I can’t believe I haven’t blogged this recipe yet! I have made this shortbread for every Christmas for years and years and have always had perfect results. Continue reading
Tag Archives: sugar
Easy Rudolph mini chocolate cupcakes
22 Dec
Everyone loves a cute cupcake and Christmas is the best time to get all ‘squee’ with your baking.
I have been baking for friends, family and neighbours as long as I can remember and these mini Rudolph mini cupcakes are always a hit.
This year Misses 8 and 10 took over baking and decorating duties for the neighbours as I attended to last minute Christmas duties. They were gratefully received by everyone, and after delivering them the gals came home clutching a giant box of chocolates
And aren’t the tins adorable? My friend from work, Stephen, frequents op shops and always stocks up tins for me. I use them to package up baked goods.
These cakes best made on the day of serving, or you can bake then freeze the uniced cakes. Bring to room temperature before decorating.
GATHER:
1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup marsala
125g melted, cooled butter
2 heaped tablespoons sifted cocoa
2 eggs
red M&Ms
choc bits
coloured M&Ms or choc drops for eyes
pretzels, broken in half, for antlers
LET’S DO IT:
Line 2 mini muffin tins with mini muffin wrappers, pre-heat oven to 175C.
Add all ingredients into bowl of an electric mixer and mix on low speed until combined. Increase speed to high and beat for three minutes.
Spoon into wrappers, bake for 15-ish minutes/until a skewer instead comes out clean.
Place on wire rack. When totally cool ice with ganache {RECIPE BELOW}.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
In a small saucepan over low heat melt 125g dark chocolate [broken into chunks] with 1/2 cup cream. Stir until melted, thick and glossy. Allow to stand 15 minutes until thick. Use knife to spread over cakes. Decorate the cupcakes to resemble reindeers.
Christmas eggnog cookies
20 Dec
This was the first Christmas I have ever tried eggnog and let me state for the record – I am in love!
In Sydney Christmas is a hot’n’humid affair, with temperatures usually in the mid 30C so our drink of choice on the big day is beer or champagne. I don’t know anyone who has tried eggnog – many people I mention it to haven’t even heard of it.
But big supermarkets start stocking it in December and this year curiousity got the better of me. I bought it, tried it, loved it. I created eggnog cupcakes, which you can see here https://thehungrymum.com/2015/12/07/one-bowl-eggnog-cupcakes-for-christmas/
I wanted to play around a bit more so I found this recipe for eggnog cookies at http://www.cookingclassy.com/2013/11/melt-mouth-eggnog-cookies/
I tweaked it somewhat, including reducing the sugar by half. And replacing the rum extract with real rum. And doubling the amount of cinnamon 🙂
I also didn’t bother making the butter topping, as lovely as it looked, cause it was just too hot to spend another minute in the kitchen.
These eggnog cookies were packaged up in pretty tins and given to neighbours for Christmas.
GATHER:
2 1/4 cups plain flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
170 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, diced
1/4 cup caster sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 teaspoons dark rum
1/2 cup eggnog
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 180 C degrees.
In a large bowl use a fork to whisk together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon – set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat butter and both sugars until pale and creamy.
Beat in egg yolks one at a time, then stir in vanilla, rum and eggnog.
Turn to low speed and add flour mix, one tablespoon at a time, until just combined. Roll dough balls the size of a ping pong ball and place on tray, then gently flatten paper lined baking sheets. Allow space for them to spread.
Bake for 13 – 15 minutes.
When cold sprinkle with icing sugar.
Christmas Madeleines – an easy chocolate peppermint recipe
30 Nov
In Australia it is unbelievably hot in the lead-up to Christmas but we still borrow traditions from the Northern hemisphere in terms of food we serve. Even people who love baking need a break from standing in front of a hot oven. A quick Christmas recipe is a great Christmas recipe, which is why these Christmas Madeleines are perfect. Continue reading
Chocolate mud cake from scratch recipe
27 Nov
My firstborn just turned ten! Farewell Miss 9, hello Miss 10! My lovely gal requested a chocolate mud cake for her birthday and her wish was my command.
This was the first time I had made a dark chocolate mud cake from scratch and I was thrilled with the result. It was rich without being cloying, dense without being heavy and perfectly moist. Continue reading
Easy chocolate peppermint cake recipe
18 Nov
This is the story of a cake that almost wasn’t eaten. I made this simple chocolate peppermint cake from scratch to take to my friends at the newspaper where I work as a journalist. Then, the next morning, the usual pandemonium to get out the front door ensued and cake got left behind. Poor cake. Continue reading
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.
Red wine chocolate cake
6 Nov
I know what you’re thinking – red wine IN chocolate cake? Red wine while eating chocolate cake – sure. Red wine while cooking cake, of course. But red wine IN chocolate cake? Trust me… red wine chocolate cake is amazing! Continue reading
Choc chip chai cookies
2 Nov
Up until a year ago I could take or leave chai. As a coffee lover I often don’t have time for tea. But after discovering some amazing chai tea leaves, rather than the awful powdery stuff favoured by some cafes, I am a chai convert.
Another reason for my love of chai: it melds so well with butter, sugar and flour. It is the perfect pairing for many baked goods, as it adds a lovely depth and flavour. Need proof / inspiration?
Here’s my chai tea sultana cake: https://thehungrymum.com/2015/10/07/chai-tea-sultana-cake/
And my chai tea bundt cake recipe: https://thehungrymum.com/2015/08/30/chai-bundt-cake-from-scratch/
I recently had the idea of mixing chai with chocolate and my recipe for chocolate chip chai cookies was born. The tea leaves and the dark chocolate are just made for one another, and the ginger creates a warmth that you will love.
Miss9 took over the making of these bickies! They are large and rustic – next time I would probably make them a bit smaller. Either way, these choc chip chai cookies taste amazing.
I was inspired by a recipe from the Australian Women’s Weekly called basic vanilla biscuits.
GATHER:
200 grams unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 egg
½ cup dark chocolate chips
1 ¾ cups plain flour
½ teaspoon bicarb soda
2 teaspoons chai tea leaves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 170C and grease and line a baking sheet with non-stick paper.
In bowl of electric mixer beat the sugar, butter, egg and vanilla together until creamy and smooth.
Stir in flour, bicarb, cinnamon, ginger and chai leaves and mix until combined. Using a silver spoon mix in the chocolate chips until just combined.
Roll into balls, place on tray and gently flatten.
Bake for 11-14 minutes, depending on size of your bickie. Cool on trays for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Cinnamon sugar cookie cake
30 Oct
Cinnamon. That is all.
Not really! I don’t think a four-word blog post can really sum up the feelings I have for this most delicious spice.
I have a recipe on the blog for cinnamon teacake (see it here: https://thehungrymum.com/2012/10/02/classic-old-fashioned-cinnamon-teacake/) and it is such a simple cake but it is often requested by work colleagues as it is light and fluffy.
This recipe was based on one from bakeorbreak.com – I significantly reduced the sugar, and omitted the salt and baking powder.
I named it cinnamon sugar cookie cake because it has the taste and texture of all of these things, but better! If you love butter and cinnamon you will love this cake. As it is cut into squares it is great for feeding a crowd, taking to a picnic or packing into lunchboxes.
Cinnamon sugar cookie cake would also make an easy dessert when served with custard, ice-cream (or both) or alongside a warming apple crumble / apple crisp.
Don’t blame me if this cake tips your admiration for cinnamon into full-blown addiction J
GATHER:
115 grams of butter, diced, at room temperature
¾ cup caster sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups plain flour
topping: 3 tablespoons sugar mixed with three teaspoons cinnamon
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line a 20cm by 20cm square cake tin.
In bowl of lectric mixer beat together the butter, oil, eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla until combined. Pour in flour and beat until mixed.
Scrape into tin, level the top and sprinkle over the topping.
Bake for 25 minutes – you may need an extra five or so minutes depending on your oven. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.
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