Flour, Cake and Pastry

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 ...

Hello! So Summer is over (although I don't think it really began in the UK), and it feels like we may have already skipped the majority of Autumn and gone straight to Winter. However, some Summer berries are still trying their hardest to last in this nippy weather, and strawberries are one of them. These turnovers are GORGEOUS. I love them. We had a million strawberries in the fridge, that I probably wasn't going to eat before they past edibility. I also had like no time to actually bake anything complex or long, and so I needed something quick, simple and reasonably healthy to squeeze in to my free Sunday morning. I used the recipe from Gringalicious , you totally need to go and check out their recipes and hints and tips, they're amazing! Makes 15-20 turnovers Takes 1 hour Ingredients Strawberry Filling 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, diced 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 2 tbsp cornstarch Pastry 1 tbsp. sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 cups plain flour 1/3...

So summer is coming to an end, and what a summer it has been. Holidays, weddings, and summer socials have kept my ever busy calendar even busier. Today's recipe celebrates all summer is made to be, and is something I used to make with mum all the time. Maids of Honour! These beauties are basically a mix between a jam tart and a Victoria sandwich, and boy do they taste good. We use Yorkshire Black and Blueberry Jam which tastes AM-A-ZING, from Lewis and Cooper's in a little town called Northallerton. Mum used to live off the stuff when she was younger! So without further a do, here's the world famous Be-Ro recipe for these summer beauties! *Makes 15* Ingredients 225g plain flour 100g margarine 2tbsp. cold water 25g caster sugar   2-3tbsp. jam 50g margarine 50g caster sugar 1 egg 50g self raising flour  Method For the pastry, rub together the plain flour and margarine, and then mix in the caster sugar. Add the cold water and mix to form a dou...

Hello! It's been a while, hasn't it? However FC&P is back with a couple of new recipes to get your summer started! So although it'll soon be Monday, these yummy cookies should help to get your week off to a scrumptious start. This base recipe is from my baking bible...the Be-Ro book, however you can add whatever flavourings you like! I split my batch into half a dozen chocolate orange, and half a dozen fruit and nut. Two classic chocolate flavours packed into 12 gooey biscuits! Ingredients 225g self raising flour 100g caster sugar 3tbsp cocoa powder 100g margarine 5tbsp milk 1tsp vanilla essence (if not adding any other flavourings...check out my flavour ideas at the bottom of this post) Method Pre-heat your oven to 190C, and grease two baking trays. Sieve together the flour, sugar and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl. Mix these together until they're combined, and then rub in the margarine. Add the milk and vanilla essence (leave this out i...

So it's the most wonderful time of the year once again...that's right, its World Chocolate Day! Chocolate lovers across the globe are making the most of the day when anything goes, and we can eat as much chocolate as we like...right? So today's recipe celebrates the finest ingredients and the finest chocolate, plus its egg, dairy AND gluten free; happy days! I'm so happy I came across this recipe on The Metro website, it's honestly so delicious, the brownies come out perfect every time...chewy, gooey, salty and so moreish! If you're constantly looking for vegetarian and vegan recipes, check out Sneaky Veg , her recipes are to die for! It may sound completely mental to include black beans in this recipe, but they are what makes these brownies vegan friendly. The beans replace the flour, and the liquid from the beans replaces the eggs! Not so crazy after all! Read on for the recipe... Ingredients 1 x 400g tin of black beans 60ml black bean aquafaba (t...

Hello! So here we are (three weeks late...) at our final Berry Bonanza Instalment! This week sees recipes using raspberries and strawberries, to get you in that summer mood. What's even better is that Pick Your Own farms now have these berries ready for you to go and pick-so you really can't get much fresher! Raspberries Everyone loves cheesecake...and everyone loves cupcakes, so why not combine the two whilst using up all those leftover raspberries you have lying in your fridge! This recipe comes from the BBC Food website, they have so many scrummy recipes to feast your eyes upon, so its definitely worth having a look round! Without further a do, here's a yummy recipe for Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes ! Ingredients 8 white chocolate cookies 45g melted butter For the filling 300g cream cheese 1tbsp plain flour 90g caster sugar 1tsp vanilla extract 1 egg 1 egg yolk 3tbsp soured cream 100g raspberries Lightly whipped double cream, to serve ...