The Cookie Monster

Ok, quick post today as I am a little short on time and have a lot to do so for a change I am gonna cut to the chase and just post the recipe for some yummy, scrummy cookies. I am still on my Hummingbird Bakery book addiction so here is the recipe. Also have a little look after the recipe for a suggestion on how to adapt these to suit all tastes. Enjoy.

Double Chocolate Cookies
(Makes 12)

50g Unsalted Butter
450g Dark Chocolate (roughly chopped)
2 Eggs
170g Soft Light Brown Sugar or Light Muscovado Sugar
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
85g Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Optional - 1 tube of Smarties

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3.

Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

Put the butter, and half the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water(be careful not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). Allow to melt until smooth in consistency.

In a separate bowl use an electric whisk to beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour in the chocolate mixture and beat on a slow speed until well combined.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl. Stir into the chocolate mixture in 3 batches, mixing well after each.

Stir in the remaining chocolate until evenly dispersed throughout. *

Place 6 equal quantities of cookie dough on each prepared baking sheet and be sure to leave space between each one to allow for spreading when cooking.

If using Smarties place a few on the top of each cookie before baking.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, check regularly after 10 minutes. The cookies are ready when the top starts to crack and look glossy.

Allow to cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to wire cooling rack.

* If baking these for children I would recommend replacing 225g of plain chocolate to be used here in the recipe with 225g of milk chocolate.

Muffin Tops, Muffin Tops Everywhere

Having a love of baking and limiting muffin tops to the oven can be pretty tough work, do yiz know what I mean? It's February, which is kinda still the start of the year, meaning I am still in the 'I should be eating healthily and trying to lose a bit of weight' frame of mind. I am trying very hard to stick to this so I have to decide to either fore go baking until at least October when I can wrap up in winter clothes again (although at the rate the weather is going this year spring/summer clothing may not see the light of day), or I can try to incorporate some more waist friendly baking into my life.

When it comes to indulgent food I tend to not do low fat versions. If I am going to bake a chocolate cake I do a chocolate cake, not your half arsed version, sure what's the point in that. When I go out to eat in a restaurant I don't order salad to start, steamed fish and veg for my entree and sorbet for dessert. Again, what's the frickin' point? I can count calories when I eat at home so I'm damned if I am going to do it when dining out. But for the greater good of my health and the seam of my waistband I think I can substitute some of my double cream, full fat butter for a some slightly healthier options.

Tonight I baked some delicious savoury muffins. I adapted the recipe marginally from one featured in the Hummingbird Bakery book. I am hoping they will be a nice healthy lunch option to accompany some homemade soup or just a quick snack to stop me reaching for some chocolate. Next time I may adapt the recipe further by making them with wholewheat flour as opposed to plain flour and then I think I could be on to a low fat, low calorie, high fibre gem. And sure since I am being so healthy and wholesome munching on these little babies I have probably earned a nice slice of chocolate cake as a little treat.

Ham & Cheese Muffins(makes 12)

50g Butter
1/2 Small Onion Finely Chopped
360g Plain Flour
2 & 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
200g Grated Cheddar Cheese
220ml Whole Milk
1 Egg
80g Smoked Ham (finely chopped)
Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3.
Line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and fry the onion until softened. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix the flour, baking power and cheese in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl mix the egg and milk together. Slowly pour this into the flour mixture and beat with a handheld electric whisk until well combined.
Stir in the onion and ham and mix until evenly distributed.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two thirds full.
Bake in the pre heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden in colour. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.
Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool fully.

Where have all the Fairy Cakes gone???

The weeks leading up to my birthday are always filled with much anticipation and excitement, just like those weeks in December leading up to Christmas Eve are for a small child. When it comes to my birthday I suppose I revert back to being a small child inside. I have always loved birthdays - mine, yours, the dog or cats - it doesn't really matter because they are all birthdays and as such should be treated with the reverence the day deserves.

Strip back all the wrapping, presents and candles and think about what that day symbolises. It is the anniversary of the day that a person entered the world, such a wonderful occurrence that should always be celebrated and never forgotten or overlooked. I know that there are certain belief systems that do not celebrate birthdays, and some people see them only as a reminder of the fact that they are getting older. I even have an aunt who would forget it was her birthday until she opened post on the day and pulled out a birthday card. This to me is unthinkable, if you want a reminder that you are getting older just have a look in the mirror and your laughter lines should serve that purpose. Embrace your birthday and celebrate a day that is all about you and has the added bonus of presents and cake!

I have always been made to feel special on my birthday as have all of my family. From as far back as I can remember I would wake up on my birthday and come to the living room to find it decorated with 'Happy Birthday' banners and balloons, my mam would be waiting there with a pile of presents for me on the sofa. The presents would always be wrapped in beautiful paper that was chosen with the same amount of thought as the gifts within, and when all of the family had gathered around they would be handed to me one by one for me to open and declare my love for each one equally. My mam was an expert present buyer and knew each of her girls inside out meaning she never missed the mark, not once, and so every present be it a beautiful dress, those boots you secretly wanted or a teeny tiny lip balm was always exactly what you would buy yourself had you just been tasked with buying your own presents. There was also always the exact right amount of presents to convey the special mood of the day, never too little to make you feel you hadn't been spoiled adequately for your annual day of treats and never too many that the quality of any of them were compromised in favour of quantity.

The thing that made my birthday extra special though was that I shared my birthday with my mam. Imagine that, my poor mam was enjoying her birthday one year and then party hats and cake had to be abandoned in favour of a trip to the maternity ward. I am sure once all of the hoopla and fuss had died down and she was sat with a cup of tea in one hand and me in the other(obviously I have not yet had a child of my own painting this rosy picture of the hours after agonising child birth) she forgave me and for the next twenty years we revelled in this special connection, always blowing out our birthday candles side by side.

So, once paper had been viciously ripped from presents and some of the excitement had been tamed just long enough to get me ready I would be dispatched to the school gates for a day of fun and laughter and not too much learning(there was the little matter of cake to be dreamed about to keep me from absorbing anything hedumacational, you see). Once home from school the preparations would begin for a tea party and I of course would be the guest of honour. They were simpler times back then (again, I am not ancient) but really, 80's birthday parties were quite tame. There were no bouncy castles, clowns, play centres, limousines or other such extravagances back then, no sirree Bob. We had some jellies, a couple of bowls of Tayto cheese and onion, if you were lucky a box of Tea Cakes or Snow Balls, popcorn, rice krispie cakes, maybe some fun size smarties and in later years you were very fancy altogether if you had an ice cream cake decorated with a flake!

The treat I remember most and probably my favourite of all was the humble homemade fairy cake, do you remember them? I can still taste my mam's ones now if I close my eyes and transport myself back to my 5 year old self. Deliciously sweet and fluffy with a slightly crisp outer shell, nothing fancy, just a simple Madeira mix spooned into tiny hand size cases. And so I come to the point of this blog post, where have all of the fairy cakes gone? It's all American cupcakes these days with there multi coloured frosting and edible glitter. Now, I'm not complaining, I LOVE cupcakes and would happily live on them if it weren't for the risks of obesity and heart disease but sometimes it would be nice to see the humble fairy cake championed in bakeries instead of them being confined to the bottom shelf of the supermarket, vacuum packed and drizzled with a bit of pink and lemon icing.

This past birthday I was gifted with a copy of The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook which is just jam packed with delicious American inspired baked delights. Pies, cookies and naturally, cupcakes. So while I sat drooling over the pictures I decided the first treat I would bake from it would just have to be the chocolate cupcakes. I think there is my answer, when faced with the choice of what to bake - fairy cakes or chocolate cupcakes - I am afraid I would always choose the frosted gorgeousness of a cupcake over the humble fairy cake. So that is where all of the fairy cakes have gone, to the back of the line. The competition form their fancy schmanzy American cousins has proven to stiff to beat and the cake of choice for every 80's Irish tea party is sadly out of vogue.

Chocolate Cupcakes

(Makes 12)

• 100g Plain Flour
• 20g Cocoa Powder
• 140g Caster Sugar
• 1&1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• Pinch of Salt
• 40g Unsalted Butter (room temp)
• 120ml Whole Milk
• 1 Egg
• 1/4tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/Gas 3.

Put the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.
Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla extract together in a jug. Pour half into the flour mixture and beat to combine. Turn the mixer up to a high speed to get rid of any lumps.
Turn the mixer down to a slower speed and slowly pour in the remaining milk mixture. Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth but do not over mix.
Line a twelve hole muffin tin with paper cases and spoon the mixture into the cases until two thirds full.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. They are done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean and the sponge has a slight bounce when touched.
Place on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting

• 300g Icing Sugar (sieved)
• 100g Unsalted Butter (room temp)
• 40g Cocoa Powder
• 40ml Whole Milk

Beat the icing sugar, butter and cocoa powder together with an electric whisk on a medium-low speed until the mixture comes together is well mixed.

Turn the whisk down to a slow speed and add the milk a couple of tablespoons at a time.

When all of the milk has been added turn the whisk up to a high speed and continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy (approx 5 mins, the longer you whisk for the lighter the frosting will be)

Spoon the frosting onto the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles of your choice.