Cake Batter and Sprinkle Chocolate Bark

Posted on December 17, 2013 in No Bake Recipes

The possibilities are endless, when making your first batch of bark. It’s such fun, simple, quick, and rewarding. It could be made for children’s parties or even as a sweet snack.

Chocolate bark is actually a sheet of chocolate that is usually covered with nuts, sprinkles, dried fruits, sweets or even additional pieces of chocolate. It’s rustic looking in the sense that it is just thrown together and then broken into various sizes of chocolate shards to serve.

My Cake Batter Chocolate Bark is even better and couldn’t be easier. A simple white and milk chocolate bark is flavoured with cake batter and then decorated with colourful sprinkles. I hope you love this recipe as much as I do.

Ingredients

180 grams high quality milk chocolate, chopped
360 grams high quality white chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon (15 g) cake mix
sprinkles of choice

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Chop milk chocolate and melt either in the microwave or a double boiler.

Pour melted milk chocolate onto your parchment paper until desired thickness is achieved

Freeze for 20 minutes to set.

Chop the white chocolate and melt either in the microwave or a double boiler. Whisk in cake mix slowly, stirring well until smooth.

Remove pan with set chocolate from the freezer and pour white chocolate on top.

Spread until to get an even thickness. Toss sprinkles on right away.

Freeze for 20 more minutes. Once set, break or cut into pieces. Store in the refrigerator.

Mini Iced Doughnuts

Posted on November 19, 2013 in Doughnuts

These mini doughnuts have a fluffy, cake-like texture that leaves everyone begging for more. Not only cute but baked rather than fried, these diddy doughnuts are a healthier option too. They’re easy to make, easier to eat and lots of fun to decorate because they provide a great excuse to use up all kinds of sprinkles!

Ingredients: (makes 20 mini doughnuts)

75g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

55g caster sugar

60ml milk

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp olive oil

½ tsp vanilla extract

Silicone mini doughnut mould (can be purchased from Lakeland)

 

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Lightly brush the doughnut pan with cooking oil.

Take a large roomy bowl and sift the flour, baking powder and salt into it. Add the sugar and give it a stir round to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, beaten egg, olive oil and vanilla extract together and add this to the dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly.

Using a teaspoon or jug carefully fill each of the doughnut cups around ¾ full with the batter. Place in the oven and bake for about 8 minutes, or until firm, but springy to the touch. Cool slightly.

Turn the doughnuts out and place onto a wire rack to cool. Mix up some icing sugar or melt some chocolate and dip the doughnuts face down and place onto a wire rack and sprinkle away!!

 

Chocolate Drizzled Rice Krispie Treats

Posted on November 12, 2013 in No Bake Recipes

There’s not much that makes me feel more like a kid than biting into a Rice Krispie treat. Personally I like them packed tight and piled high with a drizzle of chocolate. I find these particularly irresistible.

Ingredients:

50g butter

200g white marshmallows

150g rice krispie cereal

100g Milk Chocolate

Choice of chocolate to decorate.

Melt butter or margarine in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until melted and well blended. Cook for 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Melt the chocolate by placing the cut chocolate pieces in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave over a low heat for roughly 40 seconds. Remove the bowl from the microwave stir and repeat until all chocolate is melted.

Take a 1/4 of the melted marshmallow mixture and add this to the melted chocolate, stir until all is combined.

Add 100g of cereal to the marshmallow mixture and stir until well coated.

Using a buttered spatula or greaseproof paper, press mixture evenly and firmly in a buttered 20 x 30cm tin.

Add the remaining 50g of cereal to the chocolate marshmallow mixture and stir until well coated. Evenly spread and press over the top of the rice krispies.

Allow to cool or pop into the fridge for an hour to set. Cut into 5x5cm squares when cool.

 

Drizzle with a choice of melted chocolate.

Spooky Halloween Cupcakes

Posted on October 30, 2013 in Cupcakes

This delicious cupcake recipe is easy to whip up and makes a spooky treat for a Halloween party. Forget pretty and dainty, have fun making some that will bite back, look spooky and scary, but still taste divine and delicious.

Ingredients for chocolate cupcakes:

100g self-raising flour

20g cocoa powder

140g caster sugar

a pinch of salt

40g unsalted butter, at room temperature

120ml whole milk

1 egg

¼tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Put the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and butter in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.

Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla extract together in a jug, then slowly pour about half into the flour mixture, beat to combine and turn the mixer up to high speed to get rid of any lumps.

Turn the mixer down to a slower speed and slowly pour in the remaining milk mixture (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Ingredients for Frosting

115g unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

225g icing sugar

Double piping bag

Method:

Put the butter, half the milk and the vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth and blended.

Sift over the icing sugar and, with the mixer on a low speed, continue mixing until the icing is smooth and has a spreading consistency. If it is too stiff, beat in a little extra milk.

Instructions for spiderweb cupcakes:

Take a large spoonful of frosting and tint with black food colouring. Tint the remaining frosting with orange food colouring,

Spread the orange frosting over the tops of the cupcakes. Then using a piping bag with a small circular nozzle, filled with the black frosting, pipe 4 concentric circles. Pull a toothpick through the circles to make the spiderweb design. Add a spider for decoration.

Instructions for devils eye cupcakes:

Make up another batch of vanilla frosting. Colour half the frosting green and the other half purple. Using a double piping bag fill half the bag with the purple frosting and the other half with the green frosting. Slowly and steadily pipe a swirl of frosting on top of each cupcake. Then decorate with an eyeball sweetie.

 

There are many other ways to decorate and present your halloween cupcakes. Many supermarkets and cake shops will stock plenty of different and creative cases, decorations and novelties. I found these rather effective cupcake cases. I simply placed chocolate cupcakes iced with chocolate frosting and sprinkled with cake crumbs to give a furry appearance.

 

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie and Oreo Fudge Brownie Bars

Posted on October 28, 2013 in Traybakes

IMG_6518_optSo while browsing though Pinterest the other day I came across the most ridiculous yet amazing layered cookie brownie treat! These dangerously chocolate chip brownie bars combine double-stuffed Oreos which are sandwiched between the best gooey chocolate chip cookie and warm fudge brownie.

These bars are to die for!! I will definitely be making them again.

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

1 family packet of Double Stuffed Oreos

1 box of Betty Crocker’s chocolate fudge brownie mix

80g fudge/chocolate sauce

Preheat the oven to 170˚ C. Line a baking tin with baking parchment and grease it.Melt the butter and let it cool. 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 egg yolk until the mixture becomes light and creamy.

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

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Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of a lined baking tin.

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Top with a layer of double stuffed Oreos.

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Mix together brownie mix, adding an optional 80 grams of fudge topping to the mix. Pour the brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreos.

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Cover with foil and bake at 170˚ C for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for an additional 15-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before cutting. The brownies may still be gooey in the middle when still warm, but will set perfectly once cooled. Enjoy!

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Feel free to use a pre-made cookie dough mix to make this even easier!

Cinnamon Swirl Buns

Posted on October 21, 2013 in Cakes

Cream cheese frosting, a cinnamon- flavoured filling and soft, fluffy, melt-in-the-mouth dough. I could honestly get through at least half a tray of these on my own. The bread dough is enriched with milk and butter. The filling of the dough is slathered in melted butter then covered in demerara sugar and ground cinnamon.

So why doesn’t anyone make cinnamon rolls? Because they’re complicated, difficult and time consuming. I’m not going to lie, this recipe is not the easiest or quickest but if you have some free time give it a go. Not only is it fun to do you will be so pleased with the results.

Ingredients for Buns:

450g strong white bread flour

7g fast-action yeast

10g sea salt

125ml full-fat milk

175ml tepid water

40g unsalted butter

1tbsp clear runny honey

12 hole muffin tin

Ingredients for filling:

100g unsalted butter, melted

100g demerara sugar

3tsp ground cinnamon

Ingredients for icing:

100g unsalted butter

200g icing sugar

1tsp ground cinnamon

100g full-fat cream cheese

Tip the flour into the bowl of a free standing mixer fitted with a dough hook; add the yeast and salt and make a well in the centre.

Heat the milk, water and butter in a small saucepan until lukewarm and the butter has melted. Add the honey and pour into the dry ingredients.

Mix together until you have a soft dough. Knead in the mixer for 6 minutes or by hand for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Shape the dough into a ball and put it into a large,oiled mixing bowl. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 30 seconds to knock back the dough. Roll into a large, neat, 1cm thick rectangle and brush liberally with the melted butter.

Mix together the demerera sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the dough.

With the longest side of the rectangle nearest to you, roll the dough away from you into a tight spiral. Brush the end with a little melted butter to seal.

Trim off the ends and slice into 9 equal portions.

Pop the muffins into the buttered muffin tin, cut side upmost, cover loosely with oiled cling film and leave to prove for 40 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200˚ C. Bake the buns on the middle shelf of the oven for 20-25minutes until well risen and golden brown.

Cool for 10-15 minutes in the tin and then turn them out onto a wire rack. Make the icing by whisking together the butter, icing sugar and cinnamon until light and fluffy.

Add the cream cheese but be careful not to over whip or the icing will split. Drizzle the icing over the buns and leave to set.

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