Easter Cupcakes

Spring is in the air! Not that you would know it here this weekend as we are being rained out of it!! Easter weekend has been a mixture of sunny spells and bucketing, window washing, rivers on every path style rain! Needless to say we have been hiding from it quite a bit, although we got drenched once!

None-the-less there is a sense of renewed life and new beginnings around the place as the country heats up and the flowers tentatively poke their heads out. Birds are singing in the trees and even between the downpours the sun shines brighter than before.

It has been a mixed week for me this week. I had a visit from a friend that moved away last year, which reminded me of things lost. I also had my final lecture in my doctorate; which feels like both an ending and a beginning. Finally we had Easter this weekend which is all about endings and beginnings. So everything seems distinctly meaningful, somehow.

In the presence of all these endings, it's not unusual to feel sad or perhaps at a loss as to what is coming next. I certainly feel excited about my future but there is an undeniable amount of uncertainty but I think that uncertainty can be a useful feeling to sit with, though daunting. I found myself processing these changes and struggling to write anything useful or insightful (not that my other blogs are always useful or insightful but still). So I thought I would show you the mini cupcake platter I prepared for my fellow doctoral candidates and show you how I put together the center piece.

The icing here is a swiss meringue buttercream to which I added 3-4 tablespoons of raspberry coulis for colour and flavour. All the surrounding roses are made using a star tip and a swirl but the central rose is a little more complicated. I assembled three cupcakes as shown below -

Then I used the rose piping technique demonstrated in this video from cakestyle - http://cake.style/2016/03/22/buttercream-rose-mini-cakes/

I really like her rose piping technique but I prefer the narrower base as I feel it gives a more dramatic effect. This piping technique is relatively easy given a little practice and a moderately steady hand (I was shaking like crazy when I piped these - too much emotion/adrenaline/caffeine). As you can see I finished these roses off with a dusting of edible gold leave but that is totally optional. Another possibility would be to add an extra stripe of coulis to your piping bag and give more depth to your colour. So if you want to do this I would say to play around and have fun!

So that's it, and then all you have to do it protect your masterpiece from thieves but this is more difficult than you might imagine ;)

New year, new you?! thoughts and healthy dessert

It is the second week of January and it definitely feels like it! Some of the new year motivation subsides and the dreary January blues might be settling in. Yet everywhere we are still surrounded by advertisements, tweets, instagram pictures and television shows about how to lose weight and 'detox' after Christmas. Which is...................great, I guess, it's good for people to feel motivated to make healthy choices. I don't really believe in 'detoxing' but I think that's a subject for another post, or possibly another blog. However I do believe in making healthy choices and particularly healthy substitutions. This weeks post is one of my favourite dessert substitutions.

This bowl of deliciousness can be made super healthy. The biscuit here is garnish but without it this dessert contains no added sugar, no fat but tonnes and tonnes of flavour. It tastes like apple pie and ice-cream but without any (unnecessary) guilt. The 'ice-cream' is actually just 0% fat greek yoghurt with vanilla mixed in.

On to the 'apple pie.'

4 Stewing Apples
2 Lemons
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp all spice

1-  Preheat oven to 180'C. Roughly dice the apples

2- Cover in the lemon juice as you go to prevent browning

3- Add the spices and mix well

4- Place in a ceramic bread tin and cover with tin foil.

5 - Bake for 30-40 minutes on the middle shelf.

The apples before they go into the oven

When you take the apples out of the oven, they will look as if nothing has happened

The apples post-cooking

Now here you have to just trust me...and stir. These apples will then turn into the apple pie filling below

It's that simple!!

As you can see I find this recipe perfect as it is. However if you find that you need more sweetness, or less bitterness then I have two suggestions. First, try adding a tiny pinch of salt. It sounds weird but apparently salt and bitter tastes use the same receptors on the tongue so salt can block out the bitterness. Then if you still need a little sweetness you can add honey or agave nectar.

This recipe makes new year's resolutions or healthy choices that much easier to stomach! Dessert is a very important part of a healthy diet! Healthy for body and soul! I make this throughout winter and absolutely love it. I would definitely recommend you try it, enjoy some January guilt free deliciousness and I will see you next week =)

Vegan Peanut-Butter Cookies

This week I have been incredibly busy, apparently finishing a doctorate is not easy! Between presentations, essays, literature reviews, and work it’s hard to find a minute in the day! This week has also been challenging because my favourite person (bf) has been away and so for his return today I planned a special meal with an even more special dessert. In fact this dessert was designed for two people in my life that I was missing this weekend. 

 

One of my bf’s favourite flavours is peanut-butter and therefore this weekend I found a peanut butter cup ice-cream to finish off the delicious dinner I planned for his return. However ice-cream alone does not a dessert make and therefore I decided to make a few peanut butter cookies to be gently heated and go with the ice-cream and of course the only way was peanut butter.

Now since they were going to be peanut flavoured I knew that I could also make this recipe for another important person that I really missed this weekend and who has a particular penchant for peanuts, so hopefully she enjoys the recipe and maybe we can make it together this Christmas. This, however necessitated the cookies to be vegan. They are not only vegan but also wheat free, not that many people need that! So actually these cookies are kind of healthy, although not very and whatever you do………..don’t tell my boyfriend!!

 The cookies are crispy on the outside and have a delicious crumb (to sound all Mary Berry on you!). They are intensely peanut flavoured with a little sweetness although if you prefer them sweeter, feel free to increase the sugar by about 50%. They went perfectly with the ice-cream but I can also imagine them going excellently with coffee! And……………. they go with the ice-cream two ways, so read to the end! 

Vegan Peanut-butter Cookies (Gluten free, in case you’re celiac) (adapted from thebigmansworld.com)

250g Peanut-Butter (Chunky or Smooth, your choice)

100g brown sugar

100g white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax seeds with 3 tbsp water, allowed to sit for 15 mins)

75g ground almonds

50g 70% dark chocolate chips (more if you want)

11.      Prepare your flax eggs and preheat the oven to 170’C/325'F/Gas mark 3.

2

22.       Add the sugar and whisk until light and frothy

3

33.       Add the peanut-butter and stir.

4

44.       Finally add the almond and dark chocolate and stir everything together

5

55.       Form into little balls and then flatten, then bake for 15 minutes but keep an eye on them.

6

66.       They are done when they have browned around the edges then allow to cool. They will get    

         firmer as they cool

    

    Alternatively you can make cookie dough for ice-cream, since they can be eaten raw w/o issue!!!

1.       Form into tiny balls and then flatten on a plate.

2.       Put the plate into the freezer.

3.       Add to ice-cream for a cookie dough sensation!!!

Gluten free Brownies, because equality matters

So this weekend has been a huge one in Ireland. Same-sex marriage was brought into the constitution by popular vote and it was the most exciting and amazing feeling to see my country of origin rise up in acceptance and love for the LGB community. I went to an awesome yes celebration barbeque and anxiously watched as the votes were counted and the announcement made that the law would be officially changed. I would love to have made something delicious in celebration, particularly in rainbow flag colours. However that would have involved going out and buying food colouring in all the relevant colours and then throwing out the resulting bake because I cannot stand the taste of food colours. So that doesn't seem all that great, so instead I decided to make delicious gluten free brownies and embrace the wheat and gluten free peeps.

So brownies are an awesome food to make gluten-free but I should emphasize that gluten free doesn't equate to healthy in this instance. I adapted them from a couple of recipes and I am very happy with how they came out. Also in the spirit of embracing I have rolled in a number of other holidays into the celebration dessert; how you might ask?? By using up left-over christmas and easter chocolate is how!! If you plan on doing the same, be sure that the chocolate that you are using is also gluten free because  not all chocolate is. Also, always be sure that your chocolate is in date.

Gluten free Brownies

90g Butter
75g Caster sugar
75g Dark brown sugar
250g chocolate (preferably dark, but I used milk and it was delicious)
2 large eggs
3 tbsp cocoa powder (NB - not drinking chocolate)
3 tbsp cornflour
100g hazelnuts and/or almonds, ground
1 tsp vanilla extract.

1 - Preheat oven to 180. In a thicked based saucepan, melt the butter and sugar together.

2 - Add the chocolate and stir vigorously until melted. Remove from heat before fully melted and
      beat.

3 - Add eggs and beat.

4 - In a seperate bowl mix the ground nuts, cocoa and cornflour.

5 - Add everything to a mixer, or one bowl and then beat with an electric mixer, or vigorously with a
     whisk.

6 - Pour into a buttered (and optionally cocoa powdered) cake or bread tin and bake for 30 minutes, or until the center no loner shakes. Let cool in the tin and then enjoy.

These brownies are deliciously fudgy and nutty with a huge chocolate hit. They are also firm which is useful for serving a parties and other celebrations. I sprinkled on icing sugar for decoration, which worked as good contrast.

Blueberry Pie, cos Suits, obviously

Myself and my bf have recently gotten back into watching Suits. We watched it for a long time and I liked it but we reached a certain stage where you are a couple seasons in and we can't have a single episode without everyone talking about 'Mike's secret.' Ok, we get it, he doesn't have a law degree, stop talking about it and get a f**king law degree already! There's also an issue with Suits that exists in several major dramas (Grey's Anatomy, to name a huge culprit) where the characters supposedly work intensive, high stress jobs but spend the majority of their time on screen making emotionally driven, ill-conceived decisions and talking about their relationships. I enjoy it, don't get me wrong, but I probably wouldn't have them represent me in court.

So rant aside, We were watching the intro and we really enjoy the part of the intro music that says 'See the money, wanna stay for your meal. Get another piece of pie for your wife.' I reflected to my boyfriend how much this song really made me crave pie (something they NEVER eat in the show, just saying!). Hence we made pie.....

Blueberry pie is a classic summer dish and in this part of the world it is now, officially, summer. So we decided to go for a classic design and spice it up slightly with a puff pastry, which tastes amazing and has a rustic (read less than perfect) appearance.

Just look at those berries

The center has a B for blueberries, my boyfriend's idea; his name may or may not start with a B also, so that might have had something to do with it too! The puff may not make the perfect pinterest style pie image but it sure makes for a wonderful mixture of textures. The base pastry, as you can imaging absorbs a lot of the blueberry juice, so while it is certainly not soggy (respect Mary-berry), it is denser with juice and the fluffy puff pastry lattice really contrasts it nicely.

I made the short-crust pastry but used a store bought puff pastry, because who has the time for that?!
So make sure that your short crust pastry is chilled well before rolling out. Then push down into the pie-tin. Chill again after rolling and shaping. Then fill with pastry beads or rice and par cook.

Now the filling -

1200g frozen blue-berries
150g Caster sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
45g cornflour
1 teaspoon butter

Mix well together and fill the pie case when it's partially cooked

I added the butter to the top but you could mix it in, either.

To make the lattice top, We followed these instructions - they are straight forward and very helpful.
and then bake at 180' for 30 minutes.

Leave to chill for a few hours if you can resist or otherwise eat with ice-cream. Enjoy =)

Vegan Ice-cream! All of the yum and none of the dairy

This past weekend we went for a visit to my sister's place. The weekend was filled with lots of enjoyable outings (tamper included) and some local sight-seeing but my favourite part had to be the vegan ice-cream. We had discussed ahead of time that we would be preparing this and I was very excited at the notion. I had never made traditional ice-cream (with an ice-cream maker) before, let alone a vegan variety, so needless to say I was very excited about this activity. Given my severe lack of experience and my sister's relatively little experience we decided to consult an expert - Isa Chandra Moskowitz and adapt her pumpkin vegan ice-cream recipe.

This recipe is surprisingly simple and although it requires specific pieces of equipment, it is relatively simple. The longest parts are the boiling of the cashews and the churning and chilling of the ice-cream. However these do not require your attention so you can be doing other things while your ice-cream is being made for you, almost!

In terms of flavours we went for a coconut and cashew ice-cream with hazelnut croquant pieces inside. The flavours come together deliciously and could be augmented with some vegan caramel, I found a delicious looking recipe here but on to our recipe.

Hazelnut Croquant Vegan Ice-cream

Equipment: Ice-cream maker, blender and saucepan

2 Cups Unroasted Cashews
2 cups Coconut Milk (1 can)
1 cup distilled water
3/4 Cup maple syrup
1/4 cup golden syrup
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt

1 cup hazelnuts
3/4 cup sugar

1 - Boil your cashews for 45 minutes.

2 - Meanwhile to make your croquant - melt your sugar in a thick bottomed saucepan and swirl, do not mix, until golden brown, then add your hazelnut and stir quickly before pouring onto a piece of greaseproof paper and let cool.

3 - Once your cashews have boiled, drain the water and add them to your blender. Now add your coconut milk, water, vanilla extract, maple syrup, golden syrup and salt. The blender will look like a delicious ombre bubble tea!

4 - Now blend until completely liquified. The finished product should coat the back of a spatula and hold a line if you run your finger down the middle.

5 - Follow your manufacturer's instructions to churn your ice-cream, first for 20-25 minutes.

6 - Meanwhile chop up your hazelnut croquant with your blender on the chop setting.

7 - Now add your chopped hazelnut croquant and continue churning for another 20-25 minutes.

8 - Move to an air-tight container and eat now, like a soft serve ice-cream or freeze overnight for well frozen traditional looking boules.

Churros for Cinco de Mayo

Yesterday was cinco de mayo, a holiday not usually celebrated in this part of the world but I love it! Mexican food, sombreros, tequila and if you are lucky perhaps a pinata!! Yesterday we went to a wonderful Mexican restaurant (Cortinas) that was celebrating cinco de mayo in style with a south American style BBQ, initially the bf wasn't sold on the idea but once he saw the delicious steak sandwiches covered in delicious spices and served with traditional Mexican sides and stuffed chilis he was happy out! I was hoping for a pinata but no such luck, maybe next year (wink,wink, nudge, nudge), I did get a free t-shirt tho =) After dinner we decided to come home because I wanted to take the opportunity to make one of my favourite Mexican sweets for dessert - Churros!

Churros (Adapted from a recipe by Deborah M. Schneider)

475ml Water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 heaped tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
350g plain flour
1 pinch baking powder
4 eggs
1L sunflower oil (or other vegetable oil suitable for deep frying)

to dredge
50g caster sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Pour your oil into a deep sauce pan and start heating it on a medium heat. Pour your water into another saucepan with the 2 tbsp of vegetable oil, the salt and the sugar and bring to the boil. While this is boiling, sieve together the flour and baking powder. Once the water mixture has boiled remove from the heat and add the flour. Mix thoroughly until you have a smooth paste. Beat the eggs in a seperate bowl and then add them slowly, in 4-5 sections. Mix thoroughly between each additions so that the eggs don't cook with the residual heat. Continue mixing and beating until the mixture is very smooth and thick.

Depending on your humidity you may need to add more flour, if so add it through a sieve and beat very very well so as to incorporate it fully.

At this stage your oil should have reached 350'F. You can check with a thermometre or if none is available go with the Nigella method of throwing in a square of bread and see how it frys, if it starts to turn golden brown then you're golden (get it! No? too annoying, ok...)

Pour your churro mixture into a piping bag with a large star piping head. This particular recipe is quite runny so you may still have to hold your piping bag upside down between piping. Then pipe directly into the hot oil. Obviously this is quite dangerous so exercise extreme caution. I used a knife to cut off the stream of mixture as you can see my bf doing here.

 

 

Let them fry until they have reached a deep golden brown and then flip, once both sides as done scoop them out onto some paper towel and let the excess oil drain before dredging them in the sugar and cinnamon mixture, then serve and smile!