red velvet cupcakes

ahhhh red velvet - so simple and yet so delicious, like little cups of fluffy love and happiness topped off with the smoothness of cream cheese frosting - what's not to love. red velvet cupcakes hold a very special place in my heart, they're sort of the start of my baking journey. so basically if i've ever made you a red velvet cupcake - i love you a little bit ;)

with valentine's day fast approaching i thought it was only appropriate to share this recipe, don't get me wrong, you don't need to use that as an excuse to make these cupcakes but it's basically disrespectful not to make them on valentine's day. i like to think of red velvet cupcakes as the food of love, they're so moist and velvety and balanced with the perfect ratio of chocolate to vanilla and cupcake to frosting. so why not share your love with the cute humans in your life in the form of delicious red velvet cupcakes. i should also mention that it is very much acceptable to make yourself red velvet cupcakes for valentine's day - you deserve them!

let me share a secret with you, these red velvet cupcakes will get you anything you want - they're irresistible, and my go to way to get what i want.
i've made them to get out of uni homework, i've used them to say sorry, i've used them to say i love you, i've made them to sweeten business deals, used them to persuade friends to do things they don't want to - basically you can trade them for anything... ANYTHING ;)

the recipe

recipe makes 24 cupcakes

cupcakes

preheat the oven to 170oC / 150oC fan-forced. in a bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa powder – stir to combine; in a separate bowl or measuring jug, combine the buttermilk and food colouring – set both aside. in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. add the eggs in one at a time, beating after each addition. beat in the vanilla extract, and scrape down the bowl. add one third of the flour/cocoa mix and beat on the lowest speed til combined, then add one third of the buttermilk/food colouring mix and beat again on the lowest speed until combined. repeat this process until all combined. scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are evenly incorporated. combine the baking soda and vinegar in a small glass, stirring to ensure the soda dissolves in the vinegar, then stir the mix through the cupcake batter. use an icecream scoop to divide the batter between 24 cupcake cups or liners filling each one two-thirds full. bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes. cool completely before frosting.

frosting

in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. add the icing sugar gradually until a pipeable consistency is achieved (the frosting may need more or less icing sugar depending on the consistency of the cream cheese). the mixture should be thick enough that it has to be shaken off a spoon – not sliding off. stir through the vanilla until combined (at this point the frosting may need to be chilled to allow it to thicken).

pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and serve - enjoy!

i'd love to see your creations, if you make these delicious red velvet cupcakes share them with me by using the hashtag #mrtimothyjames on social media.

ever made someone cupcakes to get what you want? are you your own valentine too, or is that just me? tell me all of the things in the comments below!

happy (early) valentine's day lovers xx

lamingtons

the humble lamington, a simple and honest dessert - it's nothing fancy really and yet it's an aussie favourite, or rather an aussie classic. in true aussie style the lamington is fair dinkum - and i think that they're even more fair dinkum if they're made from scratch. sure, woolies does a mean lamington cake and my local hot bread shop does an even better lamington jam roll. but... there's nothing better than copping a squat on ya smoko break with a homemade 'lammy' and a cuppa to have good yarn. these lamingtons are so delicious and really quite simple to make - and best of all, you've probably already got everything you need in your pantry.

the recipe

recipe yield varies based on lamington size/shape

cake

preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. in the bowl of a stand mixer/large bowl with electric hand mixer – beat the butter and sugar together on high until light and fluffy. add the vanilla extract and eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. scrape the bowl down and mix again until the ingredients are incorporated. add one third of the flour and mix on low until fully incorporated, then incorporate half of the milk – repeat until all the flour and milk is incorporated. scrape down the bowl one last time, add the pinch of salt and beat on high for a few seconds to ensure all ingredients are mixed. spread the cake batter into a 18 x 23cm greased and lined slice tin/baking tray and bake for 25-35 minutes. cool completely.

chocolate soak

place all ingredients into a microwave safe bowl, and mix until incorporated. microwave for 30 seconds and stir until completely melted, repeat if necessary.  this mixture needs to be fluid enough that the cake will absorb it, if necessary thin it out by adding more water a tsp at a time.

lamingtons

cut the cake into the desired lamington shape and size, using a scone/cookie cutter ensures all lamingtons are a uniform size. freeze the cut cake pieces for 20minutes, to ensure the crumbs stay put and the cake is easy to handle. soak the cakes in the chocolate soak one at a time, turning over once to ensure all sides are covered. remove and transfer to a wire rack (place a tray underneath to catch any drips) for a few seconds until the drips have subsided. Place the cakes one a time into a bowl of desiccated coconut and shake the bowl to cover the cakes.

you've just made lamingtons - enjoy

i'd love to see your creations, if you make these delicious lamingtons share them with me by using the hashtag #mrtimothyjames on social media.

ever made lamingtons from scratch, or are you more of a woolies kinda guy/gal? ever copped a squat to eat a 'lammy' on your smoko? tell me all of the things in the comments below!

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and without further ado 

the winner of the luxury tea time giveaway is

*the winner was drawn at random using this online random name picker

congrats Jes! please email me through your postal address or DM me on instagram

thanks to all my lovely blog subscribers for your continued support and to my new subscribers, i hope that i can continue to entertain you each week. stay tuned for more delicious giveaways in the future.

much love timothy xx

earl grey panna cotta

so if i'm being completely honest, when i set out to create a perfect earl grey panna cotta i did have an ulterior motive - to find a way to make it more acceptable to eat dessert for breakfast. i bet a couple of you just gasped between sips of your kale and berry smoothie to shake your head at the idea of eating dessert for breakfast. if that's the case i'm sorry... that you're drinking a kale smoothie! if you're a normal person and gasp at the idea of kale for breakfast - read on.

now my reasoning behind this particular dessert for breakfast is that starting the day with a cuppa is 1. just plain Australian! and 2. health experts say that starting your day with a cup of tea can help reduce cravings throughout the day* 

*these 'health experts' would probably freak out at the idea of this cup of tea containing sugar and cream, but if you're not a health expert - read on.

sure i said it, this cuppa has a little sugar and cream in it, but who doesn't take their tea with a little sugar and dairy?! health freaks! just kidding, but if you're still not convinced that dessert can be a perfect option for breakfast just do what i did - put it in a teacup. now this dessert really is just a cup of tea.............. flavoured panna cotta ;)

the recipe

makes 4 teacup panna cotta

earl grey panna cotta

in a medium saucepan over a medium-high heat, bring the cream and DEITEA earl grey almost to boiling point - roughly 4-5 minutes or until small bubbles begin appearing around the edge of the pan. At this point place a lid on the pan and turn off the heat, leaving the tea to infuse the cream for 1 hour. 

in a small bowl or glass, sprinkle the gelatine over the milk and stir to incorporate – leave to bloom.

once the cream is infused, return it to a medium-high heat and add the sugar. once the sugar is dissolved, add the bloomed gelatine and stir until it too is dissolved.

divide the panna cotta mixture between four teacups or ramekins. chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours, if not overnight.

top the panna cottas with sugar cubes and add a dash of milk just before serving – enjoy.

notes

x for the best flavour infusion, grind the tea in a mortar & pestle or coffee/spice grinder until fine.

x you can strain the tea from the mix before pouring it into the moulds, but if you grind it fine enough it adds lovely texture to the panna cotta.

mrtimothyjames loves deitea's 'the earl grey' tea for this recipe and cristina re's teaware for serving.

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UPDATE - GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

okay you got me, this is more than just a little recipe

i wanted to give back to you guys, the lovely humans who come back each week to read this blog, and support me, and leave me lovely comments both here and across social media. so i've put together a few of my favourite luxuries for one lovely reader to enjoy. we all need to relax sometimes and take time out to just have a cuppa but yet we rarely do - so i've done it for you.

with a retail value of just over $140 this giveaway has everything you need for the perfect tea time pick me up - just add water!

one winner will receive cristina re designer tea cup in white/24ct gold | Crabtree & evelyn citron butter biscuits | deitea 'the earl grey' tea jar + french earl grey sampler | bahen & co almond and sea salt chocolate bar | lumira sicilian citrus mini candle | haus of hanem matte black tray

- this giveaway is open to australian residents only -

to enter, you must be subscribed to this blog. (if you aren't already then you can do so below) subscription is to 1 weekly (most mondays) update from the blog. 

the winner will be picked at random and will be announced on the blog on monday 25th january 2016.

if you're already subscribed to the blog, don't worry - you're automatically entered into the draw!