Christmas recipe: Oreo Cupcakes

For this week's festive sweet treat, Maria shares her favourite Oreo cupcake recipe!

This is one of my favourite recipes to make at Christmas, the cakes are rich, creamy and very indulgent, pretty much everything that Christmas should be! The recipe is adapted from one that I found on the Good Food Channel website a few years ago:

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

6 Oreo biscuits

115 g unsalted butter, softened

115 g caster sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

100 g self-raising flour

20 g cocoa powder

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tsp milk

For the frosting

50 g butter, softened

80 g cream cheese, cold

175 g icing sugar

6 Oreo biscuits

12 Oreo biscuits to decorate

To make the cakes:

1. preheat oven to 180C/160 fan/gas 4. Line a muffin tin with 11 paper muffin cases. Separate the Oreos and place half into the bottom of each case, with any cream filling facing upwards.

2. Cream together the softened butter and caster sugar, along with the vanilla extract, until pale and fluffy.

3. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder. Add the two beaten eggs and mix well, taking care to stop once all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Add the milk and beat briefly to combine.

4. Divide the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases. Bake for 22-25 minutes.

To make the frosting:

1. Place the six large Oreos into a food processor and whizz into crumbs. Alternatively, place the cookies into a plastic food bag and smash with a rolling pin. Set aside.

2. Rub the softened butter into the icing sugar using the back of a wooden spoon. Do the same with the cream cheese.

3. Once the icing sugar has been incorporated, whisk with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

4. Gently fold the Oreo crumbs into the frosting, being careful not to over mix. If the frosting is a little runny at this stage, place in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.

5. Cover each cupcake with the frosting and finish with an Oreo.

Spiced Chocolate Lebkuchen Recipe

As the countdown to Christmas begins we've asked the team to each share one of their favourite festive recipes. Whether it's nostalgia, festivity or sugar content that makes these recipes popular, they are sure to go down well with family and friends over the Christmas period.

This week Sarah shares her Lebkuchen recipe:

This is a really easy recipe that I picked up whilst I was living in Germany. Christmas is a great time of year in Germany and these soft spiced gingerbreads remind me of Christmas markets and warm Glühwein!

Makes 30

Ingredients

250g plain flour

85g ground almonds

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1tsp baking powder

Ground cloves, grated nutmeg and black pepper (pinch of each)

85g butter

100ml clear honey

100ml maple syrup

1 lemon, finely grated zest

For the icing

100g icing sugar

1 egg white, beaten

75g of dark chocolate

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix. Heat the honey, maple syrup and butter in a pan over a low heat until the butter melts, then pour into the flour mixture along with the lemon zest. Mix well until the dough is combined and becomes hard to stir. Cover and leave to cool (relax and make a cuppa!).

2. Heat the oven to 180C/fan160C/gas 4. Using your hands, roll the dough into balls, each around 3cm wide, then flatten each one slightly into a disk, you should be able to make around 30. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and divide the biscuits between the two. Make sure to leave enough room for them to expand as they bake. Bake for 15 mins until they begin to turn golden, then leave to cool on a wire rack.

3. Ice the biscuits by mixing together the icing sugar, egg white and 1 tbsp water to form a smooth, runny icing. Dip the top of each biscuit in the icing and leave to rest on a plate. You can build up the layers of icing if you want a thicker glaze. Once the icing has dried melt the chocolate over a bain-marie and dip the bottom of each lebkuchen into the chocolate. Leave to dry...enjoy!