Lemon Mess Cupcakes

I bake. No shit right? I mean I wouldn’t be writing a blog called United Cakedom if there wasn’t cake and cakes are baked.

Basically I bake and I use my baking skills to make things for friends and family as gifts.

I like to think they appreciate it. If they don’t… well I don’t want to know because I like baking things for gifts.

These were made for the teachers and staff at my girl’s school as a thank you for educating and watching my girls for a good portion of the year.

They were a bit fiddly to make and very sticky, but totally refreshing and delicious!

The reason I know this is because I stole one before giving them to the school. There is nothing wrong with stealing my own baked goods. I don’t think?

This recipe was adapted from Jamie Olive FoodTube Presents The Cake Book by Cupcake Jemma. Which is a great little cupcake book that I would recommend to anyone.

Lemon Mess Cupcakes

250g self-rising flour

250g golden caster sugar

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

270g unsalted butter, room temperature

4 large eggs

zest from 4 unwaxed lemons

1 ½ tbsp lemon juice

1 ½ tbsp full fat milk

Heat the oven to 170C fan/ 375F/ gas 5. Line 2 cupcake pans with liners. Sift the flour and bicarb together into your stand mixer bowl before adding the sugar, butter, eggs, zest, and lemon juice. Beat on medium for about a minute, scrape down the sides before adding the milk and then beat again for about a minute. I use an ice cream scoop to add my batter to the cases. These only need about half of an ice cream scoop to fill each cupcake liner ¾ full. Bake for 20 minutes or until the sponges spring back when pressed, leave to cool and make the frosting….

Buttercream Frosting

300g unsalted butter, room temperature

670g icing sugar

4 tbsp lemon juice, about 1 lemon

4-6 meringues, store bought or homemade

Beat the butter in the stand mixer until it’s soft, remove about half of the beaten butter and then sift the icing sugar into the bowl. Beat until crumby and then add the rest of the butter and beat until smooth before adding the lemon juice and beat until combined. Then crumble the meringues on top and fold in.

to finish:

Jar of Mackay’s Lemon Curd or homemade

Using an apple corer or cupcake corer take out the middle of the cupcakes once they are cool. Fill with a teaspoon of lemon curd and place the cupcake bit that was removed back. I used my ice cream scoop again to top the cupcakes with frosting before using a spatula to rough up the frosting. Drizzle any left over lemon curd on top of the cupcakes.

notes: I apologize if I have offended anyone by swearing above, but I am writing this when I am over tired. I bought my own copy of The Cake Book by Cupcake Jemma. Mackay’s Lemon Curd was given to me to use in my baking. Please see my contact/policy page above and my post where I talk about the book here! 

Deconstructed Strawberry & Cream Pie

The sun has found it's way around the clouds and we are finally getting some sunny days here in Britain! 

Which means right now is a great time to enjoy some of Britain’s best produce.

Like tomatoes, asparagus, new potatoes, rhubarb, and everyone’s favorite strawberries!

When the weather starts to get warmer I do bake less. It’s just uncomfortable to be in front of an oven when it’s hot outside.

Which is why deconstructing some desserts makes a perfect summer pudding! 

I’m not really a fan of deconstructing things, it seems a bit silly to me at, but I didn't know how else to describe this dessert.

So, deconstructed it is. 

It’s strawberries soaked in strawberry puree with fresh mint leaves and sugar. Topped with whipped cream served with lemon curd and shortbread. Sounds like a strawberry pie to me.

It’s super easy and perfect to make ahead of time, especially if you are having a BBQ or something.

So, here is how I made this refreshing and light summer pudding!

Strawberry Pie {deconstructed}:

400g strawberries, hulled and quartered

1 tbsp icing sugar

1 tsp of cider vinegar or lemon juice

3-5 mint leaves

75 ml British whipping cream

MacKay’s Lemon curd

Sainsbury’s All Butter Shortbread Petticoat Tails

Puree 150g of the strawberries with the icing sugar, vinegar, and mint leaves. Add more sugar or mint to taste. Pour over the remaining strawberries and leave in the fridge for about an hour or until ready to serve.

Whip the cream to soft peaks and swirl about a tablespoon of lemon curd into the whipped cream. I didn't do this because my husband is allergic to all things citrus, so I placed a tsp of lemon curd on the side when serving so he could have some too!

To serve place two heaped tablespoons of the strawberries on a plate, place a heaped tablespoon of whipped cream next to it with a tsp of lemon curd and a couple petticoat tails. Enjoy!

The recipe could always be doubled to serve more people. The quantities above would serve about 4. Another way to serve it would be to crumble the shortbread at the bottom of a bowl and spoon the strawberries over them, top with whipped cream and garnish with a mint leaf. I always think of these things when I’m writing out the blog post.

Stay tuned! I have another recipe using British Strawberries to share with you soon! 

notes: In association with Sainsbury’s The Best of British campaign. Recipe is adapted from Sainsbury’s Magazine’s June 2011 issue. Mackay’s had sent me a few jars of jams and curds last summer for their #bakingwithmackays campaign and this was leftover so I thought I’d mention it. This post was written for day 19 of Blog Every Day in May, #BEDM. 

I like Big Bundts! {Strawberry & Champagne Bundt}

It’s National Bundt Day!!

Bundt cakes are the lazy decorators (ahem… me) dream. They are already gorgeous to look at, dust with a little icing sugar or a drizzle over a glaze and you have a masterpiece!

They are also great cakes for those who don’t like frosting/icing. A bundt cake could be frosted or iced, but it really doesn't need it.

They also can be a pain to get out of the tin.... The jam I used in this recipe was too close to the top and it made the cake stick to the top of the pan. That or the preserve added too much moisture to the cake.

It's also possible that I happened to turn off the new oven while setting the time and walked off and didn't realize until half way through that is what I did! O_o

Recently nothing I make turns out exactly how I'd like it too. Not sure what's going on? Here's how I made this cake. It was edible and very tasty, just doesn't look too good.

This is the first time I have ever had an issue getting my cake out of this pan and I've used it on various occasions! I didn't use the champagne glaze as the cake was a mess and I didn't want to waste the champagne, but I gave you what I would have done had it turned out right. I also re-wrote what I would do differently next time.

Strawberry & Champagne Bundt Cake

200g unsalted butter

500g golden caster sugar

60ml sunflower oil

4 large eggs

350g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

250ml full-fat strawberry yogurt

150-200g strawberries, hulled and chopped

½ jar of Mackays Strawberry and Champagne preserve

Preheat the oven to 180C/fan160C/gas4. Prepare your Bundt, I lightly grease it with sunflower oil and leave it tipped upside down to let the oil run down the sides, before adding the batter I lightly flour it and tap out the excess flour.

Cream the butter, sugar, and oil together until light and fluffy. Lightly beat the eggs together in a jug and add the eggs gradually (fully mix before adding more egg) Sift the flour and baking powder together before adding half with the batter, fold it in and add half of the yogurt and repeat until just combined and smooth. Fold in the chopped strawberries.

Spoon a third of the batter into the bottom of the bundt, swirl in 2-3 tablespoons of the preserve, and repeat once before top with remaining batter. Bake for an hour; use the skewer test to ensure it’s cooked through. Ovens vary so check it just before the hour is up and add more time if needed.

Spoon in half of the batter then swirl in 4-5 tablespoons of the preserve and then top with the rest of the batter.

Champagne Glaze

200-250g of icing sugar

2-3 tablespoons of champagne

Mix the icing sugar and champagne together, add more or less of either depending how thick or runny you want your glaze.

Serve with a glass of champagne! Is also great with cream or whipped cream and more preserve!

Bundt cakes are usually spiced pound cakes and make a great alternative to a Christmas cake or pudding. They are also low maintenance and pretty (if you manage to get it out of the pan) they would make a great table piece!   

notes: Mackays Strawberry and Champagne Preserve was provided for me as part of there Christmas with Mackays campaign. National Bundt Day! I bought my Nordic Ware Bundt pan. For more bundts visit Mary theFood Librarian (I like Big Bundts), she’s awesome she makes a bundt everyday in the month of November! Also if you made a bundt for National Bundt Day enter it on her site!  

It’s so hard to say goodbye {Lemon Crumble Cupcakes}

Autumn is here! The days are starting to get shorter and the nights are definitely cooler.

I love this time of year, but I also love the long sunny days of summer! I have a lot of conflicting feelings about different things.

So, before I say goodbye to summer (until next year) I thought I’d make these super summery and light Lemon Crumble Cupcakes!

Not that you can’t make these in the middle of winter to remind you of summer or in the spring when you are anticipating summer or in summer as lemons go well with sunshine.

Although saying that a crumble always reminds me autumn and winter. There I go again with my conflicting feelings and thoughts!

No matter the time of year these cupcakes are gorgeous and should be made to share!

Crumble Topping:

75g plain flour

75g golden caster sugar

zest of 1 lemon

100g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into blocks

Make this first by mixing the flour, sugar, and lemon zest together. Then rub the butter into flour mixture until it looks like breadcrumbs and then set aside in the fridge until needed.

Lemon Crumble Cupcakes:

200g butter, room temperature

200g golden caster sugar

4 medium eggs

200g self-rising flour

juice of 1 lemon

150g Mackays Lemon Curd

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F and line a cupcake tray with your choice casing. Beat the butter until soft before adding the sugar and then beat until light and fluffy. Whisk the eggs together, and then slowly add little by little to the light and fluffy butter mixture. If you add too much too quickly it will curdle. Gently fold in the flour and lemon juice until just combined.

Place a heaped tablespoon (one from your drawer not a proper measuring spoon) into the bottom of each case. Dollop about a ½ tablespoon of lemon curd in the middle of each cupcake case before topping each cupcake roughly with another tablespoon of batter, then cover each cupcake with the crumble topping. There should be plenty to cover each cupcake.

Bake for 30 minutes they should be a golden color on top and should spring back slightly. A skewer test would probably be useless as it has curd in the middle. Let them cool down in the cupcake try before removing to a wire rack to cool.

notes: Mackays Lemon Curd was provided for me as part of there #bakingwithmackays campaign please see my contact/policy tab above for further information; recipe adapted from Rachel Allen’s Cake (my book review); if you like this post you make like Lemon & Poppy Seed Scones another post where I talk about lemons and sunshine

Cranachan Cupcakes!!

If you follow me on twitter or Facebook you will know why it's been so quiet on my blog lately, I am visiting my in-laws in Scotland. They live just outside of Inverness and the girls and I have been having a great time! Tomorrow we take the long journey home!

I have visited a few bakeries and have tried different food and I even managed to bake these cupcakes inspired by the traditional Scottish dessert Cranachan.

Unless you have been to Scotland or have a tie to it in other ways you may not know what Cranachan is. Today it is generally made with whipped cream, whiskey, honey (heather honey, preferably), and fresh raspberries, with toasted oatmeal soaked overnight in a little whiskey. Put together a bit like an ice cream sundae or Eton Mess.

I decided to make it into a cupcake by making honey oat cupcakes topped with a layer of raspberry jam, whipped cream, and fresh raspberries. If they weren't for my girls I would have added a little whiskey to the whipped cream. Or maybe even soaked the oats in a little whiskey before making them. These were inspired by Cranachan ice cream I tried at a sweet shop.

Cranachan Cupcakes:

100g porridge oats
100g self-rising flour
45g dark brown muscovado sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 medium egg
160ml milk
80ml vegetable oil
60ml honey

If you aren't using cupcake/muffin liners: lightly grease the muffin tin with a little extra oil, dust with flour and tap 
out extra flour. Pre-heat oven to 200C.

Mix the dry ingredients (oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a large bowl. In a separate bowl gently whisk the wet ingredients (egg, milk, oil, and honey) together.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture and gently fold together until just combined.

Spoon into prepared tin 3/4 full and bake for 15-20 minutes turning the tin around half way through.

to finish:

Mackays Raspberry Preserves
300ml whipped cream + 1tbsp of caster sugar
1-2 tbsp of whiskey (optional)
6-12 fresh raspberries
pink sparkly sprinkles (optional)

Whip the cream with caster sugar and whiskey (if using). Spread a layer of jam on each of the cupcakes and pipe the whipped cream on top. Just put in a plastic bag and snip a corner off. Top with 1-2 raspberries and sprinkles (if using). Done!

notes: These cupcakes are my entry for rangecookers.co.uk Cupcake Creative Competition. #bakingwithMackays; Mackays Raspberry preserve; Cranachan; visit Scotland

Clandestine Cake Club Round Up & Lemon Meringue Cake!

Last night Reading’s CCC had a summer meet up! Our original theme was “Showstoppers” but with the lovely heat wave we've been lucky to have, our group leader/organizer Louise, said to make something we felt comfortable to make in this heat. So, the theme was more summery. We had a lot of lemon! Lemon is just a great representation of summer; it’s refreshing and bright!

Here’s what we all brought:

Rose sponge with Strawberry & Elderflower compote

It was a good night! We ate cake and talked, what is better then that? It's always fun getting to know people! I've only been to one other meeting so I still feel a bit like a newbie. Can't wait until the next meet up!! 

I was originally going to do a belated 4^th of July cake. One where when you cut into it looked like the American Flag, but because of the weather and what not I really didn't fancy baking a half of dozen cake layers and hoping the buttercream stood up to the test. So, I went something that still looked great, but took a little less effort and didn't involve buttercream!

Lemon Meringue Cake:

225g butter, room temp

225g caster sugar

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

zest of 2 lemons, unwaxed

225g self-rising flour

pinch of salt

juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 160C/gas 3. Line and grease x2 - 8in/20cm round tins

Beat the butter a few minutes then add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. With the lightly beaten eggs in a jug (easier to pour) gradually add the eggs beating well after each addition. With the last bit of beaten egg add the lemon zest. If it curdles a little don’t worry just add a spoonful of the flour before adding all of the flour to the mixture. Add the ground almonds and lemon juice. Divide between the two prepared tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes. To make sure the cakes are done, just do the skewer test! The skewer should come out clean! Let the cakes cool before carefully removing them from the tins. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Lemon Drizzle

Juice of 1 lemon

75g caster sugar

In a small saucepan heat the ingredients together until boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer until for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside until ready to use. This can be made while the cakes are baking.

Italian Meringue

4 egg whites

225g caster sugar

3 tbsp water    

Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. [When whisking egg whites you always want to be sure that your bowl and whisk are clean and no signs of grease or the whites won’t fluff up. Also you have to be very careful not to break the yolk when separating your eggs as any yolk will stop the whites from fluffing.] Place the sugar and water in a medium saucepan over a med/high heat. Attach a candy thermometer to the side and don’t stir it no matter what. We want it to get to the soft ball stage, 118C it will take a few minutes. Immediately remove from the heat, while the eggs are being whisk, gently pour the sugar mixture down the side of the bowl. If you don’t have a stand mixer you’ll need an extra pair of hands. Continue to whisk until the meringue cools to room temp. should be about 6-7 minutes.

to finish:

4 tbsp Mackays Lemon Curd

Situate your cake wherever it’s going to stay and drizzle half of the lemon drizzle over the top. Leave it for a few minutes before spreading over the lemon curd. Place the other cake layer on top and drizzle over the rest of the lemon drizzle. I piped my meringue all over the top, but you could also use a spatula and create some interesting waves and such! Make it your own! Also it’s very handy to have a kitchen blowtorch! Torch it for a fancy finish!

notes: Find a Clandestine CakeClub near you! They are starting to spread all over the world so if there isn't one near you start your own!!; American Flag cakes (idea was suggested by Cupcake Kelly on Twitter); recipe adapted from John Whaite Bakes by John Whaite; #bakingwithmackays Mackays Lemon Curd

Lemon Cream Whoopie Pies with Bramble Preserve {#bakingwithmackays}

One day I was hanging out on Twitter, what I tend to do in my free time… That is time that isn't taking care of a family, baking, blogging, reading, playing Animal Crossing you know life stuff. Anyway I saw a tweet from Mackays looking for people to bake with their preserves, marmalade, and curds.

Now I use Mackays Scottish Strawberry Preserve on a daily basis sometimes on toast, scones, crumpets and so on, but always for Mini Baker’s jam sandwich in her lunch box. So, I jumped at the chance to work with them!

They basically asked me what I was interested in and I asked for the lemon curd, seedless bramble preserve, spiced ginger preserve and strawberry preserve with champagne. The first two are what I am working with today. Lemon and bramble go well together, so does lemon and ginger actually… 

I know whoopie pies have gone a bit out of style in the baking world, but they make a great base for a variety of flavors!

These were the perfect amount of sweet and tart. I complained last night on twitter because I don't own a proper zester for the lemon zest. I think they are a bit spendy for what they are. Yet, if I keep on making lemon or citrus flavored treats then I might have to invest in one. Do you own one? If the answer is yes could you live without it? 

Lemon Cream Whoopie Pies

300g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp bicarb of soda

¼ tsp salt

125g unsalted butter, softened

200g golden caster sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla paste

100 whole milk

50ml lemon juice

zest of 2 lemons

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas4. Line your baking sheet(s). First sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarb, and salt. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You can’t over beat so if it doesn't look fluffy enough keep beating. Add the egg and mix well. While the butter and sugar are being beaten, in a separate bowl mix the vanilla, milk, and lemon juice together. Combine with the butter mixture. Gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in lemon zest. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes minimum.

Drop even as possible scoops of batter unto your line baking sheet(s) not too close together. Bake in the middle of the oven for 10-12 minutes or 8-10 minutes depending on the size of your “pies”. They should have a slight impression when touched with a finger. Leave to cool completely.

Lemon Curd Cream

100g of whipped cream (100-150ml)

100g Mackays Lemon Curd

Mackays Seedless Bramble Preserve or Spiced Ginger Preserve (optional)

All you do is fold the whipped cream and lemon curd together. Chill for about 15 minutes before use. Spread a layer of Seedless Bramble Preserve on one side and the lemon curd cream on the other and smoosh together before serving. Or sandwich the whoopie pies with the lemon curd cream and place a small dollop of the bramble preserve on top!

notes: Follow me on Twitter!; I’m currently reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn; Mackays official website; Mackays can be found in most large supermarkets and online - get #bakingwithmackays; recipe is adapted from The Whoopie Pie Book by Claire Ptak of Violet;