The Liebster Award

So first off, this post is a little different to my usual kind. Instead of containing a recipe for a yummmmyy treat of some sort, I'm writing to share some great news -- I logged on to Blogger yesterday to find a comment on one of my posts. It said that Yummmmyy had been awarded the Liebster Award!!! I was shocked to be honest, I share my posts with many communities and often receive the odd +1 on Google + (don't get me wrong, I'm always over the moon to see them) but I never thought that my blog would be recognized for such an award. Reva from Yummy Cooking Made Easy chose Yummmmyy along with ten other up and coming blogs to award. I'm so grateful to her for choosing Yummmmyy and hopefully receiving the award will give me some recognition in the Blogger world -- I absolutely LOVE blogging and what I love even more is receiving feedback from those who have read one of my posts - there's actually nothing better! 

So the Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. Its seen as a way to discover new blogs and to give them some recognition. The German word Liebster means sweetest, dearest, beloved, lovely, cute, valued and endearing.

There are a few rules that go along with receiving the award... (If you choose to accept it that is)

1. You must post 9 random facts about yourself

2. You must answer the 9 questions set for you & also must set 9 new questions

3. Choose 9 people to award and link them in your post

4. Go to your chosen 9 bloggers pages and tell them the good news

5. And finally, no tag backs! (under no circumstances do you have to accept the award)

9 Random Facts about me

1. I'm Irish

2. I have triplet brothers

3. I love playing COD 

4. I can't sing - I haven't a note in my head

5. I don't know where I'd be without my family, boyfriend & friends

6. I just bought my first car

7. I'm dying to visit Hawaii 

8. I wear Diesel Fuel for Life perfume

9. I LOVE Ben n Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice-cream 

Here I am :)

So here are the questions set for me by Yummy Cooking Made Easy...

1. What is your favourite food?

Well that one's a toughie, I love so many different foods... If I really had to choose I suppose it would be ice-cream or coconut or Mam's lasagne or chocolate or pineapple or cheesecake or biscuits.... (I could go on and on!!)

2. From where did the idea of blogging come?

Well it actually came from my friend Rhona from college - we had a dinner party one night and she was flicking through my recipe book and suggested I start blogging. At first I dismissed the idea as I would have been too embarrassed to put my stuff out there but the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea and the more confident I got.

3. Who's your favourite author?

Hmmm... I don't really have a favourite author - I like a bit of everything, but I do love Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses trilogy, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and Lee Child's Jack Reacher books

4. What's your dream car?

Oh that's easy - an original Mini Cooper for sure. I do love Ford Capris, Mustangs and mark 2 Golfs as well, but an original Mini is definiiiiitely my dream car!

5. Do you think you'll still be blogging in 10 years time?

I do. My dream is to open a small cafe/coffee shop like one we visited in Fuerteventura that serves coffees of all kinds, freshly squeezed orange juice along with fresh cakes and slices, either at home or in another small town abroad. However I still hope to be blogging and sharing any new recipes I have.

6. What do your friends think about your blog?

Some of my friends still aren't aware that I'm blogging but those who do love it! :) They're all really supportive - Klara even set up a blogger account just to be my first follower! They especially love when I ask them to sample my creations before I blog about them (especially my brothers and my boyfriend Dave)

7. If you won the lotto, what would you do with the money?

Hmmmm.... If I won the lotto... Firstly I think I would use the money to buy a house with a huge, modern kitchen... then I'd open my dream coffee shop and use the rest to travel the world (don't worry, I wouldn't forget about my family and friends - they'd get their share ;)

8. What do you usually do in your free time?

That kind of depends on the humour I'm in but I do bake a lot in my free time  that's one thing I love to do -  I really can't wait until I have my own kitchen to bake what and when I want, I like to go for walks with my dogs, hang out with my buddies, watch all the TV series I love: New Girl, Grey's Anatomy, The Walking Dead, Modern Family (I swear I'm not a couch potato) and of course, I love to blog.

9. What is your favourite cuisine?

Emmm... that's a tough one, but, if I had to pick I think it would be the Italian. We always joke and say that my mam is from Italy because she makes the best Italian dishes. Italian food is really fresh - olive oil, tomatoes, herbs and I absolutely love the way that in Italy, food revolves around family.

And now for the tricky part - Choosing the 9 blogs that I think merit the Liebster award...

This was such a tough thing to do but I think that the following 9 blogs are most deserving... (these are no particular order)

My Vanilla Sprinkles
Paula's Kitchen Table
Hello, Sunshine.

The Pomegranate Kitchen

The Fashion Meteorologist
Two Hungry Piglets

Jacob's Crackers
Annie's Appetite
Sweet Lavender Bake Shopper

And here are the 9 Questions I've set for you...

1) Where did the idea of blogging come from?

2) What's your favourite season and why?

3) Describe your ideal 3 course menu.

4) Where is your favourite place and why?

5) Describe what you'd do on an ideal date.

6) What do you mostly do in your free time?

7) Describe yourself in 3 words.

8) What is your most prized possession?

9) What do your friends think about your blog or have you been brave enough to tell them yet?

I can't wait to see the answers to your questions - I really love all of your blogs and I definitely think that you deserve the Liebster Award - I hope that receiving this award will gain you some new followers and also that it will introduce you to some new blogs - Happy blogging!!! 

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.

Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes

If you like chocolate but would prefer something a little lighter then these Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes are for you - my boyfriend's Mam Helen (the deadly baker) gave me the recipe for these yummmmyy cupcakes ... they're so simple to make and are perfect for almost any occasion...

INGREDIENTS
For the cake mix...

225g Caster Sugar
225g Butter
220g Self Raising Flour (sieved)
5 tbsp Cocoa Powder
4 Eggs

METHOD
1) Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas mark 4
2) Cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer
3) When smooth, add the eggs one by one and continue to mix
4) Add the sieved flour and cocoa powder (one spoon at a time) and keep mixing
4) Stop mixing when the mixture is nice and fluffy
5) Line a muffin/bun tin with bin cases and put 1-2 dollops of the mixture in each
6) Place in the oven for 10-15 mins
7) Leave to cool on a wire tray

INGREDIENTS

For the Mousse Topping...

700g Heavy Whipping Cream

350g Icing Sugar

180g Cocoa Powder

Pinch of Salt

METHOD

1) Place a bowl in the fridge for an hour before making this mousse

2) Place all the ingredients in your chilled bowl and whip them together until the mixture holds a peak

3) Place the mixture in the fridge for a further 20 mins and the using a piping bag or spoons, frost the tops of the cooled cupcakes 

Coconut & Orange Sweet Cake

I was feeling inventive last night and I decided to combine two of my favourite flavours and create this yummmmyy Coconut & Orange Sweet Cake with Creamy Coconut Frosting. I just think that there's something cool about having a homemade cake baked for the weekend, just in case any visitors pop over during the afternoon for tea. This one is super simple to make and if you bake it on a Friday night it should keep for the rest of the weekend...

INGREDIENTS

225g Butter (softened)

225g Caster Sugar

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

4 Eggs

Rind of one Orange

3 tbsp Desiccated Coconut

                                                                                                                  

METHOD

For the Cake....

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4

2) Cream the butter and the sugar together in a food mixer

3) When nice and creamy, add in the eggs, one by one and continuously mix

4) Add in the Orange Rind, followed by the Flour (add a couple of spoons of flour at a time)

5) When light and fluffy, add in the coconut, one spoon at a time and continue to mix

6) Grease a cake tin of your choice (no bigger than an 8inch round) with melted butter and line the bottom part with baking paper.

7) Pour the fluffy mixture into the tin and bake for 40-45 minutes

8) Poke the cake with a heated sharp knife to ensure it is fully cooked and allow it to cool on a wire tray

I used my heart shaped silicon cake mold
for this cake 

INGREDIENTS

For the Creamy Coconut Frosting

80g Butter (softened)

200g Icing Sugar

1.5 tsp Orange Juice

4 tbsp Desiccated Coconut 

1 tsp Milk

METHOD

1) Cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer

2) Add the juice and the milk along with the coconut and continue to mix until light and creamy

3) Once the cake is cool, you can spread the frosting over it (I find using a silicon spatula the easiest)

4) Sprinkle some desiccated coconut over the top  for effect and enjoy!!

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

So I had friends up for drinks for my birthday last week and I decided to make a selection of cupcakes for everyone to nibble on instead of making a cake, and guess what?... 
they were a hit :)

I made Chocolate Orange Cupcakes along with my favourite Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream & Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting... I'll share the other two cupcake recipes at the end of the post, but for now lets focus on the Chocolate Orange ones...

Ingredients

FOR THE CUPCAKES

115g Butter

115g Caster Sugar

115g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

2 Eggs

Zest of 1 Orange

1/2 tsp Orange Essence

1 tbsp Cocoa Powder

100g Dark Chocolate (roughly chopped into chunks)

FOR THE ORANGE BUTTERCREAM

100g Butter (softened)

200g Icing Sugar

Half tsp Orange Essence

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4

2) Cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer

3) When creamy, add in the eggs, one at a time and mix again

4) Slowly add in the sieved flour along with the orange zest & continue to mix until light and fluffy

5) Take half the mixture and put it into a second bowl

6) Add the orange essence to the first bowl, mix and leave to sit

7) To the second bowl, add the cocoa powder and chocolate chunks, mix and leave to sit

8) Line a cupcake tray with bun cases

9) Spoon one spoonful of the dark mixture into each bun case

10) Using a second spoon, put a spoonful of the white mixture on top of the dark in each case

11) Place the tray in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown

1) Cream the butter and icing suger togther in a mixer until light and creamy

2) Add the orange essence and mix again

3) Using 2 spoons, or a piping bag ice each of the cooled cupcakes & sprinkle flakes of chocolate on top or place an orange segment on top for decoration

For the other Cupcake Recipes click on the links below.....

Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Bread

If you're looking for something a little different to serve instead of garlic bread, this Sun-dried Tomato bread is what you need... I make it to serve with Lasagna, but it goes really well with pasta or any other Italian dish, and its really yummmmyy to snack on with butter or Pesto spread on top -- It's extremely easy to make, its basically a soda bread recipe with a few small tweaks - Hope you like it, here goes.....

INGREDIENTS

1 lb/455g Plain flour

1 tsp Bread Soda

2 pinches Salt

1 tbsp Ground Basil

2 large handfuls of sun-dried tomatoes (roughly chopped)

500ml Buttermilk

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4

2) Put the flour, salt, basil and chopped sun-dried tomatoes in a large bowl & mix

3) Sieve the bread soda into the mixture & mix again

4) Make a hole in the middle of the dry mixture and pour in the buttermilk

5) Mix well - the mixture should "plop" off the spoon - if its too runny, add more flour and if its too dry add more buttermilk

6) Pour the mixture into a loaf tin lined with grease-proof paper and put in the oven for 40 mins

7) Take the loaf out after 40 mins, remove it from the tin and place it back into the oven for a further 10 minutes

8) Leave the loaf to cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Love these!!! :)