RECIPE | CHOCOLATE ORANGE LOAF CAKE

Requested to make some cake for some ex-office buddies when visiting them last week I asked them what they would like in advance. A chocolate orange cake was the order and I set to work to make a delightfully moist but easily transportable cake as it would be venturing round in my handbag all day through various meetings and train journeys... et voila, the handbag proof cake of choice, the chocolate orange loaf cake!

Ingredients:

Cake:

150g Butter

160g Caster Sugar

Zest of 2 Oranges

2 Eggs

3tbsp Golden Syrup

40g Cocoa Powder

3tbsp Boiling Water

150g Plain Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

100g Chopped Milk Chocolate or Chocolate Chips

Juice of 1 Orange

Icing:

100g Milk Chocolate

Instructions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin (or two 1lb loaf tins) with baking paper.

2. Cream the butter and the sugar together until fluffy and light in colour. Add the orange zest, eggs and golden syrup and continue to beat until combined.

3. In a separate bowl or mug, add the hot water to the cocoa powder and mix until a smooth paste is formed. Add this to the other wet ingredients and then fold in the flour and baking powder.

4. Carefully fold in the milk chocolate or chocolate chips and loosen with the juice of the orange.

5. Pour into the baking tin and place in the centre of your oven to bake for 40-50 minutes.

6. Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool.

7. Once cooled, melt the chocolate for the icing and drizzle it over the cake and leave to set.

RECIPE | GLUTEN-FREE BANOFFEE GRANOLA MUFFINS

Last week I was sent some gluten-free products from Nature's Path and rather than doing a boring old review post I thought I would use their products in a new recipe!

Photos: Nature's Path

I crafted a gluten-free recipe to pay homage to their delicious Nice and Nobbly Pumpkin, Almond and Raisin Granola (my favourite out of the products received). Deliciously tasty on its own as a snack or drenched in milk it does not taste like some of the other gluten-free cereal options out there which leave you hating on the thought of breakfast.

I bring you... gluten free Banoffee Granola Muffins!

Lovely moist muffins with surprising textures of crunchy granola and gooey melted fudge (even better when still runny and molten out the oven!). A sweet treat without being too heavy or as naughty as a banoffee pie... and they are gluten-free too. Win win.

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins):

4 overly ripe bananas

4tbsp Rapeseed Oil

2 Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Essence

250g Gluten Free Self-Raising Flour

100g Soft Brown Sugar

1 1/2tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder

100g Fudge

150g Granola

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

2. In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas and then add the rapeseed oil, eggs and vanilla essence and combine until mixed.

3. Add the sugar to this mixture and follow with the flour, sugar and baking powder.

4. Chop the fudge into small chunks and add 3/4s of this to the mixture along with 3/4s of the granola.

5. Spoon the mixture into 12 muffin cases and scatter the remaining fudge and granola on top of the muffins.

6. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

RECIPE | COCONUT AND LIME POLENTA DRIZZLE CAKE

I love to bake with polenta and having not made a polenta cake in a while I thought I would try out with a new recipe.

The grittiness and nutty texture of the polenta compliments the bite of the dessicated coconut. When both are combined and drenched in a lime syrup drizzle it makes for a super moist cake.

 

Ingredients:

Cake:

200g Caster Sugar

200g Butter

3 Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Essence

Zest of 2 Limes

100g Polenta

140g Self-Raising Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

70g Dessicated Coconut

4tbsp Milk

Drizzle:

Juice of 2 Limes

40g Granulated Sugar

50g Caster Sugar

Icing:

6tbsp Icing Sugar

1tsp of Water

2tbsp Toasted Dessicated Coconut

 Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C and grease and line a loose bottomed 8" cake tin.

2. In a bowl, place the milk over the dessicated coconut and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until it is light in colour and fluffy in texture.

4. Add the eggs, vanilla essence and lime zest and beat the mixture together until it is well combined.

5. Add the flour, polenta and baking powder to the wet ingredients and fold them together.

6. Add the milk soaked dessicated coconut to this mixture and fold together until a smooth cake batter is formed.

7. Place the mixture into the cake tin and place on the centre shelf of your oven to bake for 30-40 minutes.

8. To make the drizzle, take the juice of 2 limes and stir together with the granulated sugar and caster sugar. Once the cake has been removed from the oven, immediately pierce it with a skewer all over and then pour the lime drizzle mix on top of the cake.

9. Once the cake has cooled and the drizzle has set you can remove the cake from the tin. Make up the icing mix by sieving the icing sugar and adding the water to create a thick drizzling consistency. Drizzle this over the cake in lines and then scatter with the toasted dessicated coconut.

RECIPE | CHOCOLATE, HAZELNUT AND BANANA MARBLE CAKE

After receiving some lovely goodies from Whynut in the post last week I just couldn't resist sampling them out in some baking this weekend. I decided to use their hazelnut paste in a marble cake to really test the strength of the flavour.

 What goes well with hazelnuts? Chocolate! What goes well with chocolate? Bananas!

Sorted... we have the Chocolate, Hazelnut and Banana Marble Cake.

Ingredients:

Plain Cake Batter:

225g Caster Sugar

225g Butter

4 Eggs

2tsp Vanilla Essence

225g Self-Raising Flour

1 1/2tsp Baking Powder

Banana Mix:

1 Banana

3tbsp Milk

Chocolate Hazelnut Mix:

50g Dark Chocolate

2tbsp Hazelnut Paste

2tbsp Cocoa Powder

4tbsp Milk

Topping:

100g Dark Chocolate
15g Butter

1tbsp Hazelnut Paste

3tbsp Chopped Hazelnuts

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin (or two 1lb loaf tins).

2. Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy in colour, then add the eggs and vanilla essence and mix until combined.

3. Add the flour and baking powder to the wet ingredients and fold until it is fully mixed. Divide this mixture into two separate mixing bowls.

4. For the banana cake mix - mash the banana and add to one of the mixing bowls along with the milk and mix until you have a smooth cake batter.

5. For the chocolate hazelnut cake mix - add the hazelnut paste, cocoa powder and milk. Melt the dark chocolate and fold these ingredients into the mixture until smooth.

6. Spoon alternate dollops of each mixture into the loaf tin, then use a skewer or sharp knife to create a marble pattern by swirling it through the mixture.

7. Bake in the centre shelf of your oven for 40-50 minutes or until it springs when touched in the centre and leaves a clean skewer when poked into the cake.

8. Leave the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the tin and then remove. Melt the dark chocolate and the butter together with the hazelnut paste. Drizzle over the cake and sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts on top.

RECIPE | CINNAMON AND VANILLA CUSTARD CRUMBLE CAKE

I have created a masterpiece! My latest cake invention is perhaps my best yet.

Combining the warming sponge laced with cinnamon, a thick vanilla custard and a crumble topping, the Cinnamon and Vanilla Custard Crumble Cake is born.

Ingredients:

Cake:

175g Caster Sugar

175 Butter

3 Eggs

1 1/2tsp Vanilla Essence

175g Self-Raising Flour

1 1/2tsp Baking Powder

3tsp Cinnamon

2tbsp Milk

425g Custard

Crumble Topping:

110g Plain Flour

80g Butter

1tsp Cinnamon

3tbsps Demerera Sugar (and a little extra to sprinkle on top)

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease and line an 8" loose bottomed cake tin.

2. Cream the sugar and the butter until light in colour and fluffy in texture.

3. Add to this the eggs, vanilla essence and 2tbsps of the custard and mix until combined.

4. Fold in the flour, baking powder and cinnamon to form the cake batter - loosen this with the milk if needed.

5. Place the cake batter into the cake tin and spread evenly.

6. Pour the rest of the custard over the cake batter and spread evenly to form a thick layer.

7. In a bowl, add the flour and the butter for the crumble ingredients and rub the mixture together until it resembles small breadcrumbs (this can take a good five minutes). Add the sugar and the cinnamon to this mixture and then scatter onto the top of the cake with an even coverage.

8. Sprinkle the cake with some extra demerera sugar and bake in the oven for 50 minutes.

It is delightfully good served warm with extra custard or ice cream, but is just as nice as a a slice on its own with a good cup of (Yorkshire) tea.

RECIPE | CLEMENTINE DRIZZLE CAKE

Surpise surprise! It's another loaf cake...

This time I've used up some clementines (I have an abundance of the juicy fruit thanks to a great swag at Leeds Market the other day). It's a simple recipe and easy to make. It's also an all round pleaser and makes a nice little change to the traditional lemon drizzle.

Ingredients:

Cake:

175g Butter

175g Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

1 1/2tsp Vanilla Essence

Zest of 2 Clementines

175g Self-Raising Flour

1 1/2tsp Baking Powder

1tbsp Clementine Juice

2tbsp Milk

Drizzle:

Juice of 2 Clementines

80g Granulated Sugar

2tbsp Icing Sugar

 Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.

2. Cream the butter and the sugar together with an electric hand mixer for 2-3 minutes until light in colour and fluffy in texture.

3. Add the clementine zest, vanilla essence and eggs to the mixture and stir until combined.

4. Fold in the flour and the baking powder and mix together.

5. Add the clementine juice and milk to loosen the mixture into a light cake batter.

6, Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake on the center shelf of your oven for 40 minutes.

7. Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and pierce the cake several times with a skewer.

8. Mix together the drizzle ingredients and pour generously over the cake whilst it is still in the tin.

9. Once the cake has cooled and the drizzle has set then it is ready to devour!

 

RECIPE | CHERRY AND ALMOND LOAF CAKE

I have a strange attachment to the safety of baking loaf cakes. I rarely find they ever go wrong and they are by far one of my favourite cakes to bake.

I baked this Cherry and Almond Loaf Cake a few weeks back when testing out some new 1lb loaf tins. I usually bake my loaf cakes in a 2lb tin but I love the idea of having two identical cakes of smaller size. One for yourself and one to share or to put in the freezer.

 Ingredients:

Cake:

175g Butter

175g Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Essence

75g Ground Almonds

175g Self-Raising Flour

1 1/2tsps Baking Powder

300g Glace Cherries

3tbsps Milk

Decoration:

5tbsps Icing Sugar

1tsp Water

1 handful of Flaked or Chopped Almonds

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin (or alternatively two 1lb loaf tins).

2. Cream the butter and the sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer until light and fluffy - this should take around 2-3 minutes.

3. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla essence until the mixture forms a smooth paste.

4. Sift the self-raising flour into the mixture, followed by the baking powder and the ground almonds.

5. Rinse and drain the glace cherries and then dust them in a few tablespoons of flour until they are lightly coated (this will stop the cherries from sinking to the bottom of the cake).

6. Add the cherries to the mixture and fold until it is well combined and the cherries evenly distributed.

6. Add the milk to loosen the mixture into a thick batter (use more or less milk if needed).

7. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and place on the center shelf of your oven to bake for 40-50 minutes.

8. Once removed from the oven, allow the cakes to cool.

9. Mix the icing sugar with the water (it should be quite thick) and drizzle over the cake and sprinkle with flaked or chopped almonds to finish.

RECIPE | PEANUT BUTTER BLONDIES

Blondies AKA the sexier sibling of the classic brownie are a fudgy love affair waiting to happen

Blondies are ridiculously moreish without the hit of being too rich. It's almost impossible to make them without eating half the batter before you've put them in the tray... let alone devouring them molten hot out the oven.

Peanut Butter Blondies

As with any baking... to take it to a whole new level just add peanut butter!

Ingredients:

220g Plain Flour

1 1/2tsp Baking Powder

180g Butter

300g Peanut Butter

250g Light Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1 1/2tsp Vanilla Essence

75g Chopped Nuts

200g White Chocolate

Instructions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease and line a baking tin with baking paper.

2. Cream the butter and the sugar for 2-3 minutes with an electric whisk until fluffy and light in colour.

3. Add the peanut butter, eggs and the vanilla essence to the mixture and mix.

4. Fold in the flour and baking powder and combine until the mixture forms a batter.

5. Chop the white chocolate into small chunks and fold into the batter along with the chopped nuts.

6. Pour the batter into the baking tin and spread evenly.

7.  Place in the centre shelf of your oven and bake for 35 minutes or until firm in the middle.

RECIPE | CHRISTMAS BISCOTTI

Looking for rock hard biscuits that have a 70% chance of breaking your teeth?

Look no further...

The wonderfully crunchy Italian biscotti are perfect for adding to Christmas hampers.

Meant to be dunked in a good strong coffee (definitely advised to avoid dental costs), these biscuits are special in their own right, yet surprisingly easy to make.

I made two variations for hampers this Christmas using my usual biscotti recipe.

Chocolate and Pistachio Biscotti

Add 15g of Cocoa Powder, 100g of good quality chopped Dark Chocolate and 50g of Pistachio Nuts to this recipe.

Winter Spiced Fruit and Nut Biscotti

Add 1tsp of Mixed Spice, 1tsp of Cinnamon, 1tsp of Ginger, 60g of Dried Fruit (I used Cranberries and Raisins) and 40g of Chopped Nuts to this recipe.

RECIPE | OAT AND COCONUT CRUMB LOAF

A healthyish take on the perfect cake for your cup of tea.

A loaf cake with texture, flavour and bite.

Ideal on it's own or slathered with a generous serving of your favourite jam. 

OAT AND COCONUT CRUMB LOAF

Ingredients:

Cake:

150g Butter/Margarine

175g Caster Sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2tsps Vanilla Essence

140g Self-Raising Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

50g Dessicated Coconut

25g Oats

100ml Creme Fraiche (I used Half Fat)

Crumb Topping:

2tbsps Oats

2tbps Coconut

2tbsps Demerera Sugar

Instructions:

1.  Heat your oven to 180ºC and line a 2lb loaf tin with butter and greasproof paper.

2.  Cream together the butter and the sugar until creamy and fluffy and light in colour - It's quicker and easier to do this with an electric hand whisk.

3.  Add the vanilla essence and eggs and whisk or beat until combined,

4.  Add the desiccated coconut, oats, self raising flour and baking powder to the wet mixture and beat until combined. Add the creme fraiche to the mixture and if it still feels like the batter is too heavy then add milk until it loosens.

5. Place the cake mixtures into the lined cake tin and then scatter evenly with the crumb topping mixture.

6. Place on the middle shelf of your pre-heated oven for 40-50 minutes until baked.

Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from the tin.

RECIPE | COCONUT, ALMOND AND JAM SPONGE

Upon hearing the news of having four very hungry boys coming to stay with me last week, I knew that they would be expecting cake. As my sole cake tasters throughout university, I knew I would need to wow them with something new, so I had a dig through the cupboards to see what I could conjure up.

I decided to go on a mix of my coconut and raspberry loaf cake with my fruity bakewell sponge. The result turned out to be a delightfully moist and fluffy coconut, almond and jam sponge!

COCONUT, ALMOND AND JAM SPONGE

Ingredients:

225g Butter (or Soft Margarine)

225g Caster Sugar

4 Eggs

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

200g Self-Raising Flour

50g Dessicated Coconut

1 1/2tsp Baking Powder

2-4tbsps Milk (Only if needed to loosen the dough)

6-8tsbs of Jam (Whichever you fancy)

3-4tbsps of Flaked Almonds

Instructions:

1.  Heat your oven to 180ºC and line a loose-bottomed cake tin with baking paper.

2.  Cream together the butter and the sugar until creamy and fluffy and light in colour - I recommend doing this with an electric hand whisk.

3.  Add the vanilla essence and eggs and whisk or beat until combined,

4.  Add the desiccated coconut, self raising flour and baking powder to the wet mixture and beat until combined. If you're mixture feels to heavy then add 2-4 tbps of milk to the mixture to loosen the batter.

5. Place half your batter in the lined cake tin and then dot your jam all around this layer. Follow by covering this with the left of the cake batter and then sprinkle with flaked almonds

6. Place on the middle shelf of your pre-heated oven for 45-55 minutes (use a skewer or something similar to test). Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from the tin and then dust with icing sugar to serve.

RECIPE | SMOKED GARLIC SODA BREAD

One of the most exciting things to stumble across in my veg box from Whiteley's Farm in Pudsey (courtesy of the lovely Millies! - see previous post HERE) was a bulb of delightfully potent smoked garlic. I had never come across the stuff before and was extremely excited to experiment with it. What better than to incorporate it into one of my favourite bread recipes? The trusty soda bread...

(See HERE and HERE for previous Soda Bread recipes).

Ladened with an abundance of beautifully green and fresh flat-leaf parsley, I used this as the complimenting herb in my soda bread. It's flavour really pays homage to the smoky taste of the garlic and adds a nice clean seasonal kick to the bread. Ideally though you can use a handful or two of any fresh herbs in this recipe, depending on what you have to hand or as to your preference of taste.

Smoked Garlic Soda Bread

Ingredients:

150g Plain Flour

150g Wholemeal Flour

1 1/2tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

Pinch of Salt

250ml Buttermilk

4-6 Cloves of Smoked Garlic (Depending on how intense you want the flavour!)

1-2 handfuls of Freshly Chopped Herbs

Instructions:

1.  Heat your oven to 200ºC and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2.  Mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the salt.

3.  Crush the cloves of smoked garlic and chop the herbs and add this to the mixture.

4.  Add the buttermilk to the dry ingredients to form a dough and knead gently, forming the dough into a ball.

5.  Place the ball of dough onto the baking paper and then with a sharp knife, cut a cross in the top of the dough about an inch deep. Sprinkle with flour and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.

RECIPE | LEMON AND POPPY SEED POLENTA CAKE

LEMON AND POPPY SEED POLENTA CAKE

A few weeks back I had the exciting ordeal of making a cake one of my much-loved lemon and poppy seed polenta cake's to be sent down to Duke Studios in Leeds for a fancy photo shoot to be featured in the August edition of the brand new and fabulous online culinary journal Food&_.

....the actual feature is listed HERE and below you can see the recipe for a delightfully moist gluten free lemon drizzle cake!

Cake:

200g Unsalted Butter

200g Ground Almonds

100g Polenta

2tsp Baking Powder (Gluten-free if this is for wheat or gluten intolerant people)

50g Poppy Seeds

2 Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Essence

3tbsp Plain Yoghurt

2tbsp Lemon Juice

2-3tbsp Milk

Zest of 3 Lemons

Crunchy Lemon Glaze:

Juice of 3 Lemons

130g Icing Sugar

50g Granulated Sugar

Lemon Icing:

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

115g Icing Sugar

Poppy Seeds and Lemon Zest to Sprinkle on top of the Icing

Method:

1.  Line and grease a 9" springform cake tin with baking parchment and butter and then pre-heat your oven to 180°C.

2.  Cream the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer or standing mixer until light and fluffy and pale in colour.

3.  Add the eggs and the vanilla essence to the butter and sugar.

4.  Weight out the ground almonds, polenta, baking powder and poppy seeds and fold into the wet mixture.

5.  At this point fold in the lemon zest, lemon juice and yoghurt. Mix it until it is all evenly combined. If the mixture feels quite stiff then add between 1-3tbsp of milk to loosen it.

6.  Place the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes until firm in the middle.

7.  Whilst the cake is still in the oven, prepare the crunchy lemon glaze mixture. Once the cake is removed from the oven, whilst still hot, prick the cke several times with a skewer and top with the crunchy lemon glaze using a pastry brush or pallet knife.

8. Leave to cool and refrigerate over night. Before serving top with the lemon icing and top with poppy seeds and lemon zest.

Photography and Styling: Jonathan Finch and Katy Lanceley

THE DEPRESSED CAKE SHOP

I've been super busy with any spare time organising The Depressed Cake Shop pop up event for Leeds which will take place this Sunday 4th August from 10.30-4pm at the Leeds Corn Exchange.

The Depressed Cake Shop is part of a global network of shops, founded by Miss Cakehead, selling grey coloured cakes and cakes which represent mood to raise awareness of mental health issues and provide a platform for discussion.

One in four people will suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives, a key theme will be also be reflected in many of the cakes designs.

The symptoms of depression can be complex – and vary widely – and so will the cakes on sale, many aiming to visually represent mental illness. This will be a cake shop like nothing else seen before, the grey sad looking but delicious tasting cakes powerfully demonstrating the effects of depression.

Cakes on sale at the Leeds Corn Exchange will include cakes and baked goods fitting within the theme, baked by over fifteen local bakers, both professional and non-professional taking part in the event. 100% of sales from each and every cake will be donated to Inkwell and Dial House, two very important and worthy mental health charities within Leeds.

Many of our cakes will also be made by those with personal experiences of depression, using baking as a way of expressing their struggles with, and experiences of, the illness. 

For more information on the event please see below:

Facebook Event Page

Leeds Inspired Listing

Culture Vulture Interview

It would be great to have your support - See you Sunday!