Boozy Black Forest Cupcakes

I'm not saying Mr Kiss is stuck in the 70's, but when I asked him what cake he would like for his birthday, his answer was Carrot Cake or Black Forest Gateau!!!

Here's my attempt to bring those Black Forest flavours a little more up to date.

I baked a simple, chocolate cupcake and then used my new little gadget to remove the core from each cake. You could do this with a sharp knife, but this little tool is so easy to use and makes a nice, neat hole.
I filled the holes with cherry pie filling and, since I didn't have any Kirsch, I added a glug of my favourite liqueur - Chambord,  (Black Raspberry).
 

The cakes were then topped with some whipped double cream,

 a morello cherry and some chocolate sprinkles.

 

They were delicious. 
The soft, cherry filling inside can make them a little messy to eat - but I can do messy!!
The alcohol turned out to be quite subtle - Chambord is only 16.5% proof, 
so next time I will try them with a stronger Kirsch, or Brandy.

'99' Cupcakes

Fact: cupcakes make you feel better.

And that's not just eating them!

I took a plate of these round to a neighbour who was having a bad day - share the love :-)

There's nothing complicated about these little beauties.

They are a basic chocolate cupcakes, with a swirl of vanilla, cream cheese frosting -

decorated with a flake and a drizzle of strawberry sauce.

 

Two notes for anyone trying these - 

1. swirl the strawberry sauce on before you add the flake

2. buy twice as many flakes as you need, because you will eat test, half of them!

Bacon, Leek and Mushroom Quiche

Somehow, over the Easter weekend, most of the ingredients I bought for this
Leek, Mushroom and Gruyere Quiche, got used up in other things.
So, it ended up a bit of a mish mash.

I followed the recipe as much as I could - using a rolled sheet of ready made shortcrust pastry.
I only had a few mushrooms left, so I bulked it up with some bacon (4 rashers back bacon and 4 of smoked streaky) and
instead of the Gruyere I grated some extra mature cheddar.

When I mentioned 'quiche' to Mr Kiss, I think he was expecting something light and insipid, but this proved to be much more substantial and very tasty.
I can't wait to get stuck into the leftovers later :-)