Passionfruit Cream Cupcakes

I adore passionfruit and I adore cupcakes so the perfect treat for me are passionfruit cream cupcakes :D. 

They are wonderful! The cake is light and spongey and the passionfruit just lets out that zingy tang to dissolve into the sweet flavour. Once dusted with icing sugar, they are thenomenal! I suggest you try these out NOW!

Passionfruit Cream Cupcakes

Ingredients:

150g lightly salted butter, softened
150g caster sugar
3 eggs
150g self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 passionfruits
150ml double cream

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line a 12-section muffin tray with paper cases. Put the butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat with a hand-held electric mixer for about a minute until light and creamy. Divide the mixture between the paper cases. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

Half both passionfruits and scoop the pulp into a bowl with cream and 1 tablespoon icing sugar. Whip until it just holds its shape. Peel the cupcakes away from its paper cases and cut it in half horizontally. Sandwich them together with the passionfruit cream. Dust with icing sugar and serve!

Puff pastry frisbees

Doesn't EVERYONE just LURRRV puff pastry?! It's the easiest thing to use and guides you to baking lovely homemade goods in no time. Another +ive is that it goes well with sweet AND savoury foods! In this case, I've used it to make these lovely fruit frisbees; looking delicate and a piece of food thats taken ages to make - but really, literally 2 minutes! And the best thing about it? - nothing will ever go wrong with this recipe!

Fruit Frisbees
Ingredients:
225g ready-made puff pastry
A sprinkle of caster sugar
Apricot jam, warmed, sieved
A pear
Sliced peaches
2 plums
A glace cherry
A banana
Melted butter

Method:
Set oven to 220C/425F/gas 7. Lightly grease the baking tray with some melted butter. 
Roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick. Cut circles using a cutter/circular lid. Cut around the banana twice to make two banana shapes.
Slice the plums and pear thinly and arrange as "fans" onto the circular pastries. 
Cut the banana in half and lay onto the "banana-shaped" pastries. Brush the fruit with some melted butter and sprinkle the sugar on top. 
Bake the tarts for about 20 mins until the pastry is crisp and the fruit is cooked. Put on a wire rack to cool.
When the tarts have cooled, brush the fruit with a little apricot jam, to glaze the tarts.

Just a simple lemon drizzle loaf...

Lemon is a fruit which tingles your taste buds when eaten on its own. They are healthy in a lot of ways and provide vitamins A, B, C & E! And for that reason, I add it into my cooking. Never mind if the vitamins are still there after its been mixed into cake batter and cooked in a rather hot oven... Ahh well, another excuse in baking up another lemon drizzle loaf!

Recipe:

Ingredients
225g unsalted butter , softened
225g caster sugar
4 eggs
finely grated zest 1 lemon/2 lemons if you like it stronger
225g self-raising flour
FOR THE DRIZZLE TOPPING
juice 11⁄2 lemon
85g caster sugar

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, then add the eggs, one at a time, slowly mixing through. Sift in the flour, then add the lemon zest and mix until well combined. Line a loaf tin (8 x 21cm) with greaseproof paper, then spoon in the mixture and level the top with a spoon.
Bake for 45-50 mins until a thin skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. While the cake is cooling in its tin, mix together the lemon juice and sugar to make the drizzle. Prick the warm cake all over with a skewer or fork, then pour over the drizzle - the juice will sink in and the sugar will form a lovely, crisp topping. Leave in the tin until completely cool, then remove and serve. Will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.