The Cake and Bake Show

A little (ok, a lot!) on the late side now, but I visited The Cake and Bake Show at Earl’s Court the other week and wanted to share a few photos of my day. All photos were taken on my phone so they may not be the best!

It was a first for me, and I didn’t really know much about it before buying my ticket- but as the name suggests it was right up my street! Everywhere you looked there were stalls of delicious treats and stands of things to buy for your own baking adventures. Alongside that were talks and demonstrations from baking greats like Eric Lanlard. I was fortunate enough to watch one of his masterclasses and definitely learnt a thing or two. There were also plenty of previous Great British Bake Off winners and contestants including the fantastic James Morton.

The cakes on sale  were a total feast for the eyes. It was quite hard not to buy everything!

The cakes on display were very impressive and there was definitely inspiration for whatever style of cake you like to bake.

  

There was an impressive cake catwalk and cake tables that looked like a Pinterest post!

  

It was a great day with lots to look at, buy and inspire. I made a few purchases, got a few samples and a load of recipe cards that I can’t wait to try out!

  

 

 

Blueberry Bonus

This bake, the white chocolate and blueberry tray bake deserved a cheeky little second post simply because there were so many gorgeous pictures of it from the photo shoot. So many delicious photos that needed to be shared, just like the tray bake itself.

It really is the perfect afternoon tea or party item because it can be cut into bite sized chunks meaning the love can be spread to even more people.

The bake itself is soft and moist with burrows of blueberries hiding inside. The white chocolate frosting makes it decadent and the blueberries on top; well they make it look that extra bit fancy! Having said that, the cake itself without frosting would make a great little lunch box treat wrapped in some Clingfilm.

As the weather changes I may even try this tray bake using a more ‘seasonal’ fruit, I’m pretty confident it would work with blackberries or even plum.

If you like blueberry and white chocolate as a combo, check out my post Wedding Cake wonder and watch out for other things coming up!

Thanks again to Michelle Wildman for the delicious shots.

Chewy White Chocolate Squares

Rich and chewy, yet so easy to make. These  sweet little squares of tastiness came about by accident! I was throwing ingredients together to experiment with tray bakes, and thankfully it paid off.

You will need:

110g Butter

75g White chocolate

150g Light Brown Muscovado Sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

140g Plain Flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

100g White chocolate chopped

Method:

Preheat the oven at 180c and line a 9″ by 9″ tin with baking paper.

Melt the butter and white chocolate in a bowl over boiling water. Add the sugar and mix well.

Add the egg and vanilla, then mix.

Add the flour and fold.

Chop the white chocolate chunks then fold in. Pour into lined tin.

Bake for around 20 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean (you know the drill!) The top should be golden brown but it may still seem very soft. This makes them chewy. Allow to cool and cut into squares. With a 9″ by 9″ tin I got 16 (generous) bite sized pieces. I found the next day the white chocolate flavour came out even more. So great to bake a day ahead. Then eat, share and enjoy!

Blueberry and White Chocolate Tray bake

Blueberry and white chocolate- one of my favourite combinations, ever…and what could be scrummier than a tray bake to share with all your friends!

It really doesn’t need any hype or chatter; it’s that good let’s just get to it!

To make the tray bake you will need:

125g unsalted butter

225g caster sugar

2 eggs

250g soured cream

300g self-raising flour

1/2 a teaspoon baking powder

200g blueberries

200g white chocolate

To make the topping you will need:

50g butter

300g icing sugar (and a little extra for dusting)

200g cream cheese

100g white chocolate

100g blueberries

Method:

Preheat your oven at 180c and line a rectangular tin with baking paper.

Beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time and beat.

Stir in the soured cream, then fold in the sieved flour and baking powder.

Chop the white chocolate into chunks and fold it in, then fold in the blueberries lightly.

Pour into your rectangular tin and bake in you oven for 40-45 minutes. The top should be golden and a skewer should come out clean. Set aside to cool.

For the topping:

Beat your softened butter and sieved icing sugar for a few minutes until it becomes smooth and light.

Melt your white chocolate and set aside to cool (slightly)

Beat in the cream cheese, again until light and fluffy.

While still beating, pour in your slightly cooled chocolate until fully combined.

Spread your delicious frosting over the tray bake sponge and garnish with some blueberries.

Only thing left to do is lightly dust with icing sugar and cut into squares. Simply yummy!

Thanks for www.michellewildman.co.uk for the stunning pictures that really capture the ‘yumminess’ of this bake.

Chocolate Guiness Cake

I can’t help it….. I keep making this!

Time and time again an occasion calls for a chocolate Guinness cake. It’s rich, moist and chocolatey, keeps well and freezes a charm.

I’ve made this recipe for birthdays and weddings, and even used it as a cupcake recipe without changing anything (it makes loads!) It is simply one of my most loved and made recipes. I have made it so many times, to the point where I generally forget to take photos! The photo above wasn’t the finished product, with a bit more swirling of frosting and a sprinkle of cocoa powder it was ready to be a birthday cake! So not the best looking example but the most tasty! So without further ado…

You will need:

250ml of Guinness

250g butter

80g Cocoa powder

400g Caster Sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp of Vanilla extract

140ml of Buttermilk (I tend to make my own)

280g Plain Flour

2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda

1/2 a teaspoon of baking powder

For the icing:

50g butter

250g-300g icing sugar (depending how sweet you like it)

300g Philidelphia (Cream Cheese)

Cocoa powder or grated chocolate for dusting/garnish

Method:

Preheat your oven at 170c and line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper. I like to line the bottom circle and around the edges also.

Pour the Guiness into a saucepan and also tip in the butter. On a fairly low heat, melt the butter until you have a gorgeous brown liquid. Remove from the heat and tip in the sugar in one go, stirring until it has all combined.

Sieve the cocoa powder into a bowl and add to your butter mixture a few spoonfuls at a time, mixing well- and it does need a lot of mixing so there are no pockets of cocoa powder remaining.

Whisk your eggs and add your vanilla and buttermilk and mix (really) well.

Add your egg mixture to your chocolatey liquid and mix to form quite a gloopy mixture!

Sieve your dry ingredients into a bowl or stand mixer bowl and pour in your chocolate Guinness gloop slowly as you mix. Be sure to scrape down the sides regularly and mix well as I sometimes find the flour seems to like staying in clumps! Don’t be alarmed- just keep mixing.

Once fully combined, pour into your prepared tin and bake in the oven for around 50 minutes. Keep an eye on it near the end, the sponge should be springy and soft but a skewer should come out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool in the tin. The sponge will be very moist and soft so have your serving plate or box ready for a quick transfer!

For the frosting you will to put room temperature butter in a mixer and beat until smooth. Add your icing sugar and once mostly smooth add your cream cheese and vanilla extract to the mix. Beat until white and light and fluffy. It is then ready to spread over your completely cool cake. Dust with cocoa or grated chocolate and you are done.

I find this cake is best made the day before you want to serve it, which can be quite handy. It also works well with other various icings other than cream cheese, so be adventurous! Here is a slice of a chocolate Guinness cake I made into super chocolatey celebration cake.

 

Thanks to the Hummingbird Bakery for this amazing recipe. http://www.hummingbirdbakery,com

Edd Kimber’s Fudge Brownies

In honour of the start of this years Great British Bake Off, I thought I would post a recipe from the first ever winner of the series- Edd Kimber.

I’m always up for trying a brownie recipe as they vary so much, and this one is from his first book, The boy who bakes. I’ve tried this recipe a few times and it’s one of my favourites as the brownies are really rich and gooey. I have also tried it with a couple of variations (which I prefer!) so I will include them but put them in italics so you can chose how you want to make them. Enjoy!

You will need:

180g Plain Flour

3 tablespoons Cocoa Powder

1/4 teaspoon Salt *optional

300 Dark Chocolate (at least 60-70% cocoa solids) *I like to do half dark and half milk or use something like Bournville that would be classed as ‘semi-sweet’

200g Unsalted Butter

150g Caster Sugar

220g Light Brown Sugar

4 Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

*I like to add around 300g White chocolate chunks to the mix for added yumminess!

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160c (180 if not a fan oven) and line a baking tin (23 x 33cm is suggested)

Sift together the flour and cocoa powder.

Melt your butter and chocolate together in a bowl over a pan of water. Once they have melted add the sugars and mix in until combined. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until all combine and you have a beautifully thick mixture.

Fold in your flour and cocoa lightly until only just combined. If you’re adding chocolate chunks- this is the time to do it!

Pour your batter into your tin and smooth so it’s level.

Edd’s recipe says to bake for 30 minutes. Whenever I have made these I find they need a few extra minutes (although I have always made double batches which I probably why!) So I’d say around the 30 minute mark check them. They should still be fairly wobbly and soft but only a few crumbs should come out onto a skewer. Leave to cool completely before removing from the pan or cutting. I know it’s tempting not to wait, but trust me its worth it!Check out Edd’s website www.theboywhobakes.com is a favourite of mine.

bakingandjoy- the photoshoot

My very talented friend Michelle Wildman is branching out into business portraits, so we joined forces to combine delicious cakes and photography genius!

I chose some delicious recipes that I was looking forward to sharing and would be visually pleasing for the purposes of a photo shoot, then set to work at making them! The day before the shoot was spent in the kitchen happily mixing, baking and icing to create a rosey pound cake, blueberry and white chocolate tray bake, purple ombre angel cake and experimental gin and tonic cupcakes. You can expect to see these recipes featuring on my blog in the upcoming weeks.

On the day I could breathe a sigh of relief as the majority of my work was done! Michelle worked her socks off to get the best light, angle  and image of each baked delight, all I had to do was cut the cakes and step back and watch the magic happen!

We had loads of fun shooting outside, including dodging the passing showers and flapping away some curious bees. It has lead to some beautiful but natural foodie pictures, and she even took some of me!

I’m so happy with the wonderful shots Michelle got and I can’t wait to feature the fruits of her labour in upcoming blog posts!

Check out Michelle’s blog post about the shoot too-

http://michellewildman.co.uk/beautiful-lady-beautiful-cakes/

Carrot and Orange Cupcakes

Carrot cake is a favourite for many people, so carrot cake in a cupcake sounded like a good plan, especially with a twist of orange to lift the flavour. I baked these when visiting my mum who is a massive carrot cake fan and they went down a storm!

They work well with or without the frosting on top and would be at home as a muffin filled to the brim in a larger case too. The ingredients list looks pretty long, but don’t be fooled: they are really simple!

You will need:

300g plain flour

225g caster sugar

2 teaspoons  bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of mixed spice

175ml sunflower oil

175ml milk

3 eggs

120g carrot

150g raisins and/or sultanas

120g walnuts (optional)

1 orange

12g icing sugar

40g butter

85g cream cheese

Method:

Preheat the oven at 180c and find some pretty cake cases to go into cake tins.

Put all of the dry ingredients into bowl (sieving the flour) including the grated carrot, some grated orange zest and raisins and give it a quick mix.

In a jug whisk your eggs up and add the sunflower oil and milk. Squeeze half an orange into your wet ingredients.

Add wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Spoon your batter evenly into your cake cases and bake for around 20 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes or so before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Then onto making the frosting:

Beat your butter until smooth and pale. Add your icing sugar in a few goes as you mix. Squeeze the other half of your orange into the icing and mix well. Then mix in your cream cheese until your frosting is smooth and white. At this point you can add a colour if you wish. Spread or pipe onto your cupcakes and decorate as you wish. I put some crushed walnuts on some.

I enjoyed making (and eating!) these but next time I make them, I personally won’t include the walnuts in the cake batter.

Tala Muffin Cases

I didn’t really intend to start using my blogs for reviews- however, as a frequent baker I’m always trying out and using different baking related products. I come across amazing things that I continue to use again and again and recommend to others, and I also come across the odd thing that was worth a shot but not great for me. So I thought, why not share them!

So first up on the reviewing table are some beautiful muffin cases that caught my eye when visiting my local baking suppliers shop. I love buying colourful and pretty cupcake and muffin cases as it can really make a bake stand out.

When I saw these I was in awe of their simple beauty. Straight away I imagined making muffins spilling over the pretty and colourful cases. (check out the Blueberry Streusel recipe)

The pack says:no need for a tin, easy release, no need to grease the tray and wipe clean and re useable.

My first thought was- why would you grease a tin when baking muffins anyway? But I was excited to use them and give them a whirl.

They were so easy to spoon the mixture into and held their shape really well. When the muffins came out of the oven they had spilled over beautifully to create the ‘muffin top.’ I did however notice that cream and pink coloured cases that had been so pretty had not kept their colour well. The brown ones still looked lovely.

The next thing was how to get the muffiny goodness out of the cases. Unlike other cases they have a tight rim so you can’t just peel it away. It took a couple of people a couple of tries to realise you can pull the case sideways to release the muffin. All a bit complicated for me….or maybe a rooky error!

This leads me to the final claim- wipe clean and re useable. I can’t imagine reusing them. Like any cupcake or muffin case it was left with crumb residue that leaves the case a bit more flimsy, but also if you master the art of pulling sideways to open the case out there’s no going back! I sat with one I had opened out for quite a while seeing if I could fold it back up: I couldn’t.

So you are left with the decision of either pulling out your muffin piece by piece, leaving the case in tact so you can ‘wipe clean’ to maybe be able to use again; or you can open it out to release the glorious muffin from its cage in one piece to eat and enjoy. There’s no weighing it up for me- the muffin wins over the case every time!

I don’t think I would buy these again, yes they are pretty but only the brown one remains pretty once baked. The white and pink ended up paler and almost see through. I wouldn’t consider reusing muffin cases that weren’t silicone, and as for “easy release”- perhaps it’s just me who can’t open them! But don’t get me wrong, they are very pretty!

If you would like to purchase them, you can find them here

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tala-Greaseproof-Muffin-Cases-50×30/dp/B004W75YN0

Banana Muffins

Now and again I end up with a couple of sad looking bananas at the end of the week which always means one thing: baking banana muffins!

The perfect way to use up brown bananas, it’s so simple and uses staple cupboard ingredients- no need for eggs.

I’ve come back to this recipe time and time again. The cocoa really adds something without it tasting at all like  a “chocolate” muffin. They are really soft and spongey like a cupcake but have the taste of a muffin- slightly unusual but always go down well the punters!

There are only 2 rules when it comes to this recipe- Don’t over mix and don’t over bake.

You will need:

120g Margarine (or butter for a richer taste)

225g Caster sugar

3 ripe Bananas

250g Plain Flour

1 Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda

1 Tablespoon of Cocoa

Method:

Melt the margarine in the microwave briefly and mash the bananas with the back of a fork or mixer, leaving some lumps.

Combine the melted margarine and bananas and add in the sugar.

Sift the dry ingredients and lightly fold into your banana batter, adding the cocoa last. Remember not to over mix.

The mixture should fill around 24 standard cupcake cases fairly full or 12 larger muffin cases. I also like to make mini versions!

Put them into a pre-heated oven at 180c for around 20 minutes. Near the end I keep a watchful eye, once they are golden brown on top and still light and springy they are done. (You can do the skewer test too)

They can also be frozen which is handy!