☃ 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}

⌊⌋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!

∩∪ lemon lover's dream

I always check the marked down fruit and veg

section in the supermarket:

yesterday a bag of lemons for 40 pence:

usually I will make lemonade

or lemon drizzle cake

but seeing as the lovely loulouloves

gave us a jar of lemon curd

then this seems the way to go!

{recipe from Annie Bell's gorgeous cakes}

rich lemon curd sponge

you will need ....

for the cake ~

225g unsalted butter

225g caster sugar

225g self raising flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

grated zest and juice of a lemon

4 eggs

50ml double cream {or milk}

2 tablespoons dark rum {optional}

topping ~ 

juice of a lemon mixed with 50g caster sugar

filling ~

lemon curd ~ bought or homemade 

preheat the oven to 170°c/ gas 5

line and grease a 20cm round springform cake tin

put all the cake ingredients into a food processor 

and blitz until smooth and light

dollop the mix into your prepared tin

and bake for 50 ~ 55 minutes until

golden {skewer test the centre!}

while the cake is still hot, spoon over the

sugar and lemon juice drizzle topping

leave to cool ~ leave it to be very cool

{unlike me Ms Impatient, so my cake

cracked when I did this next step!}

slit the sponge in half using a bread knife

and spread the lower half with lemon curd

sandwich together and slice:

it's a delicious thing indeed

and could be served as a dessert:

you could mix the lemon curd with mascarpone for

added luxury!

☖☗ it's a new year

before Christmas I had a conversation about

bought gingerbread and pre-formed 

gingerbread houses:

'oh no' said my friend Anna

'I'll send you a recipe and you'll never eat

shop bought again!'

true to her word ~ she sent me this ☟

then we saw this on the fabulous

photojojo twitter feed:

so after some googling to convert dls to mls

 we made the gingerbread,

cut out the shapes

baked them

{ate the trimmings}

got out the icing bag and made this ☟

a gingerbread camera!

happy new year to all you cake {and camera} lovers

♔ slice of heaven

always on the look for a new recipe

I found this one by Annie Bell

in her book gorgeous cakes:

yes they are gorgeous!

think we will be making a few more from the book

paradise slice

you will need ....

for the shortbread base ~ 

175g butter

75g caster sugar

150g plain flour

100g almonds

finely grated zest of an orange or lemon

120g raspberry jam

for the sponge ~

110g butter

150g caster sugar

150g dessicated coconut

75g ground almonds

1 teaspoon baking powder

110g sultanas {I left these out!}

4 eggs

put all the ingredients for the shortbread into 

a food processor and keep running until

it comes together into a ball

press the dough into the base of a 30x23cm 

non stick baking tray {or similar}

to smooth out place a piece of clingfilm

on top and use the back of a spoon

chill in the fridge for an hour

preheat the oven to 140°c/gas 3

prick the base all over then bake for

25-30 minutes until just beginning to brown

leave to cool

increase oven temperature to 170°c/ gas 5

spread the jam over you base

put butter and sugar into the processor

and cream until fluffy

add the eggs one and a time

in a large bowl weigh out the coconut, almonds,

baking powder & sultanas {if using}

pour in the butter/sugar/egg mixture 

and fold gently

pour onto your shortbread base and 

bake for 25-30 minutes until the 

sponge is set and the top is golden

leave to cool then cut into slices

makes around 16 slices

paradise indeed:

☽☾ old recipes revisited

it's good to go back to old favourites when baking: 

there's comfort in those tried and tasted:

my first blog post was for banana teabread: 

it never fails!

today I thought I'd lighten it up and add some

extra flavours:

more of a cake this time:

see what you think

banana pecan cake

you will need ....

3 ripe bananas ~ mashed

240g plain flour

150g caster sugar

125g butter ~ softened

100g pecans

2 eggs ~ lightly beaten

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 generous teaspoon vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

a few spoonfuls of desiccated coconut

preheat the oven to 180°c/ 350°f

line and grease a 1kg loaf tin

cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy light

add the eggs very gradually mixing well between

stir in vanilla extract, mashed bananas and pecans

sift in the flour, salt and baking powder

{this is where I realised I should have used a larger bowl!}

dollop into your prepared tin, smoothing the top

then sprinkle with coconut

bake for 1 hour, testing for doneness!

cool on a wire rack

keeps in a tin for days

{if it lasts that long}

❧ a taste of autumn

it's a good thing when you are given

windfall fruits:

time to bake and create:

some of you may remember this recipe ~

pear and chocolate cake:

this is a new and less fiddly version:

it's a winner:

you will need ....

115g butter {slightly softened}

100g caster sugar

60g melted chocolate

60ml milk

3 eggs ~ lightly beaten

125g plain flour

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 or 2 pears, sliced

preheat your oven to 180°c / gas 4:

line and prepare a 20cm square cake tin

cream together the sugar and butter

either by hand or with a mixer

until light and fluffy:

add the eggs a little at a time

mixing well between:

stir in the melted chocolate & milk:

then sift in the flour, baking and cocoa powders:

try not to over mix at this point:

pour into your prepared tin

and adorn with the slices of pear:

bake for 30~35 minutes until firm to the touch:

cool on a rack:

as you can see, I didn't peel the pears

as the skin is soft and good:

deliciously moist and chocolatey:

proper autumn comfort: