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)

Chocolate Fridge Cakes

You will need

• 250g (9 oz) digestive biscuits
• 150g (5½ oz) plain chocolate
• 150g (5½ oz) milk chocolate
• 100g (3½ oz) unsalted butter
• 150g (5½ oz) golden syrup
• 100g (3½ oz) dried apricots, chopped
• 75g (2½ oz) raisins
• 60g (2 oz) chopped pecans, (optional)

Information

• Makes 12 pieces
• Suitable for freezing

Step 1

Use cling film to line a 20cm (8 in) shallow, square-shaped tin. Leave extra cling film hanging over the sides.

Step 2

Bash the biscuits into pieces using a rolling pin. Put them in a plastic bag first so they don't go everywhere.

Step 3

Melt chocolate, butter, and golden syrup in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally.

Step 4

Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the broken biscuits, apricots, raisins and pecans (optional).

Step 5

Spoon the mix into the tin. Level the surface by pressing it down with a potato masher.

Step 6

Leave to cool, then put the chocolate mixture in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours to set.

Step 7

Turn out the cake and peel off the cling film. Cut the cake into 12 squares and enjoy!

This scumptious recipe for chocolate fridge cakes comes from Annabel Karmel

Hannah's Cake Pops

Featured chef Hannah Jones

What you will need

560g Cooked chocolate cake

375g Chocolate Butter cream

1.5kg Candy Melts

Lolly pop sticks

Styrofoam

1. Break up your chocolate sponge with your fingers in a bowl until you have a texture similar to bread crumbs.
2. Then add your soft butter cream to the bowl and stir until the mixture sticks together.
3. Have a tray with parchment paper on ready to put your cake balls on and weigh them to about 26g each and roll into balls.
4. Place on your baking tray and leave in the fridge for about 2 hours until they firm up.
5. Now you need to melt your candy melts follow the instructions on the packet for this.
6. Take your cake balls out of the fridge. Dip your lolly sticks in the candy melts about an inch in then push into the cake ball.
7. Then you need to dip the whole cake pop into the candy melts and pull out quite quickly.
8. Place the dipped cake pop in the Styrofoam and continue with the rest. This should make around 30 to 40 cake pops
9. Once you have dipped all your cake pops comes the fun part of decorating them. There are so many different things you can make them into just let your imagination run wild.

http://www.hannahsbuns.co.uk/

Banana Cake

SERVES: 8-10 (depending how big the slices are)
TIME: 1 hour

For the cake:
170g butter
170g maple sugar (golden caster sugar if you can't get maple sugar)
225g self-raising flour, sifted
2 large eggs / 3 medium eggs
3½ tbsp vanilla yoghurt
3 large ripe bananas, mashed with a fork

For the icing and decoration:
250g butter, very soft (room temperature)
500g icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas
60g blanched hazelnuts

Pre-heat the oven to 180C and have ready an 8" cake tin (or you could use 2 x slim 8" sandwich tins). Then lightly grease and line the base of the tin with greaseproof paper. 

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric whisk if you have one, together until it's soft and fluffy. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs with a fork and then add slowly to the creamed mixture a little bit at a time. 

Mash the bananas in a separate bowl if you haven't already done so. The bananas do need to be ripe otherwise they won't mash properly. With a large metal spoon, add the bananas and yoghurt to the mixture and stir in well. Don't worry if the mixture starts to look like it's curdled - it's just the bananas and yoghurt mixing in. 

Finally, add the sifted flour and mix in well. Pour the cake mixture into your tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean.

Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and leave to cool. 

To make the icing, cream the butter alone with an electric whisk until it's really light and fluffy. Add the icing sugar a bit at a time - the icing sugar will cloud up but you can use a tea towel to partially cover the bowl which will help to reduce the dust cloud.

Once all the icing sugar is incorporated, add the vanilla extract and whisk together really well.

Put the icing to one side to prepare your hazelnut topping. In a dry frying pan over a medium heat, gently toast the hazelnuts until brown - be really careful they don't catch and burn. This should take about 4-5 minutes. Then in either a food processor or a plastic bag with a rolling pin, crush the hazelnuts until broken down - not too much otherwise it will turn to dust. 

Once the cake has cooled, slice it in half - I find a serrated bread knife works best. Use half the icing on the middle of the cake. Then slice up the bananas into strips and arrange on top of the icing. Then arrange the top half of the cake and spread over the remaining icing. Finally, use a fork to fluff up the icing a little for texture and sprinkle the toasted hazelnuts over the top