Carrot Cake

When I decided to go home for the weekend, I wanted to make something special for my Mum. For some reason Carrot Cake jumped out as the obvious choice. Having never made a Carrot Cake before I was excited about the challenge and wanted it to be outstanding. It took a while for me to pick the recipe I wanted to use but eventually settled on one and added a few of my own tweaks. Instead of one large sheet cake I wanted a towering layer cake, generously iced with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting. The cake itself was moist and flavourful which balanced out the sweetness of the frosting. I like the 'naked' looking cakes so I left the sides bare, I only wish I had added more frosting to the top. I finished by decorating with Walnut halves and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Had I used Pecans in the recipe I would have decorated with them instead. I enjoyed a wedge of this scrummy cake with a cup of tea!  I was really happy with how my carrot cake turned out and the feedback from my family made it extra special. I will definitely be making this again!

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Decadent Chocolate Fudge Cake, made for a good friends, friend's birthday. This is a triple layer chocolate sponge cake, layered and coated in chocolate fudge icing, topped with giant chocolate buttons to give that little extra bite. I really love the look of the buttons on top with the whimsical red ribbon which finishes the cake beautifully. I was a little sad to give this cake away because, I believe it's the best chocolate cake I've ever made, and I would have loved to cut it open. I'm sure it will be a hit with the birthday boy and all those celebrating!

Lemon Cupcakes

Looking for a zingy teatime delicacy? Then treat yourself to some Zesty Lemon Cupcakes. A fluffy lemon sponge filled with a lemon curd core and topped with refreshingly lemon buttercream icing! What a lovely match for your afternoon tea, They're so light, you could easily be tempted to have seconds. I sprinkled them with edible glitter (not really seen in the picture due to my poor photography skills) to keep them looking effortless and chic. 

Salted Nutella Fudge

Continuing my quest for chocolate this week I had a mooch through the backlog of recipes I have yet to try and I stumbled across Salted Nutella Fudge.  I have been wanting to try fudge recipes for quite a while but for one reason or another I haven't quite made the leap. What appealed about this recipe was that I had the few ingredients needed and very little effort seemed to be involved. I just melted all the ingredients together and spread out onto a baking sheet, sprinkled with rock salt and allowed to set for a few hours. I chopped my slab of fudge into cubes. and had a taste. At first I was unsure of the salt, but I found it intensifies the depth of chocolate flavour. After sharing with family and friends, much of their feedback was that they didn't like the salt but the fudge was delicious. I cant wait to try fudge making again!

Fruit and Nut Tiffin

I have been craving chocolate more often than usual recently, so in order to satisfy my taste buds I got busy in the kitchen. I had a selection of fruit and nuts in my baking cupboards so thought I would throw together a crunchy, chewy Tiffin to have with my afternoon tea. A mix of pecans, macadamia nuts and juicy cranberries were thrown into my chocolatey biscuit base and topped with a layer of dark chocolate. After some time setting in the fridge, I got stuck in. I loved the flavours together but think the dark chocolate topping was a bit too much. Next time I attempt this recipe I would use milk chocolate for a sweeter note. 

Herby Focaccia Bread

Normally I like to make sweet treats to suit my sweet tooth but the other night I asked my boyo to teach me some bread making skills. He has been making bread a LOT recently and I really wanted to be part of that action. I enjoyed the method of 'beating' the dough instead of regular kneading and the results were fantastic. A light airy Focaccia seasoned with rock salt and Rosemary made a delicious tasty treat for snacking and a lovely sandwich for lunch at work the next day.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

After being left slightly disappointed with the last cookie recipe I tried, my desire to find a great cookie recipe was fuelled. I like my Chocolate Chip Cookies to be crunchy and chewy at the same time so that's what I want to be able to make. I chose to use dark brown soft sugar to try and get the chewy texture I was after and they turned out perfect. I loved them so much I made another batch of cookie dough to store in the freezer for when I get the sugar cravings.  Just 10 minutes in the oven and they're done. Superb!

Happy 50th Birthday Sadie!

A few days ago, one of my friends and work colleagues asked me to make her mothers 50th Birthday Cake. This is the first time someone had commissioned me to bake a cake for them. I was truly honoured, if a little hesitant at first.  With a simple request of a vanilla layer cake, filled with vanilla butter cream and raspberry jam, how could I say no?! I was informed that her mother like all things Scottish, so I finished the cake with fondant icing and added thistle flowers and a bow for decoration. I am really proud at how elegant the cake turned out to be. The cake gets collected later this evening so hopefully it goes down well. 

Death by Chocolate Cookies

A very rich, dark double chocolate cookie for the true chocoholic. I found these cookies to have a brownie like consistency. They are soft, fluffy and moist in the middle with an outer shell which was crunchier and chewy. Filled with chunks of dark chocolate, they were still gooey when we devoured them straight from the oven. They taste was divine.

Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream

Home made ice cream is the yummiest of all summer treats but unfortunately one of the rarest. When I was passed down an old ice cream maker from my boyfriend's Gran, I couldn't wait to give it a go. Having never made ice cream before I wanted to start with a classic custard base Vanilla Ice Cream and I wasn't disappointed. At one point I noticed my custard start to curdle but with a blend of milk and cornflour I managed to save the day. Once enough freezing time had passed I served up a generous scoop into a chocolate wafer cone, drizzled with syrup and topped with sprinkles. Irresistible!