Flour, Cake and Pastry

So I'm finally back from my Australasia adventure! And I'm finally back to baking tasty delights! Oh how I've missed it! This week I made the easiest chocolate cake in the world, filled with a creamy delicious vanilla buttercream and decorated with my favourite decoration, a chocolate cage. Read on for a step by step guide and that all important ingredient list! You'll need two 8 inch round cake tins for this one! Ingredients 250g self raising flour 35g cocoa powder 285g caster sugar 285g softened butter 5 eggs 1tsp baking powder 1 tub of Betty Crocker Vanilla Icing 100g dark chocolate Method Preheat your oven to 180C, grease and line your cake tins. In a bowl combine the butter and sugar until creamy, and then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in a spoon full of flour with your last egg before beating well. Fold in the remaining flour, cocoa and baking powder until combined. Give the batter a final

So I'm halfway through my New Zealand trip and what better way to celebrate than another Kiwi inspired recipe. Anzac biscuits are super easy to make and can be made either chewy or crunchy, depending on how you like them! An Anzac biscuit is a sweet biscuit, which is found in both Australia and New Zealand. Its main ingredients are porridge oats, delicious golden syrup and desiccated coconut. This recipe is from Food to Love , so be sure to go and check out all their other DELICIOUS recipes, you won't regret it. Ingredients: 1 cup plain flour 1 cup caster sugar 1 cup desiccated coconut 2 cups rolled oats 125g butter 2 tbsp golden syrup 1 tsp baking soda 3 tbsp boiling water Method: Heat oven to 180C. Line two baking trays. Place flour, caster sugar, coconut and oats in a bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre. Place the butter and golden syrup in a saucepan to melt, or microwave in a bowl to melt. Dissolve the baking soda in boiling water. Add th

Kia Ora! I'm currently doing some travelling around New Zealand, seeing all the sights and tasting all the delicious food. So I thought I'd share with you one of my favourites so far: Ambrosia! Ambrosia is a famous kiwi BBQ bring-a-long pudding. Its so simple...it only takes ten minutes to prepare on the morning of your BBQ or event, and by the time the BBQ rolls around the marshmallows will be soft and squidgy. And with just 4 ingredients, it really won't break the bank!  Ingredients: 1kg yoghurt (Any flavour you'd like)  500ml double cream  1 packet marshmallows (Any size)  1 punnet strawberries  Method: Slice the strawberries and chop the marshmallows in half (if using large).  Whip the double cream until soft peaks are formed, then add in the yoghurt and mix until its well combined.  Add in the marshmallows and fruit, and then spoon into either a large glass bowl or individual bowls or glasses.  Pop in the fridge for at least 5 hours go set a little before servin

Hello weekend! How excited I am to see you! So this week has been a crazy busy week, but I still found time to do a spot or two of baking, as always. We had a few lemons left in our fridge that were never going to get used up, so I thought I may as well pop them into one of my bakes * . And this is the result! Lemon flavoured shortbread biscuits, sandwiched together with a tangy lemon curd (which I admit, is a supermarket lemon curd, but that also needed using up so...), and finished with a dusting of icing sugar. They go perfect with a cuppa, or to be honest just by themselves. With a biscuit base that literally does just melt in your mouth and then a hit of delicious lemon, you really can't go wrong. Ingredients 200g softened butter 140g caster sugar 1 egg yolk 280g plain flour, sieved 1 lemon: zest 1/2 jar lemon curd Icing sugar, to finish Plain flour, to dust Method Cream together the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl, and then add in the egg yolk and beat

Hello! So today I am off on my travels to Australia and New Zealand! And to celebrate I thought I'd share some yummy 'Taste of...' recipes to get you inspired and to just share some new and exciting flavours from across the globe. So look out over the next couple of weeks for some delicious treats from the other side of the world. This week sees the turn of Lamingtons, made from squares of sponge cake coated in an outer layer of either chocolate or raspberry sauce and then rolled in desiccated coconut. The thin mixture is absorbed into the cake and left to set, giving it its unique and distinctive texture. Without further a do... Ingredients 3 eggs 1/2 cup caster sugar 3/4 cup self-raising flour 1/4 cup corn-flour 15g butter 3tbsp hot water For the icing 3 cups desiccated coconut 2 cups icing sugar 1/3 cup cocoa powder 15g butter 1/2 cup milk Method Pre-heat your oven to 180C and grease and line a 18cm x 28cm tin. Beat the eggs until they're

SO here we are on our final #EasterInspirations post for this year! How fast has this month gone? However this does mean Easter has finally arrived, and I'm sure you're all ready for a weekend off work or school, to celebrate with your loved ones and just to have some well earned R&R. Today's post is one I'm quite excited about as it's a little different to our standard baking posts, today I'll be sharing 5 Easter Inspired drinks, all non-alcoholic, to have with your Easter brunch or your main meal, whatever you fancy. By making these drinks non-alcoholic it means they are something you can have with the whole family. They're all packed with spring flavours to get the most out of the delightful season we're in. Spring flavours are always fresh and light, as we move into those summery fruity tastes. You'll no doubt want to use these recipes over and over again throughout the year, and I wouldn't blame you! Strawberry Grapefruit Smoothie