My NYC Foodie Guide

Following on from my NYC report last week, I couldn't move on with my life without telling you about the long list of places we visited during our stay. To be honest we didn't eat out at as much during the evenings because we were so full from all the eating we did during the day.  The main eateries I recommend here are great little lunch and breakfast stops which are ideal with the amount of walking you're likely to be doing. If you're a food lover and are planning a visit to the Big Apple, I hope this guide provides you with lots of great places to try.

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Mega Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

This batter makes really delicious and moist cupcakes which will give you more reason to have just one more! The batter is a lot more runny than normal cupcakes batters, but will rise so just make sure not to overfill the cases, halfway up is just perfect.

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Basic Cupcake Recipe

This recipe again comes from aunt Erica, and is adapted from her fairy cake recipe. If you are making these to decorate with kids, and want to limit the time it takes to put everything together, it may be easier to make the cupcakes ahead of time

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Christmas Cupcake Recipe

These cool Christmas cupcakes knock the socks of Christmas pudding any day! This recipe also works super for normal cupcakes too! Makes approximately 8 cupcakes. 175g of self raising flour 110g of caster sugar 1 teaspoon of baking powder 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder 110g of soft margarine or butter 2 large eggs 50ml of water/milk To decorate: Ready to roll icing 6 heaped tablespoons of icing sugar 1-2 teaspoons of water Red and Green Food Colouring A holly leaf cookie cutter Preheat the oven to 180˚C and line a cupcake tray with paper cases. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients.  Make a well in the center of the bowl and break in the 2 eggs and add the butter in small pieces.  Using an electric hand mixer beat all the ingredients together until combined.  Add in half the milk/water and beat again until combined.  You are looking for the batter to be light and creamy.  Add the rest of the liquid if you need it- you may not. Divide the batter evenly into the paper cases and place in an oven for 15-20 minutes or until firm and light brown on top. Allow to cool on a wire rack before applying the frosting. Combine the icing sugar and water until you get a thick icing, you may need to add more sugar or water depending if it's too thick or too thin!  Spoon a little amount on the top of each cupcakes and allow to set while you get on with the holly and berries!  Make sure to leave a little aside to attach the rest of the decorations. Knead a small amount of the green food colouring into a little of the ready to roll icing until you get a nicely coloured dough.  Repeat this with the red food colouring.  Roll out the green icing and with a holly cookie cutter cut out two leaves for each cupcake.  Dusting the worksurface with icing sugar will prevent any sticking.  With the red icing dough, roll out little balls.  With a spoon add a little dollop of the icing to the bottom of the holly and the berries and place on top of the cupcakes. Allow the icing to set before eating, if you can wait that long!

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Blackberry Vanilla Cupcakes

This recipe makes delicious, light and moist cupcakes with a fruity taste.

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Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip Oreo Cupcakes

This is my aunt Erica's cupcake recipe and it could not be easier to make. You can easily adapt this recipe to make a regular plain cupcake mixture also, simply remove the cocao powder and chocolate chips from the ingredient list.

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