A Kiss of Cookies

Perfect Pancakes

2013-02-12T10:21:00.000+00:00

You must have pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. No ifs or buts it should be compulsory. It's the one time that you can eat pancakes and not feel guilty.

Over the years I have tried many different pancake recipes however I came across this one at Christmas time. It was featured in an episode of Jamie Oliver and it has to be the easiest pancake recipe EVER.

These are now a firm favourite in the 'Kiss of Cookies' household and I often make a batch on a Saturday morning. They are light and fluffy American style and we love to eat them oozing with syrup however as today is a school day, I thought we would go with the healthier option of fruit, Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey.

This recipe makes about 12 small pancakes however you can make the pancakes as big (or small) as you want.

American Style Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 cup Self Raising Flour
1 cup Milk
1 Egg
Pinch of Salt

Directions:
1) Heat up a frying pan on a medium heat.
2) In a bowl, add the flour, milk, egg and salt. Mix together well until all of the ingredients have been incorporated into a smooth batter.
3) Melt a knob of butter in the frying pan. Spoon a small amount of the pancake batter into the pan. I can usually make 3 pancakes at a time.
4) When small bubbles start forming, flip over the pancake and cook until golden.
5) Carry on until all of the mixture is used up.

Ghastly Ghouls

2012-10-28T19:49:00.004+00:00

Last year I made several different cupcakes for Halloween. This one is from Lily Vanilli's A Zombie Ate My Cupcake book. It is full of fabulously weird cupcake recipes perfect for this time of year. I loved the book so much that I bought a copy for my sister-in law and my cousin.

The meringue frosting is quite messy (that may be just me) but it is totally worth it.

Instead of using black fondant for the eyes, I used silver and gold edible balls which were really effective.

Ghastly Ghouls

(Makes 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

One batch of vanilla cupcakes

12 White Marshmallows

Black fondant or chocolate chips

For the meringue frosting:

4 Large Egg Whites

200g Granulated Sugar

¼ tsp cream of tartar

Pinch of Salt

Directions:

You will need a small saucepan and a heatproof bowl that will sit neatly on top of it (or use a double boiler, if you have one). Pour a few cups of water into the pan and bring to the boil. The water should not touch the base of the bowl.
Whisk the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl using an electric mixer, then place the bowl above the boiling water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to touch and all the sugar has dissolved – about 1-2 minutes.
Remove from the heat and, using the mixer on medium-high speed, beat until the eggs form a cool stiff meringue, about 5 minutes or until hard peaks have formed.
Secure a marshmallow vertically in the centre of each cake using a tiny bad of the meringue, and use a spoon to heap frosting on top of each cupcake to make a ghost shape. Smooth the edges with the back of the spoon.
Use black fondant or chocolate chips to create 'eyes' with suitably menacing expression.

Halloween Cupcakes

2012-10-28T19:49:00.002+00:00

I also made the above cakes using a basic chocolate cupcake then using butter cream icing to make the mummies and the brains. A very quick and easy way to make cupcakes for Halloween parties.

Witches Fingers

2012-10-28T19:49:00.001+00:00

I hope that you agree that these witches fingers biscuits look quite repulsive but they do taste very good. The melted chocolate under the nails give the impression of dirt.

I made these at Christmas time but added some green food colouring to the dough turning them into Grinch's fingers.

Witches Fingers

Ingredients:

100g Butter

100g Caster Sugar

200g Plain Flour

Few drops Vanilla Essence

Whole Blanched Almonds (one per biscuit)

Milk Chocolate

Directions:

Preheat over to 180C,
Mix together the butter, sugar, vanilla essence and flour into a firm dough.
Shape into 'fingers' marking with fine lines across the middle to look like knuckles, and flatten slightly at the top end to look like a finger nail. Press in a blanched almond into each finger.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden then remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Melt the chocolate, remove the almond from the finger and paint over the fingernail area with the melted chocolate and immediately replace the almond nail.

Good Food Show - Friday 19th October

2012-10-25T22:43:00.000+01:00

I am a huge fan of The Great British Bake Off and as far as I am concerned Mary Berry is a living legend. My first ever cake book given to me as a teenager was one of Mary's which I still have and is used regularly. And as for Paul Hollywood, a man that can bake can do no wrong in my eyes.

So when I found out that Queen of Cakes Mary Berry and Master Baker Paul Hollywood were going to be appearing at the BBC Good Food Show in Glasgow I knew I that I had to get there. I persuaded my mum to come along with me and luckily I managed to get the day off work.

We arrived just after 10am and after spending several hours sampling all of the various delicacies on offer we made our way to the Super Theatre where The Great British Bake Off was giving a masterclass.

Mary and Paul were on good form with Paul joking that Mary (affectionately known as Bezza) is an expert darts player and can be regularly found at her local pub playing a game.

Mary gave a demonstration on how to make a simplified version of a Frasier whilst Paul made a batch of iced fingers filled with cream and jam. There was even a surprise guest of James from series 3.

There were also separate demonstrations from Paul and Mary at the Love Food Hate Waste stage. Paul wowed everyone with his 8 plait loaf which I wont be trying at home. Mary made a delicious looking fish pie and a festive bread and butter pudding.

The day wouldn't have been complete without seeing Mary and Paul at the book signing. The queue for the first signing was too long however I was prepared for the next session arriving an hour and 15 minutes early securing a spot near the start. I patiently waited my turn and the highlight of my day was speaking to Mary.

Cupcake Cookies

2012-09-19T21:11:00.000+01:00

I have a major cupcake obsession and will buy almost anything with a cupcake design on it. My obsession is that bad that I even have a cupcake tattoo on my wrist. So you can imagine my delight when I opened up a recent copy of Cake Decorating Magazine to find a cupcake cookie cutter.

As my Jane Asher cake book was still lying about from making the Ice Cream & Jelly Cake I decided to use her Vanilla Cookie Dough recipe.

Ingredients:

280g Plain Flour

200g Firm Butter

100g Icing Sugar

2 Egg Yolks

1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Essence

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 200C / Gas mark 6. Gease two baking trays or line with baking parchment.
Put the flour in a bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mix looks like breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla extract / essences and mix to a dough.
Put in a plastic bag and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out as required.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Leave to coll and harden on a wire rack.

Jelly & Ice Cream Cake

2012-09-08T20:46:00.001+01:00

For mini me's birthday this year she asked for a jelly and ice cream cake. Normally I would bake several cakes plus cupcakes for party bags but this year I was really disorganized and hadn't prepared anything. Fortunately Jane Asher has a very quick and easy recipe which requires no baking what so ever.

Perfect for parties, BBQs and as it keeps it in the freezer it lasts a long time.My only warning is the jelly goes a bit hard in the freezer so if it isn't getting used in the one sitting remove the jelly before putting it back in the freezer.

I went for a Raspberry Ripple cake but I think this would be delicious with chocolate swiss rolls and mint choc chip ice cream.

Ingredients:

3 Large Swiss Rolls

2 Litres Soft Ice Cream

3 Different Coloured Packets of Jelly

1 Quantity Butter Cream

Directions:

Cut all the swiss rolls into slices approx 5mm thick. Line the base of a springform tin with the slices, and then add a layer round the side.
Fill with the ice cream, making sure it is well pushed down. Cover the top with more swiss roll, then wrap in clingfilm and freeze. This can be done a couple of weeks ahead.
Make up the jellies separately but using only half the amount of water for a firmer set. Pour each jelly into a non-stick cake tin / swiss roll tin and chill to set.
Put a sheet of baking parchment on a board or tray. When the jelly is set, turn it out on to the baking parchment and return to the fridge until all 3 colours are ready.
Cut jelly shapes with cutters and keep them on a tray lined with baking parchment in the fridge until needed. This can be done a few days ahead.
Undo the side of the cake tin and remove the ice cream cake. Put it on the cake board and cover it with a thin layer of butter cream, using a hot palette knife to smooth it evenly. Keep the cake in the freezer until ready to serve.
When ready, position the jelly shapes and serve the cake immediately.

Banoffee Fudge Loaf

2012-06-03T21:11:00.000+01:00

I know it wasn't too long ago that I posted a recipe on this blog for Banana and Fudge Muffins but I then came across this recipe in Tesco so I thought I would give it a go. As I ate all of the muffins myself I decided to watch my waistline (briefly) and gave this loaf away to Mini Me's grandparents. The did enjoy it however their one criticism being that they couldn't really taste any fudge so I have doubled the quantity in this recipe.

Banoffee Fudge Loaf

(Makes 2lb loaf)

Ingredients:

150g Salted Butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

300g Plain Flour

175g Light Muscovado Sugar

2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten

1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

150ml Semi-skimmed Milk

3 medium Ripe Bananas, mashed

150g Vanilla Fudge, cut into small cubes

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease loaf tin.
Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating all the time.
Sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda, then gradually add the milk, until smooth.
Fold the mashed bananas into the mixture with the chopped fudge. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the top with a spatula.
Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Tea and Buttermilk Scones

2012-05-21T08:21:00.001+01:00

I was thinking about other ideas for the Jubilee and what could be more British than tea and scones.

I have tried and failed many a time to make a decent batch of scones but it was time to take on my nemesis once more. I looked through the internet and found this recipe for buttermilk scones by Nigella Lawson. Swayed by her comment that it shouldn't take anymore than 20 minutes to prepare and bake scones I decided that this was the recipe for me.

The preparation was quick and easy and before I knew it I had a lovely batch of scones just screaming out for some clotted cream and strawberry jam. I had taken on my nemesis and victory was mine.

But what kind of tea to have with the scones. Well, I discovered that Twinings has brought out a limited edition Diamond Jubilee Tea Blend that come in a variety of different caddies. I'm a sucker for anything pink so I know which one I'll be buying.

For the more health conscious, why not try green tea which is full of antioxidents. My mum's favourite tea though is white tea which has the same health properties as green tea but with a more delicate taste.

Buttermilk Scones

Ingredients:

500g Plain Flour, plus extra for dusting

2tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

2tsp Cream of Tartar

2tsp Caster Sugar

50g Unsalted Butter

25g Soft Vegetable Shortening

300ml Buttermilk

1Egg, beaten, for an egg wash (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 220C / Gas Mark 7. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment.
Put the flour into a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and sugar.
Chop the butter and vegetable shortening into pieces and drop them into the flour.
Rub the fats into the flour using your fingertips then pour in the buttermilk, working everything together to form a dough.
Lightly flour your work surface. Pat the dough down into a round-edged oblong about 4cm / 1 ½ in thick, then cut out 6cm / 2 ¼ in scones with a fluted cutter.
Arrange the scones fairly close together on your lined baking sheet, and brush with the beaten egg (to give golden tops), if you wish. Cook for a bout 12 minutes, by which time the scones will be dry on the bottom and have a relatively light feel. Move them to a wire rack to cool, and serve with clotted cream and jam.

Honey & Walnut Cake

2012-05-19T22:00:00.001+01:00

I was fortunate to get a space at the recent Edinburgh Cake Ladies event held at Bon Papillon. This involves 20 ladies bringing along their baked goods then everyone getting to eat the cakes whilst chatting away. This is my idea of a perfect night out.

The theme for the evening was Towers of Terrific Tray bakes. This should have been an easy assignment however I was in Newcastle when asked to submit the name of my entry and with no cook books to hand I had to rely on my not so good memory. After a few minutes of contemplation I was convinced that I had a honey and walnut cake recipe ripped out of a recent Asda magazine. Turns out my memory isn't as bad as I first thought as I did indeed have the recipe.

The cake batter does look a bit lumpy but please don't let that put you off as it smells delicious when baking and tastes fab. I did a trial a week before the event which I took into my work and it was devoured in minutes.

The evening didn't start well of me - stuck in traffic, my car got a puncture and then to top it off Colin Firth made an appearance at Bon Papillon and none of us noticed. However, I ate plenty of cake and met loads of lovely ladies.

Honey and Walnut Cake

(Makes 12 slices)

Ingredients:

100g Walnuts

175g Butter

100g Clear Honey

100g Caster Sugar

3 Large Eggs

225g Self Raising Flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 160C / Gas Mark 3. Line or grease a 20cm shallow square tin.
Put the walnuts on a baking try and lightly toast in the oven for 5-6 minutes. Chop roughly and set aside.
Melt the butter in a pan. Add the honey and sugar, heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then pour into a bowl and leave until lukewarm.
Lightly beat the eggs and add to the honey mixture using a wire whisk to make sure they're evenly mixed in.
Gently stir in the walnuts and flour.
Pour into the tin and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the top spring back when lightly pressed. Cool on a wire rack then cut into slices.

Jubilee Themed Baking

2012-05-14T12:29:00.001+01:00

It is not long now until the Queen’s Jubilee which has inspired me to make some British themed goodies.

I had a look on the internet to get the creative juices flowing and stumbled across BakingMad. They had a special section on Union Jack cakes which got me thinking about making some Union Jack biscuits.

I used the recipe for Mini Me’s birthday party last year and they were a resounding success. They were devoured within minutes which resulted in complaints from my mum as she wasn’t quick enough to grab one.

Thinking about the best of British Cakes, I thought I would make some vanilla cupcakes using my basic sponge mix (omitting the baking powder) and topped a mascarpone frosting with strawberries and blueberries to keep with the British colours. I was pleasantly surprised to see a recipe for a low calorie Victoria Sponge cake which would be great for those who still want to celebrate but watch their weight at the same time.

Double Biscuits

Ingredients:

125g Butter

75g Caster Sugar

1 Egg Yolk, beaten

200g Plain Flour, sifted

Pinch of Salt

450g Royal Icing Sugar

Food Colouring – your own preference

Smooth Jam – any flavour that you fancy

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 180C / 160 Fan Assisted Oven / Gas Mark 4. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Put the butter and caster sugar in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until evenly blended.
Stir in the beaten egg yolk. Add the sifted flour and salt, and then mix with a round-bladed knife until the mixture forms clumps. Gather the dough together with your hands.
Lay on a sheet of clingfilm on a work surface. Cover with another sheet of clingfilm and roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Remove the top sheet of clingfilm and cut the dough using your choice of cutter.
Put the biscuits on the baking trays, leaving a gap between each one then bake for 12-13 minutes until golden brown. Leave on the trays for 5 minutes or until hard, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Put 75ml cold water in a bowl and add the royal icing and a couple of drops of food colouring. Beat with a spoon for 5 minutes or until smooth.
Spread over only half of the biscuits using a spoon and leave to set.
On the remaining biscuits, spread a small amount of jam then place the iced biscuit on top.

Cupcake Decorating Class

2012-05-12T11:24:00.000+01:00

Last Sunday (6^th May) I went on a cupcake decorating class at 3D Cakes in Edinburgh with Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes and Janice from Farmersgirl Kitchen.

I attended a cupcake class last year at my local high school and was very disappointed but knowing the reputation of 3D Cakes I knew this would be completely different.

Even though I can knock up a batch of cupcakes fairly quickly I am never particularly adventurous with my decorating and normally just stick to a swirl of frosting on the top and occasionally will add a bought decoration or some sweets.

We were shown how to make roses, gerbera and butterflies out of flower paste which I had never used before. I was quite pleased with the end effect and have bought the cutters so that I can try it again at home.

It was then onto more familiar territory – fondant icing. We made hearts (which turned upside down looked rather rude), presents, roses and ladybirds. This was Mini Me’s favourite from the day (I think it was the rather cute smiley faces) and I can predict many a request from her to make more.

A very fun day which I would highly recommend.

Coffee and Walnut Cake

2012-04-19T22:17:00.000+01:00

I made this cake at the end of last year (before the chaos of having a puppy) but completely forgot all about it until I was reading the latest issue of Cake Decorating today which featured more or less the same recipe. So, I decided to dig out my photo and recipe and publish it on this blog. I find that this is quite an easy cake to make and is really just a variation on my basic sponge mix that I use for most cakes / cupcakes. I'm lazy and use coffee essence but instant coffee and boiling water is just as good.

Coffee and Walnut Cake

(Makes 2 8inch round cakes)

Ingredients:

250g Butter, softened

250g Caster Sugar

250g Self Raising Flour, sifted

4 Eggs

2 tsps Baking Powder

2 tsps Coffee Essence (or 3tsp strong instant coffee dissolved in 2tbsp boiling water)

100g Walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Grease 2 round cake tins.
Put the butter and the sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.
Add the flour, baking powder and coffee essence and continue to mix on a medium speed until all is incorporated. Stir in the chopped walnuts.
Divide the batter evenly between the tins. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes for sponge, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.

Coffee Butter Cream Icing

Ingredients:

150g Butter, softened

300g Icing Sugar,

2tsp Coffee Essence (or 2tsp strong instant coffee dissolved in 1tbsp boiling water)

8 Walnut Halves for decoration

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, half the icing sugar and coffee essence until smooth – this can take several minutes with a hand mixer. Gradually add the remainder of the icing sugar and beat again until the buttercream is smooth and creamy.

Banana and Fudge Muffins

2012-04-03T21:56:00.000+01:00

I find that I always end up with over ripe bananas left at the end of the week so instead of putting them in the bin I usually make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. However, I decided to combine the bananas with some fudge left over from Christmas to make these delicious muffins. The sprinkled fudge melts over the top of the muffin and if you are anything like me you will end up eating any bits that have stuck to the muffin tin. These muffins are best served warm.

Banana and Fudge Muffins

(Makes 12)

Ingredients:

2 Ripe Bananas

About 150ml Milk

280g Plain Flour

1 tbsp Baking Powder

1/8 tsp Salt

115g Caster Sugar

2 Eggs

6 tbsp Sunflower Oil

1tsp Vanilla Extract

100g Fudge

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F / Gas Mark 6. Line muffin tin with paper cases.
Mash the bananas and put in a measuring jug. Make up the puree to 250ml with milk.
Chop up the fudge into small bite size pieces.
Stir together the flour, baking powder and sale into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar.
Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl then beat in the banana and milk mixture, oil and vanilla extract. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the beaten liquid ingredients. Add the fudge, keeping back a few pieces. Stir gently until just combined; do not over mix.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle over the remaining fudge pieces. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes until well risen, golden brown and firm to the touch.
Leave the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

Chocolate Guinness cupcakes with chocolate whiskey ganache and Baileys buttercream

2012-03-17T21:51:00.001+00:00

As it is St Patrick's Day (17^th March 2012) I thought I would make some Guinness cupcakes. I found this recipe on the site www.offthespork.com. I've made coffee cupcakes with Baileys frosting before and they tasted delicious so I really liked the idea of combining chocolate, Guinness, whiskey and Baileys.

The Guinness makes the chocolate cake really moist and delicious. Mini me enjoyed eating the bits of the cake cut out of the middle. I found the chocolate ganache to be rather rich and I certainly couldn’t eat more than one of these cupcakes.

Would make a great Father's Day present.

Chocolate Guinness cupcakes with chocolate whiskey ganache and Baileys buttercream

For the cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 cup Guinness
225g Unsalted Butter
¾ cup Cocoa Powder
2 cups Plain Flour, sifted
2 cups Caster Sugar
1 & ½ tsp Baking Powder
¾ tsp Salt
2 Large Eggs
2/3 cup Sour Cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners.
In a saucepan, heat the Guinness and unsalted butter until simmering. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
In a mixer, beat together the eggs and sour cream. Add the Guinness mixture, and beat to just combine.
Add the flour mixture, and beat briefly on a slow speed until combined.
Spoon into the cupcake liners, and bake for about 17 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

For the ganache

Ingredients:

230g good quality dark chocolate, chopped in rough pieces
2/3 cup double cream
30g Butter, room temperature
2 tsp Irish whiskey (or more to taste)

Directions:

Either melt the chocolate and cream in a double boiler, or put the chocolate and cream in a microwavable bowl. Microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring between bursts, until melted.
Add the butter and whiskey, and stir until combined. Set aside to cool slightly.
When the cupcakes are cool, core out the middle of the cakes either using a small, sharp knife or an apple corer (making sure that you don't cut through to the bottom).
Spoon the ganache into the cupcake holes and fill them to the top.

For the Baileys buttercream

Ingredients:

250g Unsalted Butter, cut into cubes and at room temperature
3 cups Icing Sugar, sifted
2 tsp Baileys

Directions:

Beat the butter in an electric mixer on high until it is very pale and fluffy.
Gradually add the icing sugar, beating well between additions. Beat until the buttercream is very fluffy – about 5-6 minutes.
Heat the Baileys in the microwave until it’s very warm.
Add to the butter cream and beat on high for another couple of minutes.
Pipe on top of the cupcakes.

Apple and Blackberry Crumble Cake

2012-02-19T22:25:00.001+00:00

Sorry it has been so long since I lasted posted in my blog. Life has been fairly hectic over the past few months. Redecorating kitchen and living room, Christmas and New Year and just when things were finally getting back to normal I went and got a puppy. I’m hoping that I can now get back to baking.

This recipe was in a copy of Woman magazine. It looked so good that I had to make it.

I used frozen blackberries that I had defrosted overnight as I was struggling to find fresh ones. I'm sure you could substitute the apple and blackberries for any other type of frozen or tinned fruit.

Delicious served warm with custard. I think this will be a firm favourite over the winter.

Apple and Blackberry Crumble Cake

(Makes 9inch round cake)

Ingredients:

275g Butter

50g Plain Flour

50g Demerara Sugar

225g Caster Sugar

4 Eggs, beaten

175g Self Raising Flour

50g Ground Almonds

1 tsp Baking Powder

2 Small Bramley Apples, sliced

225g Blackberries

Directions:

Heat the oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 9 inch spring-clip cake tin.
With your fingertips rub 50g of the butter into the plain flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the demerara sugar and set aside for the topping.
Cream together the rest of the butter with the caster sugar until light and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs until the mixture is smooth, adding a little of the flour if it starts to curdle. Fold in the flour, almonds and baking powder. Spread the mixture in the tin.
Arrange the apple slices on top, then scatter over the blackberries topping with the crumble mixture.
Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool cake in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out.

Cherry Mallow Slice

2011-10-24T21:42:00.002+01:00

Not really a cake or biscuit as such but a quick and easy recipe to make something rather scrumptious. Ideal for parties, snacks or packed lunch boxes.

My friend Sadif gave me this recipe as it is a family favourite and I can see why. It may not look the prettiest but tastes great.

I'm going to try a more grown up version using cranberries instead of glace cherries, hobnobs instead of digestives and rolled in chopped nuts.

Cherry Mallow Slice

Ingredients:

80g Glace Cherries

120g Marshmallows

230g Digestive Biscuits

1 Small Tin of Condensed Milk

Directions:

Chop cherries and marshmallows up and crush the digestive biscuits.
Into a large bowl, put the cherries, marshmallows, digestive biscuits and the tin of condensed milk, and mix.
Roll into a tight cylinder / sausage shape (Can roll in chocolate vermicelli or desiccated coconut if wanted).
Wrap the mixture in cling film and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours however overnight is best.
Remove cling film and cut into slices.

Home Made Jammie Dodgers

2011-09-11T21:40:00.000+01:00

I recently saw an advertisement in the Metro for Strawberry Tea. This is an annual fund raising event for Breast Cancer Care. Like many people, breast cancer has affected someone in my family.

I managed to talk my work into having a Bake Sale in honour of this wonderful charity. So on Wednesday 7^th September, a few of us put on our pinnies and rolled up our sleeves and baked our hearts out.

By the end of the day we had raised £178.50.

49,000 people are affected by breast cancer every year.

The money we raised will make a huge difference to people living with breast cancer. Breast Cancer Care offers expert information, practical support and a friendly ear to anyone dealing with the confusion and fear of this life-threatening illness. It's online, over the phone and face-to-face support is free, thanks to the generosity of supporters.

October is Breast Cancer awareness month so please support the many charities out there doing there bit for this cause.

http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/events

One of the yummy recipes featured on the Breast Cancer Care website is homemade Jammie Dodgers. I went with a heart shaped cookie cutter rather than around one and I thought they turned out really cute.

I also made Jammie Dodger Cupcakes, Raspberry and Lime Loaf and Cosmopolitan Cupcakes to keep within the pink theme.

Homemade Jammie Dodgers

(Makes 12-16 biscuits)

Ingredients:

250g Unsalted Butter, softened

350g Plain Flour

125g Icing Sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

Pinch of Salt

200g Strawberry or Raspberry Jam

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Beat the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the flour, icing sugar and salt. Combine all the ingredients until you have a nice dough. Wrap the dough ball in cling film and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
After chilling, roll out the dough and cut into rounds with a circular-shaped cookie cutter. Place half of the biscuits on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
For the other half of the biscuits, cut out a heart shape in the middle and place on a second lined baking tray.
Bake both sets of biscuits in the oven for 6–8 minutes. Leave to cool.
Spread half of the biscuits with jam and cover with the heart-shape biscuits.
Sprinkle icing sugar on top.

Jammie Dodger Cupcakes

2011-09-11T21:33:00.002+01:00

Whilst trawling through the internet one night I came across a cupcake site where someone had the idea to make jammie dodger cupcakes. Sorry but I can’t remember who it belonged to but I loved the idea. I don’t recall there being a recipe as such but the concept of creating the cupcake.

I used my tried and trusted sponge mix for the basis of this cupcake then put jam in the middle of the cake topped off with a strawberry buttercream and decorated with shortcake heart. These hearts were the cut outs from the home made jammie dodgers as I didn’t want to waste them. There was also a small amount of biscuit dough left over which I baked and used from crumbling over the top of the cakes.

Jammie Dodger Cupcakes

(Makes 12 good sized cupcakes)

Ingredients:

250g Butter, softened

250g Caster Sugar

250g Self Raising Flour, sifted

4 eggs

2 tsp Vanilla Essence

Raspberry or Strawberry Jam

12 Shortcake Biscuit Hearts

Broken Shortcake Biscuits

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 160C / gas mark 4. Grease 2 round cake tins or if making cupcakes, place cupcake cases in a 12 hole muffin tin.
Put the butter and the sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.
Add the flour, baking powder and vanilla essence and continue to mix on a medium speed until
Divide the batter evenly between the tins (or cupcake cases). Bake in the oven for 25 minutes for sponge, 15 minutes for cupcakes. A skewer should come out clean.
Leave to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.
When completely cool core the middle out of the cakes and insert some jam (I find the squirty bottles of smooth jam best for this)

Strawberry Butter cream

Ingredients:

110g Butter, softened

500g Icing Sugar, sifted

Strawberry Flavouring

Pink Food colouring

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, a few drops of strawberry flavouring, a few drops of food colouring and half the icing sugar until smooth – this can take several minutes with a hand mixer. Gradually add the remainder of the icing sugar and beat again until the buttercream is smooth and creamy.
Ice the cakes with the buttercream.
Blitz the shortcake biscuit in a food processor until it is fine crumbs. Sprinkle generously over the cakes then decorate with a shortcake biscuit heart.

Raspberry & Lime Loaf

2011-09-11T21:30:00.001+01:00

My cousin Jacqueline made this cake last year. It was so scrummy that I had to make it myself. I always forget to ask her for the recipe so this is my version.

I use the same basic sponge mix but the addition of raspberries and lime juice make it out of this world.

This went down a storm in the bake sale and I’m sure there will be quite a few people in my office jazzing up their normal drizzle cake with some raspberries.

Raspberry & Lime Loaf

(Makes a 2lb loaf tin)

Ingredients:

250g Butter, softened

250g Caster Sugar

250g Self Raising Flour, sifted
2tsp Baking Powder

4 Eggs

1 Punnet of Raspberries

2 Limes, Juiced

3 tbsp Caster Sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Grease or line a 2lb loaf tin.
Put the butter and the sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.
Add the flour and baking powder then continue to mix on a medium speed until all is incorporated.
Pour half the mixture into the loaf tin then add the raspberries then the remainder of the cake mixture. Bake in the oven for 50 - 60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.
When cool to the touch prick the cake with a knife or fork then squeeze over the juice of 1 lime.
Leave to cool completely then make a drizzle topping. This is basically guess work on my behalf but normally about 3 tablespoons of sugar mixed with the juice of 1 lime. Spoon the sugary mixture over the cake.

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

2011-08-20T20:01:00.000+01:00

I made this delicious lemon yoghurt cake for my mum’s birthday today.

It was recently featured in Best and is a Mary Berry recipe.

The first cake book I bought was one of Mary’s and as far as I am concerned, you can’t go wrong with a one of her recipes.

Great to see her on the Great British Bake Off on BBC2 on a Tuesday night.

Keep this cake in the fridge and eat within a week (if it last that long).

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

(Makes a round, deep 20cm cake tin)

Ingredients:

300g Caster Sugar

50g Butter, softened
175g Self-Raising Flour

3 Large Eggs, separated

225g Greek-style Yoghurt

Zest of 1 Lemon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4. Grease the cake tin and line the base with non-stick baking parchment.
Beat together the sugar, butter and egg yolks in a bowl.
Add the yoghurt and lemon zest then beat the mixture until smooth. Gently fold in the flour.
Whisk the egg whites to a soft peak and carefully fold into the mixture.
Turn into the prepared tin. Bake for 1 hour or until the cake is well risen and firm to the touch.
Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes then turn out, peel off the parchment and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Lemon Icing

Ingredients:

100g Icing Sugar, sifted

1 ½ tbsp Lemon Juice

Directions:

Mix together the sifted icing sugar and the lemon juice. Pour over the cold cake, smooth over with a palette knife and leave to set.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2011-08-12T21:39:00.001+01:00

A friend asked me to make a cake for a Ruby Anniversary party.

To go with the ruby red / heart theme I also made red velvet cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting for the party.

I used the Hummingbird Bakery recipe as that had the best reviews online.

They were surprisingly easy to make and I managed to make them without covering myself or the kitchen in red food colouring. I topped off the cakes with red chocolate hearts.

I never got a chance to try one but mini me did and she loved it.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

(makes 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

60g Butter, room temperature

150g Caster Sugar

1 Egg

10g Cocoa Powder

20ml Red Food Colouring

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

120ml Buttermilk

150g Plain Flour

½ tsp Salt

½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1 ½ tsp White Wine Vinegar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3.
Put the butter and the sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.
In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a thick, dark paste. Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until evenly combined and coloured (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Turn the mixer down to slow speed and slowly pour in half the buttermilk. Beat until well mixed, then add half the flour, and beat until everything is well incorporated. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk and flour have been added. Scrape down the side of the bowl again. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until you have a smooth, even mixture. Turn the mixer down to low speed and add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Beat until well mixed, then turn up the speed again and beat for a couple more minutes.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 mins, or until the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

300g Icing Sugar, sifted

50g Butter, room temperature

125g cream cheese, cold

Directions:

1. Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 mins. Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny.

2. When the cupcakes are cold, spoon over the cream cheese frosting on top.

Vanilla Sponge

2011-08-12T21:16:00.002+01:00

Whilst I may be adventurous making birthday cakes for mini me (1^st birthday – candle; 2^nd – a number 2; 3^rd – Postman Pat van; 4^th – rainbow; 5^th – flip-flop), I decided it was best to play it safe and make a round vanilla sponge with white icing and red hearts (40 to be precise).

I use Jane Asher's basic sponge mix and it has never failed. I even use it for making cupcakes.

To make life easier I cheated and bought ready rolled white icing.

Basic Vanilla Sponge

(makes 2 x 8inch round cakes or 12 good sized cupcakes)

Ingredients:

250g Butter, softened

250g Caster Sugar

250g Self Raising Flour, sifted

4 eggs

2 tsp Baking Powder (omit for cupcakes)

2 tsp Vanilla Essence

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 160C / gas mark 4. Grease 2 round cake tins or if making cupcakes, place cupcake cases in a 12 hole muffin tin.
Put the butter and the sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.
Add the flour, baking powder and vanilla essence and continue to mix on a medium speed untilall is incorporated.
Divide the batter evenly between the tins (or cupcake cases). Bake in the oven for 25 minutes for sponge, 15 minutes for cupcakes. A skewer should come out clean.
Leave to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.

Variations:

Chocolate cake – replace 50g flour with 50g cocoa powder

Coffee cake – replace vanilla essence with 4tbsp of instant coffee dissolved in 4 tbsp of boiling water

Orange / Lemon cake – replace vanilla essence with 2tsp or desired fruit juice and grated rind

Butter cream

Ingredients:

200g Butter, softened

½ tbsp hot water

300g Icing Sugar, sifted

Directions:

Put the butter into a bowl with the hot water and mix together well.
Beat in the sifted icing sugar a little at a time, until the mixture is light and creamy.

Variations:

Vanilla butter cream – add 1 tsp vanilla essence

Lemon butter cream – substitute 1 tbsp lemon juice for the hot water

Chocolate butter cream – add 150g melted dark chocolate

Coffee butter cream – dissolve 2 tablespoons instant coffee in the hot water

Chocolate Chip Banana Loaf

2011-08-02T22:26:00.001+01:00

Thanks to my sister in law Alison for giving me this recipe.

I made this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread on Thursday night as I was heading to Center Parcs with mini me and my parents for a long weekend.

It is perfect for using up banana that would otherwise end up in the bucket.

You can use chocolate chips or walnuts. I like to have both.

Alison ices the cake once it has cooled down but I keep mine au naturel.

It should keep for about a week in an airtight container. This one didn’t last that long. We munched away at it whilst watching Harry Potter on DVD.

Chocolate Chip Banana Loaf

(Makes a 2lb loaf tin)

Ingredients:

2 Cups Self Raising Flour

1 Cup Caster Sugar

2 tsp Baking Powder

¼ tsp Salt

2 Eggs

1 Cup Mashed Ripe Bananas (about 3)

1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

¼ Cup Milk

1 Cup Chocolate Chips (or Walnuts)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4. Grease a 2lb loaf tin.
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
In another bowl beat eggs, banana, oil and milk.
Add dry ingredients to wet a bit at a time. Stir until moistened.
Stir in chocolate chips (or walnuts).
Bake for 50 minutes until the edges come away from the side of the tin.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

2011-07-26T22:47:00.006+01:00

Mini me had a beach party theme for her 5^th Birthday a few weeks ago.

Rather than a slice of Birthday cake to take away (which was a flip-flop) I made ice cream cone cupcakes for the party bags.

I used a basic chocolate sponge cooked in an ice cream cone then found a marshmallow frosting recipe to look like ice cream and topped off with a bit of flake.

I was really happy with the results and they went down a treat with the children.

The only thing to note is the cones go soggy if left overnight (even in an airtight container) so you need to bake and eat on the same day.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

(Makes approx 20 cupcakes)

Cupcake

Ingredients:

250g Butter, softened

250g Caster Sugar

200g Self Raising Flour, sifted

50g Cocoa Powder

4 Medium Eggs

Cup Cornets

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4 and place the cup cornets in a muffin tray.
Put all of the ingredients into a bowl or food mixer and mix with a wooden spoon – or process on a high speed – for about 2 minutes or until smooth.
Scoop the batter into each cornet. If using an ice cream scoop, one scoop is adequate for each one.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool down completely.

Marshmallow Frosting

Ingredients:

250g Caster Sugar

1 tbsp water

4 Egg Whites

A Pinch of Salt

Cadburys Flake

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk slowly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is foamy. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches at least 60C (140F) on a sugar thermometer.
Immediately pour the frosting into the bowl of a freestanding mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use an electric whisk and bowl) and beat on a medium speed until it will stand in stiff, glossy peaks – about 3 minutes.
Spoon into a piping bag and use immediately.
Decorate with a piece of Flake.

A Kiss of Cookies

Perfect Pancakes

Ghastly Ghouls

Halloween Cupcakes

Witches Fingers

Good Food Show - Friday 19th October

Cupcake Cookies

Jelly & Ice Cream Cake

Banoffee Fudge Loaf

Tea and Buttermilk Scones

Honey & Walnut Cake

Jubilee Themed Baking

Cupcake Decorating Class

Coffee and Walnut Cake

Banana and Fudge Muffins

Chocolate Guinness cupcakes with chocolate whiskey ganache and Baileys buttercream

Apple and Blackberry Crumble Cake

Cherry Mallow Slice

Home Made Jammie Dodgers

Jammie Dodger Cupcakes

Raspberry & Lime Loaf

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Vanilla Sponge

Whilst I may be adventurous making birthday cakes for mini me (1st birthday – candle; 2nd – a number 2; 3rd – Postman Pat van; 4th – rainbow; 5th – flip-flop), I decided it was best to play it safe and make a round vanilla sponge with white icing and red hearts (40 to be precise).

Chocolate Chip Banana Loaf

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Whilst I may be adventurous making birthday cakes for mini me (1^st birthday – candle; 2^nd – a number 2; 3^rd – Postman Pat van; 4^th – rainbow; 5^th – flip-flop), I decided it was best to play it safe and make a round vanilla sponge with white icing and red hearts (40 to be precise).