Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes and/or Dessert Bowls {recipe}

This is the first Thanksgiving, I think since I moved to the UK, that I haven't made pumpkin pie. It felt a little odd, but there were no complaints with the alternative.

This recipe suits cupcakes if you don't happen to have a 6 cavity dessert shell that makes cake bowls! After a quick look around the 'ol internet they don't seem to exist any more if you come across one pop a comment below and let us all know!

The special tin isn't necessary though because the recipe makes great cupcakes and when topped with the cream cheese frosting and toasted walnuts and drizzled with salted caramel it's perfection all in one little cake.

Cupcakes aren't generally something that is thought of as a dessert, but as a birthday treat or a snack with coffee. However, I would argue that cupcakes make a great dessert, who can say no to an individual cake?

I mean they can... but I don't understand those people.

No matter if these are baked as cupcakes or dessert bowls or, if you adjust times slightly, as a tray bake the cake itself is a good cake. It's a nice texture and the spices are popularly paired with pumpkin because they work well together.

So, if you are looking for an autumn or winter treat that fills your kitchen with the best smells give this one a go!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes or dessert bowls

4 large eggs
400g sugar
200ml vegetable/sunflower oil
1 can (425g) of pureed pumpkin
325g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp bicarb of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Heat the oven to 170C and line your cupcake tin or grease your 6-cavity dessert shell tin with butter or shortening.

Beat the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin together. Then beat in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, bicarb, salt, ginger, and cloves until just combined. Using a medium ice cream scoop fill your cupcake cases or your 6-cavity dessert shell tins. I made a dozen cupcakes and 6 dessert bowls; you could probably get a dozen and a half cupcakes or about a dozen bowls. If you are making bowls you don't need the frosting below, just fill with ice cream or whipped cream and sauce and nuts and whatever you want to top it with!

Cream Cheese Frosting
100g cream cheese
70g butter
1 tsp vanilla
300g icing sugar
walnut halves, toasted (optional)
salted caramel drizzle (optional)
ice cream (optional, but highly recommended)

Beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together. Slowly beat in the icing sugar until combined and smooth. Place about a tablespoon or so of frosting on top and smooth out with a spatula.

Finish off the cupcakes by sprinkling or placing the walnuts on top and drizzling over about 2 tablespoons of salted caramel by placing it in either an icing bag or sandwich and just snip the tip. If you made dessert bowls, then ice cream is always a great filler, whipped cream and toasted walnuts would make a suitable alternative in my opinion!

Pumpkin spice is one of my favorite spice combinations and even though you can use it any time of year, it just feels right in the autumn months leading to winter. English winters are wet, cold, and grey a far thing from my snowy, cold, and grey winters back home, but I still like this time of year. I love sweaters and hats with bobbles and my scarf collection is endless I could literally wear a different one every day of winter... well maybe not every day!

If you like winter as much as me please leave a comment below! And if you try this recipe I hope you like it!

Yogurt Mango Ice Lollies

I was going to start out by saying how much I love summer! But to be honest I love most of the seasons. 

Autumn probably being my favorite followed by summer, winter, and well I don’t really like spring.

It’s such an awkward season. 

After winters I just don’t have the patience for spring, I just want it to be summer.

Summer is when it's hot and it's light out until late. It also just reminds me of being young and free. No matter how long I have been out of school, summer always feels like freedom to me! 

And it is summer! 

Which means it’s not only time for freedom, but ice-lollies (Popsicles)! 

They are also a staple of the summers of my youth. Ice-lollies are pretty much acceptable any time, anywhere all summer long!

In fact I think this cartoon by Natalie Dee sums it right up.

Ice-lollies are widely available in-stores and will not break the bank, but it’s fun and super easy to make them at home! There is the added bonus of no flavor additives when they are homemade. 

Then there are the endless flavor combos and colors one can use to make some really fun ice treats!

I stuck to what I was craving this time and I was after mango! I could have mixed it with coconut or lime or orange or anything tropical, but I was sticking to what my taste buds were telling me and I made these:

Yogurt Mango Ice Lollies

1 large mango

1 tsp caster sugar

200g mango yogurt

Cube just a little more than half of the mango and puree with the sugar. Mix in the yogurt and pour into the mold about half way. Thinly slice the rest of the mango and slide it down the sides of the ice-lollie mold. Top up the molds with any left over mix. Put the tops on and freeze over night.

They were exactly what I was after! My girls loved them too! I used Muller Light Greek style yogurt mango flavor. It was a good mix with the mango puree it was creamy and cooling!

I am sharing this post on Bloggers Scream for Ice Cream challenge over on Kavey Eats! The theme for June was fruit and fruit is perfect for any ice-y treat! 

On average how many ice-lollies do you eat in the summer? What’s your favorite flavor? Please leave a comment below, on twitter or facebook!

notes: this post was written in association with Sainsbury’s; please see my contact/policy page for further information. The ice-lollie mold pictured above is available in stores now! In America we call them Popsicle's, which is a name brand. 

Strawberry Loaf Cake!! (work in progress)

This is a bit of an experiment! It looks under done, but it’s not. It also looks grey or dirty, but it’s just the way the pink from the strawberries baked. It’s a very very moist cake. Make sure you use the skewer test and it comes out completely clean. I think that I should have added the jam because it was extra moisture I didn't account for in the dry ingredients. It still tastes really good though!!

I bought some M&S strawberries for our picnic in town the other day and half of them were mushy and bruised. So, not wanting to waste them I thought I’d use them in a bake. Strawberry Cream Muffins are always a favorite! And I didn’t have much luck with strawberry cupcakes, but my sister did. Why not try something new? I couldn’t find a loaf cake recipe with strawberries so I used the base of one of the many recipes I had and alternated it to suit what I was trying to achieve. It’s one I might have to try again adjusting things as I go to get it just right! Stay tuned!

190g unsalted butter

190g caster sugar

about 100ml of strawberry puree

3 eggs

190g plain flour

60g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

25g smooth strawberry yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 tbsp strawberry preserve/jam (optional)

strawberries sliced (optional)

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/gas3 and grease your loaf tin with butter and sprinkle with flour.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add the puree slowly mixing well. Will be pink!

Add the eggs one at a time mixing well after each.

Mix the flour, g.almonds, b.powder, and salt together.

Mix half of the flour mixture to the batter and mix until just incorporated. Repeat.

Lastly mix in the yogurt and vanilla.

Pour half of the batter into your prepared loaf tin and take a tbsp and make a line down the tin and then take a knife to swirl it. 

Pour the rest of the batter on top and press sliced strawberries into the top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. Bake until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for a while before turning it out onto a wire rack. Cool completely before serving.