First Blogiversary!

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of Kelly's Konfections :)
I have work all day tomorrow so I'm posting this now.
Today, I attempted to make crumpets. Crumpets are delicious and you should try them, but I would recommend buying them... Unless you've made them before. They are very difficult.
Even though they were difficult, I'm posting 'em anyway, then I'll post some cupcakes tomorrow :)

The recipe I used was really basic and I think that might have been the problem. I planned on using this recipe from Always with Butter, but I couldn't find powdered milk. I'll try to make these again this weekend after going to a fancier grocery store :)

English Crumpets

Courtesy of Always with Butter

Ingredients:

Dry active yeast- 2 tsp

Sugar- 1 tbsp

Warm water- 2 3/4 c + 2 tbsp

Salt- 1 1/2 tsp

Powdered milk- 2 tbsp

Flour- 3 c, sifted

Baking soda- 1 tsp

Directions:

1. Stir yeast, sugar and 1 c warm water together. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Whisk flour, salt and powdered milk in a large bowl. Add yeast mix and 1 3/4 c warm water to flour mix. Mix well, cover, and let stand for an hour in a warm place.

3. Add baking soda and 2 tbsp water to the dough. 

4. Preheat a frying pan on low heat. Use a large round cookie cutter sprayed with Pam (or similar cooking spray) to form the crumpets. Place cutter in fry pan and fill until almost full with dough.

5. Cook 4-8 minutes over medium heat, until bubbles appear and the dough looks dry.

6. *This is difficult* Remove the ring (it's a bit of a juggling act) and flip the crumpet, cook for additional 30 seconds (to brown slightly). Remove from heat and serve warm with butter, jam, etc.

Enjoy!

Glazed Doughnut Muffins

Happy Father's Day!
If you need a quick breakfast treat to whip up for your Dad, these duffins are perfect! You probably already have most, if not all, of the ingredients in your pantry.

These are super easy and super yummy. Perfect for good ole Dad!
I'm sad to not be with my dad on Father's Day, but he knows I'll make these for him as soon as I get home :)

Glazed Doughnut Muffins, "Duffins"
Adapted from My Baking Addiction
Yield: ~18 muffins (depends on size of baking pans)
Ingredients:
Unsalted butter- 1/4 c, room temperature
Vegetable oil- 1/4 c
Sugar- 1/2 c
Brown sugar- 1/3 c
Eggs- 2, large
Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Baking soda- 1/4 tsp
Ground nutmeg- 1 tsp
Cinnamon- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt- 3/4 tsp
Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
All-purpose flour- 2 2/3 c
Milk- 1 c
Directions:
1. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter, vegetable oil, sugar and brown sugar until smooth.
2. Add eggs and beat to combine.
3. STIR in baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and vanilla extract.
4. Alternate adding flour and milk, stirring to thoroughly combine.
5. Spoon batter into lined muffin pans, and bake at 190 degrees CELSIUS (sorry, that's all we have here in the UK) for 10-12 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
Glaze!
Ingredients:
Butter- 3 tbsp, melted
Powdered sugar- 1 1/4 c, sifted (do not skip the sifting!)
Vanilla extract- 1 1/2 tsp
Hot water- 2 tbsp
Directions:
Whisk together ingredients until smooth. Once muffins are slightly cooled, dip the tops into the glaze and allow it to harden- feel free to double dip! Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Chewy Fudgy Brownies 2.0 plus Edinburgh pictures

I made these brownies for my colleagues on Thursday :) I ran out of cocoa powder and couldn't find it at the store, but I did find hot cocoa powder! Delicious.

I also added some yummy frosting and sprinkles, to make them into brownie cakelets for all the birthday girls in our study abroad group. We had three birthdays in the last week, plus one more tomorrow :)
Here's the Chewy Fudgy Brownies recipe with some modifications:

Chewy Fudgy Brownies 2.0

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Yield: ~12 medium-small sized brownies

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter- 10 tbsp (1 stick + 2 tbsp)

Sugar- 1 1/4 c

Unsweetened cocoa powder- 1/4 c + 2 tbsp

Cadbury drinking chocolate- 1/2 c

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp

Large eggs- 2, cold

Flour- 1/2 c

Directions:

1. Combine butter, sugar, cocoa, drinking chocolate and salt in a medium heatproof bowl. Set over a small saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot. 

3. Remove bowl from the skillet, and let cool for ~5 minutes until warm but not hot. Note: It will look kinda gritty at this point, don't panic!

4. Stir in vanilla with a spoon or spatula. Add eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition. At this point it should look well-blended, shiny and thick. 

5. Stir in flour until completely blended, then stir vigorously ~40 strokes. Stir in nuts if using.

6. Prep an 8x8" square pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil so it overhangs on two opposite sides. Spread batter evenly in pan and bake at 325 degrees F for ~20 minutes. The tester should come out moist but not drenched.

7. Stick pan in fridge for ~15 minutes (this makes cutting & serving easier). Cut brownies in the desired size. Serve with milk or a scoop of ice cream!

Chocolate Buttercream

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter- 1/2 c

Powdered sugar- 2 c

Vanilla extract- 1/4 tsp

Cadbury drinking chocolate- 1/4-1/2 c (depending on taste)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together with a beater on medium speed.

As a bonus, here are some pictures from our trip to Edinburgh :) We went to a nice Italian restaurant and I loved the pasta and its presentation. 

 Definitely try the hot chocolate mix in the brownies! And the frosting. Yum.
Enjoy!

Cupcakes for the Queen's Jubilee!

We got a four-day weekend in honor of Her Majesty the Queen's Diamond Jubilee!
Yesterday some of my friends and I went to see the Flotilla on the Thames, which was freezing and raining, but still really fun. We might go to the Trooping of the Colour tomorrow, which would require us to get up at 5 am to get good spots... I'm gonna need long underwear for this.

In honor of the Queen's 60 years on the throne (and our four-day weekend), I made Strawberry-Lime Cider Cupcakes.
I tried this cider our first week here at a pub with the group at the recommendation of another student, and it was delicious. I decided I had to make a cupcake out of it!

I used my favourite Strawberry Cupcake recipe, buttercream frosting with some cider, and lime curd, my first time making any kind of curd!

Strawberry-Lime Cider Cupcakes

Strawberry Cider Cupcakes

Yield: 3 dozen regular-sized cupcakes

Ingredients:

Strawberries- 2 cups, pureed into 1 cup (frozen is fine, but thaw them first!)

Milk- 2/3 c

Strawberry-Lime Cider (Rekorderlig recommended)- 2 tbsp (or suited to taste)

All-purpose flour- 3 c

Baking powder- 2 tsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Unsalted butter- 1 c (2 sticks), room temp

Sugar- 2 c

Eggs- 4

Pink food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. Puree the strawberries using a food processor. Pour into a bowl, then add milk and strawberry-lime cider. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl (stand mixer is best), beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated.

4. Gradually add 1/2 flour mix with mixer on low speed. Once combined, beat in milk mixture, then remaining flour. Add pink food coloring if you'd like :)

5. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full (they don't rise very much).

6. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until the tester comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

Lime Curd Filling
(From AllRecipes.com)
I cut the recipe in half and had plenty left over, but here's the original recipe:
Ingredients:
Sugar- 1 c
Butter- 1/4 c (1/2 stick)
Fresh lime juice- 3/4 c
Lime zest- 1 tbsp
Eggs- 2, beaten
Directions:
1. Combine sugar, butter, lime juice and lime zest in the top of a double boiler over medium-high heat. Stir until butter melts.
2. Whisk eggs in a small bowl. Spoon 2 tbsp of the heated sugar mixture into the small bowl and stir to combine. Pour egg mixture into top of double boiler.
3. Turn heat down to medium and stir frequently for 10-15 minutes until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Pour curd into a clean glass jar, cover and refrigerate.
Strawberry-Lime Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
Butter- 1 c, softened
Powdered sugar- 2 c
Strawberry-Lime Cider- 2-4 tbsp, depending on the consistency you want
Pinch of salt
Directions:
1. Cream butter in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Add powdered sugar 1 c at a time, beating until combined.
3. Add strawberry-lime cider and salt, and beat until combined.
ASSEMBLY:
Use a cupcake corer (or a knife, if you're abroad and forgot yours...) to cut out the center of the cupcakes, reserve the tops! Spoon in the lime curd, then pipe on the frosting. It's NOM TIME!

In a semi-related note, I just realized I've started spelling things in British.. like "colour" and "favourite." Uh oh.

Enjoy the cupcakes and have a great week!