Fresh from the Oven

I spent ages sifting, mixing and whipping in the kitchen this week. I started the week by asking my husband what treat he wanted for his breakfasts this week. Usually he opts for scones, or muffins, but this week he wanted baps (buns, rolls, whatever you want to call them.) I will admit that I am a bit lazy when it comes to making breads, rolls, and dough, I take the easy way out and use my bread machine, typically the main thing I do with the machine is mix, knead, and proof the dough. It has a heating element which reaches the perfect temperature for the dough to rise. After my husband’s breakfast needs were tended, I had to address the girls in my Stitch’N’Bitch group. I decided to test a new recipe that I had written this week. One of my absolute favorite things to do is bake with alcohol, which can be seen from the post last week about the boozy Irish cupcakes (which will now be known as ‘Irish Threesome Cupcakes”) So this week I decided to take one of my favorite ciders and turn it into a cupcake. I made Strawberry Lime cupcakes with Koppaberg Swedish Cider, the cupcakes were good, but not perfect. I will post the recipe, but keep in mind that they haven’t been perfected yet. I also decided to make chocolate covered pretzels (which I realize involves absolutely no baking…only melting and dipping) for my husband because it’s one of his favorite treats. Now here's the recipes:

Bread Machine Baps

Ingredients:

• 180ml milk
• 60ml warm water
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 60g butter, cut into small chunks
• 1 tsp salt
• 475g strong flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp yeast

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in the pan of bread machine (in the order recommended by the manufacturer.) Select dough cycle and start the machine.
2. When the dough cycle is complete, preheat oven to 160 degrees C and  remove the dough to a floured surface, and divide into 8 equal parts. Form the dough into circles, tucking the edges under to create a smooth top. Place on a baking tin lined with parchment paper, cover with a tea towel and let rise again. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Strawberry Lime Cupcakes with Koppaberg Cider

Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites
• 250g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 125g butter, at room temperature
• 300g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 320ml Koppaberg Strawberry Lime Cider
• 1-2 tsp lime zest 

Method:

1. Allow egg whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line muffin tin with paper liners and set aside. In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and cider, beating on low speed after each addition until just combined (when adding the cider, the mixture will appear to curdle a bit, this is fine.) Fold in the lime zest. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin(s) and bake at 180 degrees C for 15-17 minutes, or until wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Koppaberg Icing

Ingredients:

• 250g icing sugar
• 250g butter, at room temperature
• 40ml Koppaberg Strawberry Lime Cider

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds, sift icing sugar over the butter and beat on low speed until combined, add cider slowly while beating on low.
2. Ice the cupcakes with a spatula or piping bag.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Ingredients:

• 200g chocolate
• Hard Salted Pretzels

Method:

1. Chop the chocolate and place into a medium heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a small sauce pan of simmering (NOT BOILING) water. Do not allow the water touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir the chocolate until melted and smooth.
2. Dip the pretzels with a fork, and shake off the excess chocolate. Place the pretzels on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Place the tray in the freezer for 10-15 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened.
3. Optional: drizzle contrasting chocolate over the top of the pretzels and place in the freezer for a few minutes.

Boozy Irish Cupcakes

Last week, at my regular knitting meetup, we were discussing blogs, which brought me to the realization that since before the arrival and departure of my parents back in May, I have been neglecting my blog. I don’t know if it was because I didn’t have much to say, or if I was to busy with all of my current projects, but I have decided that it’s time for my neglectful behavior to stop. As the girls and I were discussing our blogs and our recent activity, they gave me a brilliant idea. Every week, I spend hours in my kitchen baking delicious treats for my fellow knitters (and regular pub-goers), why not write a post about what I am baking each week! So this is the first one…it doesn’t have a name yet (so if you have any suggestions I’d be delighted to hear them!) but here goes…

This week we are down a pregnant knitter, as she’s gone away on holiday…So I decided drunken cupcakes were the way to go. After a brief Google search for “Amazing Cupcakes” I came across a blog that caught my attention…The post was from BrownEyedBaker, and it was titled “Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes”. Now I realize that the name is offensive to all of my lovely Irish friends, so I apologize, and will refer to them as Boozy Irish cupcakes from this point on. But back to the point...when I read the post I was delighted! They sounded FANTASTIC! Since I already had a recipe in my repertoire for Guinness cupcakes, I was well on my way to a deliciously moist and boozy cupcake. For those of you who are unaware of this cocktail, it is typically a shot of Irish whiskey, floating on top of a shot of Irish Cream, then dropped into a pint of Guinness. Once the two shots are dropped into the Guinness, the drink must be consumed as quickly as possible as it will curdle. If you are able to consume the drink quickly enough, it’s supposed to be delicious and creamy.

I started with my basic Guinness cupcake recipe, but because there is quite a bit of alcohol in these cupcakes, I decided to go with mini cupcakes.

After the cupcakes were done and cooled, I prepared the Jameson Ganache...

While the ganache was cooling, I cut small holes in the center of each cupcake, once I had finished doing this to 80 mini cupcakes, the ganache was cool enough to put into a piping bag! I filled each of the dark cake caves with thick drunken chocolate ganache.

When each cupcake was infused with the chocolatey ganache, it was time to prepare the Bailey’s Buttercream!








I piped the Bailey’s Buttercream over each cupcake, covering the dark pools of chocolate whiskey goodness. Of course I don’t have the best piping skills, so they aren’t the prettiest cupcakes, but they taste amazing!




Now onto the recipe!

Guinness Cupcakes:

• 250 ml Guinness 
• 250 g butter
• 75 g cocoa powder
• 400 g caster sugar
• 142 ml sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla 
• 275 g plain flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C & line cupcake tin with paper baking cases.
2. Pour Guinness into a large wide sauce pan, add butter and heat over medium-low heat until melted. Whisk in cocoa powder & caster sugar. 
3. Beat sour cream with eggs and vanilla. Temper the egg mixture by adding about 1/2 cup of the hot Guinness mixture into the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Pour tempered egg mixture into the pan. 
4. Whisk in flour and baking soda.
5. Pour batter into cupcake tin and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until wooden cocktail stick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Jameson Chocolate Ganache:

• 200 g bittersweet chocolate
• 160 ml double cream
• 30 g butter, at room temperature
• 10 ml Jameson Irish Whiskey

Method:

1. Finely chop chocolate and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Heat cream until simmering and pour over chocolate. Let sit for one minute and stir from center outward until smooth.
2. Add butter and whiskey, stir until combined. Let ganache cool until think, but soft enough to be piped.

Bailey's Buttercream:

• 460 g butter, at room temperature
• 500 g icing sugar
• 90 ml Bailey's Irish Cream

Method:

1. Using an electric mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl. 
2. Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually add the icing sugar until all of it is incorporated. 
3. Add Bailey's Irish Cream and increase speed to medium-high, whip for another 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.

Alternately, if you would like to prepare basic Guinness cupcakes, it is simply divine when topped with cream cheese icing, here's the recipe for it:

Cream Cheese Icing:

• 300 g cream cheese, at room temperature
• 150 g icing sugar
• 125 ml double cream

Method:

1. Whip cream cheese until smooth, sieve over icing sugar and beat together until combined.
2. Add cream and beat again until icing is a spreadable consistency.