Lemon, Lemon, Lemon Cupcakes

Again, I have 'stolen' this recipe. After all, often the best recipes have already been altered and fixed by others. I'm going to link you to the actual recipe at ChocolateSuzes.
However, since Martyna came over to help me out with the baking (that went directly to the staffroom for morning tea today) we did take heaps of photos... so I'll go through the recipe with you, without actually 'giving' it to you.

These cupcakes received rave reviews at school today - and I guarantee that it had nothing to do with me - the recipe is AWESOME. They're lemon cupcakes, filled with lemon curd, and topped with lemon cream cheese icing.

It's a very easy, basic recipe... but like Suze said - it uses a hell of a lot of dishes.

You start off with making up the cupcake batter. Simple mix - except it uses cream instead of butter - and that cream gives the mix the most amazing consistency when you mix it in a stand mixer. It was like thick whipped cream. And very easy to dollap into the cases.

(to make this many, I doubled the recipe... remember, these are to keep hungry teachers happy... I wouldn't dare not bake enough!!!)

They bake in 15 or so minutes, time which you can use to make the curd. Or not - Martyna and I used that time to watch a bit of Serenity.
The curd is easy. Melt butter and lemon juice in a pan. Put in stand mixer. Add egg yolks and eggs in slowly and leave it to thicken in the mixer - on slow.
It's like a lemon explosion. The taste of summer.

The icing is... well, apparently several of the teachers I work with want to take a vat of it home and bathe in it. I was quite stunned by the enthusiastic response to the cupcakes... but the icing alone.... haha.

(It disapointed me that this is the only photo I have of the finished product - and these weren't even the best ones. But sadly I only remembered to take a hurried photo this morning before leaving for work... a blurred photo. However, if you want AWESOME photos... check out ChocolateSuzes)

I did exactly as Suze did - chucked little slices of fresh lemon on top. I attempted to candy some...but failed miserably.

The moral of this stroy (recipe) is that lemon is an awesome flavour, and as long as it's used right.. and in varying levels of awesomeness, it is mind blowing.

Mango Sorbet with Strawberry Coulis

Despite the fact that it's now....11pm, and it's a school night (Only 3 days left in the week baby!!! Thank God for 3 day weekend!!!) I thought that I better kick off this blog with an actual foodie post.

It was a scorcher in Auckland this weekend (brilliant start to summer!!) as evidenced by the god awful sunburn on my back. No really, ouch. You have no idea.
However, before the sunburn occured, it was still awfully hot... and I had a ripe mango in the fruit bowl, and a need for something cold and fruity... so mango sorbet it was.

I wish I'd taken photos of the process. I'll get better at that. You might have to put up with iPhone photos for a while, because I never have my actual camera with me when I need it. But iPhone photos are better than no photos right?

I'll start you off with a photo of the finished product:

It was damn good to. Refreshing.

Mango Sorbet:

1 large ripe mango

1 tin of mango slices

I started off with a whole ripe mango and instead of doing it the right way and peeling it before cutting... or managing to just peel the skin off, I stupidly cut it up before getting rid of the skin... a process which involved a sharp knife and an extra ten minutes.

I chucked mango cubes (around 1 inch in size) into a large shallow dish with a tin of mango pieces (1 mango didn't really give me enough) and put the whole thing in the freezer... I wouldn't leave it in there for too long... I'd say it was about an hour. Maybe less. During this time, I got sunburnt. Ow.

I took the mango out, and put it in batches into the cup that comes with my handheld blender/whizzy up stick thing, and well.... whizzed it up. It came churning out the top of the stick blender (not out the top of the cup though!!!) in the form of a creamy, gelato like textured yummyness.

To store, I popped it into an old ice cream container and back into the freezer. I'll warn you - it freezes like a rock in there.... but leave it out ont he counter for a few minutes and it quickly softens enough to scoop.

Strawberry Coulis:

1 cup of Strawberries

1 tsp of icing sugar

1 tsp of lemon juice

Same deal, minus the freezing. Chuck it all into the blender, or use the stick blender on it.... hey presto, strawberry coulis. Delightful with the mango. It cuts through the sweetness with a tarty tang.