30th Birthday Cake

One of my best friends in the whole world turned 30 last friday. To celebrate, she threw a fancy dress party and left me in charge of baking her a cake, the only stipulation being that it was very girly. I'm fairly sure I lived up the request. This is my best cake yet :)

read more...

Peanut Butter Fudge

For anybody who claims to be a fan of peanut butter, this recipe is a MUST try. It's delicious - and I don't even like peanut butter that much. Apparently it can be made with Nutella also, which I plan to try out very soon. I nabbed this recipe from the amazing One Perfect Bite blog. If you're not a peanut butter fan, you should check out this blog anyway:
http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2011/03/peanut-butter-fudge.html

read more...

Cocoa Cookies

I sit next to a lovely woman at work who has an equally lovely 5 year old. Said lovely woman brought a cookie into work for me a few months back. The lovely 5 year old apparently found it slightly too chocolatey, which was of course no such problem for me. In fact, I liked it so much that I took to the internet to find a similar recipe. I used this recipe from www.laist.com to bake the below treats: http://laist.com/2007/12/15/laist_cookie_ex_5.php

read more...

80th Birthday Cake

No recipe to post here, I just wanted to share my creation with you. A lady at work asked me to bake her Father an 80th birthday cake. At this point in time, I had only baked one cake previously so needless to say I was pretty nervous. I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out though :)

read more...

Fudgey Chocolate Brownies

I've never met a single person who dislikes brownies, and I'm willing to bet that anybody who does is probably miserable, surly and eats cauliflower for fun. This is a Jamie Oliver Recipe. Not usually a big fan myself, but this recipe really cannot be knocked.



Ingredients:

• 250g unsalted butter
• 200g dark Fairtrade chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up
• 80g cocoa powder, sifted
• 65g plain flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 360g caster sugar
• 4 large free-range or organic eggs
• optional: zest of 1 orange
• optional: 250ml crème fraîche

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper.
2. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.
4. Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes. You don’t want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don’t want a skewer to come out all clean.
5. Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares.

read more...

Red Pesto - Salmon Kebabs

There has been a recent bout of lovely warm weather in the UK. BBQs have been dusted off, punch bowls filled and flip flips donned. For all you BBQ lovers, who still want to remain healthy (or perhaps just allow extra room for dessert) here's a figure-friendly recipe that went down a storm.



Ingredients

• 2 boneless fillets of salmon
• Small handful of button mushrooms
• 1 small red onion, cut into wedges
• 1/3 cup natural plain yoghurt
• 3 tbsp red pesto
• 1 tsp dried basil

Directions.

1. Cut the salmon into 1 inch cubes. Stir the yoghurt, basil and pesto together in a bowl. Mix in the chunks of salmon and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Leave to marinate for around 2 hours. Meanwhile, soak the kebab skewers in water to prevent them from burning when placed on a grill or BBQ.
   
2. Dry the skewers with a few sheets of kitchen towel. Thread chunks of salmon, wedges of onion and the button mushrooms on to the skewers. Brush the kebabs with the remaining marinade.
   
3. Cook under a hot grill or on a BBQ for around 8 minutes, turning once. Enjoy!

read more...

Dreamy White Cupcakes

Ode to a cupcake

Beautiful cupcake
your silky white frosting swirls
like flower petals
I want to eat you

Your mushroom top and
your delightful little stump
makes my mouth water
I’m going to eat you

Cupcake you’re so sweet
a tasty miniature cake
baked special for me
I ate you

(poem found here:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1408206)

read more...

Pancake Day - Butterscotch Sauce

In the UK yesterday, we celebrated Pancake Day. Lots of lemons were bought, and pancake races were held up and down the country. My husband and I had pancakes for breakfast, and we decided to break from the traditional lemon and sugar toppings and opt for a scrummy butterscotch sauce.

This recipe below is definitely a keeper. I'll be making it many more times!




Ingredients

• 50g/2oz butter
  
• 50g/2oz golden syrup
  
• Vanilla pod, split
  
• Lemon juice (approx 1/3 lemon)
• 75ml/2½fl oz double cream

Directions

1. Place the butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and vanilla pod in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer.
2. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice to taste.
3. Stir in the double cream.
4. Remove the vanilla pod before serving.

read more...

One Little Word

Only three days of 2011 have passed, and already Christmas feels miles behind us. In the spirit of a fresh, new year, several bloggers have inspired me to take part in Ali Edwards One Little Word. Just a single word that sums up what you want to achieve in the year ahead. A word that has a personal meaning for you, to carry with you each day.

My first instinct was to choose "happy." But quickly I realised that happiness is something I am not always entirely honest about. "Happiness" is an image that many of us like to project, regardless of it's sincerity. So with that in mind, my word for 2011 is....


True. As in, to be true to oneself. It occurs to me that in this day and age, we often tend to look outside of ourselves for acceptance and approval. Sometimes in life, our insecurities take control and we may feel the need to pretend that we are something we are not.

But there is always time for change.

I leave you with this:

Sweet Truth is a queen proud and mighty. Her throne is in heaven above. - Ardelia Cotton Barton

Cat x

read more...

Happy New Year - Chocolate Marshmallow Cake

My in-laws are throwing a new year's eve party tonight, and I offered to bake something sweet for their guests. I decided on making a chocolate marshmallow cake because it's sweet, chocolatey and doesn't contain anything that fussy eaters will turn their noses up at. I baked two chocolate sponges, using an incredibly easy recipe I found online (see below), and I sandwiched them together using a mixture of melted marshmallow and cream.

I've seen lots of marshmallow frosting recipes that I could've used to frost the outside of the cake, but I feared that this would be too sickly for some guests and I opted for a candy pink butter icing instead. I finished the cake with an assortment of marshmallows, and lots and lots of edible glitter! In fact, the cutesy girliness of this cake has caused my friend to dub it "Melted Barbie Cake."

Happy new year! x



Incredibly Easy Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 1 + 1/4 cup self raising flour
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 pinches salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup flavourless vegetable oil
• 2 eggs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C). Grease a 9 inch (23 cm) cake tin.
2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl.
3. Add milk/water, vegetable oil and eggs. Mix everything together until smooth, either by hand or by using an electric mixer at slow speed. If the batter is too runny you may add slightly more flour.
4. Transfer to bake tin and bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 35 to 45 minutes.

read more...

Lemon and Strawberry Hearts

Perhaps these little treats are too summery for this time of year, but they're so dinky and light I can't resist knocking up a batch whenever I have some cream that needs using up. Cream usually needs to be used within three days, and if I have no use for it (or in this case - I'm sick of drizzling it over mince pies) I whip it, and stir in lemon juice/zest and some icing sugar. The lemon helps preserve the cream, meaning that you can enjoy it for a few days more. I use it to sandwich puff pastry hearts that I've cut from a ready rolled sheet (and then drizzled with chocolate). Throw in a few sliced strawberries and you have the perfect little dessert.

read more...

One Ham: Three Meals

My Nan is spending Christmas in snowy Scotland, so before she leaves town I decided to invite her over for dinner. Her favourite meat is baked ham, so I bought a large 3kg joint (knowing that I would be able to make a few meals out of it.) For dinner with my Nan, I boiled the joint for one hour then glazed it with a honey-orange marinade. I found the recipe on the the Honey Association website, and it's so easy and delicious.

Combine the juice and zest of one large orange with 1 tbsp of soy sauce and 4-5 tbsp of pure clear honey. Drizzle and rub all over the ham joint, and baste regularly. Here's the finished product:



Served with dijon mustard mash and maple roasted parsnips, it made for a real winter warmer:


We had at least half of the gammon left over, so I used some of it to make pea and ham soup:



And the rest of it, to make ham and cider bake with mustard mash:


The gammon bake was by far my favourite meal of the three. There's no real recipe for it, I read about it on a forum. I lightly fried one sliced red onion and one peeled and chopped apple in a pan, and added the remainder of the shredded ham once the onion and apple were slightly softened. I then added some creme fraiche and a couple of teaspoons of wholegrain mustard. Once warmed through, I added some salt and pepper and a few large sloshes of strong cider.

The whole mixture was then poured into a casserole dish, where I topped it with wholegrain mustard mash and baked until crispy. Delish!

read more...

Sausage and Red Onion Swirly Whirlies

The weather has turned cold and it's really put me in the mood for warm, comforting food. However the long, dark evenings have rendered me far too lazy to want to fiddle around in the kitchen for hours, preparing complicated dishes.

I thought of this recipe one Sunday breakfast time. By mid-morning they were baking, and by lunchtime we were enjoying them with a nice cup of tea. Simple!

Please forgive the laziness of this recipe.



Ingredients

• One pack of Jus-Rol ready made puff pastry.
• One pack of good quality sausage meat.
• One jar of caramelised red onion marmalade.
• Dried thyme.
  

Directions

1. Roll out the puff pastry sheet.
   
2. Spread thickly with the marmalade.
   
3. Press an even layer of the sausage meat over the onion layer. Roll the puff pastry horizontally, until you have a long pastry 'sausage' (see below). Egg wash the pastry flap to the pastry roll so that it sticks.
   
4. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then cut into around 20 swirlies with a sharp knife.
5. Lay each swirly on a greased baking tray and egg wash. Sprinkle with dried thyme.
6. Bake a 180 degrees celcius for around 20 minutes.

read more...

Raspberry Creme Patissiere Flan

This recipe is perfect if you need to make a quick dessert but you're feeling a bit lazy. It doesn't require much effort and is stilll yummy! I used a shop bought flan case (lazy as I am) and filled it with home made creme patissiere (vanilla pastry cream to those of us who like things simple). I topped the cream with raspberries and a sprinkling of icing sugar. Simple and scrumptious.




Creme Patissiere

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups whole milk
• 3 egg yolks
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, warm the milk over low heat until it is just hot enough to steam.
2. While the milk is warming, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, flour, and cornstarch until the mixture is completely smooth.
3. Once the milk is steaming, add half of it, whisking constantly, to the egg mixture.
4. Add the milk and eggs back into the hot milk, continue stirring, and heat it for 1-2 minutes, until the custard reaches 170F on a digital thermometer and is very thick.
5. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract, and chill before filling pastry.

read more...

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! All my blogger friends are invited to my virtual Halloween party over at the Bakezilla household. We've been cooking up a storm! Why not try one of these delightful Graveyard Cupcakes.....




....Or perhaps a Halloween Sugar Cookie is more your thing?



We have lots of fun shapes and characters....



...And if you're not too full, we have Chocolate Apples for all!



...The theme is fancy dress. Do you like my tinkerbell costume?



HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

read more...