Magnolia Bakery Mocha Cupcakes

Cupcakes! They might have gone out of fashion but the original – and best – bakeries are still delivering the goods. Every time I go to London I scoff as many Lola's cupcakes as I can (shout out to Hummingbird and Crumbs & Doilies too), but nothing beats a cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery.

Of course, they're on the other side of the world, but NOTHING compares. So light and fluffy and rich and decadent, they're impossible not to scarf in just three mouthfuls but so delicious you'll forgive yourself and buy another one to eat straight away. It's been three years since my last visit (welp) to NYC, so I've been keeping the dream alive at home with the most insanely delicious mocha cupcakes I have ever baked.

The buttercream is what makes these cupcakes so good – it is the best (and easiest) thing ever, you will never need another recipe in your life. If you don't like coffee then just skip the espresso powder and you'll have the best ever chocolate cupcakes instead!

It's up to you how you ice your cupcakes, but I like to pipe mine in a little blob so you can still see the sponge. The buttercream recipe is more than is needed for these cupcakes but I like to make extra... just in case, heh.

Mocha Cupcakes – sponge recipe adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery and buttercream recipe adapted from Love is in my Tummy

Ingredients:
105g self-raising flour
20g cocoa powder
10g espresso powder - I used Percol Beyond and Black
140g caster sugar
Pinch salt
40g unsalted butter
120ml milk
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

170g unsalted butter
128g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
10g espresso powder (or to taste) dissolved in a tablespoon or two of boiling water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
125g icing sugar

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 170°C and fill a 12-hole cupcake tin with cupcake cases.
2. Put the flour, cocoa, sugar, espresso powder, salt and butter in a freestanding mixer or use a handheld electric whisk to beat until a sandy mixture comes together.
3. Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla in a jug and slowly pour into the dry mix. Beat on high for a minute to get rid of any lumps – don't overmix!
4. Best way to get this soupy cake mix into the cases is with an ice cream scoop - it ensures each cupcake is the same size, too. Bake in the oven for at least 15 minutes – mine usually need 18 minutes but the original recipe calls for these to be baked for 20-25 minutes. In the words of Georgia from Georgia's Cakes, know your oven! When they're done they'll be bouncy and lovely – pop them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. To make the best EVER mocha buttercream, melt the chocolate and leave to cool almost completely (but not harden).
6. Beat the butter in a freestanding mixer or use an electric whisk for 3 whole minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
7. Add the melted chocolate, vanilla and espresso powder mixed with a drop of hot water.
8. Mix in the icing sugar and beat for about 2 more minutes. Use a wooden spoon to mix the buttercream by hand to get rid of any air bubbles. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with your chosen nozzle to pipe onto the cupcakes. Eat them all immediately.

Peach & Raspberry Almond Cake

I'll never complain about summer rain – I mean, what is more delicious than pottering around the kitchen with the back door ajar while it pours? Plus, when there is rain there's no irrational FOMO, so, lately, my thoughts have been healthier, more creative, inspired and, obviously revolving around baked goods. The result: a fruit-filled, bakewell-style cake that, if it were just a smidge warmer, I'd be serving with iced tea. But it's still steaming cups of coffee and I'm quite happy with that.

This recipe is adapted from Emily's Blackberry Plum Crumble Cake recipe over on her blog, De La Terre. I recall (very fondly) Sunday afternoons sitting cross-legged on her bed eating that cake with mugs of Earl Grey, exactly as she recommends it in her post. Those memories are what I miss the most about living in Bristol.  

Peach & Raspberry Almond Cake 

Serves 9 

Ingredients:

150g unsalted butter room temperature

150g caster sugar

2 eggs

150g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

200g raspberries (I used frozen as they're a lot cheaper)

150g fresh peaches, sliced

50g flaked almonds

40g apricot jam (I like Bonne Maman)

Method:

1. First toast the almonds. You can buy them toasted already but I prefer to do it myself – just something about the smell that fills the kitchen. Preheat your oven to 180°C and spread the flaked almonds across a baking tray. Pop in the oven for two minutes at a time until the nuts are toasted to your liking.

2. Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy.

3. Add the eggs one at a time (make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl in between each egg if you're using a freestanding mixer).

4. Add the vanilla and cinnamon, then sift in the flour and bicarb. Mix until everything is just combined.

5. Stir in the raspberries and pour into a lined, square tin. It's quite a thick mix so you may need to spread it out with a knife or the back of a spoon. Press the peach slices into the cake batter and bake for 30-40 minutes – mine took 38 minutes but it largely depends on your oven, so keep an eye from 30 minutes onwards.

6. Leave the cake to cool a little in the tin - about 10 minutes, then heat the jam in a small pan or the microwave. Spread the apricot glaze over the top of the cake and sprinkle the toasted flaked almonds evenly over the top. Optional: dust icing sugar over the top for that gorgeous almond croissant aesthetic.

If you make this cake please do let me know! You can find me on Instagram and Twitter @wnwrote ❤

Pink Lane Bakery – Newcastle

It's my birthday on Friday and all I can think about is Milk Bar's Birthday cake. I watched Christina Tosi's Chef's Table episode this morning while I got ready to go out and if anyone is yet to walk into my life and instantly be my best friend, it's her. "Life's too short to worry about how many cookies you ate today" – isn't that the soundest advice you've ever heard? And it's exactly what I'm repeating to myself as I bite into my second brown butter compost cookie of the day (warm out of the oven with a glass of cold milk, obvs).

If, like me, you have to have something sweet and salty and beige and buttery and delicious every single day of your life, get yourself to Pink Lane Bakery. It's a little closer than Milk Bar (I have a thing with outrageously out of reach New York-based bakeries, it seems) and it's pink, so obviously you have to go even if just for the gram. Oh and! They serve up their own version of Tosi's crack pie which... I still have not tried. But it's my birthday on Friday.

Being in Newcastle, Pink Lane proudly puts its own stamp on traditional. I tried their cheese and potato pasty and it was nap-inducing delicious. Lots of cheese! Lovely red onions! Not too many potatoes! Perfect.

Aside from all the baked goods, my favourite thing about Pink Lane, which is something a lot of places have adopted lately, is the bakery is just a few feet behind the counter where you order. There's something quite fun about seeing what goes on behind the scenes as you buy your morning coffee and bite into a still-warm pain au chocolat.

Pink Lane Bakery, based in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, is open Monday-Saturday 8am-4pm. Follow them on Instagram @pinklanebakery or check out their Facebook page here.

Kiln – Newcastle

Can anything make the emotional slog of a 9-hour train journey (make that five train journeys) better? I didn't think so, but train rage has a way of leaving my body as soon as I reach my destination, no matter how many delays, run-over cows (yes, really) and cancellations. Plus, the promise of a decent breakfast the following morning was enough to wipe the trauma from my mind completely. I was visiting my brother and his girlfriend in Gateshead a few weeks ago, determined to get away; a nice little break from Wales and a nosy to see what the North East brunch scene had to offer.

Bar, cafe and pottery, Kiln is everything I love all in one. Their brunch menu is perfection – simple dishes that are clearly made with love. I had the eggy in the hole (cute!) which consisted of two poached eggs in a huge square of focaccia (my favourite), tomatoes, mushrooms and aioli, served up on one of their gorgeous handmade plates, which you can even buy to take home. It was delish and I was sold.

I loved Kiln so much I almost – almost – considered applying for the full-time position advertised outside... however, I'm trying this new thing where I don't rush into big changes, but that's a topic for another blog post.

There is loads more to find out about Kiln (and a couple of menus to pore over) on their site, which you must check out as it is absolutely beautiful. Obviously, pay them a visit too if you're in the area; I can't wait to go back!

Gluten-Free Mini Egg Chocolate Cake

I've been there for all the Easter trends – creme egg brownies? I obsessed and made countless trays in my uni kitchen. And caramel egg cupcakes – they were a hit with my colleagues a few years ago. But really, there's only one Easter treat that stands the test of time, and that's mini eggs. Mini eggs on shredded wheat nests, mini eggs straight in my mouth, mini eggs on top of this gorgeous chocolate cake!

Since working at Bean & Bread I have been experimenting with lots of new recipes with Jess, the owner, and this gluten-free mini egg chocolate cake has been a huge hit with our customers – both those with a gluten intolerance and without! The absolute dreamiest of buttercream frostings is only atop Magnolia bakery cupcakes (a casual 3,000 mile trip to New York) but a quick google search meant I could recreate it at home and... create something quite special. 

Tomorrow is the last day we'll be serving this cake at Bean & Bread (Good Friday, 9am-5pm) but the recipes are linked below so you can have a go at making it at home if you don't get a chance to try ours! Let us know what you think – @beanandbread_ @wnwrote

Gluten-free chocolate cake recipe via Doves Farm

Chocolate buttercream frosting recipe via Love is in my Tummy

Grain and Grind

My Grandpa and I have traditions. He is 89 and going to visit him in Glasgow has become a bi-annual (at least) occurrence – he is easy and pleasant company and I treasure every moment I get to spend with him. Firstly, we go to Morrisons to do a food shop, then we'll watch the soaps, drink lots of tea, eat Kit Kats (okay, that's just me) and, if I'm lucky, he'll make me his famous macaroni cheese for tea. Time spent in Glasgow is typically relaxed – a real break from my regular routine. Coffee and brunch must be incorporated, too, then, and having spied Grain and Grind on Tally's Instagram I decided to pay a visit after my Monday morning run (one habit I can't give up, no matter where I am in the world).

Since I ditched my 9-5 and started working in a coffee shop brunch has become a full-time hobby and I really can't complain. Food is one of life's greatest pleasures and, as one of the few things you can always rely on, I make a conscious effort to enjoy the very best of it.

The staff at Grain and Grind were some of the friendliest I have encountered in a while – super chill and accommodating but not overbearing. I took a seat by the window and ordered an oat flat white and the poached eggs and avocado with halloumi because treat yourself, and, can I just say, how perfect...

I don't know about you but sometimes when I go out by myself I feel a little self-conscious and can spend the entire time hiding behind my phone, but I felt at home at Grain and Grind and got to spend some time writing in my bullet journal, which always centres me. It was a calm space, yet nearly every table was occupied – I can imagine the buzz on weekends is just as delightful.

Every time I visit Glasgow I feel I could uproot and move to this beautiful city, spend more time with my Grandpa, find more time for solo brunches and the best coffee, but something bigger tells me the grass is always greener... so I think I'll stay put, for now, at least.

When I was 18

When I was 18 I had a plan. My plan was solid because I could see so far into the future. I could see so far, as in, up until the age of 21 – the age up until when everything was laid out and navigable. When I was 18 I went to university and I definitely shouldn't have. I mean, I definitely shouldn't have left home at 18. I was too young and I was still a child. I was still too young when I finished university and turned 21.

I don't know when I grew up. Maybe it happened the second time I left home and my mum and I were at this new pizza place she had read about in the Guardian and somehow, all of a sudden, we were both crying in the middle of the restaurant, Mum squeezing my hand over the table. I didn't cry again – not even when she left – because I had a huge new bedroom with bay windows and a blossom tree outside and Friends to watch on Netflix and the sweetest new friend with the most beautiful ginger hair I'd ever seen, just in the bedroom next to me.

Until about a year or so ago I thought it all had to mean something – life – and every moment of every day had to be worth something, or I was wasting time, or what was the point? I had the plan until I was 21 and then I got lost but found my way again and then after all that, and another breakdown, I decided I didn't need a plan – not a long term one, anyway. Going along with what everyone else was doing, and what I thought I should be doing, was very overwhelming. Back then, and maybe even now, still, I filled every spare moment with things and people and events and stuff. I had no time to think or be by myself and stop thinking about other people for just one minute or spend time with God or learn about anything new. I spent so many days, weeks, years just ticking over to the next, following a plan I had laid out for myself, following what the world said, following, following, following...

When I was 18 and I moved away to university I latched onto the most beautiful person I had ever met. I remember the first time I saw him, leaning against our new kitchen door as he introduced himself and my jaw dropped, which I always thought was so romantic. We argued maybe twice the whole time we were together, and I can't remember exactly how long that was because there were a good few months either side of the ~relationship~ when we were still texting and saying I love you. He bought me flowers and Krispy Kremes and he read difficult books and wrote these amazing essays and he taught me a lot about films and history and literature, because at 18 I was still a child and he was 19 and had had a gap year and was so wise. I would describe what he looked like but his face has kind of faded from my memory now. It's not even about what they look like when you fall in love, anyway.

I wrote a lot of romantic shit when I was 18. Like, if I could go back to uni now and re-do my degree, I know I'd write some amazing stuff. But sometimes I think maybe I don't want to be a writer anymore, except I know that isn't true. I am just extremely lazy. I think (part of) my problem is I don't know who my audience is, and I've written self-indulgent internal monologue type diary entries for far too long and it's hard to change your style once you've found a groove, you know? Another truth is... I'm scared of what will come up if I'm alone with my thoughts for too long. In a way, therapy helped with that, but I dreaded going every week and I still don't know if it fixed me.

When I was 18 I didn't know anything about mental health and sometimes I wish I still didn't. I was 18 when I first experienced anxiety and I thought I was dying. I couldn't leave my bedroom and I couldn't get on a train and I couldn't go to work and I was too scared to do so many things because of this sick feeling that wouldn't go away. My friend said something recently that I've thought about loads. She said that mental health awareness may be worsening the problem for some of us. And at first I thought, nope, I don't get it. But now I definitely do. When I read about other people's experiences of mental health problems I have to try really hard to see if I can relate. What I feel and think and experience is so different to what everyone else does, and that's the scariest thing about mental illness. I can talk about it now from a grounded perspective and see where I have been in the past as seasons of change and growth and disruption and pain, because right now I am okay, but I still can't explain any of it, really. And no one can. There is no test or scan, only a questionnaire you fill out at the doctors and the words you can scramble together to describe how isolated and scared you feel, and even then it's their interpretation that determines how sick you are. So how does that work?

When I was 18 I was on the precipice of adulthood and the unravelling of myself. Sometimes I go back to that town, where my best friend still lives, and it's like I didn't exist. My halls of residence are no longer, my friends have dispersed, old love dissipating with every new build that concretes over where we walked. Only one book shop we spent collecting novels for the summers ahead remains and if I go inside and put my hands on the shelves, stacked and stuffed with titles we both know and don't know, it almost feels like that time never passed.

Martha's Vegan Chocolate Cake

January might now be better known as Veganuary, (what a time to be alive) and while I failed the challenge just one week into the month, I'm still enjoying trying out loads of new recipes and foods. Having been veggie (kind of) for about a year now, there are two things I look for when testing a vegan recipe: 1. It doesn't have loads of weird ingredients 2. It tastes as good as its non-vegan alternative. This recipe for vegan chocolate cake by GBBO's Martha met both criteria and with my vegan-sceptic family going in for seconds I knew it was a winner. 

If you've never baked a cake before, let alone a vegan one, trust me on this, it's foolproof. It probably goes without saying but you can decorate it with whatever you like – raspberries and dark chocolate is one of my favourite combinations but curls of dark chocolate, desiccated coconut or crushed Oreos would be just as delicious.

Martha's Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients for the sponge

350ml oat milk (or whatever non-dairy milk you have to hand)

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

250g caster sugar

150ml sunflower oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

225g white spelt flour (or plain flour)

75g cocoa powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients for the icing:

200g 70% dark chocolate (check the ingredients to make sure it doesn't contain milk) broken into small pieces

75ml oat milk

50g coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and line two round, nonstick cake tins with baking parchment.

2. Whisk the oat milk in a jug with the apple cider vinegar, leave for two minutes to thicken then stir in the sugar, oil and vanilla.

3. Sieve the flour, cocoa powder, bicarb, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl and stir together with a fork or metal spoon. Make a well in the centre and gradually add the wet ingredients, whisking until a smooth batter forms. 

4. Quickly divide the batter between the two tins and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes (this will depend on your oven - mine took 23 in total). 

5. Allow the cakes to cool a little in the tins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool they are ready to be iced.

6. For the icing put the dark chocolate, oat milk, coconut oil and vanilla into a small saucepan. Heat gently and stir until the mixture is melted and smooth. Beat with a whisk then leave for 15 minutes before icing your cake.

Store in an airtight container and eat within three days – mine didn't last that long though!

The original recipe for this cake can be found here.