almondy orange cake/orangey almond cake

It's bloody freezing in Paris right now so I wanted to make something a bit wintry and christmassy but I didn't have any cinnamon/ginger/clove flavours so I decided to go with orange. This cake is so good slightly warm with a cup of tea (what isn't?).

Orange and Almond Cake:

• 170g caster sugar
• 170g butter
• 170g self-raising flour
• 2 big eggs
• 40g ground almonds
• Pinch of salt
• Rind and the juice of two pretty fat oranges 
• Flaked almonds (you can miss these out)
• Some brown sugar for sprinkling (you can miss this out too)

Preheat oven to 180c. Mix the butter and sugar together until fluffy then tip in the flour, eggs, salt and ground almonds. Stir until smooth then pour the mixture into a medium sized loaf tin. Sprinkle the flaked almonds and the sugar over the top and baked for around 45 mins. Remove from oven taking care not to touch the top of the cake with your fingers as the sugar on top with get REALLY hot and burn burn burn. 

Poké-cake

Too many pommes too many many pommes

We had a giant fruit bowl full of apples and after doing 'sliced-up-apples-with-maybe-some-yogurt' for dessert everyday for a week, I decided to make a slightly more appealing Gâteau aux pommes. Here's the recipe:

Apple Cake:

• Some apples, maybe around 6ish.
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 250g butter
• 240g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 240g flour (self-raising or if you're using plain just add some baking powder)
• A glug of milk
• 3 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of ginger

Pre-heat oven to 180c. Start by stewing your apples. Peel them, chop them (keep them quite chunky though) and throw them in a pan over a very low heat with a splash of water, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a teaspoon of honey and a tablespoon of sugar. Leave them until they're all soft and stewed-looking. 

For the cake, cream the butter and the sugar until really fluffy. Add in the eggs, flour, cinnamon, ginger and milk and mix well. Tip half of the mixture into a large cake tin and then layer the stewed apples gently over the top so they thinly covers the whole of the mixture. I used the biggest pieces and only a little bit of the juice but experiment! Tip the rest of the mixture on top and smooth it carefully over the apples. Place pieces of a non-peeled, non-stewed apple on top then stick it in the oven for around 40/50 minutes. This cake is really good when it's still a little warm and gooey from the oven, délicieux!

Just a coffee please...

This weekend I was off to the country helping out at a party. I made six cakes - lemon drizzle , orange drizzle , chocolate and orange , chocolate, coffee and walnut, and banana choc-chip. I've posted most of these recipes before (click the links!) but here are the others:

Coffee and Walnut Cake:

• 225g butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 big-ish eggs
• 225g self-raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• Splash of strong coffee 
• 100g chopped up walnuts (keep them chunky)

Pre-heat oven to 180c. Mix the butter and sugar together really well then add the flour, eggs, salt and coffee and stir. Fold in the walnuts then tip the mixture into a tin (I used a loaf tin) and pop in the oven for around half an hour.

Coffee Icing:

• 125g butter (softened up a bit)
• 200g icing sugar
• Splash of strong coffee
• Pinch of salt
• Some walnuts for the top

Mix the butter, sugar and salt whilst adding the coffee in small splashes until it's nice and silky and a lovely caramel (...or coffee) colour. Spread it over your cake once it's properly cool and then sprinkle the walnuts on top, ta-da!

The banana cake I made was a little too stodgy for my liking so I won't post the recipe I used but instead lead you here . My mum sent me this link so I'm going to follow these tips next time. 

My favourite banana cake recipe is always this one as it's so moist and tasty and has a kind of carrot-cake vibe to it. Although the one I made was a little dense it still tasted pretty good, also the kids had picked most of the cream-cheese topping off it before it even reached the party and it still disappeared super quick so I'll not label it a complete failure.        

It's only drizzling

Easiest cake ever but it's SO GOOD. Just substitute the lemony bits for orangey bits and you have orange drizzle cake which is also SO GOOD.

Lemon Drizzle Cake:

• 225g butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g self-raising flour 
• 4 eggs
• A pinch of salt
• The rind of one lemon
• The juice of one lemon (watch out for the pips)

Pre-heat oven to 180c. Mix the butter and sugar together really well until it's nice and creamy, then chuck in the rest of the ingredients. Tip it all into a loaf tin and bake for about 40 mins. For the icing just slowly add teaspoons of lemon juice to a pile of icing sugar until you have a nice consistency and drizzle it all over the cake once the cake has cooled. C'est super facile, non?

Voila. I used the wrong sugar in the cake (due to not being able to read the writing on the packets in the super market) so it was a little grainy but not a complete disaster - first cake made in a Paris kitchen!

Joyeux anniversaire bébé

Unfortunately I am missing my girlie's birthday because I am now living in Paris and am no longer just a smelly bus ride away.

Happy birthday to my classy oiseau!

Luckily the cupcakes I made her were still fresh for her birthday, probably due to some sort of wonderful birthday magic (I put them in the freezer). I made three types...

Mojito Cupcakes:

• 120g self-raising flour
• 130g caster sugar
• Pinch of baking powder
• 100ml milk (best if it's whole milk)
• 1 egg, beaten 
• 40g butter 
• 1 lime (rind and juice)
• Handful of fresh mint

Pre-heat your oven to 170c. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, mix in the rest of the dry ingredients. Grate the rind of the lime into the mixture and then add the juice. Slowly add the milk and egg whilst mixing until it's all lovely and smooth. Chop up your mint into really tiny bits and mix well. Put the mixture into paper cases (makes about 12ish) and bake for around 25 minutes. 

Mojito Butter Cream:

• Handful of fresh mint
• 1 lime (ring and juice)
• 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract
• 250g icing sugar
• 80g butter
• Milk

Chop up your fresh mint into really little bits (leave some sprigs for decoration if you want) and then beat everything together until really smooth and fluffy. Use the milk in little splashes until you get a nice consistency. Pipe/spread the icing over your cupcakes and you're done!

Next were the...

Marshmallow (vanilla) Cupcakes: 

• 120g self-raising flour
• 130g caster sugar
• Pinch of baking powder
• 120ml milk (best if it's whole milk)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 40g butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Pre-heat oven to 170c. Cream the butter and sugar together until nice and fluffy. Add in the dry ingredients and mix. Beat together the egg, milk and vanilla and add it into the mixture splash by splash, mixing all the way. Spoon into around 12 paper cases and bake for 20 minutes or so.

Marshmallow Butter Cream:

• 170g butter
• 280g icing sugar
• 1 whole jar of marshmallow fluff (this is the sweetest icing ever)
• Teensy drop of vanilla essence 
• Glace cherries to decorate

Mix the butter and sugar together and then add the fluff and mix for agessssss until nice and smooth. Pipe onto your cupcakes and pop a cherry on top.

And finally (these were my favourite)... 

Lemon and Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes:

• 120g self-raising flour 
• 130g caster sugar
• Pinch of baking powder
• 100ml milk (best if it's whole milk)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 40g butter
• 1 lemon, rind and juice
• 2 handfuls of fresh strawberries 

Pre-heat oven to 170c. Mix butter and sugar until nice and fluffy. Chuck in dry ingredients and then add the lemon, milk and egg and mix well. Chop up your strawberries (keep them quite chunky) and gently fold into the mixture. Spoon into paper cases (about 12ish) and bake for 25 minutes.

Lemon Butter Cream:

• 250g icing sugar
• 80g butter
• 1 lemon (just the juice)
• Milk
• Something cute to decorate them with 

Mix everything together really well until light and fluffy, use the milk in little splashes to get the right consistency. Spread onto the cupcakes (once they have cooled) and decorate however you want!

Voila! Three different types of cupcakes, happy birthday Faye! 

A cake for the birthday princess

The piping bag burst about four times so it's looking a little messy but here is a raspberry sponge cake with chocolate buttercream and nutella swirls.
Happy birthday Sylvie!

Little chunky apple and cinnamon cakes

I decorated these with chocolate and apple but if you leave them plain they'd taste so good warm for a dessert with custard/cream/ice cream or something else that will probably result in a big fat heart attack.

Little Chunky Apple and Cinnamon Cakes:

• 140g self-raising flour
• 3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon 
• A pinch of clove
• A pinch of salt
• 200g sugar
• 70ml of vegetable/sunflower oil
• 1 egg (beaten)
• Splash of milk
• 2 medium apples, peeled and cut into little chunks

Pre-heat the oven to 170c. Mix the flour, cinnamon, clove and salt in one bowl then add the sugar, oil and the egg and mix really well. Add the milk to loosen the mixture a little and throw in the apple chunks and mix it all up. Spoon into cases (will probably get about 10 cupcakes out of this mixture) and bake for around half an hour. Melt some plain chocolate to spread on top and finish with a piece of sliced apple. Deeeeeelicious.

Every day I'm truffle-ing

What a funny joke.

Super Rich Chocolate Truffles

• 200g dark chocolate broken up
• Same weight of double cream (about a medium sized tub)
• 40g butter
• Cocoa powder

Heat cream till it just starts to boil and pour it over the butter and chocolate and mix really well until it's silky smooth. Pop it in the freezer for a couple of hours until it sets. Throw some cocoa powder over your work surface and pull out a bit of the ganache with your finger tips (it will still be really melty) and drop it into the cocoa powder. Roll the ganache around in the cocoa until it forms a ball - repeat with the rest of the mixture. So easy! These little chocolaty things are definitely best kept in the fridge. 

Oh non! Mes macarons échoué.

I am being defeated by the macaron. Macaroning isn't the kind of past time best suited to my 'bung-everything-in-make-it-up-as-you-go-along-doesn't-matter-if-you-can't-find-the-kitchen-scales' method of baking, but I shall try again soon.

Healthy breakfast healthy breakfast...

Right, I will agree that this breakfast dish looks kind of dodgy and really quite unappetising. But it's delicious and healthy and keeps you going all morning.  And it's pink.

Bircher Muesli 

• Muesli/oats
• Raisins/any other dried fruit you fancy
• Walnuts/almonds etc
• Apple (cut into chunks)
• Strawberries (sliced)
• Raspberries
• Grapes 
• Natural yogurt to bind it all together
• Apple juice (just a glug to loosen it up)
• Some seeds 
• Whatever other fruit/nutty/seedy bits you want!

I haven't put the measurements because it doesn't really matter, my Mum makes a giant bowl of it and keeps it in the fridge to last all week. It does look gross but I promise that it isn't. Basically just mix everything up together into a giant pink sludge. DONE!

Please Sir, may I have some more?

Crumble cake

As the fact that I'm going to be off to France for a whole scary year in about two months starts to feel a bit more real (one-way flight has now been booked - agh!) I decided to make a deliciously English cake.

Blackberry Raspberry Crumble Cake

• 190g butter
• 190g plain flour
• 190g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 30ml milk 
• Half a teaspoon of cinnamon
• 150g of raspberries and blackberries (frozen or fresh)
• 50g walnuts or pecans (chopped up)

Pre-heat your oven to 170c and grease a loaf tin. Whiz your butter and sugar together for ages until it's nice and fluffy - it is best to use an electric mixer but if you're braving it and doing it by hand then I salute you. Mix in the three eggs one by one, then chuck in the dry ingredients and milk and mix really well. Add the fruit and the chopped nuts - the recipe I was using asked for pecans but I only had walnuts (we all know the walnut is inferior to the glorious pecan) but in the end the walnuts worked really well so the choice is yours! Little warning: if you're using frozen fruit you may need to leave your cake in the oven for a bit longer because the frozen-ness of the berries messes up how quickly your cake cooks.

Lovely Crumbly Topping

• 20g butter
• 50g plain flour
• 50g soft light brown sugar
• 30g chopped up walnuts (or pecans)

Rub together the butter and flour with your fingertips until you have little breadcrumbs and then rub in the sugar and the nuts. Sprinkle this over your fruity cake and then pop it in the oven for about an hour. When it's done you should be able to stick a knife right into the middle of the cake and it should come out clean.

Leave it to cool a little bit before tipping it out of the tin - your lovely English cake is done!

A proper grown-up cake

                                                                     
This cake is a grown-up cake. It's super rich and chocolatey and dark and there's not a sprinkle, marshmallow or a marzipan girl in sight.

Dark Chocolate Orange Cake

• One big fat orange (about the size of your fist, or if you have unusual fists about the size of a normal-sized fist)
• 3 eggs
• 250ml sunflower oil
• 100g plain/dark chocolate melted (stick it in the microwave for a minute or so)
• 280g caster sugar
• 35g cocoa powder
• 250g self-raising flour

Pre-heat your oven to 160c (fan oven, turn it up 20c or so for a normal oven) and greese up a 9inch(ish) tin. Beat your eggs, sugar and oil till smooth then zest the orange into the mixture and squeeze in all the juice - do it over a sieve or something so you don't end up with a cake full of pips. Shove in the rest of your ingredients and mix it up really well. Pour it into the tin and pop it in the oven for around 50 mins. Let it cool completely before topping with...

Dark Chocolate Ganache

• 200g dark chocolate all smashed up into bits
• 300ml double cream

Heat the cream slowly on the hob until it starts to boil - stir it the whole time or it will burn and go really gross. Pour the hot cream over the broken-up chocolate and mix really well, leave for an hour or two while it sets then spread it over the top of the cake. Grate some orange peel over the top if you want to give it some colour, you can make 'candied orange peel' by boiling sugar and water and sticking orange peel in it or something but I don't think my patience will stretch quite that far. Voila, a sophisticated caked!

                                 

A massive birthday cake

My Natalie turned 18 so we made her a huge raspberry cake with a mini Nat on top, she melted a bit and her hands were about the size of her head but it's the thought that counts! (and the taste obv)

Ailsa having funsies

Faye gettin the dishes done