Warm raspberry cupcakes with orange sugar drizzle

With the cold grey days of January nearly behind us, it is nice to start looking forward to the Spring and Summer.  These delicious cupcakes have a hint of Summer, with the sunny raspberry and orange flavours, but also the warm comfort we need in the darker days of Winter.

The recipe is from the BBC GoodFood website and can be found here.  They suggest using fresh fruit but we used frozen raspberries left over from last year, which work really well in baking.

Ingredients:

200g self raising flour

2tsp baking powder

200g unsalted butter, softened

4 eggs

200g caster sugar

3tbsp milk

50g ground almonds

Zest of 1 medium orange

150g punnet raspberries, lightly crushed, plus some to decorate

For the sugar crust:

Juice of 1 medium orange

4tbsp caster sugar

Method:

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases. Tip the first 8 ingredients into a large bowl and beat with electric whisk until smooth. Fold the crushed raspberries through the batter.

Divide the batter between the cases (they should be about half full) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and just firm. Make the topping by mixing together the orange juice and sugar until well blended.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool a little. Drizzle each with the orange and sugar crust mix. Top with the extra raspberries to serve.

They are particularly delicious served warm with cream or crème fraîche.  Enjoy!  LouLou & Will x

Pins and needles

We have both got gorgeous Cath Kidston sewing boxes, which are a real treat to use.  But it is nice to have some equally lovely accessories for sewing that inspire and delight you while you work.  We have been browsing among the talented sellers online and gathered together a few of our favourite sewing, knitting and crochet storage essentials to share with you.

These fabulous pin cushions will brighten up anyone’s sewing table or, if like us your creative pursuits spread through the entire house, the kitchen table, the dining table, the bedside table…

1) This sweet little fairytale toadstool house pin cushion is handmade by Manxmiss on the magical Isle of Man.

2) The union jack pin cushion comes in kit form, so you have the fun of making it and then using it while working in your next project!

3) What could be more timely for 2012 than this vintage coronation mug pin cushion?

4) We love this cushion, instructing you to please enter your pin, created by Sixes and Sevens! 

When you're sewing, knitting or crocheting on the move, it is sometimes better to take a selection of tools with you in a case, just in case!  These are a few of our most-wanted finds...

1) The classic Cath Kidston knitting needle roll, which comes complete with wooden needles - perfect!

2) An unusual, but innovative, way to store needles safely in this handmade wooden needle case.

3) This fun felt owl needle book is also handmade and the owl himself is a neat little pocket.

4) For crochet lovers, who are notorious for taking their work out and about with them, this luxurious crochet hook case is a must, with its myriad of pockets.

If you prefer to have matching sets of accessories, fear not!  We have discovered two delightful options which would make wonderful gifts for Mother's Day or even Valentine's Day, if you can point your partner in the right direction!

These beautiful house themed designs are so sweet!  The needle house case is made by Carolin Lovis of redneedle and the lavender-filled home sweet home pin cushion was created by Alex McQuade. 

These fruity designs are handmade by Rae Batteson and each one is unique.  The apple needle case and pear pin cushions can be found in her Folksy shop,  Blue Fox Wood. 

We hope you have enjoyed browsing with us!  LouLou & Will x

Almond and raspberry jam drops and coconut strawberry pinks

We are well into the New Year and only just getting back into the swing of things. Will was lucky enough to get a few baking related gifts for Christmas and has been putting them into action. Firstly, she has adopted a shiny new Kenwood mixer and secondly a veritable stack of cookbooks and baking bibles. Among which is the clever title “1 Dough: 50 Cookies”. We weren’t quite so ambitious on our first attempt, making just two types of cookie (rather than the promised fifty) from the one basic dough and very yummy they were too! We would highly recommend this neat little book for cookie and biscuit lovers, so here is a sample recipe to whet your appetite:

For the basic dough:

* 225g/8oz softened butter
* 140g/5oz caster sugar
* 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
* 280g/10oz plain flour
* Salt

For almond and raspberry jam drops:

* 2tsp almond extract
* 55g/2oz almonds, toasted and chopped
* 4tbsp raspberry jam

For strawberry pinks:

* 1tsp strawberry flavouring
* 100g/3½oz desiccated coconut
* 4tbsp strawberry jam

Method for basic dough:

Preheat the oven to 190⁰C/375⁰F/gas mark 5. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment.

Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon, then beat in the egg yolk. Or if, like us, you have the luxury of a Kenwood mixer just pop the butter and sugar in and mix, adding the egg yolk when the mixture is pale and fluffy. Sift together the flour and a pinch of salt into the mixture.

For almond and raspberry jam drops:

Add the almonds and almond extract and stir until thoroughly combined.

For strawberry pinks:

Add the coconut and strawberry extract and stir until thoroughly combined.

Scoop up tablespoons of the mixture and roll them into balls. Put on the prepared baking sheets spaced well apart and use the handle of a wooden spoon to make a hollow in the centre of each. Fill the hollows with the correct jam.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then using a palette knife, carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make a lovely fresh pot of tea and enjoy the fruits of your baking!  LouLou & Will x