Doggy Delights

Hello! Well anyone who read my last post will know that i was getting a puppy, and today she is making her online debut! 
We got her a couple of weeks ago and she is now about 11 weeks old, and i will tell you a little about her. 
She is a Boxador, part Boxer, part Labrador, with the agility and enthusiasm of a Boxer and the intelligence and kindness of a Lab, and i also think it makes for a pretty adorable dog. 
Her name is Bowline, which is a type of knot, and this stems from the fact that our family owns and loves boats, but we shorten it to Bo, which is uber cute. 
She loves to play, and is very intelligent, and has learnt so many tricks, so much so that we have just about managed to train her to lift her left paw when we say port and her right when we say starboard ( all tying in with the nautical stuff )

I have never owned a dog before, but all i know is that i am loving her and the experience so far, and i am especially going to enjoy finding recipes to bake her little treats, and training her to be my co-chef, or at least a dog that doesn't jump on the work surface every time i'm baking, either would do. 

So to celebrate the arrival of the lovely Bo, i have found a recipe on pinterest, which isn't mine, but i thought looked lovely, this recipe is from a website called pizzazzerie.com and has lots of lovely recipes on it. So i hope any dog lovers enjoy this recipe, and watch my blog for any more appearances of Bo, she might be sneaking into a few more of my posts from now on.

 Pupcakes

Makes 6 cupcakes 

Ingredients

1 cup whole-wheat flour 

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 c plain yogurt

2 1/2 tablespoons sunflower oil

2 tbsp honey

1 large egg

1/2 apple, chopped

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup diced carrot

Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons peanut butter

Method

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with 6 paper liners. 

2.In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and soda. In a medium bowl, blend together the yogurt, oil, honey and eggs, then stir in the apple, cheese, and carrots. Add to the flour mixture and stir just until mixed (will be slightly lumpy).

3.Spoon the batter into the muffin tins, filling each cup about 3/4 full. 

4.Bake in the preheated oven about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a pupcake comes out clean. Let the pupcakes cool in the tins on a rack for a few mintues, then remove and set aside to cool completely. 

5.For the frosting, just mix together all of the ingredients and pipe it on top, and serve it to your helpful hound or marvellous mutt!

Hope you and your pooches enjoy this!

See you next time, love from Elise and Bo xx

Woodland Birthday Cake

Here it is! The woodland themed birthday cake i made for my little sisters birthday! It fitted in well with her indoor camp style birthday party, and was enjoyed by a crowd of 9 year olds! 

Well first of all Happy Birthday to my Little sister Tibbie, and secondly i've decided that from now on, i will not post a how-to on these sorts of fondant cakes, as it is a lot of hassle and i often find it easier just to look at these sorts of pictures and take inspiration from it. 

So please feel free to take all the inspiration you need, and if you want to make this cake then look at my earlier birthday beach hut cake for a recipe, and comment for any help! 
So thanks again for reading my little post, i have been working on my blog a lot recently trying to get it up and going, and marina has been taking care of this lovely web design. Thank you to all my new followers, i have a Facebook page, follow me here - https://www.facebook.com/littlegingerbakes and my twitter, shown in the bar on the right hand side of my blog, and help me on my way! 
Thank you, any questions, or comments, feel free to ask! Until next time, Elise xxx

Oreo Cupcakes

My two favorite things- chocolate and Oreo's, came together the day i found Oreo's on offer. The cream cheese frosting really makes this cupcake a luxury and the hidden Oreo at the bottom is enough to brighten any day.

makes 12 cakes

Ingredients

For the cakes:

100g plain flour

20g bournville cocoa powder

140g caster sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

40g unsalted butter

120ml whole milk

1 egg

1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

2 packets of oreos

For the Frosting: 

100g of softened butter 

300g of soft cheese 

100g of icing sugar

1 tsp of vanilla extract 

6 oreos to decorate 

Method: 

1. Measure Out the flour ,cocoa powder,sugar,baking powder,salt and butter in a free standing electric mixer with paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk)and beat on a slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.
2. Whisk the milk,egg,and vanilla extract together in a jug ,then slowly pour about half into the flour mixture,beat to combine and turn the mixer up to high speed (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula).Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth.Do not over mix.
3. Place a whole Oreo at the bottom of each case.Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes,or until the sponge bounces back when touched.A skewer inserted in the center should come out clean.Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
4. For the cream cheese Frosting, whip up the butter until soft and creamy then add in the soft cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract and whip until thick and creamy.
5. Dispense the Frosting into am icing bag with the star nozzle attachment and pipe in swirls on the top. Cut the 6 Oreo's in half and place on top of the cakes.
6. Hope you enjoy this tempting treat, and comment if you have any problems, questions, or suggestions! elise x

Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcakes

I must admit that this isn't a recipe of mine, but it is an amazing one that everyone loves, and has the WOW factor! 
this is in fact from the Hummingbird Bakery book 'Cake Days' but i thought id share it with you.





















Makes 12-16 Cupcakes

Ingredients 

For the Cake: 

80g butter 
280g caster sugar 
240g plain flour 
1 tbsp baking powder 
1/4 tsp salt 
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest 
2 large eggs 
240ml whole milk 

For the Filling and Italian Meringue: 

70g lemon curd (but i always end up using a whole jar)
200g caster sugar 
4 egg whites 
(this makes a lot more italian meringue than needed so you can just half the quantities and it should be more than enough)


Method 

1. preheat oven to 190c 

2. beat together the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest with an electric whisk, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. 

3. break the eggs into a jug, add the milk and beat together with a fork. add half to the dry ingredients and beat until incorporated, add in the rest of the milk mixture and mix again until smooth. 

4. spoon into paper cases in a muffin tray (only fill about two thirds full) pop in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until they spring back to the touch. remove from tins and leave to cool. 

5. for the meringue put the sugar in a small saucepan and cover with about 150ml of water and bring to the boil. meanwhile whisk the egg whites until just foamy. 

6. allow the sugar to boil for about 5-10 mins, or until a forms a little ball when you drop some into ice cold water. then slowly pour into the egg whites whilst whisking on high speed. when all the sugar is added keep whisking until it has quadrupled in size and it is smooth, white and shiny. 

7. once the cupcakes are cooled, hollow them out and pack them with lemon curd, replacing the lid after, trimming to fit if needed. 

8. top the cakes with the meringue and either brown them with a blowtorch or pop them under a grill for a few seconds. (keep an eye on them! i have lost many a cupcake to burnt meringue!) 


And there you have it, lemon meringue pie cupcakes. the Italian meringue is tricky so don't hesitate to comment with problems, or just comment if you're going to make them, or just like the look of the recipe!