Baking bonanza day!

This week is a week of big occasions. On Wednesday it is my sister's birthday and Friday is my last day at the newspaper.

I am finally moving over to the world of magazines! Same company but after two years at newspapers I am moving to their magazine and I cannot wait. I am sorry to leave the team at the paper but really looking forward to the new challenge and the next step of my career.

Today I was home alone with not much on so I decided to bake! 

I wanted to make cupcakes for the people at work so did it today. I made chocolate cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery book and then made a simple vanilla icing. I just hope the guys at work like them.

As I was baking my sister asked if I would make her a banana loaf. I didn't have any chocolate chips so decided to risk it and make the loaf without the chocolate. I was a bit worried as the mixture didn't look like a lot but in the oven it expanded quite a bit.

My sister tried it and loved it! So all good.

Below are the cakes and then in a bit I am making chilli from scratch! Get me....turning into a domestic goddess....slowly.

Cupcakes - My own creation

When it comes to cupcakes I always try the recipes from the book, word for word.

However, my boyfriend wanted something a little different.

I made vanilla cupcakes with chopped up dark chocolate took the middle out and spread chocolate orange spread, with chocolate orange icing. All what the boyfriend asked for.

I used the basic vanilla sponge from the Hummingbird Bakery book and other bits from other ones.

I have only tried the sponge which was nice but I worry that the filling and icing may be a bit too much.

I just hope the boyfriend likes them.

 with added cocoa powder

 pre-icing

Sunshine shorties - biscuit heaven

I have had a couple of days off and even though today is my boyfriend's birthday he is in uni all day so leaving me at a loose end I decided to do a bit of baking.

My first go was sunshine shorties from Lisa Faulkner's cook book Recipes from My Mother for My Daughter.

The recipe is really simple - you melt golden syrup, butter, bicarbonate soda, caster sugar, and water together on the hob. Then take it off the heat and add porridge oats and self-raising flour, mix them together, make teaspoon balls and then cook for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

I was a little concerned as the mixture was a little tricky and after they were cooking they were a little 'flexible' but after cooling they got harder.

I had a cheeky taste of one and it was delicious! Buttery, sweet and a little piece of heaven.

Also quite nice warm out of the oven.

If you are unsure about if you can bake try these, they are really good and easy to make.

Regaining my cupcake crown with lemons

It has been a while but after some experimenting I have made my way back to cupcakes, mainly because it is boyfriend's mum's birthday and she loved the lemon cakes last time so I dusted off the Hummingbird Bakery book and set about grating some lemon zest.

When the cakes were done and cooled a took out the middle of some and filled the centre with lemon curd and on others I did a layer of lemon curd so not sure how lemony they will be.

I also made the lemon icing with a suggestion from my mum I used proper butter in the icing and it definitely worked and made them a lot stiffer.

All that is left now is to see what my boyfriend's mum thinks about them...the true test.







Another cake bites the dust...

Oh well, my run of cake making had been going so well. Not so today!

A month of so ago I watched Ramsay Behind Bars on channel 4. Gordon Ramsay went to a male prison to set up a bakery. They made lemon treacle slices, which later sold Caffe Nero in certain parts of London.

I liked the look of the slices and thought I would give them a go. They didn't seem complicated but I was a little concerned as it is very different to the other cakes I have done before.

I bought all the stuff and it seemed to be going well, I had made the base and the topping. Put it all together, base, then lemon curd and then the topping.

Put it in the temperamental oven and left to cook.

However, I could then smell burning took it out and the top was a little like jelly and not 'firm to the touch' as the recipe said it should be so I turned the heat down and left.

I checked it again and it was brown on the top and felt firm so I got it out and left it to cool.

Now when I went to cut it, it wasn't cooked properly and the biscuit base crumbled and went to pieces so it resembled more of a crumble than a cake. It did taste quite nice...in pieces. So I binned it, bad I know but I was embarrassed.

I'm off all week so was going to make rosemary truffles, not sure now.

It was the boyfriend's mums birthday on Wednesday and she has requested lemon cupcakes, at least I know I can make them and may do a twist and take out a bit of the middle and put some lemon curd on them.

Well at least I know now but I really wanted the slices to work! I think the mixture was too runny. Oh dear, I would definitely not get the contract with Caffe Nero.

It's that time again...macaroons!

My mum requested macaroons so I turned to Marian Keyes again and picked the Tiramisu ones as I had most of the stuff.

It was all going so well, except when I added the almonds it was really dense and I was a little concerned so I added the coffee and it was fine.

I had the circles all drawn out on the baking paper and then when all the mixture was mixed up I didn't pipe or use a spoon I used my hands to roll the mixture into a ball and put on the circles.

When I put them in the oven after the time they had expanded dramatically again, I have a feeling it is my oven that is nuclear and usually burns everything, it cooked them but they were massive.

Also the filling was meant to be mascarpone cheese and coffee. However, they didn't have any in the shop, so I bought some double cream and when I got home I whisked it up and added some sugar and the coffee and made coffee cream.

Rather than tiramisu they were coffee but everyone loved them, even if they aren't quite Paris standard...still! But at least they weren't burnt.

But Marian Keyes is still my macaroon queen.

It's a Rocky Road...recipe

I think my mum has been a little fed up with my baking. She loves the eating but hates the mess and my constant battle with our temperamental oven.

I had seen a couple of recipes for Rocky Road all of which don't include baking so I thought I would give them a go.

This time I strayed from Marian and picked The Hairy Bikers Mum Knows Best book.

Really easy and really sweet, delicious you can cut them into small squares as they are quite rich but went down a storm. Also as the chocolate was a little hot the marshmellows melted a little which was perfect.

Quick also just the time it takes to mix and melt the chocolate easy!

I don't usually do this but thought I would share the recipe.

You will need:

* 3 Mars Bars

* 100g butter

* 5 shortbread fingers

* 140g marshmellows

* 50g Rice Krispies

(I used mini marshmellows not the big ones)

What you do:

* Chop up the Mars Bars and place in a small pan with the butter

* Over a gentle heat melt the butter and Mars Bars

* Break the shortbread into chunks and stir into the mixture

* Stir in the Rice Krispies and marshmellows

* Press the mixture into a lightly oiled 15cm square tin and leave to set in the fridge

* Once set cut into squares turn out and serve

Delicious!

Red Velvet cupcakes with a difference



I suppose I have always been a little frightened of making red velvet cupcakes, some of the recipes seem very involved and complicated.


Also I have had issues with cream cheese frosting.

However, yet again Marian Keyes is my saviour! Although you have to put in the vanilla essence, white wine vinegar, cocoa powder etc in a particular order and mix in between can seem a little daunting, I thought as it had no icing I would give them a go.

Also no frosting, you make the cream cheese filling bit with the cream cheese and sugar and once you have made the chocolate part you layer them and mix them to get the marble effect.

I was a little unsure but they turned out really nice and were worth the number of bowls to get the different bits.

My cupcakes always turn out massive though but I think everyone appreciates them

Red velvet cupcakes done! Now what's next....

Things aren't always what they seem....

Now to some, due to the size, these may look like Whoopie pies, like cupcakes but like a mini dense sponge.

But alas these are not Whoopie pies but massive macaroons.

My mum asked me to make some macaroons and I felt after the last disaster I needed to try them again. With my faith in Marian Keyes I knew as a non-baker her recipe would be perfect for me to get back onto the baking horse, so to speak.

You add melted chocolate to the egg whites, which deflates the mixture but Marian says not to fear, this is what is meant to happen.

These are less hassle as you don't pipe them out but use a spoon.

Now this is where the problem of size started. This mixture was meant to make 12 pairs, 24 singles, due to my big dollops I made 14 singles, so 8 pairs...ah well!

I then got on to the filling which was delicious. 

Due to the massive size of the macaroons I did some on their own and some as a sandwich as they could be a bit too much.

These were delicious and the size aside I think I have nailed the macaroon mixture, thank you Marian Keyes you have restored my faith in macaroons.

Marian's mixture uses more ground almonds than other recipes which I think is better.
If you are unsure about macaroons try Marian's not hussle or fiddly.

Chocolatey and delicious!

Naughty cheat chocolate fudge cake

As you know I enjoying baking cakes, however, the other week I decided to cheat when making a cake for work.

I didn't buy one and pass it off as my own, but I did buy cake mix. All you have to add is water and vegetable oil, mix it up put it in a tin and cook.

Very easy and well just easy really when you have been working but promised a chocolate cake.

I used Wright's chocolate fudge cake mix, which contains real chocolate crumb to produce a rich and indulgent cake.

It came out really and for once I didn't burn the bottom. It was rich and moist and delicious.

I know it is a cheat but it was really nice and everyone at work appreciated it as well.

For more on Wright's you can visit the website: http://www.wrightsflour.co.uk/index.aspx

Mini me my mini cupcakes

Everyone knows that at Christmas you tend to get presents that are appliances that you know you will never use. Every once in a while, however, you get one that you never knew you wanted but once you have it you wonder how you ever survived without it.

This is what I received at Christmas, my gran-parents bought me a mini cupcake maker oven.

So today at a loose end I thought I would give it a go.

Mixed up the mixture, vanilla cupcake mix and put them in the cases and watched them cook. They took quicker than the 20 minutes recommended, but I was surprised at how well they turned out and they tasted delicious.

However, they were really difficult to ice and decorate but everyone likes them so much they had to have more than one... but that might be because they are mini.

The cakes in the maker...

Chocolate Orange cupcakes

I had a week off this week and on my last day I decided to make some chocolate and orange cupcakes.

I used a recipe out of my Primrose bakery cook book.

You use fresh orange juice, orange zest and melted dark chocolate.

After zesting and jucing the orange by hand, my hands did look as if I was applying some sort of Essex style fake tan, I also got orange juice on my t-shirt the one time I decide not to wear my apron. So oranges can be tricky.

I was a little concerned at first as the mixture was like a mousse and I wasn't sure that it would be light enough for a sponge.

They took a bit longer than usual to cook about half an hour whereas usually they take about 15-20 minutes.

However, they came out really well. I personally couldn't taste the orange in them but other people have said they could and how nice they were.

The icing it just chocolate and I had some chopped milk chocolate left over from my failed macaroons so decided to use that on the top just to get rid of it really.

I would recommend these easy to make and a nice change from just chocolate.

Chocolate macaroon...FAIL

After my exploits in Paris and tasting my first macaroon I knew I had some recipes and thought I would give it a go.

I chose the mint chocolate ones from my Great British Bake Off book, but as it was my first time I thought I would leave out the mint part and just do the macaroons and the cream filling.

I mixed all the ingredients for the main part and it looked ok, I piped it all out, put them in the oven.

Now the mixture seemed fine but I didn't realise they would get big so they weren't the same as the smaller ones in Paris.

I piped out about thirty or so which would of made 15, however, I know you should never blame your tools but my oven is shocking, it is either boiling hot or off no in between.

I knew I would have to keep an eye on them. When I thought they were done I pulled them out and left them to cool, however, I burnt the bottom of quite a few...and they were a bit larger than I was hoping.

So, rather then joining them I have left them as is, as to be honest I got fed up with making them so gave up. It took forever!

At least I have tried, and maybe I will try again another time. They are delicious though.

So here are my attempt...

Peanut Butter cupcakes

Another weekend another opportunity to make some yummy (proper) cupcakes.

Again from Primrose Bakery I choose Peanut Butter Cupcakes.

Very, very rich but yummy! You start with smooth peanut butter, butter and dark brown sugar, straight off you can tell these are not going to be healthy.

But cupcakes now and again don't hurt and when they are this delicious where is the harm.

You mix that all then add the flour, baking power and vanilla essence, then mix it all up.

I will admit it does look like a massive bowl full of peanut butter.

Leave to cook, in the book they suggest chocolate icing with peanut butter drops. Instead I chose to mix the smooth peanut butter and the chocolate icing together. Then added white and milk chocolate curls.

Delicious!

Pre-icing:

Mars cupcakes...well cornflake cakes

I finished work early today and wanted to do some baking, so I thought I would do some easy ones.

So I picked the Mars Bar Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery Cupcake book, the ingredients butter, cornflakes, golden syrup and of course Mars Bars. Basically you melt syrup and butter, add chopped up Mars bars then add the cornflakes.

Put them in the cases, let them cool add the butter icing and all done.

However, one word of warning they are very sickly, I think I should have added more cornflakes to the mixture to make it less sickly.

I suppose really they aren't really cupcakes no baking involved but I didn't burn anything so all good. I would recommend.

Happy Mother's Day - Choco loco banana cupcakes

Happy Mother's Day!

As a special treat for my mum (and my boyfriend's mum) we decided to bake some cupcakes. Also it has been a long time since I baked some cakes.

We decided to bake some chocolate and banana ones from the Primrose Bakery book.

The mixture didn't have milk in it or cocoa powder so I was a little concerned about it being chocolatey, also it didn't seem wet enough. Then I added the banana and chocolate and bang it all seemed to come together.

I will admit that they are the best ones I have made, you can taste the banana but not see it and the chips in the cake didn't sink to the bottom so it was just perfect.

Also there was to much cake mixture so we made a small, thin cake as well. Delicious!

Pretty baking with a cherry on top

For Christmas I was given the Great British Bake Off cook book from the series on the BBC, in a hope to help me with my domestic goddess quest.

So first off the bat for me to try was the cherry bakewell cupcakes - using ground almonds, cherries and strawberry jam.

The recipe uses raspberry jam but I bought strawberry. You cut out the middle and fill it with the jam, very yummy.

You couldn't really taste the almonds that much, but the strawberry, sponge and icing made it delicious.

However, I do think I put in too much lemon juice in the icing but I'm still learning. 

Really nice and light cupcakes, also really tasty.

Now I just have to decide what to do next, do I dare move on to pastries and breads?

Back to basics...

So after the disaster of the cola cupcakes I went back to basics and made some simple vanilla ones.

I put some chocolate drops in, which sunk to the bottom but I know for next time now to put in when half baked.

To make up for it when they came out of the oven I put a chocolate button in which melted, yummy!

The icing is just a butter icing with vanilla essence and red food dye to make it that pinky colour. And finished off with pink sparkles and chocolate sprinkles.

They were very nice, which the cola ones were not.



It has restored my faith in my baking, the road to becoming a domestic goddess is a long and windy one and I went down a bit of a dead end.

When life gives you lemons make.... lemon cupcakes!

No birthdays this time just the urge to make cupcakes.

Lemon cupcakes - a simple sponge with lemon zest, which makes them lemon-y, same with the icing just add grated zest. I was quite surprised that it was the zest that made them taste that way rather than juice or syrup.

I was a bit concerned at first about the icing it wasn't quite as thick as the other butter icing and I wasn't sure it would make a swirl like the chocolate cakes I made a couple of weeks ago. But actually I think it looks quite good as just a layer of icing rather than a swirl.

There are just a couple of things I wish I had done and will do next time. I will take the middle out and put lemon curd in and put sugar lemons, what you usually have at Christmas, on the top as decoration.

They were really nice though I was a bit surprised as I didn't think they would be as nice as they were. Another success.

Choccy woccy cupcakes

Yesterday was my boyfriend's birthday and as is becoming a tradition I made cupcakes. He asked for hazelnut and chocolate cupcakes.

Basically they are chocolate cupcakes with the middle taken out and chocolate spread put in its place, then covered with butter icing with added chocolate spread, basically it is a chocolaty overload!

Let's hope he likes them.

You know I think I am getting the hang of this baking malarky....or have I spoken to soon?

I am going to try another item from the baking list and see how I get on.