sweet and simple strawberry cupcakes

Marian Keyes’ baking book Saved by Cake has been an inspiration these past few months.  Between the beautiful photos and hilarious commentary, it’s difficult to decide what exactly I’ll make next (I’ve made Barmbrack more than once!).  One thing I remember puzzling over the first time I read through the book was an instruction to add canned berries.  Perhaps I have lived a lovely, FRESH berry-filled life to this point, but I had never encountered canned berries, aside from inside a boxed blueberry muffin mix.  So I read ‘canned strawberries,’ wondered for a half moment, and then passed on to the next scrumptious photo. 

I wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but when I was in Ireland, in a convenience store, no less, I found a whole array of canned berries, mango, and so on.  I snagged a can of strawberries and brought it home with me (not sure it was worth its weight in my suitcase, but… what can you do?).  So.  I used a can of strawberries in this recipe.  But rest assured, you can make it without, and I myself used half canned, half frozen, and it turned out lovely all the same.

Sweet and Simple Strawberry Cupcakes (from Marian Keyes’ recipe)

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups strawberries (thawed, if frozen)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake pan with paper or silicone liners.  Wash and hull (if fresh!) the strawberries and mash until they’re pulpy.

Beat the oil, sugar and eggs together for a few minutes until the mixture starts to look caramelly.  Add the pulped strawberries, sift in the flour and baking soda, and fold through.

Pour the batter into the liners and bake for about 20 minutes (23, in my case).  Cool on a wire rack and decorate pinkly.  Makes 12 cupcakes.

This is the kind of recipe that you can pass off as muffins for breakfast in a pinch (without icing & sprinkles, of course), but it really does have more of a cupcake consistency and flavor.  The cakes are light and sweet, and look even more fabulous topped with whatever you have on hand (umm, plain icing… from a can?).

Recommended for: a simple, delightful dessert with a pop of strawberry flavor, and the perfect treat to surprise your girlfriends or coworkers with for a special occasion.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking!

barmbrack

There’s a constant clatter in my head these days, and when I slow down long enough to listen to it, it sounds like this: “I’m going to Ireland!  Oh my goodness, I’m going to Ireland!  I’m not ready!  I’m ready!!!  I’m nervous!  IRELAND!” (repeat).  In preparation I’ve been doing the usual – reading guidebooks, purchasing a new rain jacket, confirming reservations and so on… but I’ve also been reading Irish fiction and making Irish recipes.

One of those recent reads was Marian Keyes’ Saved by Cake.  Loved that book!  Full of humor and deliciousness.  For my latest Irish baking experiment I’ve made a traditional cake called Barmbrack, modified slightly from the recipe in Keyes’ cookbook (and leaving out her hilarious commentary!).  It’s usually served at Halloween and filled with surprises (a ring to signify you’ll be getting married, a penny to symbolize wealth – you get the idea), like a King Cake.  I made the cake but omitted the surprises, as I’m sure I’ll have plenty of those while traveling without wishing for more!  Oh and yes, I leave in 4 days!  So excited!

Barmbrack

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup raisins

zest of one (medium) orange

2 cups black tea, cooled

1 1/4 cups self-rising flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg, beaten

DIRECTIONS

Place the sugar, raisins, orange zest and tea in a bowl.  Cover and leave to soak overnight (or for at least 5 hours, like I did the first time I made this recipe!).

Grease a 1-lb. loaf pan and line with parchment paper, set aside.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the flour and baking soda into the tea/sugar/fruit mixture, then add the beaten egg and stir well.  Pour batter into the pan and bake for 1 hour 35 minutes (do a toothpick test from one hour on just to check).

Let stand in pan for 5 minutes, and then turn out onto a wire rack.  Cut into slices and serve with butter.  Serves 8-10.

OH DEAR GOODNESS THIS IS HEAVEN.  Sorry.  I didn’t intend to write that out in all caps, but the happiness that is in my mouth right now begged for an expression.  You can see the list of ingredients above – it’s nothing fancy, strange or exotic.  And there’s no magic in the preparation, either, except letting the fruit marinate in the sugar and tea.  And yet.  The two slices of cake that I just ate, slathered in butter, were sinfully delicious and absolutely lovely.  Make this cake for how it smells while baking.  Eat it for pure pleasure!  Finish it in one sitting because you won’t be able to help yourself!

Note: This cake is best just out of the oven, but reheats perfectly well in the oven 2-3 days later, too.  Probably you can freeze it, too – if you can resist eating it!

Recommended for: a moist, crowd-pleasing sweetbread, a welcome addition to autumn and holiday baking (it just smells right for those seasons!), and for the days when you just need to eat something comfortable and fragrant with your coffee/tea.  

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking!

saved by cake

Over a year ago I saw a fellow blogger’s review of Marian Keyes’ Saved by Cake, and I knew I wanted to read it posthaste.  After all, the cookbook featured baked goods (my purview!) exclusively, and the author’s voice was straight-up hilarious in the short excerpt.  However, I couldn’t find a listing for the US release date, and when I looked into purchasing an international edition, I realized I wouldn’t do well with the metric weights and measurements. 

So I put it on my wishlist and waited.  And waited.  And then!  It was finally available in April.  I bought it immediately and it sat on my bookshelf for far too many months.  A few weeks back I finally picked Saved by Cake up again, and here we are today, with cake.  All is right with the world.

Beloved novelist Marian Keyes tackles the kitchen with a new cookbook featuring desserts that are both simple and delicious, with step-by-step instructions and stunning photography.

“To be perfectly blunt about it, my choice sometimes is: I can kill myself, or I can make a dozen cupcakes. Right so, I’ll do the cupcakes and I can kill myself tomorrow.”

In Saved by Cake, Marian Keyes gives a candid account of her recent battle with depression and her discovery that learning to bake was exactly what she needed to regain her joie de vivre. A complete novice in the kitchen, Marian decided to bake a cake for a friend. From the moment she began measuring, she realized that baking was the best way for her to get through each day.

Refreshingly honest and wickedly funny, Saved by Cake shines with Keyes’ inimitable charm and is chockfull of sound advice. Written in Marian’s signature style, her take on baking is honest, witty, extremely accessible and full of fun. Her simple and delicious recipes—from Consistently Reliable Cupcakes to Fridge-set Honeycomb Cheesecake—are guaranteed to tempt even the most jaded palate.

I’ve never read Marian Keyes’ novels, but based on the dark humor and honesty in her cookbook, I’d say she’s got a flair for the descriptive, a thing for cookie cutters, and is also dealing with a really troubling bout of depression.  Oh, and she’s not-so-mildly obsessed with cake!  This cookbook struck a personal chord for me – I too have baked myself through rough spots.  It’s rather special to see someone else, quite accomplished at writing, struggle and come through with the same sort of ‘therapy.’

As for the recipes themselves, Keyes has a bit of a fussy bent, so many include unique flavor combinations, unexpected ingredients, and long-ish prep times.  Keyes has a good knack for describing baking tips that you may not have thought of before, and I will incorporate several of these into my usual routines.  My favorite section of the cookbook was the one on ‘Classics,’ though I look forward to also trying recipes from the ‘Fruit and Veg’ section as well.  The photo below is from my attempt at the Victoria Sandwich, which I’d make again (it was a snap!) but vary the filling.  My favorite THINGS about the cookbook at large were the introductory paragraphs and the beautiful photos accompanying each recipe.  This is where Keyes shines – in her conversational writing style and self-deprecating humor.

In all, Keyes’ book is fun, funny and personal, with drool-worthy photography and delicious recipes.  It’ll stay on my shelf, and come down for many rereads in the future. 

Recommended for: Marian Keyes fans, those who would appreciate a funny, slightly irreverent take on food and mental health, and anyone with a ken for cake.  Especially making it (and devouring it afterward!).

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking!