Strawcup Berryakes

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Meringue Buttercream

Ralph just gets the best photos every time. Isn't this one amazing? It's exactly how I feel about these cupcakes: loving. The hearts didn't do so badly either..

Just the words 'Swiss meringue buttercream' have me dreaming of some heavenly dessert that is sweet but not too sweet, light but not too light, creamy but not to creamy.. It's like without even knowing what it tastes like at all from reading Martha (Stewart) I just know that this icing is going to be it: the tastiest, easiest to use and prettiest. It's a LOT for an icing to live up to. Depending on who you ask, this icing did and didn't. Personally, it's not my favourite, but I'm won over by the true strawberry flavour.

Let me start by telling you about strawberries. I love strawberries- they're not my absolute favourite fruit but just their colour and their taste.. It's the relationship between the two that's important. Say for example grapes- they're delicious but they don't make you look twice. Strawberries are so red and gorgeous, that it might not matter that they're just a tad too acidic to be completely comfortable to eat. It's like they're the gorgeous Jessica Rabbit girl with the iconic red dress and lips but they're just slightly lacking in the smarts department. It just matters that much less because strawberries are just so pretty.

Now I really dislike strawberry flavouring. I avoid it as much as possible. I just can't stand that it doesn't seem possible to replicate strawberry flavour without making adding that sickening sweet taste. Strawberries aren't all that sweet, the core of their flavour is in the sourness.

That's why I love this recipe. No flavouring- just strawberries chopped and pureed. YUM!

The only thing wrong with this recipe is that it makes so many cupcakes! I had 36 at home (Martha did warn me!). I send 12 off to work with Ralph, took 8-10 to work with me, passed them onto neighbors, Ralph's mom, ate far too many.. And there are still 4 left! Let me tell you though, the ones I took to work all disappeared, even though my office has 7 people in it on a good day, and I brought the Rice Krispy Treats in on the same day! I couldn't get one for Anibug, my wonderful best friend. But these cupcakes provided me with a perfect way to send my love:

The cupcakes were just wonderful. I said the icing wasn't my favourite, but the cupcakes absolutely are! The pieces of strawberry were small enough to be part of the cupcake rather than just chunks of strawberry inside the cupcake (BIG difference) . They were fluffy and just SO delicious, not too sweet, and not too acidic from the strawberries. Just absolutely amazing.. I can't wait to have another..

Strawberry Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Steward's Cupcakes

3 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tblsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
225 g unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3 large eggs
1 large egg white
1 cup milk
2 cups finely chopped strawberries (I used a Twista - not saying you should but it's made my life just a little easier in this case)

1) Preheat oven to 180 C
2) Line muffin tins with papers
3) Mix together in a bowl, the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4) In a different bowl, cream butter, sugar and vanilla.
5) Add eggs and egg white one at a time, mixing in between.
6) Add half of the flour mixture, mix, then add half of the milk and mix again. Repeat with the rest of the flour and milk. Mix thoroughly.
7) Add the strawberries and stir in by hand.
8) Divide between muffin tins and bake for 25 - 30 minutes. These cupcakes take longer than usual, so don't worry if they're not ready when you look in after 15 minutes. Also, if the come out a bit flat, try upping the temperature a bit, it helped me. This recipe will make 3 batches.

Strawberry Meringue Buttercream
From Martha Steward's Cupcakes

4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
340 g unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups Strawberries, blended to a juice

1) Put egg white and sugar into a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk these by hand until the mixture is gorgeously white and silky and is smooth when you rub it between your fingers (honestly, I just COULDN'T get it to this stage. I stirred and stirred and rubbed and rubbed! After about 20 minutes of nothing happening I gave up, but it was almost completely smooth when I did).
2) Now, the mixture needs to be mixed for about 10 minutes until is had stiff peaks and the bowl is cool to the touch.
3) While constantly mixing, add the butter, about a tablespoon at a time. Mix thoroughly.
4) Now, add the strawberries and stir in by hand.

I got SUCH great feedback on this icing- my boss LOVED it. Unfortunately for me, once I tasted white chocolate cream cheese icing, I was ruined for other icings.. One thing I'll say: 36 cupcakes are a great way to make friends, and a great way to necessitate making friends..

Almost Mac and Cheese

Pasta with Marscapone and Roast Rosa Tomatoes

I really didn't expect the beauty of this dish.. There was this crazed frenzy cooking baking madness thing- and suddenly, even after all the mistakes and the rushing, out came this heavenly, scrumptious meal.

So Sunday came along, as as usual, I made way too many plans.. When I finally got down to my afternoon baking session, it was around 4 pm. I'll post about the cupcakes I made later in the week- but lets just say they too way too long and made WAY too many cupcakes. Eventually, I had to start supper and so ended up juggling the cupcakes and supper. For a visual, think about a cartoon fight: a big cloud with random hands and feet sticking out here and there. And out of it, victorious, comes ME! With a supper that Ralph got seconds of! I don't know enough English to explain what this means to me- he NEVER gets seconds!

I've had this recipe bookmarked since Tracey made it- I'm so glad I finally got around to it!

Pasta with Marscapone and Roast Rosa Tomatoes
Adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures, originally from Epicurious

400 g rosa tomatoes
6 cloves garlic
500 g pasta (I used shells)
1 1/4 Marscapone cheese
chilli flakes
paprika
nutmeg
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

1) Preheat oven to 200 C.
2) Cut tomatoes in half, and put in a single layer with the garlic on a baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until done and almost bursting. Don't switch the oven off!
3) While the tomatoes are in the oven, cook pasta until al dente. Be careful opening the pasta- if you pull too hard the packet will tear and it will go all over your kitchen! Save half a cup of cooking water when you drain it. Put the pasta baked in the pot. This is important, but if you forget, which I didn't or anything, you can use boiling water.
4) Put the Marscapone into the pot with the pasta, and stir until the cheese is melted.
5) Add the cooking water, little by little, to thin the sauce.
6) Now add a pinch of paprika, chilli flakes, nutmeg, half of the Parmesan and the tomatoes. Stir gently.
7) Tip the pasta and sauce into an oven container, put the remaining Parmesan on top, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until it's nice and browned.
8) Serve and enjoy comically with slurping sounds and lip smacking.

I might have to end this blog as I plan to make this pretty much every day from now on.

Treats!

Brown Butter Vanilla Pod Rice Krispies Teats

It's like being a grownup with the happy treats of a child! I was excited about making these this weekend. It's warm and wonderful outside- time to feel young and happy. These seem to be the perfect thing for that. I've had this recipe bookmarked for a while- and it's just the summer treat I was looking for.

I used to have this microwave recipe for Rice Krispies, but even though it was simple, they just weren't that exciting. These were the opposite of that: the very definition of moreish! We can't stop stealing them out of the cupboard.. But it's not just the promise of a fun treat. These just smell amazing! The vanilla pod gives them this gorgeous fragrance. I'll be honest- I have NO idea what the brown butter does, but it sure didn't hurt!

Brown Butter Vanilla Rice Krispies Treats
From Zoe Bakes, originally from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe

70 g unsalted butter
1 vanilla pod, cut in half lengthwise and scraped
1/4 tsp salt
284 g white marshmallows (I have a LOT of pink ones left..)
5 1/2 cups Rice Krispies

1) Melt the butter over a low heat in a small pot. This take a bit of patience. Wait for it to brown- it will also smell really good when it's ready. Don't let it get too dark- that's burning! Strain the butter through a sieve into a bigger pot. This gets rid of those bits in the butter.
2) Add the salt, vanilla seeds (scraped stuff) and marshmallow. Stir and wait for the marshmallows to melt. They should look like this when done (notice the tiny bits of vanilla everywhere)

3) Now add the Rice Krispies and fold in:

4) You ideally want to press this into a square tin, but I don't tend to care about these things..

5) Pop it in the fridge for an hour. Then cut up into cubes and explore your inner child:

Thanks Ralph for fun, sunny and quirky photos! Now to go and steal another..