Fold in the Flour ...

So Valentine's Day is upon us once again. I can't believe how fast the last few weeks have gone. I've had a really tough week, and all ideas of Valentine's baking for this year have gone out of the window. I'm simply going to enjoy spending some quiet time with Mike, counting my blessings. However, now I've finally got a little time to take a breather, I thought I'd just recap on some past recipes, that if you're looking for a special treat for a loved one, may fit the bill. First off are some Valentine's Red Velvet Cupcakes . If you follow me on Twitter ( @FoldintheFlour ), you may recognise the little cake in the top photo as my avatar. I remember baking these last year, when this blog was still fairly shiny and new and I was just beginning to get out of my normal comfort routine of baking things that you could make in one bowl. I'd found a great post on a blog which showed how to do the cut out heart, but I added  the twist of th...

If we're being honest, Valentine's day tends to pass me by a bit. As a teenager, I remember getting excited about it, only to face the realisation that it was going to be yet another year without receiving a card (although I gave a few). Heck, it was yet another year without even the merest sniff of a boyfriend, so I suppose fair's fair. But it is hard to stand by and watch others gleefully receiving when you are not. When Mike and I began going out during our uni days, I eagerly anticipated my first Valentine's card. I could not believe how upset I felt when, after handing over a lovingly and painstakingly selected card - just the right hint of intimacy but with a certain sangfroid - and gift, it slowly dawned on me that Mike was standing there looking pained. He had forgotten. He tried to pass it off, as did I, but it was too late. I had a severe case of wobbly lip and was stifling tears. A hastily drawn heart on a piece of card was proffered. It wasn't be...

I know I posted a few Valentine's recipes a few weeks ago, but there was one more I wanted to try. These Red Velvet Cupcakes were inspired by the success of my Blue Velvet version a few weeks back, and by a decorating idea for 'sweetheart' cutouts I found on the wonderful blog by Audra, the Baker Chick.   I used the recipe from the Blue Velvet version, although obviously changed the food colouring used.  I first tried Wilton's Red Red (1 1/2 tspns) but this seemed a bit orangy, so I added some Sugarflair Poppy Red (1 tspn) and a small dab of Wilton Violet to deepen the colour. I think it worked really well.This means that my US Cake Flour  also made another appearance. I can't tell you how pleased I am at how they have turned out. They are incredibly tender and the cream cheese frosting is fast becoming my favourite of the moment. Using a Wilton 1M icing tip, I couldn't believe how easy it was to create this lovely rose swirl effect (piping...

This was a recipe I found flicking through one of my baking books 'Taste. Whoopie Pies, Cookies and Macaroons' and adapted slightly. Given that I still have the glut of cranberries which led to Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti I have been on the look out for something that would be a new addition to the cranberry using repetoire. These fit the bill perfectly. As Valentine's is coming up, I made them heart shaped (they are stars in the original recipe) and added some decoration by way of white chocolate and red glimmer sugar. They are really good, and the cranberry is a great contrast to the sweetness of the chocolate. Here's the recipe. Ingredients (makes 15-20) 325g plain flour, sifted 200g unsalted butter 125g caster sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 large egg yolks 110g dried cranberries To decorate: 100g white chocolate, chopped (or use buttons) red glimmer sugar (I got mine from Asda) Rub in the butter to the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. ...

I've been playing around with some baking ideas for Valentine's Day for some weeks now, and this was my first attempt at making some of them a reality. It also gave me the opportunity to try out some cute heart shaped foil baking cups I found in my local kitchenware store. These cupcakes are made using the Amaretto Cupcake and Frosting recipes from the Primrose Bakery Book. I've made a few of their recipes before, so was fairly confident the sponge would work (while delicious, the sponge was a bit dense for me), but the buttercream turned out a bit runny, so if making again, I would adapt the recipe to not include as much liquid. The little chocolate love hearts were made using one of my new toys - a silicone chocolate mold from Lakeland in the shape of little 'love hearts'. This was the first time I had melted chocolate to make decorations (I love doing this blog - it's making me try so many new things!). The one thing I learnt from this is the importa...