Recipe: Creme Egg Scotch Eggs

I've always loved cake.  Well, I say always, there was a month or so around December when I totally went off chocolate and sweet things... but generally, if I end up at a restaurant my eyes will immediately skitter off the starters and mains and straight on to perusing the 'Sweet' menu.

And March in our house is a month of cake.  Both Hubby and I have birthdays that fall in March - actually just six days apart, so we take that as the perfect excuse to stock up on our cake stores!

Normally we buy cake, or make and shake one... this year however we decided to push the boat out.  We had our kitchen totally redone in January, complete with new worktops, cupboards and appliances - so what better way than birthday cake to totally break in the new oven.  So we went all out: a birthday cake each.

Hubby went for a 6 layer rainbow cake for me (excellent work my man!), where as I went for a more seasonal offering for his birthday pudding: Creme Egg Scotch Eggs.

Sorry, shall I say that again?  Creme. Egg.  Scotch. Eggs.

I can not take any credit for these little beauties - I found the recipe posted on OmmNomm's site although I did doctor them a little bit.  What I would say, is that these bad boys should come with a health warning.  

Some tips for consumption:

1. Eat with a partner - each one of these Scotch Eggs is the equivelent of a sixth of a chocolate cake, fondant, more chocolate, a creme egg and more chocolate (or if you follow my varient Oreo cookies).  Halving one with a loved one is definitely the way to go.
2. Keep in the fridge - it's odd to me the idea of keeping cake in the fridge, but these go all 'fudgy' if they're kept refrigerated.  So clear enough space!
3. Don't think about the calories - there will be a lot.  But hey, it's nearly Easter, so if it's just an occasional treat, I'd say settle down and enjoy. 

Here's the recipe I followed (as mentioned, a bit of a tweaked version of the OmmNomm's version - I think it really works!)

Ingredients

• 6 Creme Eggs
• 100gm dark chcoloate
• 100gm milk chocolate
• 1 packet of oreo cookies - crushed

Cake mix:

• 175gm unsalted softened butter
• 175gm caster sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• 120g self-raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 60g cocoa powder

Fondant

• 120g softened unsalted butter
• 120gm icing sugar
• 20gm cocoa powder

Method

1. Firstly make the cake - simply cream together the butter and sugar, and then add all of the other ingredients together.  As simple as it comes.  Once the mix is ready pop the cake into a lined tin (doesn't really matter what shape you use as you're going to destroy the cake you make any way!) and bake for 20-30minutes at 160 degrees
2. Once the cake is firm and a cocktail stick comes out clean, remove from oven and leave to cool.  Whilst the cake is cooling cream together the fondant ingredients.  If you find that these do not come together very well you can use a few drops of water to help this combine (literally a few drops is all you need.
3. When the cake is completely cool break apart into breadcrumbs.  Yes. Totally.  The whole cake.  Break it into little bits. 
4. Add the fondant mixture into the cake-breadcrumbs and knead together.  I found it easiest to use my hands for this (and meant that I got to enjoy licking my chocolately fingers clean once I was done - bonus!), until you have a shortcrust pastry-like "dough".  Separate the dough into 6 equal sized balls.
5. Unwrap the creme eggs and carefully wrap your dough around each of the creme eggs.  I found the best method was to flatten the dough in your hand over your palm, then place a creme egg on your palm and then carefully lift the mixture around the egg.  Once your egg is well wrapped, put the chocolate balls in the fridge to chill and firm up.  This is really important.  Make sure you leave enough time for this step.
6. Whilst the balls are chilling, melt your chocolate (I cheated and did it in the microwave, but you can do it properly over boiling water if you like) - feel free to put both chocolate types together.  I liked the combination, the bitterness of the dark chocolate prevented oversweetness.
7. Take your firm balls (oi! mind out of the gutter please!), out of the fridge and carefully dunk each into the melted chocolate mixture so that it is totally coated.  Immediately then transfer the balls to a  bowl of crushed Oreos (the Oreo addition adds a cheesecakeyness to the Scotch Eggs, which I really loved) and coat in the crushed biscuits.  Pop back in the fridge to set.

Once they are cold and the chocolate has set enjoy - but recommend you remember the health warnings listed above.

Mojito cake: There's always an excuse for a cocktail!

So you may have gathered that Hubby and I have heen going through a bit of a tough time at the moment.  Thankfully,  and I really do mean lucky-stars thankfully, that seems to be slowly edging behind us...

One of my colleagues put my troubles into perspective - by passionately raising money for charity. Running a half marathon,  selling cocktails desk-to-desk for an added financial boost to sponsorship... it made me sit up and remember the bigger picture.  I've been whining a lot recently, without thinking about what other people might be involved in or going through,  so I decided to surprise my colleagues with something special: cake!

And inspired by my cocktail-peddling colleague I took my flavour inspiration from the mojito!

Who doesn't love a cocktail?!

Mojito Cake

Ingredients

For the cake
25pg butter,
350g caster sugar
4 large eggs
130ml rum
Zest of three limes
350g self raising flour
2tsp baking powder

For the syrup (oh my god, the syrup...)
200ml water
200gm sugar
A good slug of rum
Juice of three limes

For the buttercream
250gm butter
400gm icing sugar
Green food colouring (or if you're feeling creative like me blue and yellow food colouring mixed)
Peppermint essence

For the [pepper]Mint leaves
350gm icing sugar
1 egg white
Food colouring (optional)
Peppermint essence

1) To start with we focus on the cake: cream together the butter and sugar, it's best if you can to have allowed the butter to soften first. Otherwise you're in for a work out if you do things by hand like me. Once light and fluffy gradually add in your eggs. Once combined fold in the flour, lime zest and baking powder.

2) Split the batter into two cake tins and bake in a 170c oven for 30 minutes,  or until cooked all the way through. When the cakes are ready place them on a cooling rack to cool.

3) Whilst the cake is baking it's time to move on to the syrup.  This should really come with a health warning as I really had to stop myself just drinking it... so so good. Make a sugar syrup by dissolving sugar in the water, keep syrup boiling for 5 minutes and then add the lime juice and rum. Leave to cool.

4) Whilst you're waiting for everything to cool  is a great time to start prepping all the decorations. The bit that takes the longest are your peppermint cream leaves (see what I did there) so  I would start here to give them time to harden a little.

5) Mix together all your peppermint cream ingredients until you have a soft dough. You may need to add more sugar - you add a lot of liquid in with the egg white, food colouring and flavouring so you might need to tweak this a little to fet the right consistency.  Cut leaf patterns out from your dough and set to one side to harden whilst you whizz up a quick buttercream.

6) Once everything is cool and your hapy with your decorations you're ready to assemble: carefully prick your sponges and brush or spoon over the syrup. Struggle not to drink it. In traditional sandwich sponge style layer the two cakes with buttercream but then ice the top with some more.  Finally artistically place your leaves.

7) Force yourself to throw away the remaining syrup.

8) Indulge.

Merry August! My first Christmas cake

It's August Bank Holiday!  And in traditional British bank-holiday style, the blue sky we were promised is no-where to be seen.  Hubby and I have spent the weekend in Kent with some of Hubby's family, and it has been either been pouring with rain, or at best, grey and miserable...

We made our way back around the M25 this morning and, realising that all the shops will be closed due to the bank holiday we decided that an in-house activity was very much on the cards - and for me, when we make the decision to 'do something' in the house, that always means baking!

I had a quick rummage in the cupboards, glanced at the calendar, and formulated a plan...

We'd spent the weekend lazing around with family, so I wanted to make a cake that represented that - and frankly, if the weather wants to turn, at best, autumnal then my baking can be something suitable for chilly day.

Deck the halls with bows of holly... fa la la la la, la la la laaa...

Yes, it may be August, but I have started my Christmas cake!

Currently, the dried fruit is sitting in a bowl of brandy, but once I am satisfied that the little shrivelled things have plumped up enough I'm going to start in the rest of the mix.

Having never made a Christmas cake before I'm really rather excited.  My mum has always been the one to make our family one.  Each year around October she complains that she hasn't started her cake yet, and threatens that this year will be the year that she doesn't bother... but then on Christmas Day, out she comes with a beautifully hand-painted cake.  It's may favourite part of the Christmas meal.

Even if my finished article isn't a patch on what my Mum makes, I figure that 3-months of 'feeding' a fruit-cake will turn it into something beautiful and boozy.

So I better get cracking...  There's only 120 days until Christmas!

Recipe: Butterscotch and Marshmallow Slices

Last week was a big time of change for me.  I changed jobs.  I left the company that I've been with for two years which had become all comfortable like a security blanket, and jumped head first into the situation I'd been craving - one of change, and challenge.

It's all be going well so far, but I find that the first hurdle when you go somewhere new is often to make connections and new friends.  I remember going to residential writing courses when I was a youngster, I loved them, but I'd have to share a dorm-room with up to 4 complete strangers and it was always a bit of pot-luck as to whether you'd get on... I learnt from those early days that the best way to disarm people was to reach out to their stomach.  The whisper of a midnight feast is enough to make any pre-teen grin with delight. I employed a simular tactic when I moved into Halls at university; I propped open my door, and whenever anyone walked past and made eye contact I offered them a gummy sweet... bizarrely that too seemed to work too.

So the time has come to reach out to my new colleagues - and as I feel that this might require more than a bag of Haribo - so I've been busy baking.  On Day Two a box of brownies accompanied me on the commute, and we're dutifully wolfed down by my delighted colleagues, and in fact I've had a number of people comment on them subsequently... so in terms of making an impact I appear to have hit my mark.  But my new office is a lot bigger than my last workplace, so I decided this weekend that one batch of brownies just wouldn't be enough.  And so I've gone for something a little more adventurous.

I needed something good enough to follow these fellas...

I've always tend to make something with chocolate, so I wanted a sweet alternative, and this Butterscotch and Marshmallow slice recipe, inspired from one from the Hummingbird Bakery seemed to tick the box...:

Butterscotch and Marshmallow Slices

You will need:

For the base

150g flour

40g icing sugar

120g unsalted butter, softened
10ml milk (depending how well your pastry combines you may not need this this)

For the topping

100g pink and white mini marshmallows

210g caster sugar

150g brown sugar (I used a mix of dark and light as that's what I had in the cupboard)

210g golden syrup

80g unsalted butter

60ml double cream

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

60g crunchy peanut butter

Pecan nuts (enough for sprinkling) - roughly chopped

• Preheat the oven to 170C; grease and line a 22cm x 31cm baking tray.
• Mix the ingredients for the base until a dough forms.  Hubby and I struggled here a little bit, so we added in a very small splash of milk to encourage the pastry dough to bind together.  However this did make a very sticky dough, and so we had to roll it rather than press it into the baking tray.
• When you add the pasty to the baking tray make sure that there is a slight lip around the edge (this is to stop all the liquid topping oozing everywhere later) and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are a light golden brown and the middle is pale but cooked.   Keep a close watch, as the base is very thin and can burn really easily.
• Once the base has cooked remove from the oven, and scatter the marshmallows on top - as the base is still warm they'll start to melt almost immediately so make sure you spread them out evenly. 
• Place both types of sugar with the golden syrup and 240ml of water and bring to the boil.
• Keep boiling for between 5-10 minutes, or until a small drop of sugar syrup forms a soft "ball" in when dropped in cold water. 
• Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. 
• Bring the butterscotch back up to the boil and allow to bubble away for approximately 3 minutes.
• Take the pan off the heat and stir in the double cream, vanilla essence and peanut butter.  Stir continuously until the peanut butter has melted.
• Pour the mixture on to the base and sprinkle the chopped nuts on top. 
• Allow to set at room temperature for a few hours or preferable overnight. To be honest, this is the hardest part of the whole bake... because it just looks and smells divine!
• Slice into bars and serve. 

Oh my, are these bad boys good?! They're sweet and salty, crunchy and chewy... Fingers crossed my new colleagues give it their seal of approval (and that I just don't scoff them all before tomorrow morning!).

Recipe: Herman Starter Dough

My office love to bake.  But in December, knowing that post-Christmas we'd all have mountains of leftover food, cakes and chocolate, we agreed that January would be a cake-free month.  Our office wasn't to be used for the family leftovers. We'd leave them at home, and the cupboard in the centre of the office that's normally over-flowing with unhealthy treats would be instead filled with fruit.

That didn't last long...

The thing is, we heard about Herman.

One of our colleagues told us that at her last job her boss turned up one morning and left a strange yeasty smelling pot on her desk... (no puns please).  It turned out that the goo was dough and that her boss wanted her to make a cake out of it.  It sounded such a strange thing to do, to pass on cake-mix friendship-letter like, but at the same time it sparked our imagination... And so a date was set for the Inter-Office-Herman-Challenge.

Essentially Herman is a starter dough which can be included in lots of recipes - it's yeast based, so it "grows" if you look after it properly, which means you should end up with enough mix to make cake for yourself and to also pass on some to friends who can either get baking, or to grow more Herman.

I agreed to get the chain started.  I'm currently on day five of 10, carefully nurturing Herman so that he matures enough to split up and dish out to my colleagues.  So far, so good.  I've not killed him (he stops bubbling when he dies poor thing)- in fact, he's been growing so fast that I've had to invest in another mixing bowl to contain is girth!

I don't know what Herman will eventually turn into - that's up to my individual colleagues to decide, but if you'd like to start your own Herman this is what you will need:

1 packet of active dried yeast
2 tbsp lukewarm water
240ml warm milk
150gm plain flour
225gm caster sugar.

1. Dissolve yeast in water for 10 minutes and stir.
2. Place flour, sugar and yeast into a large bowl and mix well.
3. Slowly add milk and stir until combined - you'll be left with a strange thin custard-like mix.  Cover this with a clean teatowel and leave somewhere warm - it doesn't need to be anywhere too special, the dining room table works, or the kitchen side.
4. For the next 3 days stir well once a day.
5. On the forth day, add one cup each of flour, caster sugar and milk and cover again.

I am currently on day 5, and I think Herman really enjoyed the meal I gave him yesterday as when I went to stir again today he looked like this:

The best bubble-reaction so far!  A little bit like AngelDelight I thought, but it certainly won't get mistaken for a pudding... by now the yeast is having a real feast and it smells really strongly!  If you visit your Herman for his daily stir and his surface isn't covered with bubbles its an indication that your yeast has died and that you need to start all over again from scratch.

Assuming that your yeast remains fine and dandy keep stirring once a day until day 9, when you again add 1 cup each of flour, caster sugar and milk, and then on day 10 you can finally split the mix into four and give away a section to three friends for them to either grow their own Herman from, or to bake with.

It's really strange how attached I've got to this strange bowl of goo sitting on my worktop over the past few days.  But I really feel like I'm caring for it, feeding it when it's hungry and offering it a new home when it out grows its current one...  In a way I am not sure how I feel about splitting up Herman and chucking him in the oven.  I'm sure I'll get over it though.  I'm already on the hunt for a good Chelsea Bun recipe.  I can't think of a better way to treat Herman, than to transform him into a bun!

Have you tried Herman before?  What did you make?

Recipe: Jam Tarts

When I was a student, and was feeling the pinch I would make my family biscuits for the festive season.  I'd sew little bags, and stuff them with home-made goodies, and they went down a storm.  So I thought this year I'd re-visit my homemade Christmas:  This year, I'm making jam.

Last Sunday Hubby and I hit the blackberry bushes and picked like wild things, chopped up a bag of apples, doshed in the sugar and, having never made jam before, set back to watch the magic.

Unfortunately, it was at the point that we had the mixture on the boil that we realised a some-what crucial flaw in our plan: No jam jars...

Hubby hit the shops just before they closed, managing to grab 6 jars of cheap and cheerful jam.  Back home we emptied out the jars, washed and cleaned them, re-filled them with our homemade jam and stuck them under the bed until Christmas.

But then we had another problem, we were stuck with six-jars worth of Tesco Value jam without a home...  Our solution?  More baking!

Jam Tarts

Jam tarts are delicious and so easy to make.

Makes 12-15


225g plain flour,
25g icing sugar(you don’t need much sugar as the jam is sweet)
150g unsalted butter, softened
¼ tsp salt, or use salted butter
1 egg yolk
25ml cold water
 

1. Rub together flour, icing sugar, butter and salt in a bowl until combined.
2. Add egg yolk and water, and mix/knead until you have smooth, soft dough.
3. I always find pastry works best if you can chill it for a while, so I wrap it in cling-film and pop into the fridge for 20-30 minutes.  It makes rolling so much easier!
4. Roll out your pastry and using a cookie cutter cut out enough cases to fill a tart-tray and blind bake at a low temperature (160C/ gas mark 3) for 15-20 minutes until the base starts to colour.
5. Fill with your choice of jam/curd and enjoy!

If you end up with the amount of jam that I had, whilst the pastry is chillin’ in the fridge you can start making another batch of dough…  In the end we ended up with quite production line, and ultimately and awful lot of tarts!  I was popular at work the next day!

Recipe: Chocolate Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

I came back to work today after taking some time off after last week's turmoil.  My colleagues have been great, although the majority of them don't know why I was off.  Regardless, I wanted to bring something into the office as a private"thank you" to the team.

And what is a better way to show your appreciation than with cake.  And possibly with chocolate.  Oh, and cream...  Okay, so I went a bit crazy.

Chocolate Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients 

Makes 15 approx

For the cheesecake-topping-goodness:
450gm soft cream cheese
100gm caster sugar
2 eggs (whisked)
1 tsp vanilla essence
150ml sour cream
12 mini chocolate bars (yes you can eat the rest of the packet...)

For the base:
20 Oreos
30gm butter (melted)
1 tablespoon caster sugar

 

1. Put paper cases into muffin tin
2. Grab your nearest heavy object and smash the Oreos into dust (or if you'd rather use a food processor - I'm a bash-it-with-a-rolling-pin type of girl),  pour melted butter on tablespoon of caster sugar into smashed-up chocolate biscuit and mix.  Press into base of paper cases and pop to one side.
3. In another bowl mix together cream cheese and caster sugar until smooth.  Add vanilla essence and whisked eggs slowly - mix until combined, and then add sour cream.  Mix some more.
4. Chop up chocolate bars into teeny tiny pieces (try not to eat them...).  I used a combination of mini Twix and mini Mars bars for extra variety (it also meant I had to buy two bags, guaranteeing spares!), and stir into the mix.
5. Carefully put the cheesecake mix into the paper cases onto of the Oreo base - try not to over-fill as the cheesecakes will rise a little bit in the oven.
6. Pop into a 200 degree oven for 30minutes, or until firm.
7. Leave to cool and set in the fridge for 6 hours.
8. Scoff.

It may look a little burnt (I had a slight oven malfunction) but my god it tasted divine.

And if you fancied being slightly healthier (who am I kidding?!) chopped-up strawberries work just as well!