Valentine's Day Cupcakes

You don't need to be romantically involved to enjoy these. You don't even need to have Valentine's day as an excuse to make them. I love baking over the weekends because I have more time to play around with decorating. It's like having your own edible canvass to work on. This Sunday just happens to be Valentines Day and there is nothing nicer than having a sweet treat to present to your sweetheart. But like I said, if you're not attached this is no reason that your romantic sensibilities shouldn't take over when you decorate these, and I can tell you that I feel similar heart-racing, giddy and indulgent sensations to being in love everytime I bite into one of these little cupids.

I have chosen royal icing, which is traditionally used on gingerbread or Christmas biscuits, because it has a decadent texture and richness. It also comes out glamorously glossy and makes the cupcakes look especially exciting!

Makes a dozen cupcakes

175g butter
1 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla essence
2 cups self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

Royal Icing
1 egg white
+/- 1 cup icing sugar

To make the cupcakes simply smooth the butter and the sugar together. When smooth and soft beat in the eggs. Add the vanilla essence. Fold in one cup of sifted flour and at a time. Mix together whipping in plenty of air. Heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Fill the cupcake holders in a cupcake tray and bake for approximately 20 minutes, turning the tray round half way through baking so that each of the cupcakes rise equally.

Allow to cool.

To make the icing place the egg white in a bowl and slowly mix in the icing sugar (make sure that it is separated and smooth) until the icing gets thick. Colour with food colouring of your choice- red or pink for Valentine's fun. Ice the cakes and decorate with by piping on your decoration or pattern.

These make a delightful desert for picnic lunches and are easy to pack. Or simply make a cup of tea and indulge alone or with the one you love on the couch!

Weekend Treats: Baby tomato, basil and mozzarella tartlets

The Spanish, in fact many, mediterranean countries will not let you have a drink without a little something      on the side to absorb the alcohol-                    How civilised!  
And in that country (Spain) where the sun goes down after ten in summer and where dinner doesn't officially happen before 9pm, "a little something" is all to well appreciated at the beginning of the evening. But having to make a tapas (as evening snacks are called in Spain or pintxos in Basque Country - pronounced 'pinchos'), should not take a great deal of time. After all, who wants to be slaving away when what you should really be doing is indulging in a cold cerveza (a beer - usually a draft-  in Spanish, which come standard at 250ml) or a glass of white wine and the balmy evening.


These little tomato, basil and mozzarella tartlets take just minutes to prepare and are full of punchy flavour!
Here's what you'll need:
Makes 20



One packet of puff pastry
Olive oil
20 mini Italian tomatoes
20 basil leaves
50 grams (about) grated mozzarella cheese


Roll out the puff pastry so that it is about a quarter bigger in size. Then cut into squares (four strips down and five across). Brush each square with olive oil. Place a basil leaf on each, top with a good pinch of mozzarella cheese (grate more if you run out) and then a mini tomato cut into halves. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place on a greased baking tray and cook for 20 minutes or until golden brown at 180 degrees celsius.

Serve with drinks!  

Mid-week Baking

I always find that by Wednesday or Thursday, the weekend looks dauntingly far away. The notion of having time to yourself or for having any kind of indulgence seems impossible. How often don't we start the week with a new resolution that we will "be good" exercise and lay off the sweets and cakes until the weekend. Not a bad resolution; but only in theory. By mid-week "Arg! it's only Wednesday!" takes on a panic all of it's own. So here is a solution, take some time out to do a bit of mid-week baking. I love baking, not only because of the goddies that it produces, but because it can be a quiet, cathartic and creative moment in the mists of a busy week.

And if you suffer horribly from guilt for breaking your "diet" mid-week, don't.
These banana, raisin and peacan muffins contain no butter, are fruity and have low-gi oats and have no sugar in them. They also only take a few minutes to make... a few precious minutes to yourself after work or in the evening.  What I also like about these is that they also make a great breakfast muffin. So have it on a Thursday or Friday morning with your morning coffee and it will lift your spirits with promises of the weekend to come.


For the muffins you'll need:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup pecan nuts, chopped
1/4 cup raisons

2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup oil
1 cup yoghurt


Sift the flour and add all the dry ingredients together. Wisk the eggs, honey and oil together in a separate bowl. Create a well in the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture. Mix together. Add the yoghurt and mix again.  Spoon the mixture into cupcake holders in a cupcake tin.
Sprinkle some oats on the top.


Bake for 25 minutes on 180 degrees celsius.

Enjoy!

Glorious Butternut

About five or six years ago, I remember being at a friend's house and watching the BBC food channel on DSTV. I cannot tell you exactly which program it was, but I will never forget this: The presenter said that she had come across a vegetable, quite unknown to her and quite wonderful to her.  And so she introduced the butternut.


Indeed I couldn't help but laugh- for us in South Africa, the butternut was a staple veg from when we were children. But she was right about one thing, though, and that is that the humble butternut is wonderful. It is a fantastically diverse vegetable and from its bright orange colour, rich in beta carotene. Butternut is also slightly starchy and can be roasted, boiled, made into soups, is wonderful in stews and curries and on top of all that marries well with traditional Italian flavours (basil, garlic and tomato) so that it becomes a great filling for pasta and an even nicer sauce. Sage is another herb that compliments butternut. Try it roasted with olive oil and rosemary to accompany any roast: lamb, beef or chicken. Another fantastic way to cook butternut is to cut it in half, remove the seeds and fill it with feta or any crumbly cheese (try ricotta with rosemary and generous sprinklings of salt and black pepper and a couple of lashings of olive oil) wrap each half in foil and place skin-side next to the coals. Because the butternut is not whole and heat escapes through the side that has no skin, this can take quite a while so don't wait till the coals are too cold, but bear in mind to make sure that it doesn't burn either. Howerver, if the skin gets blistered (and it's protected buy the foil) this is not a problem. No coals? Just pop them in the oven for 30-45 mins or until tender. Serve with a green salad or baby spinach leaves tossed in a vinaigrette with baby tomato halves.