vendredi 24 janvier 2014

Recipe – Apple, cinnamon and vanilla cupcakes

source: http://tarttokig.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/recipe-apple-cinnamon-and-vanilla-cupcakes/

for 12 normal sized cupcakes.
Apple and cinnamon muffins:
  • 125 g butter
  • 240 g flour (without rising agent!)
  • 180 g granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 apple (I used granny smith)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 200 g milk
  • 1 egg
1.. Preheat the oven to 200°C/390 F.
2.. Melt the butter in a saucepan and put it to the side to cool.
3.. Mix together flour,sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and the apple (chopped into approximately 1×1 cm pieces).
4.. Add the milk to the cooled butter, then add the egg.
5.. Pour the egg-milk-butter mixture to the rest and stir to a smooth batter (well, as smooth as is possible with all those apple pieces ;) )
6.. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 up. Put the liners in a cupcake pan first for best results.
7.. Bake for 15-20 minutes in the middle of the oven and then put the muffins on a cooling rack until completely cooled.
Vanilla creme cheese frosting:
  • 100 g room temperature butter
  • 240 g confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla (or 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar if you want a whiter frosting)
  • 230 g creme cheese
1.. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla for at least 2 minutes, until fluffy.
2.. Stir in the creme cheese and pipe or spread onto the cooled muffins.

Recipe – chocolate and strawberry mousse cake

source: http://tarttokig.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/recipe-chocolate-and-strawberry-mousse-cake/

IMG_0182



NOTE: 1) the cake is built in a tall springform. The sides need to be lined with acetate strips or the mousse will stick to the pan! 2) the weight of the jelly might cause the mousse to bulge a little. If you want perfectly straight sides, you might need to use 3 or 4 gelatin sheets in the mousse (I have never used more than 2 sheets so I can’t tell for sure how much you’ll need!)
Brownie:
Ingredients:
  • 50 g almonds (I would recommend excluding these if you are making the entire cake)
  • 100 g dark chocolate (70 %)
  • 100 g butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 180 g sugar
  • 90 g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
1.. Heat the oven to 175°C/350 F
2.. Chop the almonds coarsely and roast them in the oven for 10 minutes. Stir a few times.
3.. Melt butter and finely chopped chocolate and let cool a little.
4.. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, including the almonds and pour into a greased square pan, approximately 20 x 30 cm.
5.. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes.
6.. Let cool on a wire rack, and cut out a circle a little bigger than the springform you are using. Put the brownie on a cake platter and clip on the springform.
White chocolate mousse:
Ingredients:
  • 110 g white chocolate
  • 300 g whipping cream (40 % fat)
  • 60 g egg yolk
  • 50 g sugar
  • 50 g water
  • 2 gelatin sheets
1.. Put the gelatin in a bowl with cold water for 5 minutes.
2.. Chop the chocolate and melt it carefully in the microwave or over a saucepan with boiling water.
3.. Whip the cream to a medium consistency.
4.. Put the egg yolks in a large bowl, bring sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan, and then pour the sugar water into the eggs in a thin stream while whipping on high speed. Continue whipping until the eggs are cool and have formed a stiff foam.
5.. Fold in the white chocolate in the eggs.
6.. Melt the gelatin in the microwave (for a couple of seconds) or in a small saucepan. Fold it into the eggs as well.
7.. Fold in the cream.
8.. Pour the mousse into the springform and put in the fridge to cool for an hour or two before making the jelly.
Strawberry lime jelly:
Ingredients:
  • 250 g strawberries, fresh or frozen
  • 80 g sugar (you might need to add some more if your berries are sour)
  • Zest from 1 lime
  • Juice from 1 1/2 lime
  • 3 gelatin sheets
1.. Put the gelatin in a bowl with cold water for 5 minutes.
2.. Chop the strawberries into smaller pieces.
3.. Put lime juice and zest, strawberries and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let boil on low heat for about 2 minutes.
4.. Add in the gelatin and leave to cool. Stir occasionally. Once it feels cool to the touch, pour it over the mousse and put the cake back into the fridge until the jelly cools completely.
5.. Decorate the cake with lime zest, white chocolate curls, strawberries… anything you want really!

Recipe – chocolate and tiger muffins

source: http://tarttokig.wordpress.com/2013/07/28/recipe-chocolate-and-tiger-muffins/

for 12 normal sized cupcakes:
Basic cupcake recipe:
  • 125 g butter
  • 240 g flour (without rising agent!)
  • 180 g granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 200 g milk
  • 1 egg
1.. Preheat the oven to 200°C/390 F.
2.. Melt the butter in a saucepan and put it to the side to cool.
3.. Mix together flour,sugar and baking powder.
4.. Add the milk to the cooled butter, then add the egg.
5.. Pour the egg-milk-butter mixture to the rest and stir to a smooth batter.
6.. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 up. Put the liners in a cupcake pan first for best results.
7.. Bake for 15-20 minutes in the middle of the oven and then put the muffins on a cooling rack until completely cooled.

To make chocolate muffins, simply substitute 30 g of the flour with cacao and add 100 g of dark chocolate chopped into large pieces to the flour (step 3). When they had cooled, I made some chocolate ganache for topping. For 12 muffins; bring 75 g of heavy cream to a boil, remove from heat and add 150 g of finely chopped chocolate (I liked it best with a 50 % cacao content). Stir until smooth and then distribute the ganache equally on the muffins.
For the tiger muffins, make the batter as usual, but use only 200 g of flour. Divide the batter equally in two bowls(I used a scale to get equal amounts in each bowl), and add 20 g of cacao to one and 20 g flour + 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar to the second. Use a small spoon and add one dollop at a time to each muffin case to get the marbled effect.

dimanche 29 décembre 2013

Top Ten Most Popular Chocolate Truffle Recipes and more...

source: http://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/best-chocolate-truffle-recipe/

Truffle Fillings Recipe Quantities:
Ginger Chocolate Truffle Recipe
ginger chocolate truffle recipe how to cook that
 Makes 12 squares of ganache filling in the size shown
3 tablespoons (45ml) cream
6 thin slices of peeled fresh ginger
100g (3.53 ounces) chocolate (milk, dark or white)
Set in a plastic container 6.5cm (2.56 inches) x 10cm (3.94 inches)
tempered chocolate for covering, see top of post for details
Chocolate transfer sheet for decorating
Chocolate Mint Truffle Recipe
IMG_3378
Makes 7 truffles in the size shown
3 tablespoons (45ml) cream
4 fresh mint leaves
100g (3.53 ounces) chocolate (milk, dark or white)
unsweetened cocoa powder for rolling
Chilli and Sea Salt Truffle Recipe
chilli chocolate truffle recipe reardon
Makes 12 squares of ganache filling in the size shown
3 tablespoons (45ml) cream
1 teaspoon crushed chilli
100g (3.53 ounces) chocolate (milk, dark or white)
Set in a plastic container 6.5cm (2.56 inches) x 10cm (3.94 inches)
tempered chocolate for covering, see top of post for details
pinch sea salt flakes for decorating
Popping Sugar Truffle Recipe
chocolate truffle recipe how to cook that
Makes 12 squares of ganache filling in the size shown
3 tablespoons (45ml) cream
100g (3.53 ounces) chocolate (milk, dark or white)
Set in a plastic container 6.5cm (2.56 inches) x 10cm (3.94 inches)
tempered chocolate for covering, see top of post for details
Coffee Truffle Recipe
coffee chocolate truffles how to cook that
Makes enough filling to pipe into 16 truffles in the size shown
3 tablespoons (45ml) cream
1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules
100g (3.53 ounces) chocolate (milk, dark or white)
chocolate mold
tempered chocolate for covering, see top of post for details
Pistachio Chocolate Truffles
pistachio chocolate truffles
Makes 12 squares of ganache filling in the size shown3 tablespoons (60ml) cream
1 tablespoon pistachio nuts
100g (3.53 ounces) chocolate (milk, dark or white)
optional – extra 15 pistachio nuts lightly roasted and cooled to put on top of the ganache squares before dipping
Set in a plastic container 6.5cm (2.56 inches) x 10cm (3.94 inches)
tempered chocolate for covering, see top of post for details
cocoa nibs for decorating

 

Chocolate for coating truffles

You will need your chosen truffle fillings (recipes below and demonstrated in the video above) plus tempered chocolate for dipping the truffles.  Read this post first on what chocolate to use and how to temper chocolate.
300g (10.58 ounces) of tempered dark chocolate covered 20 truffles (6 of them in a mold and 14 dipped), with 90g (3.17 ounces) of chocolate left over (you need the extra so you have enough to dip the truffles).
10. Nutella Truffles
nutella truffles how to cook that
(makes 12 cubes)
180g (6.35 ounces) nutella
15g (0.53 ounces) or 14 whole hazelnuts
tempered chocolate for coating (see top of post for quantities)
If you have a mold you can pipe nutella into the mold, if you don’t have a mold then put some nutella into a small container, use a knife to mark the surface so you can see where your squares will be and push a hazelnut into the top of each one.
Freeze overnight.  In the morning it will be firm enough for you to cut into squares using a hot knife.   Dip your frozen cubes into tempered chocolate (see this post on how to temper chocolate).  Then use your fork to scoop it out and tap it on the side of the bowl to get off any excess chocolate.
Garnish with a piece of hazelnut on the top of each truffle.
9. Coconut Truffles  (recipe developed by Ann Reardon)
coconut truffle recipe
(makes 50 triangles)
2 tablespoons glucose syrup
1 1/4 cups or 300g (10.58 ounces) sugar
75ml water
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup cream
25g (0.88 ounces) butter chopped
3 cups or 255g (8.99 ounces) desiccated coconut
tempered chocolate for coating (see top of post for quantities)
Place your sugar, glucose syrup and water into a saucepan and heat over high heat stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Once the sugar is dissolved wash down the sides of the pan using a wet pastry brush and leave over the heat, unstirred until the syrup starts to turn golden, approximately 365F (185 degrees Celsius).
Stir in your cream, coconut milk and butter, hot steam will rise suddenly so stand back and then stir until it is smooth.  Add a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and and heat without stirring until it reaches 230F (110 degrees Celsius).
Remove from the heat and stir in your dessicated coconut.  Pour into a lined brownie tin and allow to cool at room temp.
Once cooled remove from the tin, cut into long slices and use two knives to shape it into a point at the top.   Refrigerate for at least an hour.  Slice into small bite sized pieces and then drop into your tempered chocolate.
Scoop out with the fork and tap on the side of the bowl and then place onto baking paper, sprinkle the top with coconut.
8. Hazelnut Truffles 
IMG_4356
(makes 30)
200g (7.05 ounces) milk chocolate
60ml cream
100g (3.53 ounces) hazelnuts
2 cups or 480g (16.93 ounces) sugar
1/2 cup or 125ml water
1 tablespoon glucose syrup
tempered White and Dark Chocolate for dipping
Place chocolate into a bowl and pour over the hot cream.  Leave for a minute and then stir until smooth. Set aside.
Spread you hazelnuts onto some baking paper.  Place your sugar and water and glucose syrup into a saucepan.
Stir until the sugar is dissolved then brush down the sides of the pan and leave it to bubble until it starts to go golden.  Immediately pour it over the hazelnuts and leave it to cool completely.  When it is cold it will be solid, snap it into pieces and place into a strong bag.  Smash it with a rolling pin, pour the pieces into the ganache and stir well. Cover with plastic wrap and leave overnight at room temperature to go firm.
Once it is set take spoonfuls of the ganache and roll it into balls.
Dip the balls of ganache into the white chocolate and tap on the side of the bowl to remove any excess. Place onto some baking paper to set.  Once set hold the base of the truffle and dip the top into dark chocolate, tap your hand to help shake off excess chocolate and then turn it up the right way and place back on the paper.  Once they are set put some white chocolate into a ziplock bag and pipe swirls onto the top.

7. Orange Truffles  (recipe by Ann Reardon)
orange truffles recipe
(makes 10 balls)
150g (5.29 ounces) white chocolate shavings
100g (3.53 ounces) milk chocolate
2 oranges
additional tempered chocolate for coating see top of post for quantities
Grate the rind of two oranges on a fine greater.  Juice the oranges and place the juice and rind into a saucepan.   Let it boil for approximately 6 minutes to concentrate the juice. Pour through a sieve.
Pour 2 tablespoons of hot concentrated juice over the chocolate. Stir until smooth (microwave for 10 seconds if chocolate not completely melted)  Place that in a container in the freezer overnight.
Roll your cold ganache into balls then drop into the chocolate. Scoop out and tap on the side of the bowl then drop into the white chocolate shavings. Cover and place on baking paper to set.
6. Peanut Butter Squares
peanut butter truffles recipe how to cook that
(makes 12 cubes)
130g (4.59 ounces) peanut butter
70g (2.47 ounces) jam
tempered chocolate for molds
Take some peanut butter and some jam and mix together to make a sweetness that you like.  Place in a small container lined with baking paper and freeze over night.
Using a finely serrated knife cut into cubes.
Spread some white chocolate thinly onto a piece of nonstick baking paper and make a pattern in it. Spread dark chocolate over the top and then once it is starting to set cut it into squares. Leave to set completely and then peel off the paper.
Dip your squares of frozen peanut butter and jelly into the chocolate and then top with a patterned square.
5. Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolates
peanut butter and jelly truffle ann reardon
To make 10
30g (1.06 ounces) Jam
50g (1.76 ounces) Peanut Butter
tempered chocolate for coating
Fill the molds with tempered chocolate scrape off the top, leave for a moment and then pour it out and scrape clean.  Leave that to set up.  Using a ziplock bag pipe a small amount of  jam into each mold, top that with a small amount of chocolate to seal over the first section.  Pipe in some peanut butter into each mold.
Then fill the mold with chocolate scrape off the excess and leave to set.

4. Strawberry Truffles Recipe  (recipe developed by Ann Reardon)
strawberry truffle recipe how to cook that
(makes 300ml of filling, each truffle will use approx 5ml depending on the size of your mold)
250g (8.82 ounces) strawberries, washed, hulled and halved
200g (7.05 ounces) white chocolate (for a thicker ganache use more chocolate)
white and dark tempered chocolate for molds, optional oil based food colour
Place strawberries in a saucepan and place over a medium heat with a lid on to stew. Stir often to make sure they do not burn on the bottom. Once the fruit is very soft remove from the heat and stir in the white chocolate.
If you want it totally smooth strain through a fine metal sieve. Place in the fridge overnight to cool completely.
Take two small bowls and put a spoon of white chocolate in each, mix in some oil based food colour into each. Using your finger place smudges of each of the colours on the inside of the mold.  Fill the molds with dark chocolate, scrape clean, leave for a moment and then tip out the excess.
Pipe in some strawberry ganache into each mold.  Cover with chocolate and scrape off the excess and leave to set then turn out of the mold.

3. Raspberry Truffles Recipe (recipe developed by Ann Reardon)
raspberry truffle recipe how to cook that
(makes 300g (10.58 ounces) of filling, I used 5g (0.18 ounces) per chocolate mold)
200g (7.05 ounces) frozen raspberries defrosted
4 Tablespoons cream
25g (0.88 ounces) butter chopped
1 1/4 cups or 300g (10.58 ounces) sugar
2 tablespoons glucose syrup
75ml water
tempered chocolate for molds
Blend your fresh or frozen defrosted raspberries in a blender with the cream until smooth. Push through a fine sieve to take out the tiny seeds.  Measure your mixture and you should have around 240ml or just a little less than 1 cup.
Heat your sugar, water and glucose syrup in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved, wash down the sides of the pan using a wet pastry brush  and then leave it to bubble unstirred.  Keep an eye on you sugar mixture, you are waiting for it to start to turn golden, then add your raspberry cream mixture and the butter. Stir until well combined.
Return to the heat and add a candy thermometer to the pan and heat it until 230F (110 degrees Celsius) if you don’t have a candy thermometer take a small amount and let it cool on a plate to see roughly how thick it will be.  Pour into a heat proof bowl and leave to cool completely
Then fill the molds with white chocolate, tip the excess and let it set up.  Take some of your gooey raspberry filling, put it in a ziplock bag and pipe into each mold. Gently tap it to smooth it out and using a knife scrape off any that has gone on the edges as that will prevent the chocolate from making a seal.  Top with you white chocolate and scrape off any excess. Leave to set then tip out of the mold.
2. Runny Caramel Truffles Recipe
runny caramel truffle how to cook that

Dulce de leche
tempered chocolate for mold
Gold luster dust (available from cake decorating stores)
Fill your mold with chocolate and scrape of any excess, tap it on the bench to remove any air bubbles.
Leave it to sit for a moment, the longer you leave it the thicker the outside chocolate will be.   Tip out the excess chocolate, tapping on the back of the mold, then scrape off the excess.  Place some dulce de leche into a ziplock bag and pipe it into the centres.  Cover with chocolate, scrape off the excess and leave to set.  Tip out of the mold.  Using some gold luster dust on a clean dry paint brush dust a stripe onto each chocolate.
1. Chewy Caramel Chocolate Truffle Recipe  
*THE MOST POPULAR TRUFFLE*

chewy caramel truffle recipe reardon
(makes approx 40 caramel rectangles)
75ml water
2 tablespoons glucose syrup
1 1/4 cups or 300g (10.58 ounces) sugar
1 cup or 250ml cream
25 g (0.88 ounces) butter chopped
tempered chocolate for coating
Line a container with non stick baking paper, get a pastry brush and additional water for washing down the sides of the pan and a candy thermometer ready.
Place your sugar, water and glucose syrup into a sauce pan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Once it is dissolved wash down the sides of the pan using a pastry brush dipped in water and then leave it to boil without stirring.
While it is bubbling measure out your cream and butter.  Keep a watch on the saucepan and when one spot starts to go golden, stir in the cream and butter, take care not to get burnt by the steam.  Keep stirring until it is well combined then let it bubble away unstirred.
Add a candy thermometer to the pan and heat it to 255F (123.89 degrees Celsius).  If you don’t have a candy thermometer see video for tips on how to know if it is ready.
Immediately pour it into a lined heatproof container and leave it to semi-cool. Once it s cool enough to handle, is firm but still  slightly warm pull it out of the container and cut it into rectangles.  Then cool completely.
Drop into your tempered chocolate, decorate with a squiggle of extra chocolate.

samedi 21 décembre 2013

Biscuits vitraux de Noël

source: http://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_biscuits-vitraux-de-noel_81873.aspx


Temps de préparation : 20 minutes
Temps de cuisson : 10 minutes
Ingrédients (pour 6 personnes) : - 100 g de beurre
- 125 g de sucre
- 1 oeuf
- 300 g de farine
- 1 zeste de citron
- 1 cuillère à café de vanille (ou une gousse)
- 120 g de bonbons durs acidulés

Préparation de la recette :


Prévoir des emportes pièces aux formes de Noël.

Mélanger le beurre ramolli et le sucre. Ajouter la farine, la vanille, le zeste et l’œuf. Mélanger encore et encore, faire une boule en ajoutant un peu d’eau si besoin.

Laisser reposer 1h au frigo en couvrant la pâte.

Pendant ce temps, réduire les bonbons en poussière à l’aide d’un marteau, couleur par couleur.

Etaler la pâte pour qu’elle fasse environ un 1/2 cm d’épaisseur.

Découper des formes avec des emportes-pièces ou un couteau.

Evider le centre de chaque forme avec un emporte-pièce plus petit et placer chaque biscuit sur une plaque recouverte de papier cuisson.

Avec une paille faire un trou pour passer le ruban.

Remplir chaque partie évidée de poudre de bonbon, puis enfourner 10 min dans un four préchauffé à 190°C (thermostat 6).

Lorsque vous les sortez du four, laissez-les bien refroidir une dizaine de minutes, le temps que le bonbon durcisse, avant de les déplacer, de les accrocher au sapin ou de les manger!

Remarques :

J’utilise parfois les bonbons entiers, que je place dans la partie évidée, mais il faut alors faire cuire tout doucement pour éviter les bulles qui gâchent un peu l'effet vitrail.

vendredi 13 décembre 2013

mini pepparkakshus

source: http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2009/12/18/a-gingerbread-house-that-perches-on-the-rim-of-your-mug/

I made tiny gingerbread houses that are meant to be perched on the edge of a mug of hot chocolate.
gingerbread house that sits on the edge of a mug
I had been thinking about those sugar cubes that hook on the rim of a teacup earlier this month, and I was also thinking about 3-D cookies and how they fit together and figured it would be pretty neat to make cookies that hang on the edge of a mug. I thought I was being so brilliant but it only took a few seconds to discover that a flat cookie on the edge of a mug has already been done. So I started wondering what else I could do. At the time I was making a bunch of gingerbread recipes trying to find one that would hold up for my partridge in a pear tree cookie, so a gingerbread house was on my mind.
gingerbread house that sits on the edge of a mug
I made a few versions to figure out how to make one that wasn’t so top heavy that it would flip off the mug, and how small I could get away with and still fit on both large and small cups. I generally followed the size of my The Mini Gingerbread House Kit (though, those pieces don’t fit together as nicely as I’d have liked).
gingerbread house that sits on the edge of a mug
I’ve made a PDF pattern of gingerbread house pieces which you can open or download right here. My only instruction is that you should make sure that the wall pieces are to be sandwiched on the inside of the door pieces, that way the roof fits on properly. I included two door pieces you can choose from, one at 3/8ths inch wide and one at 1/2 inch wide. I found that a 3/8ths inch door, or slot, fits most mugs but the 1/2 can be used for your really big and heavy mugs. I traced the pieces onto this template page at 9:54 in the evening, please forgive the sloppiness but I’m getting tired, let’s just call the untidy lines charming.
gingerbread house that sits on the edge of a mug
I used the Gingerbread Snowflake and the Royal Icing recipes from marthastewart.com.
gingerbread house that sits on the edge of a mug
I rolled it out onto a sheet of tin foil at 1/8th inch thick. I skipped a silicone mat because I use a paring knife for the corner details and didn’t want to accidentally cut down to the layers of glass fibers, and after some trial I found that parchment paper will warp after being chilled and then stuck in an oven which can distort some shapes.
gingerbread house that sits on the edge of a mug
I used a dull sewing pattern roller (like a small pizza cutter) to go around most sides. You can do all of one side than turn the entire sheet of tin foil 90 degrees to do all of the next side, this makes the process go a bit faster. Try to fit all the pieces for each individual house in the same batch, I found my batches browned differently from each other. Lift the excess dough up from the tin foil, not moving your cut out shapes at all, this will help them keep their shape. Then slide the tin foil sheet onto a cookie sheet and put both in the freezer for about 15 minutes, you want the dough really well chilled before baking.
gingerbread house that sits on the edge of a mug
I used a (well cleaned) flat head screwdriver to get in the detail around the doors, then a paring knife to make sure the corners are cut cleanly.
Here are some tips, most of these are in the recipe but I don’t want you to overlook them:
  • After making it divide the dough into thirds (I made half a recipe) wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably overnight. Make the royal icing while it’s chilling, you’ll need it before you make all the gingerbread you are planning on.
  • Roll the dough out to 1/8th of an inch. It seems impossibly thin but you be cutting the shapes and pulling the excess dough from around them so your pieces won’t be too disturbed. Feel free to nudge your shapes back into squares before chilling them again.
  • Preheat the oven, roll the dough out on tin foil, cut your shapes and lift off the excess dough, slide the tin foil onto your cookie sheet, now put the cookie sheet into the freezer for at least 15 minutes before baking. This will keep the gingerbread from spreading too much.
  • Make a single test house with your chosen door width. This sounds like a pita, and it will be, but it will be far less trouble than the frustration of finding none of your finished houses fit on mugs. Knowing now that you need to cut a wider door is worth it.
  • I found that dough chilled for only an hour puffed up quite a bit, but didn’t necessarily spread if the cut out shapes were chilled in the freezer. Dough that had been in the fridge overnight, or even the second day (it’ll keep for a few days) puffed up quite a bit less, perhaps because the baking powder had lost it’s mojo by this time?
  • If you suspect your intended mugs are thicker and sturdier than usual grab some cardstock or a magazine insert and cut a few different slots — 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch wide, about two inches deep (or tall). The one that slides easily onto the edge of you mug and even has a little wiggle room is the width you want for your door.
  • If your gingerbread should spread and the doors look too narrow to you, you can trim them when the gingerbread is just out of the oven before it sets and cools too much. I suggest a paring knife and trimming just a bit from either side of the door.
gingerbread house that sits on the edge of a mug
I decided to only decorate the roofs for now. I might make these again next year and get more detailed with the decorations. I used a variety of sugars and sprinkles. One note, I discovered that candy cane dust will stick together so well that it will not show any piping detail beneath it. I liked the way regular sanding sugar made the roof sparkle a bit, though I couldn’t capture the cuteness in my pictures.
gingerbread house that sits on the edge of a mug
Don’t fill your mug of hot chocolate too full, you don’t want the bottom of your gingerbread house to get soggy.
gingerbread house that sits on the edge of a mug
Can you tell the crushed candy cane one was my favorite?
I would be these would be fantastic made out of sugar cookie or shortbread dough. You could certainly leave them undecorated, or perhaps press sanding sugar into the roof pieces before baking. On the other hand I’m curious to see what one would look like covered in pieces of tiny candies. I’m also planning on making house-shaped marshmallows that will fit on the edge of the mug.
gingerbread house that sits on the edge of a mug
update: I made a few variations including a chimney and a version made out of sugar cookie dough which you might be interested in.
a few variations on my tiny gingerbread houses

Pepparkakor

source ;http://svenskarecept.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/pepparkakor-og-hus/
 
Ingredienser til pepparkakor hus
1,5 dl
socker
1 dl
sirap
50 g
smör
2 tsk
kanel, malen
2 tsk
ingefära, malen
2 tsk
kryddnejlikor
1,5 dl
mjölk
1 tsk
bikarbonat
8-9 dl
vetemjöl, cirka
Karamellag:
2 dl
socker
1 dl
vatten
1 msk
glykos
Kristyr:
1 st
äggvita
1 tsk
ättikssprit
4 dl
florsocker
(karamellfärg)
strut av smörpapper

hus
Tillagning
1 Blanda samman socker, sirap och smör i en kastrull. Värm det tills smöret smält. Tillsätt kryddor och mjölk. Rör om och låt kallna.
2 Tillsätt bikarbonaten blandad med lite av mjölet och arbeta in det till en deg. Tillsätt mera mjöl tills degen blir fast och smidig. Lägg degen i plastfolie och låt den ligga svalt till nästa dag.
3 Knåda degen smidig på nytt, eventuellt med lite mera mjöl. Degen ska vara ganska fast.
4 Pepparkakor: Kavla ut degen tunt. Måtta ut kakor med pepparkaksmått och lägg dem på en plåt med bakplåtspapper. Grädda i ugn, 175 grader, i cirka 7 minuter. Låt kakorna svalna på plåten.
5 Pepparkakshus: Kavla ut degen som ovan, men inte så tunt som till pepparkakor. Lägg den utkavlade degen på bakplåtspapper på en plåt. Skär ut de olika bitarna efter mallarna och tag bort överflödig deg. Grädda i ugn, 175 grader, tar ca 10 minuter för större delar att bli färdiga och 5–7 minuter för de mindre. Låt delarna svalna på plåten.
6 Karamellag: Koka ihop socker, vatten och glykos till en tjock ljusgul lag. Doppa de olika bitarnas kanter som skall fogas ihop i lagen och foga dem genast samman. Vill man klistra på till exempel godis eller mandelspån kan man också använda sig av karamellagen. Dekorera med kristyr.
7 Kristyr: Rör äggvita, florsocker och ättikssprit till en jämn och blank massa. Färgsätt den eventuellt med karamellfärg.
8 Häll kristyren i en strut och dekorera dina julgodis.