Freshly Squeezed Sunshine & Sherbet Lemon Cake!

Early mornings are the best time of day for me, when everyone else is either sleeping or getting ready to go out.  It’s usually dark when I leave & I love catching that inky blue sky as it slowly melts into an array of pretty pinks & golds.  It’s a serene time of day for me & as Christmas is getting closer, people are bustling about, bags bulging & feet burning, so I like to soak up the calm before the chaos.

Christmas cakes have been decorated with snowy scenes, presents wrapped & cards sent (except mine, because I’ve not had time to write any yet).  I’ve been sculpting little cute creatures from my homemade modelling chocolate, ready to be wrapped & hopefully not eaten.  This time of year can become a bit of a whirlwind of things to do & when this happens, I find it soothing to put on an apron & bake a cake.  Cake should be created with care, not rushed but relished & enjoyed.  A happy Cook makes a happy cake!

Cake: even the mere mention of this magical food can cause a frenzy of fresh faces at the door, eyes wide in anticipation of sweet creations.  As a child, baking always seemed like some kind of magical spell – you put a tin full of sweet tasting goo in the oven & a fluffy cloud of cake comes out!  This particular cake is the one I am best known for, my Lemon Drizzle Cake.  Lighter-than-air layers of lemon cake & whipped buttercream that seem to evaporate like a zesty zephyr with every mouthful.  It tastes like freshly squeezed sunshine & sherbet lemons, almost defying you not to feel brighter & more cheery as you eat it.  This recipe is for a seven inch three layered cake, perfect for afternoon tea with friends or a celebration of your own & yes, even Christmas!

Now you’re probably only going to need about one lemon’s worth of zest, depending on size, but you need their juice.  You all know by now that I don’t like waste, so zest all the lemons & pop spoonfuls of the extra zest in ice-cube trays & cover with a little water, then freeze for future bakes.  Ready to bake it happen?  Hands washed, aprons on & here we go!

What you need:

2-3 large Unwaxed Lemons, washed & dried, room temperature

For the Cake:
8oz Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature
8oz Sugar
8oz Self-Raising Flour
4 large Eggs
2 teaspoons fresh Lemon Zest
A few drops Vanilla Extract

For the Syrup:
100ml approx of fresh Lemon Juice topped up with Sugar to 150ml (see picture here)
1 teaspoon fresh Lemon Zest

For the Buttercream:
5oz Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature
12oz Icing Sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon fresh Lemon Zest for decoration/filling

What to do:

Pre-heat the oven to 190*C & prepare your tins.  You will need three 7″ cake tins.  Wipe them out with a little melted butter.  I use the butter wrapper for this – you can keep them in the fridge or freezer for future bakes (you’re welcome!).  Sprinkle with a little additional flour & shake around to coat the inside of your tins.  Tap them upside down to tip out any excess flour.  Place a circle of greaseproof paper in the bottom of each tin & set them aside on your worktop.

Next, prepare your lemons.  Wash them well in warm soapy water, drying them equally well.  Once cleaned, give them a good firm roll on the worktop.  This will encourage them to give up their juice easier.

Using a zester or the fine side of a cheese grater, remove the zest of the lemons carefully.  You just want to zip off the golden skin, not the white pith underneath, so try not to use too much pressure as you zest.  Cover & set aside.

Cut each lemon in half & squeeze the juice into a cup or mug.  Don’t worry about pips, simply pour the juice into a strainer over a measuring jug.  I use a fork to juice lemons – jab it into the middle & twist while you squeeze the outside.  Set aside.

Now to make the cake batter!  Beat the butter & sugar in a large mixing bowl until a soft golden paste.

Add one egg, beating well until your mixture is glossy & fluffy.  Repeat with the rest of the eggs, one at a time.

Sift half the flour into the mixture carefully, then fold into the wet ingredients using a spatula.  Once it’s started to combine, sift in the rest of the flour & continue to fold until fully blended to a smooth, thick batter.

Sprinkle the lemon zest across the top & stir in well.

Using your whisk, give it one last beating for about 30 seconds, just to get a good gust of air in at the end.

Spoon into the prepare tins equally, smoothing down the mixture until level.

Bake on the shelf just down from the centre of the oven for approximately 18-20 minutes, until well-risen & lightly golden on top.

Using a stem of spaghetti or a skewer, gently poke the cake in the centre – if it comes out clean, it’s cooked.   Place the cakes in their tins on a cooling rack for a minute.

Slide a pallet knife between the edge of the tin & the cake to loosen it.  Turn it out very gently onto a cooling rack & peel off the greaseproof paper circle by pulling it slowly back on itself – don’t lift it up or it will bring half your cake with it.  Turn your cake over very carefully & leave to cool completely.

While the cakes are cooling, time to make the buttercream.  This is my method to blend puff-free powdered icing sugar with the butter.  It just requires a little effort & will mean you don’t have a cloud of sugar.

Tip the butter into a bowl & using a soft spatula, beat & spread it around the bowl (I usually spread it halfway up around the edges).

Very slowly add all the icing sugar – do not tip it in, use a tablespoon to scoop it into the bowl & add it as close to the butter as possible.

Using the spatula, press it into the butter & scoop from the sides of the bowl, folding & pressing until all the sugar is squished into the butter to form a very stiff paste.

Once it’s all incorporated, add a little of the lemon juice & give everything a good beating with the spatula until very light textured & fluffy.  It should be the palest, creamy colour by now.

Spoon into a piping bag with your preferred nozzle (I used a large star nozzle because that’s my favourite for this).  Fold the end & pop it into the fridge while you make the syrup.

Strain 100ml of the lemon juice into a measuring jug.  Add the sugar evenly until the liquid has risen to 150ml – you should have an equal stripe of sugar & lemon juice in the jug.

Add the lemon zest & give everything a good stir.  Either pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes on full power or dissolve in a small saucepan over a medium heat.  Once the sugar has disappeared completely, your syrup is ready.  Give it a stir again & set aside to cool slightly.

Time to start assembling your cake!  Get yourself a lovely serving plate & remove the buttercream from the fridge.  I’m going to give you a couple of tips here that I’ve learned over the years too.

Firstly, take your buttercream & pipe a small half inch splodge in the centre of your serving plate.  This will stop your cake from sliding around while you’re stacking the layers.

Take your first cake layer & flip it over, so it’s flat side up.  Lay it onto the splodge of buttercream on the plate.

Using a stem of spaghetti or a skewer, poke several holes all over the cake.

Spoon about a third of the  lemon syrup evenly all over the cake – remember, you just want to drizzle not drown the cake, so don’t overdo it or it will go soggy.  Just drizzle enough syrup all over & don’t worry if a bit goes over the edges, it will soak in.

Pipe decorative swirls around the top of the cake, to make a buttercream ring around the edge.  Fill the centre in by piping around the inner edge, getting smaller until in the middle.

Take the next layer of cake, flip it over as before & carefully lay it on top of the buttercream, making sure it’s level & even.

Repeat the above steps, poking little holes in carefully – you don’t want to go through the cake, just make little vents for the syrup to seep into.  Again, don’t worry if it goes over the edges, it will be fine.  Pipe the buttercream as before.

Place the final layer of cake on top carefully, ensuring it is level & your cake layers are all in line with each other (give it a little nudge until you’re happy with it).

Carefully poke some holes in the top cake, as before for the previous layers & add the syrup.  If you have some syrup left at the end, freeze it in ice cube trays (it’s perfect poured over ice-cream or plopped in a glass of Prosecco).

Sprinkle strands of fresh lemon zest all over the top of your cake, with a few on the plate around the edge.  That’s it, your cake is ready to slice & share!  I recommend keeping it as simple as this for an afternoon treat with friends, but if it’s for a birthday or celebration, decorate as you like!

So if you need a little sunshine, try my de-luscious & delightful Lemon Drizzle cake!  Stay hungry!  Aimee 😉 x

 

Cupcake Chocolat-Toes!

Sweltering Summer is here & the garden is flourishing fabulously, although the heatwave has played havoc with plans for doing any gardening!  The bees have been busy collecting their nectar & blossoms are blooming in abundance, inspiring me to create some Summery sugar art.

As you may have seen on my social media, I love making sugar shoes (usually with some of my handmade sugar paste roses perched prettily on top).  They’re definitely not for eating though, as they set like porcelain (plus it takes me at least a couple of days to make everything & I might just cry).  Simple or sassy, shoes are a wonderful way to bring a smile & shouldn’t just be for your feet!  Since I began making my fancy footwear,  I have tried all kinds of techniques, tools & templates, but always end up using a pair of my favourite shoes as a general guide.  If I’m honest, I prefer to make each one “freehand” so I’m creating something unique & special each time.

My first foray into edible footwear was making swirly stiletto cupcakes for a girly afternoon tea party with friends a few years ago.  At that point, the only cake decorating I’d done was a few blobs of buttercream frosting & although they have evolved considerably since then, I still like to make my little cupcake shoes for special occasions.  These sumptuously sweet stilettos are really easy to make & baking beginner friendly – the hardest part is deciding how to decorate them.  Because I wanted this to be for everyone’s level of ability, I would suggest using ready-made biscuits for the sole & heel in this recipe.  Ready to bake it happen?  Hands washed, aprons on & here we go!

What you need:

For the Cupcakes (12):
2 large Eggs
4oz Butter (unsalted & room temperature, slightly softened)
3oz Self-Raising Flour
1oz Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon Instant Coffee (trust me on this, it will make the chocolate flavour more chocolatey)
4oz Sugar (I use my homemade vanilla sugar – pop a vanilla pod in a jar of sugar overnight & that’s it!)
A splash of Semi-Skimmed Milk (about 2 teaspoonsful)

For the Buttercream:
6oz Butter (unsalted, room temperature)
12oz Icing Sugar
Optional:
A few drops of your favourite food colour (try using the gel colours, as the ones from the supermarket tend to make your mixture go watery & the colours weak – I used PME Cake Decorating natural food colours for this recipe).

(If you’re going to pipe flowers, remember to colour a small amount of the buttercream green for the leaves).

Decorations:
12 Chocolate Finger Biscuits or Ice Cream Cones (for the heels)
12 Plain long flat Biscuits (such as Langue-de-Chat biscuits)
(Tip: have some spares in case of breakages)
Edible Glitter, Pearls, Sugar Strands, Jelly Sweets or Sugar Flowers (you can buy these ready-made in supermarkets)

What to do:

First of all, pre-heat the oven to 190*C.  Prepare your tray – get a patty tin & line with a dozen cupcake cases, then set aside while you make the cake mixture.

Put the butter & sugar into a large mixing bowl.  Give it all a good whisk with the electric mixer (or a wooden spoon) until it turns a pale golden cream colour.

Add an egg to the mixture, then slowly mix this in to begin with until just combined.  Give it a firm whisking until the mixture is smooth.  Repeat with the second egg.

Stir the coffee & cocoa powder into the flour, then sift it into the wet mixture.  Fold the flour in using a spatula or a metal spoon & making smooth figure of eight movements to incorporate the flour into the wet mixture.  A metal spoon will cut any air bubbles, whereas a wooden spoon will knock them out & you’ve just spent ages whisking them in.

Once your mixture is completely smooth, divide as equally as you can into the cupcake cases.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 18-20 minutes, depending on your oven, until they are nicely risen.  To check if they are cooked, get a spaghetti stem & poke it in the middle – if it comes out clean, they’re done.

Remove your cupcakes from the tray & pop them onto a cooling rack.  Leave until fully cooled.

Now you’re ready to start decorating & will need your buttercream.  Put the butter in a bowl & beat until smooth, then spread it around the base of your bowl (so the sugar will stick to it).

Carefully, without causing a dust cloud, tip all the icing sugar on top of the butter.

Get a spatula & press the sugar into the butter, scooping it in from the sides of the bowl, flipping it over & repeating.  It will only take you a few moments & your arm might ache a bit, but it will create a smooth buttercream without the puff of sugar an electric mixer would give you!

Once combined, you’re ready to start getting creative with your cupcakes!  If you’re colouring your buttercream, add a couple of drops of colour & whisk into the mixture , adding a little more until you get the colour you like (please read the instructions on the bottle).  Usually, I only add about 4 drops as these gel colours are quite true to colour & don’t require much.

Once you’re happy with your buttercream, pop in a piping bag with your preferred nozzle & get swirling!  For a large swirl covering the whole cake, start at the outer edge & pipe slowly around your cupcake, heading towards the centre & finish with a swirl in the middle.  If you’re not sure how, my tip is to practise on a piece of greaseproof paper a few times beforehand.  You can always scoop the buttercream back into the piping bag when you’re ready (no point in wasting all that hard work you’ve put in!).

Put the cupcakes on the serving plate or board that you will be using to present them (once they’re made, you want to be able to move them easily).  Leave a couple of inches space between them.

Push a biscuit into the buttercream roughly at a 45 degree angle & put your “heel” under the free end of the biscuit.  Use a splodge of buttercream to hold it in place & pipe a swirl or two to make it look pretty.

Time to add some sparkle!  Decorate the buttercream on your cupcake “toes” with a sprinkle of edible glitter, pearls, sugar strands, jelly sweets or sugar flowers – it’s your creation, so make it how you like!  Use long multi-coloured sugar laces to create bows or straps on your heels too – try plaiting a few together to make a thicker shoe strap.  Because I had some sugar paste leftover, I made a few roses & leaves for the ones pictured.

That’s it!  Your sparkly shoes are ready to serve!  These are perfect for all kinds of celebrations – afternoon tea, birthdays, Princess parties, wedding or baby showers.   Because they’re so easy to make, these are brilliant for any budding bakers who want to get creative.  They also make the perfect gifts too.

Next time you’re having a few friends over for a special occasion, why not kick it off with some handmade sweet shoe treats & make my Cupcake Chocolat-toes!  Stay hungry!  A 😉 x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Espresso Yourself!

Although it’s barely the beginning of March, we have been enjoying plenty of gloriously golden sunshine & blue skies, lifting everyone’s spirits.  Dainty flowers are flourishing in hedgerows & borders, a vast array of vibrant colours emerging & encouraging us to believe Spring has arrived.  It’s like we’ve just opened a window after Winter, a breathe of beautiful freshness after the cold snap.  This time of year is the most exciting for me, when the sleepy seeds & bulbs are stirring in the ground, springing from the soil & bringing a new season of flowers, vegetables & recipes!  There are always lovely smiling faces at my local shops too & although I only popped in for eggs, I always end up with a basket full of goodies (including a potted Oregano to add to my ever increasing hoard of herbs on the patio, but not the walnuts that I only remembered as I pulled into the driveway).  Whilst waiting at the checkout, I got chatting with one of our Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Fire Fighters (hi Anna!).  It never ceases to amaze me how our Fire Fighters head off into potentially highly dangerous situations (obviously they have lots of training & nerves of steel), so huge thanks & appreciation for their service!

Today would have been my Grandma’s birthday, Mamma as she was fondly known to us & she was one of the best bakers I know.  Her velvety rich chocolate cake was rather famous in our family & I would love sitting at the huge table in her kitchen, watching her carefully create this magical masterpiece.  Saturday afternoons would involve watching wrestling with Grandad (it was Giant Haystacks & Big Daddy in those days), then curling up on the sofa with Mamma & a slice of cake while we watched Calamity Jane or another old Hollywood classic.  Cake should invoke happy memories, both to the baker & the eater – birthdays, weddings, anniversaries & afternoons with your favourite people are all accompanied by a good cake (or they should be).  It’s a fabulous way to show someone how much you care & baking a cake for someone is personal, unique & one of the easiest ways to make them smile.

Perfect for Springtime afternoons, my lusciously light & lovely Coffee & Walnut cake is one of my Husband’s favourites & something I’ve been making for many years.  When I worked in an office, I would bake cakes for client meetings & once made this for an important new client – I shelled the walnuts myself & a piece accidentally got in the cake, which obviously ended up in her slice!  This recipe began as a few scribbles in the back of a notebook one afternoon, when I decided to bake & discovered a lack of sugar, so used golden syrup instead (one of my best experiments!).  Before we get started, I just want to address the type of sugar for this particular recipe.  Because golden caster sugar is not always easy to find, I tend to use light golden Demerara or Vanilla sugar (just put regular sugar in a jar with a snapped vanilla pod overnight).  It blends perfectly without any grittiness, but if you’re concerned just chuck it into a coffee grinder to make it fine.  Ready to get baking?  Hands washed & aprons on, here we go!

What you need:

6oz Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
6oz Self-Raising Flour
(plus a little extra Butter & Flour for prepping your cake tins)
4oz Sugar (I use either Demerara or Vanilla Sugar as mentioned)
2oz Golden Syrup
3 large Eggs
4oz Walnut pieces (plus 12 walnut halves for decorating the top)
4 tablespoons Espresso Coffee (leftover from the morning’s fresh pot or just strong coffee mixed in cold water)

For the buttercream:
10oz Icing Sugar
5oz Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
2 teaspoons Espresso Coffee (saved from the mixture above)

What to do:

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C & put the shelf in the centre of the oven.

Prepare your cake tins – you will need two 7 inch cake tins for this cake.  Grease with a little butter all around the inside (you can use the butter wrapper or just smudge around with your fingers).  Chuck in a spoonful of flour & shake it all around, until all the butter is covered.  Tip out the excess.

Cut two circles of greaseproof paper out to fit the bottom of your tins & pop one in each.  Although the butter & flour will make your tins non-stick, this will ensure your cake comes out clean too.

Put the softened butter into a large mixing bowl, pour in the golden syrup & tip the sugar on top.  Using an electric whisk (or a wooden spoon if you like), whip up the butter, syrup & sugar until light, smooth & a pale cream colour.

Crack in one egg at a time & whisk thoroughly into the mixture (it will become looser, so don’t panic).

Once all your eggs are combined, sift in the flour & then fold into the mixture.  Folding is just stirring in a figure of eight style around the bowl, until your dry ingredients are mixed into the wet.

Stir a little of the coffee into the cake mixture gently, just a spoonful at a time & taste it (it should be delicately coffee flavoured, not “smack you round the face” cake!).

Add the walnut pieces & stir in gently to combine.

Divide the mixture equally between the two cake tins, spreading out to the edges with a spatula (just to even out the mixture).

Bake in the centre of the oven for approximately 25 minutes, until the centre has risen & turned a gorgeous golden brown on top.

To test if your cake is ready, poke a stick of spaghetti into the centre & if it comes out clean, your cake is done!  Pop your tins onto a cake rack to cool for a minute.

Slide a pallet knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the tin, then tip it onto your (oven gloved) hand, peel off the greaseproof paper from the base (pull it back onto itself, not straight up or you’ll break your cake) & place the cake carefully onto the cooling rack, bottom side down.  Repeat with the other one & leave to go completely cold.

Now to make the filling!  I have a certain method for making buttercream, because I really don’t like using an electric whisk & being showered in sugar!  This is the way I do it & it’s really easy, but your arms might ache after (it’s all worth it in the end!).

Tip the butter into a large mixing bowl & give it a good beating with a wooden spoon or spatula, just to make it smooth.

Add all the sugar & using your spatula, press it into the creamed butter, using the sides of the bowl as you do.

Continue until all the sugar & butter are blended into a thick, creamy mixture.  Add a little coffee, mix in & taste (again, it should be delicately flavoured).  If it becomes too loose, add another tablespoon of icing sugar & blend again.  It needs to be stiff enough to pipe onto the cake.

Pop your buttercream into a piping bag, either with a nozzle or your choice or without (I’ve used a plastic bag with a corner snipped off when I’ve not had a piping bag to hand).

Once the cake is cold, it will be easier to decorate & less likely to break up (if the weather is hot, give it 10 mins in the fridge after the cake has gone cold & this will give you a much better base to work on).

Place your bottom layer of cake onto a serving plate & pipe around the edge of the cake – I pipe a pretty pattern around the edge & then fill in the centre bit by just piping long swirls tapering off in the middle.

Carefully place the top layer of cake onto the buttercream, pressing gently down & making sure it’s even all the way around.

Pipe a small swirl of buttercream in the centre of the cake & pop a walnut half on top, pressing gently.

Pipe further swirls around the cake at equal spaces, dotting with the walnut halves as above.  If you do have any leftover buttercream, don’t throw it away – pipe little swirls or flowers onto a strip of greaseproof paper & freeze for future bakes.  Next time you have a cake emergency (yes they do exist), you have ready-made decorations.  Sometimes, I like to dust all over with a spoonful of icing sugar (put a teaspoonful in a tea strainer & shake it over your cake like a dredging of sugary snow).

Leave to set for ……. as if I’d make you wait!  Get slicing & sharing your beautiful baking!  If you do have any leftovers, wrap in cling film & freeze for an afternoon treat.  Whether you’re celebrating or just fancy a slice of sweetness, why not “Espresso yourself” & whip up my Coffee & Walnut cake to share!  Stay hungry! Aimee 😉 x

 

 

 

 

Pour Some Sugar On Me!

Romance gushes in many guises & St Valentine’s Day is no exception.  There are the usual, traditional gifts of long-stemmed, sweetly scented ruby red roses, accompanied by cheeky cards & boxes of beautiful Belgian chocolates, all intended to melt even the frostiest of hearts.  Whether you’re a secret admirer or a “heart-on-your-sleeve” kind of person, everyone loves receiving a sweet token of affection on this particular day.  We all get the warm fuzzies when we open a Valentine’s love note or receive flowers – it’s human nature.  In the past, I have sometimes given a card & small gift to some of my single friends, just to let them know they were appreciated (not that I wanted to pick out curtains or anything).

Over the last couple of years, I’ve usually been busy creating handmade chocolate hearts in their hundreds as treats for people to give to their beloved, dipping each one in melted chocolate, decorating them by hand & turning my kitchen into my own little chocolate factory!  By the time I’d finished, I really didn’t want to see, smell or taste chocolate for a few weeks after!  Last year, my Husband was suitably spoiled as always, with a selection of his favourite handmade chocolates decorating a rather large, milk chocolate frosted heart-shaped chocolate cake (I think there was just enough chocolate in it!).

This year, I wanted to do something a bit different & as it was birthday month in our house this January, I decided to make my own sugar roses.  I did so much research that I was dreaming in fondant & buttercream!   Our lovely neighbours have been my taste testers (every time I knock on their doors, they must be thinking “oh no, it’s that cake woman again!”) & I’ve been handing out buttercream roses like I’m on some sort of quest.  Once I had realised that (a) you need a much stiffer buttercream & (b) you need the nozzle the right way up, my roses started to actually resemble flowers.  There was a lot of “woohoo-ing” & dancing around the kitchen at this point – it was a major achievement for me, as previous attempts had resulted in wavy pebbles on sticks (albeit edible ones).  As these were a success, I decided to make a small bouquet for a birthday gift.

Obviously, once I’d realised that I could make these fabulous floral treats, I couldn’t stop there & decided to create some sugar art of my own, modelling them from fondant sugar paste & even marzipan.  I made a couple of fondant roses one Summer & they lasted for a full five minutes, before retreating into a puddle of sugary petals (it was rather hot that day, so it probably wasn’t a good idea).  This time, I made them with both marzipan & sugar paste, so was quite surprised with my achievement (they’re quite fiddly & I’m not very patient).  I won’t bore you with the details, but as it took me about a couple of hours to create each one from scratch (not including the centres), you can appreciate that I couldn’t watch them being eaten (the Husband kept wandering into another room every time he ate one, so I wouldn’t see).

Whatever Valentine’s Day treats you make, they should always be made with love.  Here’s a recipe that even the most challenged cook can create in their own kitchen.   We have been making these cookies for many years now & call this the 1234 recipe, because it’s so easy & only has four basic ingredients – just add chocolate!  So, aprons on & hands washed, here we go!

What you need for the basic recipe:

1oz Custard Powder
2oz Light Muscovado Sugar
3oz Softened Butter or Spread (although Butter tastes best)
4oz Self-Raising Flour

Optional:

100g Milk Chocolate chunks (chuck a bar in the blender & pulse it to get chunks)
Or:
A handful of Sultanas

What to do:

Pre-heat the oven to 200*C & line a couple of baking trays with sheets of greaseproof paper (no washing up!).

Put everything in a mixing bowl, get your hands in & squelch everything together to make a silky, smooth dough.  Break up any large pieces of the Muscovado sugar while your doing this too.

If you’re adding chocolate chunks or sultanas, chuck these in now & mix evenly into the dough (tip any powdered chocolate out of that blender too – we don’t waste chocolate!).

Take a tablespoonful of mixture in your hand, roll into a ball & press onto the baking tray with your fingers.  Leave about an inch gap between each & repeat until you have all the mixture done on the tray.

Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes, until just turning golden.  When they’re ready, use a pallet knife to transfer each one to a cooling rack – be careful, as they will be soft & breakable.

Once cooled, eat them as they are or drizzle all over with melted chocolate & let them set.  Keep in an airtight container or biscuit tin until you fancy a treat.  They will keep for about a week (but only if you don’t tell anyone about them).

That’s the basic recipe, but for something more love inspiring, here’s a Valentine’s Day variation for your Amour – Cookie Sweethearts.  If you don’t want to use the heart cookie cutter, you could always use a flower one & make an edible bouquet of cookie flowers instead!

What you need:

2oz Custard Powder
4oz Light Muscovado Sugar
6oz Butter or Spread
8oz Self-Raising Flour (with more for rolling out)
A pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda

For the filling:

3oz Softened Butter
6oz Icing Sugar
Half a jar of Strawberry or Raspberry Jam (purée any large pieces of berry)

1 Heart shaped Cookie Cutter & 1 small Heart shaped Cookie Cutter

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 200*C & prepare two large baking trays with greaseproof paper as before.

Mash all the ingredients (except the jam) into a large mixing bowl, squishing everything together to make a silky dough as before & breaking up any large pieces of the sugar.

Dust your work surface with a little flour & take half of the dough, rolling it out to about half a centimetre thickness.  You will find that you need to slide your pallet knife underneath at stages, as it can get sticky.  Avoid adding too much flour, just dust it lightly, as this will alter the recipe.

Cut out the large heart shapes with your cookie cutter.  Take half of those you have cut out & place on your prepared baking tray, about an inch apart as before.

With the remainder of your heart shapes, take the smaller cookie cutter & cut hearts out of the centre of the larger shapes.  Keep the tiny hearts & put them on the baking tray to bake alongside your other hearts.

Put the hearts with the holes in on another prepared baking tray, spaced out as above.

Bake them all for about 8-10 minutes, until golden & then gently transfer them to a cooling tray.  These will be crisper than the other recipe, so they should be firmer.

Whilst they are cooling, make the buttercream.  Put the softened butter in a mixing bowl & using a spatula or the back of a wooden spoon, press it out all around the bowl to make it smooth.

Add the icing sugar & repeat, pressing it into the butter until you have a creamy consistency.  This is how I make buttercream, because I’ve been covered with a cloud of powdered sugar by using the mixer & it’s not fun (the damp tea-towel over the bowl didn’t work for me).  Once it’s all smooth, give it a quick whisk up with the mixer if you like & it will become light, fluffy & airy.

Put the buttercream into a piping bag (you can use a nozzle if you like or just snip the tip off the bag) & set aside.

Tip the jam into a small bowl & give it a stir with a wooden spoon or spatula to smooth it out.  You want the jam to soften, so that you can pipe it.  Sometimes, you can just give it a whisk by hand in a bowl until it’s smooth.  Break up & purée any large pieces of berry (or eat them – Cook’s bonus).

Pour into another piping bag & again, you don’t need a nozzle – just snip off the end of a bag, but keep it small this time.

Take your whole hearts & pipe a thin layer of buttercream on top.  These will be the base of your heart biscuits.  Put one of the open heart biscuits on top & press gently to attach – wipe off any excess buttercream that might ooze out of the sides & smooth with a fingertip or back of a teaspoon.

Pipe a small amount of jam carefully into the tiny heart-shaped hole on the top & leave to set on the cooling rack.  Repeat the above filling stages until all your biscuits are double layered & have pretty jam centres.

Remember all the little heart centres that you baked?  Simply pipe a small splodge of buttercream into them & make little layered lovehearts, for bite-sized treats.  You can always drizzle melted chocolate over the top of these if you want to make them extra special.

Any leftover jam can be put back in the jar & left in the fridge until you need it (don’t throw jam away!).  The same goes for the buttercream – just wrap up the end of the piping bag & fold over the snipped end, then keep it in the fridge to use on random cupcakes or chocolate puddings.  If you’re really feeling adventurous, tip it into a bowl & add more icing sugar until a bit firmer, then use it to pipe some buttercream roses onto cookies (if you make a mistake, scrape it off, shove it back in the bag & start again – great for teaching kids & keeps them entertained for ages).

Try making different shapes & decorate as you like!  I made these a while ago, as a Halloween birthday gift.  They were really easy to decorate too.  Simply roll out thin fondant icing, cut it out to the same shape as your cookies & stick on with a smudge of buttercream or icing.  The witches’ faces were made by marking on the eyes & mouths with a straw, cut in half at one end & then using a fine brush to paint on a little food colour.

Let them dry for about an hour or so, then serve!  The skeletons were actually made using the gingerbread man cutter.  If you don’t have a cat cutter, make 3 circles (each one slightly bigger), join them together on the baking tray, then add ears & a tail before baking.

For Christmas, I simply used a tree cutter & drizzled them with melted chocolate (mix a little milk & plain chocolate together for a richer flavour), then simply adorned them with some sugar sprinkles.  Why not try making cute reindeer cookies too!  Simply use an upside-down gingerbread man cutter to shape your cookie dough & decorate with rolled out fondant or modelling chocolate.  They are so easy to make & perfect treats for sharing.

So this St Valentine’s Day, give your Sweetheart some sugar & share these love bites!  Stay hungry! 😉  A x