Rasmalai cake

Every now and then in the cake world just as with food and fashion a craze of some sort begins and before you know it that one particular thing seems to be trending all over.

For my latest recipe post this is excatly one of those things - rasmalai cake. For those that don't know, rasmalai is a classic Asian/ Indian dessert of little milk dough balls served in rose water scented & lightly spiced cardamom milk. Then garnished with pistachios and occasionally saffron

Now this in cake form in it's various versions combines all those elements in a light fluffy sponge with the addition of delicate edible rose petals and. 

Being a British  Muslim of Pakistani heritage and a lover of cake and rasmalai cake I knew I had to make my own version. 

To make my rasmalai cake you will need: 

For the sponge:

2 x 7" loose bottom sandwich tins - lightly greased 

& lined with greaseproof paper 

225 g self raising flour

20g milk powder

4medium eggs

Pinch of saffron 

3 tbsp warm milk 

250g caster sugar 

250g margarine - at room temp

2tsp ground cardamom

For the filling & decorating :

250g salted butter - at room temp

250g pistachio flavour icing sugar

250g icing sugar

4tbsp rose water

2tbsp rose syrup

50g chopped pistachios 

10-12g edible rose petals

Milk powder paste - made up of 3 tbsp milk powder & 1/4 tsp ground cardamom with 3 tbsp hot water mixed to make a speadable paste

• Start by preheat your oven to 160c fan. Mix the saffron with the warm milk and set aside.
• Cream the margarine and sugar in a freestanding mixer until light, fluffy and paler in colour.
• Add in the eggs, flour, milk powder and ground cardamom. Whisk together until fully combined, but take care not to overmix
• Whisk in the saffron milk, then pour the batter evenly into the 2 tins, bake for 25-30 mins.
• Remove the cake from the oven, whilst the sponges are slightly warm, poke holes all over the top of the both of them. Remove from the tin once completely cool
• Take one of the sponges and set onto your desired serving plate/dish
• Spread enough of the milk paste to cover the top of the sponge that you've set onto your serving plate - leave a half inch plain border all round the cake as you dont want the milk paste to drip down the sides.
• Make the buttercream by placing the butter, both icing sugars and the rose syrup and whisking together on a slow speed to incorporate it all together. 
• Once it's all mixed together,  turn up the speed slightly, pour in the rose water and beat the buttercream till light and fluffy - it should be a thick but spreadable consistency. If it is too thick, add a couple of tablespoons of milk or room temp water and beat together for a couple of minutes.
• Transfer some of the prepared buttercream to a piping bag, then pipe enough buttercream over the milk paste topped sponge. Use a spatula or breakfast knife to spread the buttercream out evenly- remembering to leave a plain edge border all the way round the cake.
• Carefully stack the second sponge on top ensuring both sponges are level.
• Use the piping bag again to pipe the buttercream all around the sides and top of the cake.
• Take your spatula/breakfast knife and smooth the buttercream all over and gently scrape off any excess. Place the covered cake in the fridge for about 20 minutes to set
• Apply a second coat of buttercream once the first layer has set. As before use a spatula to smooth and remove any excess.
• Press the edible rose petals into the bottom edge of cake using your fingers
• Sprinkle the top of the cake with the chopped pistachios, and with any left over buttercream, pipe a pattern all the way round the edge and finish off with a few petals all over the top,

ginger & salted carmel cake

This is a cake that is guaranteed to make an appearance towards the end of the year since it has such Christmassy flavours.. The warming spike of ground ginger, with crystallized and stem ginger balamced with the sweetness of ginger syrup & delicious Salted caramel is the perfect flavour combination especially at Christmas time


To make a 9 inch square cake you will need

12 oz butter
12 oz soft light brown sugar
12 oz self rasing flour
6 eggs
1 heaped tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp crystallized ginger
1 small jar of stem ginger chopped up

For the syrup 

Syrup from the jar of stem ginger
2 tbsps golden syrup
2 tbsps of Salted caramel
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp hot boiled water

Salted caramel to finish


• Preheat your oven to 160c fan

• Grease and line a square 9 inch tin, set aside

• In a freestanding mixer,  beat the sugar and butter till light and fluffy

• Add in the flour eggs and ground ginger, mix together until combined well - but dont over mix it

• Fold in the stem and crystallized ginger. Pour into the tin and bake for 45 -50 mins or until the edges of the cake slightly come away from the tin and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the cake and set aside

• Make up the syrup by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl - I just used my cereal bowl

• Use a tooth pick to make tiny holes all over the top of the cake and slowly pour or brush the syrup all over the top whilst the cake is still warm and in the tin.

• Leave the cake to completely cool otherwise it will fall apart - just before serving drizzle a load of salted caramel all over the top of the cake

lemon meringue pie

Anyone that knows me well will tell you I am a sucker for meringue based desserts, especially when it's paired with sharp citrus flavours.. and my absolute favourite has to be the classic lemon meringue topped with fluffy swiss meringue that's lightly torched giving it a slight crisp finish.

Making my own lemon meringue pie has been on my baking bucket list for such a long while, and since I made some Lemon curd to gift at Christmas this year, it was the perfect chance to make one whilst I actually had every ingredient at hand.

To make a 9 inch round pie you will need

1 batch of my Sweet short crust pastry

Lemon curd*

For the swiss meringue topping:

300g caster sugar

6 egg whites

Pinch of salt

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

• Preheat your oven to 180c ( fan)

• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to about 1/2       an inch thick

• Line a 9"/23cm loose bottom tart tin with the pastry, and place in the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes

• Line the pastry case with baking paper, and fill with baking    beans/ dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the        oven, remove the paper and beans.

• Place back in the oven for about 5- 8 minutes or until the          case is lightly golden all over. Remove from the oven and set    aside

• To make the swiss meringue topping, place all the            ingredients in a bowl, and place the bowl over a ban marie      ( a bowl of simmering water)  and stir together until the sugar has completely melted, and the temperature reaches 71c.

• Remove from the heat and with an electric whisk or free standing mixer, whisk the egg whites until thick and fluffy, they should hold their shape and form stiff peaks.

• Pour the lemon curd into the cooled pastry case* making sure it's level and smooth.

• Spread the swiss meringue all over the top of the curd, ensuring it is all covered, use the back of a spoon to make peaks all over.

• Use a blowtorch to lighlty torch the meringue all over, alternativley, place under your grill - but stay close as it will brown quite quickly.

• Carefully remove from the tart tin and serve.

* For the lemon curd i used my home made curd, but you can always use shop bought, i filled the tart with the curd almost to the top of the case- i left about 1/2 gap for the merigue topping

To make mini lemon pies, cut out 12 circles using a cookie cutter just slightly larger than the holes .. line each hole with with a pastry circle,  add 2 tsp of curd into each case .. pop in the fridge for 15 mins 

Bake for 8-10 mins until the pastry is lightly golden. Leave to completely cool before finishing off with the meringue topping 

Luscious lemon drizzle

My luscious lemon drizzle is really one of my easiest cakes to make, yet its just as delicious. The sponge itself is light and fluffy, amd made even lighter with the optinal addition of buttermilk.

I decided to add in buttermilk on this occasion to  coincide with dairy week on GBBO. You can leave it out if you wish to as it will still be just as delicious.

 To make an 8 inch round of my luscious lemon drizzle you will need

8 inch round cake tin

225g self raising flour

225g caster sugar

225g margarine - at room temp 

5 meduim eggs - at room temp

Zest of 2 lemons 

50ml buttermilk ( optional)

For the drizzle

Juice of 2 lemons

100g caster sugar

For the drip icing 

200g icing sugar

4-5 tbsp water

Zest of 1 lemon

• Preheat your oven to 160c (fan assisted) lightly grease and line your tin and set aside.
• Cream your sugar and margarine,using an electric whisk or in your free standing mixer, until pale and fluffy
• Add in one egg at a time ensuring each egg is fully combined.
• Fold in the flour, buttermilk and zest with a spatula or metal spoon
• Pour the prepared batter into the tin, bake for 40-45 mimutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean, set the cake aside still in its tin.
• To make the drizzle , put the lemon juice and caster sugar into a saucepan and heat very gently and stir together until the sugar melts - and remove from the heat immediately. You don't need to boil it at all, just warm enough so the sugar melts
• Take a tooth pick anc poke holes all over the top of the still warm cake, then pour the dizzle all over the top so the drizzle seeps into the cake - I used a small jug to make the pouring easier. Leave the cake in the tin to completley cool, as it will most likely fall apart if you try to remove it at this point
• Once the sponge has completely cooled, place onto your choice of serving plate.
• Make the topping by adding the water a little at a time to the icing sugar, mixing together to form a semi thick paste - you want it to be spreadable without being runny.
• Spread the preapared icing straight on to the top of the cake with a palette knife or butter knife. If you want to have it drip over the edge, spread the icing all the way to the edge and give it a gentle push so it falls down the sides of the cake. Finish off with a sprinkling of lemon zest and serve 

Cinnamon churros

Churros are something I've steered well clear of due to the fact that they are made from choux pastry but thankfully not anymore as in my last post I shared my succesful recipe for choux in my last post, so I thought it was high time I gave them a go.

The beauty of churros is that you can experiment with different flavours or dipping sauces to go along side them as they are so simple in flavour themselves.

For my first attempt I decided to stick to the classical cinnamon sugar, but I discovered a jar of lotus roscoff spread lurking in my cupboard of baking stuff so I ended up using it as a dipping sauce and it went very well


You could just have them dusted with icing sugar and devour them on their own or drizzle with melted chocolate or for a bit of a cheekier treat - a good lashing of nutella.

For my cinnamon churros you will need

1 x batch of my choux pastry
Piping bag with a star nozzle attached
Caster sugar
Ground cinnamon
Sunflower/ vegetable oil for frying

• To start, make up the cinnamon sugar by mixing tog some caster sugar with some ground cinnamon in a large flat plate- I didn't measure the cinnamon or the sugar, I just did it by eye.  I then lined another flat plate with kitchen paper to drain the oil off the churros as they are deep fried.

• I then made up one batch of my Choux pastry, and transferred the dough to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.

•  Heat up your oil in either a deep fat fryer or a a deep heavy based pan. The oil needs to be at a temperature of 190/195c 

• Very carefully, hold the piping bag with the dough in over the oil, and pipe the batter straight into the oil. Use a knife or pair of scissors to cut the dough off to your desired length. I piped my churros roughly just a little longer than my index finger, and fried 5- 6 at a time.*

• The churros should take about 4-5 minutes to cook and turn golden brown in colour. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, then straight onto the kitchen paper. 

• Quickly transfer the churros to the plate with the cinnamon sugar and toss gently until evenly coated. Serve them as they are, or for a bit more of a treat, I drizzled mine with melted biscoff spread 




* I ended up with a batch of  almost 30 churros with the amount of dough for this recipe 

Choux pastry

Choux pastry is something that I always thought was super difficult and for the first few times I made it, I could never get if right when using it for eclairs or profiteroles.

My pastry would either sink every time and I would end up with flattened choux pancakes or they would rise only the tiniest bit and end up rock hard.

But those that know me will tell you I'm not a quitter so as I wasnt having luck with just reading recipes from books, I turned to YouTube to watch the process and I've succeeded after watching a few of the basic  "do not  break rules" I think it's safe to say I've cracked the basic  choux pastry and can now share it on here with you.

 The "do not break rules" are listed at the bottom of the page after the recipe

For this batch of choux I made up some creme diplomat filled profiteroles topped with milk chocolate ganache and I got almost 30 profiteroles, or you can use this same recipe for my classic eclairs.

To make 25-30 profiteroles you will need :

225ml water
150g plain flour
115g unsalted butter at room temp and cut into cubes
4 medium eggs at room temp
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp fine sea salt

• Start by preheating your oven to 180c fan. Line 2 large baking sheets with greaseproof paper and set aside.
Place the butter, salt, sugar and water in a pan. On a low heat melt the butter, stirring frequently, once it has melted turn up the heat very slightly.

• As soon as the water comes to boiling point  ( don't actually let it boil) take the pan off the heat, add in all the flour and stir together vigorously with a wooden spoon. It will look all clumpy and may not look like it will combine but keep going and you'll end up with a sticky and wet dough.

•  Place the pan back on to a low heat, and continue stirring until the wet dough starts to clump together and comes away from the sides of the pan and is all glossy and smooth

• Take the pan off the heat and transfer to another bowl, and leave to cool for a few minutes. Whilst the dough is cooling, crack the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk together well

• When the dough has slightly cooled, take the eggs and beat them into the dough a little at a time. Each time you add a little of the egg ensure it's all incorporated and the dough turns to a smooth batter.

• To check that the batter is the right consistency, hold up your wooden spoon with a little of the batter, if it's really stiff and clumpy then you need to continue adding the egg. Once the batter droops and forms a "V" shape and doesn't fall off the spoon and holds its shape that is the perfect consistency.

• Mix together one final time for a minute to ensure you have a smooth glossy batter

• Transfer the batter into a piping bag and pipe round blobs onto the trays. I managed to get 28 blobs. Dampen the tip of you finger with a little water and gently press down on any bits of the batter that are sticking up on the top

• Bake the profiteroles for 20 minutes at 180c, then turn down the heat to 160 and bake for a further 5  minutes till crisp and golden.

• Remove from the oven and leave them to cool completely before filling them with your choice of fillings. You can also freeze them if you wish to have them made up ahead of time, just pop them in the oven to crisp back up and fill once they've cooled

Below are my " do not break rules " and honestly as long as you follow them, you'll ace choux pastry. 


1  As with all baking ensure that your eggs and butter are at room temperature as this just helps ensure they mix easily and efficiently 

2 cutting the butter into cubes means that the butter should all melt at the same speed so that when  the water reaches boiling point you shouldn't have odd clumps of butter floating around

3 When waiting for the water to reach boiling point, you don't want to let it boil as this means the water will begin to evaporate which means less steam once choux is in the oven and it's the steam that helps them puff up and rise 

4 Whisking the eggs beforehand means you can control how little or much egg you add in as well the egg whites and yolk being combined fully as I've found that just adding  whole eggs straight in means clumps of egg in the batter and also it can result in over mixing the batter which will result in tough choux pastry

5 However tempted you are, do not open your oven door as all the heat and steam will escape and your lovely choux will collapse

My ''When you've always been a crumble kinda girl'' Apple pie

I have always been an apple crumble kinda girl, not sure why, but it's probably because I learned to bake it at school and loved it so much I never even thought of trying alternate versions.. Until now. Whilst trying to muster up a bit more motivation and to push myself out of my comfort zone of cakes and cupcakes, I decided to trawl Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration. 

Apple pie was one of the desserts that was popping up consistently, so it seems to be the dessert to indulge in as we head into the cold crisp winter evenings. 
So Apple pie it was .. and oh my I think I have been converted and may just be on team pie as well as team crumble... I dont think I could ever choose one over the other now.. It really was lip licking delicious. I tweaked mine from a combination of a few different recipes and the recipe below is what i ended up with

So to make my My ''When you've always been a crumble kinda girl'' Apple pie to serve 6-8 people you will need:

For the Filling

1 kg apples (mixture of cooking and eating apples)

3 tbsp lemon juice

55g Butter

100g Soft Light Brown Sugar

2-3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp cornflour
4 tbsp water

For the Shortcrust Pastry

340g Plain Flour

Pinch of Salt
2 tbsp Caster Sugar

240g Butter, cubed and cold

2-3 tbsp cold water

20g Demerara Sugar
beaten egg to seal & glaze 

• Peel and core the apples. Roughly chop into 1cm chunks. Stir in the lemon juice - this will help reduce them discolour

• Heat the butter and brown sugar over a medium heat. Once melted, add in the apples. Mix together the cornflour and 2 tablespoons of water and add to the apples, along with the cinnamon. Stir and cook over a medium heat until the apples are soft but not mushy. add Taste and add more cinnamon or sugar, if you feel it is needed. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

• Into a food processor, place the plain flour, salt, caster sugar and cold butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, add in the water and give it another quick blitz. Lightly flour your work surface and bring the dough together using your hands. Do not knead it as this will result in a tough dough and not the crumbly texture needed. Wrap in cling film and chill for 15 minutes to half an hour.

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C (fan) Take a 20cm oven proof dish*. Cut the dough into half, roll out one half on a floured surface to roughly half / 1 inch  thick. Line your dish making sure the pastry overlaps the edges.

•  Add the apples, and level them ensuring they evenly fill the tin. Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg. Roll the second piece of pastry, and place it top of the apples making sure it again overlaps the edges of your dish. Trim the excess with knife and seal the edges down by crimping with a fork.

• Brush the egg wash all over the pie lid and edges. with the beaten egg. If you're feeling creative,use the left over pastry to cut out designs... I did an apple with leaves going all around the edge. Brush your decorations with eggwash. Sprinkle the top with a generous amount of  demerara sugar. Make 3-4 small cuts in the top of your pie- this will help in releasing steam and stop the pie form cracking/ bursting as it is cooking . Bake for for 45-50 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve as you wish 

* I used my 20cm loose bottom cake tin. I lined the bottom with a sheet on greaseproof paper so to make it easier to lift the cake off the base once it had cooled.

Mocha Cake

It's no secret that i love a good cup coffee and love cake, so unsurprisingly coffee cake is one of my all time favourite cakes. My mocha cake came about over the weekend as I had spare chocolate buttercream and latte flavoured icing sugar so I thought of mixing the 2 flavours to make what would essentially be a mocha if I were making it up as a drink


No surprises i was pretty pleased with the overall result, so here is my take on a mocha cake

To make a 7 inch round cake you will need:

Equipment
1x 7 inch round loose bottomed cake tin
greaseproof paper
spatula

For the cake
4oz self raising flour
2oz dark cocoa powder
6oz golden caster sugar
6oz softened margarine
3 medium eggs
3 tbsp olive oil

For the chocolate buttercream
3oz softened salted butter
4oz icing sugar
2oz dark cocoa powder

For the coffee buttercream
3oz softened salted butter
6oz vanilla latte flavour icing sugar*
OR 6oz icing sugar with 1 tbsp of coffee powder
OR 1 tbsp coffee powder dissolved in 1 tbsp of cooled boiled water


For dusting
cocoa powder
crumbled Cadburys Flake

• Preheat your oven to 160c (fan assisted), grease and line your cake tin with greaseproof paper on the bottom and a collar round the inside going all the way around.
• Place all the ingredients for the cake into a bowl and mix either using a freestanding mixer or hand held electric whisk until you have a smooth fluffy batter.
• Pour the batter into the cake tin and level the top of the batter with either a spatula or a breakfast knife
• Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes until the cake has risen and springs back when lightly pressed in the middle. Alternatively, insert a skewer into th centre of the cake, and if it comes out clean the cake is ready, if not then leave for a few minutes. Once cooked, set aside and leave to cool completely
• Whilst the cake cools, make both the buttercreams. To make the chocolate buttercream place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a hand held electric whisk (make sure you start off on the slowest speed to stop the icing sugar from flying everywhere) unitl the ingredients have all incorporated smoothly and you have a spreadable consistency. If the mixture is too stiff, add a tablespoon of milk to loosen the mixture.
• In a separate bowl, do the exact same for the coffee buttercream
• Once the cake is completely cool, split the cake into 2 halves using a large knife or a cake leveller
• On the bottom half, using a spatula, spread the chocolate buttercream so that it almost meets the edges of the cake all the way round (i leave a slight gap from the edges as when the top half is placed ontop, as you lightly press it to secure it in place, the buttercream will spread to the edges and not spill out)
• Place the top half on to the bottom half carefully ensuring the edges meet, and lightly press the top to ensure it's secured in place.
• Spread the coffee buttercream again using a spatula** all over the top of the cake, and if you've any left over, all over the sides of the cake. Dust the top of the cake with cocoa powder, sprinkle the crumbled flake all over and serve 

*For the vanilla latte flavoured icing i use flavoured icing made by sugar and crumbs icing, which is readily available from most cake supply stores and online
** If you dont have a spatula, you can always use a breakfast knife

Team Strawberry

Continuing with my Team Apple VS Team Strawberry, here is my recipe for Strawberry turnovers :

 For 16 turnovers you will need :

1 punnet of strawberries chopped into chunks
4-5 tbsp strawberry jam
2 tbs corn flour 
2 tbsp water
1 egg whisked
1 tbsp caster sugar 
320ml double cream 
1 tsp vanilla paste / seeds from vanilla pod
icing sugar to dust

• Preheat your oven to 180c, place the strawberries, sugar and the jam in a saucepan. Mix together the cornflour and 2 tablespoons of water to make a smooth paste and add to the saucepan Cook the strawberries on a medium heat, till they've slightly softened and the jam has thickened a little - it should take about 10-12 minutes. 
• Line a large rectangle baking tray with baking paper, and open out the pastry sheet. Cut the sheet of pastry into 16 equal rectangles*
• Brush each of the rectangles with the beaten egg and place the pastry in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the each of the sheets has risen and are golden brown on top. Leave to cool completely then cut each rectangle in half, straight through the middle- so you'll end up with 16 top halves and 16 bottom halves
• Whip the double cream with the vanilla paste till you get semi stiff peaks - when you pick it up with a tablespoon it shouldn't drip off and should just hold its shape.
• On each of the bottom halves of pastry, place about 2 tablespoons of the whipped cream, then put about a tablespoon full of the strawberry mixture on top of each slice. Then place the top halves of pastry back on to each slice, and finish off with a good dusting of icing sugar and they're ready to serve 

* if you don't want to make as many as 16 .. use just half the sheet instead of the whole sheet and cut into 8 rectangles .. and save the other half by wrapping up and placing in the freezer as i used my pastry as soon s i'd bought it and it wasn't already frozen

Team Strawberry or Team Apple ?

So are you team strawberry or team apple when it comes to the turnover variety ? I have to say I cant choose between them so to trial a recipe I cast a vote on Facebook and the winner by just one vote was Apple... So off I went on a virtual hunt to get inspiration for my own take on apple turnovers and this recipe is what i came up with.. You can find the Strawberry recipe here



To make 16 turnovers you will need:

3 Granny Smith / Bramley apples - peeled, cored & chopped
2 tbsp butter
300g soft brown sugar
1 -1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp water
160 ml double cream
1 egg - whisked
1 ready rolled puff pastry sheet* 
icing sugar to dust 

• Preheat your oven to 180c and start making the apple filling. Peel, core and chop the apples into chunks. Put the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter in a saucepan. 
• Mix together the cornflour and 2 tablespoons of water to make a smooth paste and add to the saucepan 
• Cook the apples on a medium heat, till they've softened, but don't let them mush and you have a thick sauce formed from the butter and sugar** - I found it took about 20 minutes. Set the mixture aside and leave to cool completely 
• Line a large rectangle baking tray with baking paper, and open out the pastry sheet. Cut the sheet of pastry into 16 equal rectangles***
• Brush each of the rectangles with the beaten egg and place the pastry in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the each of the sheets has risen and are golden brown on top. Leave to cool completely then cut each rectangle in half, straight through the middle- so you'll end up with 16 top halves and 16 bottom halves
• Whip the double cream till you get semi stiff peaks - when you pick it up with a tablespoon it shouldn't drip off and should just hold its shape.
• On each of the bottom halves of pastry, place about 2 tablespoons of the whipped cream, then put about a tablespoon full of the apple mixture on top of each slice. Then place the top halves of pastry back on to each slice, and finish off with a good dusting of icing sugar and they're ready to serve 

* I use the Jus Rol ready rolled out sheets

** it should be about the consistency of apple pie filling

** if you don't want to make as many as 16 .. use just half the sheet instead of the whole sheet and cut into 8 rectangles .. and save the other half by wrapping up and placing in the freezer as i used my pastry as soon s i'd bought it and it wasn't already frozen

Stressed spelt backwards ...

.. Is desserts & although tonights recipe post isn't a dessert it is a sweet treat so definitely belongs in here. I decided to give a go at some biscuits as they are one area of baking that I'm not overly confident with.. And this came about due to being a little stressed over the last couple of days, and when I'm stressed i do tend to find cooking & baking as my form of therapy. 

After trawling Pinterest I found a recipe for peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies and after checking my kitchen cupboards i found i had enough ingredients  - i actually ended up with a batch of 20  


So to make these peanut butter cookies you will need :

130g good quality peanut butter
115g unsalted softened  butter
100g caster sugar
75g soft light brown sugar
1 medium egg (at room temp)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract / seeds of half a vanilla pod
150g porridge oats
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
100g chocolate chips / raisins

• Start by combining the peanut butter, softened butter and both sugars in a bowl. Beat them together wth an electric hand whisk or with a freestanding mixer for a couple of minutes till the mixture is light fluffy and paler in colour.
• Break the egg into a small plate and whisk together with the vanilla extract / seeds. Pour this into the peanut butter mixture and beat together with a wooden spoon.
• Add in the oats, the flour and the soda and mix together . Add in the chocolate chips/ raisins and stir together until the chips/ raisins are evenly incorporated.Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to chill in the fridge for about 40-45 minutes. Towards the end of the chilling time preheat the oven to 180c/ gas mark 4 
• Take a tablespoonful of dough, shape into a round ball and place onto a baking paper lined baking tray. Repeat with all of the dough, spacing the balls of dough out evenly. 
• Bake in the oven for 12-15* minutes until golden brown- the edges will be slightly darker.
• Leave to cool slightly and then remove carefully onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

*Rotate the baking trays half way through the cooking time to help the cookies cook evenly

Raffello fudge

Ferrero Rocher are definitely in my top ten of the yummiest chocolates ever and I think I love the white coconut version even more than the classic chocolate hazelnut version. Trawling pinterest the last few days for recipe inspiration and there seems to be a craze for fudge, from the classic vanilla fudge to new twists such as salted caramel.. The thought of making fudge with rafello pieces in it sounded absolute scrumptious so I gave it a go 




To make about 15-20 pieces of raffello fudge you will need:

1 x 379g carnation condensed milk
300g white chocolate
300g bounty spread*
25g butter
125g icing sugar 
Broke up pieces of coconut and white chocolate rochers 

• Line a square 8 inch tin with greaseproof paper, I've found it helps if the paper comes out over the sides of the tin as it makes it easier to lift the fudge out once its set.
• Pour the condensed milk, bounty spread and all the chocolate into a saucepan and melt on a low heat till all the mixture has combined. Make sure to stir continuously to stop the mixture sticking and burning.
• Once its all melted, pour into a bowl, add the icing sugar and mix together well - it will take a bit of effort to get it all together but it will come together. 
• Pour the mixture into the tin and sprinkle over the broken pieces of white ferrero rocher and gently squash into the mixture.
• Place into the fridge for at least 5 hours and cut up into squares and place back into the fridge for another couple of hours or even overnight if possible ... and devour 

*Bounty spread is divine and you'll find it in most of the large supermarkets 

 

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Anyone that really knows me, will tell you that i LOVE baking cakes and i realised that Ive yet to share a cupcake recipe, There are a couple of cake posts up already such as my jam sponge or my banana cake but this is my first post for a cupcake recipe

Since a friend asked for my salted caramel recipe, I thought I would share my salted caramel cupcake recipe with you all. To make 12 cupcakes you will need: 

Cupcakes
 175g Unsalted Butter, Softened
 175g Light Brown Sugar or golden caster sugar
 3 large eggs
 175g Self Raising Flour
 splash of milk
 12tsps Caramel*
 Pinch of Sea Salt

Salted Caramel Buttercream
150g Butter
350g Icing Sugar
100g Caramel*
70 -75ml Whole Milk
Pinch of Sea Salt

• Start by preheating your oven to 170C/160C (Fan assisted) and line a 12 hole cupcake tray with  cupcake cases.
• Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric whisk or freestanding mixer till smooth add in the eggs and flour and beat again for about about 20-30 seconds on a medium speed, add in the milk to loosen the mixture, and give it a final mix for about a minute
•  Divide the batter evenly into the cases** and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until they lightly spring back when gently pressed and leave to cool on a wire rack. Once they've cooled completely , mix the caramel for the cupcakes with a pinch of salt, make a hole in each of the cupcakes and fill with the caramel.
• To make the salted caramel buttercream – Beat the butter with an electric mixer or in a free standing mixer until it becomes light and fluffy and paler in colour. Gradually add the icing sugar on a slow speed until it is combined then speed the mixer up again and beat for 3-4 minutes until all the icing sugar has incorporated.
• Add the caramel to the buttercream and continue mixing, and gradually add the milk until you reach the desired texture – I usually add it all! Keep on beating for 5 minutes until whipped  
• To decorate the Cupcakes fit a disposable piping bag with a 2d or star nozzle, fill the bag with the buttercream and pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes - point the nozzle in the middle of the cupcake and pipe in a clockwise motion. 
• As an extra i like to drizzle a little caramel over each cupcake and then top with either a rolo or a piece of cadburys caramel chocolate 

* I use carnation caramel thats all ready made in tins.. no need to mess about with attempting to make your own

** I find filling my cases half way gives just the right size cupcake 

Nuts about jam sponge

For me school dinners were always about one thing and one thing only .. what's for pudding ??  My favourites were either cornflake tart or the classic jam & coconut sponge with a load of custard. Ive already blogged my recipe for cornflake tart here, so today it's the turn of my other favourite. It's one of the easiest and quickest desserts going and definite crowd pleaser 

To serve 6-8 people you will need :

6oz margarine (softened ) *

6 oz self raising flour

6 oz caster sugar

3 medium eggs*

for the sugar syrup

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons hot water ( preferably freshly boiled )

for the topping:

3-4 tablespoons  raspberry jam

desiccated coconut 

• Start by preheating your oven at 180c ( fan assisted ) and grease and line a 7 inch square tin
• Place all the ingredients for the cake in a bowl and with an electric hand whisk or in a freestanding mixer if you have one. Whisk the ingredients together at a slow speed till everything is well combined, speed up the whisk a little and whisk for a further 2-3 minutes. The mixture should be smooth and lighter in colour.
• Pour the mixture into the greased tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched and the sides are slightly coming away from the tin or inserted skewer comes out clean.
• Put the cake to the side and leave to cool slightly 
• While the cake cools, make the sugar syrup by simply mixing the sugar and water together in a cup or small bowl. If you find that there are a few stubborn grains that just won't mix in, pop the mixture in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds- don't let it come to the boil as you don't want it to crystallise 
• When the cake is cool to the touch, remove the cake and place onto a suitable plate. With a pastry brush, brush the sugar syrup all over the top and sides. You won't need all the syrup, just use enough to give the cake an even coat.
• Finally warm the jam for a few seconds in a plate in the microwave, ( just to make it easier to spread) and spread all over the top of the cake with a knife. Finish off with a sprinkling of desiccated coconut & serve with lashings of custard 

* ensure that the eggs and margarine are at room temperature, as this helps in getting a lighter and fluffier cake batter and a better rise all over.

Strawberry Cheesecake

Linking on from my earlier post for my Ferrero Rocher cheesecake, here's my recipe for the classic strawberry cheesecake. This one just as the Ferrero Rocher will easily serve 10 -12 people and is definitely a quick and simple crowd pleaser


You will need :

130g butter 

350g digestive biscuits 

250g cream cheese*

280ml double cream 
100g white chocolate 
1 Punnet of strawberries 
1 punnet of raspberries 
white chocolate curls to decorate (optional)

• Start by melting your butter and then set aside. Crush the biscuits either in a food processor or using a plastic food bag & rolling pin to crush.
• Pour the crushed biscuits & melted butter in a bowl and combine together. Press the crushed biscuits into a deep 9 inch round loose bottom tin and smooth out evenly with the back of a spoon or a plastic spatula. Pop in the fridge to chill 
• Melt the white chocolate either in a microwave in short 30 second bursts or in a bowl over a pan of simmering hot water- making sure the water doesn't come into contact with the bowl. Once melted, set aside to cool
• Using a freestand mixer or electric hand whisk, whisk the double cream until you get a stiff peak consistency. Add in the cream cheese and whisk for another minute or so till its all smoothly combined together.
• Take the cooled melted chocolate and half of the raspberries and add to the cream cheese mix and stir through with a spatula or metal spoon
• Pour the cream cheese and raspberry mix onto the biscuit base, and level it off - i normally use a breakfast knife .
• Cut the tops of the strawberries off, and cut them either into halves or quarters and arrange a over the top of the cream cheese, leaving a little room in the middle to fill with the remaining raspberries. For a finishing touch sprinkle over some white chocolate curls.
• Refrigerate for at least 3 hours (preferably overnight)before serving to allow the cream cheese to firm up. 
• To serve, either remove the cheesecake about 15 minutes before serving from the fridge or cut through the cheesecake using a hot knife (dip the knife in hot water and dry with kitchen paper)   as the base should be quite firm due to the cold set biscuit base.

* make sure you use full fat cheese as low fat just won't set as well as full fat would and you'll end up with a runny cheesecake. I love to use a mix of marscapone & philadelpia - 125g each 

Cheesecake cured my bloggers block

Bloggers block - if there is such a thing- is something I have been seriously suffering from, along with being too worn out in the evening from the everyday housewife and mother duties on some days to be able to string a coherent sentence together, never mind post a recipe … But reading through all my posts reminded me of how much I enjoyed blogging so I'm going to make more of an effort to post a recipe regularly, even if it is only once a week. Hopefully *she says* I won't go months without posting something.

So to ease myself back into it, I thought I'd share 2 desserts that I made for the family last night and they went down rather well. I've said earlier on that this would be a blog of mainly Asian food but I'd be sharing recipes for other cuisines as well as desserts since I do have a sweet tooth. So this post is all about the cheesecake… I have the classic strawberry cheesecake and a Ferrero Rocher version for you 

Both these will serve 10 - 12 people easily and they are no bake, only require chilling in the fridge. 

 First up is the Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake , you can find the post for the strawberry version HERE

130g butter 

350g digestive biscuits 

500g cream cheese

300ml double cream 

5-6 generous tablespoons Nutella

Ferrero Rocher chocolates to decorate 

• Start with the cheesecake base, melt the butter either in the microwave or in a small pan on a low heat. Crush the biscuits in a food processor till you get fine crumbs. If you don't have a processor to hand, you can put the biscuits in a food bag & crush using a rolling pin. Add the melted butter to the crushed biscuits, stir till combined, tip into a 23cm springform tin and press the crumbs into the tin evenly , leave to chill in the fridge.
• In a bowl whip together the cream cheese and the Nutella. I found that I needed to slightly melt the Nutella as it was quite cold and set hard in the jar
• Whisk the double cream in a separate bowl till you get stiff peaks, and gently fold in the cream cheese & chocolate mixture
• Pour the mixture into the tin over the biscuit base, smooth the mixture with a spatula to level it out. Leave in the fridge to chill for at least 4-5 hours, or preferably overnight if you can.
• When ready to serve, decorate the top with Fererro Rocher chocolates - either crush and sprinkle over the top or leave them as whole
• As an extra, finish off with a drizzle of melted chocolate all over the top 

We all have that friend who ...

You know when you're on Facebook or Twitter and a friend posts pictures of some sort of food, wether its breakfast, lunch, dinner or even worse … dessert … and you just HAVE TO HAVE IT !!

Well I had one of those very moments a couple of days ago when a friend of mine posted a picture of a classical school dinners dessert, cornflake tart, and I wanted it right then.

There and then was just not going to happen since I was all out of the vital component, cornflakes, and to add to my predicament outside it was beginning to snow rather heavily so there was no way I was venturing outdoors.

Yesterday the sunshine decided to make a brief appearance so I grabbed my chance and off I went to get my hands on a box of cornflakes. 

For this recipe I made John Whaite's  rich sweet short crust pastry, but cheated with the custard and used shop bought.

For the pastry you will need :

1 egg

125g golden caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

250g plain flour

125g salted butter - cut into cubes

For the filling you will need:

4-5 tbsp raspberry jam

4 tbsp golden syrup

100g cornflakes

55g butter

25g soft brown sugar

• Start with making the pastry. Place the egg, sugar & extract in a bowl and whisk together till combined.
• Sift the flour into the mixture and stir together till you end up with a breadcrumb like consistency. Make sure there are no bits of flour left in the bowl.
• Add in the cubed butter and cut the butter into the flour using a butter knife till it all comes together. I found that as it's been quite cold recently i managed to ' press ' the butter gently into the flour with the back of a wooden spoon.
• Remove from the bowl once combined and knead gently for a couple of seconds. You don't want to over knead it as you'll end up activating the gluten which will end up giving you hard pastry and not the crumbly texture you want with short crust.
• Wrap the pastry in cling film or baking paper and chill for at least 30 minutes before using it.
• Once chilled, roll the pastry out onto a well floured board, to about a centimetre thickness, and line a round 20cm baking with the pastry.
• Press the pastry in gently, making sure there are no air bubbles, prick the base lightly with a fork and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes. DO NOT cut off the excess pastry from the sides of the tin
• Remove the pastry from the freezer, line with greaseproof paper or foil, weigh the paper down with baking beans, uncooked rice or even lentils
• Bake in a preheated oven at 200c for 15 minutes. Remove the baking paper and bake for a further 15 minutes till lightly golden brown, leave to cool*
• Once cooled. carefully cut off any excess pastry round the sides and set aside 
• To make the filling, heat up the jam in a small bowl in the microwave in short 30 second bursts and pour into the case, spreading it out evenly with a butter knife.
• Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small pan on a low heat together. Gently fold in the cornflakes making sure they're all coated in the caramel. Pour the cornflakes into the pastry case and even them out with a wet knife. Allow the tart to cool and for the cornflakes to set slightly .. and serve away 

* i found that when the case was baking in the oven, most of the excess pastry fell to the bottom of the oven and made quite a bit of mess. Place the baking tin onto a baking sheet/ tray, that way you'll save the bottom of your oven getting into a mess and save your time cleaning up.