So its definitely onesie weather! When its this cold you absolutely need a warm dessert to round off a meal and let your body know its time to wind down to go to bed. And who knows how to make a quick, warm, comforting dessert better than anyone? Nigella does. After a dinner of roasted veggies, I thought i’d try the Chocolate Pear Pudding from the Nigella Express cookbook. Partly because I love the chocolate/pear combination, mostly because I wanted something super quick and easy! (And also I think the little pear halves look really cute laid out on the bottom of the pan!)
Look! Pear bums!
True to the book it came from, this recipe is truly a scrumptious dessert made the express way. I was worried that the cake batter was too thick to produce a moist cake but, trust in Nigella, for only she can show you the true way to amazing desserts. (Don’t worry, I haven’t lost faith in The Saint, but Nigella really is the queen of the quickie dessert.)
Baby its cold outside! And since my family don’t believe in heating, im going to make it my personal mission this winter to bake my house warm. First stop, Peaches and Cream Cupcakes. I first tried these little babies a few years ago when my mum bought me the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook for my birthday. They were so tasty and easy that I figured it would be very grinchy of me not to share them with you!
Look at those cute little hearts! These cupcakes love you!
Beware, this is one cupcake you need to eat with a spoon. Unless you want to drop peaches everywhere. But if thats how you roll… who am I to judge?
mmmmmmm…. frosting….
So my lovelies, what is your favourite flavour of cupcake? And what flavour frosting do you normally put on them? I always love to hear from you!
Peaches and Cream Cupcakes –From the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
Ingredients
120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
40g unsalted butter
120ml full cream milk
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
400g tinned peaches (I buy the ones that are cut into segments, then I cut them in half down the middle again)
Method
1. Beat the flour, sugar, baking power and butter until the mixture has a sandy consistency
2. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until it is just incorporated
3. Whisk the egg, vanilla and remaining milk together in a separate bowl then pour it into the flour mixture. Beat until the mixture is sooth
4. Divide the sliced peaches between the patty pans (I like to put enough pieces in so that the bottom is completely lined)
5. Fill the patty pans until two thirds full
6. Bake on 170 degrees celsius for 20 or 25 minutes, until the tops are golden
Ingredients – For Vanilla Frosting
250g icing sugar
80g unsalted buter
25ml full cream milk
a few drops of vanilla extract
Method
1. Beat the icing sugar and butter together until the mixture comes together
2. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract (sometimes I put the milk in in step 1 if the mixture seems too dry)
3. Turn your mixer up to high speed and beat for about 5 minutes or until the frosting is light and fluffy
Now Donna, I never thought I would say this but while I will always love you with your fail safe and amazing desserts, you have been outdone. I have discovered The Saint. And of course, I am referring to that paragon of amazing English cooking, Saint Delia. The story goes a little something like this.
My good friend Helen the Melon lent me several books and magazines a few weeks ago to help me with my quest to cook a terrific pudding (and yes, the magazines were Donna Hay, she still has a place in my heart!) Among the collection were the Delia’s How To Cook books One Two and Three. No matter how much I learn about cooking I always feel that theres still so much I dont know. So I was delighted to see that Delia’s books were a comprehensive guide to the absolute basics of cookery. Perfect for beginners, Book One’s opening chapter is “All About Eggs.” Hooray! I love eggs!
So I dutifully set about reading and testing, testing and eating, eating and, well, more eating. Until I reached a certain recipe that had me salivating like Pavlov’s Dog. That recipe was Warm Lemon Curd Souffles. My love of lemons has been well documented in this blog and its not often that I can return from the supermarket without one or two lemons. They just look so damn tasty at the moment! But despite this enduring love of citrus, I was apprehensive, for I had NEVER tried to make a souffle before and their reputation for being fickle and deflating had far preceded them.
mmmmmmm lemon curd…
With the help of Saint Delia, I rallied and attempted these amazing desserts. I followed all the instructions to the letter, popped them in the oven and crossed my fingers and my toes. I suspect my sister may have also had her fingers crossed. Maybe it was all that crossing, but when I took them out they were BLISSFULLY risen and utterly delicious! Beautifully puffed souffle on top, gorgeous creamy layer of Lemon Curd on the bottom, what more could you ask for? Except for more please!! If you try no other souffle recipe in your lifetime, you must try this one.
yummoriffic!
P.s. I did have some difficulty with my grated lemon zest being quite chunky, can anyone recommend a fine grater that is good for zesting?
Warm Lemon Curd Souffles – From Delia’s How To Cook Book One
Ingredients – For The Lemon Curd
The grated zest and juice of one small lemon
1 large egg
40g caster sugar
25g cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 tsp cornflour
Method – For Lemon Curd
1. Lightly whisk the eggs in a small/medium saucepan
2. Add the rest of the ingredients (only the lemon curd ingredients!) and place the saucepan over a medium heat
3. Whisk the mixture continuously using a balloon whisk until it thickens (about 3 mins)
4. Lower the heat to its minimum setting and let the curd simmer for 1 more minute, whisking all the time
5. Remove from heat and divide the curd between the bases of four ramekins (Delia says to use ramekins with a base diameter of 6cm and a top diameter of 7.5cm. I just used ones that I thought would work!)
Ingredients – For the Souffles
3 large eggs
Grated zest and juice of one medium lemon (should be about 2 tablespoons of juice)
50g caster sugar (Delia specifies Golden Caster sugar, but I couldn’t find any and normal seemed to do the trick)
1 dessert spoon of caster sugar
Method – For the Souffles
1. Separate the eggs putting the yolks into a medium sized bowl and the whites into a larger bowl
2. Whisk the whites until they reach the stiff peak stage (about 4-5 mins depending on what whisking method you use)
3. Add the dessert spoon of sugar and whisk for 30 seconds more
4. Add the zest and lemon juice and the rest of the sugar to the yolks and whisk briefly
5. Take a tablespoon of the whites and fold into the yolks mixture
6. Gently folk in the rest of the whites being very careful not to knock the air out of the mixture
7. Spoon the mixture into the prepared ramekins, piling it high like a pyramid. Run your finger around the inside rim of each ramekin (this will help prevent any of the mixture leaking out around the sides)
8. Place the ramekins on a baking tray and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 15 mins on 170 degrees celsius (I only baked them for about 8 minutes, use your judgement and when they are nice and golden on top, take them out)
9. Let them rest for about 5 mins before serving to allow the curd to cool a bit
Guilt. Is there any better reason for a cupcake baking spree? For the past few weeks ive been having this constant niggling feeling that im supposed to be somewhere that im currently not. The other night that feeling was particularly strong and, as I got a phone call from my friend while I was sitting at home in my onesie (yes, I said onesie) the penny dropped. We had dinner plans. As I answered the incoming call, I braced myself for the inevitable “Katie where are you? Im at the restaurant!” What I heard was actually “Hey, just checking that we’re still on for dinner tomorrow.” Thank. God. I just have to say here that I love my friends, they put up with so much from me!
Cue onslaught of guilt about how awful a friend I am. Guilt that only a sugar fix could cure.
Truth be told I didnt really need an excuse to bake these. I had been wanting to try a new cupcake recipe for a while and, for want of a new recipe I thought i’d try to revamp an old one! Donna Hay, the fate of my cupcaking rests on your shoulders.
I cracked out the amazing Donna Hay Chocolate Buttermilk Layer Cake recipe and substituted the cocoa for flour. The cupcakes ended up with the same luscious moistness as the chocolate cake and they tasted pretty damn good to boot! The only problem was that they looked a little bit grey inside. Not the lovely yellow or cream that vanilla cupcakes usually have. Hmm. Any suggestions? Please comment, i’d love to hear!
p.s. the rosewater icing was so yummy! Like turkish delight…
p.p.s. arent the spoons cute?! Easter present from my boyfriend <3
