Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

I am writing this blog post in haste as a few people have asked me how to make this delicious dessert. To me, its the cupcake of all cupcakes. If you are going to cook something naughty, you might as well make it good. And by gosh... red velvet cakes are GOOD! This recipe is inspired from Sweet Pea's Kitchen Blog, who in turn was inspired by Martha Stewart's recipe. 

(ps. I don't think too highly of this first picture. I think I might have to re-make them during the day so I can post a nicer looking cupcake. I'm sure my colleagues, who seem to score the left overs, won't be too devastated about it). 

Makes 18 cupcakes | 45 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour (sifted)

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1½ cups caster sugar

1½ cups vegetable oil

2 large eggs (at room temperature)

2 Tablespoons Queens Box Pillar Red food colouring

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1½ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

(for the icing)

220g Philadelphia cream cheese

3 cups icing sugar (sifted)

2 teaspoons vanilla extra

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and line muffin pan with paper liners. Mix together plain flour, cocoa and salt; set aside.

2. Beat sugar and oil using a mixer (with paddle attachment preferred) until well combined, then proceeding to  add eggs one at a time. 

3. Alternate in adding the flour mixture as well as the milk and food colouring in two to three batches.

4. In a separate bowl, stir together the baking soda and vinegar which will foam up. Add this to the batter and mix in. 

5. Fill the cupcake papers with batter. Ensure the batter is distributed evenly and is three-quarter's full. Place the muffin tray into the oven and cook for 20 minutes, rotating the tray half way through to ensure consistent baking. 

6. Pierce the centre of the cupcake with a toothpick; if cooked, the toothpick should come out clean. Transfer muffin pan to wire racks to cool completely before removing the cupcakes.

7. Combine the icing ingredients and mix together until smooth. Spread or pipe the icing onto the cupcakes.

Portuguese Custard Tarts

These custard tarts are very similar to one I buy all the time at my local bubble tea cafe. They are so sweet and the perfect accompaniment to my cup of tea. My husband scoffed these down in an instant and while I prefer them warm and fresh out of the oven, he informs me they are still just as good when refrigerated.

Makes 12 | 45 minutes plus cooling time
Ingredients
3 egg yolks

¹/₂ cup caster sugar
2 tablespoon corn flour (corn starch)
200g thickened cream

²/ ₃ cup milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry


1. Whisk egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a saucepan (not over heat).

2. Gradually whisk in the cream and milk until smooth.

3. Place the pan over medium heat and cook until the mixture is a nice thick mixture. It generally happens when the mixture reaches to a boil. Remove from heat then mix in vanilla extract.

4. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and cover with Glad-wrap to cool.

5. When your mixture has cooled, pre-heat your oven to 180°C. Cut the pastry sheet in half and lay each pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface, using your rolling pin to create 10cm in diameter circles to make cups. Press the pastry rounds into the muffin tin.

6. Spoon the cooled custard into the pastry cases and bake for 25 minutes or until pastry and custard are golden.

7. When cooked, remove the muffin tray from the oven and leave the tarts in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring on a wire rack to completely cool. Serve and enjoy :)

** Original recipe from Almost Bourdain **

Mini Almond Muffins

These bite-sized mini Almond muffins pack a punch when it comes to flavour and sweetness. Fantastic with a cuppa and even great for the kids; you'd never guess this was a low fat recipe adapted from a Weight Watchers recipe. 

Makes approximately 24 mini muffins | 25 minutes
Ingredients
125g almond meal
50g flaked almonds
3 tablespoons self-raising flour

³/₄ cups caster sugar
120g egg whites (approximately 4 XL egg whites)
80g butter, melted


1. Preheat your oven to 200°C. Combine dry ingredients into a bowl and mix through.

 

2. Add egg whites, vanilla and melted butter and stir well to ensure all the ingredients are mixed through.

3. Grease your mini muffin tin with oil and spoon the mixture in.

4. Bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes turn off the oven but continue to let the muffins cook for a further 5 minutes before removing and letting it cool completely on a wire rack. 

Notes and Variations
To make this a true Weight Watchers recipe, replace the butter with Weight Watcher's brand Canola Spread.
The original recipe requires you make standard size muffins and each muffin is valued at 3.5 points.

** Original recipe from Weight Watchers Cakes & Bakes **

Double Choc Caramel Slice

This recipe is not for the faint hearted! So sweet, so chocolatey, so JOY!

Makes approx 24 slices | 25 minutes plus chilling time
Ingredients
250g Arnott's Choc Ripple Biscuits
100g Butter, Melted
395g can Condensed Milk
30g Butter
2 tablespoon golden syrup
200g chocolate (100g dark / 100g milk)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil


1. Preheat your oven to 160°C or 140°C if you have a fan forced oven and line a tin with non-stick baking paper (a slice tin with a 28cm x 18cm dimension is ideal). Put all the biscuits into a food processor to create crumbs.

2. When all the biscuits are crumbed, add the 100g of melted butter and process again until evenly mixed.

3. When the butter and crumbs are mixed through, transfer it into the slice tin and using the back of a spoon, press down the biscuit crumbs to distribute and form a smooth base. Put the base in the fridge until needed.

4. Combine condense milk, 30g butter and golden syrup into a small saucepan. Cook over medium to low heat until lightly golden Be sure to stir regularly.

5. When golden and while it is still warm, pour the caramel mix over the chilled biscuit base. Smooth the caramel mix gently and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

5. After baking let the base and caramel mix cool completely. Once cooled, combine chocolate and vegetable oil.

6. Pour the chocolate/oil mixture on top of the caramel mix and then chill until set.

7. To divide, slice in half width-ways and divide this portion into 3 lengths, then cut each into four squares. Repeat for the other half.

Notes and Variations
The caramel portion of my slice looks very runny in these photos because I don't think I caramalised it properly when cooking it over the stove. Then on top of that, I also don't think I let it chill for long enough in the fridge. So what I would probably suggest is that you take your time in step 4, as well as taking a little bit of extra time in chilling. The wait, though long, would be well worth it. As you can see, I couldn't wait. Having said that, it still was delicious.

** Original recipe from Coles Recipes **

Traditional Scones

I have made scones before but they always lacked something. It wasn't fluffy and moist like the cafe's and they were always flat. So I trawled the Internet, looking for a recipe that met the LaLa Kitchen criteria - minimal yet accessible ingredients and lo' and behold I found my recipe which is a variation to the Country Women's Association recipe. Before attempting this recipe yourself, I would suggest you read this recipe in its entirety, including the Notes and Variation at the bottom as the baking of scones requires a bit of love and care on your behalf.

Makes approximately 8 | 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups self-raising flour

¹/₄ teaspoon salt 

75mL thickened cream

²/₃  cup buttermilk 

1. Pre-heat your oven to 220⁰C and line a tray with baking paper. Then sift your dry ingredients into a bowl. 

2. Make a well in the centre of your bowl of dry ingredients, pour in the thickened cream and mix. Then bit-by-bit add buttermilk to the bowl, mixing it in before adding more. 

3. After step two you should have a sticky, yet soft dough. Now, create a floured bench surface to work with the dough.

4. Work the dough quickly yet gently to shape into a rectangle shape with a thickness of no less than 3cm. Then using a cutter, create your scones and line them close together on the lining tray to enable them to rise high. 

5. Lightly brush the top of the scones with a bit of butter milk before putting into the oven.

6. Bake the scones for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown and serve immediately with jam and cream. 

Notes and Variations

I mentioned earlier that I had made scones in the past and there never quite up to my expectation. While trawling through various scone recipes I picked up what I think are some key pointers to achieve the perfect scone. 

Firstly, do not over-work the dough as you risk reducing the fluffiness of the scone and it goes hard. Avoid the rolling pin; if possible, use your hands, and work with your scone dough only when necessary. Placement of the scones on the baking tray is also influential, as keeping the scones close together while baking allows the scones to rise higher than if they were separated. Bit of peer pressure happening there! Cutting is also important, ensuring that you use a sharp cutter and not the rim of a glass to create a circle shape. Finally, take note of the thickness of your dough just before cutting.  Too thin and you have a scone that will barely rise; too thick and you will have a scone that might not cook through, unless you like the semi-cooked type. 

By taking in these notes, you will have the most sumptuous scones to chow down for breakfast or afternoon tea. You can add other ingredients such as fruits (sultanas or blueberries) or even chocolate to spice up your scones. However I like mine the traditional way, with a cup of tea. Enjoy! 

Strawberry Shortcake

Taking full advantage of the strawberries in season at the moment, I found this delicious recipe. The cream, the strawberries and the shortcake just complimented each other so well and I found this to be perfect for satisfying those afternoon sweet cravings. Served with your favourite cup of tea, you have your own high-tea affair at your own home. 

Makes 6 | 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour

¹/₂ teaspoon salt

1 ¹/₂ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

¹/₂ cup thickened cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

strawberries

whipped cream

¹/₂ teaspoon caster sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 200⁰C and line a tray with baking paper. 

2. Combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar into a bowl and mix together with a fork.

3. Slowly add the thickened cream to the bowl, using the fork to mix it in with the other ingredients.

4. Gather the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. 

5. Knead your dough for around 30 seconds, so as not to overwork it, and mould the dough into a rectangle shape of approximately 1cm thickness.

6. Baste one side of the dough with melted butter.

7. Cut the dough into six portions and transfer onto a baking tray with the buttered side facing down. Baste the top side of the dough with the remaining butter.

8. Place the tray into the oven and cook the dough for approximately 15 minutes or until a beautiful golden brown.  While waiting, cut your strawberries into quarters and mix with caster sugar, allowing it to sit until the shortcake is ready.

9. When the shortcake is ready, remove from the oven and assemble as soon as you are able to touch the cake while warm. Shortcake as the base, then topped with strawberry and whipped cream. 

** Original recipe from Eat Your Vegetable Blog **

Strawberry and Nutella Pop Tarts

I'll be honest with you; I've never tasted a packaged pop-tart, like the ones you get at the supermarket. So while I can't really compare, I could probably assume that being freshly made, this pop-tart would taste a million times better and fresher than the packaged product you would buy. What really appealed to me about this recipe was the little ingredients used and Nutella, because everything is just a million times better when Nutella is involved, so I thought I'd give this recipe a go!

Serves 5 | 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 sheets of puff pastry

1 punnet of strawberries

2 tablespoons of Nutella

2 tablespoons chocolate bits

1. Preheat your oven to 180⁰C and line a baking tray with baking paper. I like to spray a bit of oil on the baking paper to get the base of the pop tart to be golden and crispy. While your oven is pre-heating, dice your strawberries.

2. Cut your puff pastry into six (roughly sized) rectangles

3. For three of the six rectangles, spread Nutella and place strawberries on top. Make sure you do this in the centre of the rectangle.

4. Seal your pop tart by placing another cut rectangle puff pastry (the remaining three of six) on top of the filling and seal the edges with the fork and placing a small air hole at the top of the pop tart. 

5. Place your pop tarts on the baking tray and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

6. In the mean time, melt your chocolate bits and any remaining Nutella spread in the microwave for approximately 45 seconds on medium high heat. Place it in a plastic sealed bag, cutting a small bit of the corner off, to make a makeshift piping bag. 

7. When the pop tarts are cooked to your liking, place them on a cooling rack and drizzle with chocolate using the piping bag in step six. Serve up with your favourite coffee or tea. 

Notes and Variations

Don't feel limited to using strawberry and Nutella as a filling for your pop tarts. Blueberries, raspberries, cream chesese or honey could be used too.

** Original recipe from Savouring the Thyme's Nutella Strawberry White Chocolate Pop Tarts recipe **