Oreo cupcakes with fresh cream frosting

I went Go Karting with my friends last week and was far too busy making all of them eat my dust to blog. I was surprised as anyone that I actually did really well and won especially considering I'm the non-driver of the group.

So any way this blog is a little delayed as I made these cupcakes a few weeks back when I was popping round to visit a friend. Have I mentioned how cupcakes are demanded by my friends at every gathering even just going to someones house. I was requested to make the raspberry and white chocolate cupcakes for go karting, and this time I topped each one with a raspberry as well as a square of white chocolate. Well for this gathering at my fabulous friends Jen and Chris's house I made a cupcake that has been on my to do list for months, Oreo cupcakes. And here they are:

If your wondering why the two in the middle don't have Oreo's on well that's because they were made for two of my friends each with a special message written on top one says screw work and the other says don't crash as one friend had just passed her driving test (I have an odd sense of humor) I do love my new letter sprinkles.

and here's how they're made, recipe adapted from one by 'Baking Made Easy' author Lorraine Pascale.

Oreo cupcakes

150g Butter
150g Caster sugar
3 Eggs
150g Plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 to 1 Pack of Oreo biscuits

Preheat the oven to 180 degC. Line a 12 hole cupcake tray with cases. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs one by one, beating together after each addition.

Add the flour baking powder and salt and mix. Crush up the Oreos and fold these into the mixture.

Divide between 12 cases and bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes until risen, golden and baked trough.

And that's it for the cakes. I really love this recipe, the cakes are light and you get a really nice taste of the cookies coming though and I love way they look all speckled with crushed up cookie. Most of the recipes I found for Oreo cookies just involved a plain chocolate cupcake with a whole Oreo baked inside so this one seemed a little different. Here they are out of the oven without frosting:

And now for the frosting, the Lorraine Pascale recipe called for butter cream however I wanted more of a cookies and cream taste so I went for fresh cream frosting, recipe adapted via Bakergirl's Blog

1 3/4 cups whipping cream
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons Oreo cookies, finely crushed

Whip all the ingredients together until the cream stiffens, pipe onto cakes and then decorate with Oreos. These are definitely my new favorite I could just eat the cream alone and really do prefer that to the Butter icing on these cakes.

And that's it!

Any way that's all for now but before I go just one more think, I said before how I love me some alphabet sprinkles, now I know they are just meant to be sprinkled over cakes but I just cant help spelling things out on my cupcakes, like so:

Any way until next time

Cupcake Kris xx

Coconut Jam Sandwich Bars

Hello, I've totally had the holiday blues last week and have been cheering myself up with lots of baking and all the lovely blogs I read as well as going out with friends and generally keeping busy.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Hope Street Feast festival where I stocked up on yummy food and enjoyed some delish Thai red curry from my new favorite restaurant in Liverpool Host . I also got the funniest picture of the boyfriend and my friend Jen tucking into some chocolate fountain dipped treats. (although I'd be in trouble if I posted it here)

There were loads of cake stand there but as I had a myriad of cakes at home I mostly stuck to buying savory treats such as champagne and strawberry cheese, homemade calzone's and sourdough bread, although I did indulge and bought some home made fudge.

Speaking of fudge I was kindly emailed a recipe by a friend that comes all the way from his family in Australia, I cant wait to try these tried and trusted recipes  but I've been sworn to keep them a secret hehehe.

Any way onto recent baking. The other week I was going out to visit a friend leaving boyfriend by himself to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet for once. I decided to make him some tasty snacks for his night in and it also gave me the opportunity to try a recipe I had been looking at for a while. Coconut jam sandwiches. When I first saw the recipe it struck me as something that boyfriend would choose however they never really appealed to me, so this provided the perfect opportunity to make them. the first layer is sort of like a biscuit then this is topped with a layer of jam and then finished of with a coconut mixture for a lovely taste and texture on top. Here they are: 

I made quite a few of these so even though boyfriend scoffed loads of them I still got to try a couple, and I have to say I enjoyed them much more than expected, perfect for after lunch with a cup of tea.

I used way more jam than the recipe called for as I wanted a proper layer of jam and not just a little scraping. I also upped all the other ingredients just a little as my pan was slightly bigger than advised.

any way here's how they're made:

Coconut Jam Sandwich Bars (Via Hummingbird Bakery, Cake Days)

For the base:
30g Unsalted Butter
175g Plain Flour
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
50g Caster Sugar
2 Large Egg Yolks

For the topping:

175g Desiccated Coconut
175g Caster Sugar
4 Egg Whites
50g Plain Flour
150g Strawberry Jam (I used around 300g)

(9 x 12 inch Baking tray)

Preheat oven to 170deg C and line a tray with greaseproof paper.
Mix together the butter, flour and baking powder until you have a crumb like consistency. Add the sugar and stir in. Tip the egg yolks into a jug and stir with 2 Tbsp of water, pour into the dry ingredients and mix well.
Press the mixture into the tin and bake for 12-15 mins or until a light golden colour. Leave to cool completely (leave the oven on)  

In a saucepan mix together the coconut, sugar and one egg white with 2 Tbsps of water. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the ingredients form a thick paste. Add the flour and cook for a further 1 minute whilst stirring. Tip into a bowl and set aside to cool slightly.

Whip the remaining 3 egg whites until stiff stir one third into the coconut mix then fold in the remaining egg whites with  a metal spoon.

Spread the jam over the base then top with the coconut mix and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

And that's it.

And that's it for today, I'm looking forward to my next blog as it involves cupcakes I've been meaning to make for ages, and their my new favorite.

Bye for now

Cupcake Kris xxx