Star sugar cookies

 

Last year I was asked to make two hundred individually wrapped star cookies for a school fundraiser and I only realised recently that I haven’t yet shared the recipe! It’s a very easy sugar cookie recipe, but the really fun part is decorating the baked cookies with marbled icing and sprinkles to make cute and unique tea time treats that are sure to delight!

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Orange and rooibos cupcakes

Rooibos and orange cupcake recipe


Hello from a very cold Cape Town! It’s been a crazy two weeks here trying to juggle distance learning, work and the usual day to day admin that needs to happen, and as a result it has taken me a while to get this post together. But I think these delicious cupcakes are definitely worth the wait. 

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Recipe round up: 15 chocolate recipes you need to try!

Top 15 chocolate recipes

 

It’s no secret that I am a chocoholic, and chocolate recipes are always very popular with my lovely Cupcakes and Couscous readers. So I decided that I would round up fifteen of the best chocolate recipes all in one post, yum! I have included something chocolatey to suit everyone, whether you are avoiding refined sugar, vegan or up for a fully loaded, indulgent treat. (Don’t forget to let me know which is your fave!) Without further ado let’s jump in. Continue reading “Recipe round up: 15 chocolate recipes you need to try!”

Dark chocolate cupcakes with whipped whiskey ganache

Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate and whiskey ganache.

This week’s recipe comes from a feature I put together for Cheers Magazine last month in which whiskey and sherry were the heroes. I have to be honest and say that sipping spirits has never been my thing, I am more of a wine gal myself! But I do keep a small stash of tipple tucked away for culinary purposes. A splash of brandy here, a dash of sherry there… they certainly add a deep richness to the dishes they are added to. These easy dark chocolate cupcakes are proof that whiskey is not only good for sipping but also has its place in the kitchen (and that cupcakes aren’t just for the kiddies!).

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Date, carrot and apple muffins with cream cheese topping (refined sugar free)

Date, carrot and apple muffins.
It has been a while since I worked on a muffin recipe and I am rather pleased with this particular one. I was recently invited onto the Expresso Morning Show to present three different, easy recipes with one common ingredient. I chose dates as my star ingredient and wanted to include a baking recipe in one of the cooking segments. That was the inspiration behind these date muffins.

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Christmas biscuit tree

Spiced Christmas reindeer and star cookies.

This week the nostalgic mood continues with another family inspired recipe. When it comes to food there is no question that baking is my first love, and when I think back to my earliest baking memories I am always reminded of childhood Christmases. The much anticipated, long December school holidays that felt like they went on forever were the perfect time for sun drenched afternoons in the pool and fun with friends, but a real highlight for me would be the Christmas baking. Each year I looked forward to making mince pies, biscuits and the decorating of the Christmas cake which my mum would have baked a few weeks earlier using my grandmother’s recipe. (And still does!)

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Chocolate sandwich biscuits

 
So today I am grateful for two things. 1.) That I managed to get a blog post together for this week, and 2.) that I am able to string a coherent sentence together. It has been a rough couple of days you see, with the entire family being struck down with an assortment of germs and lurgies. Currently my kitchen counter looks more like a pharmacy than anything else and we are all lacking in the sleep department which is less than ideal. The timing was also unlucky as we had planned to go away this past weekend for a wedding. We did manage one night away in the end but we were not on best form. Never mind, grumble grumble.
 

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The lightest lemon squares (with video)

 Light lemon cake squares.
The other day my daughter came home from school and (after proudly showing me the red autumn leaves she had found in the playground that day as well as an energetic, full length rendition of “The Farmer in the Dell” – oh to be four again!) told me that her class had celebrated a birthday that day and that the birthday boy had brought a lemon cake to school for everyone to share. It made me think of this recipe which is one of those that I have had for years, scribbled on a piece of paper and unceremoniously shoved inside a notebook. It is a fantastic recipe and worthy of a more permanent home here on the web and not just on a scrap of paper!

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