Christmas Cupcakes

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My most successful cupcakes yet!
The cake batter itself is my new favourite recipe and is going to become my standard recipe.
The butter cream taste is still not perfect quite perfect, maybe because I ran out of Vanilla, Maybe I need to lower the butter content. Was a little too buttery for some tasters. But still. Amazing.
The recipes can be found below on the Channel 4 food website but is actually from a Christmas cupcake book I've been eyeing up. May have to invest now!
http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/seasonal/christmas/christmas-tree-cupca...

Christmas Cupcakes

See and download the full gallery on posterous

My most successful cupcakes yet!
The cake batter itself is my new favourite recipe and is going to become my standard recipe.
The butter cream taste is still not perfect quite perfect, maybe because I ran out of Vanilla, Maybe I need to lower the butter content. Was a little too buttery for some tasters. But still. Amazing.
The recipes can be found below on the Channel 4 food website but is actually from a Christmas cupcake book I've been eyeing up. May have to invest now!
http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/seasonal/christmas/christmas-tree-cupca...

Seriously Stuffed!

Tis the season that we all start thinking Roast Dinners. Many people have old favourites that they stick to but if you're like me sometimes it nice to give it a shake up. And stuffing is a great way to do that. This Apricot & Cashew recipe is great for lamb but you could use it for a darker meated bird instead.

Ingredients:
75 of apricots chopped
60g of cashews chopped
200g of dried bread crumbs
100g finely shredded ham hock
4-5 tblsp of water
Lashings of ground black pepper
Two large handfuls of parsley (chopped)
3 cloves garlic
A pinch of salt

Literally the method is getting stuck in and combing all the ingredients until they turn into that beautiful stuffing consistency. You can either stuff a breast or deboned leg of lamb or bake separately & serve on the side.
The stuffing should take between 30 & 40 mins on it's own at about 180c. This has instantly become my new favourite stuffing. I will definitely be breaking this one out on christmas day!

Seriously Stuffed

Tis the season that we all start thinking Roast Dinners. Many people have old favourites that they stick to but if you're like me sometimes it nice to give it a shake up. And stuffing is a great way to do that.
This Apricot & Cashew recipe is great for lamb but you could use it for a darker meated bird instead.

Ingredients:
75 of apricots chopped
60g of cashews chopped
200g of dried bread crumbs
100g finely shredded ham hock
4-5 tblsp of water
Lashings of ground black pepper
Two large handfuls of parsley (chopped)
3 cloves garlic
A pinch of salt

Literally the method is getting stuck in and combing all the ingredients until they turn into that beautiful stuffing consistency. You can either stuff a breast or deboned leg of lamb or bake separately & serve on the side. The stuffing should take between 30 & 40 mins on it's own at about 180c.

This has instantly become my new favourite stuffing. I will definitely be breaking this one out on christmas day!

White Chocolate Panna Cotta

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Ali once again had an inspired desserty idea when we were wandering around Tesco's shopping for our Sunday roast ingredients.
A quick google and we find this delicious recipe for White Chocolate Panna Cotta from The Greedy Gourmet which I've linked below. The recipe says it takes 6 hours but ours only took about 3 because the ramekins we use are quite small. Other than that the only difference we made was to cover the ramekins in cling film rather than cooking spray.

4 gelatine sheets/leaves
600ml (1 pint) double [heavy] cream
150ml (5fl oz) milk
60g (2 oz) caster sugar
200g (7 oz) white chocolate, broken into pieces
Coat a mould or individual cups with cooking spray and set aside.
Soak the gelatine sheets in a plate of cold water until soft, then set aside until ready to use.
Heat the cream, milk and caster sugar in a heavy-based saucepan over low heat to melt the sugar, stirring occasionally.
When the cream starts to bubble up the sides of the saucepan, remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted.
Drain the excess water off the gelatine and add the gelatine to the cream mixture. Stir until dissolved.
Pour the mixture into the prepared mould or cups and refrigerate overnight or for at least 6 hours.
The panna cotta should have a slight wobble when ready to serve. Unmould onto a serving platter or plates and serve.

Find the original post at http://www.greedygourmet.com/2010/04/05/white-chocolate-panna-cotta/