christmas is a time for cake

It's Christmas Eve!!!

How did that even happen?

I am completely unprepared for Christmas this year...

Presents? Haven't bought any..

Baking? Umm.. Sorry family, but I've got nothing for you this year...

I do however, have something I prepared earlier for you, lovely readers :)

A  C A N D Y  C A N E  C A K E

(Proudly brought to you by 2014 Andie who was obviously far more festive and prepared...)

220g butter

220g dark chocolate, chopped

125g self-raising flour

125g plain flour

50g unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

480g caster sugar

4 eggs

7 tsps vegetable oil

100ml buttermilk.

Preheat your oven to 160C.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan with 160ml of water

Sift the flours, cocoa and bicarb soda into a large bowl

Stir in the sugar

Add combined egg, oil and buttermilk

Then stir in the chocolate mixture until completely combined

Pour mixture into greased cake tin and pop into the oven

Bake for 1 hour 40 minutes

Frost with cream cheese frosting, flavoured with a little peppermint essence;

Sprinkle with crushed candy canes;

and poke a few in the top for decoration.

M E R R Y  C H R I S T M A S !

xx

putting the FUN in funfetti

It's been a while since I turned on my oven to bake.

(Unless you count last weekend when I 'baked' then demolished a packet of frozen curly fries....?! 

Which were pretty awesome, but don't technically fall into the official 'baking' category...)

Yeah... so it's been a while.

But as I prepare to dust off the cake tins and create a dinosaur birthday cake for my favourite mini human and (self-appointed) God-Son, I realised I never posted the recipe for the cake I baked his Mama months ago for her special day.

So (through the magic of the blogesphere)
Here's a little somethin' I prepared earlier....

T H E   F U N F E T T I   C A K E

(For one of my favourite adult humans - xx)

T H E   C A K E 

1 and 2/3 cup plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup greek yogurt 

3/4 cup milk

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup sprinkles

Preheat oven to 180C degrees. Spray cake tin generously with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave.

Whisk in the sugars vigorously getting out any brown sugar lumps - mixture will be gritty.

Whisk in egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined.

Slowly mix in dry ingredients until no lumps remain.

Batter will be thick. Slowly stir in sprinkles, but do not overmix because the sprinkles will bleed their colour.

Pour batter into prepared cake tin.

Bake for approx. 35 minutes.

Allow to cool.

T H E   I C I N G : 

W H I T E   C H O C O L A T E   B U T T E R C R E A M

300g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

750g icing sugar

150g  white chocolate, melted

Cream the butter, vanilla and icing sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. 

Stir in the melted chocolate.

Cake stays fresh covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 5 days.

H O T   T I P
This cake was dense.
Best served warm.
With icecream.
For breakfast.

(because why not?!)

xx

the retrograde cake

I've said it before; And I'll say it again - 

I   E A T   M Y   F E E L I N G S

and they taste

D E L I C I O U S !

Hands up if you agree it's been a strange few weeks...

Let's blame Mercury.

Apparently it's been in retrograde.

Although, even though it's not something I follow closely, 

I swear, it seems to be in retrograde an awful lot lately...

Never fear though! It's over now.

*phew*

But if you are still feeling a little down,

I've got just the thing for you - 

F E R R E R O   C A K E

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Grease cake tin. Heat oven to 180 C.

In a large mixing bowl - stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. 
Beat on medium speed for one minute.

Stir in boiling water (the batter will be really runny).

Fill cake tin with batter.

Bake for approximately 50 minutes.

Allow to cool. 

Dress up with Ferrero Rochers.

xx

that time i made a wedding cake

Making someone's wedding cake wasn't on my Bucket List or anything.

But now that I've done it, I'm totally writing it on The List..

Just so I can have that sweet satisfaction of ticking it off!

∙ Make someone's Wedding Cake  ✓

But it wasn't just someone..

I honestly don't think I could make a wedding cake for just any old couple..

This was probably a good thing though..

Because it meant that it wasn't your standard, fancy, fondant-frosted, rose-piped cake.

This cake was a special order.

For a special pair.

T H E   C L I E N T

Lady P and The Thomas

T H E   O C C A S I O N

Their Wedding! (eek!)

T H E   B R I E F

Make a cake.

Any flavour.

Any frosting.

Put dinosaurs on top of cake.

C R E A T I V E   L I C E N S E

The part where I decided to create a 3-tiered cake despite never stacking cake on cake before in my life. Ever.

Each layer a different flavour.

Playing dress ups with the dinosaurs...

Because even dinosaurs deserve to look a bit fancy for a special occasion.

T H E   F L A V O U R S

Tier 1. Chocolate Fudge Mud Cake

Tier 2. Chocolate and Coffee Mud Cake

Top Tier. Orange and Almond Meal Cake

M I D - C R E A T I O N   M O C K   U P

T H E   F R O S T I N G

Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream

It is the ideal “crusting” buttercream to create cakes with a bakery-style smooth fondant look but with the classic cream cheese buttercream taste everyone loves!

1 cup (226 grams) butter, slightly softened

12 tablespoons (144 grams) organic palm shortening

24 ounces (680 grams) chilled cream cheese

2 kg icing sugar

1½ tablespoons (22.5 ml) pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) pure almond extract

Beat butter and shortening on medium speed until creamy. 

Add cream cheese and extract(s); beat until fully incorporated. 

Gradually increase mixer speed to high and continue beating until light and fluffy.

Gradually add icing sugar, beating on low to medium-low speed, until well combined. 

Beat on high speed until well combined and smooth. 

Buttercream will be very stiff and thick. 

Before frosting cake layers, rebeat buttercream to ensure smoothness.

If not using immediately, keep bowl covered tightly to keep buttercream from drying before frosting cake or cupcakes.

The buttercream can be refrigerated for up to 1 week in an airtight container. 

Before using, bring to near room temperature before beating smooth again.

T H E   U N V E I L I N G

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S   
P I P P A   A N D   T O M   

xx

i've been baking; i've been baking

I was in my new place for over 2 months before I even tried to turn my oven on.

It didn't work...

Thankfully, I was only trying to bake a potato for my dinner, so I thought the fact that this highlighted my lack of cooking/baking was hilarious.

Everyone else in my life was in shock - 

"But you're a baker! How did you not know?!"

"I thought that the oven would have been the first thing you checked when you moved in?!"

"What have you been eating?!"

First of all - 

Somewhere in the last 6-10 months, I lost my baking mojo.

Second - 

My diet is a healthy combination of Ben & Jerry's; and leftovers from dinner at my dad's house. Thanks for asking.

In any case - 

The oven now works. 

And in the past month I have even made a couple of cakes.

Carrot Cake

C A R R O T   C A K E

1¼ cups (220g) brown sugar

¾ cup (185ml) vegetable oil

3 eggs

1½ cups (225g) plain plain flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarb soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

2½ cups grated carrot (about 5 carrots)

½ cup (60g) chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Place the sugar and oil in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 2–3 minutes.

Add the eggs gradually and beat well.

Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and ginger over the sugar mixture.

Add the carrot and walnuts; and mix until just combined.

Pour into a greased cake tin lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 55–60 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool in tin.

Frost.

xx

banana caramel cake

I am super excited to announce a new functionality on my little piece of the blogosphere - 

My brand new 'In My Kitchen' page where I have indexed every recipe post for easy reference.

This addition was equally for my benefit as it is for yours; so now we can all find any recipe without too much stress. Easy peasy. 

And speaking of easy - this banana caramel cake is too.

B A N A N A   C A R A M E L   C A K E

banana caramel cake; with caramel sauce and vanilla bean icecream

Ingredients

400 gr self raising flour

juice of 1 lemon

6 tbs sunflower oil

300 ml water

300 grames caster sugar

5 bananas sliced

Syrup

5 tbs sugar

1 tbs unsalted butter

4 tbs water 

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl

Add the oil, lemon juice and water - beat for 5 minutes.

In a small saucepan prepare the syrup with butter and sugar and when melted, add the water

When you have a syrup consistency - turn of the heat

Prepare the baking tin - I used a round pie dish lined with baking paper

Arrange the sliced bananas in the dish and pour the syrup over them

Pour the mixture over the syrup and bananas; and bake for about 35 minutes.

When it’s brown on the top it will be ready to remove from the oven.

Wait for 10 minutes and turn the cake out onto a serving plate.

Serve with extra syrup, ice cream, cream...

xx

drizzle it.. just a little bit

Sometimes (ok.. more often, than not) I like to imagine my life as a movie.

If this were the case, it would probably be filed in the 'drama' category of the video store.

Or the 'comedy' section.. depending on the day.

In any case, my movie would have a kick-ass soundtrack.

In the absence of actual video footage, hit play on the below and picture me dancing around the kitchen as I make this delicious cake specifically requested by a friend who is recovering from surgery...

*Thank you 90's flashback*

OK.. that's enough of that.

Now to the cake making portion of this post - 



L E M O N   D R I Z Z L E   C A K E


225g unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
225g caster sugar
4 eggs
Finely grated zest of 1½ lemons
225g self raising flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tablespoons hot water

For Drizzle Topping
Juice of 1 lemon
100g caster sugar

Oven temperature 180c/fan forced
Cooking time 45 mins

Heat oven
Line the cake tin with greaseproof paper
Beat together the butter and sugar until it looks pale and creamy.
Whilst butter and sugar is beating, finely grate the skin of 1½lemons 
Measure out the flour quota and set aside for use later.
Whisk the eggs, and slowly add them to the butter and sugar mixture - 1 at a time, 
and add a tablespoon of flour from the flour quota after each egg.
Sift in the remaining flour into the mixture and add 1 tbsp of baking powder plus the lemon zest
Combine the ingredients.
Add two tablespoons of hot water and stir mixture until well combined.
Pour mixture into the prepared cake tin
Bake for 45 - 50 minutes


Whilst the cake is cooling in the tin mix the drizzle lemon juice and caster sugar together.
Take a skewer or a fork and prick the warm cake all over; then pour over the drizzle and sprinkle with the remaining lemon zest. 
The juice will sink into the cake giving it a more lemony taste and the sugar will form a crisp white topping.
Leave the cake in the tin until it has completely cooled. 

And THAT is how it's done.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

xx

the ULTIMATE cake pan

I haven't baked a full-of-sugar-smothered-with-icing kinda cake in a long time.

Partly because I've had other things goin on;

And also because despite my daily chocolate consumption, I am trying to curb my sugar addiction.

One cake at a time.

BUT...

cakewich

THIS cake pan is the ULTIMATE cake pan in the history of cake pans!!!

Because LOOK at what you can bake with this ULTIMATE cake pan - - 

Fairy bread cake

A fairy bread cake!!

oh my goodness

I don't even have words to describe how amazing I think this is!

This is THE CAKE I want for my birthday this year.

So. Much. Excitement.

xx

Back By Popular Demand

As you know - I make all kinds of cookies, cakes, desserts, pies, tarts, cupcakes and brownies.

And yet, when ever a celebration cake is required everyone looks to me to whip something up; but the same old cakes are requested so I feel like I'm baking the same thing over and over again.

At the weekend the special request was Carrot and Walnut Cake. It was for my Uncle and who am I to judge a man on his Birthday Cake of choice?

I do feel like I've written about this type of cake 100 time on this blog though...

Urgghh.. How repetitive!

Anyway, Carrot and Walnut was requested; So it was Carrot and Walnut I delivered!

The cake was a hit. 

And that's all that matters.

Carrot and Walnut Cake

xx

That's a PINSTROSITY

I have found a new way to waste time on the interwebs...

It's a funny little blog called Pinstrosity.

The general idea? Photos and stories from people who have tried to recreate something they saw on Pinterest.. which has gone terribly wrong.

pin·stros·i·ty \pin-ˈsträ-sə-tē\: a pin of great and often frightening size, force, or complexity. 

Here's a sample from the website and one of my personal favourites...

Cake Fail - Pinstrosity-Style

Pinned here

Of course, there are also stories of 'Pin Wins' - Celebrating the success of a Pinterest Project. But these are not nearly as entertaining as the Pinstrosity's.

[For a Pin Win of her very own, see Miss Jodie's Kit Kat cake here]

Over the weekend, I attempted my very own Pinterest Projects - 

How to Clean Your Microwave

Claiming to save you energy and time, this Pin told me to use vinegar as a cleaning product.

[This is not my microwave]

And the results ?

Well... it worked. It took 15 minutes on high, but my microwave looks just like new. WOOHOO!

My second weekend Pinterest Project involved Eggs, Oil and Mayo.

And I wasn't making some weird concoction for lunch.. I put it in my hair.

Apparently "Rich in proteins, vitamins and super- nurturing fatty acids, egg yolks won’t only make your hair softer, shinier and healthier but help you to grow it long as well."

I had to give it a go. Since I have been lightening my hair, I have been really conscious about it drying out and becoming brittle, so I'm willing to give it any chance to stay strong and healthy.

However, I'm not convinced... I made an absolute MESS in the bathroom and I seriously can't see any considerable changes (unlike the many people who have reviewed this treatment and claim their hair was instantly softer and shinier). I wouldn't call this a Pinstrocity.. but it was definitely not a Pin Win!

xx

Cake Overdose

It's taken me a week to write this post, simply because I couldn't even look at cake after my overdose last Sunday.

We had a family BBQ on Sunday and I provided the sweets.

Orange & Almond Meal Cake (recipe here);

Apple Cake with Praline Glaze (recipe here);

Mocha Cheesecake; and

Scones

I may or may not have eaten a 'sample' of each... Don't judge me.

The scones were unintentional. 

But I had a friend pop in on the Saturday at lunch time, right in the midst of my baking frenzy.. So I whipped up some scones using my nan's fave recipe.

This was only the second time in my life that I've made scones.. And they weren't too bad, if I do say so myself.

The perfect afternoon treat with a cup of tea and of course some jam and cream.. mmm..

Oh.. here's the recipe for the 

M O C H A   C H E E S E C A K E 

Mix 250g almond meal, 125g melted butter and 1 tbsp sweetener (I used Natvia);

Press into a pre-lined spring form tin;

Refrigerate

Cream 500G cream cheese & 2/3 cup caster sugar;

Add 3 whole eggs (1 at a time);

Add 2 tsp coffee essence and 100g melted dark choc;

Pour into set base;

Cook on 180 for 40 minutes;

Turn off oven - Leave cake in oven for 1 hour;

Refrigerate overnight.

Dust with cocoa to serve.

EAT!

No baking for me this weekend. I need a treat free week to detox from all that sugar!

xx

It's Official

Last year for Pip's birthday, I made her a cake.

This year ? I made it again.

Yep - Some might call me unoriginal. But I'm calling it Tradition!

I hereby dub this The Official Cake of Pippa.

Orange and Almond Meal Cake

HOORAY!

xx

Eating My Feelings

I've said it before and I'll say it again - When things get hard, I eat my feelings. And they taste delicious.

Apple Cake with Praline Glaze

120g butter

3/4 cup caster sugar

3 large eggs, separated

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup plain yoghurt

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 175 degrees; Grease cake tin (I used a bundt tin.. because I love them)

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy;

Beat in egg yolks; Vanilla extract; Yoghurt;

Sift in flour; Baking powder; Salt. Combine.

Beat egg whites to stiff peaks; Stir egg whites into cake batter;

Fold in apple slices;

Pour into prepared cake tin;

Bake for 40 minutes;

Cool;

Then make the praline glaze.....

1/2 cup brown sugar

60g butter

3 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup icing sugar

Bring sugar, butter and milk to the boil over medium heat; whisking constantly;

Boil 1 minute;

Remove from heat; stir in vanilla;

Whisk in icing sugar until smooth;

Pour over cooled cake.

EAT!

xx

Project Healthy House : Raspberry & Almond Cake

Over the weekend, Mum cleaned out her freezer. This has resulted in a few meals of frozen soup and casseroles which were transferred to her place when I sold my house.

But more excitingly, she also gave me a few boxes of frozen berries.

My mind immediately began to think of all the berrylicious sweets I could make - Chocolate raspberry brownies, fruit smoothies, banana and berry bread...... Or even just icecream and berries - YUM!

But in keeping with the Project Healthy House theme, I decided to search for a recipe that would have the approval of my housemates.

(BTW - It's week two of Project Healthy House and since I've injured my shoulder and have to rest, making changes to my baking/eating habits is about as committed as it gets right now)


Anyway, back to the berries.....


I turned them into a cake.

Raspberry and Almond Cake

A relatively healthy, light, sweet cake.


Wanna try it for yourself ?


I think you should.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed

6 eggs

1 cup caster sugar

2 cups almond meal (ground almonds)

Yeah... That's it.  FOUR ingredients.

Super easy.

Method

Preheat oven to 160°C. 

Grease a 22cm round springform cake tin. 

Line base and side with baking paper.

Place 2 cups raspberries in a bowl. 

Using a fork, mash to combine.

Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar on high speed for 8 to 10 minutes or until thick and glossy. 

Using a metal spoon, gently fold in raspberry and almond meal, alternately, until combined.

Pour into prepared tin. 

Bake for 60 minutes or until golden and firm. 

Cool in tin for 10 minutes. 

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Top with remaining raspberries. 

ENJOY!

xx

Project Healthy House : Pumpkin Loaf Cake

Project Healthy House is going full steam ahead this week.

We gave ourselves a New Year grace period last week but now it's time to focus on a healthy lifestyle, which includes making a conscious effort to bake healthy options.

Today I baked a pumpkin loaf cake. Adapted from here.

Admittedly, I was a little apprehensive about the use of pumpkin in a cake, as I have always been a firm believer in cakes being sweet not savoury.. But, the pumpkin is a very subtle flavour and this particular recipe is very similar to a banana bread (and if I was not dedicated to Project Healthy House, this would taste amazing with cream cheese frosting or served warm smeared with melted butter........)

Pumpkin Cake

The original recipe uses white self-raising flour, but I have used wholemeal self raising instead.

Ingredients

650g butternut pumpkin, peeled, deseeded

100g butter, softened

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 cups wholemeal self-raising flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease base and sides of a 6cm deep, 10.5cm x 20.5cm (base) loaf pan. Line with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at both long ends.

Wash and cut pumpkin into 4cm pieces. Place pumpkin in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on HIGH (100%) for 3 to 4 minutes or until pumpkin is tender. Set aside to cool. Drain and place cooled pumpkin in a food processor. Process until smooth (you should have 1 cup).

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until well combined. Stir in pumpkin.

Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves over pumpkin mixture. Stir gently to combine. Spoon into prepared pan. Smooth surface.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Lift onto a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

(Told you I can have my cake and eat it too...!)

And Miss Emmy was always nearby clean up incase anything landed on the floor...

xx