Baking extravaganza this morning in the kitchen. My fault though as I made the mistake of letting the children know that I was going to bake some cupcakes for Red Nose Day. At this point they piped up “can I take some to school”. So now I have the job of making 64 cupcakes to go into school as a treat for the little ones. I am always up for a challenge and thank goodness but I am so glad I have my standing mixer. Only problem is I have ran out of eggs so I am going to have to go to the shops as I am about 20 cakes short.
Not only have I got cupcakes to make but I am making a little surprise for my own mother who I hope to see tomorrow. Also I am trying to finish off the last bakes for my second recipe book before the weekend. I am trying to be good and bake small quantities so that there is not too much for the family to eat this weekend. I have already made the mistake of making too much shortbread mixture so I am going to use the rest up as jam tarts for the children.
In the oven at the moment are two trays of cupcakes and two Easter treat bakes. It is all happening today . Once this is all baked, there is buttercream to make and fondant to roll and shape. Then I have the problem of transporting them to school tomorrow.
I am going to change the recipe of the week to my red nose day cupcakes when I have finished them. I have just realised that I haven’t changed my recipe of the week this week so I am already behind with that job. Also I am going to share a photo or two of the Easter treats which I have made for the second recipe book but the recipes will only be available in the recipe book. I decided to make hot cross buns which are slightly different from the normal ones. I have done my twist on them.
They are delicious even though I say it myself as I don’t like hot cross buns really but these ones I can eat quite happily. I piped the pastry line on the top of the bun while it was still rising and they have worked very well. I used a sugar glaze on the baked bun whilst it was still hot from the oven. the texture of the buns was just right and the tastes were subtle and I feel there was just the right amount of dried fruit for me but the husband disagrees. These are something I will be making again. I am very impressed with how they turned out. My kitchen smelt fantastic. The husband really enjoyed them too.
My Easter gateau that I baked for my new recipe book is made with a genoise sponge. I sandwiched the sponges together with a chocolate ganache made from crème eggs and whipped cream. My eldest daughter finished off decorating the cake whilst I did homework with my little one.
It is the first time she has used a piping bag and I think she did okay without any supervision. Needless to say the family really enjoyed this cake for their after dinner treat. One of them even tried to have a piece for her breakfast this morning (but she was stopped at the fridge door). I am trying to think of alternatives to the crème eggs which are Easter themed but there isn’t that much chocolate out in the shops that can be made into a ganache like the crème eggs can. I will get back to you on that one. Unless you have any ideas which you would like to share. Please feel free to comment below.