Raspberry and Coconut Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for a charity bake sale at J's work weeks ago. The inspiration for these cupcakes were the Taylor & Colledge flavour pastes that I was sent to review. I'd already tried out the lemon one in this banana and berry lemon muffin recipe which worked really well.  I decided to try the coconut one next and chose to pair it with raspberry. The result was a wonderfully moist, coconuty cake interspersed with chunks of fresh raspberries which cut through the coconut. It was paired with a raspberry jam frosting and had a hidden raspberry inside the cake. I baked 2 batches for the bake sale and a further batch later in the week to take to my work as it was just too good not to share. Everyone was amazed by the hidden raspberry which looks like a heart so I'm planning to make this again for Valentine's Day next year!

I'm sharing this with a few blog challenges this month

Cook Blog Share hosted by Lucy from Supergolden Bakes.

Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too

Tasty Tuesdays hosted by Vicki from Honest Mum

Bake of the Week hosted by Helen from Casa Costello 

 This was for a double recipe 

 Adding coconut extract paste 

 adding fresh raspberries and dessicated coconut

 lovely cupcake batter 

 fresh from the oven

 Make a small hole in th centre using a cupcake corer or melon baller 

 Fill it with a fresh raspberry

 ready to frost 

 pipe icing on and add a fresh raspberry on top and a sprinkling of dessicated coconut 

 I used pink and white spotty cases to match the raspberry and coconut 

 Ta-da! Do you think the raspberry looks like a heart inside? 

Makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes 

130g unsalted butter, softened
125g caster sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
130g self-raising flour
50ml double cream 

1 teaspoon Taylor & Colledge coconut extract
50g desiccated coconut
50g fresh raspberries

For the icing
110g butter
110g seedless raspberry jam
100g icing sugar, sifted

To decorate

24 fresh raspberries

dessicated coconut 

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add in the eggs slowly and continue mixing. 
• Add in the coconut extract, double cream and flour. 
• Finally stir in the dessicated coconut and fresh raspberries by hand.
• Fill the cupcake cases until 2/3 full with cake batter.
• Bake for approximately 18 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool completely before decorating.
• To make the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar until smooth.
• Add the raspberry jam and continue beating until smooth. 
• Make a small hole in the centre of each cupcake - you can use a cupcake corer or a melon baller.
• Place a fresh raspberry in the cored out cupcake.
• Pipe the frosting on top and decorate each cupcake with a fresh raspberry on top and a sprinkling of dessicated coconut.

Disclaimer: I was sent a range of flavour pastes from Taylor & Colledge for review purposes. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own. This is not a sponsored post.

Cherry and Coconut Bundt Cake

Back in Feb this year, I was invited to attend a French Glace Cherries Masterclass. It was great fun and I discovered new recipes using French glace cherries. They contacted me recently to ask if I was interested in entering their competition by creating a recipe using French Glace Cherries as the star ingredient. It takes about 10 days to make French Glace Cherries where the fruit's natural water content is replaced by sugar. They use natural fruit and vegetable juices to give the cherries different colours. These cherries retain their flavour, shape and texture throughout the baking process. 

I started thinking about flavours that pair well with cherries. Almond and chocolate immediately sprung to mind but I wanted something a little different. I decided on a cherry and coconut combination even though I'm not a huge fan of coconut. I was going to add chocolate to the mix but decided less is more and I really wanted to highlight the cherries in this bake. After lots of thinking and experimenting, I came up with this cherry and coconut bundt cake with a cherry jam filling and a cherry glaze on top. 

The bundt cake looks stunning on its own and this particular shape called for a glaze. My glaze was quite thick  but I think it still achieved the desired effect. The cake was moist and you get a real hit of coconut. The cherries were evenly spaced throughout the cake which ensured that each slice had some cherries in it. I particularly liked the jam layer in between which was supposed to be in the middle but ended up near the top during the baking process. I gave J the cake to take to work and the feedback I received was 

• Very moist sponge
• Jam and cherries work well 
• Not too sweet which is nice, not overpowering 
• Nice to have a good cake that's not reliant on butter cream or icing 
• Tastes just as good the day after 

The lovely people at French Glace cherries have kindly agreed to offer one of my readers a selection of French Glace Cherry goodies which includes a branded timer, kitchen scale, an apron and samples of French Glacé Cherries. For your chance to win, just leave a comment saying what you will use the cherry samples for and a winner will be selected at random. Prize is only available to UK residents. I will contact you via the comment section on this blog and announce the winner after the closing date so please remember to check back on 3rd September to see if you are the lucky winner. Another winner will be selected if the first winner is not contactable after 72 hours. 

The closing date is 12 midnight GMT 2nd September 2014. 

I hope this cake will qualify for a few blog challenges this month.

Tea Time Treats hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and co hosted by Jane from Hedgecombers. The theme this month is Picnic Food and Picnic Treats. This cake will be perfect for a picnic as it's easily transportable and can be eaten with your fingers. Plus it will impress everyone at the picnic :) 

Celebration Cakes & Bakes hosted by Mummy Makes Cakes as this is a stunning cake worthy of any celebration. 

 Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too.

Cook Blog Share hosted by Lucy from Super Golden Bakes

 lovely french glace cherries - red and purple variety 

 I tossed the cherries in the dessicated coconut 

 add a layer of batter 

 followed by a thick layer of jam - be careful not to touch the sides of the tin with the jam 

 cover with remaining cake batter 

 making the cherry glaze 

 fresh from the oven 

 you can see all the cherries dotted around 

 with the glaze 

 you can clearly see the jam layer 

An original recipe by bakingaddict

For the cake
250g butter
400g plain flour
330g caster sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
250mls coconut cream
100g dessicated coconut
4 eggs
192g french glace cherries
370g (1 jar) berry & cherry jam

For the glaze
100g glace cherries
1/2 - 3/4 cup of water
2 tablespoons of caster sugar (or to taste)

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
• Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. 
• Mix in the flour and baking powder.
• Add the coconut cream and dessicated coconut. 
• Cut the glace cherries in half, rinse in cold water and dry thoroughly. 
• Place the dessicated coconut in a small bowl and toss the cherries through the coconut.
• Add this to the cake mixture and stir by hand. 
• Pour 1/3 of the batter into the bundt tin.
• Place a thick layer of jam on top making sure not to touch the sides.
• Top with the remaining cake batter.
• Bake for approximately 50 -60 minutes (it's a large cake!) or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool completely before decorating. 
• To make the glaze, place the cherries, water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently until the sauce thickens and the cherries soften. You may need to add more water or more sugar depending on consistency and sweetness required. 
• Place the mixture in a blender and blitz until smooth.
• Sieve the mixture through a medium sized drainer to get a smoother glaze. 

Addendum 3/9/14
The lucky winner selected at random is Kate from the Gluten Free Alchemist - Congratulations!

Chocolate Easter Eggs with a Twist

I'm really excited to share this Easter treat with you. I made it 2 years ago and everyone was so impressed by it I thought it was time to make them again.  It's a really simple idea but it's so effective and it's guaranteed to impress. Last time I made multi coloured pastel eggs but this time I chose to make chocolate eggs (cake) and some lemon ones too. I used my favourite Nigella's old fashioned chocolate cake recipe but substituted the sour cream for yoghurt as that was what I had in the fridge. I also made up a lemon sponge batter and made some lemon cupcakes as well.

The most time consuming part is saving the eggshells. I saved a total of 40 eggshells over the course of a few weeks. I poked a small hole at the top with a sharp knife and gently peeled back the edges to make a hole large enough to pour the egg out. You will need a skewer to help get all the egg out especially the egg yolk. Then rinse the eggshells thoroughly in water and place in a large bowl of salted water. The salt helps the eggshells sink to the bottom and also helps to clean them. Soak for at least 30 minutes.  Then rinse the shells again and dry them upside down (hole side down) on a paper towel until completely dry -this is very important as the shells will go mouldy otherwise. Store in an airtight container until you need them. 

Pipe the cake batter into the eggshells and bake in the oven for about 15-18 minutes until cooked. The cake batter will overflow as there is not much room for the cake to expand. If you underfill the eggshells, you won't get a full egg shaped cake but a half egg. Remove the excess cake gently and wipe the eggshells with a damp towel. I cracked a few eggs doing this so it was a good thing I had extra! I also have a lot of excess cake which is good for making cake pops.

I'm sharing this with a few blog challenges

We Should Cocoa founded by Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog and hosted by Rachel from Rachel Cotterill. The theme this month is Easter.

Treat Petite hosted by Stuart from Cakeyboi and Kat from the Baking Explorer. The theme this month is 'Spring into Easter' and these are perfect for Easter.

The Biscuit Barrel Challenge hosted by Laura from I'd Much Rather Bake Than... has the theme of 'fun' this month. These were really fun to make and especially fun to watch people's reactions on receiving the cake and eating them as you crack the eggs open to reveal cake inside.

Calendar Cakes hosted by Rachel from Dolly Bakes. The theme this month is Easter Bakes.

Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior where the idea is to make everything from scratch.

Easter Bake & Make Competition hosted by Ruth from The Pink Whisk and Two Little Fleas 

 

 Scrunch up a small piece of foil to use as a base to support the egg shells 

 Fill up to about 3/4 full of cake batter 

 Don't worry if they look like this when they come out of the oven! Just peel away the excess cake and wipe the shells with a damp towel 

 How cute are these? 

 Here's what the cake looks like once you've peeled the shell 

 They make great gifts for Easter - I also saved up egg cartons in addition to the eggshells and decorated them with Easter stickers and easter chicks and bunnies. You can also paint the eggshells. 

 I also made some lemon cupcakes with the extra batter. I spread some chocolate cream cheese on top and sprinkled over some green coconut 'grass' (leftover from my minecraft cake) and topped it with mini eggs.