Snickerdoodle cookies

Page 211 - Snickerdoodle cookies

This is officially the last recipe, and whilst tasty it was a bit of an anti-climax! In hindsight it's my own fault though as I did start to pick and choose the order that I made the recipes rather than following the book... If I'd made them in the right order I would have finished on the Chocolate Orange Cupcakes which was one of my favourite recipes!!!

These were nice and the coating did give them a good crunch as you bit into one. I made them half of the size that the recipe said and they were a perfect mouthful, lovely with a cup of tea.

I'd like to know why these are called Snickerdoodle Cookies - The name suggests that they would be chocolatey and nutty so whilst I love cinnamon its a little bit of a disappointment!

Cornbread muffins

Page 200 - Cornmeal muffins

This sounded like a boring recipe that was a hassle as I had to hunt for the cornmeal (also known as maizemeal). I found the cornmeal in Waitrose in the end although I subsequently realised Sainsbury's also stocked it in with their "foreign" foods... I also had no idea what pickled peppers were or where to find them (I could've asked Peter Piper as he picks them in the tongue twister!) so I used chopped gherkins instead.

They smelt amazing when in the oven as the cheese melted, a bit like cheese scones! And looked fab too! I tried one warm just after cooking, but decided they're nicer when cooled as the cheese has more flavour. They're a little strange as the honey makes them sweet, but I kind of liked them!

Pistachio Loaf

Page 227 - Pistachio loaf

I love the Hummingird loaf recipes, they're always so lovely and moist with a twist depending on the flavour. Whilst this was tasty, it didn't have the "wow" factor that some of the other loaf recipes have had. The icing definitely gave it an edge, but the pistachios in the sponge didn't really taste of much. It did look fabulous with the green ground nuts on top though :-)

Only two more recipes and I've made every one in the book in under two years - woop woop!

Lemon and cranberry cupcakes



Page 223 - Lemon and cranberry cupcakes

I wasn't worried about whether these would taste nice or not - what isn't to like about a Hummingbird cupcake made with zesty lemon and cranberries? My only slight criticism is that the icing was a little strange with the chopped cranberries, perhaps I would have preferred to ice them and then top them with dried cranberries instead.

They were very sweet but very yummy!

Pumpkin, cheese and chive muffins



Page 198 - Pumpkin, cheese and chive muffins

I was scared about making these because the last savoury muffins I made from this book (feta, pea and ham) were a disaster. However, I tried one of these while they were warm as recommended in the book and they seem to be quite tasty. I bought fresh chives which is unusual for me as I usually use dried herbs simply because I'm lazy and tight, and I could really smell them when the muffins came out of the oven. I used a mature cheese as I love it and again this seemed to add to the flavour. I don't think I need to put pumpkin in them as you definitely cannot taste it, although perhaps it adds to the texture...?

So not a disaster, although I much prefer the sweet baked goods as opposed to the savoury!!

Eggnog cupcakes

Page 212 - Eggnog cupcakes

I have been putting off making these as I didn't have any rum essence and couldn't find any in the supermarkets. But I found it online for £2-something in the end. To be honest, they were fine but quite dull - just a vanilla sponge with rum essence and nutmeg in the buttercream. I put some raisins in the sponge and on top to make them in the rum and raisin cupcakes instead. They were tasty but I doubt I'd make them again.

On the plus side - the cases didn't come away from the sponge this time so it must have been the last two recipes that made this happen and not my technique!!

Gingerbread cupcakes

Page 228 - Gingerbread cupcakes

I thought these might be a bit dry as they have different ingredients to the usual Hummingbird cupcakes... but they were AMAZING!

The sponge was more dense than usual, but so light at the same time... And the zesty cream cheese icing made them doubly yummy. The taste of the icing perhaps slightly overshadowed the sponge, but I'd 100% make these again :-)

S'moreanne cupcakes

Page 197 - S'moreanne cupcakes

This is one weird cupcake recipe! A chocolate cupcake, sprinkled with grated chocolate and crumbled digestive biscuits... baked... and then topped with meringue?!

I thought this was the strangest combination I'd ever heard of before baking these, but I was hoping that perhaps it'd be the most amazing and surprising cupcake in the end. Whilst they weren't horrible, they were still a bit strange! The digestive didn't add anything especially, but I was pleased as the meringue turned out much better than when I made lemon meringue cupcakes back when I first started this project (thanks dad for your help!)

Blood orange cheesecake

At last I've made it...!
 
I've had to wait a year for blood oranges to come back in to season to make this cheesecake. I've never tasted blood oranges before and I have to say they're not that different to normal oranges, perhaps a bit more juicy and slightly less "orangey" - I'd say they taste a bit like a grapefruit in some ways.


Page 80 - Blood orange cheesecake

 
This cheesecake is lovely, it surprised me as it had a bit of ricotta cheese in the recipe which the other Hummingbird cheesecakes don't have. The orange zest in the base and the body of the cheesecake gave it a lovely taste and the jelly on top has a real zing, although the layer on my attempt is a lot thinner than in the book picture! My fridge must also be wonky as the jelly only set on half of the cheesecake :-)

Worth the wait though!!

Red velvet whoopie pies

Hummingbird Cake Days - Page 220 - Red velvet cupcakes

The last whoopie pie recipe... and I think I've cracked it!!!

I made these half the size that I normally would, and made sure I baked them in the middle of the oven rather than the top and they came out a treat. I also used real butter in the filling (rather than Stork which is a lot cheaper!) and it set much better than usual.

I don't love whoopie pies, but I've eaten a couple of these as they're so small... oops!

Cardamom loaf

Page 194 - Cardamom loaf

The description in the cookbook says "a simple but exotically spiced loaf" and I'd say that's a very good description indeed...

This wasn't a recipe I was particularly looking forward to or dreading, it just sounded a tad boring! But it's lovely. As I split the cardamom seeds and started to make the cake batter, the smell was exciting and I couldn't wait to taste it once it came out of the oven.

It's not a fancy recipe, but has a lovely flavour - yummy! And it only took a few minutes to whisk up too.

Honey and pear layer cake



Page 224 - Honey and pear layer cake

What a yummy recipe, and quite simple too. A fairly standard Hummingbird cake but with some lovely pears poached in honey. The sponge is so moist too - a winner!

Again - a special mention to my lovely dad Graham for providing his homemade honey from his bees in the garden for this recipe... There's a piece in my fridge for you Popsicle!!


Cinnamon and raisin loaf

Page 219 - Cinnamon and raisin loaf

A lovely, simple loaf. Nothing too fancy but as a massive cinnamon fan I loved it. Perfect for a snowy afternoon with a cup of tea :-)

And really easy to make - I managed to do it whilst wearing my baby in her Baby Bjorn!!

Beetroot and chocolate cupcakes



Page 193 - Beetroot and chocoalte cupcakes



Tried it... didn't love it!

They're not as random as they sound - I love carrot cake and also liked the courgette cake I made from the Hummingbird book a few months back. But to be honest the beetroot doesn't add anything to a normal chocolate cupcake, apart from the cream cheese frosting!

So - can tick it off the list but won't be making them again!

Only 13 recipes to go...!