Saturday 22 September 2012

Pampered Chef Yorkshire Puddings disguised as Profiteroles.

Are they Yorkshire Puddings or are they Profiteroles?
I made these at the show I did last night and they are completely amazing.  So quick and easy and simply a Yorkshire pudding mix which then has cream and melted chocolate added.  I love the Stoneware 12-cup Muffin pan they are made in and it is definitely the key ingredient for the virtually fat free Yorkshire Puddings.

The best thing about these is you don't have to heat the Muffin pan to red hot before you pour in the batter, or put in chunks of lard or huge amounts of oil. These are cooked from cold (yes really!) and last night I even convinced a seasoned Yorkie maker that the Stoneware Muffin Pan could make hers even better.

So here's the super simple recipe...


Ingredients

1 Prep bowl Plain Flour (A prep bowl is 250ml)
1 Prep bowl milk
1 Prep bowl of eggs (3 eggs topped up with water if less than the full bowl)

Method
1. Place all of the ingredients in a Classic Batter Bowl

2. Beat till all combined with a Stainless Whisk; a few lumps are fine!

3. Pour into a Stoneware Muffin pan that has had the wells lightly oiled with a little vegetable oil on a silicone basting brush if its new.  If it is seasoned you need no oil at all!

4. Bake at 200°C for 25 mins for fluffy and puffy Yorkshires! (You can leave them in the muffin tin for a while once they come out of the oven and they won't collapse like traditional ones.)

To make profiteroles beat a tub of double cream with a double balloon whisk and squirt into the middle of the profiteroles with an easy accent decorator.  Pile them into a trifle bowl or onto a bamboo platter and pour over melted chocolate.  Also fabulous with syrup or jam.



Wednesday 5 September 2012

Blueberry and Lemon Cupcakes (egg and dairy free, and vegan)

I have a complete obsession with all things lemony and have been wondering about how to make a lemon and blueberry cupcake for a while.  Then a thought; Why not adjust the lemon loaf cake and add blueberries?


So that is what I did this afternoon.  And Wow I'm glad I did.  Daughter number two ate two in quick succession and then asked for another!  (She didn't get another one in case you're worried about my parenting.)

Blueberry and Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients

2 cups Self Raising Flour
1 cup Sugar
1 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 cup of fresh or frozen Blueberries
Zest & Juice of 1 Lemon
100ml Vegetable Oil
170ml Cold Water

Icing

1/3 cup Pure Spread
1/3 cup Trex
1 1/3 cups Icing sugar
1/3 cup blueberries

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C

1. Measure out the flour and sugar using a measure all cup and add to a classic batter bowl.

2. Measure the baking powder using an adjustable measuring spoon and add to the bowl.

3. Zest the lemon with the Microplane zester, add to the flour and mix well with a stainless steel whisk to aerate.

4. Use the citrus press to squeeze the lemon into an easy read measuring cup,  and add to the bowl.

5. Add the oil and the water, measured in the easy read measuring cup, and mix thoroughly with a mix n scraper to make sure all is combined well.

6.  Fold in the blueberries.

7.  Spoon the better into twelve cupcake cases in the Muffin Pan and bake for 15-20 minutes until light golden brown. Poke one with your finger - if it bounces back nicely, its done!

8. Remove from the Muffin Pan and cool on a stackable cooling rack.

9. When cool, make the icing for the top. Put the blueberries in a pan and heat gently until the berries have burst and become nicely juicy.  Sieve the blueberries so you have just the juice and discard the skins.

10. Beat the Trex and Pure Spread together until fluffy, add in the icing sugar and one tablespoon of blueberry juice.  Beat until smooth, adding more blueberry juice as needed until you have a lovely smooth buttercream consistency.  Add a little water if you run out of juice and need more liquid.

11.  Ice using the Easy Accent Decorator with the small star nozzle fitted.  Top with extra blueberries if wished.

If you would like to do these gluten free, just sub in your favourite gluten free flour and about 1/2 tsp xanthan gum, and they turn out very nicely!