Elderflower, vanilla and strawberry cream sponge.

Every thing recently has been busy and I mean really busy. Work has been busy and I've been busy. Have I said busy enough yet? Anyway after work on Saturday I had to hurry home, even turning drinks with my work girls down, because I needed to bake this cake. Not just any cake but my mum's birthday cake. I had this cake planned for a while and after searching around for recipe inspiration I finally found a recipe that worked well for me and with few tweaks I had it sorted.

I decided that no birthday cake is perfect until it's been topped with cake bunting. Or as my brother called it a clothes line. I made one before if you fancy a little diy project.  I will warn you as this cake contains cream it will need to be eaten within two days and stored in the fridge. But that shouldn't be a problem with how delicious this is!

You will also need to use English strawberries. Preferably local strawberries. I walked past the market in the morning nd was tempted to buy them but didn't want to store them at work so I waited until my lunch which worked out to be a good thing as they were on offer two punnets for £1. Can't argue with that and they taste so good.

Anyway enough chat. Time for cake!

You will need:

 175g butter, softened

 175g caster sugar

 3 eggs, lightly beaten

 175g self-raising flour

1 tbsp vanilla extract

 3 tbsp elderflower cordial

 300ml pot of double cream

 225g strawberries

 icing sugar, to dust

Grease and line 2 x 20cm cake tins. 

Preheat oven to 190ºC (375ºF, gas 5). 

Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, then fold in the flour and 2 tbsp elderflower cordial.

Spoon the mixture into the cake tins and level the surface. Bake for 20 mins or until the sponge has risen and springs back when pressed lightly.

Cool in the tins then turn out. Whip the cream until it holds its shape. Fold in the remaining 1 tbsp elderflower cordial. Slice the strawberries in half leaving a few for the top of the cake.

Spoon the cream onto one cake and arrange the cut strawberries in the on the cake. Top with second sponge and press down lightly. Add a small amount of cream to the top of the cake and place a few whole strawberries. Dust with icing sugar. 

Enjoy!

[Food] The story of the incredible sinking cake.

I've been planning to make this cake for a while and things just got in the way so yesterday afternoon, after a morning of thrift shopping, I came home and made it. Chocolate and honey cake. When I was making it I read a few comments that said the cake sinks in the middle. I thought nah, that won't happen to me. And here we are one doughnut cake later.

I read that it had something to do with the water that you add you the cake so next time I'm going to make it my way. Always go with your gut. This cake is kind of a when everything goes wrong cake. Throw some icing and sprinkles at it and everything's fine. We cut the middle out using a cookie cutter.

The cake is really fudgey and lovely and I'm going to post the recipe I used but beware that it may sink. But hey ho chocolate cake always tastes great whether its sunk or not!

Adapted from Nigella honey chocolate cake.

for the cake

100g dark chocolate (broken into pieces)

275g light brown muscovado sugar

225g soft butter

125ml runny honey

2 large eggs

200g plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

250ml boiling water

icing sugar

sprinkles

 Melt the chocolate a bowl, either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/350ºF, and butter and line a 23cm / 9 inch springform cake tin.

Beat together the sugar and soft butter until airy and creamy, and then add the runny runny honey. 

Add one of the eggs, beating it in with a tablespoon of the flour, and then the other egg with another tablespoon of flour. 

Fold in the melted chocolate, and then the rest of the flour and the bicarbonate of soda. Add the cocoa pushed through a tea strainer to ensure you have no lumps, and last of all, beat in the boiling water. 

 Mix everything well to make a smooth batter and pour into the prepared tin. Cook for up to an hour and a half, though check the cake after 45 minutes and if it is catching cover the top lightly with foil and check every 15 minutes.

Let the cake cool completely in the tin on a rack.

If your cake has sunk. Cut out the middle, prepare the water icing and sprinkle your heart out. 

If your cake is all beautiful sprinkle with icing sugar and be pleased with your smug self!

Earl grey and white chocolate tea loaf.

I'm writing this post 6 days after baking this beauty and I can't tell you how much I want a slice of this with my cup of tea. It was delicious and I could eat the whole loaf to myself. Oh and while we're on the subject. Guess who got their loaf tin back from their mum's house!

This recipe is adapted from an A girl called Jack recipe from her book. It combines two things I love. Tea and chocolate. Usually tea loaves contain dreaded dried fruit (yuk, I am not a fan of raisins, bleh!) But this recipe has none of that. All the best bits about a tea loaf with white chocolate thrown in. It's truly delicious and I'm going to have to make another!

It would be ideal for afternoon tea or just as an afternoon pick me up. Not all of the chocolate melts so inside you get little chunks of white chocolate and boy is that tasty. You have to make yourself one of these!

You will need:

180ml milk

1 tsp of loose earl grey tea

6 tablespoons butter, softened

200g caster sugar

2 eggs

250g plain flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 earl grey teabags

200g chopped white chocolate

Preheat the oven to 170ºC / Gas mark 3. Grease and line a loaf tin.

First infuse the tea bags into the milk. Do this by heating the milk with the teabags in over a very low temperature. It will take around 15 minutes to infuse.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until the mixture is light and fluffy. 

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk mixture until just blended. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until combined. 

Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Once cool dust with icing sugar and serve with a cuppa.

Perfect.

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[Food] Coconut and banana cake.

I always end up with left over coconut milk when we make a curry and usually it ends up being thrown out as I never have a way of using it up. So this time I thought that I would use it, no more wasting good ingredients. I scoured the internet for a recipe but struggled. The only recipe I found that I could adapt was in Australian cups. Oh cups how confusing you are. I never realised that cups for different ingredients are different amounts. So I sat down and worked out the recipe and added more bananas because I had three to use up and banana cakes can always have more banana.

I had my assistant (four year old niece) to help and apparently she is the best banana masher in the world and I had to see her skills. I do have a confession to make this cake should have been a loaf (surprise surprise) but I had left my loaf tin at my mums. So sad. But this makes a delicious cake. 

This recipe will fit a 20in cake tin or a 2lb loaf tin. Either way make sure you have greased and lined the tin.

You will need:

225g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

200g brown sugar

85g coconut chips

270ml can Ayam coconut cream

2 eggs

3 bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons of coconut milk

enough icing sugar to make a thick icing

coconut chips to decorate

Preheat oven to 170°C/150°C fan.

Sift flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Add sugar and coconut. Stir to combine. 

Place coconut cream, eggs, banana and vanilla in a jug. Whisk to combine. Fold into flour mixture. 

Spoon into prepared pan. 

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Once the cake is cool. Add enough icing sugar and coconut milk to make a thick icing. Spread over the top of the cake and then sprinkle as much coconut chips on top as you like. 

Enjoy!

Lemon curd and blueberry loaf cake, with yoghurt icing.

Long title or what? But this cake deserves it. I'm pretty sure that loaf cakes have taken over my life. There is something just so delicious about them and there's not a dry crumb in sight. 

If you saw my last day in photos post you would have seen a sneaky picture of this cake. I made it as dessert for Mother's day Sunday lunch. It went down really well and I'm pretty sure if we weren't so stuffed from a huge Sunday roast we could have happily polished off the rest of the cake there and then. Although there is something lovely about having left over cake the next day with a big cuppa tea. 

After this post there's is going to be a lot of Easter posts. It's not that far away and for once in the whole five years we have been together the Mr has got me an Easter egg. Only because they were 99p. But still it's the thought that counts! I'm also very jealous of him. He gets two weeks off now for Easter while I slave away at work. Not fair. 

Anyway onto the cake. It is the perfect weekend bake. So dust down those loaf tins and get baking. 

You will need:

175g softened butter, plus extra for greasing

200ml tub Greek yogurt (you need 100ml in the cake, the rest for icing)

2 tbsp jar good lemon curd 

3 eggs

zest and juice 1 lemon,

200g self-raising flour

175g golden caster sugar

punnet of blueberries 

140g icing sugar

edible flowers decorations.

Heat oven to 160ºC/gas 3. Grease a 2lb loaf tin and line with a long strip of baking parchment.

 Put 100g yogurt, 2 tbsp lemon curd, the softened butter, eggs, lemon zest, flour and caster sugar into a large mixing bowl. Quickly mix with an electric whisk until the batter just comes together. Scrape half into the prepared tin. 

Sprinkle some of the blueberries into the tin, scrape the rest of the batter on top, then scatter the other half of the berries on top (leaving some to serve). Bake for 1 hr 10 mins-1 hr 15 mins until golden, and a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean.

Cool in the tin, then carefully lift onto a serving plate to ice. 

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Stir in enough lemon juice and the rest of the greek yoghurt to make a thick, smooth icing

Spread over the top of the cake, then decorate with edible flowers, if you like. 

Serve with a good cuppa.