Alisha's Raspberry & Almond Tray Bake

This is a delicious recipe from kids cookery book 'Truly Scumptious' available to buy from The Finishing Touch Interiors Boutique



Ingredients:-
* 225g/9oz self raising flour
* 50g/2oz ground almonds
* 175g/7oz butter chopped into squares (plus extra to grease tin)
* 250g/10oz golden granulated sugar
* 50g/2oz desiccated coconut
* 2 medium eggs
* 350g/14oz fresh raspberrys

Equipement:-
* oblong baking tray
* food preoceesor
* mixing bowl
* mixing spoon

1./ Preheat the oven to 180oc/gas mark 4. Put the flour, ground almonds, butter & sugar into the processor & blend together.

2./ Take out 100/4oz of the mixture & mix in the coconut then put to one side.

3./ Add the eggs to the food processor & give it a quick whissing, don't worry about it being smooth. Spread your mixture into your baking tray & sprinkle half the raspberries over the top.

4./ Scatter the coconut mixture all over the top & pop into the oven to bake for 45 minutes.

5./ Decorate with the rest of your raspberries & bake for another 15 minutes until firm.

Easy Cheesy Bread Rolls

An easy to do recipe from Annabel Karmel. Bake this kids recipe so you can have yummy rolls for your lunch..
Check out Anna's kids recipe book 'Mummy And Me'

You will need

• 1 x 7g (1/4 oz) fast-action yeast sachet
• 1 tsp sugar
• 150ml (5fl oz) hand-hot water
• 55g (2 oz) mature Cheddar cheese
• 30g (1 oz) Parmesan cheese
• 225g (8 oz) white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil (olive oil is OK)
• 1 egg
• sesame seeds, sunflower seeds,
• pumpkin seeds, and poppy seeds
• Makes 8 rolls (or 16 mini rolls)
• Bake at 200°C/400°F/ Gas Mark 6, cooked
• 1 beaten egg

1. Start with yeast

Put the yeast in a small bowl with the sugar.

Add 50ml (3 tbsp) of water and stir to dissolve the yeast.

Leave to stand for 5 minutes.

2. Grate the cheese

Meanwhile grate the Cheddar cheese on the large holes of a box grater, and grate the Parmesan using the fine holes.

3. Mix flour and yeast

Put the flour in a large bowl and stir in the salt.

Make a well in the centre and add the oil and the yeast liquid (this should be frothy).

4. Make into dough

Add the rest of water and mix to a soft dough (add a teaspoon of extra water if the dough is dry).

5. Knead until smooth

Add the rest of the water and mix to a soft dough. Add a teaspoon of extra water if the dough is dry.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth – this will take about 10 minutes.

Use the heel of your hand to work the dough.

6. Pat dough in circle & fold in cheese

Pat the dough out into a circle about 20cm (8 in) across.

Spread the grated cheeses over it, then fold the dough in half. Fold in half again, so that the cheese is enclosed.

7. Fold in half

Fold in half again so that the cheese is enclosed. Knead for 1-2 minutes more to work in the cheese.

8. Make into Balls

Divide the dough into 8 pieces (or 16 for mini rolls) and form each one into a ball.

Put on a lightly oiled baking sheet, about 5cm (2 in) apart, and press down slightly.

9. Leave to rise & brush with egg

Cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm, draught-free place for 40-45 minutes.

The rolls are ready to bake when they are roughly double their original size.

Preheat the oven after around 35 minutes. Beat the egg with a pinch of salt.

Uncover the rolls and brush the tops with a little of the beaten egg.

Sprinkle them with seeds, then put them in the oven 12 - 14 minutes.

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 75g unsalted butter, softened
• 100g caster sugar
• 125ml treacle
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 150g plain flour
• 1 tablespoon best quality cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 125ml hot milk

Icing:

• 25g unsalted butter, softened
• 50g cream cheese, softened
• 80g sifted icing sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

1.

Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4. Butter or line a 12-cup muffin tin.

2.

Cream 75g butter with the caster sugar. Add the treacle and the egg and egg yolk.

3.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the hot milk. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in the hot milk mixture. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared tin.

4.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until slightly springy to the touch. Allow to cool a few minutes in the tin and remove to a rack to cool.

5.

To make the icing: Cream the butter and the cream cheese together. Beat in the sifted icing sugar until fluffy. Add the lemon.

                                                  recipe sourced at all recipes

Hannah's Kitchen

Since its been cupcake week it was only ever going to be cupcakes from our featured chef  Hannah Jones too, with some gorgeous christening cupcakes she has prepared...


These are some pink cupcakes I made for a little girls christening.  I wanted to make a few different designs on the cakes. I made vanilla cupcakes with vanilla butter cream. I made all the sugar paste items on top hope  you like the designs. 

I made some little pink booties, rattles, babies, alphabet blocks and bowes.

Banana Cupcakes

 
A 'healthish' cupcake snack

Ingredients

225g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

110g butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 bananas (mashed up)

55ml milk, or buttermilk
2 eggs

115g caster sugar

method

1.

Preheat oven to 190 C / Gas 5.

2.

Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together.

3.

Put the butter and vanilla in a seperate bowl and beat together until it's creamy.

4.

Gradually add sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the eggs one at a time beating each time.

5.

Add a bit of milk at a time, then a bit of dry mixture, then a bit of banana to the cream mixture- beat well each time and keep doing this until you only have one bowl of mixture!

6.

Fill cupcake tray or cases 1/2 full as they rise quite well, bake for about 20mins. Leave to cool in tray for 5 - 10 mins, I put mine in silicon cases and if you pull them out too early theyre a bit wobbly! Taste good with peanut butter cream.

Why not try our silicone cupcake cases

Peanut Butter & Chocolate cupcakes

Ingredients:-
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons baking cocoa
• 1 1/4 cups 2% milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 large eggs


I love peanut butter & chocolate this has to be one of my favourite cupcake recipes. Dont forget we are also looking for some little chefs to come feature on here in our bid to get kids cooking. So get those recipes sent to us at sarah@finishingtouchinteriors.co.uk

ok onto the recipe....

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  If desired, line cupcake pans with paper liners.  You may also spray cupcake pas with a  butter and flour combination spray that can be found in your local grocery store.

2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Mix at low speed for 30 seconds while scraping bowl.  Mix at high speed for 3 minutes, scraping bowl every minute.

3. Spoon cupcake batter into liners until they are 1/2 to 2/3 full.  You should have enough batter for 24-36 cupcakes.

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

5. Cool 10 minutes in pans then move to wire rack to cool completely.

6. Frost your peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes any way you want.  You could even try just spreading extra peanut butter as your frosting.

                                        recipe curtesy of CupCake Recipes.com

Kit Kat Cupcakes

Oh my goodness how awesome do these cupcakes look, my mouth is just dribbling at the image. This is a great recipe to try at home it scores a high 10/10 for me. 

Ingredients

For the sponge

• 100 g self-raising flour, sifted
• 20 g cocoa powder
• 145 g caster sugar
• 40 g butter, at room temperature
• 120 ml whole milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tsp hot water
• 3 Kit Kat chocolate bars, (six sticks altogether), crushed

For the chocolate frosting

• 225 g butter
• 350 g icing sugar, sifted
• 50 g cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp whole milk
• 6 Kit Kat chocolate bars, (12 sticks altogether), to decorate

Method

1. For the sponge: preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a 12-hole tin with cupcake paper cases. Tip the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and butter into a food processor and blitz on a slow speed for one minute, until you achieve a sandy consistency.

2. Gradually pour in half of the milk and beat until just incorporated. Don’t worry if it looks a little messy at this stage – it will come together! In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining milk together with the egg, vanilla extract and coffee. Pour into the batter and beat for a couple of minutes until smooth, scraping down the side of the bowl to catch any unmixed ingredients as you go. Lastly, gently fold through the crushed Kit Kat until thoroughly combined.

3. Divide the mixture between the 12 paper cases, filling each one up two-thirds full. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the sponge bounces back when prodded with a finger. Leave to cool on a wire rack while you make the frosting.

4. For the frosting: tip the butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder into a food processor and beat until well combined. Add the milk and then beat again for a couple of minutes until light and fluffy.

5. When the sponges have cooled completely, carefully spoon a third of the frosting into a piping bag and use it to decorate the first four cupcakes. Repeat until you have finished them all. Alternatively, just use a palette knife to spread about 2 tbsp of frosting onto each cupcake.

6. Decorate with shards of Kit Kat, and maybe a sprinkle of crushed Kit Kat too.


                                                                                                                recipe sourced at UK Good Food

Cupcake Crazy Week

How cute are these cupcakes that look like cherry pies I found the recipe over on Family Fun where they have stacks of fun cupcake ideas & I thought it would be a good start to a cupcake themed week.

Sweet As Pie Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 dozen of your favorite cupcakes
• 16-ounce can of white frosting
• 3 drops yellow food coloring
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder OR 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
• red chocolate candies, such as M&M's 

Instructions

1. Bake a dozen of your favorite cupcakes. Tint a 16-ounce can of white frosting with 3 drops yellow food coloring and either 1 teaspoon cocoa powder or 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup, then frost the cupcakes.
2. Transfer the remaining frosting to a ziplock bag, snip off a corner, and set the bag aside. Press red chocolate candies (such as M&M's) onto the top of each cupcake as shown, then use the bagged frosting to pipe a lattice pattern over them and a zigzag crust around the edge. Makes 12 cupcakes

 

Suggestions

You can always use a cupcake cake mix from my online store click here  & then decorate it with the frosting above.

follow us this week with lots more cupcake ideas from cakes to frosting. Please feel free to send us your recipes & we would love to feature some little chefs. contact us on sarah@finishingtouchinteriors.co.uk with your recipes & images, lets get the kids cooking

Hannah's Kitchen

   Hannah Jones from Hannahs Buns joins us to share her
                      BLUBERRY MUFFIN RECIPE

I made these blueberry muffins for the beauty salon A revolution last week.  To be honest with you I wasn't  too keen on muffins before I made these, but that's because I had only tried the type you buy in the supermarkets which really put me off.  These I must say are a hundred times better than shop bought. I am sharing the recipe with you then you can see for yourself how much better homemade muffins can be. Hope you enjoy making them. Hannah's Buns signing out :) 

Ingredients

6 tbsp Sunflower oil

280g Plain flour

1 tbsp Baking powder

Pinch of salt

115g Soft light brown sugar

150g Frozen blueberries

2 Eggs

250ml Milk

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1 finely grated lemon rind

• Preheat oven 200'C
• Line a muffin tin with cases
• Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl then stir in the sugar and blueberries
• In a large bowl beat the eggs and add the milk, oil, vanilla and lemon rind
• Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and and pour the egg mixture in.
• Stir till combine but do not over mix
• Pour into muffin cases and cook for around 20 minutes until golden and risen.
• Leave to cool for 5 minutes in tray then cool on cooling rack.

  For more recipes from Hannah & to see what she has been up to visit her blog at
             http://hannahsbunsblog.blogspot.co.uk/

Cheesy Biscuits

A really easy recipe to do

you will need:-
*100g/4oz mature grated cheese
*100g/4oz plain flour
*100g/ 4oz soft butter   

Methos:-

Mix all the ingredients together to form a dough, if its too dry and not sticking add a little water.

Roll out on a floured surface to about 1/2 cm deep and using any small shaped cutter, cut out different shapes.

Bake in the oven Gas 4/180 C for about 10 minutes until golden colour.  

Cool on a wire rack.

                                                                                                            Recipe sourced from NetMums

Jamies Berry Glaze Cupcakes

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Cherry Glaze Cupcakes 
You will need

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup milk

For the fresh fruit icing
1½ cups berries (raspberries, strawberries or
blackberries), plus extra fruit or crystallized
flower petals for decoration
1½cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

To make your cakes:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Beat the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each one in well before you add the next. Sift in the flour and baking powder, and add the milk. Finely grate in the zest of the lemon then fold the mixture together just until blended. Don’t over mix.

To bake your cakes:

• Place 18 paper baking cups into your muffin tins. Use tablespoons to evenly divide the mixture between your paper baking cups.
• Put the muffin tins into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. You can check to see if the cakes are cooked by sticking a toothpick right into one of them. Remove it after 5 seconds and if it comes out clean they’re cooked; if slightly sticky they’ll need a bit longer, so put them back in the oven for another 5 minutes, or until cooked through and golden on top. If you cook them for too long, though, they will just go dry so keep an eye on them. Remove the cakes from the tins and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make your icing and ice your cakes:

• Mash up 1 ½ cups of your chosen berries with a fork or whiz them in a food processor. If the fruit has seeds you may want to pass it through a sieve to make it lovely and smooth. Stir together with the confectioners’ sugar and mix until you have a smooth paste.
• When the cakes have cooled completely, drizzle a teaspoon of your icing over each one then top with the rest of the fruit – if you’re using strawberries, slice them up first.

Apricot Scone Flower

The petals of this flower are the cut scones; the center of the flower, a mound of apricot preserves. For a fetching presentation, slide this off the baking sheet and onto your fanciest serving dish. Kids' Cooking Skills: This recipe will teach children how to handle and slice quick dough and zest a lemon.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on top
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter

• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup chopped, dried apricots
• 3/4 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons apricot preserves

Method

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Lightly butter a large baking sheet (preferably a light one; darker ones are more likely to make the scones brown too quickly).
2. Set a sifter inside a large mixing bowl and have your child measure the flour, 1/3 cup of sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg (in that order) into it. Sift the ingredients into the bowl.
3. Cut the butter into small pieces and scatter them over the dry ingredients. Show your child how to rub the butter into the dry ingredients with his fingertips until it is broken into fine flakes.
4.  Have your child zest the lemon and then stir the zest and the chopped apricots into the flour.

5.  Next, have your child make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the cream all at once, and stir the ingredients just until they form a firm dough that pulls together. 

6.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it two or three times into a ball.

7.  Gently pat the dough into a level 7-inch-wide circle and cut it into 8 wedges, as you would a pie. Reassemble the dough wedges on the baking sheet so that they barely touch.

8.  In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg yolk. Brush the mixture on the tops of the scones, then sprinkle on a light coat of sugar

9.  Bake the scones on the center oven rack for about 15 to 17 minutes, until golden brown. When they are done, help your child slip a metal spatula under the whole flower and transfer it to a serving dish.

10.  Spoon the preserves into the center of the flower and serve. Makes 8 scones.

Recipe sourced from -Family Fun

White Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 100g butter or margarine
• 100g caster sugar
• 100g self-raising flour, sifted
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 100g white chocolate
• 3 tablespoons double cream
• 200g cream cheese
• 40g icing sugar, sifted

Make the white chocolate cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (Electric oven | Electric fan oven 160°C | Gas Mark 4) and place 12 paper cases into a muffin tin.
• Using an electric whisk, food processor or wooden spoon, beat the butter or margarine and sugar until very light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating each one in well before adding the next. Add the vanilla essence.
• Carefully fold in the flour and baking powder if using.
• Thin the cake mixture with the milk.
• Alternatively, you can mix the ingredients together using a food processor. Use the pulse button to mix together in between adding the ingredients in the order above.
• Bake in the oven for 10 - 20 minutes. After 10 minutes, check to see if the chocolate cupcakes are ready by inserting a cocktail stick into one of the cupcakes. If it comes out dry then the cupcakes are done. If not, then back in the oven for a few minutes more. Don't overcook the chocolate cupcakes otherwise they will dry out. Lift the cupcakes out of the muffin tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

• Make the white chocolate cream cheese icing

• Place the chocolate and double cream in the microwave until just melted - under a minute should do. Stir to combine and allow to cool slightly.
• Add the cream cheese and icing sugar.
• Using an electric whisk, food processor or wooden spoon, beat the mixture until combined
• 
  
• When the cakes are cool, drizzle some chocolate icing mixture over the top of each cupcake. These white chocolate cupcakes are best eaten on the day they are made.

The Hummingbird Bakery's -Vanilla cupcakes

These vanilla cupcakes, topped with candy-coloured vanilla frosting and sprinkles, are what the Hummingbird Bakery is best known for.



Ingredients:-
For the cake:

• 120g plain flour
• 140g caster sugar
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 40g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 120ml whole milk
• 1 egg
• ¼tsp vanilla extract
• 1 quantity vanilla frosting
• hundreds and thousands or other edible sprinkles, to decorate
• a 12-hole cupcake tray, lined with paper cases

For the vanilla frosting:

• 250g icing sugar, sifted
• 80g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 25ml whole milk
• a couple of drops of vanilla extract

For the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3.
2. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated.
3. Whisk the egg, vanilla extract and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix.
4. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, or until light golden and the sponge bounces back when touched.
5. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
6. When the cupcakes are cold, spoon the vanilla frosting on top and decorate with hundreds and thousands.

For the vanilla frosting:

1. Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.
2. Turn the mixer down to slow speed. Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time. Once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed.
3. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes.

This recipe is taken from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook by Tarek Malouf and The Hummingbird Bakers

If you are not confident to try this recipe yourself how about cheating a little with this cupcake mix from the Finishing Touch Interiors Boutique

Also new in stock this week a handy little tool is this

 icing squeezer

Sticky Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

3 oz. unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
4 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp corn syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly butter an 8 x 8 inch pan and line the pan with parchment paper.
2. Place the butter, sugars, chocolate and corn syrup in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring until well blended.  Remove from heat and let cool.
3. Beat together eggs and vanilla, and whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture.
4. Stir together the flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder and fold gently into the egg and chocolate mixture.
5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.  Cool completely, dust with confectioner’s sugar, and cut into squares

Kids character cookery spoons in yellow, pink or blue




(Recipe taken from,  Blissful Brownies - very delicious)