Cranberry and White Chocolate Muffins

So, I end the year as I began - messing around with white chocolate! I've learned my lesson though and this recipe just calls for chunks of white chocolate and nothing more complicated.... It also uses up those cranberries hanging around after Christmas (use fresh or frozen ones defrosted).

So, you will need:
100g unsalted butter
284ml soured cream (a standard tub)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
280g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
200g caster sugar (golden if you have it)
150g fresh cranberries (blueberries would also work well)
150g white chocolate, chopped into small chunks

1. Preheat oven to 190c/170c fan/gas 5. Line a 12-hole muffin/large cupcake tin with cases.
2. Melt the butter (in the microwave is fine), leave to cool back down a bit, then mix in the soured cream. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again, very thoroughly.
3. Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and sugar) together and sift into the butter mixture. Combine well.
4. Add cranberries and white chocolate chunks. Combine thoroughly. The mixture will be quite stiff, this is quite normal!
5. Fill cases - pretty full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until skewer pulls out clean when poked into your cake.

I read somewhere that muffins are an excuse to eat cake for breakfast. Hurrah for that!

I got the blues

Is this wrong? I know it's a little bit, well, Conservative, but other than that...?

My good friend Ann, asked for some Chelsea blue cupcakes to celebrate the FA Cup tomorrow (Ann has now branded these FA Cup Cakes). Contrary to my usual no additives policy, but fun to play once in a while!

Blissful Blueberry gets a facelift

I've had a bit of a break from the kitschy kitchen over the past week (except for making a big batch of Caramel Crunch), with a family visit and some time in the garden preparing veg, fruit and flowers for future consumption and cupcake use! No - there isn't a spinach cupcake on the horizon, but some edible flowers (borage) are sprouting, the cherry and apple trees have had a good lot of blossom and the blueberry bush is about to flower....


Which leads me on to a revamped Blissful Blueberry cupcake. I haven't yet decided upon topping, but here's the cake recipe if you fancy a go.

Ingredients:
100g butter, room temperature
200g sugar
100ml maple syrup
2 small eggs, beaten, room temperature (its 3 for 24 cakes, so you ideally want 1.5 but that's not very practical...)
0.5 tsp vanilla extract
180g plain flour, sifted
0.5 tsp baking powder
100ml milk
@150g blueberries

As per usual, preheat oven to 180/350/160 fan and prepare 12-hole muffin tin with large cupcake cases.

Beat the c$%*p out of the butter until smooth and light, add the sugar and beat, beat, beat again. Add the maple syrup and beat some more.
Beat the eggs and vanilla into the mixture a little at a time.

Now, this is a wet cake batter so the flour/baking powder and milk need to be added to the batter alternately a little at a time and mixed in lightly (the time for heavy handed beating is over!). Add roughly a third of the flour and fold until combined. Add half of the milk and mix until combined. Repeat, and then finish with flour and the baking powder (if not already sifted into your flour).

Carefully fold in as many blueberries as you like - I like a lot which for me is roughly three big handfuls.

Get your mix into those cases and pop in the oven for approx 25 mins. The cakes are ready when lightly golden on top and a skewer comes out clean etc etc.

This cake lasts a bit longer in an airtight container than a standard sponge mix, so you can enjoy your blueberry delights for longer!