Recipe: Pastry Love Hearts

I've just stumbled across this simple but cute recipe and I thought I'd share it with you.  They are great little family treats, or would make a gorgeous hostess gift wrapped in a tissue lined box.

Ingredients:

2 sheets of puff pastry (slightly thawed)
300ml double cream
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tbsp of icing sugar
100g dark chocolate, melted
Heart cookie cutter

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Line a sheet baking tray with baking paper

2. Take one sheet of pastry, leaving the other in the fridge, and cut out hearts using the cookie cutter. Place the heart shapes onto a tray lined with baking paper. It’s important to make sure the pastry is cold, if it gets warm place it back into the fridge to chill it

3. Cook the hearts for 10-12 minutes, or until golden.   Remove from oven and place them on wire racks to cool

4. In a medium-sized bowl, add the cream, vanilla extract and icing sugar.  Beat altogether with an electric mixer until soft peaks form

5. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place it in a heatproof bowl.  Sit the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and allow the chocolate to melt, stirring occasionally

6. Use a knife to split the now cooled hearts in two, so you have a top and a bottom.  Spoon some cream onto the bottom half, replace the top and drizzle with the melted chocolate.

Baking Delight - Cupcakes

Yesterday saw the end of National Cupcake Week so I have rummaged around for some of the best looking cupcakes designs around, and I have been completely spoilt for choice.

There are so many to choose from, simple and sweet, extravagant to elegant and some really great creations for kids.     However, before I get to the fun design part, we all know that the most important factor of a cupcake is the taste.  I have tried numerous recipes, from the cupcake powerhouses of The Hummingbird Bakery and The Primrose Bakery, to recipes given to me by family and friends.  However, I must admit the easiest and quite frankly the tastiest sponge recipe I have found is from Rachel Allen.  It is one of those delightful recipes that means you can, pretty much, throw all the ingredients in to one bowl.  

Here is her chocolate cupcake recipe that I have used time and time again.  

To make 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients

150g Plain Flour

25g Cocoa Powder (I usually use Green & Black's drinking chocolate)

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

125g Caster Sugar

100ml Milk

75g Butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 180 c (350 f).  Gas mark 4.  Or if you use an Aga like me, pop in the hottest oven.  Line the muffin tin with paper cases.  

2.  Sift the flour, coca powder, baking powder and salt in to a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Beat together the milk, eggs and butter and add to the dry ingredients, pouring in a little at a time and stirring to give a smooth batter.  

3.  Divide the mixture between the paper cases, filling them quite full.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until just firm to touch.  

4.  Remove from the tin and leave to cool before adding the topping. 

For the Frosting

Now the buttercream frosting is a delicate mix which I have tried to perfect (well to my tasting) for a while.  I must admit that the process has been a lot of trail and error, however, my fail safe recipe is by the masters of cupcakes, The Hummingbird Bakery.  Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

250g icing sugar
80g unsalted butter
25ml whole milk
A couple of drop of extract*

1.  Beat the icing sugar and butter together until smooth.  

2.  Add milk and extract (*vanilla is always great) in to a separate bowl and add a teaspoon at a time to the butter mixture.

3.  Once all the milk mixture has been added continue beating the mixture for another 5 minutes until light and fluffy.  The longer the frosting is beaten the lighter and fluffier it becomes. 

Hope you find this recipe as easy as I do, and you'll be able to whip up a batch of cupcakes in no time.  Happy baking!  

Now, for the design.  Below are some of my most favourite cupcake designs.  I hope they inspire you too.  

I just love the meringue topped cupcake in the cupcake mood board, this is definitely something I will be trying in the coming weeks, especially with a lemon curd filling.  Yum.  Oh and the children's designs are adorable.  Which one is your favourite?

If you are a messy baker like me, unfortunately my cook books are covered in batter mixture and sticky figure prints!  You'll just love this new recipe book stand by Butterfly Lane.  Practical and will look lovely in your kitchen...bonus!  

£24.95 from Butterfly Lane

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Baking O'Clock

The rain is literally pouring outside, the fire is blazing at Butterfly Lane HQ and I’m tempted to do a bit of baking.  I’m dreaming about beautiful, spongy, decadent cakes! Not that mine will resemble anything particularly fabulous, in fact my cakes definitely look homemade!  But baking is still something I love to do.  I think that there is nothing better on a rainy afternoon than digging out your Mason & Cash mixing bowls and indulging in a spot of baking heaven.  

Mason & Cash mixing bowls

I love to display my cakey creations on decadent glass cake stands, and in fact if all does go wrong, there are so many beautiful things to tart up your flat victoria sponge in no time!  We are thinking about eye catching accessories to detract from baking disasters or to showcase triumphant tarts!  Think sparkling glass cake stands, shiny cake slicers, tiny cake plates, cups and saucers and everything in between!  Butterfly Lane is here to help.  So as promised here are some inspirational, mouth-wateringly good images to tempt you in to a baking session this miserable rainy afternoon. 

All images from the Butterfly Lane Pinterest page.

I must admit, I don’t often wear an apron, but I have been told time and time again to do so, as I am one of those ‘messy’ bakers.  Flour everywhere, cake mixture in my hair and icing sugar on the ceiling, I don’t know how I manage it!  Therefore, I think aprons are an invaluable purchase, not only to save your lovely clothes for a sticky, doughy onslaught but also there are so many stunning designs out there that it’s hard not to want to wear one! 

Anthropologie have such a beautiful range...

Add a little fun to cooking with these by Thornbeck & Peel aprons. 

Let us know how you get on and if you have any special baking tips we would love to know!  Happy baking everyone…X

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