Kinder Bueno Cupcakes- Take 2!

Every time I check my blog statistics, the numbers for my original Kinder Bueno cupcakes keep going up and up. This makes me feel like a very poor blogger as they really have nothing to do with the delicious bar besides a chunk on top!

And so along came the huge and continuing urge to redeem myself and create a real Kinder Bueno cupcake! This was easy; chocolate cupcake and hazelnut buttercream. But then came the quest on how to create the 'smooth milky and hazelnut' buttercream. At first I thought I'd use hazelnut flavoured Baileys but was unable to find a miniature version. I also wanted to eliminate alcohol so Frangelico was out of the question! Then, after what seemed like hours trailing around Newcastle, the idea struck- hazelnut syrup...

I used my favourite chocolate cupcake recipe from The Caked Crusader and also followed her step by step guide for making Swiss Meringue Buttercream which is hugely helpful even after you've made it several times!

The hazelnut syrup works really well with the buttercream, and provided a really subtle flavour, just like a Kinder Bueno! I added around 2 and a half teaspoons of syrup although you could add more for a stronger flavour

I'm really happy with these cupcakes, I feel like I've finally redeemed myself! Happy baking everyone!

Football Pitch Birthday Cake

It was my wonderful boyfriend's birthday last week and, having made him a bakewell tart last year, I decided to go all out this year! Football consumes every inch of our lives, whether it's being played or watched, so the theme was a no brainer...

Unfortunately, none of the photos seem to justify the colour of the icing. I used nearly half a bottle but still couldn't go beyond a slightly pale shade of green!

For the sponges, I doubled a bog standard victoria sponge recipe and baked them one at a time in a large tray bake pan. I planned this cake about a month before making it and obsessed every single day over whether this would be too shallow. Following several attempts, I just went for it and it was a monster of a cake!

I followed a ratio of 2:1 icing sugar to butter for my buttercream and it was delicious! The footballers were a set by Wilton that I found in Lakeland and for once, I was pleasantly surprised at how cheap they were!

I struggled to find a cake board to accommodate such a whopper of a cake, so my dad bought me a cheap chopping board and we covered it with tin foil. It worked wonderfully!

Never again do I want to repeat my car journey with this cake on the front seat, journey of terror. All in all, a lovely cake and a very happy boyfriend! That makes me a happy Ray :)

The Liebster Award

The lovely Jo at What Do You Make of My Cake gave me a Liebster Award this week, thanks so much! This is such a compliment for me, especially to know that my endless rambling is being enjoyed out there! You should also go check out Jo's blog if you haven't already, she would definitely be getting this award from me if I was allowed to do that. So, in keeping with the tradition of the award, I am passing it along with great honour.

"The origins of the Liebster Blog award are somewhat unclear but the general consensus is that it originated in Germany, Liebster meaning favorite or dearest, to showcase bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. Upon accepting the award the recipient must then pass it on to five more blogs of note."

 

The rules:

• Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.
• Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you.
• Copy and paste the blog award on your blog.
• Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed.
• Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment at their blog.

1) Nelly's Cupcakes- Nelly is a fellow blogger from Newcastle and her tweets always get me in the mood for cake! She is always there with support and really helpful suggestions

2) What Kate Baked- this blog is full of wonderful ideas, I'm loving the Valentine's biscuits Kate has on here at the moment. Bakes also come with a musical outburst!

3) A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate- if the title picture isn't enough to entice you into this blog then I don't know what is, that cake just looks so heavenly! A lovely mixture of sweet and savoury and a delightful read

4) Nom! The Indulgent Baking Blog- definitely living up to the well earned title of 'cupcake queen', they're absolute beauties!

5) Chocolate and Pears- A delicious mix of all things baked, check out the cookies!

Marbled Cupcakes

I can never decide what I like best in a cake, chocolate or vanilla. Luckily, these cupcakes have both! As part of my Christmas present, my boyfriend bought me a book dedicated just to cupcakes, which is where I found this little beauty of a recipe!

The batter looked great as it sat in the cupcakes cases, however I was worried that there wasn't going to be enough of it to make the 12 cupcakes that it claimed to make. Despite having to be a tad economical, there was enough for 12 healthy sized cupcakes in the end!

The marble in these cakes looked great when you bit into them. They also tasted fantastic, next time though, I'll put more vanilla and chocolate in their respective batters.

I also used my Wilton 1M for the first time when decorating these cupcakes and I have no idea where it has been all of my life! As you all suggested, a larger nozzle really has defined my buttercream swirls and I'm looking forward to using my 2D.

Hmmmm!

A Little Bit of an Update

Not a lot to report on the old blog this week as my beloved KitchenAid has been away for repair and I've been practising my boyfriend's birthday cake. So today, I'll finally get around to showing you all of my lovely new baking goodies from Christmas and my Birthday!

My brother was on top form this xmas/birthday and got me a lot of the things that I had wanted for ages. Firstly, he got me the Fred M-cups which I have been dying to get my hands on! I hate having to avoid recipes that are in cup measurements but these little beauties separate into six different cup sizes and they're adorable! He also got me baking beans and the lovely mini heart tin, clearly a further hint towards making him a lemon meringue tart!

Among the pressies from my brother are the new tray bake pans from my aunt. My previous tray bake tin is more of a deep roasting tin and now I can make individual ones too! Thank God for Lakeland. I also received a cookbook stand from another aunt and a cake lifter from my parents though my dad couldn't quite understand what it was for!

Also in the picture is a little gift to myself, some Wilton nozzles. I am absolutely in love with the 1M and it really has made my icing swirls so much more perfect! I'm yet to use the 2D but can't wait...

As you can see, I got loads of new cookbooks! Im gradually making my way through them and have some exciting new posts coming up...

This present is genius! I'm forever finding recipes online and now I can write them down and keep them in this adorable tin. It came with loads of recipe cards for soups, starters, desserts etc.

This one was a present with no reason from my dad, how sweet! It has recipes for several types of pastries and is glass, so is great for keeping the pastry cold whilst rolling it out on the guides. I now have no excuse to keep buying pre-made pastry, do I?

Last but by no means least, is this little beauty from my brother...

I absolutely love this! It's so alike Kevin it's unreal, I can't wait to finally get it up on my wall. So, there you have them, all of my baking gifts from my gorgeous family!