Simnel Cake

I don't normally make a Simnel Cake, my husband dislikes fruit cake and marzipan, and my girls have never asked if we could bake one.  A friend asked me to bake one to take on her regular visit to an aged care home as one of the residents mentioned they would really like a piece of Simnel Cake over Easter.  I used my usual fruit cake recipe, spiced slightly differently.

Simnel Cake

175g caster sugar

175g butter
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 2 tsp vanilla extract

225g plain flour

3 medium free range eggs

1 tsp ground mixed spice

500g mixed dried fruit

50g glace cherries, finely chopped

1 or 2 Tblsp milk
250g marzipan

Preheat your oven to 150C/130C Fan.  Grease and double line a 7 inch/18cm cake tin.

Knead the marzipan on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar for a couple of minutes until it softens and is pliable.  Divide the marzipan into three, cut two 18cm/7inch diameter circles then divide the third portion into 11 and roll into small balls.  Cover the prepared marzipan with clingfilm and refrigerate or set aside until needed.  

Next make the cake.  Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, add a tablespoon of flour with each egg, beating well after each addition.  Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl and add the dried fruit.  Make sure that the dried fruit is coated in flour.  Gently but thoroughly mix the fruit and flour into the creamed mixture, add the milk if the mixture seems too stiff.

Put half of the mixture into your prepared tin.  Place one 18cm/7inch circle of marzipan on top of the mixture.  Carefully put the rest of the cake mixture into the tin and level the top.

Put the cake into the preheated oven and bake for 2 hours to 2 and a half hours until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin.

Once the cake has cooled preheat your grill to a moderately high heat.  Not maximum heat or the marzipan will burn instead of toast.  Heat some jam in the microwave or a small saucepan until it is runny, I used about 3 tablespoons of jam.  Brush this over the top of the cake then place the marzipan circle on top.  Use a little jam to adhere the 11 balls of marzipan to the marzipan disc.  Place the cake under the grill for a few minutes until the marzipan toasts slightly.  Do keep a close eye on the cake under the grill, it can burn very quickly if not watched carefully.  Once the cake has cooled you can tie a ribbon around the middle if you want.  

My daughters decided to decorate the top marzipan disc by rolling it over a patterned icing mat to make a diamond pattern. This was done before the final grill process.  Once the cake had cooled they decorated it further by putting sugar flowers and micro Easter eggs on top.

3 comments Basics, Cakes, Easter, RBoK

Brioche Hot Cross Buns

I decided to make a brioche version of Hot Cross Buns because my daughters repeatedly asked me to.  These Brioche Hot Cross Buns are rich and buttery and packed with fruit, perfect with a cuppa or lightly toasted and smothered with butter and eaten for breakfast.  

Now I do like Brioche but it is a right faff to make and most recipes take an age and require overnight chilling of the dough in the fridge.  I don't have the time for that faff so I used my speedier version.  

Brioche Hot Cross Buns

450g strong white bread flour

50g caster sugar

1/4 tsp salt

100g unsalted butter,diced

90 ml warm water

7g sachet active yeast

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

2 medium free-range eggs

200g dried fruit, we used seedless raisins 

Put the flour, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre.

Add the yeast to the water then whisk in the eggs and vanilla bean paste. Pour this mixture into the flour and mix until a rough dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough for 10 – 15 minutes by hand, or knead for 7 – 10 minutes in a stand mixer with a dough hook, until it becomes soft and elastic.

Put the kneaded dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with cling film then leave dough to prove until doubled in size. 

Once risen, remove the dough from the bowl and knock it back to its original size. Knead in the dried fruit until evenly distributed throughout the dough.  Divide the mixture into 12 portions and shape each into a ball.

Grease a 12 hole muffin tin and place a dough ball into each hole.  Cover with creased clingfilm and leave to prove again in a warm place for 45 minutes.  Whilst the buns are rising, preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas Mark 4.  Remove the cling film then carefully pipe a cross onto the top of each of the buns.  

Top the Hot Cross Buns with crosses made by combining:

1/4 cup/40g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder 

1 Tblsp butter

2 or 3 Tblsp of water

I make the crosses mixture whilst the buns are rising. Mix the butter with some hot water so that it melts and combines. Leave for about 10 minutes to cool and then mix into the flour and baking powder.

The mixture needs to be soft enough to be piped but not too runny, add a little extra flour or water to if necessary to get a good consistency. If you haven't got a piping bag, put the mixture into a plastic bag, squeeze it down to one corner then snip a tiny bit off the corner of the bag. Squeeze the mix through the hole making crosses on the top of each bun.

Bake the buns in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Leave the swirls in the tin until cool enough to handle then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.  

1 comment Basics, Bread, Easter, Snack, Snacks

Chocolate Mud and Caramel Easter Cake

This Easter Waitrose are encouraging people to be ‘Good Eggs’.  During the Easter school holidays, Waitrose are asking people to share their Easter photos on social media - from all the delicious food they’re enjoying to fun Easter egg hunts with the kids – using the hashtag #GoodEgg to support Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.

Throughout the initiative, Waitrose will be surprising and delighting lucky participants with Easter gifts, including Heston’s Golden Easter Eggs, hampers, cases of wine, Waitrose vouchers and Waitrose Cookery School vouchers.

Waitrose will also be making a charitable donation to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, as well as delivering chocolate eggs for the children to enjoy at their Easter party.

For ideas, inspiration and recipes, Waitrose have created a dedicated Easter section online to help you plan the perfect Easter and have a Kids Easter ideas page here which has step by step guides to creating your own DIY Easter eggs and other edible Easter treats.

I decided to bake a 4 layer Chocolate Mud and Caramel Easter Cake which my children dubbed the Epic Easter Cake when they saw it after they had arrived home from school and spied the cake on our kitchen counter.

The cake is best served in thin slices as it is very rich and a proper sugar rush.  I was thankful that the weather was good as I sent the kids outside to play after taste testing as it was like rocket fuel as an after school snack.

Chocolate Mud Easter Cake

225g butter, cubed

360g dark chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Green and Blacks)

165g light soft brown sugar

180ml water

150g plain flour

35g self raising flour

2 Tblsp cocoa powder

2 medium free range eggs

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan.  Grease and line a 22cm/9 inch cake tin, ensuring the paper comes 2 inches/5cm above the top edge of the cake tin.

Combine the butter, chocolate, sugar and water in a saucepan over a low heat.  Stir until mixture is smooth.  Cool this mixture until it reaches room temperature.  Mix in the flours, cocoa and eggs.  

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until cake is cooked and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Cool the cake in the tin for 15 minutes to half an hour before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

Split the cake horizontally into 4 layers. Alternate ganache and caramel between layers, finishing with ganache on the top of the cake.

Chocolate Ganache

300g dark chocolate, I used Green and Blacks

200ml double cream

Put the cream in a saucepan over a moderate heat. Heat until almost boiling, remove from the heat and stir through the chocolate until a smooth mixture forms. Leave the ganache to cool until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

Caramel

50g butter or margarine

50g light muscavado sugar

1 x 397g tin condensed milk

Measure the butter and sugar into a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Add the condensed milk and stir until completely combined.  Bring the mixture to the boil.  As soon as the mixture boils turn the heat right down so the mixture simmers very slowly.  Ensure you stir the mixture continuously.  Heat for about 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens slightly. Pour into a bowl and leave to cool until it is a spreadable consistency.  

I've had feedback from a couple of people who have baked the cake recipe above that the cake didn't rise enough and they couldn't cut it into layers.  I tested the above recipe three times before blogging it and it worked fine for me each time, including for my 12yo's birthday.  In an effort to ensure that everyone who wants to bake a cake like this can do so, here's another chocolate cake recipe which I have baked more than a dozen times that should be fail safe.  

Chocolate Layer Cake

200g self raising flour

50g cocoa powder

125g softened butter

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 2 tsp vanilla extract

275g caster sugar

2 large free range eggs

160ml lukewarn water

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan.  Grease and line a 22cm/9 inch cake tin, ensuring the paper comes 2 inches/5cm above the top edge of the cake tin.

Put all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat with a stand mixer or electric hand held beaters until mixture is smooth.  Beat for 3 to 5 minutes until the mixture is lighter in colour.  Pour mixture in to prepared cake tin and level the top.  

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until cake is cooked and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Cool the cake in the tin for 15 minutes to half an hour before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

Split the cake horizontally into 4 layers. Alternate ganache and caramel between layers, finishing with ganache on the top of the cake.

** I was compensated for my time and expertise devising this recipe for Waitrose **

9 comments Basics, Cakes, Easter, Sweets, Vegetarian

Apple and Fudge Hot Cross Buns

I always make our Hot Cross Buns and enjoy tinkering with flavours to make even tastier buns.  This time I decided to make Apple and Fudge Hot Cross Buns, they were delicious and very moreish.

My children took them to school as their baked treat and I did have several kids and parents asking for the buns or the recipe so they were rather popular.

Apple and Fudge Hot Cross Buns

This recipe makes 12 Hot Cross Buns.

250ml/1 cup warm water

2 Tblsp caster sugar

1 sachets instant yeast 

375g/2.5 cups plain flour

2 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

80g bag small fudge chunks

100g dried apple, chopped finely

25 g softened butter

1 free range egg

You can make these buns by hand or using a stand mixer.  

Stir the water and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, add the instant yeast and mix in the dried fruit, then make a well in the centre. 

Pour in the water, add the eggs and the softened butter. Mix until combined with a wooden spoon and then turn out onto a floured bench and knead the dough lightly. 

This is a fairly moist dough so add extra flour if you need to during the kneading process. Knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes until it’s smooth.

Or put all the dry ingredients and the dried fruit mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. 

Start the stand mixer on a low speed to mix the dry ingredients before slowly adding the water, eggs and softened butter. Knead on a low speed until everything is well combined and then knead for 10 minutes until the dough is soft and smooth.

Put the dough into a greased bowl and cover with greased cling film. Leave in a warm place till dough doubles in size, this should take around 45 minutes. 

I usually leave the dough to rise in my stand mixer as it has a handy plastic cover that seals the bowl and provides the perfect place for the dough to rise. Be careful though, if you leave the dough to rise for too long it may overflow your mixer bowl.

Once the dough has risen, knock it back and then give it a quick knead. Divide the dough into 12 portions and shape into buns. Put the shaped bunnies onto a greased oven tray and cover with the greased cling film. Leave them to rise for around half an hour, whilst your oven preheats to 200C, and until they’ve doubled in size.

Top the Hot Cross Buns with crosses made by combining:

1/4 cup/40g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder 

1 Tblsp butter

2 or 3 Tblsp of water

I make the crosses mixture whilst the buns are rising. Mix the butter with some hot water so that it melts and combines. Leave for about 10 minutes to cool and then mix into the flour and baking powder.

The mixture needs to be soft enough to be piped but not too runny, add a little extra flour or water to if necessary to get a good consistency. If you haven't got a piping bag, put the mixture into a plastic bag, squeeze it down to one corner then snip a tiny bit off the corner of the bag. Squeeze the mix through the hole making crosses on the top of each bun.

Bake the buns at 200°C for 15 minutes then brush with sugar glaze and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until they are a deep golden brown.

To make the Sugar Glaze dissolve 2 Tbsp Sugar in ¼ cup (60ml) warm water.

Cool the Hot Cross Buns on a wire rack and then either eat them, give them to friends or freeze them for later in a sealed, airtight bag.

1 comment Basics, Bread, Easter, Snack, Snacks, Vegetarian

Easter Cookies

I was asked by the lovelies at Sainsbury's to share an Easter recipe that other families could bake and enjoy together.  I of course asked my family what they would like to bake and after much debate it was decided that we would bake cookies.

I used my standard cookie recipe and added spice and raisins for an Easter twist.  The recipe makes 50 cookies, you can easily halve the recipe should you not need/want to bake so many.  The cookies are delicious, great for having with a cuppa or as a lunchbox treat and a welcome gift for friends or for sharing at coffee mornings.  My team of taste testers on the school run, along with a few teachers, declared them to be delicious and very tasty indeed.  Result!

Easter Cookies

Makes 50, recipe easily halved

225g unsalted butter, softened

330g caster sugar

2 large free range eggs

1 dollop vanilla bean paste or 2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp ground mixed spice

370g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

200g seedless raisins

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F.  Line a few oven trays with non-stick baking paper.  

Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy in a large bowl.  Add the eggs one at a time, along with 2 tablespoons of flour with each egg, and beat well after each addition.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix until completely combined.  Stir through the raisins so they are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Place heaped teaspoonfuls on your prepared trays, allow room for the cookies to spread.  Bake in the preheated oven for 12 - 15 minutes until the cookies are starting to turn golden brown around the edges.  Once baked, cool the cookies on the trays for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack until completely cool.  Store in an airtight container.

* I was compensated for my time and expertise creating this recipe **

Leave a Comment Basics, Biscuits, Easter, RBoK, Vegetarian

Not Cross Bunnies

We always make our own Hot Cross Buns every Easter.  They are so easy to make and taste much better than shop bought ones.  I bake them in bulk because they make great treats for friends and are also most welcome at coffee mornings.  You can bake these at any time of year, just leave off the crosses.  

For a bit of fun we decided to shape the buns into bunnies.  It was lots of fun, the buns kind of look like bunnies, they were very tasty indeed.

You can make these Not Cross Bunnies by hand or use a stand mixer.  If you want to make normal Hot Cross Buns just shape the dough portions into buns instead of bunnies.

Not Cross Bunnies

This recipe makes 10 bunnies or 12 Hot Cross Buns.

250ml/1 cup warm water

2 Tblsp caster sugar

1 sachets instant yeast 

375g/2.5 cups plain flour

2 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

150g mixed dried fruit or seedless raisins

25 g softened butter

1 free range egg

Stir the water and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, add the instant yeast and mix in the dried fruit, then make a well in the centre. 

Pour in the water, add the eggs and the softened butter. Mix until combined with a wooden spoon and then turn out onto a floured bench and knead the dough lightly. 

This is a fairly moist dough so add extra flour if you need to during the kneading process. Knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes until it’s smooth.

Or put all the dry ingredients and the dried fruit mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. 

Start the stand mixer on a low speed to mix the dry ingredients before slowly adding the water, eggs and softened butter. Knead on a low speed until everything is well combined and then knead for 10 minutes until the dough is soft and smooth.

Put the dough into a greased bowl and cover with greased cling film. Leave in a warm place till dough doubles in size, this should take around 45 minutes. 

I usually leave the dough to rise in my stand mixer as it has a handy plastic cover that seals the bowl and provides the perfect place for the dough to rise. Be careful though, if you leave the dough to rise for too long it may overflow your mixer bowl.

Once the dough has risen, knock it back and then give it a quick knead. Divide the dough into 12 portions and shape 10 of them into bunnies.  Use the other 2 portions for the bunny tails.  

To shape the bunnies, first roll each dough portion into a long sausage.  Form the dough into a U shape, twist the dough twice at the bottom leaving two bunny ears at the top.  Place a small ball of dough in the bottom loop for a bunny tail. 

Put the shaped bunnies onto a greased oven tray and cover with the greased cling film. Leave them to rise for around half an hour, whilst your oven preheats to 200C, and until they’ve doubled in size.

Bake the buns at 200°C for 15 minutes then brush with sugar glaze and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until they are a deep golden brown.

To make the Sugar Glaze dissolve 2 Tbsp Sugar in ¼ cup (60ml) warm water.

Cool the Not Cross Bunnies on a wire rack and then either eat them, give them to friends or freeze them for later in a sealed, airtight bag.

Leave a Comment Basics, Bread, Easter, Snack, Snacks, Vegetarian

Delicious Hot Cross Buns - thrifty and tasty!

 

I decided to try out yet another variation of my Hot Cross Bun recipe as I wanted a rich and flavoursome bun packed with fruit which was inexpensive and easy to make.  Basically I wanted a Hot Cross Bun that would give the supermarket premium brand buns a run for their money but cost much less than posh store bought buns.  These buns cost £1.47 for ingredients to bake a dozen, energy costs to bake them would of course be extra.  Asda and Sainsbury's sell their premium Hot Cross Buns for £1.35 per 4 pack, Tesco Finest are on offer for £1.20 (was £1.70) for a 4 pack and Waitrose Richly Fruited Hot Cross Buns are £1.59 for a 4 pack.

This means that the cost of baking this batch of 12 Hot Cross Buns is about the same as buying only 4 buns from a supermarket premium range.  You don't have to be a master baker to make them either, just make sure the milk isn't hotter than 38C and that you knead the dough well until it is springy and elastic. That's all there is to it! You don't need a stand mixer, you can make them by hand.  Kids love kneading and shaping the dough, great for keeping them amused in the holidays.

You could add some peeled and finely chopped eating apple for extra fruit content or use a mixture of sultanas and dried apricots for a slightly different flavour.  My kids aren't fans of mixed peel so I normally leave it out and add some orange or lemon zest instead.

Delicious Hot Cross Buns

180ml milk, lukewarm 10p

4 tsp instant dry yeast 20p

75g sugar 6p

3 medium free range eggs 48p

125ml vegetable oil 15p

560g plain flour 18p

finely grated zest of an orange (optional)

3/4 tsp salt 1p

1 tsp mixed spice 1p

160g sultanas or raisins 18p

If you're using a stand mixer: Measure all of the dough ingredients, except the dried fruit, into the bowl of your mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix the dough on a low speed until it comes together, then increase the speed a little.  Knead for about 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.  

If making by hand: Measure the ingredients, except for the dried fruit, into a large bowl.  Stir the ingredients with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.  Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead  until smooth and elastic.  Don't be tempted to add too much flour to the work surface or it will dry the dough out too much.  

Once your dough is smooth and elastic, knead through the dried fruit, either in the mixer or by hand.  Transfer the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave for rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for a minute to knock the dough back.  Divide the dough evenly into 12 pieces, ours weighed about 100g each.  Shape each piece into a ball and put onto a lined baking tray, leave a little space between them as they will be left to rise again.  Cover the baking tray with greased cling film and leave the buns to rise for another 45 minutes.

Crosses

3 Tblsp plain flour 1p

2 Tblsp cold water

Mix together the flour and water until a smooth paste forms then transfer to a piping bag, If you don't have a piping bag don't worry, just use a plastic sandwich bag and snip a small piece off one corner.  Pipe crosses on the buns.

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan.  Uncover the buns and pipe on the crosses.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until they are are cooked through and a dark caramel colour on top.  Quickly make the glaze whilst the buns are still hot from the oven.

Glaze

110g sugar 9p

50ml water

Put the sugar and water in a saucepan over a medium heat.  Heat gently, stirring constantly, until all the sugar has dissolved and a thin syrup has formed.  Brush this mixture over the buns, until it has all been used. Let the buns cool completely so the glaze can set.

8 comments Basics, Bread, Easter, Snacks

Iced Easter Swirls

Flora recently got in touch to see if I could come up with a recipe for them, so I decided to try baking with Flora Cuisine. It’s like liquid margarine so it’s easy to mix into baking and you can measure it in grams or mls depending on the recipe.  It's great if you’re keeping an eye on your saturated fat intake because Flora Cuisine contains 85% less than butter.

Iced Easter Swirls

450g white bread flour

1 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

55g sugar, I used golden caster

1/2 tsp salt

30g Flora Cuisine

180ml lukewarm water

2 free range eggs, lightly beaten

Filling:

15g Flora Cuisine

1/3 cup light soft brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

100g marzipan, finely diced

1 handful sultanas

1 handful dried apricots, finely diced

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl if making by hand, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt.

Mix the milk, Flora Cuisine and egg together.  Pour into the flour mixture and mix until a soft dough forms.  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, this usually takes 5 - 7 minutes in a stand mixer or around 10 minutes if kneading by hand.

Put the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove until doubled in size, this took about an hour in a warm kitchen.

Preheat your oven to 190C/170C Fan.  Line an oven tray with non-stick baking paper.

Knock the dough back and roll it out on a well floured surface to a rectangle approximately 40cm x 30cm.

Brush the dough with the Flora Cuisine.  Put the light soft brown sugar and mixed spice in a jar and screw on the lid.  Shake to mix then sprinkle over the dough followed by the marzipan, sultanas and dried apricots.

Roll up the dough like a Swiss roll then cut the dough log in to 8 - 10 equal pieces.  Put the slices of dough fairly close to each other on the baking tray cut side up.  Cover with greased cling film and allow to rise for 20 - 30 minutes before removing the cling film and baking the buns in the preheated oven.

Bake the buns for 15 - 20 minutes.  Once the buns are cooked and golden remove them from the tray and leave to cool completely.  Drizzle with a little icing made with icing sugar and water.

Disclosure: I have been paid for the time spent creating and photographing this recipe featuring Flora Cuisine

7 comments Bread, Easter, Snacks

Chocolate Almond Easter Cake

This cake is not for the faint hearted.  Yes, I know I am meant to be resting and I did rest after my baking session.  It is my husband's birthday in a couple of days and he wanted a full on chocolate cake that was rich and flavourful.  I added chocolate mini eggs to the top of the cake for an Easter theme, and yet more chocolate, and used Green and Blacks Organic Maya Gold Dark Chocolate for the ganache which added another level of flavour with a little spice.  Hubby was very happy indeed, he may have had more than a couple of pieces in the interests of proper taste testing.  My 3 girls liked the cake too, as did our neighbours who were also drafted in as taste testers.

Chocolate Almond Easter Cake

300g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks

250g Butter, diced

1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

4 free range eggs

110g caster sugar

150g self raising flour

70g ground almonds

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan.  Grease and line a 20cm springform cake tin.

Combine the chocolate and butter in a bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water.  Stir until melted together, smooth and glossy.  Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

Using electric beaters or a stand mixer, beat the vanilla, eggs, sugar together for 5 minutes until  pale and thickened.  Reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly add the cooled chocolate mixture.  Sift over the flour and ground almonds then gently fold in until completely combined.

Pour the mixture into your prepared cake tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Set the cake aside to cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache

300g dark chocolate, I used Green and Blacks Organic Maya Gold

200ml double cream

Put the cream in a saucepan over a moderate heat.  Heat until almost boiling, remove from the heat and stir through the chocolate until a smooth mixture forms.  Leave the ganache to cool until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

I am entering this cake into the following blog challenges this month:

We Should Cocoa created by Chocolate Log blog and hosted this month by Rachel Cotterill, the theme is Easter

Love Cake hosted by JibberJabberUK, the theme is Springing into Easter

Let's Cook Sweet Treats for Easter hosted by Simply Food

Just one more photo to tempt you to try baking this cake!

14 comments Cakes, Easter, Party, Vegetarian

Chocolate Hot Cross Buns with Hidden Easter Eggs

Another of my Easter baking experiments has been tinkering with my Hot Cross Buns recipe.  I always bake large batches of traditionally flavoured Hot Cross Buns, although I do leave out the mixed peel, and they are rapidly devoured by family and friends.

I decided, mainly because my chocoholic husband nagged requested, to try making Chocolate Hot Cross Buns.  My daughters suggested hiding an Easter Egg inside and a new recipe idea was born.  The crosses on the top of the buns were piped on using a simple icing sugar and water icing, much easier than piping a dough cross on the top and it looks much tidier too.  We used a mixture of mini Creme Eggs and mini caramel filled Easter Eggs to hide in the Hot Cross Buns.

Chocolate Hot Cross Buns with Hidden Easter Eggs

450g strong white bread flour

50g butter, diced

30g caster sugar

½ teaspoon salt

20g cocoa powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

7g sachet dry yeast

250ml milk, lukewarm (I used semi-skimmed)

1 free range egg, lightly beaten

10 – 12 mini Easter Eggs

Put the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Add the sugar, salt, cocoa, cinnamon and yeast.  Stir to combine.  Make a well in centre and add the milk and egg.  Mix until a soft dough forms.  Knead the dough for 5 minutes in a stand mixer, the dough is wet and sticky so difficult to knead by hand.  Transfer the kneaded dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave to prove for an hour or until doubled in size.

Knock the dough back and knead for a couple of minutes on a lightly floured surface.  Divide into 10 – 12 equal portions.  Place a mini Easter Egg into the middle of each portion of dough.  Draw up the dough around it and shape into a smooth ball.  Put all the balls of dough onto a lined baking tray.  Cover with clingfilm an leave to prove for 30 minutes or until almost doubled in size.  Whilst the buns are proving preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan.

Once proved, uncover the buns and bake for 10 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 180C/160C Fan and bake the buns for a further 20 minutes.  Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mix a little icing sugar with a little water and pipe crosses on to the top of each bun.

I'm linking this recipe with the Get Your Craft On Challenge, a fab monthly craft event, hosted this month by Missie Lizzie over on Me and My Shadow. The theme this month is Chicks and Eggs, perfect for Easter planning!

7 comments Basics, Bread, Easter, Party, Snacks

Hidden Easter Egg Cupcakes

Easter is on the horizon and I have been planning my baking and experimenting, creating new tasty treats to devour.

Cupcakes are great for tailoring to occasions as they are so versatile in both flavourings and decoration options.  I decided to hide an Easter egg inside each cupcake, and also top them with some mini eggs for a full on chocolate hit.

The cupcakes were enthusiastically devoured by my husband and children.  A word of warning, there is A LOT of chocolate in the cupcakes and they are like rocket fuel. A trip to the park to burn off the sugar rush was essential yesterday afternoon.

Hidden Easter Egg Cupcakes

150g butter, softened

165g light soft brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 free range eggs

150g self-raising flour

50g cocoa powder

180ml natural yoghurt
10 – 12 mini Easter Eggs

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan.  Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.

Use electric beaters to cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gently but thoroughly fold in the flour, cocoa powder and yoghurt until completely combined.

Spoon two-thirds of the mixture evenly into the paper cases.  Gently press a mini caramel Easter Egg or Creme Egg half way into the mixture in each paper case.  Divide the remaining mixture between the paper cases, ensuring the Easter Egg is completely covered by cupcake batter.  The paper cases will be fairly full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, the top of each cupcake should spring back when lightly pressed.  Cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pipe or spread chocolate buttercream over the top of the cupcakes and garnish with chocolate mini eggs if you wish.

I'm linking this recipe with the Get Your Craft On Challenge, a fab monthly craft event, hosted this month by Missie Lizzie over on Me and My Shadow.  The theme this month is Chicks and Eggs, perfect for Easter planning!

5 comments Basics, Cakes, Easter, Party, Sweets

Easy Easter and Spring Baking

I know it is early March but Easter will be upon us before we know it.  Should you have cake stalls, parties or Easter festivities to bake for - fear not! Here are my top Easter recipes to make and bake. 

Cupcakes

These can be decorated any way you like!  We baked and decorated some cupcakes yesterday afternoon after school with a spring theme.

110g butter or margarine, softened

110g caster sugar

2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

110g self-raising flour

1-2 Tblsp milk

For the buttercream:

140g butter, softened

280g icing sugar

1-2 Tblsp milk

food colouring

Preheat your oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs a little at a time whilst continuously beating then add the vanilla extract.  Adding the egg whilst continuously beating the mixture should help it emulsify and not curdle.  If the mixture does start to curdle, add a tablespoonful or two of flour and this will stabilise the mixture whilst you add the rest of the egg.  Fold in the flour, add a little milk until the mixture drops easily off a spoon.  Spoon the mixture evenly into the paper cases.

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into the centre of one of the cakes comes out clean.  Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the buttercream icing:

Beat the butter in a large bowl until pale and soft.  Add the icing sugar a little at a time to avoid a dust storm of icing sugar.  One all the icing sugar has been incorporated add one tablespoon of milk and beat until smooth and creamy.  If the buttercream icing is a little too thick add another tablespoon of milk.  Add food colouring and mix until the icing is an even colour.  Pipe or spread the icing on to your cupcakes.

Chocolate Easter Nests

This recipe is brilliant for baking with kids, perfect for Easter cake stalls or parties.  You can use cornflakes instead of rice krispies if you like or a mixture of both.

2 cups rice krispies or cornflakes

200g milk or dark chocolate broken into chunks

Coconut threads/shredded coconut

Yellow food colouring

Chocolate mini Easter eggs

Mix a few drops of yellow food colouring with water until you have the shade of yellow that you want.  Gradually add the food colouring mix to the coconut threads and stir until the coconut threads have absorbed the colour but are not wet.

Break the chocolate into pieces and put in a bowl over simmering water or heat in the microwave in 30 second bursts until just melted.  Reserve 3 or 4 tablespoons of melted chocolate then pour the rest into the rice krispies or cornflakes and stir until they are evenly and totally coated in the chocolate.

Line a muffin tin with paper cases.  Spoon the chocolate coated cereal into the paper cases.  Make a slight hollow in the centre with a teaspoon.  Put a little of the yellow coloured coconut into the hollow, then arrange the chocolate eggs on top of the coconut.   Put in the fridge until the chocolate has set.

Other handy Easter recipes:

Hot Cross Buns - always popular and you can bake them in bulk and freeze until needed.

Mini Creme Egg or Mini Caramel Egg Muffins and Broken Easter Egg/Chocolate Chunk Cookies  - not just for leftover Easter eggs, you can make them as Easter treats too.

Easter Story Cookies - these have accompanying Bible verses and are fab to share the Easter story with your children.

I would love to see your Easter bakes and treats.  Link up your blog posts to the blog hop linky so we can all see your awesomeness!

7 comments Biscuits, Cakes, Easter, Muffins, Snacks, Sweets

Fruit Buns or Hot Cross Buns - FFTO Challenge

I love baking Hot Cross Buns, from scratch. It is a yearly ritual here in our household and I bake them in bulk. I bake 2 dozen at a time as they usually disappear quite rapidly. I usually bake 2 batches, one to take to Church, and one to divide up and give as gifts to friends. You can get your children or other helpers to knead the dough as there is a decent amount of it and it will certainly give you a good workout as you prepare to eat your weight in chocolate on Easter Sunday. LOL You can also bake them at other times during the year, just leave the crosses off the top and vary the fruit you put in them. Cranberries and chopped dried apple are a fab combination that tastes delicious, as does chopped dried apricots and dates.

You can make these Hot Cross Buns by hand or use a stand mixer.

This recipe makes 24 buns.

500ml/2 cups warm water
4 Tblsp caster sugar
2 sachets instant yeast
5 cups plain flour
3 tsp mixed spice
3 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1½ cup mixed dried fruit
50 g softened butter
2 free range eggs

Stir the water and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, add the instant yeast and mix in the dried fruit, then make a well in the centre.

Pour in the water, add the eggs and the softened butter. Mix until combined with a wooden spoon and then turn out onto a floured bench and knead the dough lightly.

This is a fairly moist dough so add extra flour if you need to during the kneading process. Knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes until it’s smooth.

Or put all the dry ingredients and the dried fruit mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.

Start the stand mixer on a low speed to mix the dry ingredients before slowly adding the water, eggs and softened butter. Knead on a low speed until everything is well combined and then knead for 10 minutes until the dough is soft and smooth.

Put the dough into a greased bowl and cover with greased cling film. Leave in a warm place till dough doubles in size, this should take around 45 minutes.

I usually leave the dough to rise in my stand mixer as it has a handy plastic cover that seals the bowl and provides the perfect place for the dough to rise. Be careful though, if you leave the dough to rise for too long it may overflow your mixer bowl.

Once the dough has risen, knock it back and then give it a quick knead. Divide the dough into 24 portions and shape them into balls. I usually pat the dough into a rough rectangle, cut that into 6, then each portion into 4. It’s a really easy way to end up with 24 portions and if you get your children help then you have a built in maths lesson for them.

Put the shaped buns onto a greased oven tray and cover with the greased cling film. Leave them to rise for around half an hour, whilst your oven preheats to 200C, and until they’ve doubled in size.

Top the Hot Cross Buns with crosses made by combining:

½ cup plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 Tblsp butter
5 Tblsp of water

I make the crosses mixture whilst the buns are rising. Mix the butter with some hot water so that it melts and combines. Leave for about 10 minutes to cool and then mix into the flour and baking powder.

The mixture needs to be soft enough to be piped. If you haven't got a piping bag, put the mixture into a plastic bag, squeeze it down to one corner then snip a tiny bit off the corner of the bag. Squeeze the mix through the hole making crosses on the top of each bun.

Bake the buns at 200°C for 15 minutes then brush with sugar glaze and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until they look cooked.

To make the Sugar Glaze dissolve 2 Tbsp Sugar in ¼ cup (60ml) warm water.

Cool the Hot Cross Buns on a wire rack and then either eat them, give them to friends or freeze them for later in a sealed, airtight bag.

2 comments Basics, Bread, Easter, FFTO, Snacks, Vegetarian

Leftover Easter Egg Ideas

Yes, I know that Easter isn't quite upon us but I like to be prepared. LOL There will be the inevitable glut of Easter eggs and leftover chocolate goodies post festivities so I thought I would blog a couple of recipes that can utilise any excess chocolate eggs that need to be repurposed.  These recipes work well whether the Easter eggs are of the expensive posh variety or the supermarket multibuy variety.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I've deliberately kept the instructions simple for this recipe and included step-by-step phtotos because my 3 daughters like to bake these cookies themselves.  Should you wish to keep your kids amused during the second week of the school holidays, and use up some of the leftover Easter egg mountain, then this is the recipe for you. 

These cookies are legendary around my daughters school and my daughters friends.  They are rich and buttery but not soft and squidgy.  You can use chocolate chips, chocolate chunks or broken up pieces of leftover hollow Easter eggs.  I've used smarties instead of chocolate chips before and served them up at kids parties.  You could add some chopped glace cherries too for some extra flavour.  I've used dark chocolate chunks and chopped dried apricot as a flavour combination in these biscuits in the past and they were delicous!  Whatever you decide to put in them, give them a whirl, they are very tasty indeed.

2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
185g butter, melted
1 cup light soft brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 free range egg
1- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips/chunks or broken up pieces of leftover Easter eggs

Preheat your oven to 180C.  Line some baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Sift together the flour and baking soda.  Stir them together and then add in the chocolate chips/chunks.  In another bowl or large measuring jug mix together the cooled melted butter with the sugars, vanilla and egg.  Beat thoroughly to combine. 

Mix the wet ingredients with the sifted dry ingredients and the chocolate chunks until completely combined. 

Put large spoonfuls of the cookie dough onto the lined baking trays bake for 12 - 15 minutes. 

The cookies should be just starting to go golden around the outside.  Cool on the baking trays for about 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mini Creme Egg or Caramel Easter Egg Muffins

My daughters and I made these muffins this afternoon.  They are so easy to make and perfect for this time of year when unexpected guests arrive for a cuppa.  They are also fab for using up leftover mini size solid or filled Easter eggs.  You could put squares of caramel chocolate, Rolos, Lindor Truffles or any other ganache or caramel filled mini chocolates in the muffins.

2 1/4 cups self-raising flour
2/3 cup caster sugar
125g melted butter, cooled
185ml milk
2 free range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 small caramel filled Easter eggs or the variations mentioned above

Preheat your oven to 180°C.  Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases.

Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the sugar and stir to mix them together.  In a large measuring jug beat together the milk, cooled melted butter, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix gently but thoroughly until well combined.  Don't over beat the mixture or the muffins will be tough and heavy, not light and lovely.  I usually tell my daughter to fold the ingredients together and stir it only 10 - 12 times as that should be enough to get everything mixed together well.  We also use either a flat wooden or plastic spatula to fold the mixture together with rather than a spoon as we've found it to be more effective.

Spoon some of the muffin mixture into the paper cases until they are all about 1/3 full.  Put an Easter egg into the middle of each cupcake.  Then spoon over the rest of the muffin mixture, evenly filling the paper cases.

Bake the muffins for 20 minutes, or until light golden and cooked through.  Leave the cupcakes in the muffin tin to cool for about 10 minutes.  Then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

These muffins are delicious! My husband ate two in quick succession when he arrived home from work and saw them on the cooling rack in the kitchen, luckily they were cool enough to eat.  He got told off by our daughters for having them before dinner. LOL Make sure you wait until they are completely cool to eat them though as the caramel will be piping hot, you don't want a burnt mouth or tongue. 

 

2 comments Basics, Easter, Muffins, Snacks, Sweets, Vegetarian