Maca-ruin

So, today I tried to make some Scottish macaroon bars for St Andrew's day tomorrow but it has turned out to be my first failed effort at baking. I found the recipe online, followed it exactly (although it was pretty vague) and instead of a stiff fondant creation I got a sticky and unworkable blob. It's in the fridge just now, as part of a desperate attempt to get it to harden to a point where it can be salvaged, but I'm not hopefull. I wasted most of a 1kg bag of icing sugar so I'm reluctant to throw it out, but I don't see what more I can do. It tastes pretty sickly anyway. Oh well, I'll see what it ends up like but I'm not going to take it into work, as planned - I would be ashamed!

Here's where to find the recipe if you want to try it and tell me where I went wrong:
http://www.food.com/recipe/macaroon-bars-lees-version-227822

Treats from Moomin Valley

After something of a break from baking anything new or interesting, the perfect solution to my baker's block arrived through the door yesterday morning - The Moomins Cook Book! It's filled with 150 savoury and sweet recipes and is billed as 'an introduction to Finnish cuisine', which it certainly seems to be, as it covers breakfast, lunch, evening meals, summer meals, garden party foods, picnic foods, autumn and winter meals, and birthday treats. So, expect some updates over the coming months, particularly as it includes many seasonal recipes such as 'Cold Comfort' to warm you up when suffering from winter chills, and plenty of winter soups and spiced treats that will be perfect for the Christmas period. But, what makes this book stand out from other cook books is that it is peppered with wonderful illustrations by Tove Jansson showing the Moomins and their friends enjoying various feasts, campfires, picnics and baking activities. There are also selected quotes from Moomin books that show where the inspiration for the recipes have come from and highlight just how important fresh foods and baking are to Moomin culture. As one quote suggests, "everything fun is good for the stomach" - I think that should be my new motto!

Happy birthday to me!

Sorry about the delay in updating but I've been super busy having just made the meteoric move to London (!) and it's been my birthday so I've been celebrating. So far I love London, there is so much to explore that I'll never be bored and I haven't even been inside any of the attractions on my list yet, like the Tate, the Victoria and Albert and the hundreds of hidden gems and off the beaten track spaces yet to be discovered! eeeeek!

So, my birthday was on Monday and we baked this Key Lime Cake because I wanted something a bit different than the usual birthday cake that was still a simple, yummy cake. It was really good, especially when left overnight in a tupperware. It was lovely and moist with a bitter-sweet taste due to the lime drizzle over the top. Yum!

For now, here's a photo. I'll put up the recipe later. I start work next week so things may get more hectic but I'll do my best to keep baking and cookie capering!

Happy Birthday, Gran!

3 Steps to Heaven

In preparation for my move to London in about ten days, I have been doing the rounds of my chums, from childhood to recent years, to say my farewells. One such stop this week included a trip to Glasgow to meet up with one of my longest friends, Zoe, and our old neighbour and buddy, Andrew. What better way to catch up with old friends, and have a swansong, than over some cakes and tea? So, we stopped at 3 Steps to Heaven in Glasgow's Byres Road, where we gobbled and chatted to our hearts' content.

It's really an ice cream parlour where they specialise in cold stone creations, which involves mixing your chosen ice cram, toppings and sauce on a frozen marble slab, which, apparently, is a work of art. But cake is my thing, so Zoe and I opted for the Afternoon Tea for 2, which was good value at £15.99. It came with a selection of sandwich slices (cheese and pickle, tuna and cucumber, ham and mustard), an ample tray of cakes, a cup of tea each, and a scoop of ice cream to follow! The sandwiches, all on white bread with the crusts cut off, were nothing special but hit the spot, as did the tea which was from a bag. The cakes we had were a slice of deliciously moist chocolate cake, a mini vanilla iced cupcake with edible sparkles, and a cherry scone each. It was more than enough to fill us up and well worth the price, especially as it was less than a lot of other places and included the ice cream, which is not common for afternoon tea. I let Andrew have my ice cream  as I'm not a big fan of cold produce, and I'm reliably informed that his choice of frozen strawberry yoghurt went down a treat! However, he did notice before we left that they had Irn Bru ice cream which he would have preferred. Yum!

In total, I would say this place is the perfect stop for a slow afternoon of lounging in their comfy chairs, chatting with friends and people watching out of their large windows that look out onto the busy street. The prices were good, the atmosphere pleasant, and the food tasty - what more could you want? Well, actually, they do also sell a range of treats to take away such as children's sweets and bags of marshmallows. A lovely wee place!

Eteaket

This morning I drowned my sorrows in the wake of Chris's departure - with some lovely Darjeeling tea at Eteaket!! As a belated Father's Day gift for my Dad, who was in town to see his friend's show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I took him for a spot of lunch and cream tea at Edinburgh's ever popular and delightful tea cafe in Fredrick Street. I had read mixed reviews about the service but I had never read anything to suggest that the tea and cakes were anything less than scrumptiously tasty and beautifully presented.

We went at 11.45am on Saturday because I'd heard it can get very busy in the afternoon and thought we should try and beat the crowds. It was a good idea as the traditional, with a modern twist, tea room was almost full apart from one or two tables and some rain sodden outdoor seats. The very friendly, slightly flustered, waitress immediately greeted us and seated us at a table for two near the counter. The sit in menu (they also have take away options) has four pages of black, green, fruit and herbal teas to choose from as well as coffees, juices, sandwiches, cakes and afternoon and cream teas. I choose the cream tea with Darjeeling and my Dad had a roast chicken ciabatta and Darjeeling too. The cream tea came with a plain scone and a fruit scone, both of which were very fresh and light, with some strawberry jam and delicious clotted cream. My Dad also enjoyed his sandwich which came with some dressed salad and some kettle chips. The staff were very friendly and attentive and seemed to take a genuine interest in us by asking what we had planned for the rest of the day, etc.

Tables in the cafe never remained vacant for more than a couple of minutes as a constant flow of bedraggled shoppers, curious tourists and hungry locals passed through the doorway. A constant chatter of voices added to the atmosphere of the pleasant surroundings, decorated with displays of tea leaves and vintage crockery and cake stands for sale. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who enjoys cake and a refreshing cup of tea and I will definitely try and pay another visit myself before I head to London. Excellent!

Yee ha, Cowboy!

Today, Chris left Edinburgh's cozy surrounds for the bright lights of London. But all pioneers and fortune seekers need some tasty morsels to accompany them on their travels, so we baked up some Cowboy Cookies from our current favourite cookbook, All Cakes Considered. The quantities given in the recipe turned into around 35 cookies in all, so I had to do the decent thing and eat some of them myself before he took a batch for the car. One tip for next time would be to add more chocolate chips as there didn't seem to be enough to spread through the whole mixture. But they were deliciously soft and nutty flavoured regardless. Two days on, there is 1 left!

Ingredients (baking conversion tables)


2 cups golden caster sugar

1 cup vegetable fat for baking (shortening/ Stork)
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups of plain flour
1tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 and a half cups of almonds and chocolate chips mixed together - or any combination of nuts, chocolate, cherries etc that you like.

1. preheat the oven to 180 degrees (350F). Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Combine the sugar and vegetable fat until well blended. Add eggs and beat until blended. Add vanilla extract and beat briefly.
3. In a separate bowl dry whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the creamed mixture and beat slowly until blended.
4. Add the oats, beating until they are mixed into the dough.
5. Add the nuts and chocolate and mix well.
6. Drop the cookies by the tablespoon onto the baking sheets (about 6 per sheet)
7. Bake each sheet for around 10-12 minutes. You may need to repeat this for several batches but you can reuse the same parchment paper until it browns at the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before moving the cookies onto a plate. 
8. Savour them with a cup of coffee, a glass of cold milk or some root beer. Yum!

Rocky Road!

Well, this past weekend was Chris's last in Edinburgh before he makes the move to London. He and his flatmates organised an end of year BBQ for a last get together of all the flatmates and to say goodbye etc. So, what better way to add to the party atmosphere than to bake up some delicious Rocky Road with the help of his glamorous assistant (that's me!). It was really easy to make (no baking required) and so yummy. It's a good thing I wasn't going to the BBQ as I could definitely have gobbled more than my fair share of this. It is rich and sweet and deliciously good with a cup of tea or coffee. I got to take 3 pieces home - needless to say I ate them all within 24 hours. Mmmmm!

Ingredients (from BBC/ Nigella Lawson)

• 125g/4½oz soft unsalted butter
• 300g/10½oz dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 200g/7¼oz rich tea biscuits
• 100g/3½oz mini marshmallows
• 2 tsp icing sugar to dust
  
  

  Preparation method

  1. Heat the butter, chocolate and golden syrup in a heavy-based saucepan over a gentle heat. Remove from the heat, scoop out about 125ml/4½fl oz of the melted mixture and set aside in a bowl.
  2. Place the biscuits into a plastic freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin until some have turned to crumbs but there are still pieces of biscuit remaining.
  3. Fold the biscuit pieces and crumbs into the melted chocolate mixture in the saucepan, then add the marshmallows.
  4. Tip the mixture into a 24cm/9in square baking tin and smooth the top with a wet spatula.
  5. Pour over the reserved 125ml/4½fl oz of the melted chocolate mixture and smooth the top with a wet spatula.
  6. Refrigerate for about two hours or overnight.
  7. To serve, cut into 24 fingers and dust with icing sugar.

Summertime Hop

Yesterday Chris and I went to the Made in the Shade Summertime Hop event at the Roxy Arthouse in Edinburgh. It was a craft fair with vintage clothes, jewellery, cards, art, homeware etc. I got a cute retro T-ball league t-shirt and we got a free gift when we entered. It was a quirky hanging fabric ornament with lavender inside it of Frank Butcher from Eastenders - I can't wait to hang it up in our new place soon!

However, the highlight was sampling some delicious cake from Aunti M's popup Cake Lounge. Auntie M's Cake Lounge is a cute 1950s vintage coffee lounge in Glasgow and luckily for us she had brought some of her fabulous home baked delights to the Summertime Hop for us East-coasters to guzzle. I imagine that the name Cake Lounge has something to do with the indulgent experience of enjoying the cake over a relaxing cup of tea or coffee - mmmmm. I'm getting hungry writing about this! I had a large slice of the more-ish sweet potato cake, which was lovely and moist with delicious carrot cake style cream cheese icing. Chris had the chocolate cake which had a yummy buttercream topping. Other cakes on display included chocolate peanut butter cake, carrot and passion fruit, chocolate brownies, lemon drizzle cake and cup cakes. I will definitely be stopping at this place next time I'm in Glasgow. Some of the best cake I've had!

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Yesteday was Sam's birthday so Chris and I got out our mixing bowl and cake tins and a bunch of other cooking equipment and ingredients and got to baking a birthday cake. We went with the same Victoria sponge as we used for our Norway Day cake, but tried out a new buttercream vanilla icing. As it was Sam's cake we also decorated it with the Stoke City badge using writing icing. It was a bit tricky but I think it looks good enough and no one had any trouble working out what it was. I think it had an amateurish charm to it and it tasted super yummy! It got sliced up during his party and lots of people commented on how much they liked it, so I'd say it was a hit!

The recipe is this cake as before.

The decoration was Dr Oetker writing icing, which you can buy in any supermarket.

This is how to make the icing:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups (around 350g) icing sugar
4 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Cream the butter. Add the icing sugar, evaporated milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. Smooth over the cake and leave for around five or ten minutes before decorating with the writing icing. Then put it in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before gobbling it all up!

Relocation, relocation, relocation!

Eeeek! Chris and I have found a place to live in London (Ealing) so we will have a new venue for our baking adventures and new people to test out our recipes on! It's a shared house with an organic vegetable garden so we can branch out into savoury treats and hopefully get some new tips and ideas from the international melting pot of housemates we will have. It's all so exciting! Chris is going during the first week of August but I won't be going until the end of August so I may have to turn to solo baking and eating of cakes to distract me from my loneliness and boredom - although I will have more to post here that way.

This week is Sam's birthday so we're baking him a birthday cake tomorrow (sshhh, don't tell him). He is a Stoke fan so we will try and decorate it with the Stoke badge using writing icing but we'll have to see how that goes! I love baking so I'm quite excited about it as it has been a while since we last made anything. It's a nice day today and I feel like making some lemon drizzle cake but I should wait for tomorrow's baking as I don't want to be a fat tattie. If only it was true that cakes were healthier than other foods. Perhaps they wouldn't be as yummy that way though. Part of the experience of eating and enjoying cakes is probably due to the knowledge that you are indulging in a treat that you know isn't good for you.

All this talk of food is making me hungry though so I might go and rustle up some tea. More on Sam's cake later...

Doctor Who - Big Bang? No, not really.

I'm really into Doctor Who and absolutely loved David Tennant's Doctor. I think Matt Smith has done a good job and I like how the new series has tried to link back to the pre-tennant doctors and the old series with the new titles and the references to the old doctors in several episodes. In this way, the writers are asserting about Matt Smith's doctor 'I'm the 11th Doctor and I'm one in a long line of people to be this guy, not a replacement for David Tennant'. However, I've found the emotion in this series flat and I don't like Karen Gillan as Amy Pond much at all. I think she's a bad actress and she's just annoyingly sarcastic all the time. There have been some brilliant episodes this series though - The Van Gough one, the weeping angels double, the James Corden episode and the penultimate one. However, the last episode was, in my opinion, a big disappointment. I felt so strongly that I actually commented on this review of the episode in The Guardian. I was confused at first to see so many people say they 'loved it' and that it was the best episode of all time. But many people agreed with me, and me with them, so I think it's an even split. So, enough of my Who geeking, you can read the review for yoursef (I'm HarmonyandMe). And if you liked the episode, good, I'm glad you did. Just wasn't for me. It does look as though things could be great next series though - if they drop Pond and actually complete some stories! x

Peanut Butter Squares

This Saturday we took advantage of the summer weather to pack a picnic and head out for a walk along the Water of Leith (Balerno to Edinburgh). This recipe seemed perfect for cutting into squares and packing in a lunch box to snack on as we went. They were so yummy that we ate the rest during the England v USA world cup match - so, perfect for all occasions really!
The pictures don't really do justice to them, I think I should have turned off the flash, but I've included a photo anyway.

They're good warm with a cup of tea but for the packed lunch option leave them in the fridge overnight as they become a bit more moist that way.
I would definitely make these again but maybe with some chocolate chips to add something extra. Yum!
Here is the recipe, from All Cakes Considered (becoming slightly overused on here, I know, but their cakes are so good!):

Ingredients: Click for measurement conversion chart
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup crunch peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of all purpose (plain) flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup of rolled oats (not quick cook)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C or 350 F. Grease and line a 9 inch square baking pan.
2. Cream together the butter and sugars. Add the egg and beat well. Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and beat well.
3. In a separate bowl, dry whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Then add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix well.
4. Add the oats and mix well.
5. Spoon the batter into the baking pan and smooth out with a spatula. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for ten minutes before removing from the pan or cutting into squares while in the pan. 

Lostalgia

So, Lost, the show that so many millions of people all over the world were hooked on for 5 and a half years ended this week. What better way to celebrate everything we love about the show, and mark the finale, than to hold a lostalgic party - dress up as characters from the show, and of course eat some themed snacks. Andy came as Oceanic 815, Margaret was Sayid and I was Ben in teacher mode from the 16th episode of season 6. And to accompany it all I made these yummy biscuits decorated like the dharma fish biscuits from season 3 and the dharma logo. The recipe is a simple biscuit recipe from Asda.com:

Lost Biscuits

Ingredients

• 175g butter, softened
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 medium egg yolk
• 250g plain flour
• 1 pack writing icing

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C Fan/Gas 4. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in the egg yolk and add the flour and mix to a smooth dough. Gather together with your hands, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.
2 Roll out the dough between two sheets of clingfilm to the thickness of a £2 coin. Be quick with the cutting or get someone to help as the dough becomes a bit unworkable as it heats up in your hands (pop it back in the fridge for a while, without clingfilm, if this happens). Cut out shapes with a dharma or fish template (I made my own on card and cut round it on the dough) and put in the oven for 15 mins. Allow to cool completely before decorating. Yum.

The people shaped ones are Boone, Hurley in 1970s jumpsuit, and Jacob.

Happy Norway Day!

Monday 17th May was Norway's National Day when the country celebrates the adoption of its constitution in 1814. For more information on how its celebrated and what it's all about click here: http://www.norway.org/ARCHIVE/culture/heritage/nationalday/

To celebrate the national day of our favourite holiday destination we held our own celebrations yesterday. This included eating a breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs and chocolate spread covered bread (what we had for breakfast in our Oslo hotel in January), a dinner of hot dogs (what we ate for lunch in Oslo) and watching Norwegian clips and listening to some Norwegian music (a once a year experience, I think!). But, the centrepiece of our celebrations was our Norway Day cake. It was a basic Victoria sandwich, covered with cream cheese icing and strawberries and blueberries in the shape of the Norwegian flag (sort of). The cake is a sainsbury's recipe and the icing is from All Cakes Considered (p43).

Ingredients:
175g margarine
175g caster sugar
3 medium eggs, beaten
175g self raising flour
strawberry jam

55g  butter
112g cream cheese
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
225-250g icing sugar

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Grease and line two 20.5cm sandwich tins.


Place the margarine and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a tablespoon of flour with the second egg. Add the remaining flour and beat well.Divide the mixture equally between the prepared sandwich tins. 


Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the cake has risen and springs back to the touch. Cool on a wire rack. Sandwich together with strawberry jam.


For the icing:


Cream together unsalted butter (at room temperature) and cream cheese. Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. 


Gradually add the icing sugar and beat until smooth. If your icing isn't stiff enough you can add more icing sugar, or if it's too stiff add some more butter. 


Spread the icing over the whole cake and place in the fridge for ten minutes.


Bring out of the fridge and decorate with chopped strawberries and whole blueberries. Put back in the fridge for 30 minutes before eating.


Due to the fresh fruit and the dairy content this cake can only keep for a couple of days so make sure you have plenty of friends on hand to help you consume it!

Tardy cake

Apologies for the delay in posting the recipe for the spice cake. I have no explanation other than that I had some relaxation to be done in the wake of a flurry of uni work and then had to get my dissertation underway. I have some good news though in that the oven has been 'de-goosed' by the electrician and is in full working order for future cakes and other baked goods. Next up: a Norewgian flag cake to celebrate Norwegian Constitutional Day on 17th May (in honour of our trip to Oslo and love of all things Scandinavian)! Then, there are plans afoot for some cookies that should resemble the main characters in Lost for the end of show finale party that Margaret, Andy and I are having on May 24th. But for now, here is the Araby Spice cake recipe:

Ingredients:
(for the cake)

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 and a half cups of sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups plain white flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa poweder
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

(for the frosting)

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1 and a half teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 and a half teaspoon hot coffee (plus extra in case)

Instructions
(cake)
preheat the oven to 180c (350F). Grease and line a 9 inch cake pan or 10 inch tube pan with baking paper.
Cream the butter and gradually add the sugar, mixing until smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each.
In a separate bowl, dry whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, and cocoa together. Set aside.
In a small bowl combine the buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon juice. 
Add 1/2 flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat together. Then add 1/4 buttermilk mixture and beat again. Continue until all the mixtures are blended together. Beat for a futher 1 minute.
Pour the mixture into the baking pan and cook for 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from the cake pan. Leave to cool completely.

(frosting)
cream together the butter, egg yolk, icing sugar, cocoa and coffee until smooth. Spread over the top and sides of the cake. Enjoy!

Easter Spice Cake

Yum, yum, yum. The Araby Spice Cake, which I'm currently referring to as the Easter Spice Cake, has been successfully produced and cosumed. The oven problem was not resolved (and who knows when it will be) but we were able to make it in Chris's kitchen with the help of a few ingredients and utensils from my place. It was quite an easy cake to make, and it looked perfect, like an experienced baker might make. I'm not sure how many cakes we have to make before we can describe ourselves as experienced bakers though? Perhaps when we can bake without a book and can make any cake whatever the difficulty if we want to.

Thanks to 'All Cakes Considered' for this one!

Although it isn't a heavy cake, it will have you buzzing around on a sugar high if you eat a big slice as it contains quite a few cupfulls, particularly in the icing (3 cups of icing sugar). But who cares? Cakes are supposed to be sweet and make you feel happy and high. The cake is a delicious blend of sugar and spice with a sticky sweet topping contrasting nicely with the hints of nutmeg and cinammon in the base. We upped the sweet stakes even further by throwing a few Cadbury's mini eggs on top to make it more easter like, but it would be just as good without. A top tip is to leave the cake for a few hours in the fridge before you dig in, although it will require will power not to get munching straight away.

Here are some pictures of the loveley cake. I'll put up the recipe too:

Oven S.O.S

Tension mounts in the days running up to the day for baking the Araby Spice Cake for easter - the oven is broken! It's been hard enough coming up with exciting meals you can make in the microwave or on the hob for a whole week, but not being able to bake a delicious cake is a major problem! Someone is coming to take a look at the useless piece of metal today, and hopefully restore it to its former glory. Fingers crossed!

There is the option to bake it at Chris's of course, if all else fails. But that seems to take away from the drama.

Lost in Chocolate

Last night I enjoyed a big slice of gooey chocolate cake courtesy of my flatmate, Margaret, via Chris and myself. We gave Margaret the recipe for the cake a few months back after baking what is probably the best chocolate cake, home made or store bought, that I've ever had. But we can't claim all the credit, it's the Bruce Bogtrotter cake from the Roal Dahl cookbook that should get the accolades here. But it's some compliment that Margaret enjoyed our incanation of the recipe so much that she asked for the recipe so that she could bake a birthday cake for her sisters. I have to say, even though I am probably a little biased, that our version had a slightly better consistency and was more attractive, but both were heavenly! I mean, how bad can any attempt at mixing copious amounts of chocolate, cream and sugar really ever taste?
Pictures of our delicious, quickly gobbled and friend winning cake are below.

The cake comes from the book Matilda. click here for Matilda cake scene from the film

Here's the recipe. Top tips: use half dark chocolate, half milk chocolate and leave the icing in the fridge for 30mins -1 hour to make it easier to spread over the cake, and so that it looks better. Yum!

Bruce Bogtrotter's Chocolate Cake

Serves 10-12

Ingredients
For the cake
8oz/225g plain chocolate
6oz/175g unsalted butter, softened
8oz/225g caster sugar
4tbsp/60ml/quarter cup plain flour
6 eggs, separated
For the coating
8oz/225g plain chocolate
8oz/225g double cream

Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 180˚C. Grease and line an 8" cake tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or on low heat in a microwave. Once melted mix in the butter and stir until melted. Remove from the double boiler.
3. Mix in the sugar, flour and lightly beaten egg yolks.
4. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until white and stiff.
5. Gently fold half of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then fold in the rest.
6. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 35 minutes. There will be a thin crust on the outside and when tested using a skewer, it most likely won't come out clean as the inside will still seem uncooked, however the cake gets more firm when it has cooled.
7. Allow to cool for a while until the tin can be handled and the cake removed safely. Remove the greaseproof paper. The cake will most likely sink slightly, mine deflated from a large dome to a level top.
8. Set up a new double boiler and melt the chocolate and cream together until well blended. Leave to cool for a little while then spread smoothly over the top and sides of the cake.

All Cakes Considered!

I have a new addition to my cookbook shelf that may even cause the others to develop an inferiority complex. The title of this cake baker's bible? 'All Cakes Considered' by Melissa Gray. Ok, so I gave it away in the title of this post but I'm no good at keeping secrets!
Chris and I saw this book in Urban Outfitters a few weeks back and were mesmirised by the beautiful, hunger inducing photos of cakes of all shapes and sizes within. We planned to buy the book at some point, but to my surprise and delight, he bought the book for us and presented it this week, complete with christmas wrapping paper. The book covers an array of cakes baked over 1 year by the author for her office to munch on once a week. She must have been super popular with her colleagues! They vary in level of difficulty, cost, and access to ingredients, so it will be an adventure to try them out.
We decided there wasn't a moment to lose in selecting the first recipe, and with easter just around the corner, we had the perfect excuse occasion to get baking. So, we picked the araby spice cake, which has a middle eastern influence and seems like a good tie in with the easter story, being set in Palestine and all. So, watch this space to see how our first attempt at exploring the sweet, iced gems of this treasure trove of goodies turn out!

you can buy the book on Amazon here:
All Cakes Considered at Amazon.co.uk

Pancakes

This morning for breakfast Chris and I made some delicious american style pancakes. This is the 3rd time we have followed this recipe (apart from Canada day and pancake day) and it's a really easy, scrumptious way to enjoy something sweet for breakfast, or just as a snack. We served ours with butter and maple syrup, but you can try any topping you like. You can also try adding blueberries, raisins, cinammon, nutmeg or vanilla to the batter before you cook it. Chocolate chips might be a good idea too, but I haven't tried that myself. Maybe next time. Keep them warm in a low oven while the other cook. Yum!

• 200g plain flour
• 2tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 240ml milk
• pinch salt
• butter for frying

Happy St Patrick's Day!

In honour of Ireland's patron saint and all things green and lucky, here is a link to some Irish recipes in BBC's Good Food Magazine. BBC Good Food St Paddy's Day Recipes

Roald Dahl's Completely Revolting Recipes

The most influential book of all time, for me, has to be Roald Dahl's Completely Revolting Recipes, which I got Chris for Christmas. Ok, that's an exaggeration of epic proportions (there's another one). But it has taught me that cooking can be fun, easy, messy and yummy all at once.
A collection of recipes inspired by Roald Dahls books and poems from the chocolate cake in Matilda, and cider in Fantastic Mr Fox, to worm spaghetti in The Twits, there is something for Roald Dahl enthusiasts of every age and taste. Yum!
buy the book on Amazon.co.uk

Eggnog recipe

Ok, so not strictly baking but here is the eggnog recipe I used to make Chris's Christmas Eggnog. I actually called it Eggnog-ish because I've never had eggnog and wasn't sure that this actually related to the drink of the same name. However, Chris assured me that it was yummy and quite like the real thing. Enjoy:

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 and 1/3 cup milk (550ml)
• 1/4 cup extra thick double cream (60ml)
• 1tsp vanilla essence
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinammon        
• This is alcohol free but you could add a dash of bourbon.                                                                      mix vigorously in a  mixing bowl or blender, pour into a jug or large jar and put into the fridge for 24 hours. Serve with a dash of nutmeg (best to stir before drinking).

why make your own when you can have THIS!

yuletide yumminess

Our first real foray into the baking world came at Christmas. We held our own Christmas dinner, about a week before Christmas, because Chris would be going home for the real event. Some time prior to the big day, we made a trip to our favourite store - IKEA - where we bought some cookie dough (ok, another cheat). I also prepared some eggnog to allow Chris to feel more at home, although it is possibly the most awful fluid known to man. Well, maybe not the wost, but close. Chris prepared some delicious Nanaimo bars according to his mother's (no longer) secret recipe and we were all set for a day of guzzling!

On 'Christmas eve day' we got out the cookie cutters and baked the Ikea dough. We thought it was gingerbread but I think it was actually some kind of Swedish pepper dough but it was fantastic and the best ever cookie ginger/pepper combo I've ever had! We proceded to eat all 24 of them within 24 hours. Hey, why not!? Christmas comes but once a year.

Coolest cake of ALL time!

This has to be the coolest cupcake of all time!

The South London Cake Committee recipe | Recipes - Times Online

The South London Cake Committee recipe | Recipes - Times Online

birthday cake cheats

Back in September it all began when Chris and I decided to make a cake for Andy's birthday. Firstly we trawled through cook books and websites in search of an easy birthday cake recipe. Armed with a simple sponge recipe we hit Sainsbury's to gather the ingredients and left soon after with....a packet mix and some premade buttercream chocolate icing. Somehow, in the process of browsing through the assortment of flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla essence etc we became convinced that there was too much risk involved in trying to bake our first cake from scratch as a birthday gift. There would be nothing worse than presenting the birthday boy with a mound of burned sponge covered in a runny chocolate puddle. Instead, we opted to cheat and made a super easy chocolate covered sponge with chocolate buttons that went down a treat.
What did we learn?

1. You can give someone a cheat birthday cake and still provide them with a happy feeling of getting a homemade cake.
2. You feel kind of immoral for not having crafted something you can truly be proud of.
3. Baking a cheat cake, seeing the glee that can come with baking, and feeling bad that you didn't create it yoursef completely encouraged us to start from scratch next time.

Here is a photo of the yumminess with the birthday boy:

The Baking Bunch

I'm starting this after spending some time researching blogs for a university paper and wanted to give it a go myself. I've always thought, what on earth would I have to write about that would be of any interest to myself, let alone anyone else? But, in the past 6 months I have had a new interest in baking - mostly experimental but largely successful - and thought that sharing the progress of this could be interesting, at least for myself. I hope to track my metamorphosis from rookie cookie baker to amateur chef. I read an article in the Times some time ago about a cake club in London and thought it looked like something that would be exciting to be a part of. I can't find the original article just now but here is a link to another one. However, I also think I would at least need some confidence in my basic ability to bake first, so here is the diary of that process. My ultimate goal would be to build to a point where I would have the confidence to be in such a club. Well, actually my ultimate aim is to live in London, which is the main precursor to joining a baking bunch. That's what my club would be called - the baking bunch!

More info on baking clubs:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/related_features/my_dinner_party/article6930021.ece