Chocolate and Zucchini Bread

I've been wanting to bake with zucchini (courgette) for a long time now and have been looking at some recipes, but this week one came up in my fb newsfeed that was just too irresistible to pass up.

Looking back over my recent bakes, I have realised just how much chocolate features and I feel I need to explain myself. Whilst I do love chocolate cakes, I also like a range of other flavours too. But my son has multiple food allergies and part of a desensitisation program he needs to eat cake or biscuit with egg and butter in it three times a week. And because chocolate cake is his favouite and one he is guaranteed to eat, to tend to go for those. I have, however, really enjoyed making a variety of new recipes for him, and the last few have been stunningly delicious. I did substitute soya milk for the sour cream in the recipe, as my son can't have the cream.

This cake, has a whole zucchini in it - I still call it zucchini, as that's what we call it in Australia, but over here in the UK it is called courgette. I made sure to squeeze the excess juice out of it after I grated it. It's a very runny mixture anyway so I'm not sure if it matters that much, but worth doing anyway.

On the top is the most deliciously crunchy crust made from sugar and cinnamon...I just love it. Oh by the way, I halved the amount of crunchy topping you need, and even then I didn't use it all...worth noting.

So, have I tempted you yet? I hope so, this was such a quick and easy bake to make, and so deliciously moist and flavoursome. 

And the best bit? My son, who hates zucchini, said he absolutely LOVED this cake (I didn't tell him the secret ingredient!!)

You can find the recipe here:

Chocolate and Zucchini Bread

Happy baking!

Kris x

Raspberry Ripple and Pistachio Partfait

I subscribe to Delicious magazine and in the July issue they featured this parfait on the cover. It looked 'delicious', no actual pun intended!
Anyway as I browsed the mag and read this recipe I noticed they said you can cook the cover and enter the comp, so I thought, oh well, why not?
I have never even eaten, let alone made a parfait before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I can tell you now, it is one of the best desserts I have EVER eaten! Ever!

And it's incredibly easy to make....I kid you not!

When I put it on my Facebook page, a few people asked for the recipe, but I only had it in print form. Now it's been published online, I can share it with you easily.

I urge you to try it...you will not be disappointed - just be aware, it is not suitable for pregnant women as it involves a lot of raw egg.

Find the recipe here.

Enjoy...and thank me later, you will love it!

Kris x

Mojito Cupcakes - Guest Post from Jane Gage

Thank you so much for inviting me to be a guest on your page! 

I have totally fallen in love with MOJITO CUPCAKES ! I have adapted the Hummingbird recipe a little to my taste, by adding finely chopped fresh mint in the icing and also using more lemon & lime zest. They are so easy to make and they taste incredible. 

If you like mojitos, beware....they are simply too good! 

Mojito Cupcakes
Makes 12

Ingredients

For the cake
280g caster sugar
80g unsalted butter
240g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp grated lime zest
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons mint, finely chopped
2 large eggs
240ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the drizzle
60g caster sugar
200ml white rum

For the Frosting
160g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
500g icing sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp lime zest
1/2 tsp lemon zest
40ml milk
40ml rum
1 tsp mint, very finely chopped


Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. In a saucepan, combine the white rum and sugar for the drizzle. Boil and reduce by half. Set aside to cool.
2. Beat together the flour, baking powder, butter, salt, lemon/lime zest, mint, and sugar until it forms a crumbly consistency.
3. Mix egg, milk and vanilla in a jug and then pour into the cake mixture, beating to form a smooth batter.
4. Pour into the cupcake cases until 2/3 full. Cook for 12-15 mins until light golden brown and spongy.
5. While the cakes are still warm, poke a hole or two in the top with a skewer, and spoon the drizzle mixture over into the holes - be careful not to get any on the cases. Leave cakes to cool completely.
6. To make the frosting, cream the butter and icing sugar, adding in the zest and mint. If the mixture is stiff, add the milk to soften it up. Add the rum slowly, to suit your tastes. Pipe over the cupcakes and garnish with a small spring of mint.

Thank you so much Jane! I've eaten a few of her Mojito Cakes and can attest to their utter deliciousness!

Triple Layer Chocolate Cake

I was looking for a good chocolate cupcake recipe recently, and asked out on my facebook page if anyone could recommend one. I had quite a few choices but decided to go with one from my sister-in-law, Bec. It's one she uses all the time. I read through the recipe and decided to go for a whole cake rather than cupcakes - this recipe has a tag line saying it's 'the best chocolate cake recipe ever'. Okay. We shall see.

It was super easy to make, using normal ingredients you'll find in your cupboard and it's even DAIRY FREE!

I made some slight changes to it:

• I used coconut milk from the carton (not can) instead of cow's milk - this was to cater to my allergic son (there is no coconut taste at all in the cake)
• I left out the coffee - I'm one of those odd people who doesn't like coffee.
• I put raspberry jam between the layers as I don't like too much buttercream.
• And I cheated and used a tub of Betty Crocker's Chocolate Fudge buttercream, as it is dairy-free, really tasty and much nicer than making buttercream with dairy free 'butter'.
• So, if dairy is not a problem for you, then follow the recipe as it is (It will probably be even nicer!)
• I used 3 x 8 inch (20cm) pans, rather than the 2 x 9 inch in the recipe.

Is it the best chocolate cake ever, I'm not sure, but it is really, really nice. The texture is moist and soft, and it feels really luxurious.

You want the recipe, don't you?

Okay well, it's not mine, so I will send you directly over to the site. You'll also find at the bottom of the page a link to her cupcake recipe, but it looks to me like it is pretty much half of this recipe.

From: Add a Pinch:   Best Chocolate Cake (ever)

Enjoy! Kris x

Coconut Angel Food Cake

I have been wanting to make an angel food cake for a while now and impulse purchased a Nordic Ware tin a couple of months ago. I had never even eaten one before, but really likes the lightness of how they looked.

Anyway, before you have a go yourself, and I hope you do, just know this cake itself takes 12 egg whites! I started by using Aldi's free range eggs, but their shells were so fragile, the separating was painfully tricky, so I switched to some Sainsbury's free range, and they were much for reliable. Of course if you have your own chickens, you'll have a ready supply.

The recipe I used for the cake can be found on the I am Baker website. I only had a few drops of coconut essence left so my cake was not as coconut-y as I would have liked, and I didn't put that cream coating on it either. I decided to add a marshmallow frosting that I have used before, with shredded coconut on top.

To make this cake, I assumed you needed the special angel food cake tin and I bought the one from Nordic Ware as it was recommended and comes in two parts. It's a nifty tin, as you need to invert the cake once it comes out of the oven, and it has three legs which means they support it fully while it cools. It was also easy to get out of the tin; I ran a palette knife around the edge and then on the base too.

So a couple of things to note when making this cake:

• Do not grease the pan - at all.
• Be careful when mixing to keep the egg whites full of air.
• Add flavour to the mix if you want but be careful not to lose any of the air - the cake itself is not bursting with flavour - it has a very light, almost dry, spongey texture.
• As soon as it comes out of the oven, invert it on the bench, the legs on this pan will support it - leave it upside down until completely cool.
• Use a palette knife to loosen it from the edges before taking out of the pan.

Good luck and enjoy! K x

Hot Fudge Sauce



If you are looking for a quick sauce to make for pudding, or as a gift, look no further!  Everything I seem to write about lately has the word quick in it. There's a reason for that. I have a 'proper' job, and baking is just my hobby on the side.
My day job, as a teacher at a very busy London school, takes up a great deal of my time outside school as well. So most of my baking is done late at night, or squeezed in around other things. Like this fudge sauce. I am supposed to be writing reports - it's almost the end of year, and school reports go home to parents on the final day. These reports I'm working on today, are due tomorrow. Typical. So, what do I do....perfect my fudge sauce!

I first saw this on Pinterest ages ago and had forgotten about it actually until my wonderful friend David asked me about it. So we have been testing it out in our respective kitchens. The first time, well, it didn't work. I followed the recipe to the tee. So, after experimenting and tweaking it, here is the final recipe and it truly is to die for.

I have decided to give it as 'teacher's gifts' at my son's school this year. Presented in these cute little jars, they look great. Last year I made some passionfruit curd and gave those and that was so well received that I thought I would do similar but different. (If you are one of said teachers reading this, act surprised!)

Note: the first time I made this I used good quality 70% dark chocolate. When it set in the fridge, the cocoa butter solidified. This time I have used a lower % chocolate - 54% -  and it's worked a dream.

Anyway, this recipe takes 5-7 mins to make. Yes, that's right...it's SOOO quick.

Hot Fudge Sauce
Makes about 2.5 cups

Ingredients

• 1 397g can condensed milk
• 200g chocolate - I used Sainsbury's Belgium dark cooking chocolate
• 110g butter

Method:

1. Melt the butter and chocolate over a medium heat in a saucepan on the stove, stirring.
2. Add the full tin of condensed milk, stirring as you add and until it is combined and looking rich in colour. Keep stirring as it warms up and combines, to keep it thick and glossy. It might take a few minutes for the butter to combine in properly.
3. Pour into the jars, or another airtight container. This can be stored in the fridge and taken out and heated in a microwave before eating.

Serving ideas: drizzled over vanilla ice cream, in a milkshake or even in a pot to dip strawberries into!
Variations: David added some Bailey's to his and said it was amazing. You can also add a few drops of vanilla or a favourite liqueur.

Oreo Bundt Cake

As soon as I saw the Oreo Bundt Cake from Olivia at Liv For Cake. I knew I had to give it a go. She used Nordic Ware's newest square pan, which I don't have, so I used one of my favourites that I DO have instead.

I can't even pretend that mine looks as good as hers - the cake looked great before I attempted to put the topping on. I was going for the marshmallow to ooze down the spirals, but it just didn't pour as I hoped so it ended up being an all-over covering. Hehehe.....oh well.

Anyway I couldn't resist having a slice, even though I made it to take into work tomorrow - I know my work friends will forgive a big piece missing!

If you would like to make this cake, go to Liv For Cake and follow the recipe there - I will add, that for 2 sticks of butter, that coverts to 225g. And for the topping, I used about 4-5 tablespoons of cream to make it runny enough. Maybe even a little more would be even better.

Let me know if you give it a go.

Kris x

Lamington Slice Cake

As you may already know, lamingtons are my favourite cake of all time. So after receiving two bags of shredded coconut recently, and after a suggestion from an old school friend, I decided to make Donna Hay's lamington cake slice today. I wanted something I could whip up quickly...and here it is!

I have made some slight changes to the original recipe as I didn't want to use cow's milk as my son is allergic, so I have substituted with two types of coconut milk. 

Apparently you should put the cake in the fridge to set before cutting. I couldn't wait and cut it up straight away and had a massive piece for lunch! THAT'S how good it is....

Anyway here is the recipe...I urge you to try it, it's so yummy. 

 Lamington Slice Cake
Adapted from Donna Hay


Ingredients:
For the cake
125g unsalted butter, softened
275g caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
260g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
185ml coconut milk (from the carton in photo above)

20g shredded coconut (or desiccated if you can't get shredded)

For the chocolate icing/ganache
125ml coconut cream (from the can - shake to combine)
300g dark chocolate
1 tablespoon icing sugar

 Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 160C. Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 5 mins or until pale, creamy and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour, baking powder and coconut milk and beat on low speed until combined.
3. Spoon the mixture into lightly greased 20cm x 20cm tin lined with baking paper and spread evenly.
4. Bake for 35 mins or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
5. Cool in the tin for 5 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make the chocolate icing, finely chop the chocolate and put into a heatproof bowl with the icing sugar.
7. Place the coconut cream into a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate and let stand for 5 mins, then whisk until combined and smooth. If there are still some lumps, add a tiny amount of water to the saucepan  and place on the heat putting the bowl on the top to heat up. Stir as it warms.
8. Spread the cake with the warm icing, sprinkle with coconut and place into the fridge for 30 mins before slicing to serve. Or serve straight away if you just can't wait, like me!

Chocolate Cake with Marshmallow Frosting

This long weekend I wanted to make a special cake from one of my new cookbooks, but I ran out of time to do the extra special effort I wanted. So I reverted back to an old favourite cake, my chocolate bundt cake, without the orange added. I did, however, want to make Sweetapolita's marshmallow frosting to go on top as something different to a ganache, glaze or buttercream.

The marshmallow frosting is so dreamy. It adds a lightness to the cake and a sweetness that is offset by the relatively un-sweetness of the cake.

I was surprised at how much frosting this recipe made - I had made two cakes and was going to make a different colour for the second, but there was so much frosting it covered both cakes so I left them both a pale blue. If you just had one cake, you could also fill layers, or top cupcakes as well from this one batch of frosting. I ended up having to quickly fill the bowl with water and detergent to stop myself licking every left over morsel from inside it!

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Marshmallow Frosting

• Servings: 12+
• adapted from Brooklyn Homemaker and Sweetapolita

For the Cake:

1 1/4 cups water

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 teaspoons bi carb soda (baking soda)

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 cup sunflower oil - or a similar neutral oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted

For the Frosting:

4 large egg whites (180g)

1 3/4 c caster sugar

2 tablespoons (45g) glucose syrup (light corn syrup)

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract

a few drops of coloured food gel

sprinkles to top

Instructions:

For the cake:

1. Place an oven rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 180 degrees C.

2. Liberally butter a 10 to 12 cup Bundt pan and set aside. I actually use cake release spray and it works a dream every time. Today I had run out of this, so brushed on melted butter.

3. Whisk water and cocoa powder in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Remove from heat and let come to room temperature.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, mix together sugar, salt, baking soda, eggs and egg yolk on low for just one minute. Add the milk, oil and vanilla extract and mix on low again for another minute.
5. Add the flour and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes more.  Add the cooled cocoa mixture and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes. The batter will seem quite loose and liquid.  Pour into the prepared cake pan no more than three quarters full and bake for 55-65, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. If you have extra mixture because your tin is smaller, then pour into another cake tin and cook it as an extra bit of cake.

6. Let the cake cool completely in the pan and then invert onto a cooling rack. Once cooled you can trim off the uneven top to make it level, or just leave it as I did this time.

For the frosting:

1. Wipe the bowl and the whisk attachment with paper towel and a little lemon juice to remove any traces of grease. Add egg whites, sugar, glucose syrup, cream of tartar and salt to the bowl and simmer over a pot of water (not boiling), whisking constantly but gently until it reaches 130˚F (54˚C) on a candy thermometer.

2. Return the bowl to the stand mixer, and beat on low speed for 2 mins, then increase the speed to medium for 2 minutes. Increase the speed to high and mix until thick and glossy - about 5 mins. During this time  add the vanilla and colour and whisk until combined and even.

3. This is best used right away (and tastes best of the day it is made). But it can be kept covered for an hour - this gave me enough time to col my second cake and frost it.
4. To cover the cake, work from the top down, using an offset spatula and swirl with that or the back of a spoon.
5. Sprinkle your choice of decorations on top, dive in and enjoy!