Banoffee Cupcakes

It was my 1 year' anniversary at my workplace and I made some cupcakes to celebrate this. I made some banoffee cupcakes and raspberry and lemon cupcakes from my new book from Peggy Porschen. I have to say I struggled to get 12 cupcakes from the amount she described so I increased the measurements slightly. I also found the icing ever so slightly too sweet, so I added less icing sugar. BUT even with the sweet frosting it was more than delicious.

Banoffee Cupcakes

For the decoration

50g sugar florist paste(different colours)/marzipan

pink or white pearls

1 banana

For the frosting
120 g full-fat cream cheese
100 g unsalted butter, softened
220 g icing sugar, shifted
1 banana mashed 

For the sponge

120 g unsalted butter

120 g caster sugar

pinch of salt

seeds of 1 vanilla pod

2 large eggs

120 g self-raising flour

40 g plain chocolate (minimum 53% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces

For the sugar syrup

70 ml water

70 g caster sugar

scraped vanilla pods

For the filling

100 g soft caramel 

Make the decoration at least a day ahead.

Kneed the sugarpaste or the marzipan with a small amount of paste food colour, if using, until smooth and pilable. Roll out the paste to a thickness off approximately 2mm.

Place the blossom cutter on the paste and press firmly. Lift off the cutter and release the blossom. Cut a few at a time. Lightly dust the blossom veiner with icing sugar and one by one place each blossom shape in the venier and press. Carefully bend the venier outwards to release the shaped blossoms and place in a well of palette or on a foam pad. Leave to set for at least a few hours or preferably overnight. 

Once dry, you can add shades of colour to your blossoms by brushing with a tiny amount of petal dust using a fine artist's bush. With a brush place a small amount of edible glue in the middle and place a pearl in the middle with a tweezer.

I also made some banana decoration. I sliced one banana then covered the surface with sugar. With a blowtorch caramelise the surface...and that is it:)

To make the frosting

Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl  and beat until smooth and creamy. Place the butter and icing sugar in a separate bowl. Cream together until very pale and fluffy.

Add the cream cheese, a little at the time, to the butter mixture and mix at medium-high speed until the frosting is combined. Add the banana purée and chill until set.

To make the cupcakes

Place the butter, salt and vanilla seeds in a mixing bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy.

Beat the eggs lightly in another bowl and add slowly to the butter mixture while whisking quickly. If the mixture starts to separate or curdle, stop adding the egg and beat in  2-3 tablespoons of flour. This will rebind the butter.

Once all the egg has been incorporated into the butter mixture, shift in the remaining flour and stir until the batter is just combined. This will ensure the sponges stay light and fluffy. Fold the chopped chocolate through the batter using a rubber spatula.

 Using a piping bag or a tablespoon, carefully place the batter into the cupcake cases until two-thirds full only. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the inserted wooden skewer comes out clean.

To make the sugar syrup
While the cupcakes are baking, prepare the sugar syrup for soaking. Place the water, sugar and vanilla pod into the saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until all the sugar dissolved then set aside to cool down slightly. Discard the vanilla pod.

Once the cupcakes are baked, let them rest for about 10 minutes outside the oven. Using a pastry brush, soak the tops of the cupcakes with sugar syrup while they are still warm: this allows the syrup to be absorbed faster.

Leave the cupcakes to cool down completely then using a melon baller, scoop out the tops of each cupcake.

To add the filling, decorate
Using a fork, crush the ripe banana and then mix it together with the caramel cream. Place the banoffee mixture into a plastic piping bag and use to fill the scooped-out holes of the cupcakes.

Fill the chilled frosting in a plastic piping bag fitted with a large pain round nozzle and pipe a swirl of frosting on top of each cupcake.

To finish, place a sugar blossom or a slice of caramelised banana on the top of the frosting for each cupcake.

Chocolate Swirl Banana Mousse

I had some guest to visit us today and I wanted to wow them. I made two type of mini, individual desserts: a Chocolate Swirl Banana Mousse and Mini Pineapple and curd Cheese one. I used my Lakeland cake pan, that looks like a muffin pan, but the sides are straight and the bottoms are removable. But you can use dessert rings as well. It isn't the lightest dessert, because of the banana, but it is really tasty.

 Chocolate Swirl Banana Mousse

Ingredients (makes 6)

6 Hob Nobs biscuits

25 g butter (melted)

250 ml double cream

2 ripe bananas

1 sachet of gelatine (9g)

1 tsp honey
1/2 vanilla pod

30 g chocolate for the swirl
30 g chocolate for decoration-optional

Crush the Hob nob biscuits (use the end of the rolling pin or a food processor) and mix with the melted butter. Divide the mix between the 6 dessert rings/ pan cavities and using your fingers press it to the bottom, to create a flat levelled surface. 

Place into the fridge so the base can harden.

In the meantime you can prepare the mousse. It isn't traditional mousse, as I didn't want to use raw eggs. 

Put the bananas into a food processor and blitz them to get a banana puree (with the processor the puree will be light and fluffy and gives volume, that you wouldn't get by just crushing them). 

Pour 100 ml double cream in a pan and start to heat. When it reaches boiling point add the sachet of gelatine and mix it well to avoid lumps, then leave it to cool slightly. In the meantime whip the rest of the double cream to soft peaks, then add the banana puree, honey, vanilla seeds and the cooled(not hot) gelatine+double cream and incorporate all ingredients well. 

Spoon on top of the biscuit base and level with a spoon.

Melt the chocolate and place 2-3 little coffee spoon's worth on top of each banana mousse. Using a toothpick create swirl, mixing the banana and the chocolate cream.

When finished place them into the fridge to set.
For the chocolate decoration just pipe the melted chocolate on a non stick baking sheet at any shape and place it to the fridge/freezer to set. After plating just insert carefully to top of each mini cake.

Pancakes:Banana and Coconut, Curd cheese and Raisin, Summer fruit and Custard

My husband were moaning all the time, that I don't make pancakes for him.... Well he had a bad day today, so I decided to cheer him up...guess I managed it:) I always made up my batter as I go, but here is my friend's, Kabi's Kitchen batter recipe. I never measured the ingredients so now I tired his recipe and it is like mine:)well the end result. 

Pancakes or Crêpes 

(Banana and Coconut, Curd cheese and raisin, Summer Fruits and Custard)

For the Batter (makes about 20)

400g plain flour

3 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

500ml milk

250ml sparkling water of soda water

4 eggs

sunflower oil

Sift the flour in a mixing bowl and add the salt and sugar. Make a well in the middle and add the eggs and the milk(add the milk in two portion mixing well in between). Mix it well, and slowly add the sparkling water until it reach the consistency  of thicker single cream. 

Stir it up before you start to make them. Heat up the pan until very hot with some oil and make the first batch of the pancakes. Poor the mixture in the middle of the pan, and with circular motion of your wrist spread it evenly. When the edges start to brown flip it with a plastic spatula or a flat wooden spoon. In order to get out of the kitchen before midnight use at least 2 frying pan/pancake pan...I usually do it with three and create a small production line.

If your pancake is too thick add some sparkling water.

Fillings

Banana and Coconut filling (enough for 4-8 depending how much you put in)

So this first filling was the winner today, but I guess we never had pancakes with banana or coconut before, so it was new for us. Actually I just mixed these ingredients together not knowing what will be like. But now on it is on my pancake filling list of all times:)

Ingredients

250ml double cream

100g creamed coconut

100g dessicated coconut

 Banana (1 per pancake)

50g dark chocolate

100ml double cream

With an electric mixer whip the double cream to soft peaks. Add in the freshly grated creamed coconut and the dessicated coconut and mix it together.

Slice the bananas. 

Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over boiling water in a pan. When it is melted add the double cream in small portions and mix well between each addition. Depending on the type of chocolate you use, maybe it will need less or a little more double cream, what you looking for is a thick chocolate sauce texture.

Put a layer of coconut cream to the pancakes and arrange the banana slices on top. Fold on the other half of the pancake then add some chocolate sauce on top. 

Curd Cheese and Raisin (Túrós mazsolás)

This filling is undoubtedly Hungarian, and my childhood favourite(mind you there wasn't an awful lot of choice back then: this filling, jam, or cocoa/cinnamon+sugar), but I sill love it.

Ingredients (for about 10 pancakes)
250g curd cheese *More on this topic at Tricks and Recommendations
150 ml double cream
zest of 1\2 lemon
3 tbsp icing sugar
50g raisins( preferably soaked in hot water for 10 minutes before using it)

Whip the double cream to hard peaks with an electric mixer. Add the curd cheese, lemon zest, icing sugar and raisins and mix it.
Well that is it. You can fill your pancakes and roll it or fold it:)

Summer Fruits and Custard

Ok I admit, I committed a sin: I used custard powder, instead making my own one. But I am human and I have a day job, so sometimes I have to make short cuts:)

Ingredients

selection of summer fruits: I used loganberries, strawberries and blackcurrants

custard powder

Clean your fruits and arrange on the pancake. Mix the custard powder with hot water and pour it on top of the pancake.

So these were my fillings for today but you can use anything else like: jam, nutella, nuts,  cinnamon/cocoa powder and sugar mix, lemon juice and sugar, fruits with whipped cream on the top, caramelised fruits with ice cream and coulis, etc.

Fruit Tartlets on Macaroon Base

They are lovely and  yummy tartlets. At the first glance you would think they are ordinary, but because the macaroon base they rather special. The base recipe is by Donna Hay.

Cardamom infused chocolate filled fruit tartlets on macaroon base

For the base
3 egg whites
160g sugar
225g desiccated coconut

For the cream
300ml double cream
1tsp gelatine
180g good quality dark chocolate(at least 55-60% cocoa content)
3 cardamom pods
1vanilla pod 

For the top
Selection of fruits
I used raspberries, banana, kiwi, and mango

Preheat the oven to 140  °C . Combine the egg whites, sugar and coconut to make the macaroon mixture and divide between 8X 8cm well-greased tart tins with removable bases. Press firmly over the base and sides. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the macaroon shells are firm.
Remove from the oven and leave to chill.

In the meantime prepare your cream.
Put the cream in a heavy based pan on medium heat until it boils. Dissolve the gelatine in it. When the gelatine dissolved, take off from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until its melted. 
Add the crushed cardamom seeds and the vanilla seeds.

Leave it to cool and taste it. You can adjust the cardamom amount as some type isn't that strong. When the cream is just about to set, spoon it into the macaroon shells and leave to harden a bit.
When the top layer is slightly hardened you can arrange some fruits of your choice on top.

Place them into the fridge for at least an hour. 15-20minutes before serving take them out of the fridge and rest on the work surface. Remove them from the base and serve.

Mascarpone Banana Pie/Mascarpone Strawberry Pie

I made this recipe with both biscuits(digestive and hobnobs) and I also tried the chocolate covered version and the plain as well. All of them were delicious. I also experimented with the sizes. I did the pie in my big tart tin and in my small tartlet tins as well(depending how thick you press in the biscuit mix to the base, I usually make 5-6 small tartlets from this amount of biscuit). Also to get the base out in one piece you need the removable base tins!

Mascarpone Banana Pie

For the Biscuit Base

250g biscuit(Digestive or HobNobs-oat biscuit, either plain or chocolate covered)

75g butter

For the cream

4-6 tbs icing sugar

200g mascarpone

100ml double cream

1vanilla pod

5 tbsp Marsala

For the topping

3 bananas 

2 tbsp lemon juice

or

300g strawberry

Crush the biscuits to crumbs(I usually use the end of my rolling pin) and mix it with the melted butter. Press firmly the mixture into the form and put it to the fridge for at least 30 minutes to harden.

Whip the double cream to stiff peaks, add the mascarpone, Marsala and icing sugar,and mix it together. Spoon the cream to the biscuit base and add the fruits on top.

If you using banana, with a brush cover the surface of the banana slices with some lemon juice. It will stop the banana to turn brown even after a day and you won't feel the taste at all.

Put the pie to the fridge for at least 1hour to get the right taste and temperature. 20 minutes before serving take the pie out of the fridge, otherwise it will be hard to remove the case from the tin.