Lemon Cheesecake Muffins

News years resolutions? Ah well... Never mind...

225g unsalted butter , softened

225g caster sugar

4 eggs

finely grated zest 1 lemon

 225g self-raising flour 

Lemon curd

1 pack soft cheese

Icing sugar

Blitz together all the firth five ingredients. Preheat the oven to 170C. Put a large blob of cake batter into small cake cases, followed by a small blob of lemon curd and topped off with another blob of batter. Bake until golden, firm and springy (around 30mins) and leave to cool. 

Add around a tablespoon of sifted icing sugar to the cream cheese and some lemon zest or a small amount of lemon juice (not to much or the topping won't set) cream it together with a metal spoon till smooth then either blob of pipe on top the muffins.
Have an indulgent 2011...

Are You Feeling Festive?

A big thank you to everyone who has come along to the cafe this term, I hope you've had fun and I'm really looking forward to seeing you again next term.

Until then...

Crumble top mince pies:

• 225g cold butter
• 350g plain flour
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 egg

Rub together the butter and flour with your fingers to make crumbs then beat in the egg and sugar to form a soft dough (you may need to add a little water or flour till you get the right consistency) Give the dough a quick knead then roll out quick thinly (but not so thin that it's difficult to handle!) Use a pastry cutter to make rounds, place them into a greased cupcake tin/tray.

• Jar of mincemeat
• 250g mixed dried fruit
• Small grated apple

You can just use shop bought mincemeat (or home made! Although you have to start at the end of October!) but I think the addition of extra fruit makes them fresher and less sickly sweet.

Blob the mincemeat generously into the pies but don't overfill or you will end up with a sticky mess everywhere.

Now either add another round of pastry on top (the mince will help seal it so there's no need to use egg) or top with a sprinkle of crumble made by rubbing together 100g butter, 100g plain flour, 50g oats, teaspoon of mixed spice and 80g of sugar. 

Bake at 180C until pastry is crisp and golden and enjoy with a large glass of mulled wine. Mmmmm....

Unfortunately I cannot claim credit for the very funky Santa hats and Christmas trees, they were great fun to make and eat so if you're got some time to spare over Christmas then give them a go!

http://www.ericasweettooth.com/2010/12/strawberry-christmas-tree-brownie-bites.html

Belated Iced Buns

This is the very easy iced bun recipe I used a couple of weeks ago, for a bit of a retro school dinner taste...

• 500g white bread mix
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 350g icing sugar 
• Food colouring

Whizz together the bread mix and sugar, add in the egg add around 250ml warm water to form a soft dough, knead on a floured surface for around 5mins then stick it back in the bowl, cover with cling film and set aside for an hour or so until it has doubled in size. "Knock back" by dropping and squashing the dough, then divide into your separate buns and lay on a greased baking tray, leave lots of room for them to double in size again over the next hour. Bake for around 10mins at 180C, once cooled get creative with the colourful icing!

Black Forest Cupcakes

The Space will be back this Saturday with lots of lovely cakes on offer including the very decidant Black Forest Cupcakes!
- Cherry jam
- Half a tin of cherries chopped
- 115g self raising flour
- 1tbsp cocoa powder
- 115g softened butter
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 55g dark chocolate melted over simmering water
- Whipped cream
Preheat oven to 180C. Sift the flour, and cocoa powder together. Add the butter, eggs and caster sugar beat together with an electric whisk. Fold in the melted chocolate and chopped cherries. Put one large blob into each cupcake case, follow with a teaspoon blob of jam and top with another blob of the mixture. Bake for around 20mins. Once cooled pipe or blob on whipped cream.

NO CAFE - Sat 12th November

Please be aware there is no cafe this coming Saturday as there is a wedding (woo!) in Alma church. The Space will be open again on Saturday 19th with lots of the usual goodies on offer.

Taste of Italy

Two delicious recipes for you this week cappuccino cake and lemon drizzle. Okay so lemon drizzle is an English favourite but the lovely cirusyness always reminds me of the Mediterranean...

Cappuccino cake (we discovered this works brilliantly as a loaf or large cake but not as cup cakes!)

1tsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp instant coffee granules

225g melted butter

225g caster sugar

4eggs

225g self raising flour

1tsp baking powder

Add a little hot water to the coffee and cocoa to make a thin paste then literally dump everything into a large bowl and whisk with an electric blender until well combined. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for around 35minutes, cool before adding the frosting...

100g white chocolate

50g butter

3tbsp milk

175g icing sugar

Melt chocolate butter and milk together in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, once melted beat in the sifted icing sugar gradually until you have a smooth paste, spread over the cake and chill. Dust with cocoa powder before serving.

Lemon Drizzle

175g butter

175g caster sugar

3 eggs

175g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

Another easy one, just whiz everything together until smooth and bake at 170C for around 25-30 minutes until a knife comes out clean, pour over the drizzle whilst still warm...

Approximately 4tbsps of lemon juice

70g caster sugar

Zest of one lemon

Gently heat together in a pan but do not allow the mixture to boil or the sugar will burn, you should see the mixture starting to thicken a little and cling to the back of the spoon when all the sugar has all melted, don't let it get too syrupy or the pan will be a nightmare to wash up!!

Chocolate Eclairs

100 g plain flour

150 ml water

75 g butter

3 eggs, whisked 

Double cream whipped

150g dark chocolate

75g butter

Place a small dish of water in the oven to create steam and preheat to 200C. Put the water and butter in a saucepan(yes I know it's weird!), bring to the boil. Take off the heat and sift in the flour, beat it in quickly until the batter comes away from the side easily. Beat in the eggs gradually, this is meant to be a quite liquidy batter. Pipe or blob onto grease proof paper and bake for around 20 mins. Don't open the oven for at least the first 15mins or the pastry will sink!

When crisp and brown remove from the oven and pierce with a sharp knife. When cooled drizzle on the ganache* and fill with whipped cream.

* melt chocolate and butter together in a dish over a pan of bubbling water.