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Sorry, I don’t how to make the picture not sideways!

At our house we did a cooking competition, where everyone had to do a three course meal. For pudding I did this lovely recipe. But it is very sweet, so cut into small slices. It is best for a special occasion, since it takes a few hours to make. This recipe was from BBC goodfood, and it is lovely. Thank you!mxxx

 

Ingredients for ganaches:

7 cardamom pods

400ml double cream

100g white caster sugar

200g white Belgian chocolate

180g cocoa powder

25g unsalted butter, diced and softened

1tsp vanilla extract

150ml whole milk

For the base:

200g dark chocolate digestives

75g melted, plus extra for greasing

3tbsp caster sugar(white or golden)

Method:

1. Crush the cardamom with the end of a rolling pin, then put the seeds and husks in a medium pan. Pour in the cream and sugar, stir, then heat gently until the cream begins to simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, finely chop the white chocolate in a food processor, then tip into a medium bowl. Repeat with the cocoa, tip this into another bowl and add the butter. Season each chocolate with a pinch of salt.

3. Heat the oven to 180C and lightly grease  a 23cm tart tin. Without cleaning the processor, tip in the digestives and pulse to fine crumbs. Pulse in the melted butter and sugar until the mixture looks like wet sand, then press firmly into the base of the tin. Slide it onto a baking sheet, bake for 10 minutes, then cool completely.

4. When the base is cold, reheat the infused cream to simmer. Strain half the cream on top of the white chocolate and stir. Add the milk to what is left in the pan, reheat, then strain this over the chopped cocoa and butter, and stir. It will take a few minutes before each chocolate melts completely.

5. Pour all but about 3 tbsp of the cocoa ganache on top of the biscuit base and chill for 15 mins or until just set. Now flood the top with the white chocolate ganache. Finish with the reserved cocoa mix, dropping 6 dollops on top like a clock face, and one in the middle. Use a skewer to swirl the colours together. Chill for at least 4 hrs or overnight to let to ganache set firm, then bring it out of the fridge for 30 mins before serving. Enjoy!

 

Where I live, every year has a cake competition for children. These beautiful cupcakes won it for me, and so I wanted to put them on my blog. It will make your kitchen shine, and even better, taste lovely. Mxxx

 

For the cupcakes:

 

225g unsalted butter

115g caster sugar

225g self-raising flour

1tsp baking powder

0.5 tsp salt

4 eggs

115ml buttermilk

1tsp vanilla essence

For the icing and decoration:

 

100g milk chocolate, chopped roughly

2tbsp milk

60g unsalted butter

1oog icing sugar, sieved

300g chocolate bourbons, crushed

170g desiccated coconut, very light green

340g ready-roll white fondant icing

Orange, brown and green food colouring

18 toothpicks

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175C. Place 18 cupcake cases into muffin tins. Combine all the cupcake ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes.Spoon the mixture into the cases. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the tins from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool on a wire rack. Wait until completely cool before icing.

2. To make the icing, heat the chocolate, milk and butter in a small, heavy saucepan, stirring until melted. Remove from the heat and beat the icing sugar. Ice the top of each cake, and sprinkle with bourbon crumbs. Arrange two parallel rows of green coconut. Split the fondant into thirds(saving some for the middle of the cauliflowers) and tint each a different colour. Shape carrots and cauliflowers from orange, green and some white fondant icing. Arrange on top of each cupcake. Shape a shovel from brown icing-use a toothpick to support the shaft. Position on top of each cake. Enjoy!

Thank you very much Fergal Connolly and Judith Fertig for making such a wonderful 500 cupcakes book! I absolutely love it!

If you would like to buy the amazing 500 cupcakes book, click on the link below.

http://bit.ly/2iSbYLb

 

 

 

 

 

I was inspired to do this recipe, because of my friend Megan. She made some delicious honeycomb. Thank you Megan! I hope you enjoy it!

HONEYCOMB

 

Ingredients:

100g Caster sugar

2.5tbsp Golden syrup

1tsp Bicarbinate of soda

If you want more than the amount of Honeycomb in the picture, double the ingredients.

 

Method:

1. Line a tray with non-stick baking sheet. Mix the syrup and sugar in a deep saucepan and stir over a low heat. Don’t let the mixture bubble until all the sugar grains are gone.
2. Once completely melted, turn up the heat a bit and let it simmer, until it is amber(or the colour of caramel.)
3. Then as quickly as you can, turn the heat of and add the bicarbonate of soda. Beat with a wooden spoon until it has all disappeared  and the mixture is foaming. Scrape onto the tray immediately.Be careful, it will be very hot!
4. The mixture will keep bubbling for a bit, so leave it for 1 hr-1 hr 30 mins until hard . It should then be able to snap or crumble into chunks . I hope you enjoy it!!!

I baked this cake because it was my Dad’s birthday. He loves his Land Rover, so I thought it would be perfect. This cake helped inspire to do this blog, so I hope you like it just as much as I do.

LAND ROVER CAKE

Ingredients for the cake:

280g Butter, softened
280g Caster sugar
4 eggs, beaten
280g Self-raising flour
2tsp Baking powder
4 ripe Bananas, mashed
1tsp Vanilla essence
For the filling:

50g Icing sugar
20g Butter
1tsp Vanilla essence

Ingredients for the decoration:

1 bowl of desiccated coconut
Green food colouring
Black, White,Yellow,Red and Green fondant icing
Fudge icing
1 pack of Marzipan
20g Milk chocolate, melted

1. Heat oven to 180C. Butter two large cake tins.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then one at a time add the eggs, with a little flour.
3. Fold in the remaining flour, baking powder and bananas. Pour into the tins and bake for about 30 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then remove to a wire rack. Wait until completely cool.
4. Cut the cake into four rectangles, with two longer ones. Sandwich together with buttercream. To  make the buttercream, cream the butter and icing sugar, then add vanilla essence. Put the two longer rectangles at the bottom and the shorter ones at the top. It should be beginning to take shape.
5. Roll out half a pack of Marzipan until about 3 millimetres thick. Drape over the cake, and fit it to its shape. Paint green food colouring over all car. In white icing make the windows and  number plates. Write on the numbers and letters in a black Sharpie or marker. In black icing make the tyres (and  the tyre on the back) the roof, windscreen wipers  ,wing mirrors and the frame for the doors and windows. In yellow icing, make two big headlights and four smaller ones. In red icing make four small lights to put above the number plate on the back and symmetrical on the other side.
6.  Get a tray or wooden board. Cover it in baking parchment. Spread fudge icing over it for mud. With extra bits of cake, make a bumpy grassland at one end of the board. Roll out the green icing and place over the cake-covering it. Place the desiccated coconut on a tray with baking parchment.Put as much green food colouring as you want in the desiccated coconut, until you like the colour. Put in the oven on a low heat to dry out the coconut.
7.  Spread the coconut over the grass. Put the car on the board with the front on the grass. It should be a little tilted. With the milk chocolate, splat it over the sides of the car, like mud. Using some more fudge icing, make tyre marks.  I hope you enjoy it!!