Forever Baking . . .

Frosted Cherry Rings

Posted on October 15, 2013 in Biscuits

These shortbread type biscuits are studded with candied cherries and drizzled with a sweet glaze, they did not disappoint! I was quite pleased at how the red from the cherries gave a marbled effect in the biscuit dough. The dough for these biscuits is rather dry and crumbly until you work it with your hands, it then comes together into workable dough. I have made these biscuits before using lemons however this time I wanted to try another citrus fruit so I went for limes. Both work very well in this recipe.

Ingredients:

120g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

80g golden caster sugar

1 egg yolk

finely grated zest of 1/2 a lemon or lime

200g plain flour

50g finely chopped glace cherries

Ingredients for Icing:

80g icing sugar, sifted

1 1/2 tbsp lemon or lime juice

Preheat the oven to 200°C . Lightly grease two baking trays. Cream the butter and the caster sugar until pale and fluffy.

Beat in the egg yolk and lemon/lime rind. Sift in the flour, stir and then add the glade cherries, mixing with your hands to a soft dough.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 5mm thick.

Stamp out 8cm rounds using a biscuit cutter. Then stamp out the centre of each round with a 2.5cm cutter and place the rings onto the prepared baking trays. Re-roll any trimmings and more biscuits.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes, until firm and golden. Allow to cool on the baking trays for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. For the frosting mix the icing sugar to a smooth paste with the lemon/lime juice. Drizzle over the biscuits and leave to set.

Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

Posted on October 9, 2013 in Brownies

The tart, tangy flavor of the fresh raspberries make these delicious cream cheese brownies a lovely treat. Cake-like around the edges with a fudge-like middle, swirled with a sweetened cream cheese makes such a fabulous combination of textures and flavors.

Brownie Ingredients (from Alton Brown):

225g caster sugar

225g light brown sugar

150g coco powder

75g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

225g melted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Raspberry Cheesecake Ingredients (from Bakers Royale):

225g cream cheese

80g caster sugar

170g raspberry jam or fresh puree raspberries

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons plain flour

Handful of raspberries

Directions for chocolate brownies:

Heat the oven to 175°C . Line a baking tray with baking parchment and grease it. Place both sugars into a food processor and plus to combine, set aside in a bowl.

Sieve the coco powder and flour and add to the bowl with sugar. Then add 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the eggs at a medium speed until they become light and fluffy.

Now add in the vanilla and the rest of the dry ingredients. Beat until incorporated then slowly pour in the melted butter until all is combined.

Set aside while you make the raspberry cheesecake layer.

Directions for raspberry cheesecake layer:

Add all ingredients to your mixer which should be fitted with a whisk attachment and beat until it its light and fluffy.

Pour 3/4 of the brownie mixture into your lined baking tray, spread until even. Then pour the raspberry cheesecake layer on top. Next pour the remaining brownie mixture over the cheesecake layer.

Using a fork or knife gently swirl the two mixtures together. Sprinkle some fresh raspberries on top.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-40mins until a skewer or toothpick is inserted into the centre of the brownies and is removed clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the baking try for 10-15mins.

Then carefully remove from the baking tray and peel of the lining. Cool for a further 40mins. Cut the brownies once cool.

Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on October 6, 2013 in Cookies

This recipe will not disappoint. They are simple to make and only take 10 minutes to bake. If you are a lover of Nutella like me then these cookies are just for you! Along with chunks of chocolate with every bite, the gooey Nutella middle makes them even more delicious. Its combination of chocolate and hazelnuts is just divine.

Ingredients:

250g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

110g butter

150g golden caster sugar

100g light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

180g chocolate chips

200g Nutella

Preheat oven to 180° C. In a stand or electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

Add eggs and vanilla, continue to beat until well combined. Don’t worry if the mixture looks as though it has split. It will come together once the flour is added.

Place flour and baking powder into a bowl; mix to combine then add slowly to wet ingredients along with the chocolate chips.

Scoop a large spoonful of dough and flatten it into the palm of your hand. Gently place a tablespoon of Nutella into the middle. Then fold cookie dough back up so that it seals and covers the Nutella entirely.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. No longer otherwise you will not achieve the Nutella gooey middle. Remove and let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Crunchy Rocky Road

Posted on September 25, 2013 in Traybakes

So easy to make, impossible to resist. Indulgent, moreish and wickedly delicious. A perfect treat for a party, to feed the hungry kids or even a gift, wrapped in cellophane and tied with a pretty ribbon. I’ve taken this recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery and adapted it slightly to give it a bit of a twist. I encourage you to give it a go, use what you have in your cupboard, experiment with different sweets and chocolates to make it your perfect treat.

Rocky Road Ingredients

1.4kg good milk chocolate (Dairy Milk), roughly chopped

4 regular sized Mars bars, roughly chopped

4 regular sized Crunchy bars, roughly chopped

100g mini marshmallows

180g Maltesers

100g dried apricots, roughly chopped

100g raisins

100g cornflakes

100g chocolate vermicelli

Firstly line a 33 x 23 x 5 cm baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Place the chopped milk chocolate in a large bowl (I bang the chocolate in the wrapper against the edge of the kitchen work surface or table to break it up, being careful not to split it) and sit it over a saucepan filled with a couple of inches of barely simmering water. Make sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Leave the chocolate to melt slowly, stirring occasionally.

Place the cornflakes, Maltesers and mini marshmallows into a large mixing bowl.

Roughly chop the apricots, raisins, Mars and Crunchy bars. Add these to the other ingredients in the large mixing bowl and then gently pour in the melted chocolate. Slowly mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until everything is covered in chocolate and the dry ingredients are evenly dispersed.

Press this mixture into the prepared baking tray, using a tablespoon to flatten and compress it.

Sprinkle the chocolate vermicelli all over the top. Leave to cool completely then cover and refrigerate overnight. Take out of the fridge 30 minutes before cutting into square, bite-size pieces.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Marshmallow Icing

Posted on September 24, 2013 in Cupcakes

There’s just nothing like an amazing vanilla cupcake; moist, fluffy, light and oozing with vanilla flavour! These vanilla cupcakes with marshmallow icing are an alternative to buttercream icing. The light, fluffy marshmallow topping makes a nice change and its a perfect consistency for piping as it holds its shape indefinitely. And unlike buttercream it won’t wilt or melt in heat. They are wonderfully soft and glossy, so light they melt in your mouth.

Ingredients for the vanilla cupcakes:

110g unsalted butter (at room temperature)

225g caster sugar

2 large eggs

150g self-raising flour, sifted

125g plain flour, sifted

120ml semi-skimmed milk (at room temperature)

1 teaspoon of good quality vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 12-hole cupcake tray with the appropriate size cupcake cases. In a mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth, this should take about 3-5 minutes using an electric hand mixer or a magi-mix. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minuets after each addition.

Combine the two flours in a separate bowl. Put the milk and vanilla extract in a jug. Add one third of the combined flour to the creamed mixture and beat well, then pour in one third of the milk and vanilla extract and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added.

Carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them about two thirds full to allow the mixture to rise when cooking. Bake in the oven for about 20 minuets (regular size case) or 15 minutes (mini size cases).

Remove from the oven and carefully place them onto a wire rack to cool.

Ingredients for the Marshmallow Icing:

120g granulated sugar

80g golden syrup

1 ½ tbsp water

2 large egg whites

½ good quality vanilla extract (optional)

Food colouring (optional)

Place the sugar, golden syrup and water into a sauce pan or a shallow frying pan and cook on a high heat until the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage. This is when the bubbles in the mixture look as though they are starting to stick together. This can take about 2 minutes. To check, take a teaspoon and drop and small amount of the mixture into a cup full of water. If the mixture forms into a ball at the bottom of the glass your mixture is at the soft ball stage. Remove from the heat and put to one side.

In the bowl of a free standing mixer or a food processor, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks start to form.

While the machine is set to a low speed slowly pour the hot sugar mixture into the bowl with the egg whites. Continue to whisk on a low speed until all the sugar mixture is in the bowl. Now increase the speed to a high setting and continue to whisk until the mixture becomes thick and glossy. Add the vanilla extract and food colouring, if using, towards the end of the mixing process.

The icing is easiest to work with while it is still a little warm so try to use straight away. I iced my cupcakes using a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle. Beginning in the centre, swirl the nozzle and release as you pull up to form a peak and soft top. I then decorated using some simple round coloured sprinkles.

Bakewell Slices

Posted on September 18, 2013 in Traybakes

So, I had never tired making bakewell slices before this, however I was rather surprised that they turned out the way they did! Delicious. I used Nigella Lawson’s KITCHEN cook book to create them.

Bakewell slices are a traditional British baked dessert which consists of a short crust pastry, spread with jam and covered with a sponge-like filling enriched with ground almonds.

Ingredients for the base:

225g plain flour

60g icing sugar

Pinch of salt

225g soft unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 30 x 20 x 5cm baking tin with foil and grease it.

To make the pastry base mix the flour, icing sugar, salt and butter in a food processor until it turns to a cohesive dough. Press the dough into the bottom of the tin until you get an even surface.

Bake the base in the oven for about 20 minutes, then leave to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes.

Ingredients for the filling:

150g soft unsalted butter

4 eggs

150g caster sugar

150g ground almonds

250g seedless raspberry jam

250g fresh raspberries

50g flaked almonds

While the base is cooling you can start to make the filling. Melt the butter in a small pan, then take off the heat to cool.

Put the eggs, caster sugar and ground almonds into the food processor and blitz to a paste. With the motor running pour the slightly cooled melted butter down the funnel and stop when all is combined.

In a separate bowl whisk the jam to make it easier to spread and then evenly apply to the pastry base. Tumble the raspberries over the raspberry layer. Pour the almond filling over the raspberry layer and sprinkle the almond flakes on top. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes until it has become a tinted golden colour.

Allow it to cool for about 10 minutes and drizzle with icing sugar mixed with a little water. Cool on a wire rack then carefully slice to serve.