Oogie Boogie Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

What better time to share these cupcakes, as we get closer to Halloween. These are definitely the perfect Halloween bake, especially for those that are fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

This recipe comes from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas The Official Cookbook & Entertainment  Guide, which is full of fun recipe's as well as party ideas.

Let's get baking!

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

2 cups plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

10 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup caster sugar

finely grated zest of 1 large lemon

2 large eggs

1/4 tsp green gel food colouring

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Meringue Frosting:

2 large egg whites, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp liquid glucose/light corn syrup

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp green gel food colouring

Start off by making the cupcakes, pre-heat your oven to 190C Fan/Gas Mark 5 and line 2 cupcake/muffin trays with cupcake/muffin cases.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt.

In another bowl, with either a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest on a medium-high speed, until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one ant a time and beating well after each addition.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Then add the green food colouring, and a third of the flour mixture and mix on a low speed until blended.

Add half of the buttermilk and lemon juice and mix on a low speed until combined.

Add another third of the flour mixture, then the remaining buttermilk and mix just until blended. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until blended.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give the batter a stir.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cases, filling them bout three-quarters full.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

When baked, remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then let cool completely on a wire rack. Allow to cool for at least 1 hour.

Once your cupcakes are cool move on your meringue frosting.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the  egg whites, sugar, liquid glucose/corn syrup, salt and water.

Set the bowl over barely simmering water in a saucepan. Using an electric hand-held mixer, beat on a medium-high speed to stiff peaks, about 5 minutes.

Remove the bowl from over the water and continue to beat until the mixture cools, about 2 minutes.

Add the vanilla ad food colouring and beat until blended. I did forget to take a picture of the end of beating, hence an empty bowl.

Transfer the frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe an Oofie Boogie blob of frosting onto each cupcake. Add 2 mini chocolate chips for eyes.

Serve at once or refrigerate for up to 1 day before serving.

These were easy to make but, they did get a little messy, especially with the meringue frosting.

They tasted really nice and I'd happily bake them again.

They really are perfect as a Halloween treat or even part of the dessert table at a Halloween party.

If you would like make this recipe for yourself as well as any of the other Nightmare Before Christmas recipes then you can find this book on both Waterstones and Amazon, as well as any other book stores etc.

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

Meringue Christmas Trees

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

I came across this recipe last year and thought I'd wait till Christmas came round again to share it with you, which I will be using this recipe again in time for my Christmas bakes.

This recipe comes from a blog called Crumbs & Corkscrews.

Let's get baking!

Ingredients:

4  Medium egg whites

200g Caster sugar

1/4 tsp Cream of tartar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Green Food colouring

Christmas sprinkles

Preheat your oven to 100C and line a baking tray with a baking sheet, you may need 2 baking trays.

Place the egg whites into a large bowl and using a handheld mixer, whisk until the egg whites start to stiffen, about 3-4 minutes.

Add half of the caster sugar, cream of tartar and vanilla extract and whisk again, until combined. Then add the remaining half of the ingredients, and continue to whisk on a medium-high speed, until the egg whites are thick, smooth and glossy and forming stuff peaks, about 6-8 minutes.

Now add the green food colouring and mix it through evenly.

Fill a piping bag with a star nozzle and add the meringue batter, then pipe the meringue in tall swirl shapes, onto the baking parchment, leave a couple of centimetres between each meringue. Then scatter your sprinkles over the top.

Bake the meringue's for 1 hour. Turn off the heat and leave the meringues in the oven for at least 1 hour to prevent cracking. If you're able to leave them to cool overnight in the oven.

When fully cool, remove the meringues from the baking parchment.

Enjoy however you wish.

While meringues can be time consuming to make, they're definitely worth it, I'm going to be using them this year to top a cheesecake as decorations rather than cream, Last time I made them my handheld mixer packed in halfway through, so I'm hoping that this year it all goes smoothly.

If you would like to read and follow the original recipe then head over the Crumbs & Corkscrews Christmas Tree Meringues recipe page.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

Eton Mess Cake

Hello

안녕하세요 

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは 

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

It's been such a long time that I did some proper baking and I thought what better excuse than to surprise my friend with a birthday cake and I thought making this Eton Mess cake, would give off a more mature and sophisticated bake. Some of the steps are minus pictures as I was finishing the last stages I completely forgot about taking pictures as I was in the mindset of completing it.
Lets get baking!

Ingredients:

For the sponge

280 g unsalted soft butter

280 g golden caster sugar

5 medium eggs

1 orange, zested and juiced

280 g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp milk

Ingredients:

For the syrup

3 limes, 1 zested and 3 juiced

1 orange juiced

85 g caster sugar

Ingredients:

For the filling

500 g strawberries, hulled and quartered 

2 tsp fresh chopped mint, plus torn leaves for decoration

1/2 lime juiced

5 tbsp icing sugar

500 ml whipping cream

300 g raspberries

1 x tub 16 plain mini meringues, 6 kept whole and the rest broken into pieces

Start off by pre-heating the oven t0 180C/Fan 160C/ Gas Mark 4, then grease and line 3 sandwich cake tins with baking paper.

Next in a large bowl, whisk together the butter and golden caster sugar for about 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy.

Gradually add in the eggs, one by one, whisking well between each addition.

Then add the orange zest and mix.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder together. then add to the wet mixture and fold through. 

Lastly fold in the 2 tbsp orange juice and milk.

Divide the mixture evenly between the 3 sandwich tins, levelling the tops. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and springy, and a skewer inserted into the centres comes away clean.

Once the cakes are baked and out of the oven, make the syrup. In a small pan, gently heat 3 tbsp of lime juice, the zest of 1 lime, 3 tbsp orange juice and the caster sugar, until the sugar has dissolved. Bubble for 5 minutes.

Prick the tops of the cakes all over with a skewer, and brush over the warm syrup, then leave to cool. I don't have a pasty brush, so I used a spoon to pour over the cakes.

Next macerate the strawberries by placing them in a bowl with the chopped mint, lime juice and 2 tbsp icing sugar. Stir, then set aside for 15-30 minutes. Drain the juice and reserve for drizzling.

For the filling, whip the cream with 3 tbsp icing sugar to soft peaks.

Spoon a 1/3 of the mixture into a separate bowl and set aside for the topping. Fold three-quarters of the macerated strawberries, some broken and full meringues (depending how big they are) and most of the raspberries through the whipped cream.

Place your first sponge on your serving plate, and spoon half of the filling over the top. Sandwich with the second sponge and repeat the filling and place the final sponge. Decorate the top with the reserved whipping cream, the remaining strawberries, raspberries and whole meringues. Drizzle with the reserved strawberry juice and serve.

To say how time consuming this can be when it's not a familiar recipe, it was really easy and simple to make. The sponges were really soft and moist and had a bit of a tang from the lime juice, the cream with the strawberries, raspberries and meringue was divine, I think when I make it again I'll cut the mint a lot smaller.
I think this is a perfect cake if you're having afternoon tea with a group of friends or just wanting a gorgeous cake to be an edible centrepiece. It was well received all round when I presented mine, it really was delicious and can't wait to make it again.

If you would like to follow the original recipe or just want to see where I came across this cake, then you can check out Eton Mess Cake Recipe on the Tesco website.

See you soon!

안녕
(Annyeong)
さようなら
(Sayonara)
再见
(ZaiJian)

Bye