Mrs Stanton’s Makes has moved…

Hello all,

This is a personal note from me to say THANK YOU for all your support and follows over the past couple of years and to let you know that Mrs Stanton’s Makes has rebranded and moved here to Mrs Stanton Makes to coincide with the launch of my Etsy shop.

You’ll find all the same recipes, tutorials and reviews, plus added extras, so head over there and click follow to keep baking, crafting and creating with Mrs Stanton.

This is the last post on this blog, so thank you and Happy Creating! See you on the other site…

Oreo cupcakes

Recently, I’ve been baking a weekly batch of cupcakes to share with a charity I’m volunteering at. Every Friday we sit down together to enjoy a home-cooked lunch, finished off with a freshly baked cupcake. This week, I arrived with a batch of Oreo cupcakes – a chocolate sponge, topped with a mound of sweet Oreo buttercream and a whole Oreo cookie, plus there’s a sneaky Oreo surprise in the bottom too! I’d underestimated quite how popular this little cookie is, and before long the cakes were mere crumbs on a serving plate…

You will need

(for the cupcakes)
175g Stork
175g caster sugar
3 large eggs (beaten)
175g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
60g cocoa powder
1tbsp golden syrup
12 Oreos

(for the buttercream/decoration)
250g unsalted butter
250g icing sugar
1 packet Oreos
12 whole Oreos

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 12-hole cupcake tin with cake cases. Place a whole Oreo in the bottom of each case.

Cream together the Stork and caster sugar until creamy and paler in colour. Mix in a little of the beaten eggs, then a little of the flour (mixed with the baking powder), and repeat until all of the flour and eggs are added. Mix the cocoa powder with enough hot water to make a thick paste, and add it to the batter with the golden syrup. Mix until fully combined. Spoon the mixture into the cake cases – I prefer to use an ice-cream scoop to ensure uniformity – and bake for 25-30mins, or until they are springy to touch and a inserted skewer comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the buttercream. Cube the butter and beat until it is creamy and a lot whiter in colour. Add the icing sugar a little at a time and beat until fully combined. In a food processor, blitz a packet of Oreos into fine crumbs, then add these to the butter and icing sugar mixture. Mix well to make Oreo buttercream.

When the cupcakes have cooled, heap a mound of Oreo buttercream on top of each cupcake using an ice-cream scoop. Finish with a whole Oreo for decoration

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I love the idea of turning much-loved desserts into cupcakes, whether something fun and nostalgic like a whippy ice-cream or an age-old favourite like cherry bakewell. Lemon Meringue Pie has been one of my most loved puddings since I first tasted it many years ago. The zingy zestiness of the lemon coupled with sweet and fluffy meringue is a combination that works so well, it can be irresistible. So this week, armed with my blowtorch and my sugar thermometer, I created my own lemon meringue cupcake…

You will need
(for the cupcakes)
175g margarine/butter
175g caster sugar
3 eggs (beaten)
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
zest and juice of two lemons
2 tbsp caster sugar
lemon curd

(for the meringue)
130g egg whites
350g caster sugar
140ml cold water

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and line a twelve-hole muffin tin with cake cases. Beat together the butter and sugar until creamy and lighter in colour – the more you beat the mixture at this stage, the lighter your sponge will be. In a separate bowl, weigh out the flour and baking powder, then add a little of the beaten egg to the butter and sugar mixture followed by a little of the flour. Continue to add the egg and the flour a little at a time to the batter until it is all fully incorporated, then stir in the zest of two lemons. Keep the juice to one side. Spoon the mixture into the cake cases and bake for 25-30minutes, or until the cupcakes are springy to touch and an inserted skewer comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are still hot, mix the lemon juice with 2tbsp of caster sugar and pour the juice over the cupcakes – this will add a extra lemony zing and ensure that the sponge stays moist. When the cupcakes have cooled, make a hole in the centre of each using a cupcake corer, teaspoon, or your finger, and spoon in a generous helping of lemon curd.

To make the meringue, mix the sugar with the cold water and put in a saucepan over a high heat. Use the sugar thermometer to heat the mixture until it becomes a sugar syrup and reaches 114C. As the syrup starts to approach 114C, start to whisk the egg whites on a high speed so they start to form stiff white peaks. When the syrup is at the right temperature, ensure the egg whites are being whisked at a high speed, and pour in the sugar syrup. Continue to whisk the egg white and sugar syrup mixture for at least ten minutes, or until the temperature of the outside of the bowl has started to cool down.

Spoon the meringue into a piping bag and pipe swirls of the fluffy mixture onto the top of each cupcake. Finish off with a blowtorch for that beautiful golden glow, or pop the cupcakes under the grill for a few seconds until the meringue starts to caramelise.

Super chocolaty Easter drip cake

For me, Easter is all about celebrating new beginnings, spending time with family and friends and enjoying copious amounts of delicious chocolate. This Easter weekend will be no different, and I decided to bake a cake for the occasion. This Easter drip cake is a true showstopper. Baked in the Wilton’s layer cake pans I used one 3 egg cake recipe to create towering layers of chocolate sponge, chocolate buttercream, dark chocolate drips and an array of brightly coloured chocolate eggs…

You will need
(for the cake)
175g Stork
175g dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
175g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
60g cocoa powder
1tbsp treacle
(for the buttercream)
250g unsalted butter
250g icing sugar
200g milk chocolate
(for the decoration)
100g dark chocolate
chocolate eggs

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and cover your cake pans with cake release. Beat together the Stork and sugar until the mixture is creamy and paler in colour – the longer that you beat the mixture at this stage, the lighter your cake will be. In a jug, beat together your eggs and leave to one side. Weigh out the flour and baking powder and mix together in a separate bowl. Gradually add the eggs and flour to your butter and sugar mixture, mixing well after each addition. Mix the cocoa powder with a little hot water to create a thick paste and add this to the mixture along with the treacle. Mix until fully combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave to cool.

For the buttercream, cube the butter and beat it for at least ten minutes until creamy and whiter in colour. Add the icing sugar a little at a time until fully incorporated. Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave, or in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, and mix it into the buttercream. Once the sponges are cool, use a little of the buttercream to sandwich them together,then use a palette knife to spread a thin layer of buttercream over the cake to seal in the crumbs. Put the cake in the fridge for 15 minutes to allow the crumb coat to set. Use a palette knife to spread a thicker layer of buttercream over the cake smoothing it as you go to create an even finish, then return the cake to the fridge for it to harden up slightly.

While the cake is in the fridge, melt the dark chocolate in the microwave, or in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, then remove it from the heat and allow to cool and thicken slightly. Take the cake out of the fridge and pour the melted dark chocolate over the top of the cake. Use a spoon to tease the chocolate over the sides of the cake until drips form. Return to the fridge for five minutes to help the chocolate set.

Spoon any leftover buttercream into a piping bag and pipe a design onto the top of the cake, then decorate with chocolate eggs and other chocolate shapes.

Easter drip cake

Rocky Road cookies

You know when you fancy a sweet treat, but don’t feel like changing out of your pyjamas and walking to the shop? You have an array of random ingredients in the cupboard left over for previous baking sessions, and decide to throw them all together to make something epic – a truly indulgent snack! These cookies are the embodiment of that – marshmallows, glace cherries and fudge pieces, mixed into a basic chocolate cookie dough – they can be adapted to whatever’s in the cupboard, and definitely satisfy that sweet craving!

You will need
200g dark chocolate
50g butter/margarine
397g tin of condensed milk
225g self raising flour
a tub of glace cherries
a bag of mini marshmallows
a bag of fudge pieces

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and grease two large baking trays. Melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave, stirring at 30 second intervals. Stir in the condensed milk, then gradually mix in the flour. Once combined, add the cherries, marshmallows and fudge pieces. Heap messy spoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking trays, and bake in the oven for approximately 12 minutes, or until the cookies are beginning to harden on top. Remove from the trays and leave to cool on a wire-rack. Enjoy with a cup of tea, or a mug of hot chocolate.

Mr Stanton’s cookies//Guest post

Making sweet things never came naturally to me. In Food Tech, aged 15, I attempted – what I didn’t think was that ambitious for my first project – strawberry marzipan. It came out as a pink gloop, more like ice-cream left out in the sun. I’ve had a couple more baking disasters, including a very well-done cake (Chocolate and Charcoal). If sweet stuff is created, it is Mrs Stanton that does it. However, I was compelled to try and bake her something, so I Googled ‘Easy Cookie Recipe’ for inspiration, and this time it didn’t just work, they were good!

You will need
225g butter (softened)
110g light brown sugar
275g plain flour
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp ginger

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C, and lightly grease a large baking tray. Cream the butter and sugar together until well combined, creamy and fluffy. Add the flour and spices and bring the mixture together to form a dough. Break the mixture into balls that are slightly bigger than a two-pound coin, and place them on the prepared tray, pushing them flat with a fork. Bake for 15mins, or until they are golden brown and firm to touch. Cool on a wire-rack and enjoy with a cup of tea.

Banoffee cupcakes

 I love browsing food blogs and Instagram, flicking through magazines and recipe books to get inspiration for new bakes. The idea of turning popular desserts into cupcakes is something that really appeals to me – deciding which flavour to add to the sponge and which to save for the buttercream and the topping, so that a single bite evokes the flavour combination and memory of a favourite dessert. This weekend, I created a cupcake from a much-loved British dessert – the Banoffee Pie…

You will need
175g butter/margarine (for the sponge)
175g golden caster sugar
3 eggs (beaten)
175g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
2 mashed bananas
397g tinned caramel
280g butter/margarine (for the buttercream)
280g icing sugar
200g white chocolate
banana foam sweets
fudge pieces
grated milk chocolate

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C and line a twelve-hole muffin tin with cake cases. Cream together the butter and the sugar, then gradually whisk in the beaten eggs. Mix in the flour, baking powder and mashed banana, until well combined, then spoon into the cake cases. Bake for approximately twenty minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Using a cupcake corer or a teaspoon, remove a piece of sponge from the centre of each cupcake and fill with caramel. Leave to cool.

To make the buttercream, cream together the remaining butter and icing sugar, then melt the white chocolate and combine. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe white chocolate buttercream on the top of each cooled cupcake. Decorate with a swirl of caramel, a banana sweet, some fudge pieces and a sprinkle of grated chocolate.

Chocolate orange cupcakes

When I hear the phrase Cake Sale I get excited. I love having an excuse to bake something special without feeling like I have to eat it afterwards! After working hard in the kitchen on a new recipe, there is nothing better than seeing other people enjoy the fruits of your labour – especially if it means raising some money for a good cause too. Recently, my work-place held a Cake Sale for Barnardo’s and I took along a batch of Mary Berry’s double chocolate cookies, and these chocolate orange cupcakes…

You will need
175g butter/margarine (for the sponge)
175g dark brown sugar
3 eggs (beaten)
175g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
50g cocoa powder (for the sponge)
1tbsp treacle
2tsp orange extract
200g butter/margarine (for the buttercream)
250g icing sugar
50g cocoa powder (for the buttercream)
100g orange fondant
star plunger cutter
piping bag and Wilton 1M nozzle

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C and line a twelve-hole muffin tin with cake cases. Cream together the butter and sugar, then gradually mix in the beaten eggs. Add the flour and baking powder and mix well. Weigh the cocoa powder into a mug, and pour hot water over the powder until just covered, then mix to form a cocoa paste. Add the cocoa paste to the mixture along with the treacle and orange extract, and mix until fully combined. Spoon the mixture into the cake cases, and bake for approximately twenty minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.

For the buttercream, combine the remaining butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder and whisk until thick and creamy. Spoon into a piping bag with a Wilton 1M tip, and pipe swirls of buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes. Decorate with stars cut from the orange fondant with a star plunger cutter.

Mary Berry’s double chocolate cookies

I love Mary Berry. Ever since the first episode of the Great British Bake Off aired in 2010, I have been a huge fan of both the lady herself and her recipes. Mary’s recipe for double chocolate cookies is the best I have found to date. It is in her Baking Bible, and combines five ingredients to make a batch of thirty-six sweet, gooey cookies. This was the first recipe that I tried from Mary’s book, and it is probably the recipe that I have used the most due to its popularity with everyone who has tasted the results…

You will need
200g plain chocolate
50g butter
397g can condensed milk
225g self raising flour
65g milk or white chocolate buttons

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and grease three baking trays. Melt the dark chocolate and the butter in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir in the condensed milk, then remove from the heat. Add the flour and the chocolate buttons and mix until well-combined. Spoon large teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking trays and bake for about fifteen minutes. The cookies will still be soft, but will harden as they cool. Remove the cookies from the tray and leave to cool on a wire-rack. Enjoy with a cup of tea or  mug of hot chocolate – I’m sure they won’t be around for long!

Lemon and white chocolate layer cake

I have always loved the idea of layer cakes, but found the idea of multiple tins baking at different times to be complicated and ultimately very off-putting. This changed when I spotted Wilton’s layer cake tins in my local branch of Lakeland, which offered five cake pans, designed to fit in the oven all at once, and only take one batch of cake batter. Sure enough, the tins were brilliant! I used them to create a zesty, layered lemon drizzle cake sandwiched with lemon curd, mascarpone and white chocolate…

You will need
Wilton’s layer cake pans
cake release spray
175g butter/margarine
175g caster sugar (for the sponge)
3 eggs (beaten)
175g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
5 unwaxed lemons
2tbsp caster sugar (for the drizzle)
lemon curd
mascarpone
icing sugar
white chocolate

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and spray the cake pans with a thin layer of cake release spay, then leave to one side.

Cream together the butter and sugar, then gradually beat in the eggs until fully combined. Add the flour and baking powder, followed the the zest of the lemons. Divide the mixture equally between the five cake pans, and bake for approximately fifteen minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Remove the sponges from the pans and leave to cool on a wire-rack.

In a jug, mix the juice of five lemons with 2tbsp of caster sugar, and pour the mixture over the five sponges while they are still warm. This lemon drizzle will ensure a moist and zesty lemon sponge. When the sponges are cool, layer them together with lemon curd and mascarpone (which has been sweetened with icing sugar to taste). Spread or pipe a layer of sweetened mascarpone on top of the cake and top with grated white chocolate.