Uncategorized

This is probably one of the simplest things to make and hands down, it’s one of the best cakes you can make… It’s the humble lemon drizzle loaf cake.

I know, you’ve probably had this a lot and they all taste somewhat similar but you cannot beat a classic, especially when its as zesty as this one. A basic sponge cake with added lemon zest, a tangy lemon drizzle brushed over and finished with a simple glaze – what’s not to like?

Personally, a loaf is always a good idea. It doesn’t require all the decorating a round cake demands and it doesn’t have any super sweet buttercream coating, just a simple lemon drizzle and glace icing – it’s super simple, no wonder this remains a classic.

This cake along with a coffee and walnut cake (or these coffee and walnut cupcakes) are here to stay, in one way, shape or form.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

 

Ingredients:

Cake:

225g butter, at room temperature.

225g granulated sugar.

225g plain flour.

1/2 tsp salt.

2 tsp baking powder.

4 eggs.

zest of 2-3 lemons.

 

Lemon Drizzle:

150ml lemon juice.

150g granulated sugar.

 

Glace Icing:

70-100g icing sugar.

small amount of water

 

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and line your loaf pan with a loaf liner or a strip of parchment paper.

To start on the recipe, grab a bowl and place in the butter and sugar and beat the two together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency (around 5-7 minutes should be the perfect amount of time).

Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. If the mixture starts to scramble or separate – don’t worry. This happens due to the amount of moisture you’re adding into the mix, slowly add the eggs and mix well in-between each addition, allowing each egg to fully incorporate.

Go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Then add in the dry ingredients, passing them through a sieve first, just to remove any lumps that may be in the dry mixture – don’t forget to add in the lemon zest as well.

Mix everything together over a medium-low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high speed, adding a small amount of milk (only if needed).

Once your cake batter is made, you can go ahead and grab your loaf pan – lining it with a loaf case or a strip of parchment paper. Now fill the loaf tin with your cake better and level it out to ensure consistent baking – transfer into your preheated oven and bake for around 40-45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre.

When there its about 5 minutes left to the baking time, make the lemon drizzle. Into a mixing bowl place granulated sugar and lemon juice, whisk together until the sugar is dissolved in the mixture, set aside until needed.

As soon as the cake is baked, take a pastry brush and generously brush it all over the top of the loaf – this will soak into the cake and bake it taste even more delicious. Allow the cake to cool down fully before you attempt to finish the cake.

Just before you want to decorate the cake, you’ll want to make the simple glaze. Take the icing sugar and add a small amount of water and mix together until you have a thick but spreadable consistency.

Take your loaf and remove the loaf case/parchment paper. However you’d like, drizzle over the icing and allow to set then enjoy.

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.

This week I’m showing you how to make the best ever raspberry brownies – dense and fudgey with a slightly truffle like texture, what’s not to like?

These brownies are honestly so good – they contain 3 different types of chocolate, unsweetened, dark and milk chocolate. The combination of the different chocolates really helps to make these brownies so decadent – the way a brownie should be. Dark, indulgent and decadent, these brownies are perfect alone but when partnered with raspberry, let me tell you.

Raspberry and chocolate work so well together, granted its not quite strawberry BUT it works so well together. The tartness from from the raspberries really compliments the chocolate and works really together. It’s not the well known combination you may like but trust me, it may become your new favourite!

For the chocolate elements of this recipe, I used products from Cocoa Runners Don’t forget to check them out, if you’re interested!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

 

Ingredients:

200g Butter.

50g Milk chocolate.

50g Dark chocolate

100g Unsweetened chocolate.

100g Plain flour.

50g Cocoa powder.

3 Eggs.

300g Granulated sugar.

150-200g raspberries, fresh or frozen.

 

Method:

Before you get into the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work first. Start by preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, place a saucepan with a small amount of water onto the hob over a medium heat, weigh up your ingredients, line a 8 inch square tin with parchment paper and get any other equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and a silicon spatula.

To start, take a heatproof bowl (one thats big enough to fit on top of the saucepan of simmering water) and place in the butter, milk chocolate and dark chocolate. Place the bowl over the heat and allow to melt, once you can see it melting, you will then want to stir the mixture until it’s smooth and no traces of a single ingredient can be seen. Once you’ve achieved this, set aside, allowing it to cool down bit before you use it.

Now you can go ahead and take a medium sized bowl and sift in the plain flour and cocoa powder. Once sifted into the bowl, you can take a whisk and just combine them a little further – set aside until needed later on.

Into a large mixing bowl (I sued my stand mixer and mixing bowl), place the eggs and sugar. Whisk them together until they are lighter in colour and consistency- it should be a pale yellow-ish colour and is smooth in texture.

Turn the speed to a medium and gently pour in the melted chocolate butter mixture, then once it’s incorporated, mix for a short while afterwards, just until it’s fully incorporated.

Next you can add in the sieved dry mix, then fold it in using a spatula or metal spoon, just until the dry ingredients and raspberries have been incorporated. Try your best not to over-mix at this stage.

Add the brownie batter into your lined cake tin and bake in your preheated oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes or a tester comes out with a few crumbs on.

Then cool in the tin until they are fully cooled. To make the texture and flavour even better, place in the fridge for as long as possible – this is probably the best recommendation I have when making good brownies even better

Now they are cooled and ready, slice up into 8 bars or 16 bitesize portions, whichever is best for you!

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.

Well, I’m keeping things as simple as can be this week with a batch of my almond flapjacks. They’re not like the other recipes that you find online, they have the dense and chewy consistency you know and love but packed with natural almond flavour.

I have literally taken my simple flapjack recipe and adapted it to make this almond version, which is perfect for those who like or love almond. I have incorporated the almond flavour through almond butter from Pip & Nut and ground almonds (almond flour), I opted against almond extract as it always tastes a little artificial (even the best brands taste artificial when used in the wrong quantity). If you really want to elevate the almond flavour, feel free to add a small amount into the recipe.

I’ll be honest with you, these flapjacks aren’t overly healthy. They contain brown sugar, golden syrup and butter – all of which aren’t great for you but of course, all treats can be enjoyed guilt free. Indulging once in a while won’t hurt, even if you think so – it’s okay to eat and enjoy your food.

As mentioned above, I have used plain almond butter, which helps to add a natural almond flavour and creaminess to the flapjacks, which is not something you’d associate with them usually. It’s not an overwhelming creaminess, it’s subtle but there enough to make a noticeable different. Traditionally, they don’t. have any sort of coating or topping but these ones have a cheeky almond butter and white chocolate spread topping – this is just to further enhance the almond flavour and add another flavour profile.

If you’d like to check out what Pip & Nut have available check out your local supermarket or the website.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

 

Ingredients:

Flapjacks:

350g Oats.

50g Ground almonds

75-100g Blanched almonds, roughly chopped.

175g Butter.

175g Light brown sugar.

175g Golden syrup.

50g Almond butter.

 

Topping:

150g Almond butter.

75-100g White chocolate spread.

50g Blanched almonds, roughly chopped.

 

 

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I like to start by weighing up all of my ingredients, lining my 8×8 inch square cake tin with parchment paper and grab any other equipment you may need such as a mixing bowl, spatula and saucepan. You may also want to preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

To start on the recipe, you’ll want to grab a large mixing bowl. You can go ahead and add in all of your oats, the the ground almond and blanched almonds, mixing everything together until they are well combined.

 

Take a medium saucepan and place in the butter, golden syrup, light brown sugar and almond butter. Place the saucepan on the hob over a low-medium heat and just leave it for around 60 seconds, then you can start to stir it constantly until everything has melted together and become smooth. The mixture should be clear, meaning you can see a single trace of a single ingredient.

Now you can go ahead and pour the melted mix over the dry mix, giving it all a very good stir together. You want all of the oats to be coated in the melted mixture, this will only help to make them taste as yummy as possible.

Grab your lined cake tin from earlier on and add in all of the oaty flapjack mixture. Spread and level out the mixture as best you possibly can.

Place the tray into your preheated oven and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a nice golden brown colour all over with slightly darker edges.

Once out of the oven allow to cool down fully before you attempt to finish them off.

This is optional but I’ll be adding a layer of almond white chocolate to finish the cooled traybake.

For the topping, gently warm together almond butter and white chocolate spread, stirring together until they are fully combined.

Pour over the top of the flapjacks, spreading to all of the corners, ensuring theres a good coating all over the flapjacks – you shouldn’t be able to see any off the flapjacks from the top. Chill in the fridge until the topping has firmed up to the touch.

Whenever you’re ready, you can slice them up. How you do this is completely up to you – I went with 8 rectangular bars but you can go with 9 more square portions, it’s really up to you.

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.

Keeping things super simple this week with this batch Rice Krispies millionaires shortbread – a twist on the classic millionaires shortbread.

This was an accidental creation, coming about after having a sort out and seeing which bits and pieces I had that needed to be used up and finished off, resulting in the Rice Krispie layer.

Initially, I was going to keep it even more simple just by coating the treats in chocolate with a pinch of salt but though I’d elevate it by adding a layer of thick caramel and a white chocolate layer with a salted caramel swirl – what’s not to like?

So, this bake has 3 simple layers, starting with a classic vanilla rice Krispy treat layer, which is topped with a luscious caramel and finished with a white chocolate, swirled with a homemade salted caramel and sprinkled with a dashing of white chocolate chips. It’s not overly sweet, which you’d expect but the balance is all worked out.

The best thing about this traybake is that it is a no bake traybake – which makes this even better, especially considering the UK is going through a mini heatwave.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Rice Krispy layer:

45g butter.

300g marshmallows.

180g Rice Krispies.

1 tsp vanila extract.

 

Caramel layer:

175g butter.

115g light brown sugar.

45ml golden syrup.

400g condensed milk.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

 

White chocolate layer:

150g white chocolate.

100g white chocolate spread.

50-80g salted caramel.

White chocolate chips.

 

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients and get any equipment you need, such as a saucepan, a 8 inch square cake tin (which has been lined with parchment paper).

To start in true recipe, you’ll want to make the Rice Krispie base. This is really easy, so start with a large saucepan and place in the butter and marshmallows – place onto the hob over a medium-low heat, allowing them to melt a little before stirring constantly until everything has melted and the mixture is smooth.

Take your large mixing bowl with the Rice Krispies in and pour over the marshmallow mixture over – getting as much of the marshmallow mixture from the saucepan into the other mixing bowl.

While the s mixture is still liquid like, combine the marshmallow mixture and cereal together until they are fully combined – its a sticky mess but its delicious!

Grab the lined cake tin and transfer all of the rice Krispy mixture into it. Spreading it out and pressing it into place, ensuring its as level as possibly can be. Once you have a even layer, you can go ahead and place it into the fridge to firm up while you make the caramel layer.

For the caramel layer, it’s probably easier than the rice Krispy layer (I’m not even kidding). Take a medium-large saucepan and place in all of the ingredients, giving them all a brief mix before placing the saucepan on the hob over a medium heat and allow everything to melt a little before stirring non-stop until the caramel has thickened. You will notice the caramel seems thin for sometime but it will thicken quickly, so keep an eye out – don’t allow the mixture to catch on the bottom of the saucepan.

Once the caramel has thickened significantly, you can pour that over the rice Krispy base, spreading out to ensure you have a consistent layer then allow to cool down, just enough for you to place into the fridge and allow the caramel to firm up on its own.

Whenever you’re ready, you can make the white chocolate layer. Into a bowl place the white chocolate and white chocolate spread, gently heat in the microwave on 10 second increments, stirring well, ensuring you only heat it up until its fairly liquidy and then pour on top of your chilled caramel layer.

While the white chocolate topping is still liquid, operationally swirl small amounts of salted caramel on top and sprinkle over white chocolate chips.

Allow to firm up and then cut up into 9 equal pieces and enjoy!

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.

If you didn’t already know, lemon and blueberry is one of my favourite flavour combinations, so throw it into a cookie dough and you’ll have some right tasty cookies in no time.

Keeping things relatively spring/summer oriented, these lemon and blueberry cookies will surely go down a treat with whoever is lucky enough to try them! You have the burst of fruit goodness from the blueberries and the tangy zestiness from the lemon zest – a real good combo, right?

I know you wouldn’t associate fruit and cookies but these work really well, I highly recommend giving these a go, they are a little different but a totally good different. You have the brightly flavoured fillings of lemon, blueberry and white chocolate, which when entwined into a cookie dough, mwah *chefs kiss* – you basically have to try it for yourself.

If these sound like your sort of cookie, why not give them a go? You won’t regret it… The only thing you’ll regret is not trying them sooner!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

75g butter.

75g granulated sugar.

75g light brown sugar.

1-2 lemons, zested

1 egg.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

175g plain flour.

1/2 tsp baking powder.

1/4 tsp salt.

150g blueberries, frozen (use fresh if needed).

100g white chocolate chips.

 

Method:

Before you get start on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Weigh up all of the ingredients, line a baking tray with parchment paper and grab any equipment you may need such a hand mixer (and bowl) or a stand mixer and spatula. Preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

Take a mixing bowl and place in the butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar and lemon zest and beat them all together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

Then you can add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until they have been fully incorporated. You will notice the mixture changes very quickly in consistency and this is because of the amount of moisture you’ve added, if it looks a little scrambled, don’t worry.

Take a sieve and pass through the flour, salt and baking powder. This is just to remove any lumps that may be in the dry mix as sometimes dry ingredients can be prolific for clumping together.

Add in the blueberries and chocolate chips, folding everything together until you have a clear cookie dough formed. Then you can transfer the cookie dough into a small bowl cover with clingfilm and place into the fridge to firm up and enhance the flavours (you can use the dough straight away if you’d like to).

Grab your bowl of cookie dough, a cookie scoop and your lined baking tray. Start to scoop up your dough for the cookie, I personally use 2 scoops of dough per cookie (this gives the perfect size cookie). Round the two scoops of dough together into a smooth ball, flatten a little, then place on the baking tray, allowing space around each ball of dough as they spread while baking.

Now you have a tray of cookie dough, you can then place it into the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until they have spread out and have become golden brown with a slightly darker brown edge.

Remove from the oven and finish the cookies off. I like to add more of the fillings onto the top fo the cookies, so you get even more decorative flavour in each bite.

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.

The seasons are finally changing – it’s the perfect time for lighter and fruitier flavours. That’s why I’m bringing these lemon and blueberry blondies your way…

Seeing as the seasons have changed and the weather is finally picking up, meaning it’s sunnier and brighter! Bring on those spring flavours – they have been much awaited for.

I love lemon and blueberry, they just seem to work. You get the zestiness from the lemon and the fruity burst from the blueberries – what’s not to like?

If you like something a little different, why not give these a go? You won’ regret it! It’s a dense and mouthwatering treat, bursting with flavour!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

200g White chocolate.

130g Butter.

160g Granulated sugar.

190g Plain flour.

1/2 tsp Salt.

3 Eggs.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

100g White chocolate chips

3 lemons, zested.

100-150g blueberries, fresh or frozen (dusted in flour).

 

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, lining an 8×8 inch square cake tin with parchment paper, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and place a small/medium saucepan on the hob over a low/medium heat. Don’t forget to get any equipment you may need, such as a heat proof mixing bowl, whisk and silicon spatula.

Into a median sized heatproof bowl, place the butter and white chocolate, then place over the saucepan of simmering water and allow to melt a little. Once they start melting, continuously stir until its completely melted and smooth – it should also be well combined.

Remove the bowl from on top of the saucepan (be careful, it’ll be hot).

Add in the lemon zest and whisk until it’s fully incorporated.

Give the bowl a quick scraping down, then add in all of your eggs and the vanilla and whisk them in until they are fully incorporated. The mixture will be thick but spreadable and flow well.

Go ahead and add in the granulated sugar and whisk it all together until everything has been fully incorporated.

Then add in the flour, salt, white chocolate chips and blueberries, mixing until everything is incorporated – the batter will be thick but have some fluidity to it.

Place in the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden arrow the edges.

Once fully baked, allow to cool fully in the tin. Once completely cooled down, you can slice them up straight away or place in the fridge for around 6-8 hours – this will help make the blondies easier to slice up and make them extra dense… Which is perfect (as these are a white chocolate brownie, the only way to enjoy them is dense and fudgy, fight me!)

Whenever you’re ready to slice up the blondies, take a sharp knife and cut them up. You can do 8 very generous bars or 16 smaller bitesize pieces – whichever suits you or however you slice up.

These are perfect to make ahead of time and can be frozen, when wrapped well. Share these with your friends and family this year – it’s the year to show some love!

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.

Kinder Bueno is always a good idea, right? This kinder bueno cake will certainly hot the sweet spot!

Sometimes cake is juts a good idea to make, right? Like you don’t really need a reason to celebrate, you can just have your cake and eat it (even though I’m not a big fan of cake, even my own).

The cake is made up of 4 layers of soft chocolate sponge cake, filled with a hazelnut chocolate buttercream and a generous splash of hazelnut chocolate spread. It’s then coated with the same hazelnut chocolate buttercream and finished with a chocolate chip border, white chocolate hazelnut and chocolate hazelnut drip, buttercream rosettes and topped with pieces of kinder bueno.

This is just how I make my version of a drip cake, you could leave out whichever elements you don’t like and put your own twist on things. If you’re looking for a simple cake to make for an event/celebration, this is the one for you – trust me!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

 

Ingredients:

Chocolate cake:

375g butter, room temperature.

375g granulated sugar.

7 eggs.

2 tsp vanilla extract.

335g plain flour.

40g coco powder

2 tsp baking powder.

1 tsp salt.

(milk, if needed).

 

Simple syrup:

200ml water.

200g granulated sugar.

30g cocoa nibs.

 

Chocolate hazelnut buttercream:

400g butter.

800g icing sugar.

20g cocoa powder.

80g hazelnut chocolate spread.

 

Decoration:

Milk chocolate chips (for the border).

Chocolate hazelnut spread (for the drip and filling on top).

White chocolate hazelnut spread (for the drip).

Hazelnuts, roasted (for on top).

 

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, weigh up all of your ingredients and line your 4 x 6 cake tins with parchment paper. You’ll also want to get any equipment you may need ready, like a stand mixer and spatula.

Start by making the cake – which is really easy. Simply grab your mixing bowl and place in the butter and sugar, then beat the two together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency. This usually takes around 5-7 minutes on a medium-high speed.

Once you’ve achieved the right consistency, stop the mixer and give the bowl goo scraping down just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in.

You can then add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. If you add the egg too quickly, you’ll notice the mixture scrambled and it may ruin the cake batter. Once the eggs have been added, you can add in the vanilla extract and mix until thats been fully incorporated.

Give the bowl another good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Now go ahead and add in the dry ingredients, ensuring they are passed through a sieve first, just to remove any lumps from within the dry mix.

Incorprate all of the dry ingredients over a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high speed, just until a clear batter forms. If you notice the cake batter is a little too stiff, feel free to add a table spoon of milk at a time until you reach the perfect consistency.

Finally, give the bowl one final scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated.

Take the cake batter and divide it equally between your 4 x 6 inch cake tins. – you can eyeball it or weigh the same amount into each tin for more accuracy. Place the cake tins into the preheated and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake.

Now while your cakes are in the oven, you can get cleaned down and get ahead with the recipe by making the buttercream and simple syrup.

To make the simple syrup, take a small-medium saucepan and place in the granulated sugar and water, giving them a brief stir, then add in the cocoa nibs and give it a quick stir before placing onto the hob and allowing to almost reach a boil. Set aside until cool enough to store in a container or use – keep stored in the fridge).

Starting on the buttercream, take a mixing bowl and place in the butter and beat on its own until its lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this takes around 7-10 minutes, give or take, deeding on how soft your butter was.

Then give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on. Add in around half the icing sugar and the cocoa powder and incorporate over a low speed, mixing together until everything is fully incorporated. Repeat with the remaining icing sugar and add in the chocolate hazelnut spread – mix until everything is incorporated.

Once the cakes are cooled, you can start to assemble the cakes. Before you get started on the decoration process, you’ll want to trim and level the cakes as well as brushing them overly with a generous amount of simple syrup.

To start the assembly process, take your cake board/stand/plate and smear a small amount of buttercream in the centre, this will act like the glue that keeps everything in place and secure.

 

On top of that smear, place your first layer of cake, pressing down to secure it in place. You can then go ahead and top the layer of cake with the buttercream, leaving a small ridge around the edge, so you can pour in and spread around the chocolate hazelnut spread. Repeat the process with the remaining layers of cakes.

Once all of your cakes are stacked, you can go ahead and give the cake a crumb coat. This is a layer of icing, which will lock in the crumbs, ensuring your final layer of cake is clean and without any crumbs in the mixture. Chill this in the fridge for around 30-60 minutes or until the buttercream is firm to the touch.

This time you’re going to apply the second and final layer of buttercream – this is the coat you’ll want to try and get as smooth as possible but if it isn’t, don’t worry, it’s honestly not the end of the world.

Just before you finish the cake, I wanted to add some more chocolate and add something a little different by adding a milk chocolate chip boarder around the bottom of the cake – this is optional, you could simply allow the drip to continue all the way to the bottom.

Now that the second layer of cake has been applied, you can go ahead and chill in the fridge until it has firmed up a bit. I like to chill the cake before I do the drips, I find it makes it easier to work with the drips.

For my drips, I don’t use melted chocolate or a ganache – theres no need. You can simply use chocolate spreads, which work just as well, they melt fine and drip down the cake like a ganache and when refrigerated, they firm up perfectly – what’s not to like?

I melt a small amount of white chocolate hazelnut spread, as well as a chocolate hazelnut spread, ensuring it isn’t too hot. Place into piping bags, not fitted with a nozzle and use them straight away, otherwise the mixture will cool too much and it won’t drip properly.

I alternate the drips but started with the white chocolate hazelnut spread, leaving a space in-between each, allowing room for the milk chocolate spread drip. Complete the drip and allow the spread to firm up a bit before finishing the cake.

To finish the cake, pipe rosettes as tall or as short as you’d like on top of the cake, filling in any gaps with some buttercream as I filled the top with more hazelnut chocolate spread and further topped the spread with some roasted hazelnuts, just for added flavour and texture.

Then place the cake in the fridge and allow to firm up for a further 30-45 minutes, just to make the slicing process easier.

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.

 

 

Today I’m finally sharing my take on a batch of peanut butter and ‘jelly’ brownies… They might not sound too impressive but trust me on this occasion – they are spectacular.

These brownies start with a super simple classic brownie base, studded with dark chocolate and fresh strawberries and generously swirled with peanut butter and strawberry jam.

I have done something a little different, by using fresh strawberries. I thought about these and even in the testing process, they worked so well – like they added such an intense flavour and an amazing texture, plus when partnered with the dark chocolate *chefs kiss*.

For the best results, I used chocolate from the Cocoa Runners – they have a great selection of baking chocolate including unsweetened, dark, milk, cocoa powder, cocoa nibs and make your own chocolate bar. Not forgetting the deep roast peanut butter from the guys at Pip & Nut – if you haven’t tried their selection of nut butters, you’re missing out!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

140g butter.

45g cocoa powder.

225g granulated sugar.

2 eggs.

1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

100g plain flour.

100g dark chocolate.

80g strawberry jam.

80g peanut butter, smooth.

100g fresh strawberries, quartered.

 

Method:

Before you start making anything, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up your ingredients, preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and getting any equipment you need ready such as a mixing bowl and a whisk. Don’t forget to line your 8 inch baking tray with parchment paper.

To start on the brownie batter, you’ll want to add your melted butter and cocoa powder sugar into large mixing bowl and whisk the two together until well combined.

Then go ahead and add in the granulated sugar and mix it in until it’s fully incorporated. Give the bowl a good scrape down, this is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in.

Add your eggs and mix until they are fully incorporated. As the eggs are incorporated, the mixture will become smoother and glossier. Don’t forget to add in the vanilla extract.

After that you can add in the plain flour and chocolate, fold those in using a spatula, this will lower the chances of over mixing the brownie batter. Once your brownie batter is ‘clear’ from any single ingredient, stop mixing.

Add in the fresh strawberries and fold them in until they are fairly distributed through out the brownie batter.

Go ahead and grab your lined baking tray and transfer the brownie batter directly into it. Spread and level it out as you need to get it level and consistent.

On top of the batter, add spoonfuls of the smooth peanut butter and strawberry jam and then take a knife and swirl it around to spread and spread out the jam/peanut butter.

Place the brownies into the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes or until a tester comes out with minimal crumbs on it.

These brownies are dense, packed with flavour and sure to impress – thats a fact!

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.

Today I’m sharing my take on these chocolate teacakes – you may know the more well known brand version of Tunnock’s chocolate teacakes.

If you haven’t ever tried a chocolate teacake – you’re really missing out. It starts with a biscuit base, topped with a marshmallow filling and finished with a thin layer of milk chocolate – the three elements may not sound like they work together but trust me on this one, they do.

These delectable treats start with a linzer biscuit base, as this biscuit melts in the mouth and isn’t overly heavy or stodgy, that is then topped with a super light marshmallow (nothing will beat homemade marshmallow – its honestly so much better than the mass produced stuff) and to tie everything together, you have a thin layer of melted milk chocolate.

Of course, these may not be the iconic version wrapped in the red and silver foil but they are the perfect homemade version.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

 

Ingredients:

Linzer biscuit base:

300g plain flour.

200g butter.

100g icing sugar.

1 egg yolk.

 

Marshmallow filling:

175g granulated sugar.

75g liquid glucose.

4 leaves of gelatine.

125ml water.

1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

2 egg whites.

2g salt.

 

Chocolate coating:

300-400g milk chocolate, melted.

 

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, lining a baking tray with parchment paper and getting any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and a medium size saucepan. Don’t forget  to preheat your oven to 180˚c

Start by placing the butter and icing sugar into a mixing bowl and beat them together until they are well combined.

Next add in the egg yolk and mix until it’s fully incorporated. You can then give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that nay not have been worked in from earlier on.

Then go ahead and add in the flour and mix until its fully incorporated – try your best not to over-mix as this will make the biscuits tough in texture.

Bring your dough into a rounded disc shape, which is around 3-4cm thick. As this dough doesn’t need to be refrigerated before using it, you can process it straight away.

Roll the dough out until its around half a centimetre in thickness, then using a 9cm round cutter, cut as many rounds out as you possibly can (when it comes to re-rolling the dough, only do this once, as you don’t want to overwork the gluten). Then place the rounds onto a lined baking tray and place into your preheated oven and bake for 11-12 minutes or until they are slightly coloured around the edges – you’re not looking for them colour too much.

Once baked, allow to cool fully.

Now to make the marshmallow – it’s super easy and takes next to no time to make.

To start, place the sugar and glucose into a saucepan and stir well. Place on the hob over a medium-high heat and allow to come up to 118˚c (or better known as soft ball stage). As the mixture comes up to temperature, you don’t want to stir it as that may cause crystallisation – which will ruin your mix.

As soon as the sugar is boiling, prepare the other ingredients. Soak the gelatine leaves in water until softened. Squeeze out the excess water and then place the gelatine and 250ml water and place over a low heat, stir constantly until the gelatine has melted.

Transfer the mixture into a mixing bow and add in the egg whites. Whisk everything together over a medium-high speed until the egg whites reach a soft peak consistency.

When the sugar has come up to 118˚c, you can go ahead and lower the speed of the mixer and carefully pour the hot sugar mixture down the side of the bowl – don’t pour directly onto the whisk, as if this touches your skin, it will burn you. Once it has been added, turn up the speed to a medium speed and mix for 2 minutes before cranking the speed up to high and whisk for a further 10 minutes. By the end of the time, the marshmallow mixture should be fully and glossy.

Low the speed back dow and add in the vanilla and salt, whisk for a further 1 minute and then transfer the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a medium round piping tip.

Pipe the marshmallow on top of the linzer biscuit base, ensuring you have a little peak on top. Repeat for the remaining biscuits. Once you have piped the marshmallow, you will want to allow the mixture to skin over a little, so leave them for a short while until a skin forms. They will still be sticky and stretchy but won’t break when pressed.

Whenever you’re ready to finish them off, simply melt your milk chocolate, ensuring the chocolate doesn’t get too hot while you’re melting it down.

Then take the smooth melted chocolate and pour over your marshmallow and biscuits, ensuring they covered all over. Repeat until they have all been covered and allow the chocolate to firm up.

Whenever you’re ready, enjoy them with a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy!

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.