Wednesday 21 November 2012

Sponge Cupcakes & Peppermint Cake Pops

Christmas is almost here, and its time to bring out the sugar.

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This delightful Christmas cup is full of Candy Canes, Sponge Cupcakes and Peppermint Cake Pops. I claim no credit for the candy canes, I bought them at the shops. However the Cupcakes and Cake Pops are my unoriginal creations.

Sponge Cupcakes:
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You will need:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup flour
1-2 drops vanilla essence 
a cupcake tray filled with patties

1. Beat the eggs until thick and bright yellow. 
2. Beat in the sugar gradually, until well mixed. 
3. Sift the flour and fold into the mixture gently.
4. Add the vanilla essence, and pour into cupcake patties.
5. Cook at 180C until lightly brown on top.

I iced my cupcakes with pink butter cream using an "AVANTI" icing gun. You might like to try crushing candy canes and sprinkling them on top of the icing.
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Peppermint Cake Pops:
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You will need:
A bowl of crumbled cake  (I made a double batch of sponge cupcakes and crumbled half of them warm from the oven)
A large spoonful of jam
Melted dark chocolate (approximately half a  standard block of chocolate)
4 candy canes
Lollipop sticks or short marshmallow sticks.
1. Crush the candy canes roughly on a chopping board.
2. Stir the jam and cake together and roll into small balls.
3. Melt the chocolate over a low heat.
4. Dip each stick into the chocolate and insert a chocolate coated end into each ball. Freeze for 10 minutes.
5. Re-melt the chocolate and dip each cake ball in, making sure the chocolate is even. 
6. Whilst the chocolate is still soft, sprinkle the crushed candy cane over the cake pops and stand in a cup. 
7. Once all the cake pops are coated and sprinkled, freeze in the freezer.

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Monday 5 November 2012

Cinnamon Scrolls


I happened to come across a recipe for Cinnamon scrolls on the Internet. It didn't take long for my mouth to start watering, and with a few tweaks to the low-fat recipe they were delicious!

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To make these sugary treats you will need:
1 1/3 tablespoons of yeast
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup of white sugar
3 cups plain flour
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon