Tim Tam Baby Booties

Just wanted to share this blog with you:

http://www.mycakeschool.com/member/videos/wordpress/

I've made Tim Tam pops before as seen in my earlier posts but these look adorable! And I bet they are delicious!

I will HAVE to try them sometime - maybe one of my friends needs to have another baby so i can try this design!:-)

Baby Girl Chocolate Mudcakes

There are so many different chocolate cake recipes out there it can become so mind boggling. Mud cakes are good as they last longer but some find them to rich and dense. If you go for a lighter sponge then there is a higher chance that they will dry out so not suitable for large orders such as weddings that need to be decorated ahead of time.

I have found this recipe to be a winner - it isn't as dense as a mud cake but still tastes amazing after 5 days. they freeze well too. My only concern is that they don't rise very much. I fill 3/4 full and they reach the top of the paper case and then stay flat. I think the reason they don't go dry is that there isn't much air in there and that is what helps the rising process. I am to experiment with substituting some self-raising flour and see what effect that has on the rising and shelf life of the cake.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Makes 32 small cupcakes or 24 large

- 1/2 cup cocoa, sifted

- 2/3 cup chopped unsweetened chocolate (about 4 oz/125 g)

- 1 cup boiling water

- 1 cup butter

- 1 cup granulated sugar

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 3 eggs

- 1 tbsp vanilla

- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 cup milk

1. Combine the cocoa and unsweetened chocolate in a bowl. Pour boiling water over chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Cool.

2. In a large bowl or bowl of electric mixer, cream butter with both sugars until very light. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add flour to butter mixture alternately with milk in three or four additions, beginning and ending with flour.

4. Fill 24 well-buttered or paper-lined muffin cups. (Fill muffin cups three quarters full; cupcakes will not rise as much as muffins.) Bake in a preheated 350ºF (180ºC) oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack before icing.

My mother suggested I try this recipe. It reminds me of a gluten free cake - lots of eggs and butter.

Chocolate cupcakes

Makes 18

300g butter

300g plain choc (70% cocoa solids)

5 eggs

125g caster sugar

110g self raising flour

- Heat oven to 160C

- Melt choc & butter.

- Whisk eggs and sugar in large bowl until pale and thick (quadruples in volume and took about 10 mins).

- Fold in sifted flour gently.

- Stir in melted choc until well blended.

- Spoon mixture into cases and bake for 15 mins until toothpick in centre comes out clean.

- May well still look gooey

- Remove from oven and cool.

- Decorate as you wish.

These cake rose beautifully - must have been all the air in that whisking! I must have left them in too long which was a shame as they were a little dry. I will try these again and check more frequently. These wouldn't be so good for a longer shelf lift due to all the air but a great chocolate cake for decorating.

I made these Baby Girl cupcakes for a friend who recently gave birth to a baby girl called Hannah. Her older sister loves pink so I thought they would enjoy eating these.

I love the sprinkles - they are from a Barbie mix from Sainsbury's in the UK and my mother is bringing lots over for me!