Oh deary me. I’m sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. I did make an excuse for myself in my last post, and just as I predicted I have been very busy. I seem to have let myself in for a tonne of baking, with not only my own humble cake stall but also with helping several others with their catering, preparing food for fêtes, functions and festivals. And after manic baking and being frantically on your feet in the kitchen for however many hours straight, the last thing you want to do is to sit down and write about food (well, sit down – yes, write about food – not so much). So the blog has been relegated to the back burner for a few days.

However, today feels a bit more relaxed: I’m winding down for a slower weekend, and I’m awake enough to contemplate a visit to MercAl to post a bit about my culinary activites!

I did a lot of cake stalls last Summer to raise money for local churches and charities, but it was my first year of doing such an enterprise and I ran myself into the ground with all-night, all-day baking, and hundreds of different items. This year I took a step back and analysed it all: I had lots left over, and people didn’t always appreciate the HUGE selection available to them. So I’ve cooled it on the choice, and have just about managed to curb my overwhelming instinct to cook more rather than less (and I mean MUCH more).

The runaway successes on this year’s stall seem to have been the plain and simple options: date slice, flapjacks, massive slabs of apple crumble cake. But that’s not to say the others haven’t been selling, and I can vouch for their yumminess. One of my favourite creations from the – shall we say – more niche side of the selection, is my peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes.

Never a big cupcake worshipper, I have gradually come round to the delight of making these cute little offerings, not least because they provide the perfect scope for creativity. And I get to practise my piping (for the two tone effect with no mess, I have to thank Anna Costa of Costa Kitchen and her super technique).

One final note, then I swear you can have the recipe: my cupcakes came out a little dry, so I have adapted the recipe to improve them. It’s similar to another I use which makes lovely moist cupcakes, so it should work.

Ingredients

150g softened butter or margarine

250g caster sugar

75g smooth or crunchy peanut butter

2 large eggs

50ml milk

250g self raising flour

75g milk chocolate, cut into chunks

100g roasted, salted peanuts, roughly chopped

For the icing

250g softened butter

85g crunchy or smooth peanut butter

450g icing sugar

25g cocoa powder

To decorate

100g plain chocolate

50g roasted, salted peanuts – halves, or roughly chopped

Begin by making the cupcake batter. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Incorporate the peanut butter.

Add the eggs and milk and beat again.

Sift in the flour, stir to combine and finally stir in the peanuts and chocolate chunks (I only added one piece of chocolate in the centre of the cupcakes, but I think chunks throughout are better!)

Spoon into cupcake cases (fill to about 3/4s full) and bake on 170 C degrees fan for 15 – 20 minutes, or until risen, lightly coloured and spongy to press. Cool on a wire rack.

Make the buttercream. Beat the butter until smooth, before beating in the peanut butter.

Gradually sift in the icing sugar, blending in batches, until it is well incorporated. Add a little water if necessary to make a soft icing.

Divide the icing in half and sift the cocoa powder into one half of the mix. Blend.

Lay a large sheet of cling film out on a clean surface and dollop a strip each of plain and cocoa icings down the centre (see the picture to help with this). Wrap the cling film around the strips, twist both ends and set aside. If it’s a hot day, you may want to chill this for 15 minutes, but don’t chill for too long or you won’t be able to pipe it.

When the cupcakes are cool, take your cling filmed icing, snip off one end right by the icing, and drop it into a piping bag, fitted with a medium-large nozzle. Juggle the bag a bit so the icing squidges to down to the nozzle, and then you’re ready to pipe! Re-jiggle after each cupcake or two so the icing continues to reach the nozzle without air pockets.

To make the decoration, melt your chocolate in a bain marie (a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water), or on a low heat in the microwave. Spread out thinly in a square shape on baking paper (don’t grease this) and immediately sprinkle over the salted peanuts. Press these into the chocolate and leave to set. (You can make a fatter version of this to give as a gift, or to indulge in yourself).