British baking ingredient - Icing Sugar

Icing sugar in Britain is the name of white granulated sugar that is ground and sieved to a smooth powder, in terms of size it is finer than caster sugar and has a fine silky texture. When intended for home use, it typically contains a small amount of anti-caking agent.

It is called icing sugar as it is typically used to make icing.

Because of its super fineness, when used in baking, it is ideal for icings and butter creams as it combines easily and dissolves instantly without the need for heat.

Icing sugar can be prepared at home by grinding 1 cup of granulated sugar with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch for several minutes in a food processor or coffee grinder till a powder forms. Please be aware that if you make your own icing sugar in your food processor it will more than likely scratch up the plastic bowl.

Store your sugar in a tightly sealed container, as it is prone to clumping.



It is sold as "powdered" or "confectioner’s" sugar in the United States .


It is sold as "Sucre Glace" in France.




Have a sweet day!

Gluten free cherry & almond cupcakes

The lovely peeps at Bombay Duck recently sent me a selection of their gorgeous baking goodies to whip up some sweet treats with. First up are the cute cupcake cases in bright colours each with fun designs on the base that come in a boxed set of 200. After much thought I decided to make Cherry and almond cupcakes with a bright pink almond frosting and cherry atop to match the fun kitch prints on the cupcake cases...



Gluten free cherry & almond cupcakes (makes 12 large cupcakes)

Ingredients

• 115g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 220g Gluten free plain flour
• 1 tsp gluten free baking powder
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 185ml buttermilk
• 80ml cherry juice
• 115g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 12 Maraschino cherries

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 165C (fan assisted)
2. Line baking tray with cases
3. Place cherry juice and buttermilk in a small bowl and stir to combine
4. In a food mixer beat butter for one minute
5. Add sugar, vanilla essence and almond extract to butter and beat until light and fluffy
6. Add egg whites one at a time to butter mix, beating well after each addition
7. Gradually add flour and buttermilk alternating between the two, beating between each addition until well combined. Scrape down bowl as needed.
8. Divide batter between the cases
9. Place one cherry in the centre of the batter in each cup
10. Bake for about 25 mins until cakes bounce back when lightly pressed
11. Place on rack to cool

Tips...
Butter should be soft enough to hold a thumbprint but still keep its shape.
Eggs should be at room temperature as cold eggs will be harder to keep from curdling.







Almond buttercream (Decorates 12 cupcakes)
Ingredients

• 115g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 220g icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 3 tbsp double cream
• Pink food colouring
• White nonpareils
• 12 Maraschino cherries

Method

1. Cream butter and sugar using an electric whisk till light and fluffy
2. Slowly whisk in icing sugar till well combined
3. Add in almond extract and food colouring, whisk till well combined and an even colour
4. Add in double cream and whisk on high speed till light and fluffy
5. Using a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle, pipe a swirl of buttercream on cooled cakes
6. Sprinkle with white nonpareils and decorate with a cherry on top

Have a sweet day!

Gluten Free lemon doughnuts

Since making the mini nectarine doughnuts a few weeks back, I decided to make a whole bunch of doughnuts, so first up are the tangy lemon ones...

Gluten free lemon donuts (makes 24 mini doughnuts)

Ingredients

• 110g (1 cup) gluten free flour
• 1 tsp xantham gum
• 115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder(gluten free)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with seeds
• Grated rind of one unwaxed lemon
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• Non-stick cake release spray

What you will need

• Mini doughnut pan

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160 deg C, fan assisted (370 deg F)
2. Lightly spray doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray
3. In a bowl beat the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla essence and oil together until you get a foamy mixture
4. In a separate bowl, add the sieved dry ingredients to the sugar and mix
5. Gradually pour foamy mixture into dry ingredients and stir until mixture is combined
6. Stir lemon zest in to mixture
7. Pour mixture into greased doughnut pan until each cavity is 3/4 full (I prefer to use a piping bag to fill each cup more evenly and cleanly)
8. Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 mins or until doughnut springs back when lightly pressed
9. Turn out onto baking rack and leave to cool

White chocolate icing
Ingredients

• 150g Fine cooks white chocolate, roughly chopped

Cooking instructions

1. In a microwavable bowl, melt white chocolate in microwave on a low heat, stirring every minute so chocolate does not burn

Decorating the mini doughnuts
What you will need

• 24 mini doughnuts
• Melted white chocolate
• Citrus flavoured strands

Decorating instructions

1. Dip doughnut into chocolate, shake off any excess
2. Scatter sprinkles on to chocolate iced doughnuts
3. Leave to set

Have a sweet day!

British baking ingredient - Caster Sugar

Caster or castor sugar is the name of small grains of white sugar in Britain, in terms of size it is between granulated and icing sugar (powdered, confectioners sugar).
It is called caster sugar as the grains are small enough to fit through a sugar "caster" or sprinkler.

Because of its fineness, when used in baking, caster sugar creams more easily into butter which gives more volume to the mixture, resulting in extra-light cakes. Caster sugar is also perfect for light and crisp melt-in-the-mouth meringues as it dissolves more quickly than regular white sugar.

Castor sugar can be prepared at home by grinding granulated sugar for a couple of minutes in a food processor or coffee grinder. Please be aware that if you make your own caster sugar in your food processor it will more than likely scratch up the plastic bowl.

Store your sugar in a tightly sealed container, as it is prone to clumping.



It is sold as "superfine" sugar in the United States or "baker’s" sugar, as it is sometimes called on packaging.


It is sold as "berry" sugar in Canada.


Also known as:
Bar Sugar, so-named for use in mixing alcoholic drinks




have a sweet day!

Gluten free raspberry & white chocolate tray bake

I am loving tray bakes right now so I am putting my Tala swiss roll tray to the test again! Tala also recently sent me some baking beans which come in a cute pale blue tin, so I decided to make a raspberry and white chocolate tray bake with a shortcrust pastry base. It tastes a little like a cheesecake which has to be one of my favourite desserts so I will be making this again, maybe a nice rich dark chocolate one for the chilly nights ahead!

Gluten free raspberry & white chocolate tray bake (makes one tray, 40 x 28 x 2.5cm)

Ingredients

• 400g gluten free shortcrust pastry
• Gluten free plain flour for dusting
• 500g mascarpone
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 100g ground almonds
• 2 large eggs
• 250g fresh raspberries
• 100g white chocolate chips
• Sieved icing sugar for dusting
• Fresh raspberries cut in half to decorate

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C (160c fan)
2. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 8mm thick
3. Line tin with rolled out pastry
4. Line pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans
5. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes
6. Remove paper and beans and return to the oven for a further five minutes
7. Meanwhile whisk together the mascapone, almonds and eggs till well combined
8. Fold in the raspberries and white chocolate chips
9. Bake in the oven for 25 mins until the top is lightly golden
10. Leave the tray bake to cool and then place in fridge for further cooling and setting
11. Using a sharp knife cut into slices
12. Sprinkle with sieved icing sugar and decorate with half a raspberry

Have a sweet day!

Baking Tips: Oven Temperatures

I use an electrical fan assisted oven to do my baking which means I decrease the temperature about 25 degrees from what a recipe calls for when they quote degrees celsius.
According to reports, 55% of UK households use fan assisted ovens but for the other 45% and my readers worldwide I decided it was high time I clarified what temperature you should use according to your oven. Remember all ovens do vary slightly in temperature between different types, brands, sizes of ovens, in addition to your locations altitude, temperature, humidity, etc. The best way to learn is to just start using your oven and to monitor the results and then adjust temperatures and time accordingly or you can use an oven thermometer if you think your oven is too hot.

Feel free to print this chart out and attach to the back of your bakery cupboard door for ease.

Have a sweet day!

Gluten-free Blackberry Frangipane Tarts

The lovely peeps at Tala have been very generous to me and recently sent me some Non-stick loose bottomed tartlet tins and baking beans. Finally I would be able to use the pretty floral tart wrappers I bought in Oslo at the beginning of the year! I wanted to make tarts that would suit the wrappers so I decided on some blackberry frangipane filled tarts dusted in icing sugar...

Gluten-free Blackberry Frangipane Tarts (makes 4 tarts)

Ingredients

• 200g gluten-free shortcrust pastry
• Gluten free plain flour for dusting
• Olive oil for greasing
• 85g (3oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 75g (2 1/2 oz) caster sugar
• 100g (3 1/2 oz) ground almonds
• Grated zest of one lemon
• 1 tbsp Ameretto
• 200g fresh blackberries
• Sieved icing sugar to decorate

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C (160c fan) / 355F
2. Lighly grease the pie tins
3. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 8mm thick
4. Lightly press the pastry into the tins, (I use the end of a teaspoon to get a neat fluted edge) and trim.
5. Lightly prick the base of the tarts
6. Line pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans
7. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes
8. Remove paper and beans.
9. Lightly brush the tarts with some of the beaten egg.
10. Return to the oven for a further five minutes
11. Cream the butter and sugar using a food mixer fitted with a paddle
12. Gradually mix in the ground almonds, beaten eggs, lemon zest and Amaretto till well blended
13. Spoon frangipane mix into baked tarts
14. Push blackberries neatly into frangipane
15. Bake for about 30-35 mins until lightly golden and they spring back lightly when touched
16. Leave in tins on a wire rack to completely cool
17. Lightly dust with icing sugar

Have a sweet day!