Thursday 30 June 2011

Apple streusel cake


Page 42 - Apple streusel Cake
"Just like nan makes it"
Not a lot I can say about this one as I think it tastes really good! Really easy to make - simply making a sponge base, covering with slices of Granny Smith apples and then finishing with a streusel topping made of butter, flour and sugar.

Leigh's nan is German and this reminds him of cakes from her - good times!

Sunday 26 June 2011

Apple blossom cupcakes


Page 38 - Apple blossom cupcakes
"Tangy but tasty"
I thought it would be really hard to find apple iced-tea powder to go in these as per the recipe... But luckily I found "Turkish Apple Tea" at Whittard (http://www.whittard.co.uk/turkish_apple.htm). 

These have more flavour than I'd expected and the frosting has a really tangy taste which worked really well! The sponge had a hint of apple, but if I was making these again I might try and put some kind of fresh apple in for a bit of texture. 

Saturday 25 June 2011

Lemon and thyme loaf

Page 37 - Lemon and thyme loaf
"It shouldn't have worked... but it did!"

When I first read this recipe, I thought it sounded peculiar - putting thyme in to a cake! But it actually uses lemon thyme, which I was able to find in Tesco - result!

The sponge is really moist, and the syrup on top really tangy - a pleasant surprise :-)

The final test will be when dad tries some tomorrow as he's the king of all things lemony!

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Apricot and almond cookies

"Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside"
Page 34 - Apricot and almond cookies

Usually I bake cookies and they either turn out like buns or burn... These are cooked perfectly I think. If I made them again I'd put more almonds on top and perhaps a few more apricots in but actually quite nice :-)

Think a nice variation of these could be apricot and white chocolate - not sure if that's wierd or not but perhaps next time!


Sunday 19 June 2011

Beehive cake

Dad and his beehive cake
"Happy Father's Day!"

 

Not part of the Hummingbird project but thought I'd upload pictures of the beehive cake I made my dad for Father's Day!

Chocolate fondant cupcakes

Page 29 - Chocolate fondant cupcakes
"You can't beat a good ol' chocolate cake"

These ones were always going to be tasty - chocolate cupcakes with fondant icing made from chocolate and cream.

I made half of the recipe quantity simply because I'm using way too much sugar and butter these days, but it still made 9 cupcakes - They're Leigh's favourite so I think I'll let him have them all :-)

P.S. I decided I'm not selling my produce enought so check out the photography skills on these ones!!

Thursday 16 June 2011

Lemon meringue cupcakes

Page 107 - Lemon meringue cupcakes
"I need a meringue experts opinion"

 These look fabulous - and I had fun making them as I've not used a BLOWTORCH before (I only set one cupcake case on fire :-S).

Again, basic cupcake recipe with lemon mixed in, and lemon curd inside the tops of the cupcakes. I've not made meringue before - I was expecting it to be hard like the nests that you can buy, but it's considerably softer. I've been told that's ok - the taste test will tell!

(Oh yes - and sorry for skipping ahead in the book - I had egg whites to use up from the coconut cake!)

Caramel cupcakes

Page 28 - Caramel cupcakes
"My favourites so far...!"

Yum! The icing on these is lovely... although to be fair everyone is pretty lucky that the dulche de leche actually made it in to the cupcakes as I could quite happily have demolished the tin!!!

The cupcakes are the usual recipe but with the caramel mixed in before baking. The icing contains lots of lovely caramel... they remind me a little of Gold bars which I haven't had for years...

My favourites so far in the project as I love caramel - For the first time I might actually keep some in the fridge for me :-)

Tuesday 14 June 2011

Coconut layer cake


Page 24 - Coconut layer cake
 "Not like the recipe picture...but hell I'm sure it tastes ok!"

What a random recipe! Cake is made of desicated coconut and coconut milk plus the usual cake ingredients. The "custard" around the outside is SEVEN egg yolks, cornflour, more coconut milk and other bits and bobs!

I haven't tasted the finished article yet but have sampled all of the individual elements and they taste nice.

Points for future reference: Learn how to decorate the sides of a cake neatly!!

Back to cupcakes for the next two recipes - much more in my comfort zone!!!


Sunday 12 June 2011

Caramelised fruit and nut tarts


Page 23 - Caramelised fruit and nut tarts
 "My guests even went back for more!"

I must say, I haven't been looking forward to making these but they turned out surprisingly nice! I burnt the first batch of caramel, but the second batch turned out to be rather tasty!

The recipe says that you should use eight loose bottomed 4" tins, but as I don't own these I just used a yorkshire pudding tin and made 12 smaller tarts instead.

My parents came round for tea and tarts, and mum ate three - so they must have been quite nice!!!

Coconut layer cake next... Its a two page recipe but hopefully not too difficult...

Saturday 11 June 2011

Exciting news!

The only way is up (not Essex)!


I've booked to attend a cake decoration course from 27th June. I'm VERY excited - Whilst I think my cakes are ok now, this will hopefully make them better and more professional looking...

The course I'm going on is a "Back to Basics" course in Barming in Kent, here's the link...

http://www.confectionperfection.co.uk/

Will rate the course once I've started it :-)

Cherry Cupcakes

Page 20 - Cherry Cupcakes



 
I made the cherry cupcakes and they were ok, although to be honest didn't actually taste of cherry! I really struggled to find cherries in Kirsch as the recipe said, although apparently larger Waitrose stores do stock Opies jars of them.


 

Lesley still enjoyed them...!

If I made them again I'd probably use Morello cherries as I think they have a stronger taste when cooked?! But here's a link as to the Waitrose ones in case anyones interested:



Next are the Caramellised fruit and nut tarts - Now all I need to do is find a blow torch...!

Saturday 4 June 2011

Pirate hat birthday cake

Ad hoc baking - Pirate hat cake
"That be a charmin' cake!"

I made this pirate hat cake for a colleagues son's birthday - It was my first effort with sugar paste which made me a tad nervous. It turned out ok, although defnitely room for improvement!

Angel Food Cake


"What a disaster!"

I've had a couple of weeks away from my cooking challenge, partly as I wasn't looking forward to making this recipe. 10 egg whites - madness!


Page 19 - Angel Food Cake
Anyway I attempted to make this today and was really careful to FOLD in the flour and sugar but it was a disaster! I obviously didn't fold it well enough and there were pockets of flour exploding in the oven! Won't be making this again, but ticking it off the list.

On the plus side, I did make a nice Salami flan today :-) And cherry cupcakes are the next recipe... woop woop!