Spiced Maple Pecan Cupcakes

Each month for the past however long I have been honored to bake with some of the best ladies and gent in blogland… Regulars to here will know the drill around this time each month; where The Cake Slice Bakers and I chose a cake and bake it, comparing notes and annotations, joys and downfalls. 

We are a group of bake loving maestros who choose a book and bake cakes from said book.  This month is no exception, only our New Year begins. November marks the start of a new baking venture and we get to reveal our new book… World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey.

This month I actually made two of the same recipe... One in loaf form, which was rapidly devoured and therefore not available for photo shooting but the other in cupcake! Which worked out so lovely.. I am so pleased with it. And judging by some of the other bakers choices, makes a really great cake too! 

I added a dash of spice to the cupcake version, as I felt the loaf was a little lacklustre.. The addition of the spice was great and accented the maple and pecan flavours perfectly. A great start to the baking year I will say!

Spiced Maple Pecan Cupcake
adapted from World Class Cakes 

225g self-raising flour

110g caster sugar

120g light brown sugar

1tsp baking powder

1tsp pumpkin spice

280ml buttermilk

100g unsalted butter, melted

85ml maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

85g toasted, chopped Pecans

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/ 350F or gas mark 4 and line a 12 (or two 6) hole cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, sugars, and baking powder.

In a separate jug, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Add this into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, don’t over mix. Fold through the pecans and scoop out even spoons to fill the cupcake liners to 2/3 full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes and remove form the oven.  Leave the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes then remove each one and leave to cool on a wire rack. Frost when cold.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

260g icing sugar

80g unsalted butter, softened

40g cream cheese

2tbs maple syrup

Beat together the butter, cream cheese and maple syrup. On a low speed add in the icing sugar, a small bit at a time. 

Mix on medium speed until it comes together. (You could add a little milk if you’ve reached a too stiff consistency.) Keep on mixing until soft and fluffy.

Using a plain piping tip, pipe rounds onto each cupcake and dust lightly in pumpkin spice.  

Pretty good looking right.. and they tasted just as good! 

Happy to be back baking with this group for another year!

An InLinkz Link-up

Vanilla, Pecan Pie Cheesecake

It seems oddly fast how quickly November is progressing. Not that I have an huge problem with this, more that I am not the biggest fan of November itself. Once Champs birthday is over, we kind of have a nothing month.. Just a countdown until I can start to decorate for Christmas. 

The Americans, in all their ruffled, presidential upheaval have Thanksgiving in the middle; to break up the monotony. We don't celebrate this obviously, but I do like the desserts that come out around this time. 

Imagine I have never made a pecan pie? And I still haven't considering I made this up into a cheesecake instead. But it seems so alien, that one of my favourite nuts and my penchant for pastry have yet to meet in my kitchen. They will one day I'm sure. Just not today.

Today is a baked vanilla cheesecake, soft, fluffy and oh so creamy. Topped with a dark caramel, nutty goo, that hints of cinnamon and vanilla. Perfect for the Thanksgiving table. Perfect to share with friends. Perfect to keep to yourself... because who needs friends anyway...

You've got cheesecake. 

Vanilla Baked Cheesecake

The Crust
200g  digestive biscuits
80g toasted pecans
85g butter, melted

Preheat your oven to 190C/375F/ Gas Mark 5.
In a medium bowl of a food processor, crush together the biscuits and pecans.
Melt the butter and mix together the crumbs.
Press into a 9 or 10 inch round spring form tin.
Bake for 10 minutes until the crumbs have set and turned a dark golden colour.
Allow to cool fully.

The Vanilla Filling
Three (3) 225g packets of full fat cream cheese
60ml of double cream
2tbsps of flour
pinch of salt
200g caster sugar
100g soft light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1tsp of vanilla extract

Reduce the oven to 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2.
Beat the cream cheese, double cream, flour and salt until smooth and fluffy.
Add the sugar and continue until smooth.
Add the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, mixing in the next after the last yolk has been incorporated.
Beat all the ingredients until smooth, ensuring there are no lumps or bumps.
Pour into the cooled crust.

Sit the spring form tin in a large baking sheet, that has sides to allow you to fill the baking sheet with water. Fill your baking sheet with boiling hot water, about 1/3 the way up the cheesecake tins wall.
Put the whole lot in the oven for 50-55 minutes. Until the top has turned golden and when you move it, the center jiggles a little bit.

Crack open the oven after the time allotted with a wooden spoon. Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to cool fully in the oven.

Remove from the oven and refrigerate overnight (or for at least 4 hours).

When you are ready to make the topping, remove the cheesecake from the fridge and the pan, if you have not already done so.

The Pecan Pie Topping

180g soft brown sugar

45ml double cream

30ml maple syrup (or honey or corn syrup)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

150g toasted chopped pecans

Add all the ingredients EXCEPT the pecans to a small pot. Over a medium heat, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, stir through the pecans and allow to cool. 

Putting it altogether...
Once the pecan topping has cooled, scrap out the bowl on top of the cheesecake and spread to the edges. I kept mine slightly away from the edge to allow for some whipped cream swirls.. The cheesecake can be served at this stage, or kept up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

You wont get to three days. You'll have it eaten.

I photographed the cheesecake after some time in the fridge. At room temperature the topping is much gooier! YUM!

Linking up here and here with #bakeoftheweek... A new feature for me, but I do love to link up with other bakers and foodies. So much inspiration out there... You might find something you like too!

Death By Chocolate

The blog has been quiet. A rest was needed. Unexpected news does that to you sometimes and puts things in perspective. But life moves along in the background, and cakes needed to be made, they just don't have the same good aul' gusto I am used to giving them.

The final of The Great British Bake Off closed last week, with a theme "fit for a queen". Having Halloween smack bang in the middle of my baking, the theme took a sinister turn. Not that I wish death to any queen, more, if this was a way to go.. I think it would be fitting of royalty!

An insanely dark chocolate cake, soft, and dense. Smothered in a rich chocolate frosting, bitter yet sweet, topped with a molten meringue crown. Crisp on the outside, with a soft chew to the inside. The cake is heavy, luxurious and sinfully delicious. I hope it fits the brief for Jenny and all the other bakers in the Bloggers Bake Off. My final bake for the last BBC broadcast of the Bake Off. 

Dark Chocolate Cake

makes two 8 inch rounds or three 6' rounds like I have made here...

100g of good dark chocolate (as dark as you can handle)
225g of caster sugar
75g coco powder
225g self raising flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 large eggs
50ml hot and strong coffee (Make one for yourself too!!)
125ml of vegetable oil
125ml of buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F or Gas Mark 4. Grease and line two 8' pans with parchment, leave to one side.

Melt the chocolate in the hot coffee. When melted, add the vanilla.
Cream the sugar and the eggs until light an fluffy. They will increase in size.
Dry mix all your dry ingredients together. 

Slowly add them to the sugar/egg combination.
Add the buttermilk and mix.
Add the oil and mix.
Finally fold in the coffee/chocolate combination.

The mix is thick but runny so you could just pour it into the prepared pans until evenly.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops have raised slightly, or a skewer inserted onto the middle comes out clear. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan onto a wire tray. Allow to cool fully before frosting.

Make the meringue.

Chocolate Meringue Crown

4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cornflour
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
225g caster sugar
60g coco powder

Preheat the oven to 110 C, 230 F or 1/2 a gas mark.
Separate your egg whites from their yolks and put into a clean, dry bowl.
Whisk together until doubled in volume. Having the egg whites at room temperature will help with adding volume.
Add the sugar a tablespoon full at a time. Wait until the previous batch has been fully incorporated and has made the egg whites shiny and sticky before adding your next batch.
At the end, fold in your cornflour and flour, then fold through the coco powder. Spoon out onto a lined baking 8' baking pan.

Make a hole in the middle, using the back of your spoon.
Bake on the bottom rack for one hour. Switching off the oven after the hour, and allow the meringue to cool completely in the oven, with the door closed.

Once cooled, carefully remove it from the pan, peel off the parchment and leave on a wore rack until needed.

Make the frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

227g unsalted butter, room temperature

500g icing sugar

80ml whipping cream

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

60ml sour cream

265g premium dark chocolate, melted

Put all of the ingredients, except the melted chocolate, in a mixer and mix until smooth.

Add the melted chocolate and mix again until smooth. If you feel the frosting is too soft, pop it in the fridge until it thickens (about 15 minutes) but it should be ideal spreading consistency after the second mix! Leave to one side until you are ready to assemble the cake.

Putting it all together... 

Put a smidge of frosting on an 8’ cake board (or you cake plate).

Put the first layer top down on the cake plate, and spread some frosting evenly across the cake layer. Put the second cake layer on top of the first and repeat with another layer of frosting. Put the final cake layer top-down. Cover the cake with a thin layer of frosting to seal in the crumbs (crumb coat) and then pop the whole thing in the fridge to firm up, maybe 30 minutes.

Remove and add thicker layer of frosting on the top, sandwich the meringue crown on top and either serve, or return to the fridge.  

But most importantly.. my baby boy turns four today!! FOUR! I know parents always say where did the time go, but once, just once I would like it to slow down. My boy Champ. is the kindest and most friendliest little guy you will ever meet. He loves his sister, Momma and Dadda with Bella the dog thrown in for good measure. He doesn't eat or even like cake... or cream.. or frosting but loves cookies, macaron shells and helping me in the kitchen.

He is a Lego fanatic and has a jar he is filling with pennies and change so he can take us all to Lego Land! My boy never ceases to amaze me.. his interminable thirst for knowledge and exploration coupled with a highly interactive imagination will take him great places in his life. I am so excited to be part of this journey with him!

Happy 4th birthday my boy... We love you so much.