No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookie

This month, Sarah from Maison Cupcake is hosting zero baking required where she challenges us to 

prepare and blog any treat which does not require baking. I love quick no bake recipes particularly for parties or when you are short of time or when your oven is out of action. I made these after a night out recently and they took all of 10 minutes to prepare. I did chill them overnight but you can eat them after a few hours or even straight from the pan. 

Initially I looked for a no bake chocolate and peanut butter creation.  I then got to thinking about the sweet and salty combination and decided to add some salted pretzels to the mix. The result - a delicious, gluten free, sweet and salty treat with the added bonus of oats to make you feel slightly less guilty about eating them. 

 melt butter, sugar, cocoa powder and milk 

 stir in peanut butter 

 stir in oats 

 my "eureka" moment 

 adding salted pretzels 

 scoop onto a baking sheet and chill 

 tasty, more-ish delights :) 

300g sugar (I would recommend 225-250g if you want it less sweet)

40g cocoa powder

125mls milk

113g butter

150g smooth peanut butter

300g oats

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

100g salted pretzels

• Place the sugar, cocoa powder, milk, butter and vanilla extract in a medium sized pan and bring to the boil.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter. 
• Add the oats and stir.
• Crumble in the salted pretzels.
• Use an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop to scoop out round balls of the mixture and place on a baking sheet.
• Chill in the fridge overnight and serve. 
• You can also eat it directly from the pan if you can't wait! 

Secret Recipe Club: Double Chocolate Mint Mousse Cookies

It's Secret Recipe Reveal Day again for Group D. This month I have been assigned Kudos Kitchen by Renee who loves baking and painting! Her blog header is really cool with a baker in the middle of paintbrushes and a great artistic feel to her blog.  Of course I headed straight for the baking section and I was not disappointed.  As usual, it's hard to pick one recipe to make as I would really have liked to have tried them all! Bookmarked on my list are lemon lavender summer fruit cake, homemade cinnamon rolls, incredibly moist chocolate chip zucchini bread, peanut butter and chocolate cookie bars. In the end I decided to make double chocolate mint mousse cookies as I love the combination of mint and chocolate and they looked irresistible!

Before I get to the recipe, I would encourage you to take a look around Renee's blog. She is a very talented person and her paintings and crafts are amazing. There is also a section called the dog bowl which is a must for any dog lover! I'm so pleased that I get a chance to 'meet' different bloggers each month through the Secret Recipe Club. It's a really great way to discover new blogs, new recipes and challenge yourself. If you are interested in joining, then click here but be forewarned that there is a waiting list!

Renee was on a strict, self imposed diet when she made these and didn't get to try them. I am impressed by her will power as these smelled so good baking in the oven, I couldn't wait to taste them! It's a really simple recipe to make with great results. It looks impressive and like you've spent more time that you actually did baking them. It's a definite must for chocolate and mint lovers out here. I couldn't get hold of any mint chocolate chips here so I melted plain chocolate and added peppermint extract. You can of course omit the peppermint if you prefer. I think these would be perfect for Christmas or any party. I'm already thinking about a peanut butter version :)

 fresh from the oven 

 make an indentation with the back of a teaspoon

 dust with icing sugar 

 pipe filling in the middle 

 yum! 

Recipe adapted from Kudos Kitchen
Makes approximately 45 cookies

For the cookies
160g flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
113g butter
220g sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
3 eggs

For the filling
28g butter
150g dark chocolate
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Icing sugar for dusting (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
• Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 
• Add the vanilla extract and peppermint extract.
• Sift all the dry ingredients and mix to the batter.
• Scoop cookie dough on to the baking sheets spaced apart. 
• Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until the top is dry and starting to crack.
• Grease the back of a teaspoon and working quickly and carefully ( be careful not to burn your fingers!), gently press the back of the teaspoon on top of each cookie to create an indentation.
• Allow the cookies to cool completely.
• Dust with icing sugar. 
• Prepare the filling by melting the butter,chocolate and peppermint extract. 
• Fill a piping bag with the filling and place a small dollop in the indentation created earlier. 
• Allow the filling to set before serving. 

Macmillan Cancer Support and SilverSpoon - Little Local Hero Awards

On the 28th of September this year the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is going to be taking place. This is a fantastic one day fundraising event hosted by Macmillan Cancer Support to raise money for people with lives affected by cancer. It's a great cause and one that is close to my heart. I baked dark indulgent chocolate and walnut brownies, chocolate chip flapjacks, victoria sponge in 2010 for my local coffee morning.

Silver Spoon, the homegrown sugar people, are the official sugar sponsor for the event, and this year have decided to launch a fantastic competition as part of their activity. On the 24th August 2012 Silver Spoon and Macmillan are launching Silver Spoons Little Local Hero Awards. They are scouring the country for local heroes under the age of 18 who have done something truly special. Your local little hero could have looked after their little sister when they were ill, gone to great lengths to make Mother’s Day very special, or done something fantastic to raise money for charity.

If you know someone under 18 in your local area who you think would be a worthy winner, just follow this link and explain in less than 100 words who you are nominating, why, and what you would bake them to say thank you
www.macmillan.org.uk/littlehero

Master Pâtissier Eric Lanlard, star of Channel 4’s Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard, will choose a Silver Spoon National Little Hero and to celebrate he will bake them a special cake of their choice! 10 runners up will also receive a Silver Spoon Baking Hamper packed full of exciting treats.

 

There are sure to be some amazing stories from our local little heroes all over the country, but in the meantime don’t forget to register to hold your own coffee morning on the 28th September, just follow this link and you can help to raise money for people with lives affected by cancer. http://coffeeregister.macmillan.org.uk/2012/register.asp

Nectarine and Summer Berry Tart

It's Random Recipe time again and after showcasing our cookbook collections, this month Dom from Belleau Kitchen has asked that we start at the very beginning ie select a book at random and open it to a random page.  Luckily I had a little tidy up for last month's challenge so all my books were in 1 place (well 3 if you count bookshelf, table and floor but that's not the point!) Anyway, I counted up my books (which is increasing every month!) and used a random number generator which gave me... 

 Hurrah! I actually picked this for a random recipe challenge previously but have not baked from it since so I was really pleased to have this book. 

I opened the book to a random page and this is what I got.... 

 page 48-49 - the recipe on the cover!!! Yay!! 

This is a lovely and simple recipe. I was slightly worried as I've never made my own pastry before (yes it's true!) but it was surprisingly easy and tasted delicious! I added more fruit that stated in the recipe which is probably why you can see more fruit than sponge dough but I personally prefer it that way. This tart was amazing!! I loved all the fresh fruit and the pastry was delicious. Definitely a keeper! 

Serendipity is one of my favourite words in the English language. I think I am using it correctly here in saying that serendipity has a part to play as I can enter this recipe into multiple blog challenges this month, the most ever for 1 recipe - yay! (If you are a regular reader, you will know how much I LOVE entering blogging challenges)

So as mentioned this is for Random Recipes which is hosted by Dom from Belleau Kitchen. I love this challenge as it encourages me to use my books more and it also challenges me at times, testing my limits (and patience), most notably when I picked the Macaron book but let's not mention the M word again ;) 

This month's Tea Time Treats which is hosted by Kate from What Kate Baked and co-hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage has the theme of picnic pies. Kate says that all tarts, pies and flans, sweet or savoury are welcome so I think this lovely tart will be perfect. 

As this is made with seasonal fruits I am also entering it to Simple and in Season hosted by Ren from Fabulicious Food.

Next up is Made with love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior. The idea is to cook from scratch with fresh ingredients which is exactly what this recipe is. I made the pastry and dough from scratch and used fresh fruits. 

As berries are summer fruits, it would also fit nicely with Calendar Cakes hosted by Rachel from Dolly Bakes and co-hosted by Laura from Laura Loves Cakes. The theme is British Summertime and this definitely feels like it! 

This month's One Ingredient challenge which is hosted by Nazima from Working London Mummy and co-hosted by Laura from How to Cook Good Food has the theme of peaches and nectarines. 

A new challenge I discovered this month which is perfect for this recipe as it's called Let's cook with fruits event hosted by simply food.  There's plenty of fruit here so I think it will fit in well.

Finally my own AlphaBakes challenge which I co-host with Caroline from Caroline Makes. The letter is T which is perfect for tart. The deadline is 25th August so if you haven't entered this month then hurry up!

 Look at all that delicious fresh fruit! 

 First time making pastry! (sweet shortcrust pastry)

 Fill with sponge dough 

 top with fresh fruits 

 fresh from the oven 

 yum! 

Recipe is from Popina Book of Baking, page 48-49

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon and honey frosting

I was looking through my blog and discovered that I've never blogged lemon cupcakes before. I've definitely made them often enough (mostly pre-blog) so I feel the need to share them here. This actually came about whilst I was making my lavender cupcakes. The original recipe made a lot of frosting (I've given half the amount which is enough to frost 1 batch of cupcakes) so before I added the purple colouring, I set aside half of the lemon and honey frosting and baked a batch of these delicious lemon cupcakes. I used my tried and tested lemon cake recipe and the result was a delightfully moist, zingy cake. It paired really well with the lemon and honey cream cheese frosting. I've made them with a lemon buttercream frosting previously which also works well.

I'm entering these to Cupcake Tuesday hosted by Liz from Hoosier Homemade. 

 ready to go in the oven 

 ready to be frosted 

 lemon and honey cream cheese frosting 

 topped with a sugared lemon slice 

For the cupcakes

Makes 10 cupcakes

110g golden caster sugar
110g self-raising flour, sifted
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
12g cornflour
110g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Lemon and honey cream cheese frosting
150g cream cheese
100g icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice

• Preheat the oven to 170C.
• Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add the lemon zest and juice. 
• Add the flour, cornflour and baking powder. 
• Spoon into cupcake cases and bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Allow to cool completely. 
• Spread the icing on the cupcakes using a spatula.
• Decorate with a sugared lemon slice. 

Lavender, lemon and honey cupcakes and a review

Recently I was sent a set of 2 paisley park baking moulds from dotcomgiftshop to review.  It's a great site full of lovely gifts for yourself or family and friends. They have quite a good baking selection and I've already built up a little wish list for myself.  The big question was which cupcake to make? 

I narrowed it down to hot chocolate cupcake, earl grey tea cupcake or lavender cupcake.  The decision was made when my lovely friend whom I baked the weight watchers coffee tiramisu cake for gave me a bunch of fresh lavender from her garden. I did a search for recipes and really liked the sound of lavender, lemon and honey cupcakes with a lemon and honey cream cheese frosting. 

lavender from my friend's garden 

The lavender taste is very subtle but definitely there. I am surprised that you can actually taste the honey as sometimes I find it gets lost in the cake. The lemon is the predominant flavour and I might try reducing the lemon flavour next time.  Overall, a very delicious, moist cupcake which paired well with the lemon and honey cream cheese frosting. 

The moulds come in this cute box. There are 2 silicone baking cups and 2 saucers (which are for presentation only). It comes in other colours too but I liked the pink one! The cups themselves are quite sturdy, easy to wash and the cake slid out easily with no problems. No need for greasing and flouring.  I was not too keen on the look of the saucers on their own as they look quite "plasticky"  but when presented with the teacup it actually looks quite cute. For the price, this was reasonable and I would have been happy to buy this for myself or a friend. It would be great if it came in a pack of 4 but you can always double up your order! 

 teacup and saucer 

 blitz the lavender flowers with caster sugar 

 lavender sugar smells lovely! 

 ready to go in the oven - I made regular cupcake as well as I only had 2 silicone cups 

 fresh from the oven - it keeps its shape very well. 

 add the frosting and a sprig of fresh lavender 

 The cupcake on the left came out of the silicone cup - you can see that it retained it's shape and is browned evenly on the outside. 

 the regular cupcakes! 

Recipe adapted from hooray for off weekends

Makes ~ 11 cupcakes

Lavender, lemon and honey cupcakes 

150g caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried lavender flowers

170g butter

3 tablespoons good quality honey

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest and juice of 1 lemon

185g flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Lemon and honey cream cheese frosting

150g cream cheese

100g icing sugar, sifted

1 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon lemon juice

purple food colouring (optional) 

• Preheat the oven to 170C.
• Blitz the sugar and lavender in a food processor.
• Beat the butter, lavender sugar and honey until pale and fluffy. 
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Add the vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice.
• Mix in the flour and baking powder. 
• Spoon into cupcake cases and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and the tops spring back.
• Allow to cool completely. 
• Mix all the ingredients for the frosting in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment until smooth. 
• Spread on top of the cupcakes. 
• Decorate with a sprig of fresh lavender. 

Disclaimer: I was sent these baking moulds to review free of charge. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.