Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

A while back, I went absolutely cupcake crazy, baking them all the time and desperately trying to invent new and wacky flavour combinations. Without a doubt, cupcakes were the darlings of the baking world for a couple of years. But, as with most trends, time moves on and something new comes along to take their place; since then macarons, whoopee pies, éclairs and doughnuts have all had their moment in the sun. Whilst I am an eager participant in all these baking trends, I also like good old retro style bakes.

When I was a child we never made cupcakes, though we were aware of them courtesy of American television shows and films. What we had were ‘buns’ or fairy cakes (buns with glace icing and if you were feeling very decadent a few coloured sprinkles on top), but we didn’t have cupcakes which were considered completely extravagant, being so much bigger than our little sponge cake buns. Also, cupcakes tend to always be covered in rich blousy coloured buttercream icings; my grandmother would have considered them vulgar and ostentatious!

But I do love cupcakes and they definitely have a place in my baking arsenal. Having discarded my misplaced desires to seek out unusual flavour pairings just to appear different and a bit of a baking trend-setter, I find that I much prefer using classic combinations. One of my favourite flavour mixes is that of chocolate with raspberry or chocolate with vanilla, but I’m not sure which of the two I like better. Loathe to force myself into making a decision, I decided to use all three flavour elements in these cupcakes. I have baked a simple chocolate sponge cake, covered it in vanilla flavoured buttercream icing and finished it off with fresh raspberries. These are really tasty and incredibly simple to make. The quantities given make 12 cupcakes, but you may want to consider making a double batch, because they are popular and disappear in minutes!
 

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
150g butter, softened

150g caster sugar

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

175g self-raising flour

25g cocoa powder

Vanilla Buttercream:

125g butter, softened

250g icing sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

To finish:

12 fresh raspberries
 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Place 12 cupcake cases of your choice into a 12-hole cupcake tin and set aside.

2. Using a hand-held electric mixer. Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until very light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs mixing well after addition to avoid the mixture curdling.

3. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together and fold into the butter and egg mixture until fully incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 cupcake cases. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until well-risen and a thin skewer inserted carefully into one comes out clean.

4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before topping with buttercream icing.

Vanilla Buttercream:

5. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and using a hand-held electric mixer, beat together until light and fluffy. Place the buttercream in a disposable piping bag fitteld with a 1cm star nozzle and pipe a generous swirl of buttercream on top of each cupcake.

To finish:

6. Place a fresh raspberry on top of each cupcake.

Makes 12.

    

Sherry Braised Garlic Chicken

The weather is absolutely gorgeous at the moment; the sun is shining from the heavens and the temperatures are beginning to rise. Amazingly, I think we might be getting a summer at last!

My eldest daughter is on her holidays from school; soon to be joined by her two siblings. How I envy them! All they want to do at the moment is to be out enjoying the good weather and playing sports. I’m delighted because at least they are stuck indoors in front of the television or computer! They certainly don’t want to be indoors eating formal meals but are more inclined towards barbecues, small meals/snacks and more casual dining.

 

This chicken dish is absolutely perfect fare for an Irish summer’s day; it’s nourishing, easy to eat and extremely tasty. I will admit that you do need to like garlic in order to enjoy this dish, but the garlic’s pungency is tempered by being braised in the oven and with the sherry and chicken juices is transformed into a sauce that is mouth-watering in its sumptuousness.

 

You could serve this dish with a green salad or with couscous but I like it most when served with some crusty bread – perfect for mopping up the garlic juices.

Ingredients:

Marinade:
75ml olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
A large handful of flat leaf parsley finely chopped

Juice of half a lemon

Braised Chicken:

10-12 chicken thighs (on the bone with skin)

2tblsp olive oil

3-4 shallots, peeled and finely diced

2 bay leaves

200ml sherry (preferable fino)

250ml chicken stock

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

To finish:

2tblsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
 

Method:

The day before:
1. Put all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl and mix together. Add the chicken thighs and massage the marinade into them. Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate overnight.
Braised Chicken:
2. Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan Oven 140/Gas Mark 2. Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and season well. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large non-stick, oven-proof frying pan over a moderate heat. Add the chicken thighs, skin side down and fry for 5-t minutes until the skin has turned a golden brown colour.  Turn over and cook on the other side for a further 5 minutes. Don’t be tempted too turn up the heat as this could cause the garlic to burn which will give a bitter taste to the whole dish.

3. Once the oven is browned on all side, remove to a dish and set aside for the time being. Add the chopped shallot to the oil in the pan and fry over a moderate heat for approximately 5 minutes until it has turned a golden brown colour.

4. Return the chicken thighs to the frying pan, add the bay leaves and then the sherry. Increase the heat and allow the sherry to reduce by about two thirds. Add the chicken stock.

5. Place some greaseproof paper or baking parchment directly on top of the chicken thighs in the pan so that they are all covered. Place in the oven and cook for 1½ hours.

6. Remove from the oven, scatter over some freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley and serve with some crusty bread to mop up the juices.

 
Serves 4-6.

Lemon Queen of Puddings

This is one of those classic, old-fashioned puddings that is just so delicious to eat. I have previously given my recipe for mini queen of puddings which use raspberry jam, but as I had some homemade lemon curd hanging around, I decided to use that instead. Whilst I love the more traditional version of the pudding, I felt that the lemon curd really added that something extra. Yes, I love anything lemony, but it was more than that… I think the slight sourness of the lemons balanced out the sweetness of the meringue and custard far more effectively.
 

To be honest, there’s not much else I can say about this dessert, other than to say that it was really tasty and one that I will be making regularly in the future. For me, it is one of those puddings that could be served in either summer or winter and is hugely adaptable. If liked a pinch of ground ginger could be used in the custard to add a little bit of warmth on the palate. Lemon and ginger is one of those classic food pairings and is often seen in both sweet and savoury dishes. It also happens to be one of my favourite taste combinations and one that can be employed to good effect to ‘cut through’ the richness of other elements in a recipe.

I like to serve these puddings once they have cooled slightly and are still slightly warm.

 

Ingredients:

Custard:
300ml cream
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
25g caster sugar

65g fresh white breadcrumbs

15g butter

2 egg yolks

To finish:

200g good quality lemon curd, preferably homemade

2 egg whites

115g caster sugar
 

Method:

Custard:
1. Place the cream, lemon zest and caster sugar in a small saucepan over a moderate heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and the cream has warmed but has not boiled. Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and mix well to thoroughly combine.
2. Divide this mixture between 4 small oven proof dishes (about 250ml capacity) and place on a baking sheet. Allow to stand while the oven is preheating. Preheat the oven to 170C/Fan Oven 150C/Gas Mark 3.
3. When the oven has preheated place the custards into the oven and bake for 17-20 minutes until just set. Remove from the oven and set aside. Increase the oven temperature to 190C/Fan Oven 170C/Gas Mark 5.

To finish:

4. Using a hand-held electric mixer beat the egg whites to the soft peak stage. Slowly add the sugar, beating until the meringue is stiff and glossy.

5. Spread the lemon curd over the top of each custard, dividing it equally.

6. Place the meringue into a disposable piping bag and pipe on top of the lemon curd topped custard. Bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes until the meringue is golden. Serve.
 

Serves 4.

 

 

 

 

Blueberry Crumble Bars

These blueberry crumble bars are so delicious – I urge you to make them because they are REALLY good! The almost biscuity texture of the base perfectly complements the juicy blueberries, which pop and release their beautiful indigo juices when baked.

I have used blueberries but other soft fruits such as raspberries, gooseberries or blackcurrants could be used. This recipe is easily adaptable and a perfect vehicle for taking advantage of whatever fruits are in season. However, there is something about the colour and taste of the blueberries which just works so well here. You could also use apples, pears but you will need to peel, core and slice them before placing them on the base so that the fruit cooks through within the allotted time.

A little splash of lemon juice and the addition of some finely grated lemon zest in the filling really accentuate the taste of the blueberries and make them somehow seem so much fruitier. I have also used lemon juice in the icing which I have used to drizzle over the finished bars. It is not absolutely necessary to ice the finished bars, but I like the bittersweet tang that the lemon icing gives to the finished bars and I also think that it looks beautiful.

My gang can be a little fussy about eating fruits and vegetables, but they absolutely devoured these bars and declared them “yummy”. Believe me they are the harshest of critics and certainly don’t hold back to spare my feelings, so I figure I must be doing something right!

Ingredients:

300g plain flour
½tsp baking powder
150g caster sugar

150g butter, slightly softened

1 egg, lightly beaten

Filling:

300g blueberries

25g sugar

2 heaped tsp cornflour

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Juice of ½ lemon

To finish:

100g icing sugar

Juice of ½ lemon

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/Fan Oven 170C/Gas Mark 5. Line a 30cm x 20cm traybake tin with non-stick baking parchment and set aside.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the sugar and mix through. Add the softened butter and egg and using a wooden spoon mix into the flour mixture until you have a soft crumbly dough. Press 2/3 of the dough into the prepared tin, pressing down with the tips of your fingers.
3. Separately, mix the blueberries, sugar, cornflour, lemon zest and juice together in a bowl. Tumble the blueberries onto the dough in the tin and distribute evenly. Drop little nuggets of the remaining dough on top of the blueberries. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until the blueberries have popped and released some of their juice and the crumble topping is golden brown. Allow to cool completely in the tin before drizzling over the lemon icing.

To finish:

4. Mix together the icing sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl, Drizzle over the cooled blueberry traybake. Allow the icing to set. Cut into 16 - 20 squares.
 

Makes 16-20 squares.
 

Slow-Cooked Pork Belly with Apple Purée

Pork belly is one of those cuts of meat that are relatively inexpensive to buy and provided you show a little bit of care and attention, you will be rewarded with meat that when cooked is meltingly tender and delicious to eat.

Pork belly is a very fatty cut of meat, but before you dismiss it, it is important to know that it is this fat which renders down during long, slow cooking at a low temperature which makes the meat so tender to eat. In addition, this is the type of dish which  you don’t have to be as exact about in terms of the cooking times as you would with more expensive cuts like pork fillet, where over-cooking results in dry, tough meat. As such, it is an ideal recipe for the less confident cook and I promise you everyone will be looking for second helpings, when you present it because it is just so darn tasty!

The glaze is easy to prepare and can be made in advance. I use a mixture of apple juice and cider because I feel that it lends the dish a very pleasing apple ‘edge’ which is then emphasized by serving the pork with an apple purée. The addition of vinegar in the glaze cuts through some of the richness and adds balance to the finished dish. I used white wine vinegar, but cider vinegar would also work well for obvious reasons.

This is an absolutely fabulous recipe and incredibly tasty; the aromas in my kitchen as I was cooking this recipe were just heavenly. As the pork is finishing cooking in the oven, the glaze thickens and darkens in colour and swathes the meat in the most beautiful sticky syrup and adds a slightly caramel bitterness which also cuts through the richness.

Finally, I should say a word or two about the apple purée… because it is really delicious! It is simple to make but so velvety smooth which creates a lovely texture contrast to the meat. Be careful not to over-sweeten the purée – you want it to be slightly tart. Taste it after puréeing it and if you think it is slightly too sweet, add a few drop of lemon juice to balance it out. As usual, taste as you go along and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Ingredients:

1kg pork belly with skin on
A little vegetable oil
Glaze:
500ml Apple juice
500ml cider

100ml white wine vinegar

125g caster sugar

125g Demerara sugar

1 cinnamon stick

3-4 cloves

2 bay leaves

A few springs of fresh thyme
½ tsp smoked paprika

1 red chilli pepper bruised

Apple Purée:

4 large cooking apples, peeled cored and cut into chunks

50g butter

1tblsp soft brown sugar

30ml water

A pinch of salt
 

Method:

Glaze:
1. Put all the ingredients for the glaze into a medium sized saucepan over a moderate heat. Allow to bubble away gently for about and hour until it has reduced and turned syrupy. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean bowl. Discard the contents of the sieve.
Pork Belly:
2. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Separately heat a little oil in a large frying pan and when hot, add the pork belly and sear on all sides until golden brown all over. Transfer to an oven proof dish and place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and using a pastry brush some of the glaze all over the pork belly.
3. Reduce the oven temperature to 160C/Fan Oven 140C/Gas Mark 3 and return the pork belly to the oven for a further 90 minutes, glazing it every 15-20 minutes.

4. Remove the pork belly from the oven and cut into portions. Gently heat the remaining glaze and spoon some over the top of each portion just before serving.

Apple Purée:

(The apple purée can be made at the same time that the pork is initially roasting and then set aside in a warm place once made).

5. Place all the ingredients for the apple puree in a small roasting pan and cook in the pre-heated oven until the apples have just softened (about 30 minutes).

6. Place in a blender and purée until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Pass through a fine sieve and set aside until ready to serve.

To serve:

7. Put a spoonful of apple purée on each plate alongside 3 or 4 pieces of pork belly cut into large bite-sized chunks. Serve with steamed broccoli.

Serves 4-6.