Apologies.

Hello everyone, I trust you all had a good week. Please, there will be no blogpost this weekend because I've been quite sick and I'm recovering. Please, do beat with me and put me in your prayers. Looking forward to blogging again soonest. Thank you for or understanding. 

Crunchy Vanilla-Cinnamon cookies.

So I thought I'd do something different today... Yea, I've been baking cupcakes all week and I got bored doing that. I had some left over creamed mixture and had no idea what to do with it so I decided to just add flour to it and see what I would come up with and voila! I made these really delicacies cookies. Boy o boy!!! Were they GOOOOOOOD. So good I didn't believe I baked them. No really, they were so good, so good I just have to share with you all... I'm nice like that 😊😊😊😊😊😊

Crunchy, delicious, crumby, I present to you the "Very Crunchy Vanilla-cinnamon cookie". 

200g butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar 

2 eggs, room temperature, very well whisked

3 cups of flour, plus extra for dusting

3 tablespoons vanilla essence 

1 tablespoon baking powder (yea, I prefer to use this)

Now, you are going to need a dry and clean surface, a rolling pin and cookie cutters.

Preparation: very easy

Total time: 25 minutes 

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Sieve your flour together with baking powder and keep aside. Line your baking tray with baking paper

Add butter, sugar and vanilla essence into mixing bowl. With the mixer on a high speed, cream for five minutes. Gently pour in your beaten eggs and allow to mix for one minute. 

Detach the mixing bowl from the mixer and using a spatula, stir in 2 cups of your flour mixture. Pour onto clean dry surface. In small quantities,  keep adding the remaining flour, kneading softly with clean hands until it gets to a pliable consistency. 

Roll out (not too thin) 

Using your cutters, cut into any shape. Place on baking tray. Bake for 8 minutes. How to know your cookie is done? It will turn light/golden brown, and will be quite stiff to the touch. Remove from oven, lay them on a tray to cool. When cooked, dust with cinnamon and sugar. 
Enjoy. Serve with coffee, tea, ice cream... Anything, really. 

Eat responsibly. 

Chef Yougee's Cookies 'n' Cream Cupcakes

The sheer pleasure of sinking your teeth into a really soft and fluffy cupcake and biting into really crunchy cookies. Bliss. Yup. Today's cupcakes are all shades of yummy. Covered in whipped cream and topped with another really delicious cookie, these are just so delicious. Shame on me, I helped myself to 3 of 'em... Sorry, not sorry. Totally worth it. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
 Difficulty level: Easy
Baking time: 45 minutes 

Cupcakes

250g butter (salted or unsalted)

3 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups full cream milk

2 tablespoons vanilla essence

1 tablespoon butterscotch essence 

3 1/2 cups cups flour 

2 1/2 tablespoons baking powder 

2 cups chocolate cookies, crushed 

Frosting

3 cups powdered whipped cream

1 cup chilled full cream milk 

1 tablespoon vanilla essence 

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 150°C-160° (300°F-320°F) or gas mark 2-3, depending on how intense your oven is (by now, you should have learnt your oven)
Place your cupcake paper liners into your pan.

Add half a cup of sugar to your eggs, beat your eggs until really frothy, place aside.
Sieve flour, baking powder and salt together, keep aside. Repeat this process three times. 

Add butter, vanilla and butterscotch essence into the bowl.
Cream together this mixture for 5 minutes on a high speed, pausing at intervals to scrape down the sides. Gently pour in sugar. Allow to cream for 10 minutes or till mixture is pale white.

Add your beaten eggs to creamed mixture. 

At this stage, detach your bowl from the mixer and pick up your spatula. 

Divide your flour into 3 unequal parts

Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk, mixing thoroughly after each addition, and ending with flour.

Now, add the crushed cookies to the batter. Mix properly.

Spoon batter into prepared cupcake pan to be approximately just over half full. 

Place in the centre of your preheated oven.

Allow to bake for approximately 15minutes, then begin to check

 for "doneness". 

Your cupcakes are done when pressed in the middle, they are springy to the touch or when a clean toothpick comes out dry when inserted in the middle. 

Remove from oven, leave in mould for 5 minutes, then remove from mould to cool completely. 

Frosting

Pour the milk into your mixing bowl. 

Using the electric whisk or mixer with the whisk attachment, pour the powdered whipped cream into the milk with the mixer on a high speed until it forms stiff peaks.

Pipe onto your now cooled cupcakes. Garnish with sprinkles, cookies or cherries. This recipe makes 24 cupcakes.

Enjoy. 😊😊😊😊😊

Eat responsibly. 

Rum-raisin vanilla pound cake

This really rich, buttery, sweet, moist raisin cake spiked...scratch that...drenched with the best rum takes no prisoners.

Indulge yourself with this exotic dessert, preferably like me, with a larrrrrge steaming mug of hot black coffee... Or your favorite ice cream, or a tall glass of anything you fancy, really. 

Difficulty: not difficult

Total baking time: 2 hours

Ingredients

300g salted butter

5 cups granulated sugar

6 eggs, beaten, room temperature

3 cups yoghurt 

5 1/2 cups all purpose flour

4 tablespoons baking powder

3 cups dried raisins

2 cups rum

3 tablespoons vanilla essence 

1/2 a nutmeg, grated 

Instructions

Soak the fruits in the rum overnight. 

Heat the oven to 190°C and arrange a rack in the middle. Grease and flour a 10 inch round bundt pan and set aside. 

Sieve flour together with baking powder and nutmeg. Set aside. 

Whisk your eggs till very frothy. Set aside. 

In your mixer, cream your butter together with the vanilla essence for 5 minutes. 

With the mixer still running on a low speed, add sugar to the butter. 

Increase speed and allow to cream for 10 minutes, pausing momentarily to scrape down the sides. 

Gently pour in your well beaten eggs into the creamed mixture, allow to mix properly for 2 minutes. 

Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the yoghurt, mixing thoroughly after each addition, and ending with flour. 

Add soaked fruits into batter. By now, the fruits have soaked in all the rum. Mix properly into batter. Pour into prepared pan. 

Allow to bake for 30 minutes, then check for "doneness". 

Your cake is done when a clean toothpick comes out dry when inserted in the middle. 

Remove from oven, leave in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from mould onto cooling rack to cool completely. While the cake is still hot, using a toothpick, poke holes on top of the cake, pour rum over the cake.

Makes 15-18 servings. Enjoy. 

Eat responsibly. 

Very Zesty Lemon Drizzle Cake

There's nothing as refreshing as a slice of a delicious zesty lemon cake with a cup of tea on a rainy day. Or a slice zesty lemon cake with a scoop of your favorite ice cream on a sweltering hot afternoon. On our recipe today, we have the Zesty Lemon Drizzle Cake. The tangy taste of the lemon will tease your taste buds, have you reaching for another slice, and another. 

Difficulty: Easy

Preparation time: 1 hour 

Ingredients

225g unsalted butter, softened

3 cups granulated sugar 

3 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten 

2 tablespoons vanilla essence

1 1/2 cups full cream milk

Finely grated zest (peel) 1 lemon 

3 cups finely sieved flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

A pinch of salt. 

1 3 1/2 x 7 inch loaf pan

Drizzle 

Juice of 2 lemons

100g granulated sugar

Instructions 

Heat the oven to 190°C and arrange a rack in the middle. 

Grease the loaf pan with butter and dust with flour.

Sieve flour, baking powder and salt together, keep aside.

Add butter, lemon zest and vanilla essence into the bowl
Cream together this mixture for 5 minutes on a high speed, pausing at intervals to scrape down the sides. Gently pour in sugar. Allow to cream for 10 minutes or till mixture is pale white. 

With the mixer still running, gently add your beaten eggs to the creamed mixture and allow to run for 2 minutes. 

Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk, mixing thoroughly after each addition, and ending with flour. 

Allow to bake for approximately 20minutes, then check

 for "doneness". 

Your cake is done when pressed in the middle, is springy to the touch or when a clean toothpick comes out dry when inserted in the middle. 

Remove from oven, leave in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan to cool completely. 

DRIZZLE

 While the cake is in the oven, mix the lemon juice with granulated sugar, stir till dissolved. After your cake is done and out of the pan, while still hot, poke holes on top of the cake and pour the drizzle over the cake. Allow to cool. 

Slice and serve. Makes 15 servings. 

Eat responsibly.