Strawberry and Chocolate Cupcakes: Recipe

I've eaten more chocolate this year because the winter went on and on, I'm not a chocolate snob, but a bar of Lindt Excellence Strawberry Intense Dark Chocolate is hard to beat. The chocolate has pieces of freeze dried strawberries running through, it smells of summer and reminds me of strawberries dipped in chocolate.

The strawberries for the cupcakes were bought but it
shouldn't be too long before I am picking my own strawberries

For the vanilla cupcakes:

Makes: 9 cupcakes

You will need: 12 hole muffin tin lined with 9 cupcake cases

115g softened butter, 115g caster sugar, 2 eggs, 115g self raising flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence.

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Place all the ingredients into a bowl and beat together with an electric mixer for two minutes.
3. Spoon into 9 cupcake cases and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool.

For the vanilla buttercream:

You will need:

175g softened unsalted butter, 350g sifted icing sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract.

1. Beat the butter in a bowl to soften. Add the icing sugar gradually, add the vanilla extract, and beat until the icing is very smooth and pale in colour which will take 5 minutes using a stand mixer.

To decorate:

I used a 1M icing nozzle to pipe the buttercream. Cut a square of chocolate in half and place on the buttercream, top with a whole strawberry.

More recipes you may like:
White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans Cupcakes
Mini Strawberry Victoria Sponges

Photographs taken using the Nikon D3200.

Banana and Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Banana and Chocolate Chip Cupcakes taken with the Nikon D3200

Looking at bananas in the fruit bowl turning from black to blacker, resisting throwing them out and then feeling pressured into using them happens far too often in my house, so let's do some baking. All you need are a few store cupboard/fridge ingredients to make the cake batter and hopefully a few cupcake cases.  I used nine tulip cupcake cases and shared the batter between them.

The recipe by Mary Berry for the banana and chocolate chip cupcakes can be found on the Daily Mail website, I substituted the caster sugar for soft brown sugar and left the milk out to prevent the chocolate chips sinking to the bottom of the cupcakes.

Banana and Chocolate Chip Loaf

Mary Berry to the rescue for those black banana recipes, the banana and chocolate chip loaf is one of the best I have ever eaten - I try to remember to leave the milk out of the recipe because I've always found the chocolate chips sink to the bottom of the loaf, in this instance I forgot and the chocolate chips sank....This loaf improves with keeping and turns lovely and sticky, a drizzle of chocolate on top of the loaf will totally transform it's otherwise plain appearance.

Both the cupcakes and loaf freeze perfectly.

More suggestions for using up those ripe or over ripe bananas:

Nigella's Chocolate Banana Muffins
Banana Blueberry Cakes

Easy One Pot Chicken: Recipe

All photographs taken with the Nikon D3200

Easy one pot chicken recipes are a delight and this is a favourite of ours. I'm happy to make this instead of the usual Sunday roast because it saves hours of labour.

I try to make good use of natural daylight to take photographs

If hubby is around he guards the food I've placed on the patio table whilst I take photographs, basically he's there on creepy crawlies alert and to make sure the local cat doesn't jump onto the table.

The chicken was reduced and cost £3.00 from Marks and Spencer - most root vegetables can be used, the prosciutto can be replaced with streaky bacon, but either way the bacon is a must for that salty hit and to be honest the crispy prosciutto is the best part of the dish. This recipe is a winner on both taste and cost.

Occasionally I've found the chicken has cooked through but the vegetables need more cooking time.  If they have been particularly stubborn I place the veg in a casserole dish with some of the juices, cover and pop them in the microwave for a few minutes.

You will need:  Large casserole dish

1.5kg chicken
50g softened butter
4 slices prosciutto
2 onions
2 carrots
1 celery stalk
2 leeks
3 unpeeled potatoes
1 sprig of rosemary
250ml white wine
250ml chicken stock
flat leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.  Place the chicken into a deep casserole dish.  Rub the butter over the chicken, cover with prosciutto slices. Scatter over a few rosemary leaves.
2. Cut the celery into large pieces, peel the carrots and potatoes and chop into chunks, slice the leeks and wash thoroughly.  Scatter the vegetables around the chicken, pour the wine and stock over the vegetables.  Season.  Place the cover on the casserole and place in the oven for an hour.
3. Remove the casserole dish from the oven and give the vegetables a stir round.  Spoon some of the juices over the chicken. Leaving the lid off  place the chicken casserole in the oven for a further 30 minutes to brown the chicken.
4. To serve:  Place the chicken and vegetables onto a serving dish with the broth from the casserole dish and scatter over the parsley.