Lemon & Lime Summer Cupcakes

If you're looking for something Summery and that little bit different to make for a BBQ or garden party, these Lemon & Lime Cupcakes are what you need. They take a little bit longer to make than regular cupcakes because of the lemon & lime drizzle, but they're still a pretty handy dessert :) So here goes....

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE MIXTURE...

225g Caster Sugar

225g Butter/ Margarine (softened)

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

4 eggs

Rind of 2 Lemons

Rind of 1 Lime

FOR THE DRIZZLE...

120g Caster Sugar

Juice of 2 Lemons (-2 tsp)

Juice of 1 Lime

FOR THE LEMON BUTTER CREAM....

200g Icing Sugar

100g Butter (softened)

2 tbsp Lemon Juice

Method

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and line a muffin tray with 12 muffin cases
2) Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl
3) When combined and creamy, add in the eggs, one by one and continue to mix
4) Add in the sieved flour, one spoon at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy
5) Add in the lemon and lime rind and continue to mix the fluffy mixture
6) Spoon 2-3 spoonfuls of the mixture into each muffin case and bake in the oven for 15-20 mins (you will know they're done when the tops are golden brown)
7) Leave them to cool on a wire rack while you make the drizzle...

8) For the drizzle, put the lemon juice, the lime juice and the sugar in a small pot over a low heat and stir until  combined 

9) When combined , turn off the heat and leave it to sit while you use a sharp knife to poke a cross shape into the top of each muffin

10) Using a spoon, pour the drizzle into the crack on top of each cupcake and watch it soak in ( this can be messy so I usually put the cupcakes on a tray or plate so the drizzle doesn't go everywhere!)

11) Then leave your cupcakes to sit and cool while you make the butter cream...

12) For the Lemon Butter Cream, cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy
13) Add the Lemon Juice and continue to mix
14) Use a piping bag or the back of a spoon to ice each of the cupcakes and use small lemon or lime wedges for decoration

Millionaire's Squares

So last week in work I baked the Toffee Shortbread slices which I absolutely LOVE. But, I was really disappointed when I finished that I didn't get to gobble one up. So when I got home I decided that I had to make something similar. I didn't use the same recipe as they use in work, instead I adapted BBC Good Food's recipe for Millionaire's Shortbread. Here goes...

Ingredients

FOR THE SHORTBREAD...

250g Plain Flour

75g Caster Sugar

175g Butter (softened)

FOR THE CARAMEL...

50g Butter

50g Margarine

100g Brown Sugar

3 tbsp Golden Syrup

2 397g tins of Condensed Milk

FOR THE TOP...

100g Milk Chocolate

100g Dark Chocolate

Method

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and line an approx. 13 x 9 inch swiss roll tin with grease proof paper

2) For the shortbread, put  the flour, caster sugar and butter in a bowl and mix with your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs

3) Continue to knead the mixture until it takes on a doughy consistency 

4) Press the shortbread mixture into the baking tin and prick a couple of times with a fork

5) Bake it for 20 mins and when done, leave it to cool in the tin

6) For the caramel, melt the butter and sugar together in a pan

7) When combined, add in the golden syrup and the condensed milk and stir continuously

8) Bring the mixture to the boil and then allow it to simmer for 5 mins until it becomes thicker

9) Pour the caramel over the layer of shortbread and leave it to cool for 5 mins and then refrigerate for 20 mins

10) When the caramel is ready you can begin to melt the milk and dark chocolate together in a bowl over a pot of simmering water

11) When combined, spread the chocolate over the caramel and refrigerate for another 20 mins

* For best results, leave the tray in the fridge over night before slicing *

I didn't leave mine over night and they cracked and crumbled.
They still tasted delicious but they didn't look quite as nice!

Banoffee With a Twist

My brothers started their Leaving Cert exams this week so for a bit of study aid and to say good luck I made them their favourite dessert. My brother Ryan especially had been asking me to make it for a while and I never seemed to get around to it. I always call it banoffee with a twist because traditional banoffee pie either uses Digestive biscuits or shortbread whereas I like to use Bourbon Creams and I add a little Khalua liqour to give it a kick. This dessert's a little time consuming, but believe me, its well worth it :)

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUMBLY BISCUIT BASE...

600g Bourbon Cream Biscuits

60g Butter

2 tbsp Khalua Coffee Liquor

FOR THE STICKY CARAMEL...

3 tbsp Golden Syrup

50g Butter

80g Brown Sugar

FOR THE REST...

2 Ripe Bananas

Whipped Cream (as much as you fancy really)

Flake Bars or Chocolate to grate

Method

FOR THE BISCUIT BASE...

1) Grease an 8 inch round tin with melted butter and line the bottom part with grease-proof paper

2) Melt the butter in a large bowl over a saucepan of simmering water

3) While the butter in melting, crush the bourbon biscuits, leaving a few medium sized chunks

4) When the butter is fully melted, add the Khalua followed by the crushed biscuits and stir well

5) Empty the mixture into the greased tin and flatten with the back of a spoon - make a slight hollow in the middle of the tin

6) Refrigerate the tin while you make the caramel 

FOR THE CARAMEL...

1) Put the butter, and sugar into a pot on high and stir until the butter has melted

2) Add the condensed milk and the golden syrup to the mixture and stir continuously until the mixture starts to bubble 

3) Turn the pot on to simmer and stir every now and again - you will notice the mixture thickening

4) After 4 minutes the mixture should have thickened enough

5) Pour one thin layer of caramel over the biscuit and leave the rest to sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients

FOR THE REST...

1) Slice the two bananas and spread them over the layer of caramel
2) Pour another layer of caramel over the bananas
3) Leave the banoffee to cool for 20 minutes in the fridge and then spread the whipped cream on top followed by the crushed Flake bars or shredded chocolate - for the best results, refrigerate over night before eating

I always make to to leave a little extra caramel to eat with icecream seens
as you have to wait until the next day to try the Banoffee !!! :)

Smarties Covered Caramel Biscuit Squares

So I spent the majority of this Sunday at a Wedding Fair in a local hotel and while I was there, I couldn't resist sampling some delicious chocolate biscuit cake made by a local cake-maker from 
Cakes by Jonathon. But, one small sample wasn't enough for me - I decided that I was definitely heading for the kitchen to make some chocolate biscuit cake when I arrived home. However, I didn't have a huge amount of digestive biscuits so I had to stick my thinking cap on. I decided to go for these Smarties Caramel Biscuit Squares instead so I still had something chocolaty and biscuity to munch on - Yummmmyy :)

So, you will need...

FOR THE CRUMBLY BISCUIT BASE

250g Milk Chocolate or Plain Digestive Biscuits (crushed)

3 tbsp Golden Syrup

100g Butter 

FOR THE GOOEY CARAMEL MIDDLE

397g tin of Condensed Milk

100g Butter

100g Soft, Dark Brown Sugar

FOR THE SMARTIES COVERED CHOCOLATE TOP

2 tbsp Butter

250g Milk Chocolate

100g Dark Chocolate

4 Funsize Packs of Smarties (for decoration) 

You can really use whatever you like to decorate
or nothing at all :) 

Method...

FOR THE CRUMBLY BISCUIT BASE

1) Line a deep baking tray with greaseproof paper and set it aside while you make the biscuit base

2) Melt the butter in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water

3) When melted, add in the golden syrup and stir

4) When that's combined, add in the crushed digestive biscuits and stir well

5) Empty the base mixture onto the lined tray and press it down so it occupies all of the trays space

6) Refrigerate the tray while you make the caramel

FOR THE GOOEY CARAMEL CENTRE...

1) Melt the butter in a pan on simmering heat

2) Add in the sugar and stir continuously

3) Pour in the condensed milk and continue to stir - the mixture should bubble and will begin to take on a caramely consistency, but keep stirring until it thickens

4) When thickened, take your tray out of the fridge and pour the caramel over the biscuit base

5) Refrigerate the tray again while you make the chocolate topping

FOR THE SMARTIES COVERED CHOCOLATE TOPPING...

1) Put the butter and both types of chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir 

2) Once fully melted, pour the chocolate mixture over the caramel layer and spread evenly

3) Sprinkle the Smarties or topping of your choice over the chocolate and refrigerate for at least an hour before attempting to slice

When the hour has passed, take the tray out of the fridge,

remove from the tray & slice.I usually slice them into small 

squares as these can be really filling, and then you can 

always go back for seconds :) 

Brought the last one to college today and ate it while
studying - Yummmmyy :) :)

Sticky Lemon Drizzle Loaf

More great news :D - I've started working in our local restaurant come deli; The Coffee Shop here in Wicklow Town. I'm so happy - someone has definitely been looking out for me over these past few weeks :) I had my first day yesterday which was pretty hectic - waiting tables and learning to use the ever so confusing coffee machine. I haven't spent any time in the kitchen yet, but, hopefully after a bit of practice, and, if all goes well, I'll be making salads, scones and breads soon. Everyone has to start out somewhere even if its taking orders, waiting tables, cleaning up and washing dirty dishes!

Back to the Cake!

Despite being wrecked after my pretty busy first day, I couldn't resist making a Lemon Drizzle Loaf when I returned home. They're super easy to make and they don't really involve the use of many ingredients, so you should have everything you need at home. 

Here goes....

INGREDIENTS                                                         

225g Butter/ Margarine (softened)                                    
225g Caster Sugar                                                               
225g Self Rasing Flour (sieved)
Zest of 3 Lemons
4 Eggs

METHOD

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4
2) Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl
3) When nice and creamy, add in the eggs, one at a time & continue to mix
4) Add in the sieved flour - spoon by spoon, followed by the lemon zest
5) When the mixture in light and fluffy, stop mixing and pour into a loaf tin greased with melted butter or lined with greaseproof paper and place it in the oven for 40 - 45 minutes

FOR THE DRIZZLE...

115g Caster Sugar

Juice of 3 Lemons

1) Put the lemon juice and the sugar in a small pot and combine the two over a low heat

2) When you have taken the cake out of the oven, make sure to leave it in the tin

3) Using a sharp knife, poke small slits all over the top of the cake

4) Then pour the lemon drizzle over the loaf and it will soak through the loaf

5) Dust over the loaf with icing sugar and enjoy

The Coffee Shop
serves freshly baked scones,
breads, croissants, homemade cakes, muffins,
slices, gourmet sandwiches & salads along
with many different types of coffee!! 
I can't wait to see how everything's made :)

Gooey Caramel Biscuit Squares

We had loads of left over biscuits at home from Christmas (all the ones that nobody really likes) so, instead of leaving them sitting there for ages, I decided to make something with them... I was going to make an ordinary biscuit cake but I felt like making something a bit different. I saw that we had a tin of evaporated milk and decided to go for gooey caramel slices covered in chocolate...

INGREDIENTS

For the Biscuit Base...

500g of Biscuits of your choice (I used anything and everything: Digestives, Nice, Fox's Creams & more)

100g Butter

250g Milk Chocolate

2 tbsp Whipping Cream

2 tbsp Golden Syrup

METHOD
1) Line a baking tray with grease-proof paper
2) Crush the biscuits (easiest way is to put them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin)
3) Place the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir until melted
4) When melted, remove from heat and stir in the cream and golden syrup
5) Then add in the crushed biscuits and mix
6) Empty the mixture onto your lined tray and flatten
7) Stick it in the fridge while you make everything else (leave it for at least half an hour before pouring the caramel on)

INGREDIENTS
For the Caramel...

400g (1 tin) of Condensed Milk
200g Brown Sugar
200g Butter

METHOD
1) Melt the butter in the pan with the brown sugar
2) When melted and combined, add in the condensed milk and stir continuously as it starts to bubble
3) The consistency will start to change. When it gets thicker, turn off the heat and keep stirring (it shouldn't be too runny)
4) Pour the caramel over the chocolate biscuit base and refrigerate again

 Melt 400g of Milk Chocolate in a bowl over a pot of 

simmering water and spread it over the caramel 

and refrigerate again for at least 2 hours before eating.