Chocolate raspberry tarts

If you’re looking for a super quick and easy dessert you’ve come to the right place. I have found the most amazing recipe for chocolate raspberry tarts. Since finding the recipe on Facebook just before Christmas I have made them on three separate occasions and each time they have received rave reviews. If you’re one of those people who say they can’t bake or cook, never fear you will be able to make this recipe, trust me. It has 6 ingredients, that’s right only ! Super quick, super yum.

Ingredients

1) 300g Chocolate biscuits (I used Oreos)

2) 100g Butter

3) 300ml Thickened Cream

4)  300g Dark Chocolate

5)  Raspberries

6)  White Chocolate (to decorate)

Method

Blitz chocolate biscuits in a food processor until they form crumbs.

Stir in melted butter

Spoon into a pre lined cupcake tray. The video I watched didn’t line the cupcake tray, but I find making them in the cases is sooooo much easier!

Press the biscuit mixture firmly into the cases including some up the sides of the case. Place the tray in the freezer for 10mins to set.

Break up the dark chocolate and place in a heat proof bowl. In a saucepan bring the cream to scalding point. Take off the heat and pour over chocolate. Using a whisk mix together until the chocolate is completely melted. Allow the chocolate filling to cool slightly, you still need it warm enough to pour but you don’t want to melt your biscuit base.

Take the cupcake tray out of the freezer and evenly pour or pipe the chocolate filling into each case. Gently place a raspberry on top and place in the fridge to set. I like to let my tarts set slightly before pouring over the melted white chocolate. But you can drizzle the white chocolate as soon as you’ve placed the raspberries.

And you’re done. How easy is that

Click here for the Facebook video from Proper Tasty.

 

 

 

These are super easy to make and can be made the day before just remember to take them out of the fridge shortly before you want to serve them so that the chocolate filling isn’t too hard.Today I made these for a friend’s baby shower, they melted slightly in the car on the way over and were rather sticky and messy to eat, but I’m told they still tasted amazing.

 

The first time I made them I followed the recipe and made the tarts in normal cupcake sized cases, I quickly realised that although they are super yum they are so super rich. I now make a few original sized tarts and also lots of mini bite sized ones, people seem to love the bite sized ones. Its seems to be just the right amount of chocoately goodness.

 

Today was also the first time I used my new tripod to take pictures. I am so happy to finally be able to control the light in my photos. Can’t wait to use it again

 

 

 

Until next time…..Happy Baking 🙂

Strawberry cupcakes with Nutella cream cheese frosting.

Question. What do you do when you have left over whipped Nutella buttercream??

If you answered, eat it directly from from the bowl with a spoon, I completely agree with you. That’s what I really wanted to do. But sadly, I decided to be a grown up and make some more cupcakes and use up the left over frosting. The result was STUNNING! (even if I do say so myself)

As it was a Sunday afternoon and I wearing my comfy around the house clothes and my kitchen looked like a bomb had hit after making my first batch of cupcakes for the day, I really didnt want to venture out to the shops to get more ingredients. So I had a rummage through my fridge and cupboard and decided I had enough ingredients to make some strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. To give them the ‘wow’ factor I decided to swirl the Nutella frosting with the cream cheese frosting – Genius 🙂

As it was too late to use my usual usual oil based cupcake recipe as the batter needs to be made the night before, I sorted through my massive pile of recipes I have printed out over the years and found an oil based vanilla recipe that I thought would work. Sadly I have NO idea where the original recipe came from. I have tweaked it somewhat though 🙂

 

Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of flour

2 tsp of baking powder

3/4 cup of caster sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cup of milk

1/2 cup of oil

1 tsp of vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup of chopped strawberries (i used fresh)

 

Method

Pre heat oven to 180C (fan forced) and line your cupcake or muffin tray with cases

In a medium bowl sift the flour and baking powder. Add the sugar and salt (you only need a pinch but don’t forget to add it!) and whisk together.

In a small bowl or jug add all of the wet ingredients, oil, milk, eggs and vanilla extract, whisk gently until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a whisk until combined and you have no lumpps.

Stir through the strawberries.

Fill your cupcakes cases around 3/4 full allowing room for the cupcakes to rise.

Bake for 15-18mins. I always turn my cupcake trays about half way through the baking time as my oven has hot and cold spots. You know your cupcakes are cooked if a skewer comes out clean.

Cream Cheese frosting

Ingredients

80g butter

250g of cream cheese

2 cups of icing sugar

1 – 2 tablespoons of cream

 

Method

Using a stand mixer beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy. The butter needs to be at room temperature, not melted or not straight from the fridge. Add in small amounts of cream cheese at a time and beat until combined. Just like the butter, make sure your cream cheese is room temp.

Add in small amounts of sifted icing sugar at a time until its all combined. ALWAYS start your mixture on slow when you add the icing sugar, or you will have icing sugar all over your kitchen – trust me 😛

Add in the cream you may only need/want to add 1 tablespoon it’s entirely up to you and what texture you like your frosting.

Beat for a good few minutes until its super light and fluffy. You can use a hand mixer but trust me its SOO much easier in a stand mixer. I had my frosting beating away while I folded the washing and did the dishes. By the time I was done the frosting was sooooo soft and fluffy.

A few things. I NEVER like NEVER use margarine in buttercream/cream cheese frosting (don’t hate me its just my opinion) I find that margarine doesn’t taste anywhere near as good and I find that it doesn’t ‘fluff’ up as well. I normally use milk in my frosting even if the recipe says cream, this time I used cream as I had some in the fridge left over and let me tell you, it makes a MASSIVE difference. Not so much taste wise, but it definitely makes the texture a lot lighter and so much more fluffy. As far as I’m concerned the lighter and fluffier the frosting, the better 🙂

To get the swirl, put your cream cheese in one piping bag and the Nutella frosting in the other and cut the ends off. Place the two piping bags into a larger one with your chosen nozzle on the end.

I took half of the Nutella cupcakes and half of these to work and so did Ben and they received rave reviews from both of our work places. Ben’s work mates are already asking when I’m going to make more and one of the guys at work tried the cupcakes and told me they were heart stoppingly good. 🙂 Love it.

 

Happy baking 🙂

 

 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Nutella Buttercream.

Why hello there. Remember me 😛

It has been rather a long time since my last post. Sorry about that. I don’t really have a good excuse, just a series of silly little things that managed to get me side tracked. First my oven broke, then my laptop, then I got a new job which sent me to Melbourne for training blah blah blah.

My oven is now fixed and my fabulous bf, Ben bought me a new laptop so I’m back and Chocolate cupcakes with Nutella frosting seemed like a great “I’m Back” post :). I have loved Sally’s baking addiction for some time now and when I saw her recipe for chocolate cupcakes with Nutella frosting I just had to make them.

 

I decided to top mine with a Ferrero Rocher, because lets face it, they are soooooo yum. I did consider baking a Ferreror Rocher into the cupcake but that just seemed a tad over the top for me. Now I must admit that I have been baking oil based cupcakes for a while now and I think they taste so much better than butter based ones (just my opinion, don’t hate me!). These cupcakes are butter based they are still super yummy but not as moist as my usual chocolate cupcake recipe. But if you’re pressed for time these are great, as you don’t need to make the batter the day before.

Click here for the recipe.

 

Just a short little blog post to say, yes I’m still alive and that I hope to go back to posting recipes and other random things that take my interest 🙂

 

Happy Baking 🙂