:: Nuts About Chocolate Cupcakes (GF) ::

Flourless Chocolate & Hazelnut Cupcakes (GF)

:: Megann’s Kitchen ::

:: chocolate & hazelnut cupcakes with chocolate ganache + roasted hazelnut ::

My husbands old uni friend runs a modest coffee stand called "Dose Espresso" at the Olive Tree Markets & every first Saturday of the month we pay Andrew a visit. He & his business partner, Seamus, make amazing coffee which patrons line up patiently for. Admittedly, they don't take our money when we offer it to them & this started to weigh on my mind as the complimentary coffees were starting to stack up.
One Saturday I said "I will have to bake you something to pay for all these gorgeous coffees!" He thought I was joking & embellished the thought. "Ummmm, muffins..." he said thinking hard. "No, cupcakes! Chocolate ones! Oh, & make sure that Mick brings them in a basket, all pretty & very un-manly!!!" he decided, laughing to himself. Well, I wasn't going to let all those coffees go unpaid for so the following market date I set to baking. The best chocolate recipe that came to mind was Mick's favourite Flourless Chocolate & Hazelnut Cake recipe, which I have blogged previously, but this time I decided to make it into some gorgeous  cupcakes. I piped on a bubble of chocolate ganache & placed a roasted hazelnut on top. Pretty & perfect, as requested. Oh, I also made a batch of ever so quick & easy blueberry & apple muffins, of course!
The hot muffins went into a lovely basket laced with a tea towel & the cupcakes went into one of my favourite Nigella Lawson baking tins (in pale blue, naturally). Mick proudly carried them up to Andy & the look of amazement on his face was fantastic. "I seriously was kidding!" he exclaimed. But that night we got a text, "We are not worthy..." & were later told that people were asking if the muffins & cupcakes were for sale, but the boys ate them all that day. Maybe one day....

240g dark cooking chocolate, broken into pieces

150g unsalted butter, cubed

270g brown sugar

125g hazelnut meal (finely ground hazelnuts)

6 large eggs, separated

to dust

1 tbs cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Prepare 2 cupcake tins lined lined with roughly 18 liners. Put the butter & broken chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan on low heat with simmering water, & stir constantly until mixture is completely melted & smooth. Sit on the bench to cool slightly whilst you prepare your other ingredients.

Add the sugar & hazelnut meal to the chocolate mixture & combine until there are no lumps. Add the egg yolks one at a time, stirring well between each one. In a separate bowl, whisk your egg whites until firm peaks form, then gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Make sure that the mixture is just combined but there are no large white foamy lumps in the mixture as they will rise to the surface of your cake making bubbles.

Spoon the mixture into prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 20-22 minutes; until just firm. Keep in mind that this recipe is meant to be soft & fudge-like in the middle, so don’t panic if it looks underdone. Leave to cool completely in the tins before removing (this is essential!)

Source

:: I sourced my Donna Hay logo cupcake liners from the General Store, but they are also available from David Jones.

Chocolate Ganache

:: Megann’s Kitchen ::

I chose to top my cupcakes with a slightly chilled basic chocolate ganache & an "Alice" inspired roasted hazelnut perched proudly on top. I pulled back on the cream quantity as I wanted the ganache to hold a solid form.

:: deliciously moist cupcakes, you have to try these! ::

Ganache

110 grams good quality dark chocolate
60 ml warm cream
40 grams butter

Combine together over a double boiler until smooth & glossy. Chill in the refrigerator, stirring every few minutes, until desired piping consistency, then pipe onto cupcakes. If piping seems a little daunting, simply dollop with a teaspoon for a rustic look. Top with roasted hazelnut.

Kitchen Notes

:: If you don't have a double boiler, I simply use a saucepan filled with water & a stainless steel bowl over a stove on low heat. Place your chocolate in the stainless steel bowl & voila!

:: To roast the hazelnuts, I simply put some whole hazelnuts on a tray & roasted them on an oven at 180°C (350°F) for 6-7 minutes.

:: Owl Themed Party ::

A Hoot of a Time

:: Megann’s Kitchen ::

:: owl themed 2nd birthday party ::

What can I say, I just love birthdays. The thought that someone has set aside a special day of celebration just for you is just that, special, and shouldn’t be taken lightly. I am not one to pass off birthdays as just another day, you deserve recognition of the anniversary of the day you were born. I also have had brief inner yearnings for being a small event stylist & when I was given my very own little person to “party plan” for, well, I went a little OTT, or OCD as my sister neatly put it in a text message! Being able to think kids birthdays is just incredible & brings a smile to my face every time.

You see, I have incredible memories of tremendous cakes that mum used to make as a child. She would dutifully slave over her creation for hours on end & the result would be... “WOW!”. I don’t know what my memories would be like if it wasn’t for the origional Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book, but it was the source of so many of my birthday cakes. Now, I have this book in my bookshelf and mum has passed the birthday cake baking baton to me, so here I go.

:: welcome owl sign with matching mini bunting ::

:: owl invitiations, with an invisible magnet ::

:: our beloved "hoot" owl ::

This year it had to be an Owl theme. My little munchkin loves owls. He watches “Giggle & Hoot” as part of his bedtime routine & loves all owls as a result. I knew straight away it had to be an Owl theme as soon as I saw some gorgeous invites by Hipp that matched the vision that I had in my head. I themed everything to the invite & I can’t tell you how much fun I had!

:: the "before" of the owl cake ::

:: the "after" of the owl cake! ::

Why I decided to try fondant icing for the first time ever on an Owl cake of this size (2 x 22cm cake tins), the word insane comes to mind, but the end result looked surprisingly good! I had many conversations with my local cake shop & the chef at the Newcastle Essential Ingredient (very helpful, thank you!) to gain some inside knowledge + tips & tricks of the trade. I was given the “easy option” & the “harder but will look better if you manage to do it” option... can you guess which one I went for at 2am? Harder. Yes, I am crazy. An artistic background helps, but tired, blurry eyes don’t!

:: owl "ginger hoot" cookies::

:: platter of "ginger hoot" cookies with owl tags ::

I also decorated my first batch of Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing & they turned out not too shabby. I couldn’t believe how they came together. Even with the leftover mixture I made a few tiny stars which I used as well. I found a great handmade copper Owl Cookie Cutter online from the US, cheaper than you would ever find it here. Copper Gifts have a vast range of cookie cutters & decorating supplies, perfect for your next function or themed event.



:: vanilla cupcakes topped with chocolate buttercream & owl fondant cupcake toppers ::



I sourced a few things, one was the cupcake toppers I found from an eBay store named red_motyl delights, which is fabulous. We exchange quite a few emails so the toppers matched my cake & she was extremely accommodating & oh so helpful. I made a Chocolate Buttercream Icing to finish some Easy Vanilla Cupcakes & simply topped them with the Owl design. Delightful! It was just the finishing touch that I needed to complete the cupcakes.

:: owl chocolate cake pops ::

:: owls lined up in a flock ::

I also sourced the Owl Cake Pops. Now, I did research this new trend but decided at the last minute that I was too time poor to create these beautiful & delicious delights myself. A local Hunter duo, The Iced Queens, have established themselves making & baking for markets in the Newcastle & Hunter Region with their amazing creations of perfection. I informed them of my colour theme & they were able to create an Owl Pop customised to my desire. I supplied them with Owl tags that I had individually stamped to add a great touch. You can now find them frequenting the Newcastle Farmers Markets with Pops & cupcakes, hurry, I hear they are a sell out!

:: owl "bird seed" with wafter crackers & tied with owl tags ::

I also wanted a healthier option for the health conscious mummies & bubs out there. I put together cello bags tied with Owl Tags of “Bird Seed” which consisted of sultanas, sunflower seeds & pumpkin seeds which my little boy loves. I also placed a bowl of apples on the table, another favourite, but his sweet tooth worked overtime that day & apples didn’t get a look in!

:: customised paper buntings ::

I made my own Paper Buntings from matching wrapping paper & themed colours. Just make sure the paper you choose has a high gsm otherwise it becomes too flimsy in the wind. I personalised them by printing & cutting out a “Will's 2^nd Birthday” message to scroll across the bunting, with matching owls of course!

:: owl artwork at its best ::

:: owl masks... hoot hoot ::

I wanted some Owl themed party hats, but came up with Owl Masks instead. I found a printable version of an Owl Mask online, printed them onto card & cut them out, spray fixed the ink, attached elastic & one magic Owl Mask! Now, multiply that by 17. The result was beautiful. We had one little “Owl” who didn’t take her mask off, just adorable!

:: asian lanters add colour & style ::

I found some light blue & red Asian lanterns to hang from our awning in a local discount shop, a great find for any party. I love the “lace” effect these lanterns have as they allow light flicker through them during the day, a soft & colourful touch. These are a great & cost effective way to add colour to any back yard gathering. Simply swap out the colours for your themed event.

:: home photo with daddy's thumb ::

:: photo board- day 0-2yrs ::

I also created a photo board. The board is simply an A2 piece of card covered with quality wrapping paper from Kikki.K. I got some kitchen twine & wrapped it around, affixed from the top & bottom, then went through a collection of photos I had taken from when Will was a baby until now. I then set about hanging them up with an additional Owl touch, cutting out some Hootable creatures along the way. The “baby pegs” can be found in any craft store.

:: sweet table with some classic treats ::

:: take home thank you bags ::

The Sweet Table with Thank You Bags were also a hit. Fill it up with M&M’s, Freckles, Marshmallows, Cupcakes, Cake, Cookies, Honey Joys... whatever takes your fancy! I also had bubbles, which seem to be a favourite of toddlers, for all the kids to take home. I attached Owl tags to the bubbles to tie them in with the theme.

:: classic chocolate crackles made by my neighbour- always a hit ::

:: a quick snap of the table before all the food went ::

Food for the late afternoon event was fun. I had additional chocolate crackles, honey joys, sausage rolls, a cut baguette, all the party classics! For later in the evening we had chicken skewers & a Hunter Valley cheese platter to finish the day.

:: owl figures- a special touch ::

:: chocolate crackles gone in an instant ::

I am glad that there were some pictures of the day. As you can imagine I was extremely busy in the kitchen & surrounds that I didn't have time to do my usual happy snaps, so thank you to those who picked up my camera! I had such a great time creating this memory for my little man, I can only hope that he grows up to love birthdays just as much as I do.

:: a very happy boy blowing out his candles ::