Let's bake today!

Peach and Apricot Crumble Cake

2012-01-20T20:26:00.008Z

Its been a rainy day and as I always say: "Rainy day = Baking day". I already had something in mind... that crumble cake I have made a few times this year. The recipe is from a BBC Good Food magazine. I have modified it a bit and I have to say, this is the best crumble cake I have made so far....so why don't you try it?....believe me....you won't be disappointed!.

Ingredients:
-200 gr butter, softened
-225 gr golden caster sugar
-225 gr self-raising flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-3 eggs, beaten
-2 tbsp milk
-150 gr pot vanilla yogurt
-220 gr apricots from a tin (drained)
-200 gr peach slices from a tin (drained)

For the crumble
-30 gr butter
-5 heaped tbsp self-raising flour
-4 tbsp demerara sugar
-1tsp ground cinnamon
-A handful of walnut pieces (optional)
-A handful of chocolate chips (optional)

1. Line an oblong traybake tin (21 x 30 cms) with baking paper and heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Beat the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, eggs and milk together until creamy. Spoon into the tin, level the top, then bake for 25 minutes until almost set.

2.Meanwhile, get the yogurt and fruit at the ready and make the crumble by rubbing all the ingredients together, except the walnuts and chocolate chips.

3. When cake has baked for 25 minutes, whip it out of the oven. Working quickly, spoon over the yogurt, scatter over the fruit, then top with the crumble. Sprinkle the walnuts and choc chips on top. Return to oven for 15-20 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

Serve warm as pudding, or cooled and cut into squares with tea.
This cake will keep int he fridge for a couple of days.

Variation: You can certainly use nearly any fruit, I have tried it with peach and pears and I'd love to try it with raspberries and blueberries in Summer.

Snowman Biscuits... and Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-22T19:21:00.008Z

This year passed in a blink!... and it seems to me that each year is passing even faster than the previous one...isn't that crazy?. In the last days I have said to myself: "I'm not going to do anything today, I'll just relax" but it doesn't really work!, there's always something and there I am again, jumping here and there...
We moved to a beautiful town last December. It was the sort of change I was really looking forward to. Miraculously we sold our previous house in 4 weeks and in the meantime we found the perfect one for us, well located, already empty, in great condition and next to our son's school. It was all meant to be!. I feel so happy here!.
Change didn't stop there, I began to study clinical hypnosis in September and I LOVE IT!. A great new window has been opened for me and I feel very grateful for that.

But let's go to the biscuits now...

I wasn't sure if I would have the time to do Christmas biscuits this year, too much going on! But I managed to find a bit of time and here they are!.

I had very little time to decorate them, but lots of fun!.
The recipe as follows:

For the biscuits:

Ingredients:
-5 cups all-purpose flour
-2 teaspoons ground ginger
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon ground cloves
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-zest of one orange (optional)
-1 cup (250gr) unsalted butter, softened
-1 cup sugar
-1 large egg
-1 cup molasses (chancaca in Chile)

Method:
1. Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, salt, and orange zest (if you're using it) in a medium bowl.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar with your mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and mix until well blended.

3. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until the two are thoroughly blended.

4. Turn dough onto a work surface and divide into three equal portions. Form each one into a rough disk. Now you're ready to roll, chill, and cut out cookie shapes.

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C)

6. After you've rolled and cut the dough and the cookies are on parchment-lined cookie sheets , bake them on the middle rack of your oven for 12-16 minutes or until the cookies start to turn a deeper brown around the edges.

7. Cool the cookies completely before decorating.

*This recipe was taken from the book "Cookie Craft"*

I'm very sorry to say I don't have a tutorial for the decoration!!! I promise to give you one the next time.

Wishing you all a very
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Let's count our blessings and be thankful for all of them.

"Deep at the center of my being there is an infinite well of gratitude. I now allow this gratitude to fill my heart, my body, my mind, my consciousness, my very being. This gratitude radiates out from me in all directions, touching everything in my world, and returns to me as more to be grateful for. The more gratitude I feel, the more I am aware that the supply is endless."
(Louise L. Hay)

Raw chocolate treats! - Superfood

2011-11-04T19:30:00.026Z

Have you ever heard the term 'Raw Chocolate' before? you're maybe more familiar with the word 'Cacao'.

David Wolfe, in his excellent book 'Superfoods' puts Cacao (raw chocolate) in second place in the list of the top 10 superfoods. But please don't think that with this he means the chocolate bar you get from the shops....no no no....this actually refers to the main and most important of its ingredients: CACAO.

"All chocolate is made from cacao beans (Also known as cocoa beans). Cacao is chocolate. All the antioxidant value, mineral benefits, neurotransmitter rejuvenating properties, and overall health-giving qualities of chocolate are found in original cacao. Chocolate consists of just one ingredient - no sugar, no dairy, no chemicals required - that one ingredient is cacao."

And because I love chocolate, as much as you do out there, I became very interested in this particular part of the book.

Amazing to read that Cacao is the best natural source of the following nutrients:
-Antioxidants
-Magnesium
-Iron
-Chromium
-Manganese
-Zinc
-Copper
-Vitamin C
-Omega-6 Fatty Acids
-Phenylethylamine (PEA)
-Anandamide
-Tryptophan
-Serotonin
-Fiber
-Methylxanthines: Caffeine and Theobromine
No wonder why is also called -since the 18th century- "the food of the gods"!.

I was very surprised (and happy!) when Indigo Herbs (where I bought the Lucuma powder) contacted me to offer to send me a "Raw chocolate kit" to give it a try, experiment and then let them know what I thought about it. It took me a second to say DEAL!. This happened immediately after I read David Wolfe's book....isn't that the sweetest coincidence?.

A few days later I received this in the post:

Without even opening the packet, I could smell the chocolate....ooooh my!, the contents?:

Raw Agave Nectar, Raw Cocoa Butter, Raw Cacao Powder, Vanilla and a leaflet with the instructions.
Because it was the very first time I had in my hands the wonderful opportunity to make my very own chocolate, instead of using all the ingredients at once (this wonderful kit contains enough to prepare 750gr!), I decided to use 100gr to begin with.

I honestly felt like Willy Wonka!.

Temperature is really important....and as Michael, from Indigo Herbs, told me, you don't really need a fancy thermometer (although, if you have it, great!), simply put some water in a pan and as soon as it reaches the boiling point, remove it from the heat. Wait 5 minutes, use a heat proof bowl and place it over the water. Put the Cacao butter in the bowl (make sure no water comes in) and wait until in melts completely.

Once you see that the butter has completely melted, add the vanilla. Mix it well with the butter.
After that, add the cacao powder, one spoonful, stir gently and blend well, then another one until you've added all the cocoa powder you want to use.

Once the cocoa powder has blended completely with the butter and vanilla (pic above), add the raw agave nectar whilst still stirring gently.

Then stir and stir until you get a nice creamy consistency, like the picture bellow. Then with a spoon fill your chocolate moulds, you can also use ice cube trays (the silicon ones) or little petite four cases.

Because I knew the raw chocolate is bitter than the one you usually get in the shops, I added a little ball of marzipan to go inside my treats... (I love marzipan).

After that, put the tray in the freezer until they set and are firm enough to pop them out and enjoy them!.

I have to say....the flavour is intense and sensational... you feel 'chocolate satisfied' quicker than with the commercial type of chocolate. Knowing you're getting the very best of the cacao beans, all the goodness that ancient civilizations also enjoyed in many ways, makes you feel even better.

My 3 year old tried one of these treats and was soon asking me for more!!!....brilliant!!.

I still have more raw ingredients to give it another go so keep an eye on my blog.
My suggestion? definitely give yourself the pleasure of making your own, proper chocolate... your life won't be the same!

If you want to get a 'Raw Chocolate Kit' for yourself or as a present for someone else, go to Indigo Herbs of Glastonbury online. Excellent service and quality.

Lúcuma pretzels....delicious!!

2011-09-29T14:21:00.011+01:00

I recently bought powder lúcuma as its one of the 2 fruits I really miss from Chile (the other one is Chirimoya). I was very excited to try it in a recipe and here I am!. After making the successful chocolate pretzels from a previous post, I decided to do my very own variation with lúcuma....and let me tell you something, I like this one even better than the chocolate one!!...too good to be true? give it a go!:

Ingredients:
-100g or a generous 1/3 cup of unsalted butter.
-100g or 7 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar.
-1 egg
-200g of plain (all-purpose) flour.
-50g of lúcuma powder.

To decorate:
-Icing sugar

1. Lightly grease a baking tray or line with baking paper.
Beat together the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg.

2. Sift together the flour and Lucuma powder and gradually beat in to form a soft dough.
Use your fingers to incorporate the last of the flour and bring the dough together. Make a ball, wrap with cling film and put in the fridge for 15 minutes.

3. Break pieces from the dough and roll into thin sausage shapes about 10cm/4 inches long and 6mm thick. Twist into pretzel shapes by making a circle, then twist the ends through each other to form a letter "B".

4. Place on the prepared baking tray, slightly spaced apart to allow for spreading during cooking.

5. Bake in a preheated oven, 190C/375F/Gas mark 5, for 8-12 minutes (not more or they'll probably burn).
The smell coming from the oven is just incredible.... and believe me, all your neighbours will be queuing up outside your door :-)
Leave the pretzels to cool slightly on the baking tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sprinkle them with icing sugar, instead you can mix icing sugar and lúcuma powder to sprinkle your pretzels.

To store them, simply put them in an air tight container, a tin box is ideal.

I didn't want to dip them in chocolate like the choc pretzels I did before, simply because the lúcuma flavour is woth enjoying just the way it is, although nobody says you can't use chocolate!.

ENJOY! x

Lucuma powder...yay!

2011-09-22T16:57:00.007+01:00

*In the picture: Lucuma fruit

I was born and raised in Chile and moved to England in 2005. I never thought I would miss any fruit as we get nearly everything here. But there are two that I REALLY miss: Chirimoya and Lúcuma. This last one in particular, the flavour is difficult to put into words and the ones who have tried it will agree with me.
You don't eat the fruit as it comes from the tree, it has a dry, pastry-like texture. The fruit is mainly processed and sold as purée or mixed with other ingredients, especially for puddings (desserts). Lucuma ice cream is very popular in Chile, also Lucuma mixed with dulce de leche and added to cakes....hmmm!...Gosh I'm dribbling already!.
A Chilean friend of mine who lives in Houston, Pilar, had a gorgeous recipe in her blog that made me miss Lucuma even more....Looking online I found Lucuma powder!!! I never imagined you could find it like that and I was even more surprised when I found it in the UK....BINGO!. So I bought 500g and received it in the post today....how fabulous!!!!!

I can't wait to use it...I have so many ideas already!.

If you want to know more about Lucuma:

NAME
Lucuma

LATIN NAME
Pouteria Lucuma

Also Known As
lucmo or eggfruit

ORIGIN
A tropical plant native to lands 1000 to 2400 m above sea level in Chile, Peru and Ecuador although it can be grown in some similar climates.

PARTS USED
Fruit

TRADITIONAL HERBAL USES AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Lucuma is a deliciously sweet fruit prized for it's unique taste and used as a flavour in desserts, drinks and especially ice-cream (in Peru). Lucuma is a great source of of carbs, fibre and vitamins, especially iron, niacin and beta-carotene. Sugar wise it naturally contains glucose, fructose, sucrose, and inositol.
But it's real greatness is that it is a healthy part of any diet and a totally delicious flavour. In Peru, Lucuma ice-cream is more popular than strawberry or chocolate or vanilla!
Lucuma powder is quite suitable for Raw, Vegan and Vegitarian diets and is an increasingly popular ingredient in the finest raw food recipes.

FOLKLORE AND HISTORY
Lucuma appears to have been cultivated since ancient times by the various indigenous races of the highlands of parts of Chile, Peru and Ecuador. It was an important offering to the gods and even now it is still respected by native cultures. The Ayacucho and Cajamarcan people both have powerful beliefs associated with the trees which are also still a major part of their diets.
Lucuma trees are depicted on pre-Columbian ceramics found at indigenous burial sites in coastal Peru far from where it can be successfully cultivated. This suggests it has been a popular fruit traded between cultures for a long time. It was certainly well known to the Inca (from whose language, Quechua, we get the name Lucuma) and was cultivated by them when the Europeans invaded.
Lucuma was documented by the Europeans in 1531 as growing in Ecuador. It appears in the botanical record again in 1776 when it was presumed exclusively grown in northern Chile. However in 1915 seeds were taken on behalf of the United States Government from Ollantaytambo, a mysterious pre-Incan megalithic city fotress. This suggests that either Lucuma production declined throughout the initial European invasion of the Americas or it's seemingly sporadic appearance is a result of patchy research. Either way it was not quickly adopted by the invaders and has become known as one of the “lost crops of the Inca”.
Today both Lucma production and demand is on the rise. In Peru Lucuma ice cream is believed to be more popular than vanilla, strawberry or chocolate!

DOSAGE
Eat as much of it as you like

PRECAUTIONS
None

*Info taken from: Indigo Herbs of Glastonbury where I bought the Lucuma powder from, they sell an incredible variety of herbal products and superfoods, take a look! *

Chocolate Pretzels

2011-09-19T18:38:00.016+01:00

I like to bake, you know...but when its cold and rainy like today, I like it even more... so I grabbed one of my books, "Super Cookery, Chocolate & Baking" to look for a yummy treat... page 174 had it! "Chocolate pretzels", I saw this page many times before and thought they would be ideal for a birthday party, but not necessarily! they can also be a treat for your kids when they come back from school, or to have accompanied by a coffee with your friends.
As soon as I came back from dropping my little man at nursery, I put my apron on, rolled up my sleeves, tuned in to BBC Radio 2 and action begun.

The recipe as follows:
Ingredients:
-100g or a generous 1/3 cup of unsalted butter.
-100g or 7 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar.
-1 egg
-225g or 2 cups of plain (all-purpose) flour.
-25g or 1/4 cup of cocoa powder

To decorate:
-15g or 1tbsp of butter
-100g dark or milk chocolate to melt
-Icing sugar to dust or sugar sprinkles

1. Lightly grease a baking tray or line with baking paper.
Beat together the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg.

2. Sift together the flour and cocoa powder and gradually beat in to form a soft dough.
Use your fingers to incorporate the last of the flour and bring the dough together. Make a ball, wrap with cling film and put in the fridge for 15 minutes.
3. Break pieces from the dough and roll into thin sausage shapes about 10cm/4 inches long and 6mm thick. Twist into pretzel shapes by making a circle, then twist the ends through each other to form a letter "B".

4. Place on the prepared baking tray, slightly spaced apart to allow for spreading during cooking.

5. Bake in a preheated oven, 190C/375F/Gas mark 5, for 8-12 minutes.
Leave the pretzels to cool slightly on the baking tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

6. Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring to combine.

7. Dip half of each pretzel into the chocolate and allow the excess of chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Place the pretzels on a sheet of grese proof paper or baking paper and leave to set. (If you want to use sprinkles, do it now before the chocolate sets).

8. When set, dust the non-chocolate coated side of each pretzel with icing (confectioners) sugar before serving.

These delicious pretzels are ideal for birthday parties, picnics... ideal with a coffee or glass of milk!. I made them for my son, when he comes back from nursery, but the friends coming over also get the benefit :-)

Easy evening cake

2011-08-17T23:27:00.006+01:00

I wanted to bake today, I fancied something sweet, but simple and quick to make... and I also wanted to use some mascarpone I had in the fridge.

I made a simple sponge based on the ever versatile recipe I have used lately for the cupcakes. But instead of using paper cases, I put the mix into a 8" tin and baked for 25 minutes instead of 15 and I added a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract instead of orange zest. Great result!!!

For the frosting was mascarpone cheese mixed with cocoa powder, sugar and a drop or two of pure vanilla extract... mix mix mix and then spread over the cake with a spatula. Then I sprinkled some chocolate spaghetti (from Morrisons)....and that's IT!

So, the recipe:
Ingredients:
-350g plain flour
-1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
-140g caster sugar
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 eggs
-250ml milk (I used semi-skimmed and it worked well)
-1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
-85g butter, melted

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6/Fan oven 180°C
2. Line a round 8" deep tin .
3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, then stir in the sugar and salt.
4. Beat the eggs and milk together in a jug or bowl, add the pure vanilla extract, then stir in the butter and gently mix into the dry ingredients to make a loose, slightly lumpy mixture. Do not overmix or the cake will be tough.
5. Fill in the tin
6. Bake for 25 minutes until well risen and golden on top.
Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then carefully remove and place on a plate.
7.Put the mascarpone cheese in a small bowl, add a tablespoon of sugar (You can use less or more, up to you), a teaspoon and a half of cocoa powder, a couple of drops of vanilla extract (optional), then mix well, you can use the electric mixer if you want. Spread over the cake with a spatula and sprinkle chocolate spaghetti or any other on top.

Enjoy!!

Birthday cupcakes

2011-08-11T11:15:00.012+01:00

I had another perfect excuse to bake, but not just to bake, also decorating, which is always fun. Jasmine turned 19 on the 1st of August, I told her I would do her cake....or cupcakes, she preferred the second option. I used the same versatile recipe I shared with you all in the 2 previous posts, I changed it again and it was fabulous. I made two types of cupcakes:
-Chocolate with pieces of caramel biscuits inside
-Orange-Vanilla

For the toppings I knew exactly what I wanted to do. But first I have to confess something.... I totally dislike buttercream....the name sounds rather yummy but the first time I made it as frosting, my face nearly got green. I love butter, don't get me wrong... but I don't fancy biting a block of butter...yuk! and buttercream is basically that, butter and sugar.
Anyway....lets leave my buttercream issues behind and let me tell you about the great frosting recipe I found.
In one of Sainsbury's magazines (to be exact, October 2009), there was an article that caught my attention: "Cupcake masterclass, 5 easy steps to sweet perfection", I was surprised when I saw that the recipe only needed very little butter, so I gave it a go and it turned out delicious, although I have to say, between you and I....that I can improve this recipe...and I will!.

I made 24 cupcakes, 12 chocolate and 12 orange-vanilla, so I decided to make 2 frosting flavours; strawberry and vanilla and!... marzipan toppers, which I personally love.
I also got myself a cupcake stand that helped to arrange them nicely.

For the chocolate cupcake recipe, please click HERE, omit the caramel and instead of using 50g of cocoa, only use 25g (that's enough) and 325g of flour. I filled the cases half way and then pushed in pieces of caramel biscuits, then filled all the cases with the remaining mix.

For the orange-vanilla cupcake recipe please click HERE, omit the cream cheese and strawberries and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

*For the strawberry and vanilla frosting*
Enough to cover 24 cupcakes.
Note: frosting and frosted cupcakes will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days. Bring frosting back to room temperature before using.

Ingredients:
-200g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature.
-100g soft unsalted butter.
-600g icing sugar, sieved.

1.Put the cream cheese, butter and icing sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. With a big wooden spoon, slowly mix together, until you have blended all in, then use an electric mixer until you have a nice and creamy consistency.
3.Divide the mix in two smaller bowls.
Note: if the mix seems too runny, add a little bit of icing sugar.

For the strawberry flavour one, add 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam, sieved, and a drop of pink food colour. Mix well. You can then use a decorating bag with a big star tip to decorate your cupcakes.

For the vanilla flavour frosting, add the seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix well. And as above, you can use a decorating bag.

If you're interested to do the marzipan toppers, let me know and I'll try to put a tutorial, its a lot of fun making them...and eating them as well!.

Don't they look great?...

I didn't have any, they all went to Jasmine's birthday party and I heard later that everybody loved them.... job done! :-)

Chocolate and Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

2011-07-25T22:44:00.006+01:00

I felt a bit baking-adventurous today and made a variation of the strawberry cheesecake cupcakes from the last post. I usually follow recipes and never try my own thing, but this time I wanted to do something different...chocolate and dulce de leche, two flavours that were made for each other, such a treat!.
So, when mixing the ingredients, I replaced 80g of flour for cocoa powder....and I have to say, I would probably use less cocoa next time, 50g would be just fine.

Filled the cases halfway, then I added a teaspoon of dulce de leche...

Topped them with the rest of the mix:

Ready to go to the oven...

And...voilá!

They exploded a little bit, but it worked...yay!.
These cupcakes taste fenomenal, really chocolatey....I will definitely bake them again!.

Recipe:

It makes 12 muffins.
Ingredients:
-300g plain flour
-50g cocoa powder
-1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
-140g caster sugar
-Finely grated rind of 2 medium oranges
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 eggs
-250ml milk (I used semi-skimmed and it worked well)
-85g butter, melted

For the filling:
-180g dulce de leche (Carnation sells a tin of Caramel = Dulce de Leche)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6/Fan oven 180°C
2. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a large bowl, then stir in the sugar and salt.
4. Beat the eggs and milk together in a jug or bowl, then stir in the butter and gently mix into the dry ingredients to make a loose, slightly lumpy mixture. Do not overmix or the muffins will be tough.
5. Half'-fill the paper cases with the muffin mixture, then push a teaspoon of dulce de leche into each, then spoon over the remaining muffin mixture to cover and fill the muffin cases.
7. Bake for 15 minutes until well risen and golden on top. Remove from the tin and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. (I let them cool in the tin).

ENJOY!

Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins/Cupcakes

2011-07-22T22:46:00.006+01:00

A good friend of mine and her little daughter came to visit us today, the perfect reason to bake something nice!, I didn't want to make anything I have done before so I went to my books and found what seemed like a delicious treat for kids and adults...Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins....what about THAT!...yup...cupcakes with a very yummy filling...

Want to give it a go?....take note then:

It makes 12 muffins.
Ingredients:
-350g plain flour
-1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
-140g caster sugar
-Finely grated rind of 2 medium oranges
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 eggs
-250ml milk (I used semi-skimmed and it worked well)
-85g butter, melted

For the filling:
-175g half-fat soft cheese
-3tbsp caster sugar
-6 small strawberries, halved...and maybe some more to put on top to serve when they're ready.

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6/Fan oven 180°C
2. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, then stir in the sugar, orange rind and salt.
4. Beat the eggs and milk together in a jug or bowl, then stir in the butter and gently mix into the dry ingredients to make a loose, slightly lumpy mixture. Do not overmix or the muffins will be tough.
5. Mix together the soft cheese and sugar for the filling.
6. Half'-fill the paper cases with the muffin mixture, then push half a strawberry into each. Top with a teaspoon of sweet cheese, then spoon over the remaining muffin mixture to cover and fill the muffin cases.
7. Bake for 15 minutes until well risen and golden on top. Remove from the tin and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. (I let them cool in the tin).

*Recipe taken from the book "GoodFood 101 cakes & bakes"*

Chocolate and mango layer cake

2011-05-07T23:25:00.009+01:00

When I started trying new recipes and after a few disasters, my lovely neighbour and friend came to see me, she said "I have something for you" with a big grin on her face that made me smile... she gave me a small but very consistent book called "Chocolate & Baking"...hmmm! it sounded fabulous....just what I needed!, 508 pages of great recipes, couldn't be a better present!. I have tried a few and they're really good....almost as good as "BBC Good Food".
I mrked all the recipes I wanted to try, all too many I suppose, but someday I' will try them all, yay!.
One of those recipes I marked with a bit of paper, was this one....and OMG is good!. This is probably the fifth time I make it, but the first time I take a picture of it.

The sponge is very firm, so after trying it so many times, I decided to pour a bit of the mango juice mixed with sugar, on the sponge layers before I put the filling.
The original recipe doesn't add any sugar to the cream and mango mixture, but I have done (1/2 cup of sugar) otherwise is not sweet at all.

Ingredients:
-50g cocoa powder
-150ml cup boiling water
-6 large eggs
-350g cup caster (superfine) sugar
-300g self-raising flour
-2 x 400g cans of mango
-1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
-425ml cups double (heavy) cream
-75g dark flock chocolate or grated chocolate

1. Grease a deep 23cm/9 inch round cake tin (pan) and line the base with baking parchment.

2. Place the cocoa powder in a small bowl and gradually add the boiling water; blend to form a smooth paste.

3. Place the eggs and caster sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk until the mixture is very light and foamy and the whisk leaves a trail that lasts a few seconds when lifted.
Fold in cocoa mixture.
Sieve (strain) the flour and fold into the mixture.

4. Pour the mixture into the tin (pan) and level the top.
Bake in a preheated oven, 170C/ 325F/ Gas Mark 3, for about 1 hour or until springy to the touch.

5. Leave to cool in the tin (pan) for a few minutes then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.
Peel off the lining paper and cut the cake into 3 layers.

6. Drain the mangoes and place a quarter of them in a food processor and puree until smooth.
Mix the cornflour with about 3 tbsp of the mango juice to form a smooth paste. Add to the mango puree. Transfer to a small pan and heat gently, stirring until the puree thickens. Leave to cool.

7. Chop the remaining mango.
Whip the cream and reserve about one quarter. Fold the mango into the remaining cream and use to sandwich the layers of cake together.
Place on a serving plate.
Spread some of the remaining cream around the side of the cake. Press the flock or grated chocolate lightly into the cream. Pipe cream rosettes around the top. Spread the mango puree over the centre.

The best Lemon Meringue Pie

2011-04-30T20:12:00.006+01:00

I've lost count of how many times I have made this lovely pie, is simply one of my favourites!!. The ones you buy at the grocery store can't compare to the home made ones, don't you think? especially when you've tried this one in particular! HA!....after you've tried this recipe, your life won't be the same.

Seriously, please take note, the recipe is HERE. This is my second post about the lemon meringue pie and I promise it will be the last one hehehehe. I have to say, the more you make this recipe, the better the results!.

Salmon and Broccoli Lattice Tart....yum!

2011-04-28T21:02:00.010+01:00

I love to try new recipes and I'm always looking for them, I have copied recipes from many sites and they're never as good as the ones I get from "BBC Good Food" magazine (or their website!). ALL the recipes in the magazine are fantastic (trust me), the ones you find on the website have very useful reviews that help you to select.
Today I went to the local store with my son to get some chocolate, I got a little net bag full of chocolate bunnies, I was ready to go, but when I turned around I saw the magazine section and my eyes got stuck on my favourite magazine....have you guessed which one? .... the cake on the cover looks sooooooooo delicious I couldn't leave the shop without it!

I took a good look and OMG....this magazine is full of mouth-watering recipes!. I always go for the sweet things but I found the following recipe a "must" for dinner tonight....

What do you think???.....and this was the result!:

Not as perfect as the one on the mag, but soooooooooooo incredibly tasty....

The watercress mixed with the creme fraiche makes a difference....YUMMY!
I'll have to post the recipe, I can't just show the pictures, especially if you don't live in the UK and can't get the magazine....so here we go:

Ingredients:

-100g (4oz) broccoli, cut into florets
-85g (3oz) watercress, chopped
-4 tbsp half-fat creme fraiche
-435 g pack ready-rolled puff pastry sheets
-1 egg, beaten
-170g pack poached salmon fillets, flaked
-steamed green beens, to serve

1. Cook the broccoli in lots ofboiling water until tender. Drain and rinse in cold water until cool. Drain well and set aside. In a mini chopper or food processor, blitz the watercress and creme fraiche with some seasoning.

2. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas6.
Unroll the pastry sheets. Place one on a baking sheet, cut out a 2cm-wide border from the second sheet, like a picture frame, and stick this onto the first sheet with some of the beaten egg. Prick the base all over with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes until golden.

3. Cut the remaining pastry into 2cm wide strips. Spread on the creme fraiche, scatter with the flaked salmon, broccoli and seasoning, and top with the strips of pastry to make a lattice.

4. Brush with beaten egg and cook for 20-25 minutes until pastry is golden and cooked through and the filling is hot.
Serve with green beans (we had it with green salad).

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

Happy Easter! - Banana cake with choc chips

2011-04-23T20:18:00.008+01:00

It's been quite a long time since my last post....I have made some cakes in between but didn't take pics due to bad light!.
It was my son's 3rd birthday in February, I made a lovely cake but I was sick and I didn't have the energy to decorate....so it was a very simple decoration, will post it later one :-)
Easter is my favourite holiday of the year, mainly because its the beginning of Spring time, my favourite season!. Quite simbolic as well, marking the beginning of different aspects of life, a rebirth if you want.
This time I improvised a cake and it turned out delicious!. I made a banana cake and added some chocolate chips....yum!!
I covered the cake with Betty Crocker's ready vanilla icing that I dyed pale yellow, I used dried coconut (dyed pale green) and finished the decoration with mini eggs and a rabbit silhouette made with card.
The cake went down a storm! so I'll definitely make another one and will change the decoration.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
-2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-3/4 cup of butter (softened)
-1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
-2 ripe bananas (mashed)
-3/4 cup sour cream (or full fat natural yoghurt)

Method:
1. Preheat oven 180 C
2. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3.In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
4. Add eggs, vanilla and banana (to mixture on step 2) mix well. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream (or yoghurt); blend thoroughly but do not overmix.
5. Add chocolate chips or chopped walnuts (both delicious!) and mix with a big spoon.
Pour into a prepared tin (you can line just the base)
Bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until wooden skewer inserted comes out clean (top of the cake will be golden in color).
Cool for 30 minutes in the tin; remove and cool completely before decorating.

If you don't have time to dcorate, sprinkle icing sugar on top.

Enjoy as much as we did!!!

Snickers and peanut-butter muffins!

2010-09-21T13:38:00.017+01:00

I have heard about Nigella Lawson many times, but for some reason I never felt inclined to buy her books.

I went to a local boot sale not long ago and looking into a box full of books I found "How to be a domestic goddess" by Nigella Lawson, hard cover, I didn't think too much and got it straight away, of course!.... for £1 can you believe it?, I'm such a lucky girl!. The book is absolutely GREAT!, loads of yummy recipes that I have started to try. I love her writing, she has the ability to pass her inspiration and passion for food through her words and I have to admit, it's catching!.

On page 218 you'll find "Snickers and peanut-butter muffins"....yummy!!!
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
-250g plain flour
-6 tbsp (85g) golden caster sugar
-1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
-Pinch of salt
-6 tbsp (160g) crunchy peanut butter
-60 unsalted butter, melted
-1 large egg, beaten
-175 ml milk
-3 x 65 g Snickersbars, chopped
-12 muffin tin with paper cases

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6 (I have a fan oven and 170C was fine)

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the peanut butter and mix until you have a bowl of coarse crumbs. Add the melted butter and egg to the milk, and then stir this gently into the bowl. Mix in the Snickers pieces and dollop into the muffin cases. Cook for 20-25 minutes (18 minutes was enough in my oven!, so check them every now and then) when the tops should be risen, golden and firm to the (light) touch. Sit the tin on a wire rack to cool. If you can.

Makes 12

Citrus poppy seed cake

2010-09-14T13:30:00.007+01:00

Every season is "cake season" to me so I'm always looking for new tempting recipes to try.
Not long ago I bought this little book: "Good Food 101 cakes & bakes" from Amazon, after reading all the excllent and convincing reviews. I have tried a few recipes and I have to say they are great!. This has been the only cake I managed to photograph so far because the other ones vanished before I could take my camera out of the bag! hahahahha...

Now, back to this cake in particular.....is very easy to do (you don't even need an electric mixer!) and 100% delicious. This has been the first of many more I'll make, no doubt!.
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
-175gr butter, softened
-175gr caster sugar
-3 eggs, beaten
-250gr self-raising flour
-50gr poppy seeds
-Grated rind of 2 oranges
-Grated rind of 2 lemons
-4 rounded tbsp natural yogurt

For the topping:
-250gr tub mascarpone
-Grated rind and juice of 1 small orange
-3 tbsp orange or lemon curd
-Grated rind of 1 lemon

Before I continue let me tell you that I only sprinkled some icing sugar on mine, I didn't use the topping from this recipe simply because I didn't have the mascarpone nor the lemon curd, BUT....I'll surely try it next time!.

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 150C/Gas2/fan oven 130C.
Butter and line the base of a deep 20cm/8in round cake tin.
Using a wooden spoon, beat together the butter, sugar,eggs, flour, poppy seeds, citrus rinds and yogurt until smooth.

2. Spread the mixture in the tin and bake for 45-50 minutes until just firm. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Then turn out and cool on a wire rack. Peel off the paper.

3. Meanwhile, mix the mascarpone with enough orange juice to make a spreadable icing. Lightly swirl in the curd to give a marbled effect. Roughly spread over the top and sides of the cake, and scatter the grated citrus rind over the top to decorate.

Serves 10

Flower Power Cake!

2010-08-07T22:04:00.008+01:00

Jasmine's 18th birthday was coming and as I promised to her, I made the cake.
I was getting a bit nervous as I knew I needed more time to practice with fondant and at the same time I wanted to make a very special and beautiful cake for her.
I used to take tips from the internet, YouTube and so on, but for some reason it didn't seem enough help!. So I went to Amazon's and looked for cake decorating books....there are loads, difficult to choose!. I started reading the reviews of the ones I liked and that's how I ended up buying "Cakes to inspire and desire" by Lindy Smith....fabulous book! it has just the right and very clear information you need, good recipes and priceless tips. Although I still need to learn A LOT, her book helped me with the basics and gave me more confidence to try new things. I recommend it 100%!

I thought at first I was going to make a simple cake, and by this I mean, a "one tier" cake... but seeing the pictures in the book was very tempting so I gave it a go, following all the instructions in the book...2 tiers then!, it worked perfectly well.
I used a 7 inch round cake for the base and a 3,5 inch cake for the one on top, rather small but very cute!...here's the result!

As I didn't want to write on the cake to not spoil the flowers, I made this tag with fondant and used an edible ink pen to write on it, I think it looks great, what do you think?

In the book there's a list of useful tools....I was quite impressed with the "Sugar Shaper", which I had to get, I couldn't resist it!... and let me tell you, Squires Kitchen has the best price online! :-)

Zoe's cake

2010-08-07T21:58:00.007+01:00

I made this cake for a very special girl, Zoe, who turned 7 in July.
I have to say, it was quite difficult to cover the cake with fondant, it's not easy at all, it takes a lot of practice I think, so I'll keep on trying!.

Lemon gateau

2010-05-01T22:53:00.006+01:00

I tried a recipe that I found in a magazine. The picture showing the cake looked terribly appealing to me, I couldn't resist!.

What's a Gateau?
A gâteau (pronounced ga-toe) is a French cake, often specifically a sponge cake that may be made from almond flour instead of wheat flour. In general terms, any cake in France may be considered a gâteau, but some French cakes are more gâteaux than cakes you might see in other parts of the world. Yet if you order any kind of cake in France, you will be ordering a gâteau.

Gateau is the singular word for cake and Gateaux is the plural word, although the pronunciation is the same.

Let's go to the recipe, shall we? :-)

Ingredients:
-Butter for greasing
-2 1/2 tbsp of semolina, plus extra for dusting
-6 large eggs, separated
-150 gr (5 oz) caster sugar-2 large lemons
-40 gr (1 1/2 oz) ground almonds
-3 tbsp plain flour
-3 gelatine leaves (or 1 1/2 sachet of Vege-gel (from Dr Oetker) wich is the vegetarian alternative)
-150ml double cream

Method
1. Grease an 8cm deep, 20.5cm loose-bottomed round tin. Line base with baking parchment; dust sides with semolina.

2. Heat oven to 180C (160C fan) mark 4.

3. Beat 3 egg yolks + 50grs (2 oz) sugar + zest of 1 lemon for 5 minutes. Fold in semolina +almonds + flour.

4. Beat 3 egg whites until stiff. Add 25gr (1 oz) sugar and beat for a few seconds. Fold 1 tbsp into cake mix, then fold in the rest. Spoon into tin and level. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Leave to cool in tin.

5. Remove sides of tin and slide cake on to a board, leaving parchment in place.
Slice cake in half horizontally. Regrease and reline sides of tin with baking parchment.
Put cake half with paper attached into the tin, paper side-down.

6. Put gelatine in a bowl and cover with cold water. Leave for 5 minutes.
*If you're using Vege-gel, empty a sachet and a half into a small bowl and add 200ml of cold water, stir with a spoon until is completely dissolved, leave it for a few minutes.

7. Heat the juice of 1 lemon until simmering.
Squeeze excess water of gelatine, then whisk into the lemon juice. Leave to cool.
*Using the Vege-gel: pour the Vege-gel mixture into the lemon juice using a sieve, stir gently whilst on lowest heat for a couple of minutes, then leave to cool.

8. Whisk remaining yolks + sugar + zest of 1 lemon until moussey. Fold in the gelatine mixture.

9. Beat remaining egg whites until stiff.

10. Whisk cream until it just holds its shape.

11. Fold cream into yolk mix, then fold in egg whites.

12. Pour into tin. Cover. Chill for 2 hours in freezer.

13. Put second cake layer over the mousse, cut-side down. Cover and chill overnight.

14. Turn out cake and peel off paper. Dust with icing sugar and using a knife or a metal skewer score lines on top.

Good luck and enjoy! x

Easter cake

2010-04-03T22:03:00.005+01:00

I have been very busy recently, trying to get everything ready to put the house for sale... it seems like an endless task!. Tiring times but I'm sure it will be all satisfactory at the end.
I thought I wasn't going to bake anything for Easter as I have very little energy these days.... and here I am!...

I love Easter, more than anything because it's the celebration of Spring.

This cake: vanilla sponge, caramel and raspberry jam filling, covered with buttercream, marzipan letters and bunnies, mini eggs and silver balls....YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!

My son's 2nd birthday and a starry cake :o)

2010-02-11T21:57:00.011Z

I was thinking about the cake I wanted to make for my son's birthday for quite a while.
It was very difficult to cover my first cake with fondant, but I can say I learnt a lot while doing it on my own and I hoped to improve the next time...and I definitely did!. I managed to get the right consistency for the buttercream that goes under the fondant. I used ready rolled fondant this time. It wasn't perfect coming out of the roll, it was cracked...but I fixed it.
I also made some cupcakes to go with it.
My son loved it!.

My first cake decorated with fondant!

2010-01-26T21:18:00.010Z

I wanted to surprise my husband who was turning 50, with a special cake. I watched loads of videos on YouTube about cake decorating and specially about how to cover a cake with fondant. It seemed quite easy...or at least that's the impression I had!!!. I was very excited and looking forward to start my first cake.
I wanted to get the ready rolled fondant that you can find in almost any grocery store....but when I went for it, it was all gone!!!, so I got 2 packs of 500grs ready to roll fondant and thought it was worth to try and do it all myself.
The cake was ready, the layer of buttercream seemed to be just perfect....how exciting!!!!....then, I rolled the fondant, added the icing sugar so it wouldn't stick to the table....so far so good!!, I placed the fondant carefully on top of the cake and when I was trying to smooth the sides....oops! it cracked and then I had uncovered areas....oooh dear, complete disasterrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!! I have to say, my heart sank!!, the cake looked horrible, impossible to take anywhere. I left it in the kitchen, I needed time to think, how can I fix it?...at first I thought that I could cover it again with another layer of white fondant....but it was going to be too much....then I thought....stripes to cover the sides....and I finally decided to use circles, using fondant as well....
This is the result:

I still need to learn a lot, but to be the very first cake I don't think it's too bad, what do you think?

This is what we had left...

I need to make another cake, for my son's birthday # 2, I already have some ideas, I just hope I'll manage to cover the cake properly!!!.
See you soon! :o)

Christmas biscuits

2010-01-26T21:09:00.010Z

I know should have posted this a bit before Christmas!!
Anyway....here are the biscuits I made :o)

Halloween biscuits....Boo!

2009-11-01T14:48:00.012Z

Halloween is one of those celebrations that mean very little to me, it doesn't really inspire me nor excites me.
I saw in my "Cookie craft" book an idea of a halloween house using boiled candies for the windows that really looked cool, so I got some candies and I tried to do something different myself. At the beginning I was just going to make some circles with candy in the center and some royal icing, but as I was cutting circles I saw a little face taking shape... and I loved it.

Then with an oval cutter I cut more cookies using the orange dough, cut some letters using the green dough and put them together as you see in the following picture, I added candy inside the letters to make them look a bit bloody:

When I had them all ready, I put them in clear bags with orange and black ribbon, they looked great!.

Watermelon biscuits

2009-08-29T00:06:00.005+01:00

One of my friends, who feeds my passion for English pottery, came to visit me with some nice tea cups and saucers the other day, I thought she was selling them to me, but she asked me if she could exchange them for some cookies as she had a gathering coming on....sure!.
I made these watermelon cookies, put them in clear bags and attached a nice label to promote my "sweet art".

They were very tasty and as my friend said afterwards....a complete success! :o)

Cookies with a WOW factor

2009-08-01T22:34:00.017+01:00

I was waiting for another excuse to bake more cookies. There was a birthday coming for someone very special in the family. I showed her all the cookie cutters I had and asked her to choose her favourites. I'm very glad that among them, she picked the ice cream one as I was dying to decorate it!, here's the result.

I had around 3 dozens of cookies to decorate and it took me 5 hours, I loved every single minute of it! yaaaaay!!!!.
I prepared a nice box for her and gave her a dozen of cookies. Then I put others in cute clear bags to give to the other members of the family and friends who went to the party.

These are the other ones I made:

Boats and chicks...

And these cute pigs....OINK!

I used the chocolate roll out cookies recipe that appears in the "Cookie Craft" book and also the royal icing recipe which is really good.

These cookies definately had the WOW factor :o)

Lavender cookies

2009-07-15T19:08:00.010+01:00

After I bought the book "Cookie Craft" I have been thinking and even dreaming about cookies... the book is so inspirational!!!....the photographs, tips, recipes, tricks.....hmmm perfect!, honestly, if you're interested in cookie decoration THIS is the right book.

I was so eager to start using the ideas and techniques from the book that I dashed to get all what I needed, although I forgot the squeeze bottles, more pastry bags and extra nozzles.....which I can't find easily where I live. When I visited a friend the other day I remembered that I saw a pack of 4 sauce bottles in a shop, very cheap, not the perfect ones, but they would definitely help, so I got them. The pastry bags and extra nozzles had to stay in my "wish list" for now. Not to worry :o)

As I got a pack of greeting cards with photographs of lavender, I thought it would be nice to use the same colors for my cookies :

It was great to experiment with royal icing as I have never used it before. It can be tricky, I made some mistakes...that I ate afterwards :o)
I feel that I learnt a lot today and believe me.... I can't wait to decorate more!.

I'll put these in a clear bag with a nice ribbon plus a thank you card (the lavender ones...of course) to a very sweet friend of mine, Jacqueline, who sent me by surprise 5 pots of food coloring paste with a note that said "Happy baking and marzipal modeling"....isn't she nice!?.

Oxfam cookies

2009-07-15T18:55:00.006+01:00

A month ago I needed a 2 tier plate to put some cupcakes I made for a friend's B'day party so I asked Gen (my friend and neighbour) if she had one at the Oxfam's shop whe she works as a volunteer. To my surprise, she came back with a lovely one, in perfect shape, just what I needed. When I asked how much it was, she said that instead of the money, she wanted some nice cookies for a coffee morning at Oxfam. It seemed like a good challenge! I put all my heart in them :o)

"Cookie Craft" fabulous book!!!

2009-07-11T10:37:00.005+01:00

After reading comments about the book "Cookie Craft" and seeing samples of the cookies you can make following very easy steps I got very excited and I bought a copy. I just received it today and believe me, it's a fabulous book! with great pics, great tips, recipes and more.
I recommend this book 100%

I couldn't sleep well last night thinking about all the ideas I have, things I can do with cookies, etc etc.... oh dear I'm going insane!!!!!!!!!!

I just can't wait to decorate cookies!!! :o)

Marzipan Watermelons

2009-07-01T13:36:00.006+01:00

I'm so inspired these days that I'm even dreaming of all the things I can make with marzipan, I keep a mini notepad with me at all times so I can sketch and write my ideas down.

It's been incredibly sunny and hot in England, this is what I call a proper summer ...finally! And there's no summer without watermelons, don't you think?.

So here they are, marzipan watermelon slices!.

I'm still trying to find out how to do the glaze for marzipan, I have seen that some people use corn syrup, but it's not very easy to find. If you know any other glaze recipe please send me an email, I'd really appreciate it!.

Blue cheese biscuits - Happy father's day!

2009-06-20T14:10:00.006+01:00

My husband loves blue cheese so these biscuits + a good bottle of red wine make the perfect present for the perfect daddy :o)
I imagine these make a very good appetizer as well.

I got the recipe from Delicious Magazine:

Ingredients
150g Danish blue cheese, roughly chopped
100g softened unsalted butter, roughly chopped
1 medium egg yolk
100g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
75g quick-cook polenta
1 tsp poppy seeds

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. In a bowl, mash the cheese with a fork. Add the butter and egg yolk and mix together. Sift over the flour, add the polenta and mix into a stiff dough. Shape into a ball, flatten slightly, wrap in cling film and pop into the freezer for 15 minutes to chill.

2. Dust a work surface with a little flour. Roll out the cheese dough to a 5mm thickness. Using a 5cm star-shaped cutter, cut out biscuits and put onto the baking sheets. Re-roll the trimmings to cut out more biscuits, making 30 in total. Sprinkle the biscuits with poppy seeds, pressing them in lightly so they stick. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Maybe you'd like to know that, by the time the biscuits are in the oven, your kitchen will be impregnated with a rancid cheesy smell....opening the windows might help!!!

3. Gift-wrap with a card or label explaining to store in an airtight box and eat within a week.

Nutritional info
Per biscuit: 66kcals, 4.6g fat (2.7g saturated), 1.7g protein, 4.7g carbs, 0.1g sugar, 0.2g salt

Banana cupcakes & marzipan

2009-06-17T14:06:00.008+01:00

As I had some nicely ripen bananas in the kitchen, I decided to make some banana cupcakes....yum!.
My son got chickenpox (I know...this word doesn't really sound good in a baking blog! LOL)...he's been a bit poorly these last days so a cupcake likes this would be a good treat, he loves bananas!.

I found this recipe here, it's the second time I use a recipe from Wilton's, they're very good!!. It would be nice though, if along with the recipe using cup measurements, they added between brackets, the measures in grams.
I have to admit, I was a bit insecure with the ingredient measurements....as I tried the raspberry recipe before and they didn't work very well.

This time I added another teaspoon of baking soda and self raising flour instead of the plain one and it worked very well. Don't know whether the baking soda is more powerful in the US or what...honestly!.
This recipe uses sour cream....what for? I don't know.... do you?...I'd love to know!!!.

I was right next to the oven watching the cupcakes raising beautifully, my heart was shaking just by the thought of seeing them sinking like the Titanic....but they didn't!...well done me!!! :o)
The whole house was smelling like heaven....hmmm!

After the cupcakes were cold I prepared the marzipan to do the garnish:

First, I grabbed a chunk of marzipan and gave it a pale yellow tint using food coloring, then I rolled it in between 2 sheets of baking paper and using a cookie cutter I made a sort of marzipan doilly, placed them on top of the cupcakes and then I made the little wholes with a toothpick.
After this, I grabbed another chunk of marzipan and kneaded it using yellow food coloring. I divided the coloured marzipan into little balls and then started giving shape to the bananas.

This was my first attempt to make marzipan fruits!!.

I placed the bananas on top of the doillies and tried to give them more life colouring the extremes with green and brown food coloring....lots of fun!!!.

These banana cupcakes plus the marzipan taste incredible, give it a try, you won't regret it!!

Marzipan cupcakes

2009-06-08T21:56:00.006+01:00

Months ago, and after seeing a marzipan block at the grocery stores I convinced myself to get it (as if it was too hard! LOL) to do some modelling (and chewing!).
I kept the block in a drawer for ages waiting for the real inspiration to come and it came after I saw a tutorial on how to make cupcake earrings with clay! (I'll try to find the link)..... I thought it would be nice to make cupcakes with marzipan.....and this was the result:

I'm very please with them!! they look very cute and taste fenomenal!, they also make a perfect present and would be an absolute success at a birthday party.

Today I went to visit my friend Fernanda, and I gave her the little marzipan cupcakes I made, she and her daughters loved them, great!.

If you have some good links to marzipan related websites please let me know, I'll appreciate it!.

Cookies

2009-06-03T21:36:00.006+01:00

If I bake something, it's to be shared...otherwise I eat it all and that's not the idea!.

Lastnight I baked some cookies to share with a good friend of mine I visited today, she has 2 little girls so I thought it would be nice to garnish some cookies specially for them and my son.
I used my lemon pie's pastry (although I added one more tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract).

Ingredients (it makes 5 1/2 dozen cookies):
* 1, 1/2 cup of self raising flour
* 2 tbsp of butter (it can be oil instead)
* 3 eggs yolks
* 1 cup of sugar
* 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 C
Place baking paper on the baking tray.
In a large bowl, mix flour, egg yolks, butter (or oil) and 1 cup of sugar until you get a good consistency to knead and give shape with your hands. If it's too dry add a bit of milk.
Sprinkle some flour on the surface you'll work and roll out the dough till you get a 3mm thickness. Use your favourite cookie cutters. Place the cookies on the tray and bake in the oven for 10 minutes or untill light brown.
Take them out of the oven and let them cool.

You can have them just plane or you can garnish them with chocolate, sugar strands or any other edible decoration.

To stick the sugar strands I used egg white powder as it's safer than using raw egg whites.

For the ones dipped in chocolate: I used the chocolate cake covering, 5 squares for this recipe is more than enough.

Enjoy them!!! :o)

Raspberry cupcakes

2009-06-02T15:05:00.006+01:00

After the cupcakes I made for my mother in law, I baked others, also using a ready mix but to be honest, they were not special at all, they didn't have that "yummy" factor... so I had to try making my own from scratch...yes!.
I was looking for easy recipes to start with and I found this one , Raspberry cupcakes....hmm!!

I don't know why, they sank in the middle, could have been too much moisture from the raspberries? if you have an idea of what went wrong here please let me know, I'll really appreciate it :o)

The taste was great, but that hole in the middle didn't look good....I had to save them!...so I melted some chocolate and poured on top, then I garnished with some rainbow white chocolate buttons:

My first cupcakes

2009-06-01T13:55:00.011+01:00

After looking at so many cute cupcakes I decided to give it a go, although I preferred no risks and used a ready mix...not very exciting, I know!.
My mother in law's birthday was coming so I thought it would be nice to bring her something special.
The little cupcakes came out perfect

Using a ready mix might be boring, but I think it's great for beginners like me! and also..... I think it's a very good way to start baking with your children :o)

Okkie....let's go to the next part.....the decoration!....I was soooooo excited about this!....I got all the ingredients for the glaze, writing icing (a bit difficult to write with though), sugar flowers and strands.
It was also my first time preparing icing....which is very easy indeed, but you'll need a couple of attempts to get the desired consistency.

I had a lot of fun decorating the cupcakes and I'm ready to learn more! My mother in law was very pleased, she really enjoyed them :o)

I'll share the recipe I know for the icing:

Ingredients:
* 250 grams icing sugar
* Food coloring
* 2 tbsp of hot water

Method:
In a bowl, put the sugar and add one tablespoon of hot water, stir until you have a creamy consistency, if you need a bit more water, add a teaspoon first and if you still need more, then add another teaspoon.

If you want to use 2 colors of icing, then pour the mix into a couple of bowls only.
Take one bowl (cover the other one) and add a few drops of food coloring, stir well.
For pastel colors only add a few drops of food coloring. The more drops you add, the more intense the color you'll get.

You can use a spoon or a spatula to cover your cupcake with the icing. If you're adding some decorations, like strands, pearls, or others, do it before the icing sets....let's say then, as soon as you've iced your cupcake :o)

This is the basic recipe, you can also add flavour to your icing :o)

Have fun!!!!

Lemon Meringue Pie

2009-05-29T22:56:00.033+01:00

Gosh! I'm salivating just by writing the word "meringue"! :-)

I have to say before to continue, that the only sweet thing I used to prepare were pancakes, and I have really mastered it!....I never get bored making them, but hey, this post is not about pancakes but about the LEMON MERINGUE PIE.
I can't remember who gave me this recipe, I've had it in my computer for a long time, then in 2007, after a year of being in the UK, I was craving for a good, well made lemon meringue pie... because let's be honest, in England you only find the ones that are not particularly baked with love, but the very "chemical ones" as I like to call them, where the filling tastes like anything but lemon and the meringue...oh well, you can imagine.
I found this recipe and decided to give it a try....I saw my sister (who's a very good cook) making one years ago and it didn't seem too complicated so here I was, collecting all the ingredientes.... exciting!.
The best thing of all was that it came out puuuurrrrfect!!!, my first ever lemon meringue pie was a big success

Here's the picture....the decoration is not brilliant, but the taste! oh dear!. Since then, I have baked loads of pies like this and I have improved the meringue a lot.
I'm still working on the decoration,
I think I need a good set of piping nozzles.

Being now very interested and completely in love with cupcakes.....I decided to make some small (cupcake size) lemon meringue pies:

They were very nice, but I think that the pastry was too thick, I'll have to try again.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cup of self raising flour
* 1 tbsp of butter (it can be oil instead)
* 3 eggs
* 1 cup of sugar
* 1 tin of condensed milk
* Zest and juice of 2 lemon

Method:

Pastry:Preheat the oven to 180 C
Lightly grease a round pie plate (including the borders).
In a large bowl, mix flour, egg yolks, butter (or oil) and 1/2 cup of sugar until you get a good consistency to knead and give shape with your hands. If it's too dry add a bit of milk.
Roll out the dough and cover the pie plate with it. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, remove it from the oven, place a circle of baking paper on the pastry shell, covering it all and then put baking beans (these will prevent the patry from rising too much), put back in the over for 10 minutes,
or until it's slightly golden. Take out of the oven.

You can prepare the lemon filling whilst the pastry is baking in the oven.

Lemon filling: Pour the whole tin of condensed milk into a bowl, add little by little the lemon juice while you stir gently (I add aprox one tsp at a time, I stir gently, then another tsp and so on). When you've added all the lemon, add the lemon zest. Cover with a lid or cling film and put it in the fridge.

Meringue: Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until you have a thick and creamy consistency, add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar little by little while still mixing.

Take the lemon filling out of the fridge, put it all in the pastry shell and even with a spoon. Then, cover the pie with the meringue with a spatula. You can give a final decorating touch passing a fork on top or, you can use a piping bag instead. After you've done the decoration, take the pie back to the oven (180 C) for 15 minutes, untill you see the meringue gets slightly golden.

I hope you enjoy it!!

Home SWEET home

2009-05-28T23:02:00.008+01:00

Baking is one of my great passions.

My grandma used to prepare wonderful cakes and all sorts of sweet things to celebrate birthdays in the family, she was a fab cook, very creative. I think I got this love for baking (among other things) from her.
I haven't done too much so far but I'm eager to learn all about it!.
Since my grandma Juanita passed away in July 2007, I have found myself in the kitchen more often, maybe to feel closer to her as I miss her terribly!.

All the wonderful sweet smells that take me straight back to my childhood are the ones of cakes, cookies, sweet bread and so on. I love the cosy and family- loving feeling I get from it, which I want to pass on to my little son Bjorn (whom is already showing signs of a very sweet tooth!).

I want to make of my home, a real "home sweet home" to be enjoyed and always remembered by family and friends.

I'm collecting recipes from everywhere, books, magazines, internet, family and friends, so if you have a special recipe please send it to me and I'll give it a try.
I love recipes from other cultures as well, there is so much to taste!!.

*In this picture: my grandma Juanita at 16 years old.