M&M & Mars Bar Cookies

Everything's go around here! I found myself an outlet to sell my baked goodness and they go on shelves from Monday!!! For starters they just want cookies and based on the clientèle I decided that M&M and Mars Bar cookies would be the best option because, y'know, who doesn't like a colourful cookie or one packed with gooey loveliness.

Now, I will have to make these in huuuge batches, but to save you guys the headache the recipe here is enough for 18-20. It's a really simple recipe, super quick to whip up and perfect for a kids party or a not so kids party! Actually, it's a great one to make with kids; let them choose mix ins and have great fun with it :D

M&M Cookies

Makes 16-18

• 300g flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 180g butter, melted and cooled
• 270g brown sugar
• 1 egg & 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 cups M&Ms
• 2-3 tbsp milk (if necessary)

Preheat the oven to 160 C, line trays with greaseproof paper

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy

Add egg, yolk, vanilla and mix

In another bowl combine the flour and baking powder

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, at this stage the mixture will be a bit crumbly 

but it will come together after mixing, don't fret.

If it doesn't come together properly add the milk 1 tbsp at a time until it does.

Add the M&Ms and fold them into the dough

Form heaped tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls then flatten them

Place them on the prepared baking tray

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers are still soft!

for the Mars Bar version just sub out the M&Ms for 2 cups of chopped Mars Bar.

thanks to How Sweet Eats for the photo :D

Yellow Cake - THE Basic Sponge

Finally! It's been so long since I've made a birthday cake, I was worried I'd have forgotten how! it's all go here today, I'm only able to type this up because I'm waiting for everything to cool! Kate's Bakes, my little baking business, has finally kicked off and I have two commissions due today; a raspberry pavlova for a wrap party and this yellow cake for a 22nd birthday.

This yellow cake is the most reliable recipe I've ever had, it always produces a moist, tender cake that tastes buttery and delicious; perfect filled with jam and cream and dusted with icing sugar for a simple afternoon treat or dressed up with frosting or fondant for a more statement cake.

Yellow Cake

Makes one 9" sandwich cake

• 225g butter
• 350g sugar
• 360g plain flour
• 4 eggs
• 300mls milk
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsps vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 175 C, grease and line 2 tins

combine flour and baking powder in a bowl

In a larger bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla

Alternate adding milk and flour to this mixture and mix well

Bake for 30-35 mins, turning once halfway through

Cool completely then decorate

Chocolate Truffles and 1 Year of Blogging

I can't believe I've been blogging for a year, sharing my recipes and in turn meeting new people. It's been an interesting year, with long illness/thesis related gaps in posting and a new business venture started, but I've enjoyed it immensely and I can't wait for the second anniversary!


To celebrate this I decided to dust off a chocolate truffle recipe I have to practice for valentines day. I love dark chocolate and I find it is the easiest type of chocolate to work with when making truffles. I've made white chocolate truffles before but they ended up being a little too soft, despite a large amount of icing sugar and ground almonds I added to bind the mixture... I've heard of people adding butter but I think that makes then truffles greasy and far too heavy (really unpleasant)... I'll have to work that little problem out before I have to make them again. Actually, if anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them :)


I tend to use 80% cocoa chocolate for this but if you want a slightly less bitter chocolate taste you can reduce the cocoa content, although I wouldn't go below 65%. The icing sugar and cocoa powder amount is really really variable and will also be affected by whatever flavours you are adding but just wing it, testing for sweetness as you go.


Dark Chocolate Truffles
Makes around 40

• 450g dark chocolate (at least 65% cocoa)
• 250 ml full cream
• 4-5 tbsp cocoa powder
• 6-8 tbsp icing sugar

Break the chocolate into small pieces and put into a bowl.

Heat the cream in a saucepan until it is just boiling

Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate, stirring gently

Leave to stand for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has all melted

Alternate adding the icing sugar and cocoa powder until a thick but smooth

ganache consistency is reached; at this stage you will want to be tasting for sweetness

and adding more or less than the recommended icing sugar and cocoa powder

Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes then roll teaspoonful sized clumps of the 

mix into balls

Coat in cocoa powder and enjoy

Almond Truffles

Use the basic mix above but BEFORE CHILLING, substitute one of the tablespoons of cocoa powder and one of the tablespoons of icing sugar for two tablespoons of ground almonds

Add 3 drops of almond essence and mix well

Chill normally and coat in ground almonds

Hazelnut Truffles

As above but substitute 1 tablespoons of cocoa powder for 2 tbsp of Nutella and 2 tbsp of ground hazelnuts

Chill and roll in ground hazelnuts

Rum Truffles

As above but add 2-3 tablespoons of spiced rum to the mix, adding more icing sugar if the mixture is too runny. 

Roll in cocoa powder after chilling

Selection Box Cookies & A New Year 12 hour Dungeon Crawl

So it's the New Year, a time for getting together with family and friends, bidding farewell to the old and looking forward to the new. Normally celebrations consist of drinking, dancing, partying, going to the pub and counting down the final 10 seconds (with a possible kiss at the stroke of midnight). This year however we decided to do something totally different and host a marathon Pathfinder dungeon crawl.


But not just any dungeon...the most intense, difficult and terrifyingly deadly dungeon ever created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson; The Tomb of Horrors. So, as the clock struck 7PM two teams of intrepid explorers probably with more weapons than sense, set forth. We had our first death within 10 minutes...


In order to get us through this ordeal, I brought home made cookies. In Ireland at Christmas the Cadbury's chocolate company (who make the best chocolate in the world) brings out a selection box which contains a variety of their best loved chocolate bars. It's a pretty standard gift and we ended up with 4 in the house but since I can't really eat chocolate I decided to make cookies with mine. The different chocolate bars came together really well and they were a huge hit so I think they'll become a New Years staple from now on!


Selection Box Cookies
Makes around 18

• 255g flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 180g butter, melted and cooled
• 270g brown sugar
• 1 egg & 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsps vanilla essence
• 1.5-2 cups mixed chocolate bars, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 160 C, line trays with greaseproof paper

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy

Add egg, yolk, vanilla and mix

In another bowl combine the flour and baking powder

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, at this stage the mixture will be a bit crumbly 

but it will come together after mixing, don't fret

Add the chopped chocolate bars and fold them into the dough

Form heaped tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls then flatten them

Place them on the prepared baking tray

Bake for 14-17 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers are still soft

Cool completely or have one fresh from the oven with vanilla ice cream!

Thanks to Sprinkled With Flour and Pam for the pics 

Happy New Year! :) x

Apple and Cinnamon Flapjacks

T'was the night before Christmas when all through the house, everyone was a-buzz, disturbing the poor mouse.

It's been a hectic day. We have our traditional Christmas Eve get together with our neighbours tonight and the house has been in a state of preparation since 9AM! We've been cleaning, cooking and I've been baking and decorating like a fury and the house is now completely ready for Christmas. I made my traditional cinnamon shortbread, decorated my Christmas cake and was struck by the sudden urge to make something different. As I have previously mentioned I LOVE flapjacks, and I have previously posted a recipe for basic Oatmeal Flapjacks, which forms the basis of these beauties. 

These flapjacks are more moist than the original recipe and the apples give them a very tender texture, the cinnamon lending a slight spice and the raisins giving a burst of sweetness. They don't hold together as well as the other recipe but are perfect served warm with vanilla ice cream! Thanks to the daily spud for the pic :)

Apple and Cinnamon Flapjacks

Makes one 9" pan

• 175g butter,
• 225g light brown sugar
• 2tbsp golden syrup
• 350g rolled oats (jumbo oats)
• 2 cooking apples (I use Bramley)
• 200g raisins
• 2 tsps cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 150 C and grease a 9" square tin

Melt the butter with the sugar and syrup in a saucepan over a medium-low heat,

stirring to avoid sticking and burning until the butter has melted completely

Remove from the heat and stir in the oats, ensuring they are well coated in the mixture

Grate the apple into the saucepan and throw in the raisins, mixing well

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and press down with the back of a spoon

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden on the top

Cool completely then cut into squares with a knife and remove from the tin

As I said before these flapjacks are far more prone to fall apart than my original recipe but BOY are they yummy :) They're the perfect way to get away from heavier Christmas treats, and the crumbly bits will taste even BETTER for a light Christmas breakfast served with yoghurt :)

Wherever you are in the world, whether you're at home with your parents, or with people you love, meeting friends for Christmas drinks or spending the evening curled up by the fire reading or watching silly TV, I hope this Christmas is full of magic and wonderful moments for you all.


Merry Christmas from me and my exhausted cookie cutters :) x

Christmas Baking Begins (a month ago)

It's Christmas, which means a bustling buzzing city, silly day time movies and cozying up on the couch with my family. It means turkey and ham, roast potatoes, sherry soaked fruitcake, boozy Christmas pudding, mince pies, Christmas cookies, great conversation, and silly cracker jokes.

I love Christmas, the excitement, the sense of togetherness and family that pervades the air, intertwining with the scent of cinnamon and cloves. I figured I'd start my Christmas baking countdown with my Christmas cake which admittedly was baked in November but I thought I might scare people off if I posted the recipe then :P

This recipe is an old family recipe passed down from my mother's side, originating from Canada and a newspaper from the 50's. The traditional christmas cake contains currants and spices, not this cake. This is a light fruitcake but the effect is a much moister, richer cake with none of that grittiness you often find with darker, more traditional fruitcakes.

WORD OF WARNING! The raisins need to soak for at least 12 hours before going into the mix!

Christmas Cake

• 4 cups chopped candied orange and lemon peel, pineapple, candied ginger and glacé cherries
• 2lbs jumbo golden raisins
• 1.5 cups butter
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1.5 tsps baking powder
• 1tsp salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1-1.5 bottles sweet sherry or Madiera
• 1 cup blanched almonds
• 1 cup whipping cream

Place the raisins in a bowl and cover with the sherry
Wrap in cling film and leave overnight

In the morning, transfer them to a saucepan and bring to a boil, simmering over a medium heat for 30 mins until the raisins have swollen.
Drain and reserve the liquid to pour over the cake later, and add the raisins to a large mixing bowl (my aunt traditionally used a baby bath!)

Preheat the oven to 130C and prepare a 9" deep cake tin by lining the sides with stiff brown paper (not cardboard) and lining the sides and base with greased greaseproof paper. Make sure these linings come about 4-6 inches above the rim of the tin.

Sieve the flour and baking powder and salt into a small bowl

Chop the almonds roughly, leaving some whole and add too the raisins, throwing in the glacéd fruit, candied peel, pineapple and ginger.
Add a handful of flour and toss to coat the fruit mixture

Cream the butter and sugar in another bowl until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, plus some flour to prevent the mixture splitting. Beat well.

In yet another bowl whip the cream into stiff peaks

Arrange the smaller bowls around the big bowl full of fruit and alternate adding the cream, batter mixture and flour mixture to the fruit, folding gently.
When all of these piles are well combined in the main bowl transfer the batter into the prepared tin, pushing it to the edges and making sure it is spread evenly and smoothed. Place this tin into a roasting tray with a little water in the base of it to stop the cake drying out.

Bake for 5-6 hours, checking the water leveland topping it up as needed.The cake is done when a skewer comes clean out of the center.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 2 days, then turn out and put tin foil around it.
Make holes with a skewer and pour over the liquid from the raisins.
Cover with the tinoil and wrap tightly in a plastic bag to keep it airtight.
Unwrap and decorate closer to Christmas :D

Thanksgiving and a Kitchen Disaster

Thanksgiving is very much an American thing. Unlike other customs which have travelled across the pond and been copied by Europe and the world, this holiday seems exclusively American; ask any Irish person when Thanksgiving is or what it's about and you'll probably get an answer along the lines of 'Some time in Autumn...ish and something to do with Native Americans and turkey...maybe...'

I've learned a few things about Thanksgiving thanks to my lovely American, Ethan, and I feel that the most important part of it is that it represents a chance to get together as a family and enjoy great food and company. This year is the first year I'm actually going to be experiencing Thanksgiving firsthand so we'll see if my estimation of it has changed by this evening.

I'm bringing dessert this year and without pause for thought Ethan chose Pecan Pie. So I dug out a recipe I've made before with fantastic results. There's no corn syrup in this recipe because it's next to impossible to get over here and when you do manage to find it it's ridiculously expensive. In fact when this recipe was written I doubt corn syrup even existed over this side of the Atlantic. Unfortunately, when I wet to remove it from the oven it was black...ALL THE WAY THROUGH! My oven apparently has a hotspot right in the center, which defies the laws of baking physics but anyway! So I had to improvise and whip up a banoffee pie instead, which is a very American dessert and luckily also one of Ethan's favourites.


Rather than post up the abysmal pie disaster I am going to post the Banoffee recipe, I promise to post my corn syrup free pecan pie next time I make it


Banoffee Pie
Makes one 9" pie

• 450-500g digestive biscuits 
• 140g butter, melted
• 387g tin condensed milk
• 100g light brown sugar
• 100g butter
• 3-4 bananas
• whipped cream (to decorate)

Put digestives in a sandwich or ziploc bag and crush using a rolling pin, or kitchen mallet, or something similar
Tip into a bowl and add the melted butter, stirring to coat them evenly
Pour this mix into a loose bottomed 9" pie tin and press into the base and sides.
Chill in the fridge for 20-30 mins
Add the condensed milk, brown sugar and butter to a pan and heat over a medium heat, until it thickens and becomes a caramel colour.
Pour into the tin and smooth into an even layer over the base, chill for 45 mins - 1 hour
Slice the bananas into rounds approximately 3-5mm thick and layer over the caramel until it is all covered.
Put the cream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe around the outside edge of the pie.


Imagine, DESS-aster (:P) saved by bananas, caramel and digestive biscuits! They may be my new kitchen heroes! Many thanks also to Ana over at Pinch of Salt for the photo :) 


x

Flapjacks

I love flapjacks, the warm buttery flavour and tender crumbly texture of the oats... Just perfect. They're so simple to make too, with basic store cupboard ingredients you probably have on hand right now. This recipe calls for making them stovetop before whacking them in the oven to cook completely which is a totally different method than I used for my Peanut butter and Honey Flapjacks but hey, I'm up for trying anything once.

Flapjacks
Makes 9-12

• 225g butter,
• 225g light brown sugar
• 2tbsp golden syrup
• 350g rolled oats (jumbo oats)

Preheat the oven to 150 C and grease a 9" square tin

Melt the butter with the sugar and syrup in a saucepan over a medium-low heat,

stirring to avoid sticking and burning until the butter has melted completely

Remove from the heat and stir in the oats,ensuring they are well coated in the mixture

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and press down with the back of a spoon

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden on the top

Cool completely then cut into squares with a knife and remove from the tin (being careful not to break them up)

Enjoy with a glass of cold milk!

Also, if there are crumbs left over they make fantastic granola for your morning yoghurt!

Photo credits go to Arctic Garden Studio

Bonk on the Noggin: Traumatic Brain Injuries in the Asterix Comics

My final year thesis supervisor and prospective PhD supervisor always sends me interesting articles and links, I have yet to be disappointed by something he has given me, and today was no different. I was having a chat with about the next project proposal we are submitting and he handed me this article about neurological dysfunction in the Asterix Comics.


In this study (See link below for the full article) Marcel Kamp and his colleagues analysed all 34 of the Asterix comic books and looked for causes, signs and symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in the characters. They identified 704 instances of TBI measured using the Glasgow Coma Scale and based on physical signs such as raccoon eyes bruising and pinhead pupils. 


Unsuprisingly, the most common victims of these TBIs were the Romans and the most common attackers were the Gauls but no death or permanent disabilities were noted as a result of these injuries.


You have to wonder who funded this, I wonder if they'll send some funding my way :P


Here's the full article (it's written in very accessible language so anyone can read it without a Neuroscience degree, which is a nice change):
Kamp, et al, (2011) Traumatic Brain Injuries in Illustrated Literature

Apple Pie and a Truly Remarkable Nana

I'm so sorry for the lack of updates, my laptop up and died and we moved into our new house (SO much nicer than the last place) so things have been SUPER hectic for the past month. Anyway, our landlord showed up at the door the other day with an armload of windfall apples. So before they all go off and in order to make the best out of this bounty there shall be numerous apple-y recipes on the way.

The one dessert I will always remember is my nana's apple pie. When I was a child and she would visit for dinner or we would go to her house for Sunday lunch there would always be her apple pie. Light, crisp pastry, delicately spiced apple filling...mmm...

She was a wonder in the kitchen, able to make something delicious out of nothing. There was never very much money for day to day expenses when my mum was a child but she'll be first to say that her mum made do and they were never left wanting. My nana cooked all the meals, made clothes, mended clothes, kept the house of 5 in good order, never taking a day off, never asking for special recognition and she did all this despite severe arthritis in both hands and feet.

She used to say that the only way we'd ever get rid of her would be to take her out and shoot her. She was still saying it up to the age of 90 when unfortunately she had a stroke, which, although she survived, took her memory, her speech and her mobility on the left side.

I'll always have my wonderfully fond memories of days spend feeding pigeons and wandering the Moor Street Market in Dublin with a truly remakable, yet unassuming, nana.

Apple Pie
Makes one 9" pie

• 330g plain flour
• 150g butter/lard cold and cubed
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 6-7 tbsp cold water

• 1kg cooking apples
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 handful golden raisins (optional)
• 2 tsps cinnamon
• 2 tsps whole cloves
• zest of 1 orange
• 50g white sugar
• 75g golden sugar

Soak the raisins in a little water just so that they plump up and become super juicy

Sift the flour into a bowl and add the butter

Cut the butter into the flour using two round bladed knives, then rub the mixture together using your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs

Add the 2 tbsps of sugar and the water and mix with a fork (the mixture should still seem quite crumbly at this stage)

Using your hands, form the mixture into a ball in the bowl. If it doesn't quite come together add a little more water then re form into a ball.

Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 mins

While the dough is chilling we'll make the filling (rhyme points)

Peel and core the apples and thinly slice them lengthways

Put them into a bowl and add the lemon juice, tossing to coat, preventing browning

Drain then raisins and add these, the sugar, orange zest and cinnamon and toss to distribute evenly

Preheat the oven to 200 C and grease a 9" pie dish

Take the pastry out of the fridge and flour your surface. 

Roll 2/3 of the pastry until it's around 3-5mm thick and lay it over the dish, pressing it gently into the corners

Trim off any excess hanging over the edge of the pie dish and add to the remaining pastry ball.

Add half of the filling and scatter 1/2 the cloves over the top then repeat with the remaining filling and cloves

Roll out the rest of your pastry until it's approx 3 mm thick and lay it over the filling, sealing the edges of the pastry with your fingers and trimming any excess again.

Cut slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape during cooking

Bake at 200 C for 20 mins, then turn the oven down to 180 C and bake for another 30-35 mins

Serve warm from the oven with custard, cream or ice cream :) Many thanks to Edd, the boy who bakes, and Kat over at Sweet Kat's Kitchen for the pictures!

Apple and Raspberry Crumble

With the weather being positively Autumnal recently I've been dipping into my winter recipes for dessert and baking ideas when I feel the baking itch and the housemates fancy something sweet. I love winter recipes, they're always so warming and comforting and really make the kitchen and the whole house smell inviting and homely. 

Crumbles and crisps are wonderful because they are so versatile, you can have so many fruit and spice combinations, keep it simple and nostalgic or mix and match for new and interesting fillings. One of my favourites is plain rhubarb because it's very nostalgic, beautifully simple and really yummy! I must confess, plain apple crumble, even when it's spiced and well flavoured has always seemed a little bland to me and for that reason I always add berries to augment the taste. 

I came up with this recipe for my Mum's birthday this year, recently rediscovered it and made it to celebrate the end of repeats for my housemates (...basically an excuse to bake something :P). If you fancy it as just an apple crumble just replace the raspberries with an extra cooking apple!

Apple and Raspberry Crumble

Crumble

• 565g flour
• 2tsps baking powder
• 260g butter (chilled)
• 350g caster sugar
• 55g golden caster sugar

Filling

• 9 apples (I tend to use 7 cooking and 3 eating apples but whatevs)
• 300g raspberries
• 1 orange, zest
• 3 tsps cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180 C and grease a medium ceramic oven dish

Peel core and slice apples (not too thin) and lay them in the base of a medium sized lasagna dish or other ceramic oven dish (There should be a pretty damn tall layer of apple :P )

Scatter over the golden sugar, 55g of the white sugar, the cinnamon and the orange zest 

Mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl and cut the butter into thumbnail sized cubes.

Using your fingertips rub the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs

Mix in the rest of the sugar and pour over the fruit layer, pressing gently but not packing it in

Bake for 45-50 mins and serve with custard, cream or ice cream (whipped cream is my definite favourite)

A Month Long Absence and Playing Catch-Up with Cinnamon Blondies

So I've only realised it's been a month since I posted up my Banana bread recipe...shame on me I know... Unfortunately life has a way of getting in front, behind, above, below and beside blogging and do its best to push it out of the way, for the better in my case.

Over the past month I've been running around the place like a dervish trying to devote my time equally between all the important aspects of my life; Ethan, my friends, exercise, baking and cooking, pole dancing and research (and get over the 'flu :P) and let me tell you it's been an exhausting yet highly fulfilling time :) (...well not the 'flu part).

If I haven;t already mentioned it I found myself a volunteer Research Assistant position with the Trinity College Neuroscience Institute and the project is really interesting; we're looking into exercise and memory using a chemical called Blood Derived Neurotrophic Factor or BDNF. The guy running it hopes to devise a rehab programme for memory impairment using exercise. I took a Phlebotomy course a few weeks ago and have become the study's official blood taker and processor (so I get lots of lab time) as well as the cognitive test administrator. It's a hectic job but I'm really enjoying myself.

My all too real (and a little scary) proper adult life aside, Ethan and I spent a lovely 2 days in Sligo camping with friends (we just got back today actually). It was a great trip despite the horizontal rain and high winds and gave us both the chance to relax after a stressful month. We camped 20 feet from the beach and between the showers we built a fire, toasted marshmallows and stargazed some of the clearest skies I've ever seen, not that that lasted very long! That being said, there's nothing better than cuddling up in what we found to be a double wide sleeping bag listening to a howling gale outside and the sound of rain pelting against the tent... :) <3

ASide from being hard at work in the real world and not so hard at work in other ways, I've been cooking a lot, focusing on the recipes of my Italian heritage and making dishes such  as Pollo alla Cacciatore, Cannellini bean soup, Home-made egg pasta and ragu and Cantuccini (when this recipe is perfected it shall be posted up here). Rest assured I have not been resting on my laurels where baking is concerned and this recipe today is just one of many that I have to share with you :)

Cinnamon Squares
Makes around 16

• 225g butter, softened
• 225g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 225g plain flour
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 150 mls plain yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 180 C, grease and line and 9" square cake tin with baking paper

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy then beat in the eggs a little at a time

Mix the baking powder flour and cinnamon together and fold into the wet ingredients

Gently mix in the yoghurt until well combined then add the mixure to the tin

Bake for 45-50 mins, or until the cake is firm to the touch

Cool for 10 minutes in the tin then cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares

The texture should be smooth thanks to the yoghurt and creaming process and the cinnamon taste should be at the forefront but not overpowering. This recipe yields a light and springy yet rich and very moreish tasting cake square with a tender crumb and should leave your kitchen smelling warm, inviting and mildly Autumnal :)

My Mammy's Tried and Tested Perfect Banana Bread

Banana bread is a recipe that everyone has and in the same way everyone seems convinced that theirs is the best. Having tried some of these recipes I keep returning to the banana bread I enjoyed as a child and while it may not be the 'best' it's certainly mine and my whole family's favourite. It has more banana that the typical recipe which means that the banana flavour is much more intense and the loaf is super moist and rich. Also in this recipe you will find the addition of orange and lemon zest which gives a certain freshness to it. 

Also, in what appear to e a break with the norm there are no spices in this banana bread. Having messed around with different spices I found that they detract from the taste and I don't otehr with them anymore, banana bread should be simple and this one definitely is

Banana Bread

Makes 1 loaf

75g soft butter

110g caster sugar

1 large egg beaten

225g plain flour

2 tsps baking powder level

4 medium bananas peeled

Grated rind 1 orange

Grated rind 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 180.

Butter, sugar and egg in large mixing bowl

Sift in flour and baking powder

In another bowl slice and mash bananas with fork

Whish sugar, butter and flour until thoroughly combined

Add orange and lemon rind

Add mashed bananas

Mix thoroughly

Put in tin and level off top

Centre shelf 50-55 mins until loaf is golden, well risen and springs back

Turning Yet Another Famous Pie into Cake

Ok, I love Love LOVE experimentation while I'm baking and one of my favourite things to experiment with has to be birthday cakes. Typically I ask the person who's birthday it is what their top 5 favourite desserts are, their 5 favourite chocolate bars, favourite fruit,nuts and colour. Most of these questions are throw away, and have them thinking all kinds of crazy things are going on *insert maniacal laughter and cat*


I always have the most fun with the favourite desserts answers which have resulted in previous experiments involving Chocolate Brownie Chocolate Cheesecake (recipe soon to come) and Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcakes (also, soon to come). This one was a challenge as it was a 1930's theme party. I toyed with the idea of a white cake decorated as a 1930's hatbox complete with fondant hat. Then I remembered I'm quite useless with fondant. But the final end to that idea came when the birthday girl listed her favourite desserts and Banoffee Pie was there. It was going to happen, I had to make it happen, and so I did :P


Banana cake, Sandwiched with caramel and caramel buttercream frosting and apparently it tasted as good as the real thing. I did cheat a little and used store bought Dulce de Leche, home made caramel will come next.


Banana Cake
Makes 2 10" / 3 9" rounds

• 180g butter, softened
• 360g packed light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 4 medium bananas, mashed
• 1.5 tsps vanilla extract
• 360g flour
• 3tsps baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 250mls buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 180 C

Line/grease and line 2 10" or 3 9" round tins

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy

Add eggs, beating well after each addition

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients

Add to the butter and sugar mixture, alternating with buttermilk

Pour into prepared tins and bake for 25-30 mins 

Cool in the tins for 20 mins then cool completely (for 2 hours) on a wire rack

Caramel Buttercream Frosting

Makes 6 cups (enough to frost and then colour and decorate this cake)

• 750g icing (confectioners) sugar
• 4 tbsp caramel
• 320g butter, softened
• 2 tsps vanilla extract

Whip butter until light and creamy

Add vanilla and sugar and beat until fluffy

Add caramel and mix well

Assembly

For the caramel layer you will need 2 cans of store bought dulce de leche minus the 4tbsp that went into the frosting.

When I went to assemble this cake I suddenly realised (after putting the top layer down) that the thick caramel layer I envisioned for the centre wasn't going to work (it all started to squeeze out the sides). So I had a bit of a think and decided I'd try something. If it worked it worked, if not hey it was gonna be a little messy but still tasty.

I piped a ring of the icing around the edge of the bottom layer and THEN filled it with the caramel and lo and behold I had a slightly thinner caramel centre layer :P. I the covered the outside of the cake in the frosting and coloured the remaining frosting blue and purple and then it was DECORATING TIME :D

Thanks to Evil Shananigans for the picture :)

Nutella Brownies

Yesterday was one of my housemates birthdays and while he's not really into cake he loooves brownies. Also, since his party took the form of a Bring Your Own Food, Booze and Cigars (BYOFBC), they suited perfectly. I also happen to know that Davey has a real love of Nutella so with that I set about tweaking a brownie recipe I got from my mum to make it work. I've made brownies once before and unfortunately they did not end happily. the recipe came from a childrens cookery course I did and they were dire. Needless to say that knocked my brownie confidence a little but I figured now was about time to give this devilishly moreish treat another go.

I scoured the town where I live for the best quality Hazelnut spread I could find and eventually settled on the Choco Nusse spread sold in LIDL. The spread itself is darker in colour and has a richer taste. The cocoa is stronger and the hazelnuts are more flavourful in comparison to the traditional Nutella. The original recipe called for 60-75% cocoa chocolate but I could only get my hands on 50%. As it turns out this was a bit of a blessing because had there been any more cocoa the hazelnut flavour would have been totally overpowered and the brownies too rich.

Roasted Hazelnuts
Preheat oven to 150C
Spread the required amount of hazelnuts onto a baking tray
Roast for 15 mins, turning once.
Allow to cool, then skin them by rubbing them vigorously between your hands

Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies
Makes around 20 medium brownies

• 180g butter
• 270g chooclate (50% cocoa)
• 370g Nutella or chocolate hazelnut spread of your choice + 170g extra
• 180g light brown sugar
• 130g roasted hazelnuts
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 120g flour
• 1.5 tbsps cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 175C

Line a 10x12"/9x13" pan with greaseproof paper

Melt butter and chocolate over a bain marie

Stir in Nutella, remove bowl from the bain marie and cool mix until it reaches room temperature

Mix in brown sugar and vanilla

Add eggs 1 at a time beating well after each addition (the mix should be glossy and smooth)

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder

Combine with the wet ingredients

Stir in roasted hazelnuts and pour out into the prepared pan, spreading the mix evenly

Heat remaining 170g of Nutella over a bain marie and drizzle over the mix in the tin. 

Swirl throughout the top of the mix using a knife or skewer

bake for 25-35 mins, until a toothpick comes out mostly clean and the texture is still slightly fudgy when touched.

I hope you enjoyed them as much as Davey and the other party goers did! I must say brownies aren't as scary as my previous experience would have lead me to believe; I will definitely be making them more in the future :)

Many thanks to Making Life Delicious for the first picture in this post, my camera's been a little out of sorts lately :/

x

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - Take 2

I love OMRCs, the taste, the texture and the warm, inviting smell they leave in the kitchen while they're baking. My very first blog post was a recipe for Slightly Healthier Oatmeal Raisin Cookies because I needed my OMRC fix and am unable to eat the regular kind. But I made a batch for friends the other day and tweaked my recipe a little with apparently good results so I decided I'd post up this recipe too! After all, you can NEVER have too many oatmeal raisin cookie recipes :P

Also, on a sad note, my weighing scales has met an untimely end so I'm using U.S. measurements because I had a mug handy :P

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Makes 12-15 cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsps. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup plain flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp all spice
• 1 1/2 cups jumbo oats (old fashioned oats)
• 3/4 cup of raisins
• 2-3 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 175 C

Put the raisins in a bowl, add water to cover and add 1 tsp of the vanilla extract.

Allow to plump for 10-15 mins

In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar.

Add eggs and the other tsp of vanilla and beat until creamy

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and allspice

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined

Stir in the oats

Drain the raisins and stir into the mixture.

Add the milk if the mix is on the dry side

Spoon tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper

Bake in the oven for 15-20 mins, or until the edges of the cookie are golden brown

The centers should remain soft but not too doughy.

Also, my camera's been very dodgy lately so all photo credits for this post go to Dana from The Homesteading Housewife

x

Mum's Pavlova

We've moved into our new house and we finally have internet which means I can finally post up my pavlova recipe :) It was one of my housemates birthdays last week and his favourite dessert is Pavlova with cream and strawberries so that is what I set about making. 


I used my Mum's pavlova recipe which is the best Pavlova I've ever eaten. It's chewy and pillowy at the same time and tastes absolutely amazing! Slightly abnormally there's custard powder and white vinegar in the recipe which helps give it this consistency. The recipe has no measurements whatsoever so I'm gonna do my best to approximate.


Mum's Pavlova
(Serves 12-16)

• 6 egg whites
• 2 mugs of caster sugar
• 2 heaped tbsp custard powder
• 2 tsps white vinegar

Preheat the oven to 160 C

Beat egg whites and 1 and 3/4 of the sugar with an electric whisk until they form the stiffest peaks you've ever seen

Fold in the rest of the sugar, custard powder and white vinegar

Pour out onto a rectangular baking tray lined with greaseproof paper

Bake for 35-45 mins, until slightly golden at the edges

Enjoy :) x