Orange Cupcakes

The Little Kitchen  Orange Cupcakes

I adapted these cupcakes from a Lemon Cake recipe on Fathers' Day this year. I wanted to bake something, but I had already eaten so much food (and since I have no self control) I decided to make something citrus-y so I wouldnt eat it. I personally don't like citrus flavoured food (weird I know) but my family loved them. These cupcakes use both zest and juice to give them an extra flavour boost. I piped orange flavoured buttercream frosting onto the top with a star shaped piping nozzle.

I'm still not great at piping- the cupcakes at the back are...creative

Ingredients:
1/2 cup self-raising flour
125 grams of butter
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
The juice of half an orange

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees
2. Beat the butter, sugar and zest on medium speed until smooth
3. Add the beaten eggs and flour, alternating between the two
4. Divide the mixture evenly into a patty pan lined cupcake tray
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes

I iced the cupcakes with thick orange frosting, I also added a few drops of food colouring to show the flavour of the icing.

Ingredients:
2 cups icing (confectioners) sugar, sifted
100 grams of butter
juice of half an orange
orange food colour

Method:
1. Soften butter in microwave
2. Add sugar and orange juice and whisk until smooth
3. Add food colour drop by drop until it reaches desired shade

* The consistency of the butter at the beginning will affect how the icing turns out. If the frosting is too runny add some icing sugar, if too thick add some more orange juice or a splash of milk.

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

The Denmeads' Chocolate Brownie Slice

A couple of years ago my sister brought this recipe home from a friends house, and she said it was the 'the best brownie ever'. I made a batch and completely screwed it up. It was sad. I have no idea why I had so much trouble making a batch of brownies back then, I now make these all the time for my friends. They are fudgy and chocolate-y and my sister was right, I have never eaten such delicious brownies as these.

Ingredients:
125 grams of butter
150 grams of dark chocolate, chopped
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Method:
1. Stir the butter and chocolate together over low heat (or in the microwave) until melted
2. Add in the sugar, flour, baking powder and the eggs
3. Stir till combined
4. Pour into a baking paper lined cake pan (about 20cm) and smooth until the mixture is relatively flat
5. Bake in moderate oven for 30 minutes

I made this for my friend after accidentally hitting her in the face and making her cry

For this batch I made a simple buttercream frosting and spread it over the brownie, I then made a white chocolate ganache to pipe on writing. Any icing works well on these and you can also add choc chips or nuts to the mixture.

If there are any left by the end of the day, just store them in an airtight container and they'll stay fresh for about a week, though I've never really tested this theory since brownies do not last long at my house.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the easiest cookies to make and taste so good. My mum made these for my sister and me when I was little and today it's still the only recipe I use. I make choc chip cookies all the time, I made some yesterday as a prize for the person who guessed closest to the score I got on my physics test, it took about 20 minutes to make a batch and she loved them. Here's the recipe:


Ingredients:
½ cup of brown sugar
½ cup of caster sugar
1 ¾ cups of self-raising flour
1 egg
125 grams of butter
125 grams of choc chips

Method:

1. Melt butter and stir in sugar
2. Add flour, eggs and choc chips- stir till combined
3. Form into teaspoon sized balls
4. Place on baking paper lined tray and flatten slightly
5. Bake in moderate oven (180˚C ) for 8-10 minutes



I don't have any photos to show the method, but it's pretty simple, anyone can make these. I like my cookies soft and squishy so I never cook them for longer than 9 minutes, if you prefer a crunchier biscuit cook them for about 12 minutes.