Chocolate Mud Cupcakes

One of my husband's favourite cakes is the simple chocolate cupcake, you know the ones your Mum bought when you were a kid with the hard chocolate tops?  Last time I made them for him I simply melted chocolate on to the top and let it set for an extra solid topping but I'm not sure that's quite how they should be.  He requested that I make them again this weekend and I like to keep my husband happy so that's what I did, although this time I decided to go for a slightly softer topping attempt using a thick chocolate ganache.

Toffee Vodka and Eurovision Hen Weekend

It's been a little quiet in the Normal Kitchen lately as I've been so busy with other things there's just been no time for baking. I realise this is tantamount to impossibility as surely baking is very important and if there isn't time for it then you simply make time for it!  But baking should always be pleasurable and if you're shoe horning it in after a long day at work then I think it needs to act as a stress reliever and not feel like you're doing it for the sake of it.  So aside from the day job what have I been up to over the last couple of weeks?

Well last weekend I went on a good friend's hen do and had the most awesome time.  It was all very relaxed as we were lucky enough to be staying in a beautiful barn in the West Sussex countryside, complete with hot tub, hammock and more alcohol than a branch of Majestic Wine.  We did the most hilarious life drawing classes (something I've wanted to try for a while) and had our very own Eurovision party which basically involved yelling at the telly a lot and waving flags around whilst finding any old reason to make other people have a drink.  OVERSIZED NOVELTY!!!!!!  Everyone drink.

Keeping it Sweet With Banoffee Cheesecake

We spent this weekend visiting some very good friends and it's traditional that I indulge my love of baking and bring the dessert.  I usually make something I've never tried before and this time I decided to try James Martin's Banoffee Cheesecake which combines two of my favourite foods - bananas and caramel.  Another part of the appeal of this is that cheesecakes don't take as long to make as some dishes and I didn't want to spend hours on end in the kitchen instead of spending time with my friends and my husband.

Spreading the Normal Kitchen Love

I've taken a little time out from the kitchen to go all social media crazy this week and you can now keep up to date with kitchen shenanigans on Facebook and Twitter.

Please head on over to the Normal Kitchen Facebook page and 'Like' the page to join in the baking conversation there.  You can see photos, post comments and generally conflab with other baking lovers.

If you're a Tweeter you can follow my baking ramblings by finding @normalkitchen on Twitter or else click on the 'Follow' option at the top of this page where I've posted a handy Tweet and link.

I'd love to hear about some of your own kitchen experiences so if you'd like to share them you can comment on posts on this blog or else use the Facebook and Twitter pages to send messages or photos.

Happy baking everyone x

Classic Recipes: Tarte Tatin

This weekend we visited my parents and I decided that I would like to try a classic recipe that I'd never made before to contribute dessert for us all.  It was also a good opportunity to take advantage of my Mum's gas hob, far preferable to the cheapo electric jobby that's installed in our rented flat.  I browsed the web for recipe inspiration and settled on the French classic, Tarte Tatin.  I love apples and it's a good time of year for them so it seemed a good choice.

I decided to use Mary Berry's recipe from the Great British Bake Off; if it is good enough for the contestants of the show then it is definitely good enough for me.  It also meant I got the opportunity to watch Mary herself making it courtesy of You Tube before I began which would hopefully increase my chances of producing good results.

A Night of Food Chat With Gizzi Erskine at the WI

Last night I attended my first ever meeting of the Women's Institute to hear the delectable Gizzi Erskine talk about her new book, Skinny Weeks and Weekend Feasts.  Having trained at Leith's School of Food and Wine Gizzi certainly knows a thing or two about food but for me the thing that's most engaging about her is her obvious enthusiasm for creating dishes that she really wants to eat.  With an eye on nutrition, balance and a refreshing refusal to view carbs as the devil's food, Gizzi's approach is all about flavour and pleasurable food.

Gizzi has travelled extensively and influences from the Far East in particular are peppered throughout her recipes.  This is definitely my sort of food and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing her talk about her experiences of Thai, Malaysian and Korean cuisines.  I have made the Lamb and Butternut Squash Tagine from Channel 4's Cook Yourself Thin several times, a show which Gizzi presented and threw her firmly in the spotlight.  Now I'm looking forward to trying more of her recipes and finding things that taste far more sinful than they are.

Homemade Madagascan Vanilla Extract

Being a normal person with a normal person's kitchen I'm a huge fan of foolproof recipes that give amazing results and it really doesn't get much simpler than this recipe for homemade vanilla extract.

Featuring in a large number of recipes vanilla extract is an essential ingredient for most baker's store cupboards, but it's definitely one of those things where you get what you pay for and good quality vanilla extract comes with a pretty hefty price tag.  The good news is that you can easily make your own for a far more sensible outlay.  Personally I have never tried a shop bought version that can match home made for taste and as soon as my bought ones are used up I doubt they'll ever darken my kitchen again.

Ingredients

1 bottle of good quality (unflavoured) vodka
12 - 15 whole vanilla pods

Method

1. Drop the vanilla pods, whole, into the bottle of vodka making sure that they are completely covered by the alcohol.  You might need to remove a bit of vodka from the bottle first to make sure there is space for the vanilla as the vodka is displaced.  (Oh dear now you've got spare vodka with no home, that's a shame)
2. Put in the back of the cupboard and forget about it for at least a month by which time the vanilla will have spread itself around giving the most amazing vanilla extract, ready to use in all your culinary masterpieces.

How easy is that?

This extract will last you for years

Millionaire's Chocolates - A Twist on an Old Favourite

I'm really excited today.  Not only am I baking and writing my first proper blog post but I'm making something that is my own idea and creation.  The idea has been building all week and finally today I'm putting it into practise.

The inspiration is Millionaire's Shortbread, or caramel squares, whichever you prefer to call them.  These are a firm favourite in our house but we usually buy them and stock up from a particular shop in the Lake District that does them brilliantly.  I've only made them once before and it didn't go that well.  I halved the shortbread mixture but failed to reduce the cooking time, my caramel was too runny, and the first lot of chocolate topping I made got water in it and split.  Disaster overall.

I have a pyramid shaped chocolate mould and I thought it would be fun to use it to make chocolates that include all the essential elements of Millionaire's Shortbread.  A chocolate shell with broken pieces of shortbread inside and caramel filling the gaps.  For an extra touch and a more interesting appearance I decided to smash honeycomb into small pieces and make a little crust on the chocolate.