Saturday 25 February 2012

♥❤ drizzle your shizzle

after being asked for a cake make recommendation
I realised that I haven't blogged one of my
signature cakes
so let's sort that out right now!
lemon drizzle cake

you will need ....

100g softened butter
175g caster sugar
175g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
6 tablespoons of milk
the finely grated zest of a large lemon

for the drizzle ~
75g caster sugar
the juice of the lemon you zested
which should be about 3 tablespoons

preheat your oven to 180c/ gas 4
line and grease a 18x28cm baking tin {or equivalent}
tip all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl
and beat for 2~3 minutes until mixture drops
easily from a spoon
pour into your prepared tin and smooth the top
bake for 30~40 minutes until golden and 
springy to touch
while it's baking mix the sugar and lemon juice 
for your drizzle
when the cake is baked & still hothothot
take a skewer and pierce the cake all over
spoon over the drizzle and leave to cool
it's super lemony treat!



Monday 13 February 2012

❤❥♥♡ love everyday

it may well be Valentine's day tomorrow
but biscuits are delicious any day!
show yourself some loving and get baking
jammy dodgers

you will need ....

225g butter cut into squares
200g flour
100g caster sugar
115g ground almonds
some raspberry jam
icing sugar for dusting

place the butter, flour, ground almonds and sugar
into a food processor and blitz until it
starts to leave the sides and becomes
dough like
wrap in film and chill, preferably overnight:
preheat your oven to 140c/ gas 3
line some baking sheets with baking paper

half the dough, keeping the other half in the 
fridge for now
dust the side with flour and roll out the dough
using a 5cm cutter, cut out your dodger bases
put them onto a lined tray and bake for
30 minutes until golden
meanwhile, roll out the other half of dough
cut the out the rounds then cut out little
heart shapes in the centres
put them onto your baking trays {and the little
heart shapes too}
and put in the fridge until you are ready to bake them
for 30 minutes until golden
cool on a wire rack
when they are cooled 
dust the tops with icing sugar
put some raspberry jam into a bowl and mix until smooth
spread a little jam in the centre of the bases
and sandwich with the heart shaped tops
share with those you love!
we sandwiched the little heart centres together 
with nutella for a double treat!

Monday 6 February 2012

☃ oh la la

we had a fall of snow over the weekend
and it's still on the ground:
enough for us to stay home today and get baking:

ever since our holiday in France last year,
I have been trying to find a tin to make
those delicious small lemon scented
cakes called madeleines:
but rummaging in my cake tin drawer
I rediscovered this old tin:
it once belonged to the mother of a friend
of my mummy's:
he gave it to me years ago:
it is shallow enough to make madeleines
although not their usual cute shell shape:

this recipe is a mix of the many recipes 
I found online: 
so simple!

 madeleines with a hint of lemon

you will need .....
{makes around 24 small cakes}

2 eggs
75g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
100g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
the juice and zest of half a lemon
a scant few drops of vanilla extract

put the butter into a saucepan or microwave
 and heat gently until melted:
in a large bowl mix the eggs and sugar
add the grated lemon zest, juice and vanilla
then stir in the melted butter
sift in the flour and baking powder
and mix gently
it will be quite runny at this point:
cover with a teatowel and leave for at least an hour:
{there is a science part to that, something to do with gluten}

preheat the oven to 190c/ gas 5
brush your tin with melted butter and dust with flour:
spoon cake mixture into the tin
until 3/4 full
bake for ten minutes until risen and lightly golden:
remove from the tin and cool:
dust with icing sugar 
and enjoy with a good cup of tea or coffee:
slightly crisp on the outside and feather light inside:
these can be dunked too!
{keep in an airtight tin}

Saturday 4 February 2012

⌊⌋winter boost

this cold snap has me reaching for snacks 
to go with hot cups of tea:
always on the look out for new recipes
I was pleased to find this one from 
Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall:
packed with good stuff and still tasty:

honey peanut butter bars

you will need ....
125g butter
150g soft brown sugar
125g crunchy peanut butter {we use whole earth as it has NO sugar!}
75g runny honey
grated zest of a lemon and/or orange
200g porridge oats
150g dried fruits {we used apricots, cranberries & raisins}
150g mixed seeds {we used pumpkin, sesame & sunflower}

preheat your oven to 160c/ gas 3
line and grease a 20cm square baking tin
{or equivalent}
put the butter, sugar, peanut butter, honey 
and grated zest into a saucepan 
and melt on a low heat:
stir in the oats, most of the seeds
and dried fruits and mix until combined:

smooth the top and sprinkle with the rest
of the seeds:
drizzle with a little more honey
and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden:
leave to cool completely then turn out
and cut into squares:
will keep for 5-7 days in an airtight tin:
if they last that long!