Lime and Coconut Cupcakes

March was a bit of a busy month.  Being the final month of term 3 kept me occupied as I did my best to wrangle excitable children and actually teach them something. I took on extra work again, and I had a job interview.  There was also a trip to Ikea, a jaunt with my bestie, trips to the cinema, a birthday party, Easter lunch and plenty of baking.  Busy busy busy. 

With regards to my interview, I haven't heard back yet.  I am not feeling particularly positive or hopeful.  I don't think it went well.  Luckily I have very supportive people around me at home and at work who cheer me up by telling me nice things.  It was cool to find out I have impressed people and come across as calm.  I never think I'm calm.  It's been 2 and a half weeks since then at this point.  Hopefully I'll get an answer soon, even if that answer is going to be no...again.

Anyway, the Hubby went a-visitin' to his friends again last month and requested I bake something.  When asked for input on what sort of thing they wanted I was told to do something with fruit (except pineapple).  Hubby initially went to orange, thinking I'd not really done that before until I pointed out all the times I had.  I've also done a lot with berries.  I wanted to try using a different ingredient and it finally occurred to me that I've never really used coconut before.

I am not the keenest on coconut but it is okay.  One of those things I can eat if I have to but not something I would actively choose.  The Hubby is fine with coconut, as he often eats all the Bountys left over in the box of Celebrations.  When I posed the possibility, he said he was willing to give it a go.  Initially, I was going to pair it with chocolate.  Then I switched to pina colada until I was reminded that I wasn't meant to use pineapple.  So I ended up removing that element and going for a coconut and lime cake.  My little recipe book I got free with a magazine years ago had a recipe all ready and waiting for me.

The coconut flavouring comes from a mix of desiccated coconut and coconut cream.  I found the latter in the World Foods section of the supermarket as it is often used in Asian cooking.  I used it as stated in the recipe, but I also heated some of it into milk to use in the recipe too, rather than use regular milk.  If I could cram in more coconut, then I would.  The lime is gained through zest in the batter and juice in the frosting.  It's a cream cheese frosting by the way.  I did try and find some cream cheese that wasn't Philadelphia but couldn't.   The cream cheese section of the supermarket isn't that great.  But it sufficed.  And I convinced the Hubby to eat it.  He's rather against cheese (which, coupled with being vegetarian makes him rather picky) and so has always been weary of cream cheese frosting.  However, I pointed out that carrot cake often gets served with a cream cheese frosting and so he'd probably eaten it before without realising.  Since he likes my baking, he decided to trust me.

They were well received.  Admittedly, that's not hard with that lot.  They love when I send baking but I always hope it's going to be enjoyed.  You get a nice mix of the two flavours coming through and it's a good blend of sweet and citrus.  Turned out there was even someone who doesn't like one of the flavours (the Hubby cannot remember which) and they also enjoyed them.  Hurrah!

Recipe - adapted from Delicious Cupcakes Made Easy
Makes 12


Cakes:

• 100g/3.5oz butter
• 25g/1oz creamed coconut
• 125g/4.5oz caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 125g/4.5oz self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 25g/1oz desiccated coconut
• Zest of 1 unwaxed lime
• 2 tbsp milk (you could melt down some of the creamed coconut to get coconut milk)

Topping:

• 150g/5oz cream cheese
• 50g/2oz icing sugar
• 2 tsp lime juice
• Desiccated coconut and lime zest for decorating 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and fill a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.
2. Put the butter, creamed coconut and caster sugar into a bowl and beat together until pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
4. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and fold until just combined. 
5. Stir in desiccated coconut and lime zest, followed by the milk.
6. Distribute the mixture evenly between the cases and then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the cakes are risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
8. Beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and lime juice together in a bowl.
9. Swirl the frosting onto each cake and then sprinkle with desiccated coconut and lime zest.

Individual Honey and Walnut Cheesecakes

Dessert Challenge time has rolled around once again!  And once again we have a classic combination that I have never encountered before!  This month's ingredients are honey and walnut and my contribution is little, individual cheesecakes!  Also, as an added bonus, these cheesecakes are both sugar free and wheat free, as all the sugar is replaced with honey and the base is made of nuts! 

When I sat down to think about this challenge I was at a bit of a loss.  Honey and walnut is not something I've really used in combination and I've only used honey...once I believe as a significant ingredient, back when I made that honeycomb layer cake.  Oh wait, there was also that honey wheat bread.  But yes, for the most part, not really worked with this month's ingredients.  Hence I decided to turn to Google and see what came up for the two of them.  Of course, the most popular result was baklava!  I did consider baklava.  But it does involve my nemesis: pastry!  And you know me, I am wanting to make my own pastry.  I can't just buy it from a shop!  But baklava requires phyllo pastry, which is possibly one of the most terrifying looking pastries to make and I didn't think I was quite ready to attempt that.  Besides, I don't have a big enough table for all the stretching.

So it was back to the drawing board.  To be honest, I am not entirely sure how I eventually ended up at cheesecakes.  I have never made cheesecake ever.  Nor have I eaten it.  It just doesn't really appeal to me.  But that never stops me from making something.  Some browsing around yielded that I could use walnuts to make a base so that was great and I figured I could get the honey bit into the cheesecake's filling somehow.  It was then I had an idea!  Honey can be used as a sugar substitute so why not substitute the sugar in the filling for honey!  Clearly this was a stroke of genius!  So I looked into ratios and advice of substituting honey.  When it came to cheesecakes though, most places recommended against it due to the liquid content.  But one site did have some suggestions on how it could be done so I took inspiration from there.  I then found a simple looking cheesecake recipe to work from and was set!

Now obviously, when you have no experience either making or eating something then it is clearly a great idea to mess with a recipe!  You may have guessed that the first attempt did not go quite to plan.  Its main problem was the base.  My first issue was that I did not have ground almonds.  Well, I did but they were out of date so I couldn't use them and I hadn't ordered more.  I should really not be so lazy about walking over to the kitchen and checking these things when I am ordering my weekly shop.  Anyway, it meant I ended up substituting in more walnuts.  I also did not bake the base on its own, because the recipe I was adapting didn't either.  I had also read that nuts could burn much more easily than a biscuit base and didn't want to risk cooking them for too long.  The result after baking the whole thing was that I had a greasy base that remained rather gross and soggy even after the cases were removed.  They also fell apart very easily and were apparently quite bitter tasting.  Oh dear.  The topping was apparently quite nice according to my lovely tasters at Markinch Primary School, which was something at least because I had no idea if it had come out correctly.  I had kept them in the oven a lot longer than recommended because I could not work out if they were cooked or not.  However, overall, I was not happy.  So I made a second attempt the following weekend.

This time I made some changes.  I actually put the ground almonds in this time and I baked the base sans topping for a bit first to try and firm it up somewhat.  I had also been unhappy with the presentation of the previous cakes because I had used very large cases to line my tins.  Too large and so they folded in and caused the final cakes to have weird shapes.  This time, I used smaller cases.  I also decided to pipe my filling in, rather than use a spoon since it gave a smoother finish.  I stuck to the cooking time too.  I could actually see a change in colour on this attempt.  I couldn't with the last batch which is why I cooked them longer than I should have.  My final changes came with the decoration.  Before I had just drizzled them with honey and topped with a walnut.  I figured I could do better and go a bit fancier.  So I made a honey glaze to coat the walnuts and then roasted them!  And then made a honey sauce for drizzling.

And the final result?  A VAST improvement!  For a start, they looked much nicer and more appetising.  The bases were not greasy though they were still a little soft in comparison to a normal cheesecake base.  And the taste was much, MUCH better according to my tasters.  These ones were scoffed!  I was very pleased.  I am definitely getting better at this baking thing if I can mess with a recipe to such an extent and get a great result on the second attempt.  Of course, I would have preferred it to be right first time around but I am still very happy!

Recipe - inspired by Bill Granger, via GoodFood

Makes 12 individual cheesecakes

Base:

• 100g/3.5oz walnut halves
• 55g/2oz ground almonds
• 50g/1.7oz butter 

Filling:

• 400g/14oz cream cheese
• 55g/2oz runny honey 
• 100ml/3.5fl.oz sour cream
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Zest of half a lemon

Honey Roasted Walnuts:

• 30g/1oz runny honey
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 55g/2oz walnut halves

Honey Drizzle:

• 55g/2oz runny honey
• 15g/0.5oz butter
• 1 tsp water 

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3 and line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.
2. Blend the walnuts into crumbs in a food processor.
3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and then add it and the ground almonds to the walnuts.  Mix to combine.
4. Divide the nut mixture between the paper cases and press flat.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, make the filling by first mixing the cream cheese, sour cream and honey together in a large bowl until smooth.
7. Add the egg yolk, vanilla extract and lemon zest and mix to combine.
8. Either spoon or pipe the mixture into the prepared cases on top of the walnut base.
9. Put back in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the topping has puffed up and started to change colour.
10. Switch off the oven and leave the door ajar.  Let the cheesecakes rest in the oven for about 30 minutes before removing and carefully transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
11. Whilst the cheesecakes cool, make the honey roasted walnuts.  Cover 2 small trays with baking parchment and preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 1.  
12. Put the honey in a small saucepan and heat gently until it becomes thin and very, very runny.
13. Stir in the cayenne pepper with a rubber spatula.
14. Add the walnut halves and stir until they are fully coated. 
15. Spread the coated walnuts out onto one of the trays in a single layer and then bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.
16. Remove from the oven and transfer to the other tray and allow to cool so that the glaze sets.
17. When the cheesecakes have cooled, press a glazed walnut piece into the top and then store in the fridge until ready to serve.
18. Make the glaze shortly before serving.  Put the honey, butter and water into a small saucepan.
19. Cook over a gentle heat until the butter melts and the honey turns thin.  Whisk together for about 5 minutes.
20. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.  It will darken and thicken.
21. To serve, remove the cheesecakes from their cases and plate.  Give the sauce a quick whisk and then drizzle over the top of the cheesecakes.

Pumpkin Sandwich Cakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling

It's the second Thursday of the month so it's time for the Lady Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge.  This month's ingredients were pumpkin and cream cheese.

Well, I was seriously considering not taking part this month.  I had no experience with either of the ingredients and had no idea what I would make and who would be willing to eat it.  Pumpkin seems to be a very American thing to bake with and is not very common over here in the UK (from what I've experienced anyway).  You can't get it in canned form in the supermarket, only in fruit form, and I really didn't feel like trying to scrape out the filling from one of those.  However, leave it to Pinterest to start giving me inspiration.  Just opening up the Food and Drink section started yielding several different pumpkin recipes as early as the start of September.  Clearly the stuff is even more popular over in the states than I initially thought.  But with so many options just staring me in the face I decided I would have to give something a go.  As to who would eat it, I figured if I could get them made before the autumn half term started, I could give whatever I made to the lovely ladies at Markinch Primary School via the fiancé's mum.

I originally planned to make pumpkin fudge because it sounded really interesting to do.   Plus I want to try making more confectionery. However, I attempted it three times and all three times I failed.  The first batch burnt; the second seemed to be working until I added the final ingredient and it turned into this crumbly powder; and the final batch, whilst better than the other two, just didn't have the texture of fudge.  It was rather disappointing and I ended up with saucepans with burnt, failed fudge adhered to their bases.  It took several days to clean them all completely, which made dinner tricky since we only own 3 large-ish pots.  Really I've been needing a proper, heavy based pot for confectionery making.  Good thing I got to go to Ikea at the weekend and acquire a lovely cast iron casserole pan for half the cost one that size would usually cost then.  I cannot wait to test it out.

Sorry, I got a little sidetracked there.  So I scrapped the fudge idea and went looking for something else I could do.  I liked the idea of biscuits but I like to make crunchy biscuits and adding wet pumpkin to it would likely not yield such a thing.  Then it hit me: whoopie pies!  They seem to get classed as biscuits (or a 'cakey cookie') but I'm leaning more on the side that they are cakes.  Cookies are not cakey.  Cake is cakey!  Hence why I've called these sandwich cakes, despite the recipe I was using referring to them as cookies.

After the fudge disasters, this recipe ended up being really simple.  I ended up getting canned pumpkin from a seller on Amazon (who provide excellent service by the way).  The batter turned out nicely though it was a bit of a pain to get onto the trays.  I went to the trouble of smoothing them all over to make sure they came out nice and even on top, since reviews in the original recipe had complained of lumpiness.  I also made a decision to try and make them look pumpkin-like.  It was a complete experiment and I did not know if it would work.  I tested one by drawing the lines into the uncooked mixture first, putting in a clove stalk and then baking.  That worked okay but making the lines was quite fiddly.  So then I tried drawing them in after by running the sharp end of a skewer through the top just after they came out the oven.  It also worked but looked quite messy.  Finally I realised that since they were still quite soft when they came out the oven, I could just press the skewer into the top to make the pattern.  It worked really well and with the little clove stalks they made quite adorable pumpkins.

As for the filling, cream cheese was very easy to work with and pipes really nicely.  I ended up with double the amount I needed though.  Maybe the baker of the original recipe is just really generous with their filling?  Ah well, I saved the leftovers and used it in another batch later in the week since I needed to use up the remaining pumpkin too.

These went down really well with everyone who tried them.  I admit I was surprised since it is a bit of an out-there flavour combination but I guess the fact that it is so unbelievably popular in America should have tipped me off. 

Recipe - adapted from Land O' Lakes

Makes about 18

Cakes:

• 280g/10oz plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• Whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 200g/7oz light brown sugar
• 170g/6oz canned pumpkin
• 60ml/2fl.oz milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Orange food gel (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and line 2-3 baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Remove the buds from the whole cloves, setting the stalks aside, and then crush the buds.  You want make about 1/8 teaspoon of crushed cloves.
3. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, crushed cloves, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
4. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.
5. Add in the pumpkin, milk, egg and vanilla extract and beat together until well mixed.
6. Add the flour mixture, and food gel if using, and beat until smooth.
7. Drop level tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto the trays, spaced well apart.  Try and have an even number on each tray.  Use a spoon to make sure the dough is shaped into a neat circular mound.  Use a wet finger to smooth over the tops of each mound.
8. Bake for 9-10 minutes until set (a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean).  I would recommend baking them one tray at a time since you have to do the 'decoration' straight from the oven and if they cool too much it won't work.
9. Immediately after removing a tray from the oven, use the side of a bamboo skewer to press eight lines that point towards the centre into the top of each of the cakes.  Place a clove stalk into the centre top of half of them.
10. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Filling: 

• 200g/7oz cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)
• 30g/1oz butter
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tbsp milk
• 600g/21oz icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

1. Combine the cream cheese, butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract and milk in a bowl and beat until the mixture is well combined and smooth.
2. Add a the icing sugar in four parts, beating well after each addition until it is nice and creamy.
3. Spoon the filling into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe generous swirl on the underside of the cakes that do not have stalks in.
4. Top each one with a stalked top piece.
5. Dust with icing sugar.