Chocolate Ganache Raspberry Filled Chocolate Cupcakes...a revisit

These cupcakes may be looking familiar to you, that's because I made them back in February for my friend Nicole when she had just given birth to her baby girl, Paisley.  Fast forward to last month and I was planning Paisley's baby shower! because here in Vancouver they seem to have showers after the baby has been born! 

It was soooo much fun to plan! and there will be a ton more photos coming next time but for now I leave you with these cupcakes.  I knew they had to be the centrepiece of the dessert table because Nicole had loved them so much the last time I made them! So it seemed only right that I should bake them again! Only this time I tweaked them slightly and slathered on generous amounts of ganache, because incase you missed my gushings on ganache last time I'll give you a recap of my new baking mantra:

Everything tastes better with ganache in it! 

I also took a few more pictures this time around just to try and lure you in a little more and tempt you into making some of these bad boys! Remember that raspberry infused chocolate cream cheese filling? You can't go wrong if you start filling a moist buttermilk chocolate cupcake with the stuff! 

Once I plugged the tops of the cupcakes, I reunited myself with that dreamy silky ganache, and I slathered it on!

The fresh blended raspberry frosting came next...

finished off with a carefully selected fresh raspberry (because only the prettiest ones make the cut!)

I was SO sure I'd have some of these cupcakes left over! I baked up a storm for the baby shower and a few people were no shows on the day but sadly (for me) these were the only things that disappeared faster than you could guess the word 'pregnant' in baby charades (one of our friends Denise was pregnant at the time and so pointing to her belly was a pretty easy way to win that word!) - pictures of all the fun of the games to come next time too! 

Chocolate Ganache Raspberry & Chocolate Filled Cupcakes:

Makes 12

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

For the cupcakes:

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

3/4 cup salted butter, firm but not cold

1 1/4 cups caster sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda.  Set aside.

In a separate large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed, whip together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy for about 3-4 minutes.  Add in eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition until combined.  Measure out buttermilk in a liquid measuring cup and add vanilla extract to milk, then whisk to combine.  Working in 2 separate batches, add buttermilk mixture followed by flour mixture to butter mixture, mixing just unti combined after each addition (batter will be thick).  

Fill cupcake cases 2/3 full.  Bake in a preheated oven for 18-22 minutes, until a knife inserted into the middle of each cupcake comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes in baking pan until transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the filling:

225g cream cheese

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup icing sugar

1 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp raspberry puree (I blended fresh raspberries until liquid, and then sieved out the seeds)

1/4 cup whole fresh raspberries (about 7)

Blend cream cheese and unsalted butter together with an electric mixer until incorporated.  Beat in the icing sugar and cocoa powder until combined.  Stir in the raspberry puree and beat in the whole raspberries until only little fragments can be seen.

Using a knife, or a cupcake corer if you're fancy like that, cut a circular hole in the middle of the cupcakes.  Remove the cake and cut the top circle part of the cut out cake off.  Save this part for later.

Put your filling in a piping bag fitted with a nozzle.  Pipe the filling into each cupcake hole, and then plug the top of the cupcake with the round cake disc you saved from earlier.

Chocolate Ganche:

Makes enough to frost the above, with plenty to spare...and you can eat the rest with a spoon! I always do

From Tracey's Culinary Adventures

12 oz. dark/bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

3/4 cup double/whipping cream

1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar

1 1/2 tbsp corn syrup

3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.  

Combine the cream, sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Immediately pour the cream mixture over the chocolate and let it stand for 1 minute.  

Whisk until the mixture is smooth and blended, then add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until completely incorporated.  Let the mixture stand at room temperature to thicken before topping the cupcakes.  

Once cool, using a palette knife spread a generous amount of ganache on top of each cupcake.

For the frosting:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups icing sugar

1/2 cup fresh raspberries, blended into puree

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

12 raspberries (for garnish)

Puree the raspberries in a blender.  Pass them through a sieve into a bowl.  It may take a little while but keep using a spoon to pat the raspberry liquid through the sieve until only seeds remain.

Mix the butter and half the sugar together in the bowl of an electric stand mixer.  Once they are well blended, add the remaining sugar.  Beat together until smooth and creamy, about 4 minutes.  Stir in the vanilla extract and raspberry puree.  I like to add the raspberry puree a few teaspoons at a time because it's a fine line when using fruit between when it's added a good amount of flavour or when it adds too much liquid to the frosting.  

Taste it to see if it tastes raspberry enough, and see if the frosting is stiff enough.  If it needs to be stiffer, add more sugar, if it needs to be more flavourful then add more puree.

Pipe a swirl of raspberry frosting on top of the chocolate ganache layer, and add a single fresh raspberry on top.  You could also drizzle with chocolate for extra decadence...because everything looks better with drizzle! 

Serve, Eat and Enjoy!

Triple Layer Coconut & Pineapple Birthday Cake

So I've been trying to blog this for 3 weeks now! It's been a crazy busy time.  My mom and sister came to visit and we packed out every day that they were here with tons of cupcaking and milkshaking fun, along with trips to the mountains, the forest, the ocean, across the border and everywhere in between! It was amazing! and we took over 1500 photos! haha.  It's going to take me a while to sift through them all! 

For now...back to talking about cake!

A few weeks ago, my friend threw a surprise birthday shindig for her husband.  We all offered to bring stuff along, I volunteered to bring dessert but upon finding out she didn't have a birthday cake for him I offered to make that instead! I was told the birthday boy liked pineapple...and so this triple layer coconut and pineapple birthday cake was born, because nothing goes better with pineapple than a lot of coconut! (who am I kidding...I think coconut goes best with everything, not just pineapple!)

My baking adventures started where all good things should...whipping up a batch of curd! Everytime I make it I remember it's awesomeness and wonder why I don't make different flavoured curds on a daily basis! They are the best!

I was lazy this time around and made it with pineapple juice, as opposed to fresh pineapple.  It was quite good but definitely not as good as when I made it with the good stuff.

Instead of having curd in between both layers of the coconut cake, I mixed it up and made some vanilla frosting that I then blended some of the pineapple curd into.  The result was a delicious fruity and creamy frosting that balanced out the texture of the curd layer nicely. 

The cake was finished off with generous amounts of coconut cream cheese frosting...

and a sprinkling of toasted coconut to top it off, along with some fresh cut pineapple slices. The day I made the cake my husband was taking his final exam...on a Saturday! Can you believe it! Anyway, he is usually in charge of cutting up the pineapple, so I actually watched a you tube video on how to do it, I realise that sounds kind of pathetic! and I actually found out it's easier than you think!

This cake was a bit of an all-dayer to make due to all the different components but it was definitely worth it! The cake was perfectly soft with the right amount of coconut flavour that was really complimented by the different pineapple filling, and the coconut cream cheese frosting that was so silky and delish really finished it off perfectly! 

Coconut & Pineapple Curd Layer Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:

Serves 12-14

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

Coconut Cake:

3 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup cream of coconut

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

4 large eggs

1 cup coconut & pineapple yoghurt

Pineapple Curd:

From Eating Well

1/4 cup caster sugar

3/4 cup pineapple juice

2 large eggs

5 tsp cornstarch

Pineapple Curd Frosting:

1/4 cup pineapple curd

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1 tbsp half and half/double cream

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup cream of coconut

90g cream cheese, softened

5 cups icing sugar

2 tbsp double cream/half and half

3 tbsp desiccated coconut

For the curd: 

For the cake: Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.  Grease 3 round 8 inch cake pans; set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a medium bowl and set aside.  

Beat butter and sugar in a freestanding electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed.  Add the cream of coconut and desiccated coconut; continue beating, scraping bowl often, until smooth.  Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition.  Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture alternately with coconut yoghurt.  Beat until well mixed.

Divide batter evenly between 3 prepared pans.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and cake is a deep golden brown.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

For the pineapple curd frosting: Beat butter and sugar together in the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer.  Mix in the pineapple curd, and then stir in the half and half until you are happy with the consistency.   

For the coconut cream cheese frosting: beat butter, cream of coconut and cream cheese in the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer.  Beat at medium speed until creamy.  Reduce speed to low; add icing sugar, one cup at a time.  Add enough cream until it is at spreadable consistency, and mix in the desiccated coconut.

To assemble: Once cakes are cool, spread pineapple curd over the top of the first layer.  Put the next layer of cake on top and spread the pineapple frosting over it.  Add the final layer of cake on top.  Cover the whole thing liberally in a layer of coconut cream cheese frosting, for the crumb coat.  Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.  Remove the cake and cover with the rest of the frosting.

Toast shredded coconut under the grill/broiler and once cool sprinkle it over the top of the cake.  Cut fresh pineapple slices into chunks and decorate with them around the edge of the cake.

Serve it to your fellow partygoers and birthday boy and await their delighted reaction! 

Double Chocolate Vanilla Bean & Chocolate Malt Frosted Mini Cupcakes

It's been a while since cupcakes graced the blog...and without cupcakes this blog just leaves me as crazy Gem! so that needed to be rectified! 

One of my favourite things about our time in Canada has been the kindness and friendliness of the people here! From the very first day we arrived, and we had no change for the bus but the driver let us on anyway to people lending you cars! Yes, that's right! The colleague I work with went to Mexico during spring break and knew that we don't have a car here so he offered to lend us his so that we wouldn't have to hire a car everytime we wanted to go somewhere! How kind is that! So thanks to him we were able to have crazy amounts of fun that you can check out here and here.

I knew that I wanted to bake something for him to show my appreciation and since I can't think of a tastier treat than cupcakes, I baked up some of my favourite chocolate buttermilk cupcakes and topped them with a generous amount of ganache and then finished them off with two frostings: vanilla bean and chocolate malt.  Can we just talk for a minute about how amazing ganache is? It's something I make very rarely...but I had so much fun making it that I can see it is going to pop up more frequently in the future! It is just SO versatile! and what's not to love about a giant bowl of thick fudgy chocolate blended with cream! I'm a convert that's for sure! and it took these cupcakes from being yummy little bite sized treats to being over the top indulgently delicious chocolate bombs!

Make them for people...and I guarantee their kindness will keep coming! Like tonight I just got home from that same colleague's house where he helped me fill out my first Canadian tax return, and he is lending us his car again next week when my mom and sister come to visit!!

I better start whipping him up another batch! 

Double Chocolate Vanilla Bean Mini Cupcakes:

Makes 32

From Cooking Classy

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

3/4 cup salted butter, firm but not cold

1 1/4 cups caster sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda.  Set aside.

In a separate large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed, whip together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy for about 3-4 minutes.  Add in eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition until combined.  Measure out buttermilk in a liquid measuring cup and add vanilla extract to milk, then whisk to combine.  Working in 2 separate batches, add buttermilk mixture followed by flour mixture to butter mixture, mixing just unti combined after each addition (batter will be thick).  

Fill cupcake cases 2/3 full.  Bake in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until a knife inserted into the middle of each cupcake comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes in baking pan until transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Ganche:

Makes enough to frost the above, with plenty to spare...and you can eat the rest with a spoon! I did!

From Tracey's Culinary Adventures

12 oz. dark/bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

3/4 cup double/whipping cream

1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar

1 1/2 tbsp corn syrup

3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.  

Combine the cream, sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Immediately pour the cream mixture over the chocolate and let it stand for 1 minute.  

Whisk until the mixture is smooth and blended, then add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until completely incorporated.  Let the mixture stand at room temperature to thicken before topping the cupcakes.  

Once cool, using a palette knife spread a generous amount of ganache on top of each cupcake.

Vanilla Bean Frosting:

From Cupcake Project

2 cups/250g icing sugar

1 cup/225g unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 tbsp milk

Mix together the sugar and butter until they are blended and creamy.  Add vanilla bean paste and milk and continue to beat for another minute.  If desired, add more vanilla bean paste to taste, or more icing sugar if you require a stiffer consistency.

Chocolate Malt Frosting:

From Sweetapolita

2 cups icing sugar

1 cup unsalted butter

1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp Ovaltine powder

4 oz. Belgian chocolate, or other good quality chocolate

1/4 cup whipping/double cream

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine half the icing sugar and butter and beat on low speed for one minute.  While that is mixing, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, and set aside to cool. Add the rest of the icing sugar and butter to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed until completely combined (I do it in two stages so as not to completely cover my kitchen in icing sugar).

Add vanilla and Ovaltine, and beat on low speed until well combined.

Add the melted, cooled chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes). Add double cream and beat on high speed for one minute.

Once the ganache has sat on the cupcakes for around 10-15 minutes and become firmer, pipe little frosting swirls onto the cupcakes (alternating between the vanilla bean and chocolate malt frostings).  Finish off the chocolate malt topped cupcakes with a large Ghiradelli white chocolate chip, and a sprinkling of 3 Ghiradelli mini chocolate chips on the vanilla bean topped cupcakes.  

Eat and enjoy, or share with friends and sit back and watch the kindness emerge!

I'm also sending these over to What Kate Baked and Lavender and Lovage for their Tea Time Treats blogging challenge because the theme for April is Fairy Cakes, Cupcakes and Muffins.

Chocolate Malt Malteser Layer Cake

I made this cake for Valentine's Day! I think it's taken me so long to blog about it because it was such a stressful evening of baking! The moral of the story I learnt was when your husband tells you all he wants for Valentine's is cookies...then go with it! Rather than spend $40 on ingredients for a cake (because Vancouver clearly hates baking bloggers) only to have a fight about it with your significant other who you are making the cake for in the first place! whilst trying to clean up your whole house because the next day our family was arriving from England to stay for a week! 

Yeah...cookies would have been way easier! 

Easier...but probably not nearly as tasty as this sour cream chocolate cake, slathered with the best malt frosting in the world! I have been looking for an excuse to make this amazing frosting ever since I made it last year to frost my Malteser bunny cupcakes.  It comes from the queen of layer cakes, Sweetapolita, and I'm pretty sure one of these days I'm going to have to make the 6 layer toasted marshmallow campfire cake that she originally paired this frosting with because being the s'mores lover I am, it looks right up my street! 

Obviously, on the previously mentioned night of baking a 6 layer cake was never going to happen! In fact even my planned 3 layer cake got cut back into a 2 layer cake! and I couldn't wait long enough for the cake to cool down so I slathered on the frosting whilst it was still slightly warm, because it was approaching midnight and we were ready for bed but of course needed to taste a piece before bed and before Valentine's was over! 

Also, in my haste I picked up sour cream at the supermarket rather than buttermilk and so the actual chocolate cake recipe I was planning to use had to be abandoned...and after some last minute browsing I came across this sour cream cake via Hummingbird High and it saved the day...

and was completely moist and delicious even when we were enjoying it 3 days later in Whistler! 

Chocolate Malt Malteser Layer Cake:
Makes 2 8" layers
Adapted from Hummingbird High

3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 3/4 cups caster sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup water, boiling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.  Grease 2 8"cake tins.

In a medium bowl, mix together the sour cream, cocoa powder, eggs, egg yolks and vanilla extract until smooth.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together cake flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar on low speed until just blended.

Add the butter and half of the wet cocoa mixture to the dry flour mixture and beat until the dry ingredients are moist.  Increase the mixer to medium speed and beat until smooth for 2 minutes.  Gradually add the remaining cocoa mixture, in 2 batches, beating well after each addition.  Add 1/2 cup boiling water and beat until smooth.

Divide the batter equally between the cake tins and smooth the tops with a spatula.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Let the cakes cool in the tins for 10 minutes and then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Malted Belgian Chocolate Frosting:

Makes enough to frost the above with plenty leftover, and you're going to want the leftover - trust me!

From Sweetapolita

4 cups icing sugar

2 cups unsalted butter

1 tbsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup Ovaltine powder

8 oz. Belgian chocolate or other good quality chocolate

1/2 cup double cream

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine half the icing sugar and butter and beat on low speed for one minute.  While that is mixing, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, and set aside to cool. Add the rest of the icing sugar and butter to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed until completely combined (I do it in two stages so as not to completely cover my kitchen in icing sugar).

Add vanilla and Ovaltine, and beat on low speed until well combined.

Add the melted, cooled chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes). Add double cream and beat on high speed for one minute.

Once the cakes are cooled, sandwich them together with a very generous amount of the frosting.  Apply the same amount, if not more to the top of the cake.  I swished mine around with a palette knife but if you're not in a hurry you can pipe fancy swirls too!

Decorate with Maltesers/Whoppers...and if you're baking it for the one you love you can arrange them in a heart shape in the middle of the cake like I did!

Eat and enjoy!

Easter M&M Cookies 3 Ways: White Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Coconut!

Happy Easter! It's still Easter Monday here in Vancouver so I'm trying to sneak these Easter cookies through just in time! I went to America last week and bought tons of Easter candy, I was so excited to get baking and then Easter just crept up on me out of nowhere! Plus we went on an awesome kayaking and camping adventure up the Indian Arm fjord for the weekend and so there wasn't much time to bake! It has been an absolutely beautiful Easter weekend here, with bright blue skies and so much sunshine! and I just have to show off the beautiful cherry blossom trees that are blooming right outside my house! I love it! After the gloomy and rainy never ending winter we've had here though I feel it's deserved! 

So to make up for my lack of blogging recently, I'm giving you a triple whammy! 3 blog posts in one! They are all M&M Cookies - made with different M&M flavours.  None of these flavours are available in the UK so just swap out ones that are available, or splurge and buy these varieties in specialist American candy stores! 

I had spied these white chocolate M&M pudding cookies a few weeks ago, and immediately pinned the recipe knowing that I would be able to pick up these seasonal M&M's in America (because we don't get them in Canada either, boo hoo!) and I picked up the white chocolate pudding mix there too!

I love how pretty the pastel colours are - they make perfect Easter treats to give away or just scoff yourself! The white chocolate pudding mix gives a subtle white chocolate flavour throughout the cookies without making them too heavy, and you get bursts of real melted white chocolate coming through from the M&M's that tastes amazing! 

White Chocolate M&M Pudding Cookies:

Makes 18

From The Recipe Critic

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup caster sugar

3.4 oz package white chocolate instant pudding mix

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups white chocolate m&m's

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat non stick baking mat.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and white chocolate pudding mix (just the powder).   Set aside.

In an electric mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix together.  Add the bowl of dry ingredients.  Beat together until just blended.  Stir in the M&M's with a wooden spoon.  

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out cookie dough and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet.

Bake for 10-13 minutes or until slightly golden.  Cool for a few minutes on the tray, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Eat and enjoy!

I also picked up some really delicious egg shaped M&M's that were filled with peanut butter! They were so delicious that my husband and I nearly ate the whole bag and so I didn't have quite as many as I needed to whip up this batch of cookies, so I subbed in some mixed peanut butter and milk chocolate chips as well as the remaining eggs! 

I was quite excited to make these cookies as they involved corn starch and corn starch cookies have got quite the rep these days! 

These were incredibly soft and crumbly and tasty! They had a really good peanut butter zing to them! and I just love the prettiness of the pastel eggs too!

Peanut Butter Egg M&M Cookies:

Makes 18

From Bakerita

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups plain flour

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup peanut butter egg m&m's

1 cup milk choc and peanut butter chips

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, peanut butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well creamed and fluffy, for about 5 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour, cornstarch, bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix until just combined for 1 minute.  

Fold the M&M's and chocolate chips in with a wooden spoon, do not use the mixer or else they will break.  

Using a medium 2 inch cookie scoop, scoop out the dough and place onto a pre prepared baking tray 2 inches apart.  Flatten cookie dough mounds slightly with your palm, cover the tray in cling film/plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.

Bake for 10-13 minutes, until just set.  Allow cookies to cool on baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Eat and enjoy! 

The final cookies I'm sharing with you I made way back in January.  I had picked up some Coconut M&M's (my fave!) in Seattle and I was keen to bake them into some cookies so I adapted Tracey's recipe slightly to make them more coconutty because everything is better once it's been coconut-ified in my opinion! Yes, I'm making up words all over the show today! 

I'm definitely a pudding cookie convert! It produces a softer than usual cookie, and I like it! For all my English followers, boxed instant pudding is not something you'll find on your supermarket shelves so if you want to give these a go you'll have to get some instant jello from a specialist store like The Stateside Candy Co.  I'm not really sure that we have a UK alternative but if anyone has a go with something else then let me know how it turns out!

Coconut M&M Pudding Cookies:

Makes 28

Adapted From Tracey's Culinary Adventures

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 (3.4oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup coconut m&m's

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper of silpat non stick baking mats.  

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the pudding mix (just the powder) until combined and then add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.  With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, beating until just combined.  Use a rubber spatula to stir in the coconut m&m's, shredded coconut and chocolate chips.  

Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the baking sheets, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through.  The edges of the cookies should be golden brown.  Leave the cookies to cool on the sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.  Eat and enjoy!

Well that was an M&M overload! Hope you enjoyed...and get ready for more regular blog posts around here, my slacking time is over! 

Vancouver's Best Cupcake & Bakery Offerings!

 

So, we are now more than halfway through our time in Vancouver! It's crazy to think that we have been here this long...and that the rain still hasn't gone away yet! Everyone warned me before I left that it rains a lot in Vancouver, and I was like 'yeah, yeah I know'.  Kind of like that time when I spent a year studying in Scotland and before I left everyone told me Scottish people hate English people and I was all like 'yeah, yeah so I've heard' and then I got there and they really did! and so it has been with Vancouver...I was anticipating rain, but this much rain I could never have comprehended!! I swear I will never complain about the rain in England when I return because it will be nothing compared to what I've experienced here!! 

Anyway rainy ramblings aside, I thought it was time to do a round up of all the sweet treats I've been enjoying on the west coast! Vancouver has surprised me in that I thought they would have tons of awesome cupcake bakeries, but really they don't.  

In my first week here I ventured to Cupcakes, which is perhaps the most famous and one of the only sole cupcake bakeries in Van city.  The two owners even have their own T.V show that I had watched a couple of times on sky back in the UK so I was pretty excited about trying their cupcakes!

In my opinion, they're pretty standard.  Standard flavours, standard decorations and really not very exciting at all! I hate cupcakes that only have frosting on top with no other edible decorations.  We tried this chocolate cupcake with pink coloured vanilla frosting and it was just okay for me.

A few weeks later we stumbled upon them at the night market and so I decided to give them another shot.  I went with their coconut cupcake with cream cheese frosting, topped with shredded coconut.  

I couldn't taste any coconut flavour which as a coconut obsessive was pretty disappointing! (and yes I am wearing my American flag tee...in Canada, what can I say!)

The only other dedicated cupcakery that I know of in the city is called Cassia Cupcakery.  One night, I knew my husband would be venturing to that side of the city so I hinted heavily that if he should stumble past that cupcake shop he should go inside and buy us some! Unfortunately I wish he hadn't wasted his money.  He brought us home a peanut butter cupcake and a 'strawberry cheesecake' cupcake.  

My strawberry cheesecake cupcake was vanilla cupcake with a scraping of cheesecake mix on top of the cupcake and then some pink frosting swirled on top.  None of it tasted like strawberry and I would have expected at least a cheesecake filling or a cheesecake topping, not just a scraping of it across the top! It was a pretty weird cupcake that I didn't end up finishing.  We had to throw my husbands away because the peanut butter frosting was so weird! We both took a bit and were looking at each other like 'what is this!'.  It confuses me how people can have a sole business dedicated to cupcakes and yet they sell creations that aren't even edible! 

So things were looking pretty bad on the cupcake side of things here in the city! and then I read online about this cute little place called Butter Baked Goods.  Again, it's pretty far away from where we live and without a car sometimes making 3 different bus trips seems extreme.  So when we hired a car to pick up our Christmas tree, I worked out if we were very quick we could make a detour to this bakery and still get our hire car back on time.

As soon as I stepped through the doors, I let out a squeal of excitement...this was exactly the kind of bakery I'd been looking for! Excuse the poor quality phone pics! but I was met with rows of freshly baked cupcakes, layer cakes, brownies in assorted flavours, campfire bars, mini lemon meringue pies, homemade s'mores, homemade marshmallows and just counters full of deliciousness! 

There was sooo much to choose from! I went with their coconut brownie, of course, and it was sooo delicious!

A few weeks later my husband brought me one of their chocolate and peppermint candy cane cupcakes which was the best Vancouver cupcake I've had so far! I have a week off work next week because of spring break and you can bet I will be making that 3 ride bus trip to Butter Baked Goods!

Whilst Vancouver hasn't quite lived up to my expectations on the cupcake side of things, there are still plenty of other delish treats! My absolute favourite find in Vancouver is Lucky's Doughnuts, found inside Parallel 49th Cafe...

I got taken here in the first week we arrived! and was met with this cabinet of excitement...

Of course I had to go for the coconut cream pie flavour! I'm pretty sure it was the yummiest doughnut to ever pass my lips! and since then I have tried their mango doughnut which is filled with a mango curd and covered in a mango glaze...it is equally as amazing!

The last time I went there they were pretty thin on the ground with their flavours so I picked up this lemon bismark.  Again, it was one of the best doughnuts I've ever eaten - they can do no wrong! 

I'm also in love with their beautiful turquoise crockery! 

For the best pie in Vancouver...you need to head to Aphrodite's, an organic pie cafe out in Kitsilano! I was expecting a delish piece of pie, I was not expecting the biggest piece of the most over the top pie I've ever seen in my life....

That right there is a slice of chocolate raspberry cream pie! and is the best pie I have ever eaten! It didn't come cheap at $9.25 for one slice but it fed me for 3 days in a row so I'd say it was worth it! 

We also found the biggest cookies I've ever seen in my life in Whistler at a little coffee shop called Mogul's.  I got the raspberry oatmeal flavour, and it was seriously tasty! 

The other sweet treat you can't miss out on when you go to Whistler is a beavertail! 

Our favourite flavour is the one smothered in chocolate, peanut butter and reese's pieces! It's like a baked pastry spiced with cinnamon and it is sooo delicious, and hits the spot on a cold snowy day! 

Last time we also tried the warm cinnamon apple flavour.  I can't recommend these pastries enough!

If you follow my blog, you'll know of my love for s'mores! so when I found out that this chocolate cafe downtown called Mink did a s'mores fondue I was there like a bear!

It was super fun! They brought this cute little tray to our table, and we were able to toast our own marshmallows over this little burner.

and then dip them in the oh so tasty melted chocolate and make up your own little s'mores using the graham crackers provided! 

It was the perfect way to spend a chilly rainy afternoon! 

I realise this blog post is getting a little long, so I'll leave you with one more cupcakery and probably my favourite one in B.C so far.  It's in a little fishing village called Steveston, about 30 minutes away from Vancouver itself and it's called Bell's Bakeshop.

The reason I knew it was going to be a great cupcakery was because the owner used to work at Angel Food Bakery in Brighton before opening up her own cupcakery over here.  Angel Food is one of my fave U.K bakeries! so I knew before we had even arrived that the cupcakes were going to be good!

We were met with cabinets full of tasty looking cupcakes! 

I, of course had my eye on the Oreo crumb covered one!

Although, this malteser layer cake was rather tempting too! 

Byron went for the chocolate peanut butter combo, complete with the dreamiest peanut butter frosting and reese's pieces to finish it off! It was everything a cupcake should be! 

My Oreo cupcake had big chunks of Oreo throughout the vanilla cupcake and then it was covered with a creamy frosting, surrounded with Oreo crumbs and a mini Oreo on top! I was in cupcake heaven! and was happy that I'd finally found a good cupcakery in B.C! If only it wasn't so far from my house! It took us 2 buses and a skytrain and journey time of over an hour! but I'm sure we'll be back, the cupcakes will be calling my name! 

So that's my little roundup...if you ever find yourself in Vancouver and are in need of a sweet treat hopefully this will help you out and if you know of any places I've missed please let me know!