How To: Cookies and Cream Kit Kat Cupcakes

Hi Nibblers!

         I was scanning the aisles of my local supermarket one evening when I stumbled cross 'Cookies and Cream' flavoured Kit Kats. It's always in these moments that recipes come knocking on my door and there's just a vision before me. Luckily enough, I had an occasion to bake for. Sometimes, I want to try things out but there's just not enough friends close by with whom I can give my baked goods to.

         A few weeks ago, I entered the next chapter of my career. For the past eight months, I was on a stepping stone. I learnt valuable skills and was able to figure myself out. I also  made friends with the most wonderful group of people whom supported my baking dreams. They encouraged me to experiment and continue with what I enjoyed. After a few weeks of brainstorming ideas I decided to make my 'Cookies and Cream Kit Kat Cupcakes' come to life as my farewell gift to my friends. I do have to apologise in advanced for the poor photo quality. I had to take pictures at night and my night photography is horrendous. But, I can only go on up from here so bear with me. :)

How To: Cookies and Cream Kit Kat Cupcakes

Makes: 12 cupcakes                                                                                         Duration: approx. 1 hr

What you'll need:

Cupcake Component

- 180g or 1 cup self raising flour

- 50g unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)

- 150g or 3/4 cup sugar

- 2 tsp. Vanilla essence

- 80g or 1/2 cup cocoa powder

- 2 eggs

- 250mL milk

- 3/4 of a (170g back) Cookies & Cream Kit Kat strips (roughly crushed)

- 12 medium sized chocolate choc chip cookies

Vanilla Buttercream

- 250g unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)

- 100g icing sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla essence

- 2 Tbs milk

- 3 Cookies &

Cream Kit Kat strips quartered / remaining strips (optional - for toppers)

- 3 tsp. baking flour

How To:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celcius

2. Line cupcake tin with paper liners or lightly spray tin

3. Place one chocolate choc chip cookie top faced down onto tin into each liner

4. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy

5. Add eggs and vanilla essence 

6. In a separate bowl mix self raising flour, cocoa and baking flour 

7. Combine half of the dry ingredients and half of the milk to the wet ingredients then mix until well incorporated 

8. Add second half of dry ingredients and milk to bowl 

9. Place about 3/4 of the crushed Cookies & Cream Kit Kats to mixture and mix until evenly distributed

10. Fill cupcake liners until about half way full

11. Sprinkle remaining Cookies & Cream Kit Kats crumbs onto each cupcake top

12. Pop cupcakes into the oven for 16-18 minutes (ensure skewer comes out clean after cooking time) then set aside to cool

Vanilla Buttercream:

1. Beat butter on high until it turns from a yellow colour to off white tone (takes at least 5 minutes)

2. Add icing sugar and beat until well combined

3. Add vanilla essence and milk and beat for at least another 3 minutes on high

            Note: for a thicker buttercream add a Tbs of icing sugar until desired texture

           For a softer buttercream, add a Tbs of milk until desired texture

Let's Decorate!

Once cupcakes have cooled completely, I used a closed star tip and followed the edges of the cupcake before coming into the centre. I then placed a Kit Kat block on top to finish the look!

Decorating is always the fun bit so let your creative juices flow and do whatever please you. 

I hope you Nibblers enjoyed this recipe! I've been brainstorming ideas for the Christmas season so watch this space in the coming weeks. 

Until then,

Nibble away,

                 Jo

How To: Chocolate Banoffee Cake

Hi Nibblers!

    Inspiration for recipes come from all kinds of places. This one came as I was strolling through Coles and stumbled across Chocolate Banana Tim Tams.  I was sold! I was thinking of all sorts of chocolate and banana cupcake ideas until Mum asked me to whip up a cake for my Aunty's 60th birthday. My Aunty had come over from France to visit so it had to be a memorable cake. My Aunty is all about coffee so I decided to incorporate it into the cake and encase the cake in coffee buttercream. I love how this cake turned. Moist on the inside and the perfect balance between the chocolate, banana and coffee flavours. The crushed Tim Tams added a crunch creating more texture combinations with every bite. So if you want to know how to make this cake, keep reading!

How To: Chocolate Banoffee Cake
Makes a 3 tier 20cm round cake or 12 standard servings                                     Takes approx. 4-5 hours including cooling time

What you'll need:
Sponge Component:
- 700g riped bananas (roughly mashed) - about 6 small sized bananas
- 80g or 1/2 cup cocoa
- 130g or 1/2 heaped cup brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 100g softened butter (room temperature)
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- 200g self raising flour
- 160g all purpose flour
- 50mL milk
- 4 roughly crushed Chocolate and Banana Tim Tams biscuits
Coffee Buttercream:
- 1kg of softened butter (room temperature)
- 450g icing sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 5 tsp. instant coffee mixed with 1 Tbs. water
Chocolate Ganache:
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate buttons
- 1/4 full thickened cream
Decorations: *Optional
- 5 Chocolate and Banana Tim Tam Biscuits roughly chopped into different sizes

How To:
Sponge Component:
1. Pre-heat oven to fan forced 160 degrees Celcius or 320 degrees Farenheit
2. Line 3 x 20cm round cake tins with baking paper or lightly spray to prevent cake sponge from sticking to edges
3. Evenly sprinkle crushed Tim Tams into 2 cake tins leaving one tin bare (that will be out top layer of the cake)
4. Beat softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes)
5. Add eggs one at a time and beat until well combined
6. Combine self-raising flour, baking powder, cocoa and all purpose flour together then add half the contents to bowl
7. Combine mashed bananas, milk and vanilla extract together then add half of the contents to mixing bowl and beat until well combined
8. Add the reaming halves of the dry and wet ingredients and beat for a further 3-4 minutes until well incorporated
8. Pop cake tins into the oven for approximately 30 - 35 minutes. Swap the cake half way through to ensure all layers are cooked evenly. Once time is out, check with a skewer ensuring it comes out clean then pop aside until completely cool
        Note: If you wanted to save time, pop cakes into the freezer for an hour before doing anything further. It will help to level the cake later on as well!
Coffee Buttercream:
1. Beat softened butter until it turns into an off-white colour from the bright yellow tinge (Takes at least 5 minutes on high)
2. Add vanilla extract then beat until well combined
3. Add icing sugar and beat until well combined (at least 3 minutes on high)
4. Add coffee mixture to mixture and beat on high until well combined (at least 3 minutes on high) then set aside until needed
      Note: If you like a thicker buttercream, simply add a Tbs. of icing sugar each time until desired texture.
                 For a thinner buttercream, add a Tbs. of milk to the buttercream
Chocolate Ganache:
About 15 minutes before assembling your cake, make the chocolate ganache either over a double boiler or in a microwave.
I used the microwave method and here's how I did it
1. Place chocolate buttons (or crushed dark chocolate) with cream in a microwave safe bowl
2. Microwave chocolate/ cream mixture for 45 seconds
3. Take mixture out and stir as much as you can. If the mixture is still not smooth and silky, place in microwave for 20 second intervals until ganache is silky smooth with no lumps.
4. Set aside until needed - Ganache will thicken as it cools to room temperature

It's time to assemble!
1. Take cake sponges and level off each layer until all are as close to one another as possible. Pop the leftover cake to nibble on with your coffee - don't chuck it out OR make some cake pops
2. Spread an even layer of buttercream onto base layer of cake then place second layer directly on top then repeat process until you get to the top layer
3. Apply a thin crumb coat layer around the whole cake then place cake in freezer or fridge for 10 minutes
        Note: to avoid dirtying your cake board/ plate, place strips of baking paper around the bottom edges of the cake to prevent from spills
4. Generously apply another layer of buttercream around the whole cake until smooth
        Note: Don't be afraid to pop the cake back into the freezer for 10 minutes at any time. It'll help you smooth out any imperfections you want to fix

Crumb Coat

5. Using a tablespoon, gently pour ganache along the edge to create the tear drop effect. Add more ganache and slightly push against the ganache if you want a thicker drop then simply fill in the middle with ganache
6. Decorate the outside of your cake as desired - I chose to place a ring of crushed Tim Tams on the baking paper ring around the bottom of the cake and used the baking paper to firmly press the crumbs to line the cake. Remove baking paper ring once done
I also sprinkled some across the top of the cake with larger chopped pieces
I also added dried banana chips and meringue (things I had lying around in my pantry) to the top to add some colour and dimension
Voila! Cake is ready to go!

          My Aunty and family enjoyed this cake throughly. I received really positive reviews in terms of visual and taste aspects which I'm extremely pleased about. Even Richard who is not a fan of sweets said I did a decent job! It can be quite a rich cake so play around with sugar levels and decorative pieces to counter that. If you do give this cake a go or even make a cupcake version do make sure to leave a comment down below. Until then,

Nibble Away,

            Jo

How To: S'mores Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

Hi Nibblers!

      S'mores has become the new craze around town lately. S'mores dips, biscuits and cakes - you name it. So, I decided to join the band wagon except, with my own crazy take on it. I had a big craving for chocolate chip cookies at the time and peanut butter which inspired this concoction. I loved the end result. Crunchy bottom and gooey top. It was lovely warm and cooled. Read ahead if you want to know how to.

How To: S'mores Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

Makes approximately 20 cookie cups                                              Takes about 1.5 hrs including cooling time

What you'll need:

Cookie cups:

- 250g unsalted butter (melted)

- 1 cup or 220g brown sugar

- 2 eggs

- 2 tsp. vanilla essence

- 2 cups or 360g self-raising flour

- 1 1/2 cup plain flour

- 2 tsp. baking powder

- 2 cups or 180g choc chips 

Peanut Butter filling:

- 5 Tbs. heaped peanut butter

- 3 Tbs. milk

Marshmallow tops:

- Approximately 100g Marshmallows - halved

How To:

1. Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Celcius and 320 degrees Farenheit

2. Lightly spray two 12 piece muffin tins

3. Beat sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla essence until well combined

4. Sift together self raising flour, flour and baking powder into wet ingredients until incorporated

5. Stir in chocolate bits

6. Roll out approximately 2 heaped Tbs. of cookie dough into muffin hole and firmly press down in the centre and along the edges until it fills up evenly around the muffin (approximately 0.5mm around the edges)

7. Pop cookie cups into the oven for 12 minutes 

8. While waiting for cookie cups to half cook, get peanut sauce ready by popping peanut butter and milk into the microwave for approximately 1 minute and stir until well combined before setting aside

9. After the 12 minutes, take cookie cups out of the oven and lightly press along the edges to open up the cookie cup depths

10. Evenly spoon approximately 1 tsp. of the peanut butter mixture into each cookie cup then pop three marshmallows to fill the top of the cookie cups

11. Pop cookie cups back into the oven for another 20 minutes then switch setting to grill and let cookie cups grill for a further 10 minutes before taking them out of the oven

12. Leave it to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tray before leaving to cool on a rack before consuming!

        So happy with this crazy combination! If you Nibblers ever give this recipe a try, do leave a comment down below telling me how it goes. They can make days in advanced and last a week at room temperature and two weeks refrigerated so definitely a sweet treat for the week. I hope you're all having a lovely week!

Nibble Away,

               Jo