Brownies, Cupcakes and a Welcome Return.

The other result of having such a crappy Friday was that it required plenty of baking therapy. With fortuitous timing, the second owner of the flat, where I was recently staying, was due to return from a prolonged stay overseas on Sunday evening, so a thank you present of baking seemed in order.

A bad day like that required full baking therapy. No half-arsed efforts. So, much to the amusement of the other residents of my house (and possibly any neighbours who witnessed it through our kitchen windows), I attired myself in heels, 50's style dress black and white checked ruffle dress, including full net petticoat and patent black belt, and apron, turned up the music, and started to bake.

The album for the day: Younger Brother - The Last Days Of Gravity.

Amusingly enough, the first track on the album is called 'Happy Pills'.

The recipes for the day: Dark Chocolate and Macadamia Brownies and Lemon Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese icing.

I was good and disciplined and took process photos for the brownies. The cupcakes, not so much - I'm even missing a finished product photo of them with the icing on. If I manage to acquire one, I'll add it later.

Dark Chocolate Macadamia Brownies

Ingredients

375g unsalted butter

375g good quality dark chocolate - I used Lindt 85%

6 large free range eggs

1 tbs vanilla extract

500g white sugar

225g plain flour

1 tsp salt

300g macadamias

Heat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Chop the macadamias in half or smaller.

Melt the butter and chocolate together.

Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together. You can use a handbeater, but using an electric beater is far easier, and tends to get better results. You want the mix to be light yellow and fluffy.

Sieve the flour and salt into a separate bowl, ready to mix. Allow the melted chocolate mixture to cool slightly and then slowly and gently add to the egg mixture. The secret to good brownies is to mix the ingredients together very slowly and gently so that you don't knock the air out of the egg and sugar mix. I use a folding motion to stir the chocolate mix through. It is heavier than the egg mix so it will sink to the bottom of the bowl.

Add the flour and salt and gently combine that into the mix. Once fully combined, add the macadamia nuts.

Pour the mixture into the baking tray and spread evenly. Be careful not to drop or jostle the tray too much of you will knock the air out.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until the top begins to crisp up. Brownies are best when the top is crisp but the inside is still gooey.

I haven't sampled this batch. Hopefully they came out ok, they definitely smelled good!

The second thing on the agenda for the day was the cupcakes. I'd been wanting to test out a new recipe for lemon and coconut cupcakes with cream cheese icing.

They seemed to come out ok and the recipe was pretty easy to make. Again, taste test pending!

Lemon Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

3/4 cup of unsalted butter, room temp

3 eggs

1 1/4 cup of sugar

2 1/2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice, divided (some is for the icing)

1 cup of coconut milk

1 tsp salt

2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup sweetened coconut

1 tsp baking powder

1 3/4 cups icing sugar

250g cream cheese, at room temp

Heat oven 180°C and line a 12 cupcake tray.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to beat. Once combined, slowly add the coconut milk and the lemon juice and beat to combine.

In a separate bowl, sieve the flour, salt and baking powder. In batches, add the dry mixture to the liquid until just combined, being careful not to over mix. If the mixture feels too dry, add a dash more coconut milk. Add in the coconut and give one last whirl to mix through.

Divide the batter evenly. Each cupcake liner should be about 2/3 full.

Bake for about 20 minutes, testing with a skewer to ensure cooked through.

While the cupcakes are cooking, beat the cream cheese, lemon juice and icing sugar together to make the icing. Once the cupcakes have cooled, pipe the icing onto the cupcakes.