Can you believe I only tried eggnog this week? As it is high summer in Australia at Christmas we are likely to quaff chilled champagne than a warm custard-like drink, but I have to say I quite liked it. Continue reading
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Blueberry cupcakes with blueberry cream cheese frosting
10 Nov
Look at the pretty blueberries in these cupcakes. They really are nature’s work of art. I have found a frozen brand of Australian-grown blueberries that I am happy with and always ensure I have a bag in the freezer. I bake with them, the Hungry Dad makes Bircher muesli with them, Miss-now-8 adds them to Greek yogurt and Miss9 is happy to eat a bowl of them for a snack #winning
At the moment in Sydney fresh blueberries are plentiful so you can take your pick when making them delectable blueberry cupcakes with blueberry cream cheese frosting (or cream cheese icing, for my fellow Aussies).
Fresh or frozen works fine and if you opt for frozen there is no need to defrost first.
These blueberry cupcakes are really moist and the Greek yoghurt adds a lovely tang. Try not to eat all the frosting / icing before you ice the cakes – a real danger #OrIsThatJustMe
GATHER:
120g unsalted butter, softened
½ cup caster sugar
1 2/3 cups self-raising flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup Greek yogurt cream
1 cup blueberries (frozen is fine)
Icing:
180g unsalted butter, softened
250g cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups pure icing sugar, sifted
¼ cup blueberries, extra
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 190°C and line a cupcake pan with wrappers.
In bowl of electric mixer beat butter, sugar and vanilla on medium speed until fluffy and pale – about three minutes.
Scrape down bowl with a spatula then add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined.
Beat in half the flour, then half the yogurt, then rest of flour then rest of yogurt. Using a silver spoon gently stir in the blueberries.
Fill the wrappers two-thirds full and bake for 15-ish minutes or until a skewer inserted into a cake has only a few crumbs clinging to it.
Remove to wire rack too cool completely.
Meanwhile, make icing: In bowl of electric mixer beat cream cheese, vanilla and butter together until pale and creamy – about two minutes. With beater on low beat in icing sugar then increase speed to medium and beat until thoroughly combined. Use a silver spoon to stir through and break up most of the berries, leaving enough for decoration. Scrape icing into ziplock bag, snip off the corner and pipe icing onto cake, then top each one with a single blueberry.
Burnt butter brown sugar cupcakes
26 Oct
Until you have tried burnt butter, either as a sweet or savoury dish, you cannot imagine how wonderful it tastes.
Simple kitchen alchemy transforms it into a creation heavenly enough to eat with a spoon – although don’t tell your cardiologist I said that.
Burning your butter is an easy peasy way to elevate baked goods into rich, decadent treats. These burnt butter brown sugar cupcakes are sophisticated enough to serve at an adult party – no sprinkles or food colouring here. Miss9 highly rated them, saying they were light and fluffy and less sweet than my usual vanilla cupcake recipe.
Serve these cupcakes au naturel, with a dusting of icing sugar, or a smothering of my all-purpose chocolate ganache – see below. This recipe was adapted from Nigella Lawson’s iconic ‘How To Be A Domestic Goddess.’
GATHER:
150 grams unsalted butter, diced
1 cup self-raising flour
just over ¼ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of milk
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 180C and line a 12-hole cupcake pan with wrappers (my batch only made 11).
In a small pan over low heat stir the butter frequently until it turns dark golden – this will take some time but don’t walk away or you will end up with a ruined pan and butter that will end u p in the bin. When it starts foaming like crazy is when you when to remove it from the heat.
Place all ingredients into a food processor and whiz until combined – it is quite a thick batter.
Spoon into the pans and bake for 16 minutes / until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
In a small saucepan over low heat melt 125g dark chocolate [broken into chunks] with 1/2 cup pouring cream. Stir until melted, thick and glossy. Allow to stand 15 minutes until thick. Use knife to spread over cakes.
Chocolate cupcakes with a salted caramel centre
15 Aug
To mangle a quote from Mark Twain, the reports of the death of cupcakes has been greatly exaggerated. The trendy kids and the foodies looking for the hot new thing may ignore cupcakes but I’m here to tell you that whenever I take a plate of cupcakes anywhere people fall over themselves to get one. Often it is the adults pushing the kids out of the way, which probably says more about the company I keep but the fact remains that cupcakes are a popular item. Continue reading
Brown sugar and nutmeg cupcakes
4 Aug
I am 100 per cent team cinnamon and add it freely and generously to many of my baked goods.
Every now and then I feel a pang of guilt at the neglect I show towards nutmeg. In some ways nutmeg is more fun than cinnamon – I adore grating the fresh nutmeg directly into my baked goods, and the smell brings back happy childhood memories of custard tarts dusted with this fragrant seed. Continue reading
Black velvet cupcakes
12 Jun
Red velvet anything is my favourite. I don’t have an overly sweet tooth but when I am in a bakery/cafe/ on Pinterest and see the magical words ‘red velvet’ I am hooked.
I thought I would mix up my red passion for black with this recipe for black velvet cupcakes. Fun fact for those who don’t know – black velvet is a cocktail made from Guinness and champagne. Interesting, huh? I’m absolutely #TeamChampagne (see my pink champagne recipe here https://thehungrymum.com/2015/06/04/pink-champagne-cake-from-scratch/) and The Hungry Dad is partial to a Guinness come the colder months but the two combined doesn’t float my boat. Having never tried it, however, maybe I shouldn’t be so harsh in my judgment.
In any case, when I saw a black velvet baking recipe on the BBC Good Food site I knew it would be a perfect recipe to make for Sydney’s cold weather. I transformed their recipe from puddings into big cupcakes. Continue reading
Lavender and honey cupcakes
26 May
Have you ever met a beekeeper? I have met several over the years in my day job as a journalist and I am here to tell you that people who dedicate their lives tending to bees, hives, and all the paraphernalia that comes with it, are amazing.
I recently interviewed a beekeeper who I have met several times now. She is passionate and knowledgeable about all aspects of beekeeping and at the end of the interview she gave me a jar of honey from her hives.
This honey is nothing like the stuff you buy at the shops. It is thick and unctuous and just begging to be via a spoon dipped in the jar. Mmmm, honey. As the hive is located a few suburbs away it is possible that the bees may have even visited my garden to alight on my lavender bush.
I was inspired by a recipe in Good Housekeeping’s The Baking Book for these cupcakes. I didn’t even notice how few ingredients it had until I was standing with the mixer going, and then I was happily amazed.
GATHER:
125 butter, softened and roughly diced
125g runny honey
2 eggs
125 grams self-raising flour, sifted
buds of two lavender blossoms, finely crumbled, plus extra for garnish – ensure they are chemical-free, ideally from a loved one’s garden. These are from The Hungry Nonna’s garden – thanks mum 😉
Whipping or thickened cream, for garnish.
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 170C and line 6 Texas-sized cupcake holes with wrappers.
In bowl of electric mixer beat honey and butter until combined.
Add eggs, one at a time, then beat. Mixture will look curdled, is fine.
Using a silver spoon stir in flour and mix until just combined. Scrape into wrappers and bake for 15-20 minutes / until a skwere comes out clean.
Remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile beat some thickened cream until soft peaks, then dollop on top of cakes. Garnish with extra lavender buds.
Blueberry & polenta cupcakes
16 Jan
I am the sort of person who gets so excited when they see a new or unusual baking recipe that I will rush out to buy any ingredient that I don’t have in the cupboard. Usually by the time said ingredient is stored in the pantry I have a new ‘must bake’ recipe and that item that I simply had to have ends up languishing, unloved, in the back of the pantry.
Sometimes fate intervenes and the same ingredient pops up again and I dust off said item, preheat the oven and get cracking. Continue reading
Donna Hay caramel maple cupcake recipe
28 Oct
Caramel is a favourite flavour in the Hungry House. I’ve always been a fan and Misses 6 & 8 adore it, too. I made these cupcakes and instantly knew I was on to a winner when Miss8 told me there was no way she would be trading this cake for one of her friend’s lunchbox treats. Trust me – my gal trades home-made cakes and cookies most days in exchange for mass-produced, supermarket-bought, multi-national owned treats #theHorror Continue reading
Chocolate cinnamon cupcakes with salted caramel
18 Nov
My fondness for cinnamon is probably obvious to devotees of this site. I believe it is the ingredient that is the most bewitching in many baked goods. Using a vanilla cupcake recipe from my beloved Australian Women’s Weekly ‘Quick Mix Cakes’ book I played around until I had the perfect marriage of choc, cinnamon, and vanilla – the holy trinity. Feel free to add even more cinnamon for a richer taste.
I blogged the salted caramel sauce a while back. Find the recipe here: https://thehungrymum.com/2012/04/10/nigella-lawsons-fast-and-easy-salted-caramel-sauce/
Gather:
125g butter, chopped, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ cup self-raising flour
¼ cup sifted cocoa
1 heaped tablespoon cinnamon
2 eggs
½ cup milk
¾ cup caster sugar [I normally take a few heaped spoonfuls out]
Let’s get to it:
Preheat oven to 180C and line cupcake pan with wrappers.
Beat all ingredients in bowl of electric mixer with paddle attachment on low until combined.
Increase speed and beat until batter changes colour and is smooth.
Drop into cases until three quarters full, then bake 15-20 mins [depending on your oven – check at 15 minutes with a skewer].
Turn on wire rack to cool.
When completely cold spread with salted caramel sauce. 
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