BUNNY BARK

I've dabbled with bark before, not very successfully, but it never matters when things go wrong, as long as you can think through how to improve. This is a lesson in life that I emphasise with my students....reviewing your work and seeing how to improve is so valuable.

So this Easter, I saw this cute Bunny Bark made by Kerry Cooks. I knew I had all of the ingredients already in the house, so I had a go. It was as simple as melting the chocolate and sprinkling on the extras - the Cadbury Hoppy Bunny Chocolate bars out at this time of year, the Smarties Mini eggs, and bunny/carrot sprinkles that I bought last week. I didn't add Cadbury Mini Eggs as well, as even I am overloaded with chocolate already, and Easter weekend hasn't even arrived!

In the future I think I would definitely make the effort to temper the chocolate to get that extra crunch when breaking it up, but I didn't this time.

I'm not going to add a specific recipe here as it really is common sense. But so you know, I used 300g Sainsbury's Taste the Difference White Chocolate - a mix of Swiss and Belgium - inadvertentl. Any good quality chocolate will do. If you want it thinner, use less. I poured it into a square tray lined with aluminium foil and then placed the chocolate squares on first, then the mini eggs and then sprinkled the rest. In hindsight, I would leave the chocolate to set a little before adding any of it, as the tiny bunny and carrot sprinkles sunk in a little bit. 

Regardless, it still tastes delicious! The broken pieces packaged into clear cellophane bags makes a lovey Easter gift.

Happy Bunny Barking!

Kris x

UPDATE: Kerry has put this on her blog now - view it here.

Foodie PenPals

This is my first time joining in the Foodie PenPal monthly swap and so I was really excited to be involved.  It basically works so that you get paired up with two people - one to send you a parcel and a different person that you send to. You contact your person to find out what they like, then shop for their goodies, looking for the unusual or thoughtful items they might like. There is a £10 limited plus postage.
This month I said I would like to try cooking without refined sugar if possible. This goes against my actual blog but I wanted the challenge.

Emma, my partner put so much thought into the things she bought me. See the photo below.

Emma sent me:

• cranberries (I used those to make some hot cross buns),
• walnuts,
• poppy seeds (for texture),
• dates for natural sweetness (I used those to make a refined sugar free, avacado chocolate mousse type dessert); and,
• agave syrup (an alternate to sugar).

I haven't used everything yet, but I will do. Thank you so much to Emma from Something New Each Week. Go and check out her blog too.

On the other end, I had to send a parcel to Teresa from Rocksprings Crafts - and she preferred cheese and cheese flavoured things. I hope I managed to meet the brief!

If you would like to be involved, you can opt in and out each month, which is fabulous as some months are just so busy I wouldn't be able to manage it. Carol Ann at Rock Salt organises it each month. Check out her page if you are interested in participating.

Kris x

Creme Egg Cookies

Easter Week! I love it. I love Easter baking and finding new things to make each year. This year I have used Cadbury's Creme Eggs more than usual and this recipe is one of the best I have ever had. I can't take any credit for this recipe, I got it from the Queen of Creme Egg baking, Kerry at Kerry Cooks. Go and check out her whole site, there's some fabulous bakes on there.

I'm not going to add the recipe here, instead go straight to her page for it - click here.

Preparing to go in the oven.

Mine look a little different and I can only reason it being that my dough was quite wet - not sure why as I followed he recipe precisely, but it did firm up in the fridge. Oh, I did cook mine for an extra 2 mins too,The final cookie is light yet gooey in the middle, and utterly delicious! 

Go out and make these today...or tomorrow! Satisfaction guaranteed!

Kris x

Swedish Chocolate Cake

I simply HAVE to blog this recipe; it is absolutely amazing! I can't take any credit for it as I have used the recipe from one of my favourite bloggers, Linda over at Call Me Cupcake, a Swedish baker and food photographer. Go and have a look at her blog, and be prepared to be wowed!

The original recipe has no flour in it, but I did add two tablespoons of plain flour. It looks really dense in the photos, and I expected it to be very dense like a brownie, but honestly, it is as light as a feather! Truly, truly light, airy and gorgeous. It might be my new favourite...and so incredibly easy to make!

SWEDISH CHOCOLATE CAKE
Adapted from Call me Cupcake  

8-10 servings

 Ingredients

• 250 g butter
• 250 g coarsely chopped dark chocolate (70%)
• 1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (100 ml) strong coffee or espresso (or water)
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 180g sugar
• 2 tbsp plain flour (all purpose), optional
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar or 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
• pinch of salt

To serve

• Powdered sugar
• Whipped cream
• Milk chocolate curls
• Raspberries

Directions

1. Heat oven to 175° (350F). Grease a spring form pan (22-25 cm / 8-10 inches) and cover the base with baking paper.

2. Gently melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan on low heat. When mixture is melted and smooth, stir in coffee, then set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whip eggs, sugar and vanilla until very light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.

4. Add flour and then stir chocolate mixture into egg mixture with a spatula. Stir until smooth. Add a pinch of salt.

5. Pour batter into the prepared springform pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. Let cake cool before removing it from the pan. I prefer the cake when it's been in the fridge for a couple of hours. Dust powered sugar on top.

6. Whip cream with some powdered sugar (to taste).
7. To make the chocolate curls, put milk chocolate in a warm place for a few minutes, then use a cheese slicer to make curls.

8. Alternatively, garnish with raspberres - the classic accompaniment to chocolate.

Creme Egg Chocolate Bundt Cake

I really love Cadbury's Creme eggs and with the invention of the mini ones, life is even better. Everyone seems to be making creme egg themed bakes at the moment and so I thought I'd do one too. It's not overly creme-eggy, only on the top, but combined with a really light, but stable chocolate bundt recipe, it was a winner.

I made this for a charity bake sale last week at my school. I'm pleased to say every single slice sold very quickly. Kids love things like this!

Anyway I have used a favourite cake recipe, added a simple icing sugar/water icing and the eggs on top. Very simple!

You're probably tired of me banging on about my Nordic Ware tins over the last few months. I just love them. Such high quality tins (wonder if they want to sponsor me!?) and produce the most beautiful looking cakes.

Chocolate Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (220g) unsalted butter      
• 2 1/4 cups plain (all purpose) flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream    
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:                 

1. Make the cake: Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan, or I use a cake release spray - it works perfectly every single time. I usually find this makes a bit too much for the Heritage tin I have, as you should fill no more than 3/4 full, so I put the extra into another smaller tin (mini) as a little extra treat cake!
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, bi-carb soda, and salt. Mix milk and sour cream in a glass measuring cup.
3. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition; add vanilla. If the egg mixture looks like it is having trouble combining properly, you can add a tablespoon of the flour mix to help it come together.
4. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk mixture and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until just combined.
5. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top with an offset spatula.
6. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 55 minutes. (40 mins is using the smaller 6 cup tin).
7. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. 
8. Make the icing: Mix together 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar with a tablespoon or two of water - add the water slowly to gauge how much you need. You want it runny enough to drip down the sides, but not so thin that it all runs off. Add yellow food colouring, again a tiny bit at a time.
9. Add cut up mini creme eggs on the top.
10. Cake can be stored at room temperature, in an airtight container for 2-3 days - if it lasts that long!