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: