Traced Elements

Tag: zoe martin

Just a couple of cupcakes!
Monday 25th February was National Cupcake Day. Well, it was for SPCAs and Humane Societies across Canada, who encourage the baking and selling of cupcakes as a way to raise money.

As Qanik was fortunate to have one of his images chosen to be part of the 2019 campaign it seemed only fair that I do my bit too.

So, having chosen the Victoria Humane Society as my nearest participating society, I had to decide on what cupcakes I was going to make and then get people, mostly work colleagues, to purchase them!

I decided on giving potential buyers the option of three different flavours:
The orders started making their way to me and, on Sunday, I spent most of the day baking and icing 89 cupcakes! The flavour that received the most requests was the Dark Chocolate with PB Frosting so here it is for you to make and try for yourself!

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (finely chopped)
- ½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup sour cream
For the Peanut Butter Frosting
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
Directions
1. Make the Cupcakes: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and pre-heat to 350˚ F. (If you are using a non-stick muffin pan, heat the oven to 325˚ F.) Line standard-size muffin pan with baking cup liners.
2. Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a medium heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat the mixture until the butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. (Alternately, you can microwave the mixture at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.) Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and baking powder.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs then add the sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in the sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is fully mixed and thick.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin pan cups. Bake until a skewer inserted into centre of the cupcakes comes out clean, approx. 18 to 20 minutes.
6. Cool cupcakes in the muffin pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and set on wire rack to cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.
1. Make the Peanut Butter Frosting: Place the icing sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high-speed until the mixture is light and smooth.
2. Assemble the Cupcakes: Frost the cupcakes with an offset spatula, or with a decorating tip (I used a Wilton 1M tip and a rose pattern). Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Want to know how to frost in a rose pattern? Check out this quick video tutorial.
My cupcakes were a success and I managed to raise over $300.00 for my chosen charity. Next up are muffins and dog treats for Treat Week for the Sea to Sky BC SPCA!
February 28, 2019
Baking… it’s not just for people!
Well, of course, it’s only people that can do the baking, but everyone can benefit from the outcomes. Like my puppy, who just turned one!

What says love and happy birthday more than some home-baked cookies. Nothing, that’s what!

I researched a few different recipes knowing that the main ingredient should be peanut butter as that’s one of his very favourite things! Also, I wanted to make something so I knew what was going into his cookies. The only difference with mine, compared with the recipe, was that I didn’t have any wholewheat flour so used all-purpose instead and used some chicken stock to bind it all together.

For this occasion I went with the “Best of Breed” biscuits but I’ve already decided that the next biscuits I make will be peanut butter and banana and peanut butter and pumpkin – all three of his favourite things!

Ingredients
- 2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour or Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 cup rolled oats, regular or quick
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (9 1/4 ounces) peanut butter, crunchy or plain
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cold water, or enough to make a cohesive dough
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly grease a couple of baking sheets, or line them with parchment.
2. Put the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
3. Add the eggs and peanut butter. Stir to combine; the mixture will be crumbly.
4. Add 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cold water, or enough to make a cohesive dough. Depending on the season, you may need to add a bit more (winter), or a bit less (summer).
5. To make the cookies, roll the dough into walnut-sized balls onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet and flatten to about 1/4” thick.
6. Alternatively, roll the dough out to about 1/4” thick and cut out with a cutter of your choice. Gather and re-roll the scraps, and continue to cut biscuits until you’ve used all the dough.
7. Lay the biscuits close together on the prepared baking sheets. Since the biscuits don’t include any leavening (baking powder, yeast, etc.), they won’t spread.
8. Bake the biscuits for about 40 to 60 minutes, baking the smaller cookies for the shorter amount of time, the larger biscuits for the longer amount of time.
9. When finished, the biscuits will be dark golden brown, and will be dry and crisp all the way through.
10. Store in an airtight container or ziploc bag.
And yes, they were birthday boy Qanik approved!
January 28, 2019
It’s never too early…
In fact, to my mind, I am actually late! For what, you ask. Christmas, I say. More specifically Christmas Cake, the traditional fruit, soaked in alcohol, version.

In years past I have made my cake at the end of September and then spent the next few months feeding it before marzipanning and icing it in mid-December. A rich fruit cake can be made 2 to 3 months in advance and kept in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. Feeding a cake means that once every few weeks you make holes in the cake using a skewer and then pour an amount of alcohol over it, before re-wrapping.

The recipe I always use comes from a cake decoration cook book that I purchased way back when! But the recipe works every time, albeit I always need to cook it for longer than suggested. I even used the same recipe to make my friends wedding cake!

You need a little time for this recipe as you should ideally start it the day before you want to actually make the cake mixture to allow the fruit to soak in the alcohol overnight. Once the mixture is in the tin, the surface can be covered with clingfilm and stored in a cool place overnight if cooking is not possible on the day (there are no leavening agents to worry about). However, do remember to allow for a longer cooking time as the temperature of the mixture will be colder.

I know that a lot of people don’t like fruit cake, but this recipe offers a moist cake with the delicious spices and and flavours of Christmas and is a must in my house. The instructions below are for an 8″ round or 7″ square tin, but if you want the recipe for another size tin let me know as I can provide details for a 6″ round, all the way up to a 13″ round tin!

Ingredients
- 325g raisins
- 250g sultanas
- 175g currants
- 150g glacé cherries (the bright red cocktail ones)
- 50g cut mixed peel (I omit this in favour of more cherries!)
- 50g flaked (sliced) almonds
- 2 tsps lemon rind
- 2 tbsps lemon juice
- 3 tbsps Brandy or Sherry
- 275g plain flour
- 2.5 tsps ground mixed spice
- 65g ground almonds
- 200g dark brown soft sugar
- 200g butter or margerine, softened
- 1.5 tbsp black treacle or molasses
- 4 eggs
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 275F degrees and prepare the cake tin by double lining the inside of the tin with greaseproof paper, and the outside with a double thickness of brown paper. This will prevent the outside of the cake from bing overcooked.
2. In a large mixing bowl place the raisins, sultanas, currants, glacé cherries, mixed peel, flaked almonds, lemon rind and lemon juice together with the Brandy or Sherry. Mix all the ingredients together until well blended, then cover the bowl with clingfilm. Leave for several hours or, ideally, overnight.
3. Sift the flour and mixed spice into another mixing bowl. Add the ground almonds, sugar, butter (or margerine), treacle (or molasses) and eggs. Mix together with a wooden spoon, then beat for 2-3 minutes until smooth and glossy.
4. Gradually add the mixed fruit to the creamed mixture and fold it in, using a spatula, until all the fruit has been evenly blended. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and spread it evenly. Give the tin a few sharp taps to level the mixture and to remove any air pockets. Smooth the surface with the back of a metal spoon, making a slight depression in the centre.
5. Bake the cake in the centre of a pre-heated oven. Test the cake to see if it is cooked 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time (total 2.5 to 3 hours for a cake of this size). If it is cooked, the cake should feel firm and a fine skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. If the cake is not cooked, re-test it at 15 minute intervals. Once cooked remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin.
6. Once cooled, turn the cake out of the tin but do not remove the lining paper as it helps to keep the moisture in. Using half the quantity of alcohol as used in the recipe, spoon over the top of the cake and then wrap it in a double thickness of foil.
7. Store the cake in a cool, dry place on its base with the top uppermost for a week. Unwrap the cake and spoon over another half quantity of the Brandy or Sherry. Re-wrap the cake well and store it upside down, so that the Brandy or Sherry moistens the top and helps to keep it flat. The cake will store well for up to 3 months; if it going to stored for this length of time, add the Brandy or Sherry just a little bit at a time at monthly intervals.
I have a cake decorating “bake off” with one of my friends in the UK so I will provide an update once decorated so you can see the finished result too!

Merry early Christmas! 😉
October 28, 2018
A zucchini recipe to be thankful for
I know, I know! I’ve already written about zucchini, surely there must be some other ingredient I can use?

Yes there is, but there was still some sitting in my fridge to be used up and Thanksgiving is just round the corner. Plus, I like to make cupcakes for all the boys and girls at my work, just to let them know that they are appreciated so having had success with my other zucchini cake and bread recipes I thought I’d give one more recipe a try.

Besides, I am thankful that I had my granny to show me her love for baking and that I have people to appreciate the bakes that I try out on them.

So enjoy these zucchini cupcakes, which have delicate pumpkin spice flavours and are so soft they melt in your mouth, topped off with a wonderfully fluffy cream cheese buttercream.

I can’t think of anything better this Thanksgiving.

Cupcake Ingredients
- 3/4 cup finely grated zucchini (I actually used a cup!)
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup milk
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 oz brick-style cream cheese
- 3 – 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream, if needed
Cupcake Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and line a muffin pan with muffin papers.
2. Gently dab the grated zucchini with a paper towel to remove excess liquid. It shouldn’t be dry, but there shouldn’t be extra water.
3. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
4. In a separate large bowl whisk together the oil and sugars until no lumps remain. Then whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract and milk.
5. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then gently fold in the grated zucchini using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each about 2/3 full. Be careful not to fill them any more than 3/4 full.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 16-19 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then continue cooling on a wire rack.
Cream Cheese Frosting Directions
1. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft.
2. Then mix in the cream cheese.
3. With the mixer on low, beat in 3 cups of powdered sugar until combined.
4. If needed, slowly beat in the rest of the powdered sugar a little at a time until the desired consistency and sweetness level is reached. If it gets a little too thick, then beat in the cream.
5. Frost the cupcakes with a knife or using a piping bag and piping tip.
If they last that long the cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen and thawed in the fridge overnight.
October 5, 2018
Zucchini – two ways
I recently bumped into a friend who has a veggie patch and she asked if I had any recipes for zucchinis as she had lots growing. She also wanted to know what it was with Pemberton that zucchinis grew so well!

I wasn’t quite sure what she meant until another friend gifted me the mother of all zucchinis! I mean, this one was about as large as the marrows my grandad used to grow! (Egg for scale.)

Being curious I did a Google search on zucchinis, which are a summer squash and are a cultivar of the marrow I remember from my childhood. It appears that they can actually reach almost 1 metre (100 cm; 39 in) in length, but are usually harvested when still immature at about 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 in). They are also very productive plants and just one or two plants will produce enough for a small family. You can also harvest the large yellow squash blossoms and eat them raw or cooked. Only female blossoms produce fruit, so you can harvest most of the male flowers without slowing down the plant’s productivity. Who knew?

With a zucchini this large I didn’t know what I was going to do with it. I could make a quiche, galettes or even gnocchi. But no, with temperatures much cooler, and with my propensity towards baking, I decided to try both a savoury and a sweet bread.

The trick to cooking or baking with the grated zucchini is to squeeze some of the moisture out before adding to your recipe. Just use a clean tea towel, place the zucchini in the centre, twist and watch the excess water drip out.

Whether you prefer savoury or sweet I hope one of the following recipes helps you out with your glut of zucchinis, but if you still have too many then I have a couple more bread recipes that I’d like to try!

First up is a Zucchini Cheddar Quick Bread made with buttermilk (or a home-made version as in the recipe) and which smelled as delicious cooking in the oven as it tasted not long out of it. Cheesy mouthwatering goodness!

Ingredients
- - 1 1/2 cups zucchini, grated
  - 2 cups all purpose white flour
  - 2 teaspoons baking powder
  - 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  - 1/2 teaspoon salt
  - 1 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon vinegar, white or apple cider to make home-made buttermilk or use 1 cup buttermilk
  - 1 egg
  - 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  - 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar
  - 2 green onions, chopped
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x 5 bread pan with non stick spray. (I would also add a layer of parchment paper to the bottom of the pan to ensure that the bread does not stick.)
2. Wrap grated zucchini in a paper towel, or clean tea towel, and squeeze until some of the liquid releases. (You don’t need to completely dry it out.)
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. If making home-made buttermilk, combine milk and vinegar in a small bowl. (The milk will curdle a bit). If not making then use 1 cup traditional buttermilk. Mix in melted butter and egg.
5. Add milk mixture to dry mixture being careful not to over mix to avoid the bread turning out flat.
6. Add grated zucchini, cheese and onions, mixing lightly until just combined.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
8. If toothpick inserted comes out clean, bread is done! Cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove carefully and cool on wire rack.
After your savoury zucchini bread what do you need? Orange Zucchini Bread with Orange Glaze of course! The orange provided a nice zing and the glaze was a touch of sweetness against the bread itself. My orange was very juicy and I could have done with a bit more icing sugar to thicken it up. I’ll know for next time. 😉
Ingredients
For the bread:

3 large eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

zest and juice of 1 large orange

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cardamom (optional)

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 cups grated zucchini
For the glaze:

zest and juice of 1 large orange

3 tbsp. butter melted

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar
Directions
For the bread:

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla, and orange zest and juice.

In another large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cardamom (if using), and baking soda.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, along with the zucchini, and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.

If you’d like to add any nuts, fold in about 1 cup chopped nuts.

Line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with foil or parchment paper, letting the edges hang over the pan. This is a MUST as the bread will to stick to the pan. Coat with non-stick spray.

Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 60-70 minutes, or until top and edges are golden and a toothpick inserted near the centre comes out clean.

Remove to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

Run a knife along any edges that may have seeped and stuck to the pan.

Remove bread from the pan completely using the foil or parchment paper edges. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare glaze.
For glaze:

In a medium bowl, whisk together all the glaze ingredients until smooth.

Depending on how juicy your orange was, you may need to add a little water or more powdered sugar! You should be able to drizzle or pour it, but it shouldn’t easily run off the bread.

Drizzle glaze over cooled bread. Cut and serve.
August 28, 2018
A summer pot luck staple – Broccoli Salad
Summer is well and truly here! (I can say that with conviction as it’s currently 37˚C!). And with summer comes backyard bbq parties and the dilemma of what to take with you as your pot luck offering.

Well, worry no more! This month’s recipe, borne out of the need to find a salad not imported from the US of A (I’m on a Trump boycott AND trying to buy less produce wrapped in plastic), has a dressing that tastes exactly like the one in the Kale and Brussel Sprout pre-packaged salad kit you can get from Pemby’s grocery store. So it’s delicious, and it’s also so easy to make you’ll be left wondering why you ever bought a ready made salad in the first place!

So here it is, the tastiest, easiest Broccoli Salad ever. And make sure to tell everyone you made it yourself! 😉

Ingredients:
- 8 cups broccoli cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/3 cup red onion diced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup bacon bits (I used turkey bacon because I don’t eat the other variety!)
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- Salt & pepper
Directions:
Whisk together cider vinegar, sugar, mayonnaise, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine broccoli, onion, cranberries, sunflower seeds, and bacon bits.

Pour the prepared dressing over and mix well.

Refrigerate for an hour before serving.

Preparation time = 15 minutes.

Yields 8 servings.
July 28, 2018
Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb…
Having already written a couple of posts with sweet recipes I was convinced that my next inspiration would be of the savoury variety. That was until my physio mentioned she had lots of rhubarb growing in her garden (it’s currently in season) and did I know of any recipes.

Well, that got my inquisitive side poring over Pinterest trying to find the perfect rhubarb recipe for her. I found cakes, pies and mojitos and shared a few I thought easy and suitable. However, some were deemed too complicated and one recipe was overlooked due to the lack of an oven; but not in my kitchen! And so it happened that was the recipe I tried when just the right amount of rhubarb turned up on my doorstep! (Plus the recipe calls for a bundt tin which I have a slight obsession with at the moment!)

I had been looking for a recipe that I thought would bring out the fresh, slightly tart, flavour of the rhubarb but still with just the right amount of sweetness and this Lemon Rhubarb Bundt Cake, from BC food blogger Warm Vanilla Sugar, fit the bill exactly!

Of course, I did not intend to eat this cake all by myself, particularly given the weight loss crusade that I am currently on, so it was shared with friends. Plus a large chunk was also offered back to the rhubarb provider, and well received at that!

Hopefully you can get your hands on some rhubarb before it is out of season and give this cake a try. I can guarantee it won’t last long!

PS I promise the next recipe will not be a cake!

Ingredients

For the cake:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 lemons, zested
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 3 cups rhubarb, diced in 1/2-inch pieces
For the Lemon Glaze:
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tbsp melted unsalted butter (FYI I didn’t use)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl, beat together the softened butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and then add the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 1/2 cups of flour, baking powder and salt. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture into the egg mixture along with 1/3 of the needed buttermilk and mix on low speed. Alternate with flour and buttermilk until both are fully incorporated.
4. In a medium bow, or large ziplock bag, toss the rhubarb with the remaining two tablespoons of flour until the rhubarb is well coated. Gently fold rhubarb into the batter with a rubber spatula until it’s distributed evenly.
5. Turn out cake batter into the prepared pan, using a spatula to gently spread and level it out.
6. Bake for about 60-70 minutes, or until the cake springs back gently when touched and a toothpick inserted into it comes out clean.
7. Allow cake to sit and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, make the glaze by whisking together all the glaze ingredients until smooth. Thin with extra lemon juice or thicken with more powdered sugar as you see fit.
9. When the cake is cooled, tip it out onto a serving plate and generously drizzle cake with the lemon glaze.
10. Slice and enjoy.
11. Yields 12 slices but it depends on how big your slices are! 😉
June 29, 2018