Flour, Cake and Pastry

Salted Caramel has become hugely popular in the last few years so I thought it was about time I shared a few recipe inspirations with this delicious filling! First of all, here's a base recipe from Jamie Oliver for Salted Caramel, and it's delicious! Its super simple and takes literally no time at all, so give it a go... Ingredients A dash of vanilla essence A pinch of sea salt 40 ml double cream 15 g salted butter 60 g caster sugar 40 g golden syrup Method Combine the cream, vanilla, half of the butter and sea salt in a pan. Cook, whisking over a low heat for about 2 to 3 minutes until it’s just bubbling,  and then take the pan off the heat and set aside. Place the caster sugar and golden syrup in a medium pan over a low heat. Don’t stir, just gently swirl the pan to help dissolve the sugar. Turn up the heat to medium and keep swirling until the sugar turns to golden caramel. Take off the heat. Stir the caramel into the hot milk with a wooden ...

So March is well and truly under way, and I do believe Spring is finally arriving! Throughout the month of March I'll be sharing some recipes perfect for Easter, and all that comes with it. This weeks recipes are all focussed on the awesome flavour combination that is Chocolate Orange. So read on for some Easter Inspirations. Chocolate Orange Brownies Brownie. Chocolate. Oranges. Does it really get much better? The great thing about brownies is that once you discover a great batter recipe, you can literally add any flavourings you like, or you could try your hand at baking some blondies, made with white chocolate instead of milk or dark. For a basic Brownie Batter, you'll need: 1 85g unsalted butter 185g dark chocolate 85g plain flour 40g cocoa powder 275g caster sugar 2 eggs And then just add the zest and juice of one large orange! For the method, just click here ! Chocolate Orange Cookies Cookies are perfect with a cuppa, and I'm sure us Brits demol...

Aloha! This week is my second recipe in Sugar Free February, and you wouldn't think for one second that it has 0 grams of sugar! For the entirety of this month I'm giving up sugar to raise money for Cancer Research UK, you can head over to read more about why, what the money is going towards, and to donate, here . This means that I'm having to find recipes to share with you guys, and at home, that have 0 sugar, and so natural sugars are a go! SUGAR FREE LEMON AND HONEY CAKE So lemon cake is basically the best. Like I love it, a lot. But the downside to a good old lemon drizzle is that its 100% sugar overload, and that would just not do this month.  And then I stumbled upon this recipe , and to be honest, I don't think I'll go back to using my normal lemon drizzle recipe (sorry Bake Off). Ingredients 175g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing 215g runny honey Zest of 3 lemons Juice of 1 lemon 75g ground almonds 3 eggs 100g self r...

I was recently asked to make an egg-free chocolate cake, which can sometimes be a difficult task. I surfed the internet trying to find a recipe that left me with a moist chocolate cake, and eventually I found one! There are a million and one recipes out there, but not all of them will always work first time, but this one served me well, and it tasted delicious! You couldn't even tell it was missing eggs! Ingredients 280 grams plain flour 300 grams caster sugar 60 grams cocoa powder 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 240 ml milk 240 ml water 120 ml vegetable oil 2 tbsp. vinegar 1 tsp vanilla extract Method Preheat your oven to 180C. Grease and line two 7 inch round cake tins. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt.) Add the wet ingredients (water  milk, oil, vanilla and vinegar). Whisk until smooth. Immediately divide the mix between your two tins and bake for 25 to 35 minutes until the top springs b...

Red Velvet Cake has quickly become a firm favourite in the UK, and it's not hard to see why...a moist, flavoursome chocolate sponge, with a lightly whipped sweet cream cheese filling and topping, what's not to like? So for a cake that really needs no introduction, here's the recipe (adapted from The Hummingbird's Bakery cupcake recipe)! I decorated mine with a dark chocolate cage too, which makes it look really cool! Ingredients 120g softened butter 300g caster sugar  2 eggs  40g cocoa powder 6-8 tbsp. red food colouring (depending on the strength of the colouring 1 tsp vanilla extract  240 ml buttermilk  300 g plain flour  1 tsp bicarbonate of soda  3 tsp white vinegar  600g ...

Happy Sunday! With one week to go until Christmas, mince pies are being made, Christmas cakes are being decorated and Christmas puds are being steamed. But with a week to go there is still time to make a birthday cake or two, and this weekend's recipe is just that...a lemon and white chocolate birthday cake decorated with a sprinkling of icing sugar and encircled in white chocolate fingers. Without further a do, here's the recipe! Ingredients: 10oz self raising flour 10oz butter 10oz caster sugar 5 eggs 1 lemon-juice and zest 1lb icing sugar, plus a little extra for decoration 8oz softened butter 1tsp vanilla essence 2tbsp lemon curd 3 boxes Cadbury's white chocolate fingers *8 inch circular cake tin x 2* Method: Pre-heat your oven to 180C and grease and line your cake tins. Cream together the butter and sugar, before sieving in the flour and adding one egg. Stir well. Add the rest of the eggs and beat well until well combined and a cake batter is form...

Chocolate orange is one of those flavour combinations that really can't go wrong. And for me, there's nothing more delicious than a Terry's Chocolate Orange; they are my favourite sweet treat of all time. So I thought I'd combined the classic Christmas snack with one of my favourite bakes-marble cake. Chocolate orange marble sponge, sandwiched together with a smooth, creamy buttercream, and topped with 12 segments of Terry's Chocolate Orange. Does it really get much better? Ingredients: 10oz Self Raising Flour 10oz Butter, softened 10oz Caster Sugar Pinch of Baking Powder 5 Eggs 1.5oz Cocoa Powder Zest and Juice of one Orange To decorate: 1 x 500g pot of Betty Crocker Vanilla Icing (I cheated this week and didn't make my own buttercream, but sometimes it has to be done) 1 Terry's Chocolate Orange *2 8inch circle cake tins, greased and lined* Method: Combine the flour, butter, sugar, baking powder and eggs in a mixing bowl, and beat we...

Happy Thursday! I hope you all enjoyed The Great British Bake Off  last night! I'm looking forward to catching up on it when I come back from South Africa. I thought I'd share with you one of my favourite basic baking recipes: cupcakes. They're so easy and they're certainly a crowd pleaser! You can pretty much add any flavourings you want, how great is that? So this recipe makes 12 cupcakes, and enough icing to pipe a swirl on top! Simple! Ingredients: 110g self raising flour, sieved 110g caster sugar 2 large eggs 110g softened butter 120g softened butter 250g icing sugar, sieved 1tbsp milk 1tsp vanilla essence Method: Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake cases. Beat together the flour, butter eggs and sugar for two minutes, or until a golden batter is formed, it should be thick and fluffy. Add any flavourings! Split the mix into the twelve cases. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown and a skew...

So next weekend I'm heading out to South Africa on a volunteering holiday, where I will be working on a private game reserve, taking part in anti-poaching projects and also heading out to a day care centre for disadvantaged kids. I'm so excited, so to get in the mood for an incredible two weeks, I thought I'd share some classically South African desserts. Food 24 has some yummy recipes from across the globe, and they have some pretty awesome South African ones too, however my favourite has to be the Peppermint Crisp Tart. It is DIVINE. Like I absolutely love it. So the recipe can be found HERE , but is my own version of the recipe that I adjusted slightly to fit in with what I had in the cupboards at home. Ingredients: 1 pack of digestive biscuits 250ml double cream 1 can Carnation caramel 2 bars of Mint Aero chocolate (or 1 large bar) Method: Grease a flan dish (whichever size you want). Whip the cream until thick. Spoon the caramel into the cream and f...

Here is our first Summer Sizzler recipe, and it's perfect for a family gathering at a bbq, garden parties, or whatever you have planned for your summer holidays. Today's sizzler is... Galaxy Chunk Chocolate Brownies! They are to die for, literally a slice of heaven (even if I do say so myself). Now if you've read some of my older posts you may recognise this recipe, as my base brownie recipe never changes. I found a recipe I absolutely adore, one that's quick, easy, and most importantly, turns out delicious every time. So I now stick to this recipe to make my brownie sponge but I simply change the flavourings, voila! Ingredients : 1 85g unsalted butter 185g dark chocolate 85g plain flour 40g cocoa powder 275g caster sugar 2 eggs 1 large bar of Galaxy Chocolate Method: Pre-heat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius and grease a 20cm square baking tin.  Melt together the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water, stirring occasionally. Lea...

We all love cake, it's human nature. What I love most about baking cake is that you will never get two sponges identical in flavour, texture, height, nothing. They have a mind of their own (kind of). Last week I felt the need to bake (fellow bakers, you know what I mean). So I whipped up a nice simple chocolate sponge cake and then sandwiched the cakes together with a yummy vanilla buttercream, then topped with icing sugar. It really doesn't get much better. As always, here is the recipe. Have a go and let me know what you think! Ingredients: 6oz Self Raising Flour 2oz Cocoa Powder 8oz Butter 8oz Caster Sugar 4 Eggs 600g Icing Sugar, sieved (plus a little extra for dusting) 300g Butter, softened Vanilla Essence Method: Pre-heat your oven to 180 Degrees Celsius. Grease and line two 8inch sandwich tins and pop these to one side. Beat together the butter and sugar until a light cream paste is formed, this should take three to four minutes by hand or just ...