Expanding our culinary abilities (as well as our waist lines) here at Turtle Mat, here is another cupcake recipe or two to celebrate the launch of our new spring 2010 catalogue with its “cupcake-y” cover.

Simple Sponge Cupcake  – Chocolate and Hazelnut

Simple Sponge Cupcake  – Lemon

These variations on the classic sponge cupcake go back to basics but we’ve added an easy twist with either chocolate and hazelnut or lemon flavours; these are made for experimentation and we’d love to hear how you would adapt this simple sponge recipe too.

Makes around 15-20 cupcakes

For the cakes:

150g self raising flour

150g unsalted butter, softened

150g sugar

3 medium eggs, at room temperature

For the fillings:

Chocolate nut spread

or

Lemon curd

For the frosting/topping:

225g icing sugar

Approx 2-3 tablespoons of warm water (or for the lemon cupcakes lemon juice)

Chopped hazelnuts or lemon zest to decorate

1. Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
2. Place cupcake cases (large) in cupcake trays and set aside.
3. Sift the self-raising flour into a small bowl and set aside.
4. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and smooth (again, best to use an electric hand whisk for this, rather than a hand whisk – as it can take a few minutes of whisking)
5. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar mix, beating well after each addition (the mix may curdle – if it does add a little flour and keep stirring)
6. Add the flour in parts to the batter, folding it gently in so that it is fully incorporated but that the mix isn’t “overworked”.
7. Place a generous teaspoon of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake case and then add a smaller teaspoon of either the chocolate nut spread or lemon curd depending on the cupcakes you are making.
8. Put another generous teaspoon of the cupcake mix on the top of the filling so it is completely covered but make sure the cupcake cases are not filled to the top as they will rise in the oven.
9. Bake each tin of cakes for 15-20 mins (or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean).
10. Once cooked, cool the cupcakes in their tins for about 10 mins and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. Meanwhile make the frosting by combining either the icing sugar and warm water or icing sugar and lemon juice (depending on the flavour) until the frosting is smooth. It should be roughly the consistency of single cream.
12. Once the cupcakes are cool, chop off the raised tops so they are level or even a little lower than the top of the case (so the icing does not spill over the sides)
13. Carefully pour the sugar frosting over the top of the cupcakes until all are evenly coated.
14. Decorate with either chopped hazelnuts or lemon zest and enjoy!

…May not keep the doctor away but definitely keeps a smile on our faces here at “Turtle Towers”.

To celebrate the launch of our new Turtle Mat spring 2010 catalogue, with its kitchen inspired cover, we have been baking up a storm and thought we’d share with you over the week some of our favourite cupcake recipes.

As always, we would love to hear from you whether it be with recipes, pictures of your baking successes (or disasters), comments on how your Turtle Mats help catch culinary spills (they definitely helped when road-testing these recipes) or any other thoughts.

Finally, keep an eye on the blog over the coming few weeks for a competition to win our new catalogue cover mat – “Cupcake”. So without further ado, here’s the first scrumptious recipe.

Magnolia Bakery’s red velvet cupcakes (with Turtle Mat tweaks) with vanilla cream cheese frosting

A rich, moist and unashamedly decadent American classic. The red colour of these cakes originally came from unrefined cocoa powder but today is often made with red food colouring; however here at Turtle Mat we like to keep things as natural as possible so have improvised with raspberry juice – the cakes now take on a slight pink hue instead!

Makes around 24 cupcakes

For the cakes:

500g plain flour

165g unsalted butter, softened

500g sugar

3 medium eggs, at room temperature

6tbsp of reduced raspberry juice**  (rather than the red food colouring in the original recipe)

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1½ tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

330ml buttermilk

1½ tsp white wine vinegar

1½ tsp bicarbonate soda (baking soda)

** For the reduced raspberry juice

A generous handful of raspberries

1½tbsp of icing sugar

A “splash” of water

For the frosting/topping:

300g cream cheese (we used half fat, futilely trying to keep the calories in check)

60g butter, at room temperature

340g icing sugar

1½ tsp vanilla extract

24 raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
2. Place cupcake cases in cupcake trays and set aside.
3. Sift the plain flour into a small bowl and set aside.
4. Create the raspberry juice by placing the raspberries, icing sugar and water in a pan over a low heat and leave (stirring occasionally) until enough juice is produced for 6tbsp or so; the juice should be roughly the consistency of single cream. Leave the reduced raspberries to cool and then strain the juice.
5. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and smooth (it’s best to use an electric hand whisk for this, rather than a hand whisk as Becca here at Turtle Mat found out when testing the recipe!)
6. Add the eggs, one at a time to the butter and sugar mix, beating well after each addition.
7. Mix into a paste, the cocoa powder, cooled and strained raspberry juice and vanilla extract. Add to the batter and again beat well.
8. Add the salt to the batter than add the buttermilk and floor in three parts, alternating between them and folding the floor in carefully so that it is fully incorporated but so the mix isn’t “overworked”.
9. Mix together the white wine vinegar and bicarbonate soda (watch it fizz!) and then gently add to the cupcake mix (ensuring again it is fully incorporated).
10. Divide the mix into the cupcake cases and bake each tin of cakes for 20 mins (or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean).
11. Whilst the cupcakes are baking make the cream cheese frosting by whizzing all the ingredients together in a food processor until thoroughly combined. This will appear quite liquid so place in the fridge for about an hour to firm up a little before use.
12. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for about 10 mins and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the frosting.
13. Top each cupcake with a raspberry and then enjoy!

In most homes, the kitchen is the busiest room in the house, a hub of activity centered on meal planning, cooking, eating, and cleaning up. And in today’s busy world, it’s essential to be able to maintain the kitchen quickly and easily, so that you can get to all the other things on your to-do list.

Here are some ideas

•Stove and counter top
Wipe up any spills promptly—it’s easier to wipe them before the food has a chance to harden. After stirring soups and sauces, be sure to use a spoon rest rather than sitting the spoon on the stove top or counter top. This simple step eliminates the need for wiping the surface later.

•Table
Keep paper towels handy for cleaning up spills, especially when dining with young children. Use a special tray or plate for condiments such as ketchup, mustard, or salad dressing. When the condiments are placed on the tray after each use, the tray catches any stray drippings, and minimal wiping of the table will be needed.

•Floors
Floors can be the most challenging part of the kitchen to keep clean. To prevent tracking, wipe up any spills immediately with damp cloth or paper towel. Using kitchen mats at key points, such as in front of the sink and stove, can simplify the task of keeping the floors clean. They are easy to toss into the washing machine, and will help minimize the need for mopping the floors.

With these simple steps, you can make kitchen cleaning easy and spend more time on the rest of your life!

If keeping floor clean in the kitchen is one of your most serious problems you might be willing to use Turtle Mat Kitchen Mats – and see how the problem just disappears.