Gingerbread Cupcakes

These were just lovely, but then I am a sucker for gingerbread. Once these cupcakes had cooled, they had that lovely sticky quality.

The lemon frosting I topped them worked really well with the ginger and I finished off the cupcakes with a few mini smarties and a sprinkling of hundreds and thousands. I wish I had thought to sprinkle some coconut over the lemon icing, instead of sweeties. Can you imagine how good that would be?

I ate one or two and then quickly passed them on to Graham to take to work, before I was tempted to eat any more. They were a big hit and my giant cake tub came back empty, so these are on my 'make again' list.

















Gingerbread Cupcakes

150g unsalted butter
1 cup tightly packed soft brown sugar
¾ cup black treacle
¾ cup golden syrup
3 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup milk
2 large eggs, whisked
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water
2 ¾ cups plain flour

Preheat the oven to 170c/325f/Gas Mark 3.

Place paper cases in your muffin or cupcake tray.

Melt together the butter, sugar, treacle, golden syrup, ginger and cinnamon.

Take the pan off the heat and add the milk, the eggs and the bicarbs.

Sieve the flour into a bowl and pour the liquid and fold in until well combined.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases. They should be approximately three quarters full.

Bake for about 12 minutes if you are making cupcakes and a little bit longer if you are making muffins. Check the muffins after 15 minutes. They may need another couple of minutes. Use a skewer to see if they are ready. If it comes out clean, they are ready.

Cool in the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Once the cupcakes are cool, you can frost them.

I frosted my cupcakes with Lemon Frosting, but they would also be good topped with a buttercream frosting.
















If you need a bigger ginger hit, here are a few more recipes for you to enjoy.

~ Gingerbread Loaf - Tinned Tomatoes
~ Pear & Ginger Muffins - Tinned Tomatoes
~ Crystallised Ginger Oat Biscuits - Cakes, Crumbs & Cooking
~ Sticky Apple Gingerbread Pudding - The Caked Crusader
~ Ginger & Chocolate Flapjacks - Chocolate Log Blog
~ Guinness Gingerbread - Katiecakes
~ Candied Ginger Scones - Soap Mom's Kitchen
~ Rhubarb & Ginger Pancakes - Allotment 2 Kitchen
~ Chocolate, Hazelnut & Ginger Biscotti - Dana Treat

Masterchef

This week, Masterchef makes a welcome return to our screens. This time we are being treated to Celebrity Masterchef.

For those of you who are not familiar with the programme, here is a run down.

Masterchef is a TV cookery game show aired on the BBC. It was first shown back in 1990 and has gone through many changes in it's lifetime with different formats and different presenters. It seems to have settled into it's stride now with presenters John Torode (an Austrian born British Chef and Restaurateur) and Greg Wallace (writer and restaurant vegetable supplier).

This series features a host of celebrities hoping to win the coveted title of Celebrity Masterchef. It seems that the only qualification for this series is a willingness to join in, as many of the celebrities are rather clueless and admitted novices. However, if previous series are anything to go by, the celebrities really up their game as the show goes on and the final few could easily find a career in cookery.

Accompanying the new series is a glossy new book simply called The Masterchef Cookbook. I love the series and I was very excited to be presented with a copy of the book by the lovely Gemma.

It is a beautifully produced book featuring 250 of the best recipes from the Masterchef series and has a foreword from the presenters. The recipes fall into the categories Starters, Vegetables & Fish, Poultry, Meat, Game and Desserts. It is full of glossy photographs (a must in my opinion), along with comments from the judges, mastertips and step-by-step photos showing techniques such as making puff pastry, sweet pastry, chocolate ganache, custard, meringues, pasta and preparing fish, vegetables and meat.

It is a great gift for carnivores, but I was more than happy with the selection of recipes and step-by-step techniques on offer to vegetarians.

Here are a few of the recipes that caught my eye:

Gazpacho with Mediterranean Scones (Peter Gerald - Personal Trainer and 2005 quarter finalist)
Goat's Cheese Fritters with Spinach & Apple Salad (Midge Ure - Musician and 2007 celebrity finalist)
Leek & Wild Mushroom Vol Au Vent (Christopher Souto - IT Consultant turned chef and 2005 semi-finalist)
Mushroom, Leek & Ale Pie (Richard Arnold - Presenter and 2007 celebrity finalist)
Strawberries with Sable Biscuits and Orange & Lemon Syllabub (James Nathan - Barrister turned chef and 2008 winner)
Blueberry Sponge Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream (Andi Peters - Presenter & Producer and 2008 celebrity finalist)
Hot Chocolate Cake with Whisky Vanilla Cream & Caramel Sauce (Andi Peters - Presenter & Producer and 2008 celebrity finalist)
Pineapple Tart Tatin with Coconut Caramel (James Nathan - Barrister turned chef and 2008 winner)

If you miss any of the episodes you can catch up on the BBC iplayer.

If you would like to apply to be on the next series of Masterchef you can fill in an online application here.

If you would like to catch the live show at the Olympia London from 12-14 November 2010, book here.

Finally, if you haven't had your fill of Masterchef yet, you can find over 200 recipes from the show here.

Pay It Forward Giveaway

Last month I recieved a wonderful parcel from Andrea over at Andrea's Easy Vegan Cooking as my prize for winning her Pay It Forward Giveaway.

Isn't it just brilliant recieving a parcel in the post? Such a treat and so unusual. It is normally bills that arrive at my house. It makes me yearn for the days of letter writing, when it was such a joy to open a handwritten missive and get comfy somewhere to read it. I remember friends often doodled or sketched in their letters. Email is so cold in comparison. I am getting sidetracked, so before I rabbit on anymore, back to my parcel.

Andrea sent me a pack of dried apple chips (lovely large slices too), a bumble bar (which I haven't tried yet), some lemongrass soap (which is lined-up to be used in my bathroom), a bar of organic orange dark chocolate (which I had scoffed within half an hour of opening the parcel, mmmmmmmmm!), some gorgeous local coffee beans (which I had a good sniff off and passed on to a friend, who said it was fab. I am not a coffee drinker, hate the stuff, but I love the smell. I resisited keeping it to smell occassionally as I thought that would be a waste and rather sad. My friend said it was truly scrummy), a rather fabulous greetings card (one of Andrea's own), a cranberry and orange health bar (actually I forgot about this one, must enjoy it tomorrow) and a lovely hadwritten postcard.

If you would like to take part in this Pay It Forward Giveaway, leave a comment after this post. I'll randomly select a winner using my wee independent adjudicator on the 2nd of August 2010 and post the winner on the 3rd of August 2010. I am happy to post my Scottish goodies anywhere worldwide. (Remember, by entering this contest you're agreeing to post about your parcel and hold a giveaway of your own to award a box of local treats to someone else.)

Good luck everyone and no you can't have the baby. He just chooses the winner and is not the prize!

"Remember for all you blog event needs, go to The Food Blog Diary" said in an advert voice-over type of voice.

Rhubarb & Custard Cake

It's rhubarb season and I just love the stuff, so I was very excited when I saw this cake which was dreamed up by The Caked Crusader. It is just glorious. Light and fluffy, but with a creamy richness courtesy of the custard and then sweet, but ever so slightly tart chunks of rhubarb. It is like the best of puddings made into a cake.

If you pop over to The Caked Crusader to view the original recipe in metric, you will be sure to notice the lovely pink streaks of rhubarb in her cake. My cake is distinctly lacking in this splash of colour because I used some rhubarb whipped from the garden. It was thicker and greener, but it still tasted glorious.





















Rhubarb & Custard Cake

Ingredients

For the rhubarb:
400g rhubarb, washed and cut into chunks
2 tbsp orange juice
¼ cup caster sugar

For the cake:
250g/2¼ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup ready made custard
2 cups self raising flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 tsp ground ginger (this was my addition)
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups golden caster sugar


Preheat the oven to 180˚c/fan oven 160˚c/350˚F / gas mark 4.

Wash and trim and dry the rhubarb. Cut into 2-3cm long pieces. Place in a small pan with the sugar and orange juice and cook on a high heat for about 5 mins (this will hold the colour. Drain off the juice and set the rhubarb aside to cool. (The Caked Crusader, bakes her rhubarb in the oven, if you prefer that method.)

Line a 2ocm round springform cake tin with baking paper or cake liner.

Set aside 3 tablespoons of custard for later.

Beat the butter, remaining custard, flour, baking powder,ginger, eggs, vanilla and golden caster sugar in a large bowl until smooth and creamy.

Spoon a third of the batter into the prepared tin and level.

Spoon a third of the rhubarb onto the batter and ensure it is evenly distributed.

Spoon a further third of the batter onto the rhubarb and spread out as best you can. Be gentle and it will be ok.

Spoon a further third of rhubarb and top with the remaining cake batter.

Scatter the remaining rhubarb on top and then dot the 3 tablespoons of reserved custard on top as well.
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Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until risen and golden, then cover with foil and bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Cool in the tin on a wire rack.

If you wish you can sieve some icing sugar over the top before serving.

Enjoy

Thanks to The Caked Crusader for allowing me to publish the recipe in cup measures.

The Food Blog Diary

NEWSFLASH!

Well, it may be for some of you.

Frustrated with foodie event listings that have been abandoned and left to fester with a plethora of spam, I decided to set up one myself. I know, you may be thinking "but Jac, you have a full-time job, a new baby, a house to run and a blog to write. Are you mad?". Well, you could be right, but such was my annoyance.

So without any further ado, I would like to introduce you to The Food Blog Diary. Home to the latest foodie challenges, giveaways and competitions. Spam free!

When you visit you will notice I have also started a what's on guide for food and drink events, such as fairs, shows and festivals and a handy at a glance list with links, if you are in a hurry. Come on by a few times a month, as the page is updated regularly. I hope you leave feeling inspired.

Anyone feeling particularly kind may want to give the diary a small mention on their blog and you may want to bookmark the page so you can keep up with the latest events. If you would like an event added, email me at tinnedtomatoes@googlemail.com.

Jac
xxx

Sleek Chocolates with a Kick

Hotel Chocolat have developed a new range of chocolates based around cocktails. There is the mojito, cosmopolitan, margarita, chocolate martini and polish kitten.

As I have come to expect from Hotel Chocolat, they are high quality chocolates that are beautifully presented. You would feel very special indeed if you received a parcel from these chocolate gurus.

This new collection of chocolates come with the serving suggestion of storing them in the fridge before you serve them. Like cocktails, these are best served cold.

They would be a great treat to present at the end of a bbq, they would go down very well indeed, but they would equally be the perfect birthday gift.

One word of warning, make sure the recipient is over 18 and not driving anytime soon, as these are rather strong. They definitely have a kick! I think I would have been very drunk if I had eaten them all myself. As it was there were a few merry librarians the next day.

Yoghurt Week - Day Seven

Today is the last day of Yoghurt Week.

The weather has turned and today the temperature has dropped, we have torrential rain and high winds. A day to stay home, if ever there was one.

Soup was on the menu for lunch, but there was a distinct lack of bread in the house and there was no way I was venturing out. I could have drowned! So, I thought it might be good to make savoury scones to serve with my soup. My internet connection has been down all day (I am piggybacking on someone else's just now), so a browse through my cookbooks was the order of the day.

I found a promising looking recipe in Delia's Vegetarian Collection. Buttermilk Scones with Cheshire Cheese & Chives. I used the basic recipe, but changed it into cup measures and used my own flavours. The scones were lovely, just the thing to dunk into some homemade soup while watching the rain battering down.

















Yoghurt Scones with a Trio of Cheeses

1 ½ cups self raising flour
½ tsp English mustard powder
½ tsp salt
a generous pinch of cayenne pepper
25g butter, cubed
50g mature cheddar cheese, grated
25g feta cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
1 large egg
3 tbsp Total Greek Yoghurt

scone toppings

enough milk to brush over the top of the scones before baking
grated cheddar (optional)
a sprinkling of cayenne (optional)

Preheat oven to 220c/425f/gas mark 7.

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Hold the sieve high for maximum airing of the flour. Sieve in the mustard and sprinkle in the salt, then mix thoroughly.

Rub the cubes of butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Lightly mix in the cheese.

Beat the egg and yoghurt together and add it to the flour mix, a little at a time, mixing it in with a knife. Once all the egg and yoghurt has been blended in, use your hands to bring the dough together. If the dough is too dry, you may add another ½ tsp of yoghurt. Do not over handle or the scones will lose their lightness.

Roll the dough until it is 1 inch/2 &rac12; cm thick. Use a wide glass or cutter to cut out 6 circles. You will need to re-roll the dough to achieve this.

Place the scones on a baking tray, covered with greaseproof paper and brush with a little milk. At this point if you wish, you may top the scones with grated cheddar and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper.

Bake the scones for 15-20 minutes until golden and well risen.

Cool a little on a wire rack.

Serve warm with some homemade soup.

This is my entry for this month's No Croutons Required. This month it's Lisa's turn to host and she would like us to come up with a bread recipe that goes well with soups and salads. Quick breads, such as scones, biscuits and muffins, or yeast breads; whatever might go well with a favorite soup or salad. She would also like us to mention and link to a salad or soup that would go well with our bread. If you would like to bake a bread for this month's challenge, you have until the 20th of July. The rules are here.

I dunked my scones into the soup I made yesterday, so that is the soup I will be submitting with my entry.

Yoghurt Week - Day Six

It's day six of Yoghurt Week and we are coming to the end of this mini series. I do hope you have enjoyed it.

Today I decided to use up some of the carrots sitting patiently in my salad drawer to make a carrot soup. Carrot soup is always great, it never disappoints me. Today I added cumin for extra flavour and yoghurt to make it lovely and creamy.

I also baked some quick beer bread to serve with it. When I say quick, I mean the preparation and not the baking. It is one of those no-knead breads, that is just thrown together in one bowl. I baked the bread first and while it was in the oven, I made my soup. I prepared the meal in this order so we could enjoy the bread while it was still warm. Lovely.

I used a recipe for the bread that I have used a few times, although I usually make rolls with it. I have made Cheddar & Dill Rolls and Crusty Garlic Rolls and several variations on these from this basic recipe, but this time I baked the bread in a loaf tin and I was very pleased with the result.

Cheddar, Parmesan & Chilli Beer Bread

3 cups plain flour
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp chilli powder
1 cup grated mature cheddar
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan
300ml beer/lager

glaze
1 egg & 2 tsp water, beaten

Heat oven to 375f/190c/gas mark 5. Sift the flour into a large bowl and then add the sugar, salt, baking powder, chilli powder, parmesan and cheddar. Gradually pour in the beer and mix until just combined, do not over mix. The mixture will be quite thick and stretchy.

Pour the mixture into a lined loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes until golden. The outside should be crispy and a skewer should come out clean.

Leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes before moving onto a wire rack.

Best served warm.


Carrot. Cumin & Yoghurt Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely diced
2 tsp ground cumin
8 large carrots, finely diced
5 cups / 2 ½ pints vegetable stock
1 handful fresh coriander, chopped
½ cup Total Greek Yoghurt
salt & freshly ground pepper

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add the cumin and the carrots and cook gently for 10 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, cover and simmer for half an hour. Whizz up the soup until it is smooth, then add the coriander and stir through the yoghurt. Season to taste.

Serves 4-6