Halloween Chocolate Cupcakes with Meringue Ghosts

Your next crumble...

Blackberry and apple have been coated in oats too many times for our liking, so we`re starting the campaign for sweet, syrupy peach fillings!

Because who`s going to say no to this!?

100g Tate & Lyle Soft Brown Sugar
50g Tate & Lyle Caster Sugar
150g Plain Flour
150g Jumbo Oats
160g softened Unsalted Butter
75g Walnut Pieces
8 Peaches destoned and sliced
Juice of 1 lemon.
100ml White wine or Rose
100ml Water.

Handful of fresh mint roughly chopped

Method.
1.Pre –heat the oven to 200c 180c Fan Gas mark 6 Place the flour and oats in a large bowl with the soft brown sugar and butter, rub in the butter in until it forms chunky crumbs, add the walnut pieces.

2. Place the peach slices in a large saucepan with the lemon juice, water, wine and caster sugar and heat on a medium heat for approximately 10 minutes until the peach slices begin to break down. Add the mint stir in and place in an ovenproof bowl. Cover with the crumble mix and cook for 25/30 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Serve with the delicious stem ginger ice cream!!

Stem Ginger Ice cream. Serves 4.

Ingredients
6 Pieces Stem Ginger chopped into 5mm cubes
50mls Stem Ginger syrup
300mls Double Cream
300mls Single cream
4 egg yolks
25g Corn flour
100g Caster Sugar.
10g Ground Ginger

Method.

1. Whip the double cream until it is just beginning to thicken, refrigerate,

2. Place the single cream in a medium sized saucepan and heat on low until it is just below boiling point.

3. Beat together the egg yolks, caster sugar and corn flour until smooth. Pour the hot cream onto the mixture and return to the pan and whisk on a low heat until it thickens. Pour the custard into a clean bowl and stir in the stem ginger syrup and ground ginger.

4. When the custard is completely, fold in the whipped cream and stem ginger pieces.

5. Transfer to a I litre container and freeze for 2 hours and use a hand whisk to breakdown the ice crystals during the freezing process, this helps distribute the ginger pieces. Repeat again after a further 2 hours and then leave overnight to completely freeze.

6. Remove from the freezer 30 minutes before you need it.

Swapping a glass of sangria for a slice instead, this boozy cake is inspired by our favourite Spanish holidays!

A red-wine-infused bundt cake with a fruity and pink frosted topping, this summer spectacle is a worthy centrepiece for any upcoming little get-together.

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

For the cake

315g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
165g unsalted butter
Zest of one orange
300g Tate & Lyle Caster Sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs
240ml Sangria
Fushia pink food colouring

For the glaze and decoration

160g Tate & Lyle Icing Sugar
1½ - 2 tbsp Sangria
Fushia pink food colouring, if required
Fresh fruit, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (fan oven). Brush a bundt tin with melted butter and dust with flour before tapping out any excess. Set aside whilst making the cake.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer, beat together the butter, Tate & Lyle Caster Sugar and orange zest until pale and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and mix the eggs in one at a time.
4. Alternate additions of the flour mixture and Sangria in five parts, beginning and ending with the flour, mixing between additions until just combined (flour-Sangria-flour-Sangria-flour).
5. Tip the cake mixture into the prepared tin and level the top. Tap the tin a few times on your work surface to release any bubbles and smooth out the batter. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before releasing onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Once the cake is cool, make the glaze. Simply place the icing sugar in a mixing bowl and add the Sangrai, whisking to create the glaze. Add more or less Sangria depending on how thick or thin you want the glaze to be. Use a little food colouring if required to achieve the desired colour of glaze you prefer.
7. Pour the glaze over the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Fill the middle generously with fresh fruit and serve immediately. Enjoy!

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Two of our favourite fruity flavours in one delicious scone triangle!

Here`s how to make them:

Ingredients

For the scones

3 tbsp Tate & Lyle Granulated Sugar
Zest of one lemon
175g self raising flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
45g unsalted butter
80ml milk
1½ tsp lemon juice (squeeze fresh from the zested lemon)
100g blueberries
A little milk, for brushing the scones

For the glaze (optional)
80g Tate & Lyle Icing Sugar
2-3 tsp lemon juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/390F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, rub the Tate & Lyle Granulated Sugar and lemon zest together.
Add in the flour, salt and baking powder, stirring everything together.
Tip in the butter and rub in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Separately in a jug, mix together the milk and lemon juice. Pour into the flour mixture and roughly bring together. Add in the blueberries and mix through evenly, bringing the dough together.
Lightly flour your worktop then tip the dough out, squeezing together to form a disc about 1” thick. Cut into eight wedges, then transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
Lightly brush the tops of each scone with a little milk, then bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until the scones are baked and golden on top.
For the glaze, mix together the Tate & Lyle Icing Sugar and as much lemon juice as required to achieve the consistency you like. Drizzle over the scones and enjoy!

Yet another dessert mash-up... and this time it`s Battenburg Blondies!

A delicious marzipan chessboard you can`t help but make a move for, it`s your favourite cake with an irresistible new texture...

Serves: 16

Ingredients:
200g unsalted butter
125g Tate & Lyle Caster Sugar
125g Tate & Lyle Soft Light Brown Sugar
¼ tsp salt
¾ tsp almond extract
2 large eggs
225g plain flour, sifted
75g ground almonds
Pink food colouring
6 mini Battenberg cakes (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (fan oven). Line an 8” square loose-bottomed tin with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, add in the butter and both sugars. Heat in 20-second bursts in the microwave until completely melted. Whisk the ingredients together until fully combined. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes.

Stir in the salt and almond extract, then whisk in the eggs one at a time until completely combined. Tip in the flour and ground almonds and mix again until completely combined.

Divide the blondie mixture equally between two bowls. Colour one of them pink using some food colouring, then transfer both into piping bags. Pipe alternating lines of the mixture in the tin, covering the bottom and using about half of the batter to do so. Shake the tin or use a small knife or spatula to help level the batter, then pipe a second layer of blondie mixture on top of the first, topping the pink lines with plain batter and the plain with pink. Again, shake the tin a little to level the top and fill in any gaps. Don’t worry too much, it will also spread during baking in the oven.

Once all the blondie mixture has been piped, place the tin in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. The blondie is done when the top is pale golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few damp crumbs. Cool completely before slicing.

Once cooled, slice the blondie into 16 squares. Top with a couple of slices of mini Battenberg cake if you wish, using a little apricot jam to hold it in place.

Enjoy!