Happy Halloween!

Halloween Pumpkin

Since it’s Halloween tomorrow, we thought we would do a pumpkin-related blog post. We’ve found a couple of great recipes to get rid of all those leftovers, so we hope you enjoy! x

Pumpkin Pie

For the pastry

• Sweet short crust pastry case (or, if you feel confident, make your own)

For the filling

• 450 g prepared weight pumpkin flesh, cut into 1in/2.5 cm chunks
• 2 large eggs plus 1 yolk
• 75g soft dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 275 ml double cream

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Use a shop bought sweet crust pastry case, about 9 inch/23 cm diameter and 1½ inches/4 cm deep.
3. To make the filling, steam the pumpkin then place in a coarse sieve and press lightly to extract any excess water.
4. Then, lightly whisk the eggs and extra yolk together in a large bowl.
5. Place the sugar, spices and the cream in a pan, bring to simmering point, giving it a whisk to mix everything together. Pour it over the eggs and whisk it again briefly.
6. Now add the pumpkin pureé, still whisking to combine everything thoroughly.
7. Pour the filling into your pastry case and bake for 35-40 minutes, by which time it will puff up round the edges but still feel slightly wobbly in the centre.
8. Remove the pie from the oven and place the tin on a wire cooling rack. Serve chilled (store loosely covered in foil in the fridge) with créme fraïche.

Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients

For the cake

• 300g self-raising flour
• 300g light muscovado sugar
• 3 tsp mixed spice
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 175g sultanas
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 200g butter, melted
• zest 1 orange
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 500g (peeled weight) pumpkin or butternut squash flesh, grated

For drenching and frosting

• 200g pack soft cheese
• 85g butter, softened
• 100g icing sugar, sifted
• zest 1 orange and juice of half

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Butter and line a 30 x 20cm baking tin.
2. Put the flour, sugar, spice, bicarbonate of soda, sultanas and salt into a large bowl and stir to combine.
3. Beat the eggs into the melted butter, stir in the orange zest and juice. Mix with the dry ingredients until combined.
4. Stir in the pumpkin andour the batter into the tin. Bake for 30 mins, or until golden and springy to the touch.
5. To make the frosting, beat together the cheese, butter, icing sugar, orange zest and 1 tsp of the juice until smooth and creamy, then set aside in the fridge.
6. When the cake is done, leave it in the tin for 5 minutes, before turning onto a cooling rack. Prick it all over with a skewer and drizzle with the rest of the orange juice while still warm. Leave to cool completely.
7. Give the frosting a quick beat to loosen, then, using a palette knife, spread over the top of the cake.

Enjoy! x

Happy Chocolate Cupcake Day!

Chocolate Cupcakes

Who doesn’t love a cupcake? Especially a chocolate cupcake! Since today is chocolate cupcake day, here at Cake-Cetera we’ve been looking up some yummy recipes for you all to use.

We’ve found a couple of recipes that are a little different to a basic chocolate cupcake, so we hope you enjoy them!

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

First up, we have chocolate orange cupcakes. These cupcakes are made with the juice of an orange, giving a slight fruity taste to the sponge. The buttercream is made with both white and orange chocolate, as well as orange zest. To us, this means it’s technically one of your five a day!

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

• 120g plain flour
• 140g caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 40g unsalted butter
• 50g dark chocolate, melted
• 1 free-range egg
• 125ml milk
• 1 orange, juice only
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar

For the white chocolate and orange buttercream

• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• 250g icing sugar
• 2-3 tbsp milk
• 50g white chocolate, melted
• 1 orange, zest only
• 100g orange chocolate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
2. Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until combined.
3. Whisk the melted chocolate, egg and milk together in a jug.
4. Stir the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.
5. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, mix the orange juice and granulated sugar together in a bowl. Carefully pour the orange juice mixture over the warm cakes and set aside to cool completely.
7. For the white chocolate and orange buttercream, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Carefully stir in the icing sugar and continue to beat for five minutes. Beat in the milk, melted chocolate and orange zest.
8. Decorate the cupcakes with the buttercream. Use a sharp knife to make chocolate shavings from the orange chocolate and use them to decorate the cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Up next is a cupcake that is extremely popular just now-red velvet. These chocolate cupcakes contain red food colouring which gives them a lovely colour that stays after baking. These cakes are very rich, so a cream cheese frosting is usually used as opposed to buttercream, yummy!

(These cupcakes have been decorated using cake crumbs from the sponge)

Ingredients

 

For the cupcakes:

• 60g unsalted butter, at room  temperature
• 150g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 10g cocoa powder
• 20ml red food colouring
• ½tsp vanilla extract
• 120ml buttermilk
• 150g plain flour
• ½tsp salt
• ½tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1½tsp white wine  vinegar

For the cream cheese  frosting:

• 300g icing sugar, sifted
• 50g unsalted butter, at room  temperature
• 125g cream cheese,  cold

You’ll also  need:

• 12-hole cupcake tray, lined with  large cupcake cases

Method

1. Preheat the oven to  170°C/325°F/gas mark 3.
2. Put the butter and the  sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy and  well mixed. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a  thick, dark paste. Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until evenly  combined and coloured (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl  with a rubber spatula).
4. Turn the mixer down to slow speed, slowly pour in half of the buttermilk and beat until well mixed. Then add half the flour, and beat until everything is incorporated. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk and flour has been added. Scrape down the side of the bowl again.
5. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until you have a smooth, even mixture.  Turn the mixer down to low speed and add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and  vinegar. Beat until well mixed, then turn up the speed again and beat for another couple of minutes.
6. Spoon the mixture into  the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, or until the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean.
7. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
8. For the cream cheese frosting, beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding  electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and continue beating until the frosting is light and  fluffy (at least 5 minutes). Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny.
9. When the cupcakes are  cold, spoon over the cream cheese frosting on top.

We hope you enjoy

Yummy Treats For The Office

Improve The Office Day & Smile Day

Today is improve the office day, but it’s also smile day, so what better excuse(s) do you need to bake some treats for work? Here’s a couple of recipes that are simple, taste good and are easy to transport x

Flapjacks

Ingredients

• 175g butter
• 175g golden syrup
• 175g muscovado sugar
• 350g porridge oats
• ½ lemon, finely grated zest
• pinch ground ginger

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2 and line a 20cm/8in square baking tin with baking paper.
2. Melt the butter in a medium pan over a low heat. Dip a brush in the butter and brush the baking tin with a little bit of it.
3. Add the golden syrup and sugar to the butter and heat gently. Once the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the porridge oats, lemon zest and ginger.
4. Pack the mixture into the baking tin and squash down. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
5. Once cooked, remove from the oven, leave to cool for 15 minutes, then turn out on to a chopping board and cut into squares.

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

• 375g self-raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 200g caster sugar
• 125ml vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 125ml milk
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 300g blueberries, fresh or frozen
• granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Place the flour, baking powder and sugar together. Sift together into a bowl.

3. Place the oil, egg, milk and vanilla in a separate bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the blueberries and mix to combine.4. Spoon mixture into a 12-hole 125ml capacity muffin tin lined with paper cases. Sprinkle the tops with sugar and bake for 30–35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack.

We hope you enjoy baking these little treats, and with oats and blueberries, they must be healthy!