0 Kiwi fruit cupcakes

I have never made Kiwi cupcakes before despite this being a fruit I often enjoy eating, I like the combination of juicy fruity almost opal fruit flavour and bright green flesh. They are however not a fruit that immediately springs to mind when you fancy baking.

I think kiwi fruit are cute, like little furry creatures that live in the fruit bowl and there are numerous ways of accessing the bright green flesh, my preferred method being slicing and I have made kiwi fruit jam in the past with great success.

For this recipe you can dress with butter cream and a kiwi slice or just leave plain and sprinkle with demerara sugar for some crunch. Its an easy tasty bake which works with gluten free flour as well as normal wheat flour.

What you need

• 2 large kiwi fruits or 4 small kiwi fruits, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 2 cups of plain flour 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 egg - free range
• 1 cup skimmed milk
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1/4 cup coconut oil - melted
• Demerara sugar - for sprinkling
• Buttercream (optional)
• Slices of Kiwi for decoration
• Large muffin cake cases

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 200c /180c fan
• Line the cupcake tin with the case cakes
• Beat the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla together in a large bowl, I used my mixer. 
• Sieve the flour,baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and salt into the bowl and mix together quickly
• Fold in the chopped kiwi fruit
• Spoon the mixture into the cake cases - this mixtures makes approximately 12 large muffins / cupcakes.
• Sprinkle the tops with demerara sugar if using
• Pop into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or so until well risen, golden and cooked through when tested with a cocktail stick
• Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack
• When fully cool, decorate with buttercream if you wish

I'm entering this post to this months Alphabakes hosted by The More than the occasional baker , the letter this month being K - for Kiwi fruit in this case.

                                                       

 And to Bake of the Week hosted by Casa Costello

                                                            

And also to Treat petite over at Cakeyboi, the theme this month being "Anything Goes"


                                            

Love Cake Jibberjabber - the theme this month is Back to School - Something new. As I said earlier in the post I haven't baked with Kiwi fruit previously.

                                     

Detail: Kiwi fruit cupcakes

0 Earl Grey tea loaf - gluten free

Frankly I don't think you can beat a tea loaf, especially one which is Earl Grey scented. This very British bake is great for taking on picnics or in school lunch boxes and the like, it is also better after a couple of days wrapped and stored in an airtight tin.

To ensure a moist tasty cake please soak the dried fruit for at least a couple of hours in the tea so it doesn't rob the cake of its moisture whilst baking, this is particularly important if you are baking gluten free. I have been experimenting recently with mixing my own gluten free flour rather than relying on ready mixed and must say that I am impressed with the results being achieved.

Earl Grey tea dates from the 1830's and is reputed to be named after the Prime Minister of that time, a black tea with the addition of the oil of the bergamot orange.

What you need

• 275g Dried mixed fruit (raisins, sultanas, cranberries, apricots are all lovely)
• 125ml strongly brewed Earl Grey tea
• 90g softened butter or quality vegetable margarine
• 125g golden caster sugar
• 180g plain gluten free flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp xanthum gum
• 125ml warmed skimmed milk ( I use the microwave)
• 2 eggs - free range

1 x 2lb loaf tin base lined or use a liner (I pick them up from the local £1 shop)

What you do

• Soak the fruit in the strongly brewed Earl Grey tea for at least 2 hours
• Once the fruit is soaked and swelled then you are ready to bake
• Pre heat the oven to 160c 
• Beat the softened butter and sugar together in a large bowl or use a mixer.
• Once soft light and fluffy add the rest of the ingredients except the dried fruit 
• Mix until well combined, then fold in the dried fruit
• Pour into the prepared tin and place in the oven
• Bake for 50 -60 minutes, the cake is ready when a skewer inserted comes out clean
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then cool fully on a wire rack
• Once fully cool wrap in foil to store
• Fabulous serve buttered or on its own.

As this cake is perfect picnic food I am linking up to Tea Time Treats whose theme this month is PICNIC FOOD, a blog challenge hosted by Lavender and Lovage and Hedgecombers.

                                         

Detail: Earl Grey tea loaf - gluten free

0 Lekue - meringue roulade with blackcurrant and mint couli

Over the Easter weekend we had friends visiting and for a while now I had been wanting to use my Lekue Swiss roll mold , so I thought I would give a meringue roulade a go. I also had ulterior motives to use a excess of homelaid eggs and meringue recipes uses loads of eggs don't they (well whites anyway).

I decided to plump for making a plain cream roulade which could  then be served with anything from fresh fruit, fruit couli (using frozen homegrown fruit) or chocolate or caramel sauce. Choices choices......

I am mighty pleased with the resultant soft billowy marshmallowy meringue and the performance of the Lekue mold, the only downside being that the mold is rather flexible so it tooks some nifty handling of the oven shelf to turn the meringue out of the mold onto the cooling rack.

To ensure a smooth glossy well airated meringue ensure your mixing bowl is clean and free from grease, as a precaution I always wipe round with some lemon juice on some kitchen paper.

What you need

• 6 egg whites
• 275g caster sugar
• 50g flaked almonds

To fill the roulade I used whipped double cream sweetened with a good slug of vanilla paste, you could use whipping cream, marscapone or yogurt or even a sweetened cream cheese mixture. For a roulade this size I used a 300ml pot.

What you do

• Preheat your oven to 180c fan
• Place the egg whites in the bowl of your mixer (I used my trusty Kitchenaid) and mix until very stiff and well airated
• Add the caster sugar a little at a time, whislt continuing to mix until all added and the meringue is very stiff and glossy
• Scoop into your lekue mold (or if you haven't got one then a lined swiss roll tin) and smooth level
• Sprinkle with the flaked almonds
• Place in the pre heated oven and bake for 10 minutes until golden
• Turn the oven down to 140c and bake for a further 15 minutes or so until crispy to touch
• Take the meringue out of the over an tip out onto a baking paper covered wire rack to cool for 10 minutes or so
• Then fill with your chosen filling and roll using the baking paper to assist your roll.
• Remove the ends (chefs treats) and serve decorated with fruit or fruit couli or sauce.
• The roulade freezes well when filled with cream and rolled.

For the couli I used some of the last frozen homegrown blackcurrant I had in the freezer , sweetened with caster sugar (1/2 the weight of the blackcurrants) scented with a generous spring of fresh peppermint from the garden.

I am entering this post in Cooking with herbs challenge as I used this months featured herb - mint is in my recipe, the challenge was created by Karen over at Lavender and Lovage and she is hosting this month too.

                                                              

I was kindly provided the roulade mold by Lekue for testing and review purposes. 

Detail: Lekue - meringue roulade with blackcurrant and mint couli

0 CCC No 19 - Harvest Home at Huntleys Country Store, Samlesbury

In celebration of the harvest season our 19th Clandestine Cake club was at Huntleys Country Store in Samlesbury.

                                          

This iconic foodie venue is on the A59, so its dead easy to find and is home to a fantastic food hall stocking loads of great local produce and other retail opportunities plus a cafe bar and restaurant  They also hold lots of seasonal events and currently have a miscanthus maze on site for you to enjoy.

On a distinctively autumnal afternoon members travelled to our seasonally themed event and brought some fantastic cakes

• Caramel Apple Mummy
• Chocolate beetroot cake
• Parsnip, apple and maple syrup cake
• Blueberry, apple and walnut cake
• Carrot cake
• Pear and blackberry cake
• Pear and nutella cake
• Dorset apple cake
• Courgette and lime cake
• Courgette and walnut cake
• Pumpkin roulade

We were warmly welcomed by all the staff and the resident peacocks too and lucky us we probably had the best table in the house for our cake table next to the scenic balcony overlooking the lovely Lancashire countryside.

The venue  is a great day out for all the family, so pay them a visit soon.

Detail: CCC No 19 - Harvest Home at Huntleys Country Store, Samlesbury