Vanilla Cupcakes with Biscoff/Raspberry Buttercream

Ingredients: for the cupcakes:

  • 8oz self raising flour
  • 8oz caster sugar
  • 8oz butter
  • 4 eggs
  • Cupcake cases (standard size)

Ingredients for the icing/decorations:

  • 230g unsalted butter
  • 5-600g icing sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons of milk/cream
  • 2-3 dessert spoons melted biscoff
  • 1 packet mini eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste/extract
  • 1 packet of fresh raspberries

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Beat butter and sugar together until soft and creamy. Then beat in your eggs. Sieve in the self raising flour until all ingredients are fully combined. Then place the mixture into the cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 mins until golden brown. Leave the cupcakes to cool fully.

In the meantime, place the softened unsalted butter into a mixer and beat until fluffy (it should go a little lighter in colour.) Then continue to beat and slowly add in your icing sugar. Once fully combined add in the milk/cream and the vanilla. Split the buttercream into two separate bowls. In one bowl stir in the melted biscoff. Then using a piping bag, pipe your buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes and decorate with more melted biscoff and mini eggs.

For the other buttercream, blend half a punnet of raspberries until they form a puree. Then add this to your buttercream and stir through. Using a piping bag, pipe on your buttercream and decorate with the remaining raspberries.

Mini Egg & Kinder Blondies

Ingredients:

  • 1 packet Mini Eggs
  • 100g Kinder bars chopped
  • 50g white chocolate chips
  • 225g unsalted butter
  • 150g white chocolate
  • 3 eggs
  • 80g golden syrup
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp vanilla paste
  • 200g light brown sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Melt the butter and 150g of white chocolate over a bowl of hot water. Once fully melted leave to cool for a few minutes. Then whisk in the vanilla paste and eggs until smooth, followed by your light brown sugar and golden syrup. Once combined, sieve in the flour and baking powder and mix altogether.

Then stir in your kinder chocolate and white chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into a square/rectangular baking tray about 1 inch in depth and place all your mini eggs on top of the mixture. Bake at 170 degrees for about 35-40 minutes. Note that they might take longer. You want them to be soft and gooey on the inside but not liquid, so its important to keep an eye on them.

Carrot & Coriander Soup

Ingredients:
– 1 onion chopped
– 2-3 cloves garlic crushed
– Half kilo carrots chopped
– 2 medium potatoes
– bunch of fresh coriander
– 1 tsp ground coriander
– 1/2 tsp cumin
– 1/2 tsp turmeric
– 1 litre chicken stock
.
Method:
Fry the onion and garlic in a large pot until soft. Then add in your spices and stir for 2-3 mins.
Add in your chopped carrots and chopped potatoes (I keep the skin on) and your stock. Leave to simmer for about an hour until the carrots are soft.
Then add in the fresh coriander and use a hand blender to blend all the ingredients together. Serve with some fresh coriander on top.

Homemade Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 courgette chopped into cubes
  • 2 carrots chopped into cubes
  • 2 red peppers chopped
  • 1 sweet potato chopped into cubes
  • 1 red onion
  • 2-3 cloves garlic
  • 750ml vegetable stock
  • handful fresh basil
  • handful spinach
  • 1/2 can of light coconut milk (optional)
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • salt and pepper to season


Method:

  1. Chop the onion and crush the garlic then fry in the bottom of a large pot with some olive oil until soft.
  2. Add in the chopped carrots, peppers, courgette and sweet potato to the onions, then add in the stock and leave to simmer for 40-45 mins until vegetables are soft.
  3. After 40-45 mins, take the vegetables off the heat and add in the tin of chopped tomatoes, spinach, basil, salt and pepper and the optional coconut milk.
  4. Then blend altogether using a hand blender.

Chocolate Biscuit Cake

Ingredients:

260g digestive biscuits

200g milk chocolate

100g dark chocolate

100g butter

150g golden syrup

1 family pack of Maltesers

1 large bar of Dairy Milk

Method:

Melt the dark and milk chocolate with the butter and golden syrup in a bowl over hot water. In the meantime, break/bash the biscuits until they turn to crumbs/smalls pieces. Once the butter mixture has fully melted, take it off the heat and add in your crushed biscuits. Then half your Maltesers and add them to the mixture. Place in a tray with parchment paper and place in the freezer for 1 hour.

After an hour, take out the mixture and melt the Dairy Milk chocolate. Pour the melted chocolate over the mixture and place in the fridge to cool for 1-2 hours.

Once fully cooled, slice into squares and serve.

White Chocolate Bark

Ingredients:

400g White Chocolate

Pistachios (taken out of their shells and chopped into smaller chunks)

Dried Cranberries

Method:

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Then, simply melt the white chocolate over a bowl of hot water and poor onto the baking sheet, spreading evenly. Sprinkle the pistachios and cranberries over the chocolate and leave to set for a few hours. Then break and serve.

Christmas Cookies

Ingredients:


250g  butter

165g caster sugar

165g brown sugar

335g plain flour

1 egg

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

Christmas Sprinkles

170g white chocolate melted

Method:

  1. Beat the butter and 2 sugars together.
  2. Then add in the egg and beat in.
  3. Sieve in the flour & bicarbonate soda.
  4. . Place on a baking tray with parchment paper. Bake for approximately 15 mins at 180°C.
  5. When golden/cooked, take out and leave to cool. Once cooled, dip half the cookie into the white chocolate and place back on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the sprinkles onto the chocolate and leave to cool/harden.

Homemade Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

400ml Oat Milk

110g Dairy Milk/Lindt Chocolate

Extras: Nutella, Chocolate to grate, marshmallows

Method:

Heat the milk in a pot over a low heat for a few minutes until warm. Then add in the chocolate and stir. To serve, spread some nutella across the top of the cup and press some grated chocolate into the nutella. Pour the liquid into the cup and sprinkle some marshmallows and grated chocolate on top and serve.