Category: Cakes
Cookie Dough Cake

Cookie Dough Cake

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So I’m officially in my 20s and the wide road of young adulthood lies before me yada yada yada. I’m starting to realise that no matter how old you get you still have no idea what’s going on – you just learn to ride the sinking boat a little better than before. But at least we’re all on that boat together and there are life savers like cookie dough and cake to keep us going. I’m talking cookie dough, in a cake, in cookie dough with cookies on it!!

So here I am, a slightly confused 20 year old with a big pile of cookie dough cake in m’ kitchen and another year of comfort cookery to come. In the meantime I still have 3/4 of this whopping cake so if anyone local wants some hmu!

 Recipe

Serves 12-16

Time: 3 hours

Ingredients

For the cookie dough

  • 75g Butter
  • 20g Brown sugar
  • 25g Caster sugar
  • 1.5 tbsp Milk
  • 65g Plain flour
  • ¼ tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste
  • 20g Milk chocolate chips
  • 20g Dark chocolate chips

For the cake

  • 200g Butter
  • 430g Caster sugar
  • 3 Large eggs
  • 120g Greek yogurt
  • 220ml Whole milk
  • 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste
  • 420g Plain flour
  • 2 tsp Baking powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 175g Milk chocolate chips

For the buttercream

  • 300g Butter
  • 105g Brown sugar
  • 975g Icing sugar
  • 200g Plain flour
  • 8 tbsp Milk
  • 2 tsp Vanilla bean paste

To decorate

  • 100g Dark chocolate
  • 100g Double cream
  • Small cookies to decorate

Method

  1. Begin by making the cookie dough. Put the butter and sugars into a bowl and cream together until pale and creamy. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Then add the flour, salt and chocolate chips. Stir to make a smooth dough.
  2. Take the dough and split it into 12 balls. Then chill the balls in the fridge for 2 hours (or in the freezer for 1 hour).
  3. Now start the cake. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C and grease and line 3x 7.5inch cake tins with butter and baking paper.
  4. In a large bowl mix together the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until pale and creamy. Whisk in one egg at a time, then whisk in the yogurt. Next whisk in the milk and vanilla, followed by the flour, baking powder and salt. Finally fold in the chocolate chips to make a smooth batter.
  5. Evenly divide the mixture between the lined tins and spread them out to make an even layer. Take the cookie dough balls out of the fridge and squash them to make ‘patties’. Then put 4 bits of cookie dough in each tin, pressing them down slightly so they’re covered in cake mix.
  6. Bake the cakes in the oven for 25-30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool down for 30 minutes and then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  7. Meanwhile make the buttercream. Put the butter and brown sugar into a bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the icing sugar and flour and mix again until smooth.
  8. Slowly add the milk and vanilla to the mixture, beating constantly with a spoon to make a smooth icing.
  9. When the cakes are completely cool you’re ready to start assembling. Put one of the cakes onto a board or plate and then spread 1-2 tbsp on top. Layer another cake on top and repeat with icing and cake layers.
  10. Once stacked blob half the remaining icing on top of the cake and use a palette knife to work it around the sides of the cake. This is your crumb coat so you want it to be smooth but don’t worry if you can still see the cake as you’ll put another layer on it later. Leave in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set.
  11. Take the cake out of the fridge and blob the rest of the icing on the top. Again, gently smooth the icing round the side of the cake to make a smooth finish. Leave in the fridge until needed.
  12. Now make the chocolate drips for the decoration. Finely chop the chocolate and put it into a heat-proof bowl. Then heat the cream in a small saucepan until just about to boil.
  13. Pour the hot cream onto chopped chocolate and stir to make a smooth ganache. Leave to cool until pourable but not hot.
  14. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and use a spatula to gently push it over the side of the cake to make drips. Pipe extra icing in rosettes on the top of the cake. Then cut the cookies in half and place them around the edge of the cake and serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

 
Plum and Amaretto traybake

Plum and Amaretto traybake

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There’s this weird tradition in Oxford (and Cambridge) where once someone’s finished their end of year exams they get ‘trashed’ – aka they get pelted with whatever their friends can find at the local Tescos. Being Oxford based my whole life I’ve seen numbers of students crawling onto the high street covered in shaving foam, silly string and paint, but it wasn’t until the past few weeks that I got to do some trashing of my own. After a slightly surreal shopping trip we arrived at exam schools, belted up with prosseco, honey, ketchup, party poppers and confetti, ready to celebrate the freedom of some of our friends from the clutches of revision! This was the result… (RIP Nik’s sub fusc)…

Afterwards came the jumping into the river, the crash back to reality, and then a growing chorus of ‘food?’ being passed around. That’s where this fab amaretto plum cake came in. At uni I didn’t have the chance to bake as much as I would have liked as I was short on time, ingredients and equipment, so since coming home I’ve been going a little crazy in the kitchen and have been making way more than I can feasibly eat. Therefore when I headed back up to uni I thought something like this tray bake would be the perfect thing to share with lots of de-stressed students – and it was!

Recipe

Serves 16

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 200g Butter
  • 200g Caster sugar
  • 4 Eggs
  • ½ tsp Almond extract
  • 180g Self-raising flour
  • 85g Ground almonds
  • ½ tsp Baking powder
  • 100ml Milk
  • 2 tbsp Amaretto (optional)
  • 3 Plums

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Line a roughly 20 x 15cm cake tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon until pale and creamy.
  3. Add the eggs one by one and whisk them in. Then add the almond extract, flour, ground almonds and baking powder. Then add the milk and amaretto, and whisk it all  together to make a smooth batter. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and smooth it over so it evenly fills the tin.
  4. De-stone and then cut the plums into 1/8s. Then scatter them over the top of the cake, pressing them into the mixture a little. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden brown.
  5. Leave to cool and then cut into 16 squares.

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Neapolitan Cake

Neapolitan Cake

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After 8 weeks of crazy term-time mania we’ve finally hit the vac once more. As our tutors never cease to remind us we’re on vacation, not holiday, and therefore we;re merely vacating our rooms and are expected to continue working just as much back home, but even so there’s going to be a lot more time for baking now!

Some of my friends are hanging around in college a little longer as they have exams, so yesterday we did some group procrastination and got back into the kitchen. Of course we could have made something simple like pasta or cupcakes, but alas no. After such a long time out of the kitchen I wanted to make a dramatic entrance back into the world of baking, so I drew up a recipe for this Neapolitan cake: 3 layers of chocolate and vanilla marble cake, sandwiched with a strawberry cream-cheese frosting and wafers on top!

It might be a little preemptive to make an ice-cream inspired cake in early March, but hey. Summer is well and truly on the way so what’s the harm in looking forwards a bit? It may be wet, windy and dark outside, but we’ve got enough Neapolitan cake to go around so everything’s OK!

Recipe

Serves 12

Time: Around 2 hours

Ingredients

For the chocolate cake

  • 175g Unsalted butter
  • 175g Caster sugar
  • 3 Large eggs
  • 50g Cocoa powder
  • 100g Self raising flour

For the vanilla cake

  • 100g Butter
  • 100g Caster sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 100g Self raising flour
  • 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste

For the strawberry icing

  • 400g Cream cheese
  • 4 tbsp Strawberry jam
  • Zest of 1 Lemon

To decorate

  • A handful of fresh strawberries
  • A few Ice cream wafers
  • Chocolate sprinkles

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Then grease and line 3x 20cm loose bottomed round cake tins with butter and baking paper.
  2. Now start make the chocolate cake mixture. Put the butter and sugar into a large bowl and beat together until pale and creamy. Add the eggs and whisk in until the mixture is smooth. Next add the flour and cocoa powder and whisk again to make a smooth batter.
  3. Using a tablespoon dollop the mixture equally between the 3 tins, leaving gaps to be filled in with vanilla mixture later.
  4. Now make the vanilla cake. Put the butter and sugar into another large bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until pale and creamy. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Then add the flour and vanilla and whisk again to make a smooth batter.
  5. Again dollop the mixture between the 3 tins. Then gently smooth the mixture over so it evenly fills the cake tins, but try not to mix the two cake batters too much.
  6. Bake the cakes in the oven for 25-30 minutes until risen and golden brown. A skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
  7. Meanwhile make the icing. Put the cream cheese into a large bowl and beat with a wooden spoon to soften it a little.
  8. Add strawberry jam and lemon zest to this and then mix again to make a smooth icing. Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a round or star shaped nozzle.
  9. Take your strawberries and take off the green tops. Then cut them into 1/8s and put them to one side until needed.
  10. Once cooled place one of the cakes onto a plate. Arrange some strawberry pieces around the edge of the cake, making sure they’re all facing the same direction. Then spread 1/3 of the icing over the middle of cake. (The strawberry barrier will help keep the icing neat if it’s a little runny!)
  11. Place the 2nd cake on top and repeat with the strawberries, icing, and final layer of cake. Pipe the rest of the icing in rings of blobs over the top of the cake.
  12. Pile the remaining strawberries in the centre of the cake. Halve and then place wafers evenly around the edge and then finish with a sprinkle of chocolate sprinkles!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Passion fruit and Ginger Madeleines

Passion fruit and Ginger Madeleines

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I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for new bits of kitchen kit. There’s so much you can do with the basics, but a cool whisk or tin can make things super fun! When I was in Bruges over Christmas I found myself wandering around loads of kitchen shops, most of which would have huge displays of little kitchen bits and bobs all over the walls. This is where I came across this really cute madeleine tin – a little bit smaller than the traditional ones but perfectly sized to fit in my oven at uni! Until then I’d made madeleines before in cupcake tins, which works really well, but if you want the classic shell-shaped treats I’d really recommend finding yourself a tin. You can get all kinds of ones from the classic for about £20 to small and sweet ones like this which I picked up for around £4!

I think the best way of working with madeleines is to pack them full of flavour. They of course taste great on their own, but I think they’re a great canvas to decorate with lots of flavour! These are gently spiced with a womph of ginger, but have a cooling passion fruit curd centre and a drizzle of chocolate to give that extra lil bit of pazazz. If you’re not a fan of that though you could try lemon curd and white chocolate instead, or dipping the madeleines in melted chocolate and then hazelnuts once cooled?

Recipe

Makes 12

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 50g Butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
  • 50g Plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 Egg
  • 50g Caster sugar
  • ¼ tsp Baking powder
  • ½ tsp Ground ginger
  • 50g Dark chocolate, to decorate

For the Passion fruit Curd

  • 13g Cornflour
  • Juice of 2 Passion fruit
  • 1 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 100ml Water
  • 1 Medium egg yolk
  • 30g Caster sugar
  • 15g Butter

Method

  1. Begin by making the passion fruit curd. Put the cornflour, passion fruit juice and lemon juice into a bowl and whisk together to make a smooth paste.
  2. Put the water into a small pan and bring to the boil. Pour the water onto the passion fruit mixture, whisking constantly until combined. Pour the mixture back into the pan, place over a medium heat and cook whilst whisking until the mixture thickens.
  3. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the egg yolk, sugar and butter until smooth. Set to one side until needed.
  4. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Brush a little of the melted butter into the Madeleine tray. Then dust the tray with a little flour and shake out the excess.
  5. To make the madeleine batter, begin by putting the eggs and sugar into a bowl. Using an electric whisk the mixture until pale and fluffy.
  6. Sift the flour into the mixture and then add the baking powder, ground ginger and melted butter. Whisk everything together and then leave the mixture for 5 minutes to rest.
  7. Pour the mixture into a piping bag and then leave in the fridge for another 10 minutes to rest.
  8. Pipe the batter into the prepared mould (you want the mixture to be filling about 2/3 of each hole) and then bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven until lightly risen and golden brown (they cook very quickly so keep a close eye on them!).
  9. When baked take a knife and make a small incision in the top of each cake. Then pipe a little of the passion fruit curd into the hole in each one until you see it pouring out a little. It’s best to do this when the cakes are still warm as it’ll let the curd seep into them.
  10. Whilst the cakes are cooling melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.
  11. Drizzle the cakes with the melted chocolate and then serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

 
Vegan Banana Bread

Vegan Banana Bread

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I have to admit I’m suffering from a big chunk of writers block at the moment. My life consists mainly of working, going to drama rehearsals, eating, sleeping, and then repeating all that, so writing fun and insightful intros to the world of vegan banana bread is not high on my to do list right now. Essentially all I can say is that (like most recipes on here) it tastes insane, is so so easy to make, and has the added bonus of being the perfect way of using up slightly beyond-their-best bananas!

Recipe

Makes 1 loaf

Time: 10 minutes prep, 40 minutes baking

Ingredients

  • 3 Very ripe bananas
  • 75ml Vegetable oil
  • 100g Light brown sugar
  • 225g Plain flour
  • 3 tsp Baking powder
  • ½ tsp Ground cinnamon

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Line a 2lb loaf tin with butter and baking paper, or one of those easy-to-use liners.
  2. Mash the bananas in a bowl with a fork until it’s a puree. Add the oil and sugar and mix in until smooth.
  3. Add the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and mix in again until smooth.
  4. Pour the batter into the cake tin and then bake in the oven for about 40 minutes until golden brown, risen and so that a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. (Cover the top with tin foil if it starts to burn before being cooked all the way through!).
  5. Leave to cool a little before serving!

Why not try:

  • Adding a handful of chocolate chips to the batter when you add the flour
  • Substituting in 1 tbsp Peanut butter instead of 1 tbsp of the oil to make a banana peanut banana loaf
  • Adding fruit and nuts (like raisins and brazil nuts) to the batter

Thanks for reading!

Emma x