Flavour of the Month - February 2012

The wind may be chilly but things in the kitchen are hotting up: Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us and as bakers well know, the way to anyone’s heart is through their stomach.  So whether you need inspiration for your baker or your baking, here a few suggestions.

Heart-shaped measuring spoons

Help the baker in your life put some love into their food with these heart-shaped measuring spoons.  While these hold amounts from a quarter of a teaspoon to a tablespoon, there is a larger version which holds 60ml to 250ml.

Click here to spread the love.

Jigsaw Heart Cookie Cutter

This clever two-part cutter offers a fun variation on heart-shaped cookies; perfect for creating Valentine’s Day cookies for sharing.

Click here for a piece of the action.

Bake Me I'm Yours... Cupcake Love by Zoe Clark

Are you in need of some inspiration for those perfect Valentine’s Day cupcakes?  Fear not; this book offers original recipes and decorative suggestions, which also makes it the perfect gift for a beloved baker.

Click here for some lovely cupcake ideas.

Red Heart Cupcake Wrapper

These cupcake wrappers are a stylish way to inject a bit of romance into some Valentine’s Day cupcakes.  Planet Bake offers a wide variety of cupcake decorations, including pretty boxes and toppers.

Click here to see what's on offer.

You're My Cupcake Kit

If you are looking to create a uniform look for your Valentine’s Day cupcakes, this kit contains twenty four cases in two designs and twenty four toppers in three designs.

Click here and you're all set.

How to pipe a rose

Once the cases are sorted it is time to think about the tastiest decoration: the icing!  This quick video shows you a simple method for piping a rose design onto your cupcakes.

Click here to see how it's done.

Have a lovely Valentine's Day!

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Last weekend I braved not just scary ticket prices and the monotony of trains, but real, cold, wet snow to deliver whoopee pies to Cambridge.

I had been flicking through my recipe books, looking for something new which would travel well, when I found a recipe for some mysterious round treats called whoopie pies.  I had never made them, but with a name which doubles as an exclamation of joy, how could they go wrong; besides, they were chocolate.

It was a bit strange working with such a thick dough, and they came out looking almost dangerously large.  The Hummingbird Bakery recipe called for Marshmallow Fluff, which, for those not yet inducted into this particular American treat, is really just the sticky inside of marshmallow mushed up and put into a jar.  It is not exactly widely available, so instead I made a white chocolate ganache to stick the two domed halves together.

My whoopie pies were something of a surprise, since I was expecting something resembling a macaroon but found it was more like sponge cake.  Chocolate sponge cake.  Two domes of thick chocolate sponge cake stuck together with white chocolate ganache.  They may not have looked quite as smooth as the ones in the book, but they were tasty.  I was informed that they needed more ganache, which I can only agree with.  I would also have made them smaller, as I feel they may have overwhelmed those of a less chocolate-loving inclination.

Having survived their frosty journey, the whoopie pies found a warm reception.  While I did not hear any shouts of joy, I am hopeful that this was because people were happily munching on cake-based goodness.