Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

They're not Terry's, they're mine!

Every Christmas, we find a Terry's Chocolate Orange in the end of our Christmas Stockings. Selection boxes and other goodies might not make an appearance, but a Chocolate Orange is guaranteed! Whenever I taste orange flavoured chocolate I think of Christmas.

I made these cupcakes earlier in the year, using Terry's Chocolate Orange Bars- but I think the actual Orange segments would work just as well, if not better.

The recipe is an amalgamation of two recipes from Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery book. Although the book has a recipe for chocolate orange cupcakes, I thought that a chocolate sponge mixture would be far too heavy, and I wouldn't recommend it. These cupcakes are rich enough without adding cocoa into the sponge. Instead, I mixed some chocolate chips into the orange zest and orange juice infused sponge, which was delicious!

I slathered on icing and immediately added a Chocolate Orange segment on top.The chocolate buttercream is incredible! One of the most chocolatey icings I have ever tasted. It was so thick and creamy and easy to pour over the cupcakes, like you would a ganache. As in almost all cases, the recipe makes a lot of buttercream, so you can half the quantities... Or whip up another batch of cupcakes! ;) 

These treats were easy to make- albeit with some preparation (zesting the orange, dividing the segments), but were so impressive! If you're a fan of Terry's Chocolate Orange, you will not be disappointed!

Orange Chocolate Chip Cupcakes [adapted from Cupcakes From the Primrose Bakery]
You will need:
110g butter, at room temp
225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
175g self-raising flour, sifted
90ml milk 
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
100g chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 160degrees Celcius, and line two muffin trays with cupcake liners.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until smooth.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition/
4. Add the flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour, beat well after each addition.
5. Beat in the orange juice and orange zest.
6. Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Transfer batter into cupcake cases.
8. Bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
9. Allow to cool before icing.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing [produces a large yield]

You will need:

175g 70% cocoa solids dark chocolate

225g butter, at room temp
1 tblspn milk
1 tspn vanilla extract
250g icing sugar, sifted

1. Melt chocolate until smooth (microwave or hob). Leave to cool slightly.
2. Beat the butter, milk, vanilla and icing sugar until smooth.
3. Add the melted chocolate and beat until thick and creamy.
4. Spread/pour depending on the consistency you prefer, over the cupcakes and finish with a segment of Terry's Chocolate Orange.

Enjoy these decadent treats! The perfect gift for Chocolate- Orange lovers on Valentine's Day! 

Stay sweet! x

Amazing Double Chocolate Cookies

I always think my own cookies are too sugary... They crumble upon touch and sometimes taste too much like the raw ingredient. What these cookies lack in sugar they make up for in sweetness, and consistency thanks to condensed milk! Don't think about calories, just make them, and enjoy them!

These beauties are from Mary Berry's Baking Bible- a truly excellent book which any baking enthusiast would appreciate this Christmas!!

They look quite like my Three Ingredient Nutella Cookies  but they are so much more superior... In every way! Perfect for a gift, these will please any sweet tooth! What are you waiting for?? Go bake! :)

                                   

                               



Makes 2-3 dozen cookies

You will need: 
200g Plain Chocolate (I used 70% cocoa solids but she suggests 39%)
50g Butter
1 can CondensedMilk
225g Self-Raising Flour
1 Packet White Chocolate Buttons

1. Line 3 baking trays. Break chocolate and melt with butter in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. 
2. Stir in condensed milk and allow to cool.
3. Mix in flour and chocolate buttons.
4. Chill until firm to handle.
5. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
6. Place large spoons of mixture, spaced well apart on the trays.
7. Bake for 15 minutes. As always, cookies will look soft, but take them out!!
8. Place to cool on a wire rack.
9. Enjoy with a glass of milk or steaming hot tea!

By leaving these out for Santa, I guarantee you'll get a heap of presents under the Christmas tree!

Stay sweet! x

Christmas Cupcakes

My sister's fiancée had a Bake-Off in work last week, where he got landed with the awkward category of Muffins. He added an extra teaspoon of baking soda to my Nutella cupcake recipe and lo and behold we had muffins!

Since these are sweet enough he dusted icing sugar ontop using a stencil I had, and I made some quick Christmas goodies out of different coloured fondant! The end result was fab!

You might guess where he works! 

Stay sweet! x

Christmas Treats

Christmas Eve is my favourite day of the year! I love the anticipation of Christmas, and if I'm honest, the day itself can be anticlimactic so for me  Christmas Eve trumps it every time!

It's the perfect day for baking, since you can give your goodies as gifts, or just have something scrumptious on hand in case of visitors.

I'm going to share with you some of my favourite recipes that I've made this year, and previous years: Christmas Cupcakes, Amazing Double Chocolate Cookies and Christmas Cookies.

To get you in the mood here are some Christmas figures I made under the tutelage of my neighbour and sugarcraft expert! Meet Pierre the Snowman, the Christmas tree and the Beatles-Wannabe Choir Boy!

Happy Christmas everyone!! Thank you for a wonderful year here on the blogosphere, where I passed the 100th post mark! 

Stay sweet! x

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

As promised, here is the real deal! I caved and used yeast here- there's no getting away from it I think! This recipe was surprisingly easy, and the results were ridiculous! I'll never buy a cinnamon roll again!

Bonus points: kneading by hand is exhausting!! Well, for me it was! Anyone who goes to the gym might actually be up for the task! After all that elbow grease I felt I deserved to scoff these bad boys!

I think these would be perfect to bring to a friend's house over the Christmas holidays, or just to make to munch on while wrapping gifts or watching your favourite Christmas movies! A winner in my book, I think they'd be fab for Christmas morning breakfast!

I found this recipe on The Baker Chick, I know a lot of people slather these beauties with caramel or cream cheese frosting but I dusted a little cinnamon on them and they were perfection!

Follow Audra's superb recipe below (with a few of my own teeny adjustments and notes) to find out how to make these delicacies! Melting the butter and milk was a strange experience, but it worked, so I won't question it! Have you done this before?

FYI, I got two dozen cinnamon rolls from this quantity, whereas Audra's yield was 12 so keep an eye on your own batch! Here's my roll with the 12" baking dish for a comparison!

You will need:
Filling:
1 cup brown sugar
2-3 apples (Granny Smith's)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
5 tbsp butter (melted)

Dough:
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
3 1/4 cup cream flour
1 package instant yeast *I used Tesco own brand*
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 egg

1. Heat milk and butter in the microwave until combined (approx 1.30min on full power).
2. Add this, along with water and egg to the yeast, sugar, salt and 2 1/4 cup flour in a mixing bowl. Beat with mixer until incorporated *using the dough hook attachment, not the paddle*.
3. Add remaining flour gradually (dough gets increasingly tougher to mix, will probably have to use your hands to knead this! Do so on a floured worktop).
4. Continue kneading for five minutes, until dough springs back lightly when touched. I had to add quite a bit of extra flour to get to this stage as my dough was quite sticky!
5. Cover dough with a damp cloth and allow to rise for 10 minutes in a warm area.
6. Mix cinnamon, sugar and butter together to form crumble. 
7. Core, peel and chop apples into 1/4 inch pieces.
8. Flour your surface and roll out the prepared dough which has risen considerably.
9. Cover with cinnamon sugar mixture, and sprinkle with apple pieces.
10. Roll the rectangle into a cylinder (Audra suggests starting at the shorter end, which is a great tip!)
11. Using non-flavoured dental floss slice the dough into rolls.
12. Grease a baking dish and place rolls spaced 2inches apart.
13. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm area for half an hour.
14. Pre-heat oven to 190degrees Celcius.
15. Bake for about 30 minutes, or unti golden brown on both top and bottom *glass oven dishes are super for this!*
16. Allow to cool in the dish- I joke, eat one right out of the oven with a cup of steaming tea.
17. Enjoy!

I hope you liked the Winter Warmers mini-series!

This week will be as full as Santa's sleigh with Christmas recipes so don't miss out! Keep an eye on Milis!

Stay sweet! x

Caramel Apple Cinnamon Cake

Confession: I made this cake back in September using apples from my Nana's apple tree. Despite the fact that apples might have gone out of season, these will still be delicious with Granny Smith's from the the supermarket!

This recipe is ridiculously simple- basically throw everything into the mixer, waiting to add the apples at the end! The only tedious part (for me!) was peeling the apples, but that was more my lackof patience! Browning the apples makes the cake moist, so is definitely worth the step! 

The cinnamon gives the cake a hearty colour and to your kitchen, an amazing aroma!

I saw this recipe on The Baker Chick using a cream cheese frosting, which I'm not a fan of! So I took the sweeter, easier option, and coated this beauty with dulce de leche straight out of the can! (There's no butter in this, so don't feel too guilty!) The recipe is Martha Stewart's originally, so you know this one will be good! Give it a whirl, and let me know what you think! 

You will need:
1 1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 cups cream flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon *yes, TABLEspoon!*
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 apples, peeled, chopped and cored
1 can dulce de leche (if you don't have any, place a can of condensed milk in simmering water for 3-4hours)

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
2. Grease a 9x9 inch oven dish (think lasagne dish).
3. In a large frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add 1 tablespoon table sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Add your apple pieces and cook for 3-5 minutes to caramelise the apples and soften slightly.
4. Mix oil, sugar, vanilla and eggs on a medium speed in mixer.
5. Add dry ingredients gradually, mix until incorporated. 
6. Fold in the apples (don't mix as this will break them!)
7. Pour batter into dish.
8. Bake for about an hour, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
9. Allow to cool in the pan.
10. Spread dulce de leche onto cake and serve (with ice-cream!)
11. Enjoy

I hope you like this cake as much as my family and friends did!! Stay tuned for more scrumptious cinnamon recipes tomorrow!

Stay sweet! x

Weekend Winter Warmers

Major apologies due for my hiatus! I started working in November so my spare time decreased significantly! Nevertheless, this being my 100th post I wanted to share with you something special!

Now that my favourite time of year is upon us, I'm here to bring you the best of Winter baking! This weekend I'll be sharing some apple and cinnamon recipes to ease you into the festive season. They're easy, yummy, and perfect for an evening in front of the fire, safe from the roaring winds outside!

From Monday onwards, I'll be posting some Christmas baking ideas- perfect for gifts, so you'll have them in time for December 25th! 

But first, here's my new Advent Calendar! My mum brought it back from a trip to Boston two weeks ago. The Lindt store there sold these felt wall-hanging calendars with bags for Pick'N'Mix! Each pocket holds a different flavour (if you wish!) So far I've had chocolate (red), white chocolate (gold), vanilla white chocolate (purple) and cocoa nibs white chocolate (light blue). A perfect gift for a chocoholic!

Here are the links to an indulgent Caramel Apple Cinnamon Cake, a hearty Apple Cinnamon Roll Pudding and of course the iconic Apple Cinnamon Roll!

Stay tuned and as always, stay sweet! x

Sweet Christmas Treats

I was spoilt this Christmas (that's not to say I'm deprived every other year!)

Some gifts came in delicious paper... Others looked yummy... Others tasted yummy!! :) While some inspired me to make something yummy...

The cutest cupcake giftwrap with from left-right:

100 piece cake decorating set; cupcake mug with vanilla and strawberry candies; Cake Boss book by Buddy Valastro; set of 4 Christmas cupcake stencils; Recipies from my Kitchen by Gwyneth Paltrow ; cupcake plunger; santa/elf shaped cookie cutter.

I've already gone through the two books- eager, I know!! I loved Cake Boss book, as you know I'm a huge fan of the show! This book is half biography/half recipes which is great for a super fan like me!! :) I loved the way Buddy has adapted the "oldschool" Italian recipes for cannolis and other pastries so that you can get the same results in a domestic kitchen! I cannot wait to try these out!!

I think my sister may have been nudging me toward a healthier lifestyle with Gwyneth Paltrow's book! After reading, I'll definitely become a GOOP! follower. It's healthy but delicious contents have me dashing to the kitchen, although most of the food is savoury (clearly not sweet enough!) I love the look of the brunch recipes.

The cupcake mug is so adorable, if you ever see it, BUY IT!! :)

The decorating set comes in a handy tool-box like container, complete with piping bags! I love how comprehensive the set is, and also the neat presentation. If there were more instructions it would be better but trial and error (and hours on the web!) are much more fun! :)

I was crazy to make Christmas cookies, but didn't get these gifts until Christmas day- look out Christmas 2013! ;) The cookie cutter is fab, with a durable silicon handle so I know it'll last! Meanwhile the stencils (candy cane, snowman, holly, and snowflake!) have an easy-to-use handle so you can hold the stencil a little higher, the thick lip also allows this. I can't wait to use it with shimmer sugar, icing sugar and cocoa for decoration!!

I'm so excited about the cupcake plunger! An avid Cupcake Wars fan, I've been fascinated as to how they perfect filling their cupcakes! Ponder no more with this great little gadget. I'm thinking jam, chocolate filling, lemon meringue cupcakes maybe...? The possibilities are endless!

I hope Santa brought you some sweet treats!

Stay sweet! x

Christmas Creations

Christmas is crazy for everyone, not just the big guy in red! Hence the tardiness of posts here. But brace yourselves for an onslaught of new recipes for you to drool over, experiment with and most of all enjoy!!

I hope you had a very merry Christmas and wishing you a great 2013! :)

I can't wait for more baking, eating!! :D , blog posts and radio shows! I know everyone thinks of January as diet time, but surely it's just a time to use up all of the Christmas chocolate that's left over?! ;)

Here's a sneak peak of what kept me so busy in the days leading up to Christmas!!

As you can tell I love gift-wrapping... I missed my calling as an elf!! At 5'1'' I would have been perfect! Baking cookies and wrapping presents all day long while chewing on candy canes... sounds like my kinda life!!

Homemade cards made from coloured paper and tissue giftwrap were an entertaining project! The tissue paper was a fiddly material but gave a beautiful stained glass window effect, accented with strips of ribbon on some cards. 

I used patterned tissue paper as a background on the Rudolph card, then some regular brown paper for Rudie's face, some red wrapping paper for his infamous nose, white paper for his eyes (with some felt tip pen for pupils!) and gold ribbon strips for his antlers. The ho ho ho message at the bottom was another strip of tissue paper. I loved this card as it turned out much better than I had anticipated! :)

Thank you for your support in 2012 and wishing you a Happy New Year!
x

Christmas Songs, Tips and more!!

Here's the last sUCCulent podcast from 2012! Term flew and I honestly cannot wait to get behind the desk again!

I hope you enjoy the gift suggestions, cheery Christmas choons and more recipes for delectable homemade goodies!!

Holidays are coming.....! :)

Ho ho ho! x

Christmas Gift Ideas

Here's all you need to get prepared for Christmas! Recipes to come next week!
Until then, enjoy the show! 

Feel free to share your own creations here, in the comments section. 

I'm heading to brilliant Brussels next week, and hopefully will come back with lots of foodie news and insight!

Until then, have a great week getting into the Christmas spirit!!


Stay sweet! x

Time to get Baking!!

Six weeks til D-day, or should I say C-day? 

My favourite time of year is upon us, and it's time to get baking! 

Christmas Cakes and Puddings both have to be made well in advance, so for my radio show last week I spoke of the dos and don'ts when festive baking! 



The recipes I used are Irish chef, Neven Maguire's and are fantastic!

As always, I'll be on air live tomorrow, 11am Irish time on 98.3fm if you're in Cork, or you can listen online at http://www.ucc.ie/983fm/ 

A taster of the end point of pudding-making! Pour some brandy over the pudding and strike a match! Turn off the lights for maximum impact!

Until then, stay sweet! x