Banana and Cinnamon Muffins

These moorish muffins are a healthy breakfast treat and are best eaten straight from the oven.

Ingredients:

350g plain flour

¾ teaspoon salt

1½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

160g caster sugar

375ml buttermilk

1 large egg

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

75g unsalted butter (melted)

400g mashed banana

Makes 14-16 muffins

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Put the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon in a food processor and wiz until combined.

Put the buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract in a separate bowl and mix to combine. Slowly pour into the flour mixture and beat on a slow speed until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Pour in the melted butter and beat until incorporated. Stir in the bananas with a wooden spoon until evenly dispersed.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minuets or until golden brown and the muffin bounces back when touched. As soon as you take the muffins out the oven dip them upside-down into a little sugar and cinnamon and leave to cool.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies. Everyone has their favourite. I’ve tried and enjoyed many chocolate chip cookies but I think these have to be my favourite.

This is a classic recipe for a chunky chocolate chip cookie which has a crispy edge yet a chewy middle. Yum yumm…

Ingredients

150g soft unsalted butter

125g soft light brown sugar

100g caster sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg from fridge

1 egg yolk from fridge

300g flour

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

326g packet milk chocolate chips

Preheat the over to 170°C and line a baking sheet with baking parchment and grease it.

Melt the butter and let it cool a bit. Put the brown and white sugar into a bowl, pour the cooled melted butter over and beat together. Beat in the vanilla, the cold egg and cold egg yolk until the mixture becomes light and creamy.

Then slowly mix in the flour and bicarbonate of soda until just blended. Finally fold the chocolate chip in.

Using an American quarter-cup or a 60ml ice-cream scoop measure the cookie dough and drop onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving each cookie 8cm apart. If you are going to do two batches keep the bowl of cookie dough in the fridge in the meantime.

Bake for 15-17 minutes in the oven until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on the baking tray for five minutes until transferring to wire rack.

Treacle Slice

Treacle tart is a traditional English dessert which is made using short crust pastry, with a filling made with golden syrup (also know as light treacle), a little lemon and breadcrumbs.  This recipe is simple and straight forward and will produce impressive results, especially with a scoop of clotted cream placed on top.

Ingredients for the base:

200g plain flour

50g soft unsalted butter

50g vegetable shorting

15ml lemon juice

2 tablespoons of iced water

Preheat the oven to 180˚ C and line a baking tin with foil and grease it. Put the flour, butter and vegetable shorting into a food processor and blitz until you have a crumbly texture. Pour the lemon juice and iced water down the funnel while the food processor engine is still running until the mixture clumps together, making a pale, damp dough. Press the dough into the bottom of the baking tin, using the back of a metal spoon until you have created an even smooth surface. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Ingredients for the topping:

454g golden syrup

25g soft unsalted butter

150g breadcrumbs

 Zest from one lemon

1 beaten egg

While the short crust base is in the oven melt the golden syrup and the 25g of butter in a heavy-based saucepan on a low heat. Then stir in the breadcrumbs, don’t worry if the mixture becomes thick, sawdusty and sticky. Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool a little. Then add the lemon zest and beat in the egg. Pour the mixture over the cooked pastry base and put back into the oven for another 20minutes.

When ready the filling should have risen slightly and look as if its just about set, browned at the edges and sticky in the centre. Take out the oven and allow to cool for about 2 minutes. Slice and serve while still slightly warm with a scoop of clotted cream on top.

Marble Cupcakes

As you might already know I absolutely love cupcakes and I thought It would be great to try and experiment a little. These white and milk chocolate marble cupcakes are a great way to impress people without putting too much effort in.

Ingredients for sponge:

110g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

110g butter

2 large eggs

110g caster sugar

2-3 drops of vanilla essence

1 tbls of coco power

Preheat the oven to 180˚ C.  Line the wells of two cupcake tins with 24 paper cases.

In a mixing bowl sift the flour and baking powder holding the sieve high to give the flour a good airing. Then simply add the rest of the other ingredients to the bowl and whisk them, preferably with an electric whisk, until combined.

Now divide the mixture between two bowls, mixing the coco powder to one using an electric whisk until smooth and creamy.

Place a tablespoon of the plain cake mixture into the bottom of each cupcake case and then place a tablespoon of the chocolate mixture on top.  Take a skewer or cocktail stick and swirl the mixture briefly.

Place the cake tins in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Ingredients for icing:

110g unsalted butter (room temperature)

500g icing sugar, sifted

75g good-quality dark chocolate

75g good-quality white chocolate

Piping bag and nozzle

Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl in the microwave until smooth and thick.

Top Tip: (Heat at 30 second intervals stirring in between to avoid burning the chocolate)

Leave to cool. Do exactly the same to the white chocolate.

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and half the icing sugar until smooth using an electric whisk. Gradually add the remainder of the icing sugar and beat again until the butter cream is smooth and creamy. Divide the butter cream icing into two separate bowls. Add the dark melted chocolate into one bowl and the white melted chocolate into the other and mix separately.

To pipe the icing, place a star nozzle in piping bag. Fill one side of the icing bag with the white chocolate icing and the other side with the dark chocolate icing; this will create the swirled effect.

Hold the bag vertically, twist and hold the end with one hand and rest the tip of the bag in the other hand. Pipe a ring of icing around the edge of the cupcake. Pipe a small spiral overlapping the ring, stop pressure when the tip is in the centre of the swirl, then push the bag down and draw up sharply to finish.

 

Coffee and Walnut Cake

So once again I have never made coffee and walnut cake before.  I was asked by my mum to make a cake for her colleague at work as a birthday cake so what more of an excuse did I need!

Ingredients for the sponge:                                   

50g walnut pieces

225g caster sugar

225g soft unsalted butter   

200g plain flour

4 tsp instant espresso powder

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

4 eggs

1-2 x 15ml tbl milk

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees; butter the two sandwich tins and line with baking parchment.  Place the sugar and walnut pieces into the food processor and mix until it becomes a fine nutty powder.  Add the butter, flour, espresso powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and eggs and wiz to a smooth paste.  Add the milk by pouring down the funnel with the motor running which should loosen the mixture.

Divide the mixture between the two sandwich tins and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until the sponge has risen and the tops feel springy.   Cool the cakes in their tins for approximately five minutes then remove to a wire rack.  Gently peel off the baking parchment. 

Ingredients for the butter cream frosting:

350g icing sugar

175g soft unsalted butter

2 ½ tsps instant espresso powder dissolved in 15ml boiling water

25g walnut halves to decorate

Whilst the cakes are cooling you can begin to make the butter cream; place the icing sugar and butter in the food processor and wiz until smooth.

Dissolve the espresso powder in the boiling water and add to the icing mixture while still hot and blend. 

Place one half of the cake onto a plate, spread half of the icing mixture on top and spread evenly.  Place the other cake on top and place the rest of the butter cream on top.  Decorate with walnut halves.

Bakewell Slices

So, I had never tired making bakewell slices before this, however I was rather surprised that they turned out the way they did!  Delicious. I used Nigella Lawson’s new KITCHEN cook book to create them.

Bakewell slices are a traditional British baked dessert which consists of a short crust pastry, spread with jam and covered with a sponge-like filling enriched with ground almonds.

Ingredients for the base:                            

225g plain flour

60g icing sugar

Pinch salt     

225g soft unsalted butter

Preheat the over to 180°C and line a 30 x 20 x 5cm baking tin with foil and grease it.

To make the pastry base mix the flour, icing sugar, salt and butter in a food processor until it turns to a cohesive dough. Press the dough into the bottom of the tin until you get an even surface.

Bake the base in the oven for about 20 minutes, then leave to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes.

Ingredients for the filling:

150g soft unsalted butter

4 eggs

150g caster sugar

150g ground almonds

250g seedless raspberry jam

250g fresh raspberries

50g flaked almonds

While the base is cooling you can start to make the filling. Melt the butter in a small pan, then take off the heat to cool.

Put the eggs, caster sugar and ground almonds into the food processor and blitz to a paste. With the motor running pour the slightly cooled melted butter down the funnel and stop when all is combined.

In a separate bowl whisk the jam to make it easier to spread and then evenly apply to the base. Tumble the raspberries over the raspberry layer. Pour the almond filling over the raspberry layer and sprinkle the almond flakes on top. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes until it has become a tinted golden colour.

Allow it to cool for about 10 minutes and drizzle with icing sugar mixed with a little water, then carefully slice.

Banana Bread

This cake-like banana bread is an excellent recipe to use up your overripe bananas. The banana bread will stay moist for days. You can wrap it in foil and gently warm it in the oven or serve it thickly sliced with a generous spread of butter.

Ingredients:

75g soft butter

110g caster sugar

1 large egg

225g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

4 medium peeled bananas

Pre-heat the over to 180°C and grease and line a loaf tin measuring 3 X 7 inches.

Start off by placing the butter, sugar and egg into a large bowl or magi-mixer and then sift the flour and baking powder, mix until they are thoroughly combined.

In another bowl slice the bananas and mash them to a pulp with a fork.  Next add them to the mixture and whisk again thoroughly. Then transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and level off. If desired you can add a light sprinkle of brown sugar on top to give it that extra crunch.

Bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 40-45minutes until the loaf is golden and well risen. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges and turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Valentine's Vanilla Cupcakes

As valentines day is only a week away I decided to bake some pretty little cupcakes which are very quick and easy to make!

To make the basic vanilla sponge:

Ingredients

110g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
150g self-raising flour, sifted
125g plain flour, sifted
120ml semi-skimmed milk (at room temperature)
1 teaspoon of good quality vanilla extract


Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 12-hole muffin tray with the appropriate size cupcake cases. (In the case I have used a variety of sizes).

In a mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth, this should take about 3-5 minutes using an eclectic hand mixer or a magi-mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minuets after each addition.

Combine the two flours in a separate bowl. Put the milk and vanilla extract in a jug.

Add one third of the combined flour to the creamed mixture and beat well, then pour in one third of the milk and vanilla extract and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added.

Carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them about two thirds full to allow the mixture to rise when cooking. Bake in the oven for about 20 minuets (regular size case) or 15 minutes (mini size cases).

Remove from the oven and carefully place them onto a wire rack to cool.

To decorate:

Ingredients

Icing sugar
A batch of white royal icing
A batch of red royal icing
Edible Pink Heart Decorations
Food colouring

Roll out one quarter of the white royal icing on an icing sugar dusted surface to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out with a round cookie cutter and apply to the cupcakes.

Roll out the red royal icing to 1/8 inch thick. Using small heart shaped cutters or a sharp knife, cut out a few heart shapes. Using a little icing sugar mixed with water stick the red hearts onto the white circular icing.
Alternatively you could just sprinkle some pink edible heart decorations on top of the white icing.

You can probably notice that I have altered the colours of the icings to make a variety of different designs. To do this all you have to do is add your desired food colouring to the white royal icing and hey presto!!!