Beerenberg Berry Buttercream

Two days ago there was a knock at my front door. By the time I'd wrestled Henry the Sausage (dog) into submission so I could open the front door without him bolting away, my friendly Australia Post neighbourhood delivery man was already rushing back to his van to get on with his deliveries. As always he gave me a cheerful wave and a cheeky grin before driving away.

At my doorstep was a welcome sight. A nice large package. It was from Beerenberg, a wonderful South Australian company who make gorgeous jams, preserves, sauces and condiments. Cue a few excited squeals.

I got the package inside, unleashed the hound (so he could have a quick bark at the front door so everyone knows this is HIS territory and no one is allowed to cross the threshold without receiving a good old lick) and tore open the package.

Inside, I found love. JAM! Glorious fruity sweet jam. It's no secret that I always (seriously, ALWAYS) have a jar of Beerenberg or my local WA Lavender and Berry Farm raspberry jam in my pantry - it's my favourite berry! But Beerenberg have sent me blueberry jam. It's their newest product and I'm chuffed to have received a jar before it hits supermarket shelves.



My first thought (after the initial excitement wore off) was: What can I do with it? Obviously, I'll be eating it on toast, crumpets, muffins, pikelets and just about every other breakfasty type food. But I did have a few other ideas, and the one that stuck out the most: Beerenberg Berry Buttercream.



Beerenberg Berry Buttercream

24 cupcakes (preferably vanilla)
50g butter
3 tbsp milk
1 tspn vanilla extract
2 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup Beerenberg blueberry jam

With an electric mixer, beat the butter for a minute or two then add the milk, vanilla and half of the icing sugar. Beat for 3-4 minutes, then add the remaining icing sugar and beat for a further 3-4 minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy. Add the jam and beat briefly until combined.

Lightly spread a small amount of the buttercream onto the cupcakes. (Trust me, unless you're a hardcore sweet-tooth or catering for a children's party, you will only need a small amount of buttercream per cupcake - this buttercream is quite sweet.)

Next, sit back with a large cup of tea or coffee and enjoy a cupcake. Or two.

Note: If you'd like to use raspberry or strawberry jam, add a tiny amount of pink food colouring (when beating in the jam) to really bring out the colour.

Disclaimer: Whilst Beerenberg sent me some products for free, they in no way asked me to write about their products in a public forum. All opinions expressed are my own. (And my love of jam is real, just so you know...)

Almond and Vanilla Cupcakes

I've made these cupcakes once. That was today when I felt like trying out a new baking recipe. And they are AWESOME! They have instantly become my favourite cupcake ever and I HAD to share the recipe instantly.



Almond and Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes 12

135g butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
2 tspn vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain flour
1 1/2 cups almond meal
3 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 1/2 tspn baking powder

Pre-heat your oven to 170C (160C if fan-forced) and line a 12-hole cupcake pan with papers.

In a medium-sized bowl, cream the butter for 2 minutes. Add the sugar in thirds and beat for 2 minutes after each addition. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute per egg. Add the vanilla and beat the mixture one last time until it looks pale and fluffy.

Add half of the flour and half of the almond meal and gently stir it into the butter mixture. Add the yoghurt and stir then add the remaining dry ingredients and stir the mixture until everything has combined.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake papers and bake for 20-25 minutes (or until a skewer inserted comes out cleanly). Remove the cupcakes from the pan and leave them to cool completely on a wire rack.

Make a simple icing (using icing sugar and a splash of water). For something a little different, add 1/8 tspn of violet water, orange blossom water or rose water to the icing. Or, if you'd prefer, ice them with a white chocolate ganache.

Then try not to eat them all at once. ;p

Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes

These are some gluten free chocolate cupcakes I made as an experiment - I'm not gluten intolerant myself but have a couple of friends who are and I wanted to be able to pass along a really good cake recipe.

The texture of these cakes is very dense and rich. Actually, they taste quite similar to my ugly mudcake.



Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
(Makes 12)

175g butter
250g good quality dark chocolate
1 1/4 cups castor sugar
3/4 cup almond meal
1 cup cocoa powder
5 eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 140C and line a cupcake pan with papers.

In a large saucepan, melt together the butter, chocolate and sugar, stirring often until the mixture is smooth and the sugar has melted.

Stir in the almond meal, cocoa powder and eggs then spoon the mixture into the cupcake papers.

Bake for half an hour or until a skewer inserted comes out cleanly with moist crumbs clinging to it. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and leave them to cool on a wire rack.

Frost the cupcakes with buttercream or chocolate ganache or, as I do, eat them whilst they're still warm with a bit of whipped cream.

Chocolate Birthday Cupcakes

For your simple viewing pleasure - here is a rich chocolate cupcake I made my darling Pete last week for his 28th birthday.

It's decorated with vanilla buttercream, white sprinkles and (of course!) a candle.

The recipe itself is nothing special, but here's a hint for all you bakers out there - dissolve a teaspoon of instant coffee granules in a tablespoon of boiling water before adding it to the cupcake mixture. (Note: this amount is suitable for a batch of 12.) The coffee flavour isn't obvious but it creates a slight bitterness which off-sets the sweetness of the chocolatey cake.

And Pete loved his cupcakes! :)