Post 2016 N0.32 - BakingBoutique turning 1!!!

Hey guys!

This blog post is in praise and admiration of BakingBoutique's first birthday. Woo-hoo! I have been waiting for this moment for so long, posting every week for the past month. And now, it's finally here!  

 It only feels like yesterday when I were pulling the computer strings in order to get my blog up and running. Up until this present day, I am extremely content, regarding BakingBoutique and its achievement within the blogging community. All of that hard work, effort and commitment right from the beginning had paid off big time and I only have you to thank for and also Blogger. If I hadn't stumbled across Blogger a year ago, none of the above would be possible.

In honour of my blog's first year anniversary, I've made  Pumpkin Cupcakes which I'm sharing with you today. This recipe had been  sourced from "The Hummingbird Bakery: Cupcakes & Muffins Recipe Book". From this book, I discovered my first ever recipe, published onto BakingBoutique(link will be left at the end) . There are so many other recipes which I'd definitely be open to using in due time.

As of now, in order to make these seasonal cupcakes, you'll need the following:

120g /1 cup of plain flour

140g / a scant ¾ cup of caster sugar

1 tbsp of baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon, plus extra for decoration

a pinch of salt

40g / 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter,at room temp

120ml / ½ cup of whole milk

2 medium-sized eggs

Preferably 200g / 6½oz of canned pumpkin puree (below will be a video of me concocting my own handmade pumpkin puree)

For the icing you'll require:

300g / 2 ½ cups of icing sugar,sifted

50g / 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temp

125g / 4oz of cream cheese,cold.

If you're opting to make your own pumpkin puree, you'll need 

1 pumpkin and water


Method of making the pumpkin puree:

Warning: The pumpkin may be tricky to cut into quarters, therefore seek assistance, especially with sharp knives.


Begin by cutting the pumpkin into quarters, peeling and cutting into chunks.

Place in a large saucepan, covering with water. Bring to the boil.

Cook this for 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Drain well and allow to cool. Then puree the flesh in a food processor or mash with a potato masher. I took the easy route with a food blender.

Once pureed and kept in a suitable container, it can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or deep freeze for 3-6 months. 


Now onto the preparation of the cupcakes:

Firstly, preheat the oven to 170C (325F), Gas Mark 3.

Tip the flour,sugar, baking powder, cinnamon,salt and butter into either a freestanding electric mixer or a handheld one, beating on a slow speed until you get a *sandy consistency and all ingredients are combined. Gradually pour in the milk and beat until well mixed.

*Sandy consistence is when the sugar hasn't quite dissolved into the mixture properly.

Add the eggs to the mix and beat well (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the  side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Stir in your pumpkin puree by hand until evenly dispersed.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases (for an festive feel, I'd gone for orange cases)until two-thirds are full. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden and the cake bounces back when touched. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.



Lastly, time for frosting!

Beat the icing sugar and butter in a freestanding/ handheld electric mixer on a medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.

Add in the cream cheese all in one, beating at the same speed until it is completely incorporated. urn the mixer speed up to medium-high. Beat until the icing is light and fluffy for at least 5 minutes. Do not overbeat , however, as it can become runny quickly.


Once the cupcakes are completely cool, spoon or pipe the Cream Cheese Icing on to,garnishing with a light sprinkling of cinnamon.

Shots

Pumpkin Puree

Cupcakes

Check out the candle I had brought- literally smells of gingerbread.

Leading up to the ending of this post...

Here's the link of the first recipe I posted onto BakingBoutique:
Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

Congratulations Candice for winning GBBO!!

Books I recommend to read this Autumn:

The Sun Is Also A Star                Swing Time 

A Million Worlds With You

     

Check out Boomerang- the latest app by the creators of Instagram. 

Star celebrities came together in aid for WE Day

I only recently discovered this song but now I can't seem to get the tune out of my head!!

Cool Girl  

See you next week!

#sweetreats xx 

Recipe Post No.31 - Baked, Fruity Autumn Pudding!

Hey guys!

Thank you ever so much for commenting on last week's post-it has been delightful, reading such excellent responses to  last week's post. 

In order to "concoct" this Autumn-y pudding, you'll require:

450g of mixed autumn fruit; I had mainly consumed apples and plums. However, pears and blackberries would work well also.

2 tbsp of butter

200g of caster sugar

300g of self-raising flour

140g of shredded suet (this may involve a search party in Asda!)

zest of 1 lemon.

Method:

As always , heat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C/ gas mark 4. Afterwards, cut 2 x 5cm-wide strips of parchment and lay them up the sides of a 1.2-litre pudding basin, making a cross on the bottom of the dish. *Ensure there is some overhang of the parchment,  to help you release the pudding when cooked. 

Grease this once again, laying a square of foil and equal-size square of greased parchment on top of each other, folding a pleat down the middle.

Moving onto the filling...

Chop your"autumn fruit" into approximately 1cm cubes, placing into a bowl. Include the butter, broken into bits and 125g of sugar and cinnamon (of course). Stir, putting to the side. *In my opinion, I do not think the mixture of fruit would require any further sweetness as fruit have their natural sweeteners. However, I did not manufacture the recipe so...😐

Sift the flour into a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix in your shredded suet, the remaining sugar and lemon zest. 

Add in a few drops of water, working the water through the suet mix,manoeuvring a cutlery knife in order to do so. 

Keep adding water until you end up with a soft dough. Using your hand, bring the dough together, forming a smooth ball.

Tip this out onto a lightly floured surface. Tear the dough into ¾ and ¼ parts. Roll the larger portion into a rough circle, roughly around 20cm.

Drop into the basin, pressing up the sides up until you have a slight overhang. Tip the fruit filling into the pastry case you had created. 

Roll out the remaining ¼, to produce a lid. Next, press the pastry edges conjointly. Tuck in the sticking out flaps of parchment down onto the pastry.

Set foil/parchment over the top, thumbing and squeezing the foil round the edges, creating a "fitted lid". Tie string securely around the lid, making a handle with an additional double-up string. Place into a deep roasting tin. 

Pour boiling water to 1-2cm below foil line. Bake for 2 hours, topping up the water level every now and then in case the water level becomes too low.

FINALLY, unwrap, release edges using parchment tabs and invert onto a plate. And voilà! If the pastry had kept its shape upstanding, the whole thing looks pretty impressive. However, if had not managed to do so, you can still serve in bowls and it'll appear just as impressive.

Photographs...
  

Check out the pumpkin I brought!!!😝

Until the end of this post....

• In my opinion, the newly selected reads from Zoella's Whsmiths' Book Club, I haven't been exactly crazy about, unfortunately. I apologize if this has offended anyone's tastes in Zoe's chosen book picks.

 

•For those interested in campaigns and debates, check this out: Here is why everyone's talking about Planned Parenthood

•If you're up for further scare, I'd recommend you to watch Teen Wolf Season 3 Episode 19. Click here to watch!

•Proposed Poem: Lifestyle, An original poem 


• Also, if there are any recipes you know and you'd like me to display on BakingBoutique, let me know. Mu inbox is always open to new suggestions e-mailed by fellow bloggers or overall readers! Email: chocolatecupcakes08@gmail.com


•For those who have recently been feeling down due to the cold weather, the over-piling of leaves of feeling that everything is just a little too much. Click here !

•Below is a mini gallery of photographs I had taken during a historical trip to the Tower of London:

 

 

•That's all from me this week but stay tuned for my baking anniversary next week! Thank you once again for all of your lovely feedback! Thanks for reading!

As of now, see ya!

#sweetreats xx

Post 2016 No.30- Things I've liked throughout October!

Hey guys!

First things first, thank you so, so much for all your loving comments and feedback over this past month -I heartily appreciate how much you admire my hard work!  

Proceeding to this week's blog post, the last time I had complied a list of "Things I like" were back in May, where I shared with you all the recipes I'd liked. The link of this blog post will be left to your needs below.  In my opinion, composing a post, expressing my own likes is important because as well as my blog reflecting my love for baking, it should display my personality.


First off, I am in love with this whole Autumn theme on blogs. It's so nice to see blog posts which are related to Autumn. 


Another trend I admire a great deal, over the past two months of Autumn, have been Pinterest. Lately, I have uncovered a few aesthetic photographs .....and I love it!

Progressing onto TV shows, I haven't really been up-to-date with all the TV fad. However, I have been loving Great British Bake Off (#GBBO). I mean, who hasn't?!

Another TV show which I've been watching regularly or finding the time to watch is Neighbours (my fave character's Paige, Paul and Jack).

Dance Moms also seem to be a must for me and so is Sing it on.

Onto the recipes...

Here's a list of the recipes I've liked so far:

Sparkly Star Biscuits(click here for the recipe

 
Blackberry Crumble (click here for the recipe)

Baked Fruity Autumn Pudding

Apple Crumble Cupcakes (click here fore the recipe)

Carrot Cake (been super popular during this Autumnal season)

Biscuits in general (I personally feel this is the month for biscuits!)

Chocolate,nutty traybake

Autumnal quotes:

That's all from me! As this post is closing...

Link to: Recipes I've liked throughout May 

Alex Aiono.... aye,aye,aye!

Favorite song of the month: Starboy by The Weeknd!

Any ideas for my anniversary blog post, let me know in the comments below!

See ya next week!

#sweetreats xx