Chocolate Chip Muffins

Hi Everyone!

I decided to make some muffins today! I love muffins but they aren't really something that I make all that often as I have never really found a recipe that I was happy with until now! This recipe is so easy and makes a delicious batch of muffins!

INGREDIENTS:

250g Plain Flour

100g Caster Sugar

3 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

175ml Milk

75ml Vegetable Oil

1 Egg

125g Chocolate Chips

3 tbsp Caster Sugar

2 tbsp Soft Brown Sugar

METHOD:

1. Pre heat oven to 200C/ Gas Mark 6 and place 12 muffin cases into a muffin tray.

2. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, 100g caster sugar and chocolate chips together mixing well.

3. In a separate bowl mix the milk, oil and egg together, blending well.

4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet all at once and stir together until the dry ingredients are moistened (the batter will be a little lumpy).

5. Divide the mixture up between the muffin cases and sprinkle with the caster and brown sugars.

6. Bake for 20-25 until golden brown in colour. Insert a skewer into the centre of one muffin to check that they are thoroughly baked.

7. Allow to cool in the tray for 5 minutes before removing and allowing to cool thoroughly on a wire rack.

These muffins are so tasty and an ideal size! They are much lighter than those bought from a shop and don't seem to stick to the back of your throat like many shop bought ones seem to either!

I found this recipe on All Recipes

Maz x

Chocolate & Ginger Cupcakes

Hi Everyone!

I have been busy making cupcakes today and decided to make some ginger and chocolate ones. I love the flavour of ginger and using use it in biscuits so I wanted a change! Here's how I made them:

INGREDIENTS:

110g Butter

110g Caster Sugar

2 Medium Eggs

75g Self Raising Flour

2 tsp Ground Ginger

2-3 Drops Vanilla Extract

For the Icing:

75g Softened Butter

175g Icing Sugar

3 tbsp Cocoa Powder

METHOD:

1. Pre heat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and place 12 cupcake cases in a cupcake tray.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy then add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract.

3. Fold in the sifted flour along with the ginger and divide the mixture up between the 12 cases.

4. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully.

5. To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and whisk with the butter. Then stir in the cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth. Pipe or spoon the frosting on top of the cakes and decorate as desired.

These cupcakes are really simple and easy to make and the sponge smells delicious when its baking!

I found this recipe on the Dr Oetker website.

Maz x

White & Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Hi Everyone!

I have been busy baking today and decided to make these white and dark chocolate cupcakes. They are made up from a dark chocolate sponge with a white chocolate frosting. Here's how to make them:

INGREDIENTS:
100g Self Raising Flour
20g Cocoa Powder
145g Golden Caster Sugar
40g Butter
120ml Whole Milk
1 Large Egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Instant Coffee dissolved in 1 tsp Hot Water

Frosting:
280g Butter
280g Icing Sugar
200g White Chocolate, melted and cooled

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 and place 12 cupcake cases in a cupcake tin.

2. Place the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and butter into a food processor and blitz on a slow speed for 1 minute until you have a sandy consistency.

3. Gradually pour in half of the milk and beat until just incorporated.

4. In a separate bowl whisk the remaining milk, egg, vanilla and coffee together.

5. Beat the two mixtures together until smooth.

6. Divide the mixture up between the 12 cases and bake for 20 minutes.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

8. To make the frosting tip the butter and icing sugar into the food processor and beat until combined.

9. Remove this mixture from the mixer into a large bowl and fold in the cooled, melted chocolate.

10. Pipe or spoon the frosting onto each cupcake and decorate (I used milk chocolate buttons).

 

These cakes are gorgeous, light and so chocolatey! The addition of the coffee into the mix really brings out the flavour of the chocolate in the sponge and the white chocolate frosting is so tasty! Give them a go!

I found this recipe on the Good Food Channel website.

Maz x

Malteaser Cupcakes

Hi Everyone!

This is a recipe that I have wanted to make for a while now and today I finally did! These cupcakes are made from a sponge cake containing malteasers and topped with a rich butter cream with crushed malteasers. Here's how to make them:

INGREDIENTS:

Sponge:

200g Softened Butter

150g Caster Sugar

50g Brown Sugar

2 drops of Vanilla Extract
4 Medium Eggs
200g Plain Flour
10g Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt

80g Malteasers

Butter cream:

250g Butter

500g Icing Sugar

2 drops of Vanilla Extract

55g Malteasers, roughly crushed

METHOD:

1. Pre heat oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 and place cupcake cases in tray.

2. Cream the butter, caster sugar and brown sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

3. Add the vanilla followed by one egg at a time, whisking well.

4. Fold in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt.

5. Stir in the malteasers.

6. Divide the mixture up evenly between the cupcake cases and bake for around 25 minutes.

To make the butter cream:

1. Whisk the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.

2. Spoon or pipe the butter cream on to the cakes and decorate with the crushed malteasers.

 

These cupcakes are gorgeous! The addition of the brown sugar in the sponge makes it even tastier and also gives it a more caramelised flavour. They are quite sickly and rich though so best left to the occasional treat!

I found this recipe on the UK TV website. The recipe states that it makes 12 cakes but I found I had extra mixture left over for another 3!

Maz x

Oat & Raisin Cookies

Hi Everyone!
I decided to take a break from studying today and do some baking! Cookies are one of my favourite things to bake and I made some Oat and Raisin ones today, here's how I made them:

INGREDIENTS:

240g Rolled Oats

75g Shredded Coconut

230g Raisins or Sultanas

200g Brown Sugar

190g Caster Sugar

230g Butter, softened

150g Plain Flour

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1tsp Salt

METHOD:

1. Pre heat oven to 180C/ 350F Gas Mark 4 and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Cream the butter, brown sugar and caster sugar together in a large bowl.

3. Add the egg and vanilla to the bowl and mix together.

4. Sift in the flour, Bicarbonate of Soda and salt slowly and mix well.

5. Finally add the oats, coconut and raisins/ sultanas and mix.

Take large teaspoonfuls of the mix and roll into balls, place each one on the baking tray and press down slightly. Make sure you leave room around each one as they will spread out a little whilst baking.

6. Bake in the oven for 9-10 minutes.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool fully.

These cookies are so tasty and I especially love the added flavour that the coconut provides. They are just crunchy enough and just chewy enough in my opinion! They are pretty simple and quick to make too! Let me know if you give them a try!

I found this recipe on Videojug
Maz x

Bakewell Tart

Hi Everyone!

I was lucky enough to be given a food processor for Christmas so I decided to make pastry today! I made a Bakewell Tart which consists of a pastry case filled with a layer of raspberry jam and topped with an almond sponge and flaked almond pieces. Here's how to make it:

INGREDIENTS:

125g Plain Flour

75g Unsalted Butter, cold and diced

25g Caster Sugar

1 Egg Yolk

1 Egg White

For the Filling

2 Heaped tbsp Raspberry Jam

150g Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

150g Caster Sugar

3 Eggs, beaten

1 Egg Yolk

150g Ground Almonds

1 Lemon, zested

1tbsp Flaked Almonds

METHOD:

1. To make the pastry tip the flour, butter and sugar into a food processor with a pinch of salt and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Next add the egg yolk along with a tablespoon of water and turn the processor onto a low setting until the dough starts to come together.

2. Tip the dough out of the processor and flatten into a disc then wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.

3. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to around 3mm thick and place into a fluted tart tin pressing down gently. Prick the base of the tin with a fork and place in the fridge for around 20 minutes.

4. Now switch on the oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4.

5. Line the pastry case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake for around 20 minutes then remove the beans and parchment. Brush the pastry with a little egg white and bake for a further 2 minutes then allow to cool slightly.

6. Spread the jam in an even layer over the base of the pastry case.

7. To make the filling cream the butter and sugar together then gradually add the eggs. Now fold in the ground almonds along with the lemon zest. Next, carefully spoon the mixture over the jam and spread level.

8. Bake for 20 minutes then scatter with the flaked almonds then bake for a further 15-20 minutes until golden and set.

This is such a lovely dessert especially if you like almonds! It takes quite a while to made because of all of the different stages and chilling time but it is quite simple and straight forward. I also think that it looks pretty impressive!

I found this recipe on the BBC Good Food website.

Maz x

Christmas Baking!

Hi Everyone!

I was busy baking on Christmas Eve for our Boxing Day tea and I thought that it'd be nice to share it with you all! First of all I made a Lemon Sponge Cake:

This cake is made up of two layers of vanilla sponge sandwiched together using lemon curd and covered in a lemon icing. I then decorated it with Christmas themed icing pieces that I purchased from Sainsburys. You can find the recipe for this cake by clicking here.

I also made some gingerbread biscuits. I used my usual recipe which has been tried and tested many times which you can find by clicking here. I decorated them with coloured icing and Smarties and used festive shaped cutters rather than the usual gingerbread man ones.

I hope that you are all having a great Christmas!

Maz x

Chocolate, Oat & Nut Cookies

Hi Everyone!

Another cookies recipe yet again! I really love to make them and today's batch are for one of my friends, I am going round to her house tonight for tea so I thought that they'd make a great snack for us! Here's what you need to make them followed by the method.

INGREDIENTS

100g Plain Flour

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 Bicarbonate of Soda

1/4 Baking Powder

125g Unsalted Butter

175g Soft Brown Sugar

25g Caster Sugar

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

50g Chopped Mixed Nuts

100g Porridge Oats

50g Milk Chocolate Chips

METHOD

1. Pre heat oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 and line a 2 baking sheets with non stick baking paper.

2. Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and put to one side.

3. Cream the sugars, butter, vanilla and egg together in a bowl using an electric whisk.

4. Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture until the flour is well combined.

5. Now stir in the oats, chocolate chips and nuts.

6. Place tablespoon fulls of the mixture well spaced out onto the baking sheets. You can make 12-18 cookies with this mixture, then flatten them slightly.

7. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

8. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the sheets for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool fully.

I found this recipe on the BBC Good Food website but I changed it slightly. Give them a try they are delicious!

Maz x

Cherry & Almond Cake

Hi Everyone!

Today I decided to make a cherry and almond cake which is a recipe that I've been wanting to make for a while now. It is a lovely, traditional, rich sponge cake with a gorgeous almond flavour with cherries and flaked almonds on the top. Here's how to make it.

INGREDIENTS:

200g Butter

200g Golden Caster Sugar

4 Eggs

1/2 tsp Almond Extract

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

175g Self Raising Flour

85g Ground Almonds

300g Glace Cherries

100ml Milk

2 tbsp Flaked Almonds

METHOD:

1. Pre heat oven to 160C/ Gas Mark 3 and line a deep, 30cm cake tin.

2. Whisk the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy and then add the eggs one by one until all of the ingredients have been fully incorporated.

3. Next fold in the flour, ground almonds and baking powder followed by the cherries and milk.

4. Next transfer the mixture into the cake tin and scatter the almonds onto the top.

5. Bake in the oven for 1 hour - 1 hour, 15 minutes in the oven until the cake is a golden brown colour and a skewer comes out clean.

6. Leave the cake to cool in the tin.

N.B. You can chop the cherries or wash and coat them in the flour to try to stop them all from sinking to the bottom, as you can see, this didn't work for me though!

This cake is so tasty and is really quick and easy to make! This is a James Martin recipe that I found on the BBC Good Food website.

Maz x

Chocolate & Cherry Cookies

Hi Everyone!

I haven't managed to fit very much baking in over the last few of weeks but I had a couple of spare hours this morning so I made some chocolate and cherry cookies. Cookies are my favourite thing to bake and these are really quick and easy. They are a basic cookie with plain and white chocolate chips and cherries -  a perfect combination! Here's how I made them:

INGREDIENTS:

200g Unsalted Butter

85g Light Muscovado Sugar

85g Golden Caster Sugar

1 Egg

225g Self Raising Flour

50g Plain Chocolate - roughly chopped

50g White Chocolate - roughly chopped

85g Glace Cherries - roughly chopped

1/2 tsp Salt

METHOD:

1. Pre heat oven to 190C/ Gas Mark 5 and line 2 baking trays with grease proof paper.

2. Beat the butter, sugars and egg together until smooth.

3. Now sift in the flour and salt and mix until incorporated.

4. Finally add the chocolate and cherries and mix.

5. Place spoon fulls of the mixture, spaced well apart on the trays. You should get around 18-20.

6. Bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes until the cookies are slightly golden but still pale and soft in the middle.

7. Leave the cookies to cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

I found this recipe on the BBC Good Food website but I added chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate and dark muscovado sugar instead of light as I didn't have any!

I hope that you have enjoyed this post and will give it a go!

Maz x

White Chocolate & Cherry Loaf Cake

Hi Everyone!

Today I have made a white chocolate and cherry loaf cake which is a basic vanilla sponge cake with the addition of cherries and white chocolate topped with a white chocolate and cream cheese frosting.

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake:

225g Butter, softened

225g Golden Caster Sugar

4 Eggs, beaten

2 tsps Vanilla Extract

225 g Self Raising Flour

375g Cherries

175g White Chocolate, chopped

For the Frosting:

100g White Chocolate, broken

140g Cream cheese or Mascarpone

White Chocolate curls or Cherries to decorate (optional)

METHOD

1. Pre heat oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 and line a loaf tin.

2. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy then add the eggs, one at a time along with the vanilla.

3. Fold in the sifted flour until the mixture is smooth.

4. Dust the cherries in flour and stir half of the cherries and chocolate into the mixture.

5. Spoon the mixture into the tin and then sprinkle the remaining cherries and chocolate over the top and press down slightly. 

6. Bake in the oven for 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes.

7. Remove the cake from the oven and insert a skewer into the middle of the cake which should come out clean (be careful not to confuse melted chocolate with raw cake mix).

8. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a while before transferring it to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

9. When the cake has cooled make the frosting, first melt the chocolate in a bowl over some simmering water then leave to cool.

10. Make sure that your cream cheese or mascarpone is at room temperature then quickly stir one tablespoon of it into the melted chocolate  then beat in the remaining, making sure not to over beat. Now spread the frosting over the cake.

Why do cherries always fall to the bottom no matter what you do?!!

This cake is super tasty and moist but very rich. I don't think that it needs as many cherries as the recipe states unless you really really love them! I preferred it the day after baking it as the chocolate had hardened off slightly. I hope that you have enjoyed this post and will give the cake a go!

I took this recipe from the BBC Good Food website.

Maz x

Chocolate & Cherry Cupcakes

Hi Everyone!

Today I have made chocolate and cherry cupcakes which are a basic vanilla cupcake with a milk chocolate ganache topped with half a glace cherry. Here's how to make them.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Cakes

110g Butter, softened

110g Caster Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

110g Self Raising Flour

2 tbs Milk

For the Topping

100g Milk Chocolate

100ml Double Cream

6 Glace Cherries

METHOD:

1. Pre heat oven to 190C and place 12 cupcake cases in a bun tray.

2. Whisk the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy then add the eggs, a little at a time followed by the vanilla extract until all of the ingredients have been incorporated.

3. Now sift in half of the flour and fold. Then add the milk and stir in and finally fold in the remaining flour.

4. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for around 12 minutes until golden brown and springy to touch. Leave the cakes to cool in the tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

5. To make the chocolate ganache break the chocolate into pieces and place it in a pan along with the cream over a low heat stirring continuously until melted then place in the fridge until it is of a spreadable constituency.

6. When you are happy that the ganache has set enough spread it onto the cakes and top with half a glace cherry.

How great do they look? Obviously this is a pretty simple, basic recipe but it's a goody! The sponge is lovely and light and goes so well with the rich, creamy chocolate topping. I hope that you have enjoyed this post and will give it a try.

Maz x

Lemon & White Chocolate Cookies

Hi Everyone!

I love lemon and white chocolate and have been looking for recipes combining both of these ingredients for a while now, I came across this recipe for cookies recently so thought I'd give it a go!

INGREDIENTS

110g Unsalted Butter

100g Caster Sugar

55g Soft Brown Sugar

Pinch of Salt

Zest of 1 Lemon

1 tsp Lemon Extract

1 Large Egg, beaten

170g Plain Flour

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

200g White Chocolate, cut into chunks

METHOD

1. Pre heat oven to 190C and line a baking tray or sheet with baking paper.

2. Cream the butter, caster sugar, brown sugar and salt together until fluffy.

3. Beat in the lemon zest and extract.

4. Beat in the egg until well combined.

5. Now sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into the creamy mixture and mix until just combined.

6. Next add the chocolate chunks and mix until well combined.

7. Drop well spaced, heaped teaspoonfuls of the dough onto the tray/ sheets and bake for 7-8 minutes until the cookies are golden in colour and starting to brown around the edges.

8. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the tray for 1 minute before transferring them to a wire rack to cool fully.

This recipe makes up to 25 cookies depending on how big you want them to be.

This is such a tasty recipe and the cookies have just the right amount of lemon flavouring and are nice and light. I found this recipe on the following website: A Spoonful of Sugar

Maz x

Lemon Sponge Cake

Hi Everyone!

Today I made a gorgeous lemon sponge cake as requested by my mum! It is made up of 2 layers of lemon sponge with a lemon curd filling and topped with white and yellow icing with some white chocolate buttons. It is kind of a Victoria sponge cake crossed with a Lemon Drizzle cake! Here's how to make it.

INGREDIENTS:
For the Cake
225g/ 8oz Self Raising Flour
225g/8oz Butter
225g/8oz Caster Sugar
4 Eggs
Grated Zest of 1 Lemon
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
For the Filling:
Approx 4 tbsp Lemon Curd
For the Topping:
225g/8oz Icing Sugar
The Juice of 1-2 Lemons
Tube of Yellow Icing
White Chocolate Buttons

METHOD:

1. Pre heat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and line/ grease 2 sponge tins.

2. Whisk the caster sugar and butter together in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

3. Whisk in one egg at a time until all of the eggs have been added and the batter is smooth.

4. Fold in half of the sifted flour then add the lemon zest and juice and the remaining flour, continue to fold the ingredients together until everything has been incorporated.

5. Spoon the batter into the 2 tins and bake for around 35 minutes until the cakes are a golden brown colour and are springy to touch. A skewer should come out of the cake clean. Allow the cakes to cool.

6. Once the cakes have cooled spread the lemon curd onto the top of one of them and then sandwich the other cake on top of it.

7. To make the icing simply empty the icing sugar into a large bowl and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and mix, adding more lemon juice slowly until the icing becomes smooth and not too runny. Spread this over the top of the cake.

8. Allow the  icing to set for a couple of minutes and then use your tube of yellow icing to create a pattern on the top. I just drew straight (ish) lines across the cake and then added chocolate buttons!

This cake is so moist and delicious and full of lemon flavour. I love the addition of the chocolate buttons on the top too. This is a definite winner for me! Give it a try!

Maz x

Vanilla Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

Hi Everyone!

Today I decided to make some delicious cupcakes, it was a last minute decision to bake this morning as we have guests coming over unexpectedly tonight so I had to rustle something up with what we had in! These cupcakes are a plain vanilla sponge topped with a white chocolate frosting and sugar stars.

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake:

150g Butter, Softened

150g Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

150g Self Raising Flour

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tbsp Milk

For the Frosting:

100g White Chocolate

140g Unsalted Butter

140g Icing Sugar

Optional - Decorations e.g. Hundreds and Thousands (I used Sugar Stars from Sainsburys).

METHOD:

1. Pre heat oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 and place 12 cupcake cases in a cupcake tray.

2. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy then gradually add the eggs, one at a time followed by the vanilla extract until all of the ingredients have been incorporated and the mixture is smooth.

3. Sift in half of the flour and fold it in.

4. Now stir in the milk and then fold in the remaining flour.

5. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases and bake in the oven for 15-20 until the cakes are golden in colour and springy to the touch.

6. Remove the cakes from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

7. To make the frosting first break the white chocolate into pieces and place in a large bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring often until the chocolate has melted then set aside to cool.

8. When the white chocolate has cooled use an electric hand whisk to beat the icing sugar and butter together until smooth and creamy then add the white chocolate and continue to whisk until the mixture has the consistency of whipped cream.

9. Spoon the frosting onto the cakes and then sprinkle decorations on top if you wish, I use sugar stars.

And there you have it! 12 gorgeous cupcakes! Not bad for a last minute baking session! These cakes have a lovely light texture which are complemented by the chocolate frosting! I hope that you have enjoyed this post and will give the recipe a try!

Maz x

Chocolate Sponge Cake with White Chocolate Frosting

Hi Everyone!

I have once again been channeling my inner Ina Garten today and have been very busy in the kitchen! I decided to make a chocolate sponge cake as I haven't made one in a long time and my sponge cakes seem to be really popular with my friends and family. The cake is made up of 2 layers of chocolate sponge with a white chocolate filling and frosting topped with fresh raspberries. Here's how I made it:

INGREDIENTS:

For the Cake:

175g/ 6oz Butter, at room temperature

3 Eggs, at room temperature

175g/6oz Caster Sugar

175g/ 6oz Self Raising Flour

50g/ 2oz Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Frosting:

175g/ 6oz White Chocolate, chopped

2 1/2 tbsp Plain Flour

250ml Milk

225g Butter, softened

200g Caster Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Raspberries or Strawberries to decorate (optional)

METHOD:

1. Pre heat oven to 170C/ 325F/ Gas Mark 3 and line/ grease 2 cake tins.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy and then add the eggs one at a time until you leave a trail on the surface when the whisk is lifted.

3. Sift half of the flour into the mixture and fold.

4. Fold in the remaining flour together with the cocoa powder and baking powder then stir in the vanilla extract.

5. When all of the ingredients have been incorporated spoon the mixture evenly between the 2 tins and bake for around 30 minutes, remove the cakes from the oven and they should be springy to the touch. Insert a skewer into the centre of the cakes and it should come out clean. Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for a couple of minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

6. As the cakes are cooling begin making the frosting my combining the chopped chocolate together with the milk and plain flour in a pan and cool over a medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and all of the chocolate has melted. Remove this from the heat and allow it to cool completely.

7. When the cakes and chocolate mixture are completely cool you can then make the frosting. In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together and beat until light and fluffy then add the chocolate mixture gradually and whisk at a high speed until the mixture has the consistency of whipped cream.

8. Spoon a couple of spoonfuls of the frosting on top of one of the cakes then sandwich the other one on top of it then cover the cake in the frosting, including down the sides if you wish then top with raspberries or slices of strawberries.

How delicious does that look? It is a very rich but light cake that would make a great birthday cake. I hope that you enjoyed this post and will give the cake a try!

I found the cake recipe on the Good to Know website and the frosting recipe is from All Recipes.

Maz x

Ginger Loaf Cake

Hi Everyone!

My Grandma asked me to make her and my grandad a ginger loaf cake so here it is! This cake was so quick and easy to make and I almost feel like a cheater for making it! All it takes is some measuring and mixing!

INGREDIENTS

2 Eggs

250g Plain Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

2 Dessertspoons of Ground Ginger

90g Brown Sugar

2 tsp Golden Syrup

90g Butter or Margarine, softened

Pinch of Salt

METHOD

1. Pre heat oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 and line or grease a loaf tin.

2. Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix until the butter/ margarine soft place into the loaf tin.

3. Bake for around 45 minutes until the cake is springy to touch.

4. Allow the cake to cool in the tin before turning out.

So there you go, one delicious ginger loaf cake that is so simple to make yet impressive to look at! I don't think that I'll be telling my friends and family how little effort it took to produce!

Maz x

Almond & Lemon Curd Buttons

Hi Everyone!

I have been busy, once again in the kitchen baking biscuits! These biscuits have a lovely lemon and almond flavour and contain lemon curd. Perfect with a cup of tea! Here's how to make them.

INGREDIENTS

250g Butter, softened

140g Golden Caster Sugar

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

300g Plain Flour

A little Milk to seal

100g Ground Almonds

Zest of 2 Lemons

Approx 3 tbsp Lemon Curd

Flaked Almonds

Pinch of Salt

METHOD

1. Beat the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, lemon zest and a pinch of salt in a large bowl until smooth.

2. Next fold in the flour and ground almonds to make a dough.

3. Shape the dough into 2 rounds, flatten them and wrap them in cling film.

4. Place the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes until firm.

5. Pre heat the oven to 190C/ Gas Mark 5 and line 2 baking trays/ sheets with non stick paper.

6. Roll out half of the dough on a floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin and stamp out rounds with a 7cm cutter.

7. Brush each round all over with milk and spoon blobs of lemon curd on the centre of each round.

8. Now roll out the remaining dough in the same way and place a round on top of each round that has lemon curd on it and press down gently to seal the edges.

9. Sprinkle golden caster sugar and flaked almonds on top of each one.

10. Bake for 15 minutes until light golden in colour.

This recipe makes around 20 biscuits.

I really enjoyed making these biscuits and the are so tasty but the dough is a sticky nightmare to roll out! I would advise making sure that you have plenty of flour on your work surface and rolling pin when rolling them out. Enjoy!

I got this recipe from the BBC Good Food website.

Maz x

White Chocolate, Cranberry & Coconut Loaf

Hi Everyone!

Today I decided to make a slightly more unusual cake. This is a white chocolate, cranberry and coconut loaf cake. They are 3 of my favourite ingredients when baking so I was thrilled when I came across this recipe. It is super easy to make and looks very impressive. It is an ideal cake to have a slice of with a cup of tea in the afternoon. Here's how to make it.

INGREDIENTS:

375g Plain Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

200g Caster Sugar

225ml Vegetable Oil

3 Large Eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

175g White Chocolate, roughly chopped

4 tbsp Desiccated Coconut plus extra for sprinkling

150g Dried Cranberries

METHOD:

1. Pre heat oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 and great a loaf tin.

2. Mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar together in a large bowl.

3. Add the oil, eggs, vanilla, chocolate, cranberries and coconut to the bowl and fold together until there are no signs of flour left.

4. Pour the mixture into the tin and level off slightly then sprinkle some of the dessicated coconut over the top.

5. Place into the oven and bake for around 1 hour and 10 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for approximately 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

As you can see this cake it so easy to make, it just taking a little measuring out of the ingredients and 2 simple steps. You can't go wrong! I found this recipe on the All Recipes website.

Maz x

Marbled Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Hi Everyone!

I appear to be turning into Ina Garten at the moment with the amount of baking I'm doing! My latest cakes are Marbled Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting. They are basically an ordinary sponge mixture swirled with a chocolate sponge and topped with chocolate frosting and Smarties. They are really easy to make and would be great for kids parties too!

(Recipe makes 18-21 cupcakes).

INGREDIENTS:
For the Sponge
175g (6oz) Unsalted Butter
175g (6oz) Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
2 tbsp Milk
55g (2oz) Melted Plain Chocolate
For the Frosting
225g (8oz) Unsalted Butter
50g (2oz) Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
225g (8oz) Icing Sugar

1 tbsp Milk

METHOD:

For the sponge

1. Pre heat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4. Place your cupcakes cases into the bun trays.

2. Beat the butter and caster sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

3. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until smooth.

4. Add the flour and milk and mix until smooth.

5. Divide the mixture into 2 bowls and add the melted chocolate to one bowl mixing well.

6. Next using a teaspoon alternate the plain and chocolate mixture, put 4 half teaspoons into each case.

7. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes until the cakes have risen and are firm and springy to touch.

8. Remove the cakes from the oven and leave them in their trays or 5-10 minutes before transferring them onto a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

For the Frosting

1. Place the butter in a bowl and beat until creamy.

2. Then add the icing sugar, vanilla extract, cocoa powder and milk and mix together until smooth.

3. Spoon or pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.

4. Next add a decoration of your choice! Try Smarties, Cherries or sprinkles.

I hope you give these a go as they are great and a change from the usual cupcake.
Maz x