My white chocolate adventures continue with these simple cupcakes. Easy to make, easy to eat and absolutely delicious! The white chocolate adds an extra smoothness and sweetness to these cupcakes without being overpowering. My favourite way to eat these is while they're still warm from the oven.
Recipe adapted from: Simple Essentials Chocolate by Donna Hay
Ingredients
100g white chocolate
100g butter
165g caster sugar
2 eggs
125mL milk
200g flour
1 tsp baking powder
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 160C (320F).
2. Melt the chocolate and set it aside.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition.
5. Mix the melted chocolate in to the batter.
6. Add half the flour and combine, then mix the milk in, and finally combine the rest of the flour and baking powder.
7. Spoon the batter into a 12-cup cupcake tin lined with patty pans.
8. Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let the cupcakes cool on wire racks before finishing them with your desired topping (white chocolate ganache, Nutella, icing sugar, cream or raspberry jam come to mind), or simply eat them while they're plain and warm.
It's been a few posts since there was something chocolatey on this blog, and I thought it was high time to rectify this with these delicious espresso cookies. They're my favourite kind of cookie (fudgy on the inside, crisp on the outside), with a twist of coffee flavour and I think walnuts add the perfect touch.
Recipe adapted from: Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich
Ingredients
170g dark chocolate (recipe recommends unsweetened for a more 'sophisticated' cookie)
4 tbsp butter
2 eggs
260g white sugar
1 1/2 tsp finely ground coffee
1 tsp vanilla essence
45g flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
110g dark chocolate chunks/chips
50g walnuts (optional)
Method
1. Melt the butter and 170g chocolate, then set aside.
2. Beat the eggs with the sugar, coffee and vanilla until pale and thick.
3. Stir the chocolate mixture in.
4. Stir the flour, baking powder and salt into the batter.
5. Add the chocolate chunks (or chocolate chips if you're using those), and if you like, add 50g chopped walnuts.
6. Cover the batter and refrigerate it until firm (about an hour, or overnight if you want to wait longer to bake them).
7. When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 175C (350F).
8. Place tablespoons of dough on baking paper-lined baking trays, making sure to leave space between them as the cookies will spread when baked.
9. Bake the cookies for 10 - 12 minutes. They should be crackly on the surface but still soft and gooey inside.
10. Let the cookies cool, but consume as soon as possible! They're most delicious when they're still warm from the oven!
This blog has been running for many moons now, and I'm not entirely sure why I haven't ever posted this recipe. For years, I supplied a cafe with this particular lemon slice and was making it at least once a week (and with a long time of this, I was a little tired of it). After I stopped supplying the cafe, I usually only made this slice once per year, for my brother's birthday. However, since it's been so long, the wounds have healed and I'm ready to dive back in to lemon slice and fully embrace its delicious beauty once again! Given that it's one of the favourite desserts of most of my family, this comes as a joyous occasion for all of us.
The slice itself is so simple to make, no baking required, and tastes absolutely wonderful! It also suits a range of tastes because it's not overly sweet - the fresh lemon of the icing blends perfectly with the sweet biscuity base.
Ingredients - base (21 x 31 cm (8 x 12 inch) brownie tin)
250g butter
1 x 400mL can condensed milk
2 x 250g packets Marie biscuits
2 cups desiccated coconut
Ingredients - icing
500g icing sugar
50g butter
Approx 8+ tablespoons lemon juice
Extra desiccated coconut for garnishing
Method - base
1. Melt the butter and condensed milk, mix until combined.
2. With a large Ziploc bag, crush the Marie biscuits with a rolling pin. Make sure to use a sturdy bag and squeeze all the air out, because it may burst if you aren't careful! You want the biscuits to be in small-ish chunks.
3. Combine the crushed biscuits, coconut, as well as the butter and condensed milk mixture in a large bowl.
4. Once everything is mixed (ensure that the biscuit crumbs and desiccated coconut are all combined with the wet butter and condensed milk), press the base into a brownie tin lined with baking paper. It needs to be well compressed for best results - I use a plastic rice scoop for this!
5. Put the base in the fridge to begin firming up, and start making the icing!
Method - icing
1. Using a firm spatula, use wiping motions to incorporate the butter into the icing sugar. I use a smooth plastic rice scoop for this, and press the butter into the icing sugar as if I was spreading butter on toast.
2. Add the lemon juice one tablespoon at a time, mixing in between. You want the icing to be spreadable but not sticky - so you can form it into a smooth ball.
3. Press and spread the icing onto the base until it's of an even thickness.
4. Score lines in the top of the icing with a fork or some other spiky implement. I have a plastic scrapy...thing...that makes it easy to get quick lines.
5. Sprinkle the icing with desiccated coconut and leave in the fridge to set completely.
6. Once the icing has hardened, chop the slice into bars or squares (or little bite sized pieces for easy consumption).
Enjoy!
