Berry Muffins.

It is Bank Holiday Monday, so what do I do? I bake, of course! We had some blueberries that needed to be eaten, but not quite enough for my usual Hummingbird Blueberry Muffin recipe so I decided to make up the rest of the weight in white chocolate chips. However, this recipe is so versatile that you could add any berries you want! Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or you could even turn this into a chocolate chip recipe. As long as your added ingredient(s) weigh 250g!

Ingredients:

360g plain flour

370g caster sugar

1tsp salt

1.5tsps baking powder

1.5tsps bicarbonate of soda

375ml buttermilk

1 egg

1.5tsps vanilla extract

70g butter (melted)

250g other ingredient(s) - (in this case I used 200g blueberries and 50g white chocolate chips)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170˚C.

2. Put your flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl (please note the fact that it needs to be a large bowl, there's a lot of ingredients) and combine them using a wooden spoon.

3. In a different bowl, lightly whisk together the buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract. 

4. Slowly pour this mixture into the dry ingredients, constantly beating. 

5. Once all of that is thoroughly combined, add the melted butter and beat the mixture until it is even and smooth.

6. Finally, fold in the blueberries and chocolate chips.

7. Spoon the mixture into muffin cases (the ones pictured were a birthday present from Olivia Ellen, I think she bought them off ebay - similar here ) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are a nice golden brown colour and you have done the skewer test. 

8. Allow to cool before eating. 

Enjoy!

Cakesfordorothy xoxo

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World Baking Day 2013 - Coffee Cake.

Sorry this is a little late, I had 7 fairly demanding exams this week and so if I wasn't sleeping or eating then I was revising. This meant that I didn't find time on Sunday to participate in World Baking Day (boohoo) but I wasn't going to let that stop me from making my coffee cake as I was really looking forward to baking something new. Therefore, I baked it today instead! 

I used Jennie Brotherston's (all the things I eat)'s level 58 recipe from the World Baking Day website. It wasn't particularly difficult and I wasn't expecting it to be but it was one of the few recipes that appealed to me and that I had the ingredients to bake it with. 

Firstly I baked the cake as directed. There was so much mixture and the cake turned out quite thick so you may wish to half the ingredients.

I then cut the cake into two halves and sandwiched them together with coffee buttercream (that contained a dash of rum flavouring which I found to be very subtle but bought out the coffee flavour very nicely). I used the remaining buttercream to cover the top of the cake too.

Finally, I sprinkled some cocoa powder over the top to finish it off. Et voilà!

Overall, I'm really happy with how the cake turned out. The ratio of buttercream to cake is perfect and the cake itself was light and fluffy.
Enjoy!

Cakesfordorothy xoxo

GUEST BLOGGER: Olivia Ellen's Chocolate Battenberg Cake!

Today I have I have another guest blogger posting. She's one of my best friends and currently runs a fashion and beauty blog, which I'm sure many of you will be interested in! Also, I am still looking to continue this every other Monday so if you are a blogger who is interested in guest blogging on here then feel free to email me on: cakesfordorothy@gmail.com, even if you are unsure what it's about. Anyway, I'll hand you over to Liv...

Hi, I'm Olivia from Olivia Ellen and today I wanted to share this simple recipe with you. Although my blog is a fashion and beauty blog, I am also a keen baker on the side and so when I saw a recipe for this I was drying to try it out. You don't need any specialised baking skills - just precision and time, as it is quite a long process but it's completely worth it in the end!  

Ingredients:

250g unsalted butter
250g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
235g self-raising flour
100g ground almonds
45g cocoa powder
6 medium eggs
3tbsp apricot jam
500g golden marzipan
icing sugar for dusting

Equipment:

I used 4 mini loaf tins although if you don't have these, 2 large loaf tins will work fine.

For the cake:

1. Cream the butter, caster sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl until pale and fluffy.
2. In a jug, beat the eggs and then slowly combine with the butter mixture using an electric whisker on a high speed.
3. Now divide the batter into two parts: sift 140g of flour and 50g of almonds together into one half of the batter. Then sift 95g flour, 50g almonds and the cocoa powder into the other half.
4. Pour into your baking tins and cook for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees/gas mark 4.  

5. After the cakes are out the oven, leave them to cool for about half an hour in the tins, then remove them from the tins and leave the cool for a further 15 minutes. 6. Now you need to take a large bread knife and slice the tops of the cake off where it has risen, so you are left with a flat surface and a lot of extra cake. Then wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for around an hour to make sure they are nice and firm. 

To slice the cakes:

Take a small knife (serrated ones work best as they are easiest to cut bread etc with) and a clean ruler. Slicing the cakes was a bit of a guess as to what size to make them but I've found these measurements work well for me - you may need to alter yours depending on the size of cake tin you use.

1. Cut all the dark, crispy edges off each cake.
2. Then measure and slice the cakes down to size so they are 12cm long, 5cm wide and 2.5cm high.
3. Put all the leftover cake to one side.

4. You should now be left with two pale sponges and two dark sponges of around equal size. Wrap them back up in clingfilm and pop them in the fridge while you do the next step. 

To assemble the cakes:

1. Place the apricot jam in a bowl and warm in the microwave for about 30 seconds on a high setting so it is soft and spreadable.

2. Get the cakes out of the fridge and take one dark slice and one light slice. 

3. Spread a thin layer of jam onto the dark slice using a small palette knife and then place the light slice on top like a sandwich.

4. Cut approximately in half, spread jam on one half and then stick the other half on top so you have a checker board effect. Repeat with the other two slices of cake.

 
The marzipan:

1. Lightly cover a surface with icing sugar and begin rolling out your marzipan so it is less than 1cm thick.

2. Taking your knife and ruler, cut the marzipan to a rectangle of 20cm by 15cm. Keep the excess to use for the other cake.

3. Spread over a light layer of jam using your palette knife.

4. Place your cake at the edge of the marzipan, trim down the edge if it is too long and then slowly roll up the cake in the marzipan, being sure it has stuck properly each time. Trim off any excess at the end. 

5. Finally, if you have one, take a cake smoother to smooth down the marzipan so you're left with no fingerprints and a nice even surface.

I know the method looks scary- I was nervous about doing it for the first time - but it's actually quite simple, all it takes is a little patience. There is a lot of cake left over once you've sliced them all down, but you can use this for whatever you want - I used some of it as the sponge in a homemade trifle or you could just eat it.

The cake is perfect for a summer garden party, it'll be really impressive because it looks much more difficult than it looks! Plus it tastes fantastic so give it a try and I hope you enjoyed my first ever guest blogger post!


Olivia Ellen XXX

@oliviaellen97

Don't forget to check out and follow Olivia Ellen!
Enjoy!

Cakesfordorothy xoxo

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GUEST BLOGGER: The More Than Occasional Baker's Cookie Monster Cupcakes!

Today I have a guest blogger posting - The More Than Occasional Baker! She has hundreds of mouthwatering recipes and so many flavour combinations that I hadn't even considered before, you should definitely go and check her out! This is my first ever guest blog post, I was a little sceptical about how it would turn out but I have actually enjoyed it so much! I am looking to continue this every other Monday so if you are a blogger who is interested in guest blogging on here then feel free to email me on: cakesfordorothy@gmail.com, even if you are unsure what it's about. But now I'll hand you over to Ros...

These were made for an impromptu baby shower at work. I didn't have time to order baby related cutters to make cute cookies or baby toppers (pram, bootie, etc) and I definitely was not going to try making them myself from fondant. I already knew that they were expecting a boy so here's my thought process (it makes sense in my head!) .... baby....boy.....blue...cookie....blue....cookie monster.... cookie monster cupcakes! A quick search on google for ideas and the rest as they say is history. 

These are incredibly simple and fun to make and will definitely make everyone go "oooh and aaahh" :) I made a chocolate chip cupcake (vanilla sponge + chocolate chips) but you can of course use any cupcake flavour you want. I also made the chocolate chip cookies as I'm a bit of a cookie monster myself! I'm sure I've referred to myself as the cookie monster a few times on this blog! Which is your favourite character from Sesame Street?

Ingredients:

Chocolate Chip Cupcake
250g butter
200g sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
200g chocolate chips (I used a mixture of dark and milk chocolate chips here)

Chocolate Chip Cookie
170g butter
80g caster sugar
80g light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
250g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
200g chocolate chips

Vanilla Buttercream icing
110g butter
200g icing sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons milk
blue food colouring

Decorations
~100g dessicated coconut
blue food colouring
giant white buttons
chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Make the cupcakes by creaming the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. Add in the milk, vanilla extract, flour and baking powder.
5. Mix well and finally stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Scoop batter into cupcake cases and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

7. Whilst the cupcakes are baking, cream the butter and sugars for the cookie.
8. Add the egg, vanilla extract and salt.
9. Mix in the flour and baking powder and finally stir in the chocolate chips.
10. Place cookie dough in small round balls on a lined baking tray spaced apart.
11. Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
12. Cool the cupcakes and cookies on a wire rack until completely cold.
13. Make the buttercream frosting by mixing all the ingredients together until you a nice, smooth blue icing.

13. Dip your cupcake in the icing and twist the cupcake then lift - no need for piping. You can also use a spoon to spread the icing on. It does not have to be neat as you can't see the icing later.

14. Next dip in a bowl of dessicated coconut which has been dyed blue. Again just dip the cupcake, icing down into the bowl and twist until the cupcake is completely covered. 

15. Cut out a "mouth" and eat the cake scraps.

16.  Place half a cookie into the hole you cut (you may have to trim the cookies if they are too wide like mine were).

17. Finally, add on the eyes. I dipped the bottom in some icing and placed it into the cupcake.

If you like what you see then don't forget to go and check out The More Than Occasional Baker!

Enjoy!

Cakesfordorothy xoxo

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Les Miserables Birthday Cake.

Today I made this birthday cake for my friend (the same friend as the rubber duck cake and harry potter cake, it has become a tradition for me to make her a birthday cake). She's been to see Les Mis at the cinema 4 times so far and has just ordered the DVD so I think it's safe to say she's obsessed - this made it extremely easy for me to choose the theme of her cake for this year. Said friend also runs a wonderful beauty and fashion blog and you can look forward to seeing her guest blog on here with a chocolate Battenberg in the next few weeks!

Initial design

I made a chocolate cake in a square tin, covered the top in blue, white and red buttercream, built a barricade out of twirl chocolate and decorated with writing icing. 

Then to top it off, I added a French flag at the top of the barricade. VIVE LA FRANCE! 

Enjoy!

Cakesfordorothy xoxo

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Greaseproof paper VS parchment paper.

Last month, I had quite a major issue. Not with recipes or ingredients but with my equipment.

For around 3 years I have been using my old, (and I mean it could be older than me) trusty parchment paper from Waitrose. But all good things come to and end and it was time for me to move on to a new roll. I went down to Waitrose and picked up their essential range greaseproof paper, not parchment paper - I had no idea that there was a difference!

Greaseproof paper - for wrapping food

Throughout the month of April I was making all my usual recipes: flapjacks; macaroons; cakes and using my greaseproof paper exactly how I used my parchment paper. They all had one problem in common, the bottom of all of my baked goods was sticking to the greaseproof paper. It was absolute nightmare! I must've spent hours chiselling it off - especially around the corners - and in the end I threw a lot of my food away. I was getting so infuriated that I turned to the internet, the location of answers to all problems. At first, I thought there might be a default with the greaseproof paper but I was soon to be corrected. 

Greaseproof paper is different to baking parchment.

After unnecessarily extensive research into when you should use each type of paper I think I understand, finally. Greaseproof paper has a wax coating and so when it it put in the oven, the wax melts and the paper becomes ineffective. Its beneficial attribute is that it's water-resistant and does not allow water to permeate through it, be it from outside or inside. This makes it ideal for wrapping food, not to stop cakes/biscuits sticking to the tin in the oven. Parchment paper has all the same properties except the fact that is also treated with an acid when it is produced which makes it very heat resistant. Therefore, its coating does not begin to melt whilst in the oven and it continue to serve its non-stick purpose!

Parchment paper - for baking food

So don't go thinking you can just get away with using greaseproof paper, as it can set fire in the oven! I hope this will make you think twice before choosing what type of paper you buy/use to line your baking tins, I know I will be!

Enjoy!
Cakesfordorothy xoxo

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