Belated Blogmas Day 17: Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

So for part two of mine and Gabbie's Christmas bakes we made gingerbread cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. All the Christmas flavours. They're so sweet but so moreish. My piping skills aren't that great, but if you're a dab hand at it, you can make these look truly stunning. 

Ingredients

200g plain flour

2 tbsp ground ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 

340g butter

300g caster sugar

3 tbsp molasses (or honey / treacle / maple syrup / muscavado sugar) 

4 eggs (at room temperature)

1 tsp vanilla extract 

For the Frosting

500g icing sugar

113g cream cheese

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

2-4 tbsp double cream. 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C . Whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves. 

 2. In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. 

3. Add molasses (or substitute). Beat until combined. 

4.Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each one until incorporated. 

5. Beat in vanilla. Gradually mix in flour mixture until combined. 

6. Divide the mixture evenly among the cases, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for 25 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean. 

7. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. 

8. For the frosting, beat the cream cheese until fluffy.Add vanilla, cinnamon and 2 tbsp heavy cream and mix until smooth. Gradually mix in the icing sugar. 

9. Spread or pipe onto the cooled cupcakes and store in an airtight container. 

These are packed full of all the flavours that resonate with Christmas. It's literally Christmas in your mouth when you're eating these!. 

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Belated Blogmas Day 16: Christmas Baking Part 1: Oreo Fudge

So on Tuesday me and my friend Gabbie decided to get together for a Christmas baking day. Not only did we end up with some awesome baked goods to give as gifts, but we really got in the Christmas mood. Baking is so much more fun and stress-free when you do it with a friend. Here's our gooey and downright tasty Oreo Fudge. It's ridiculously easy to make and requires very little ingredients. Minus the chilling time, it'll probs take you 30 minutes max!

Ingredients

230g cream cheese 

500g Icing Sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

425g white chocolate, chopped

15 Oreo cookies, broken into chunks

1. In a bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. 

2. In a heatproof  bowl set over a pan of simmering water, heat white chocolate, stirring until melted and smooth.

3. Stir in the melted white chocolate.  

4. Add 3/4 of the Oreos into the cream cheese mixture. 

5. Spread into a baking dish lined with either cling film or baking paper. 

6. Press the remaining cookies into the top of the fudge. 

7. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before cutting. 

7. Cut into 1 inch squares. 

Wrapped up in tissue paper, these would make perfect Christmas gifts for someone with a sweet tooth. 

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The Missing Blogmas Day 11 Post: The Food of Prague

So in the stress of trying to catch up with the posts I missed in Prague and writing two a day for the last week, I forgot to post this one, so I'm having to go back on my word about my last Prague post, because it's actually this one (sorry). 

When you think of Prague, it's beer and fairytale buildings that come to mind. At least that's how it was for me. I asked as many people who'd been to Prague as I could about the food, but no one really had anything to say, which was strange considering I loved it so much I wanted to dedicate a post to it. 

I was so pleasantly surprised with the variety, the flavours and the combinations and I just wanted to stay until I'd tried every dish possible. 

From street food to traditional stews and back-street cafe treats, this post will have you salivating. 

Street Food

When doing my Prague research, I'd read that the place to find the staple street food was the hot dog stands, and I instantly thought of New York hotdogs. You know, the ones that are pretty grim but everyone says you have to try at least once. Well I couldn't have been more wrong. These were proper bratwurst sausages wrapped in the traditional rohlik (long bread roll). This was the first thing we ate upon landing in Prague, and it filled us right up. 

That cute little swirly roll-thing up there is called a Trdelnik. It's made from rolled dough which is very similar to that which makes a pretzel, wrapped around a stick, then grilled and topped with sugar and sometimes walnuts. These were everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Every second stall at the Christmas market was selling them, and you couldn't walk down a single street without coming across a shop dedicated to selling only them. Having tried one though I can understand why. They're so moreish and will appeal to anyone with a sweet tooth. 

Staromacek Restaurant 

Tucked down one of the backstreets of Old Town was this cosy, little place. A lot of the restaurants around Old Town are quite touristy and don't offer a lot of authentic Czech cuisine, and they're not cheap either. This place was packed and the menu was both authentic and reasonable. Kurtis ordered 'Meat on a Pin' not knowing what to expect. When the above showed up, we were the centre of the whole restaurants attention. That's one fancy kebab. 

I ordered pork stuffed with ham, leeks and Roquefort cheese. It was so scrummy but didn't really look that appealing to the eye, so I thought I'd leave the yummy ingredients to speak for themselves. 

Kolonial Restaurant

This was my favourite meal of the entire trip. After a good 5 hours of sight-seeing on the coldest day (-4) we were starving and desperate for somewhere warm and something to eat. We weren't picky. But we were so lucky to stumble across this gem in the Jewish Quarter. It's actually a cycling restaurant, as you can tell by the quirky decor. Random, yes, but it'll definitely stay with me. I loved how they'd used bike parts to make up dinner themed artwork on the walls, and the hanging bike chains above the bar. 

For starter we ordered the cheeseboard. We weren't aware however that as you progressed up the board, the stronger the cheeses got. That 3rd cheese, OH MY LORD. I love my cheeses but that was stronger than I could handle. It tasted amazing, but was definitely best in moderation. It also made me fingers smell like feet. I loved their take on a classic cheese on toast, with spring onions and sweet chilli, and the jar contained Camembert with garlic. 

For main, I had the classic, traditional goulash in a bread bowl, and Kurtis had Babicino "Hoopla Popl"which was cubes of roasted potato dumplings with homemade boned duck, smoked pork flank and white cabbage. 

As hungry as I was, there's no way I could have finished mine, even though it was the tastiest thing I had out there. Just like the British beef stew really, but containing caraway seeds and both sweet and smoked paprika, giving it a warm, spiced taste.  

I only had a spoonful of Kurtis' but the rabbit (which I'd never had before) was so good, and the dumblings were just like gnocci, but with a crispy outside.  

This is definitely one meal I won't ever forget. 

Christmas Market and Cafes

The best thing about the Christmas markets for me is the variety of food and sweet treats on offer. From roasted nuts and marzipan in every flavour you can imagine to hog roasts and giant rounds of cheese, it's no place for anyone on a diet. The spectacle itself is a feast for the eyes. 

As you'll know I love baking, and I'm so interested in cakes from different countries. I can't quite remember the name of the swirly pastry packed full of cream, but it was hella tasty. 

The last cake is honey cake (Medovnik) , and you can buy it from any cafe in Prague. It's butter, nut and honey heaven. 

As you can see, we well and truly embraced the food of  Prague, and I can't wait to go back and try even more food! 

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The Blogger Bake Off Final - Petit Four: Coffee Victoria & Lemon Meringue Tartlets

And so, the end is near, and so I face the final curtain. My friend, I'll say it clear, I'll state my case of which I'm certain [...]  Yes there were times, I'm sure you knew when I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spat it out . I faced it all and I stood tall, and baked it my way! 

What's a final without a cheesy ballad thrown in there somewhere? I'm sure the British Bake Off will have one tonight when they announce the winner (RICHARD! RICHARD!) 

This week, I decided after the chaos of the entremet, there was no way I was tackling a croque en bouche, so went for petit four instead. Make a miniature version of anything and it's adorable, so I did these minis of some baking classics, the victoria sponge and lemon meringue pie (I also like to pretend I'm a giant when eating them). 

This entire challenge has been incredible and I would personally like to thank I Love Crafty for organising the entire thing. I've learnt so much from doing this, and don't really want it to stop. That's where you guys come in. If you would like to see the baking continue on Blood, Sweat and Heels then leave a little comment below, because I'm seriously considering making it a permanent feature. Whatever the decision may be, there is a Christmas Blogger Bake Off in the pipeline. 

I really hope you've enjoyed this flurry of baking that's been going on recently and have been inspired to don your apron and get elbow deep in dough. 

Coffee Victoria

Ingredients

225g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for tin

225g golden caster sugar

4 medium eggs

225g self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

100ml cold espresso

Filling / Icing

100g unsalted butter, softened

100g icing sugar, sifted

1 tbsp cold espresso

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Butter one large, deep baking tray, and line the base with baking paper. 

2. Using an electric whisk on high speed, whisk the butter in a large bowl for 1-2 minutes until very pale and fluffy, then add the sugar and continue to whisk for another 1-2 minutes. 

3.  Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well with each addition until the mixture is amalgamated.

4.  Sift and whisk in the flour and baking powder in two goes, just lightly, then whisk in the coffee. 

5. Tip the mixture into the baking tray, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the sponge bounces back when poked. 

6. Whilst that's baking, for the filling cream the butter in a bowl using an electric whisk for about 1 minute until very pale and fluffy, then gradually whisk in the icing sugar and whisk for 1 minute longer. Finally whisk in the coffee. 

7. When the cake is done, remove from the baking tray and peel off the baking paper. Leave on a wire rack to cool. 

8. When cooled take your cake cutter (I used a shot glass and a knife for this as I didn't have a cutter small enough. Remember, petit four are meant to be eaten in one go) and cut out as many circles of sponge as you can get out of your cake. 

9. To get my icing effect, I used a piping bag and a small star nozzle, but how you decorate yours is completely up to you. Add the filling to one circle, and then gently place another on top, and ice. 

Lemon Meringue Tartlets

Ingredients

Pastry

175g plain flour

100g cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 tbsp icing sugar

1 egg yolk

Filling

2 level tbsp cornflour

100g golden caster sugar

finely grated zest 2 large lemons

125ml fresh lemon juice (from 2-3 lemons)

juice 1 small orange (or breakfast orange juice)

85g butter cut into pieces

3 egg yolks and one whole egg

Meringue

4 egg whites, room temperature

200g golden caster sugar

2 level tsp cornflour. 

Method

1.Preheat the oven to 200C 

2. For the pastry, put the flour, butter, icing sugar, egg yolk (save the white for the meringue) and  tbsp of cold water into a bowl. 

3. Using your hands, bind the ingredients together until it forms a dough. This will require you to really work the butter into the mix, so there are no lumps of butter. Use an electric whisk if it helps. 

4. Tip the pastry onto a lightly floured surface , gather together until smooth, then roll it out. 

5. Using the same cutter you used for the Coffee Victorias, or a shot glass and a knife, cut out as many circles as you can get from that piece of dough. Pull all the off-cuts together and roll out again and cut more circles. Repeat this until you're out of dough. 

6. Fill a muffin tray with muffin cases, and place a circle in each one. Using your forefinger, poke the dough right into the corners to create a yorkshire pudding shape. Stab each one with a fork and put the tray in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes. 

7. Once chilled, line each bit of pastry with tin foil, and add baking beans for a blind bake. 

8. Put into the oven for 6 minutes. 

9. Remove from the oven, and remove the baking beans and foil. 

10. Put back into the oven for another 6-10 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden brown. 

11. For the filling, mix cornflour, sugar and lemon zest in a saucepan. Strain and stir in the lemon juice gradually. 

12. Make orange juice up to 200ml with water and strain into the pan. 

13. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. Once the mixture bubbles, remove from the heat and beat in the butter until melted. 

14. Beat the egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue) and whole egg together, stir into the pan and return to a medium heat. 

15. Keep stirring vigorously for a few minutes, until the mixture thickens and plops from the spoon (It will bubble, but won't curdle). Take off the heat and set aside while you make the meringue. 

16. For the meringue, put the egg whites in a bowl. Whisk to soft peaks, then add half the sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking between each addition without over-beating. 

17. Whisk in the cornflour, then add the rest of the sugar as before until smooth and thick. 

18. Using a teaspoon, add the lemon filling to your cases, filling just to the brim. 

19. How you want your meringue to appear is completely up to you, I used a piping bag and a small star nozzle, piping the meringue in tiny blobs. 

20. When you've piped the meringue, turn the grill onto it's highest setting, and set the tartlets under it until the tip of meringue start to brown. Keep an eye on them because this process happens quite quickly. 

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