Mint hot chocolate

Mint hot chocolate cupcakes were delicious although I had some problems with buttercream. Instead of creamy, soft buttercream I had something rather crumbly and hard. I am not saying it wasn't delicious but not exactly was I was expecting. But the chocolate cake and mint filling were really tasty. With no doubts. The recipe comes form 'Making cupcakes with Lola' cookbook.

Ingredients for 13 cupcakes:

• 100g dark chocolate
• 175g butter
• 225g sugar
• 4 eggs
• 100g self - rising flour
• 3 tbsp cocoa
• pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Break the chocolate into a smaller pieces and put into a bowl, add the butter. Melt them together using microwave or placing a bowl over a pan of simmering water. When melted stir well add the sugar stir again and let  cool for about 10 minutes.

In a meantime sift the flour, salt and cocoa into a separate bowl. 

Pour the chocolate mixture into an electric mixer bowl and beat for 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 10 sec between each addition. Add the flour mixture and mix until blended.

Divide the batter between the muffin cases. Bake for 25 minutes, until well risen  and  a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove form oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Mint filling ingredients:

• 250g icing sugar
• 2 tsp mint essence
• 2 tbsp water  

Sift the sugar into a small bowl. Add the mint essence and 1 tbsp water and mix. Add another tbsp of water and mix again. The sugar should be incorporated and the mixture should form thick white paste.

 

 

When cupcake are cooled completely cut a whole in the middle of each one. Put inside about 1 teaspoon of mint paste and cover with remaining cake (look at above pictures).

Buttercream ingredients:

• 120g soft butter
• 250 - 300g icing sugar ( originally 500g but my buttercream was too thick I would recommend to reduce the amount of sugar to 250-300g)
• 1 tsp mint essence
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp milk
• green food colouring

 Put the butter into an electric mixer bowl and beat until smooth. Sift the half of the sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the second half of sugar and beat on low speed. Add the mint and vanilla essence. Add the milk and mix beat for 3-5 minutes on higher speed. 

Add a couple of drops of food colouring and beta until incorporated.

Spread the frosting over the cupcakes using a spatula, or spoon the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe on top of a cupcakes. Decorate with mint chocolate. 

Enjoy !

Potato nests

I have seen this recipe in ' The Little Paris Kitchen. Cooking with Rachel Kahoo'. I like the idea very much and decided to try it in my own kitchen. Because this dish is baked in muffin tin I have decided to publish it on my blog. The recipe is also available on line on this website. 

Ingredients for 6 large potato nests:

• 1tbsp butter
• 500g potatoes (used those which don't fall apart while being cooked)
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 200g smoked bacon
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 250g Reblochon cheese I used Camembert

Grease the muffin tin holes. Preheat the oven to 180C.

Peel of the potatoes, then cut them into matchsticks size pieces.Set aside.

Dice the bacon. Chop the onion. Finely chop the garlic. Dice the cheese.

before baking

Put the butter, bay leaf, garlic, bacon  and onion on frying pan and cook until bacon golden brown. Then add the wine and reduce it until only a few tablespoons of liquid remain. Remove bay leaf. Add the potatoes and stir them in. 

Remove pan from the heat and add the cheese. Stir well and transfer to prepared earlier muffin tin. 

Bake for 15 -20 minutes until golden warm. Serve hot.

 Enjoy !