels and the milk and mix, again on a medium speed.  If the frosting is still too thick to pipe add a splash of milk until you reach a good consistency.  Pipe a swirl on top of each cupcake before dolloping some more ganache on top followed by a jelly cola bottle.

SHARE:

Ultimate Hangover Breakfast - Bloody Mary with Sriracha Bacon and Avocado Toast

I don't know about you, but after a night painting the town red I'll usually wake up with a frightening hunger.  I don't deal with hungry very well, I can't diet and I hate being told no when it comes to food.  I can go from peckish to hangry in alarming speed so if you throw hungover in the mix it can get a little scary.  After many years of dealing with my brattish cravings, I've learned to prepare for my mornings in advance.  Bacon is always a good idea but for those mornings, and when you're feeling particularly delicate the only way to go is some avocado and a Bloody Mary!  

Now I know avocado toast is a bit of a thing, and there are hundreds of variations floating around the internet, but I thought I'd share my favorite method with you lovely lot. It's heavy on the garlic and chilli, not one for the fainthearted, this is for a pro avocado toaster!

Bloody Mary with Sriracha Bacon
Makes 2

Ingredients:
4 slices streaky bacon
100g light brown sugar
1tbsp sriracha100ml Vodka
300ml tomato juice
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Worcester sauce
1 tsp sugar
pinch of celery salt
pinch of smoked paprika
a generous dash of tabasco
Ice


Method:
For the bacon: preheat your grill.  Combine the sugar and sriracha to make a spreadable paste, you may need to add a little water.  Pop the bacon on a baking sheet lined with foil and brush the sugar paste onto the bacon.  Grill for around 5 minutes, remove from the oven and flip the bacon, repeat the process with the sugar and grill for another few minutes or until your bacon is perfectly crispy.  Leave to cool while you create your Bloody Mary.

For the Bloody Mary: Mix all of the ingredients together in a jug, check the seasoning and heat and adjust is necessary.  Pour into glassesfilled with ice and garnish with a stick of celery and sriracha bacon.


Katies Favourite Avocado Toast

Ingredients:
2 slices of good bread
1 clove of garlic
1 ripe avocado
1 tomato, chopped in small pieces
3 spring onions, sliced
a good pinch of chilli flakes
a pinch of salt and pepper

Method:
Toast your bread under a grill or on a griddle pan, once toasted and slightly cooled rub the top of the toast with a clove of garlic.  Mash the avocado leaving a few lumps and chunks, mix in the chopped tomato, sliced spring onions, chilli flakes and seasoning.  Spread on the bread and dig in.

SHARE:

Black Velvet Cake

There's something about the festive period that forces me to soak anything and everything with booze.  We've started rolling out a new range of cocktail cupcakes in the bakery, I have various jars of fruit infused alcohol maturing away in my kitchen, I physically cannot go to the shops without purchasing a bottle of something fun, I mean I'm even writing this with a gin and tonic in my hand.  'Tis the season after all.

 

This black velvet cake is no exception.  A delightfully dark and fudgy Guinness chocolate cake topped with a light and fluffy champagne cream cheese frosting.  Woah, right?  I don't think I've ever met a cake more deserving of a place on a Christmas table than this majestic specimen. Guinness for the dudes, champagne for the ladies, or the other way around of course.  I know plenty of lasses that can knock back more than a few pints of the black stuff, I am from Newcastle after all. Ha!

In short, make this cake and get ready to become everyone's best friend.  I've yet to meet someone that can resist it's Irish charms.

Black Velvet Cake

Adapted from Nigella Laweson

You will need:

375ml Guinness

375g unsalted butter

150g cocoa

600g caster sugar

225ml sour cream

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

275g plain flour

2 1/2 tsp bicarb

250g unsalted butter, softened

125g philidelphia

750g icing sugar

Splash of full fat milk

1/2tsp champagne flavouring

Method:

Heat oven to 175ºC. Butter and line two 9" springform cake tins.  In a large saucepan, combine the Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat until the butter melts and remove from heat. Add the cocoa and sugar stirring till combined.

In a small bowl whisk together the sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Add to Guinness mixture and stir together. Add flour and baking soda, and whisk again until smooth. Pour into your prepared tins, and bake until risen and firm, around 45 minutes.  Once baked allow the cakes to cool completely in their tins before removing to decorate.

For the frosting whip the butter and cream cheese together till creamy.  Pour the icing sugar and mix together, slowly, drop in the champagne flavouring remembering less is more.  Add a splash of milk until you reach a spreadable texture.  Slather half of the frosting on the first cake, sandwich with the second cake and top with the remaining frosting. 

SHARE:

Turkish Delight Vodka

Remember this...

Wanna know how I turned this innocent bottle of vodka into something special, like this?

It's so simple, a child could do it.  A child probably shouldn't, but you get the drift!

So, you have turkish delight and you have vodka.  Why not put them together and make something so deliciously naughty with next to no effort?!  All you do is wash the sugar from 100g pink turkish delight chunks and pop the little blighters into your voddy!  Dissolve 1tbsp caster sugar in 2tbsp rose water and add that too.  Pop the lid on, nice and tight, give the bottle a bit of a shake and find it a home in a little dark cubby hole.  Shake the bottle once every few days until the turkish delight has dissolved and strain the rosey vodka through a sieve lined with muslin.  Decant into a pretty bottle and there you have it!

No need to buy flavoured vodka ever again.  Fancy something fruity, pop some berries in there.  Something sweet, how about a crushed up Dime bar?  How about bubblegum?!  The possibilities are endless.  Just don't drink it all at once.....

SHARE:

Gin and Tonic Cupcakes

Last year, for my Birthday, I received five bottles of gin.  Yes, that's right, five! One bottle of Hendricks, two bottles of Tanqueray 10, one bottle of Gordons and one bottle of pink gin.  That's a whole lot of G&T's, in fact, it's enough to keep a girl in G&T for almost a whole year.  With my Birthday fast approaching I'm down to my last bottle of Tanqueray and readying my cocktail cabinet for this years onslaught.  So, you should know by now, I'm just like every other cliched blogger in the world, I'm a G&T kinda gal.  With ice and a slice, of course.  I came to gin early in my life, at the ripe old age of 18.  My local student club night, Get Ya Skates On, served a double G&T for £1.50.  My poor student bank balance enjoyed this deal and thus, a lifetime relationship was born.  Here's to ten more years.

I can't actually believe it has taken me this long to include my favorite tipple in a cupcake recipe.  Maybe I thought it too sacred or maybe I didn't want to waste good gin on what could turn out to be a rancid failure, I don't know, but five bottles of the stuff means I can afford to be a little dangerous.    I used the premise of my Margarita cupcakes to create this recipe, they turned out amazingly so surely it should work with gin.  It does!

Gin and Tonic Cupcakes

Ingredients:

175g unsalted butter

175g golden caster sugar

175g self raising flour

25g plain flour
2 large eggs

1tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla

3 tbsp tonic water

2tbsp gin

zest of 1 lime

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C - 160C fan and line a cupcake tray with 12 liners.
In a large bowl sift together the flours and baking powder. Set aside.

Place the butter and sugar in an electric mixer and mix until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.  Add the flour mixture in one go ensuring all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.  Stir in tonic water.

Fill the cupcake liners to 2/3 full and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Pierce the top of each cupcake five times and using half of the gin, brush over each cake. Leave to cool.


For the frosting mix the butter and icing sugar together until pale and creamy.  Add the remaining gin to the frosting and mix to combine.  Pipe a generous swirl upon each cake, grate over some lime zest and top with a marshmallow ice cube and a wedge of lime.

SHARE:

Margarita Cupcakes

When it comes to eating out we're faced with quite a choice of cuisines.  We have Itallian, Chinese, Indian, Japanese and even Mongolian but for me there's only one choice, Mexican!  I adore Mexican food, give me a taco over a pizza any day of the week.  One of the big attractions to Mexican food has to be the cocktails, more specifically an ice cold Margarita.  To me, there is nothing better than a frozen Margarita on a hot day, actually there is, five frozen Margaritas on a hot day ;)

When I received an order through Pet Lamb for some cocktail themed cupcakes for a hen party I just knew it had to be Margarita!  Tequila, lime and cupcakes, you just know that's gonna be a good night!  Sadly I didn't have any Tequila handy (I may or may not have killed my last bottle at Christmas, oops) so I grabbed a bottle of ready made Margarita mix, poured myself a glass and set about making some boozey cake.

The sponge is really quite subtle, I used a vanilla base brushed with tequila but boy does the frosting have an amazing kick.  Laced with tequila, lime juice and zest you could just eat it with a spoon.

Margarita Cupcakes

Ingredients:

175g unsalted butter

175g golden caster sugar
3 large eggs

175g self raising flour

25g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla

3tbsp milk

2tbsp tequila

juice of 2 limes

125g butter
250g icing sugar 
2tbsp tequila

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C - 160C fan and line a cupcake tray with 12 liners.
In a large bowl sift together the flours and baking powder. Set aside. Mix tequila and lime juice in a small cup and place in the fridge for later.

Place the butter and sugar in an electric mixer and mix until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.  Add the flour mixture in one go ensuring all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.  Stir in milk.

Fill the cupcake liners to 2/3 full and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Pierce the top of each cupcake five times and brush your tequila and lime over each cake. Leave to cool.


For the frosting mix the butter and icing sugar together until pale and creamy.  Add the remaining tequila and lime to the frosting and mix to combine.  Pipe a generous swirl upon each cake, grate over some lime zest and top with a wedge of lime.

SHARE:

Instagram - London

Since ditching my Blackberry and joining the wonderful world of the iPhone I've became totally and hopelessly addicted to Instagram! After seeing these posts popping up all over peoples blogs I was inspired by Paula and Harriet to have a go myself.  

On Tuesday Kris packed our bags and jumped on a train to London for a few days. He was excited to finally see the amazing Weezer in Brixton while I was itching to shop and eat my weight in sweet treats from cupcakes to macarons (although I was pretty stoked to see Rivers and co in the flesh too)!  I'm sure you all agree how much of a pain it can be lugging a DSLR around you know you're going to be out all day so my trusty iPhone Instagram App really came in handy.

Here's what we got up to...

Are you a fellow Instagram addict? Add me on Katiescakes!

SHARE:

Chocolate Chambord Madeleines

I have a little obsession with my liqueur cabinet.   I'm finding it increasingly difficult to navigate myself past the booze isle in supermarkets without inspecting the array of colourful bottles for unusual spirits.  I often find myself in the alcohol section of Fenwicks partaking in my never ending search for creme de cacao blanc before giving in and buying such divine sounding potions as violet liqueur.  It's got to the point now where I'm looking for any and every excuse to whip these bottles out and put them to good use.  That's where these Chocolate Chambord Madeleines come in.

I defy you to be able to resist having a bottle of Chambord nestled among the bottles of Hendricks and Absolut.  Such a beautiful bottled specimen should be a regular part of your life, get it out, use it, enjoy it!

These madelines are so beautiful, so tasty and so damned naughty!  With just a subtle hint of black raspberry they're just the perfect accompaniment to a night in with the girls and of course, a Chamboard Cosmopolitan.

Chocolate Chambord Madeleines

Ingredients:

80g plain flour , 1 tbsp removed for dusting

½ tsp baking powder

20g ground almonds

2 tbsp cocoa , plus extra for dusting

75g golden caster sugar

2 large eggs 

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tbsp Chambord Liqueur

90g unsalted butter , melted, plus extra for buttering the tin 

  

Method:

Sift the flour, baking powder, ground almonds and cocoa with a pinch of salt. Butter a 12-hole madeleine tin and dust each hole with a little of this mixture. Whisk the sugar and eggs with electric beaters until thick, pale and fluffy. Gently fold in the flour mix, vanilla, Chambord and butter. Cover the surface of the mix with clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes. 

Heat the oven to 200C, 180C Fan. Fill each cavity with 1 heaped tbsp of mix. Bake for 10 minutes or until risen and springy. Tap the tin to loosen and tip out. Dust with cocoa and serve warm.

SHARE: