There are so many fun ways to bake at Halloween and this surprise cake featuring a hidden pumpkin is one of them.
There are 2 cakes to be made; one coloured and one plain. You need to plan ahead as they can’t be made at the same time. I tend to make my coloured one in the morning, get my jobs done and then get the second one made later in the day. It can be decorated the same or next day.
There’s something very special about those pink and yellow squares when you cut into a Battenberg that brings you back to being young. It was such a treat to get and always felt like a special occasion when a Battenberg was produced on the table.
It feels like a lot of work but honestly, it’s not. The cutting and joining of coloured sponges can be a little sticky and rolling out the marzipan a little messy but the result is definitely worth it and always impresses when it’s homemade!
This delicious and low fat cake comes from the Hairy Bikers. It contains low fat milk and sunflower oil so no butter and for a large 23cm cake, only uses 100g of demerara sugar which you could substitute for an organic variety which is less refined.
I converted it to a Gluten Free version so everyone at home could enjoy it and it worked really well. The other bonus of this lovely recipe is that it freezes well so you can cut in half or in slices and keep for when you desperately need a slice of cake to help sort out the woes of the world. Defrost thoroughly and heat up in a low oven or in the microwave. It’s perfect served hot or cold and will keep fresh for several days once you wrap it in tin foil.
I was in the UK a while back and saw this recipe in a magazine so of course I took pictures and once I got home, gave it a go with sweet Irish strawberries. I picked up a punnet of King Strawberries which I hadn’t seen before. Huge fellows and very sweet!
It’s a big cake and will easily feed 12/14 people so it’s perfect for a gathering and can be dressed up a bit to make it fancy, shmancy 🙂
This lovely light and very tasty cake will give your morning or afternoon cuppa an upgrade to something a little special. It’s quick and easy to make and lasts for a week in a cake tin and that’s a bonus!
There’s something so comforting about a lovely piece of fruit cake with your morning or afternoon cuppa. The only thing about most fruit cakes is the time they take to make so the perfect solution is a boiled fruit cake which takes much shorter time to make and will keep for well over a week in an airtight container.
I replaced some of the original ingredients and reduced the sugar and amount of dried fruit which I found worked well. I’ll reduce the sugar further for the next time I make it.
This really is the ultimate decadent chocolate cake and truly fit for a special occasion. The chocolate ganache covering just lifts it up from a chocolate cake to another platform of chocolate heaven!
It’s actually easier to make than the finished product looks. It was my first time using my Nordic Ware very fancy bundt tin and I learnt a few things along the way which I’ll outline in the method so you have a perfect result.
This particular type of bundt tin has very sharp edges and just needs a little bit of pre baking love to have a perfect result. I had a few of the narrowest bits stay behind in the tin but I know what I did wrong and that’s why I try out each and every recipe first before putting them up here. I filled the centre of my cake with fresh raspberries, both as a cover up (sneaky) and also because I really like the contrast of chocolate and raspberries.
Anything with citrus is always a winner at ours and I’ve been wanting to make a Key Lime Pie for a good while now. My son has been asking for one. He doesn’t eat many desserts so when he asked, I decided to bite the bullet and make one.
It’s full of zingy lime and has a lovely buttery base. Both only need a short time in the oven and some fridge time to be ready. It’s rich and indulgent so I’ll leave that there with you!
We’re not big fans of cream so I was asked to leave it off but finishing this off with a flourish of whipped cream and decorating with some grated lime zest would make it a wonderful centerpiece.
I really can’t resist anything that says lemon and then they add blueberries and what do you know, another favourite, honey! Had to be made! It’s a simple and quick to make loaf cake and it’s so moist and full of fresh blueberries and yet you can still taste a hint of honey throughout. Really nice!
You can dress it up as much as you like depending what you want it for. I brought it to a coffee morning so I added a lemon icing drizzle and used edible flowers. Equally you can just sieve a bit of icing sugar over the top and serve with a bit of fromage frais if you prefer.
A delicious and light sponge cake with both an elderflower buttercream and lemon curd in the middle and topped with a simple lemon icing glaze. The secret to creating such a moist and Mmmmm response in every bite is the lemon and elderflower syrup which is drizzled over the cake while it’s still warm and let soak through.
Originally this is a Stork recipe and I found I had to change some of the proportions of ingredients to get the taste I felt was perfect. It’s a quick and simple recipe with the added bonus of only using a wooden spoon to make, even for the buttercream!
I spotted this lovely, traditional style loaf cake on the front of the Easy Food magazine and it immediately caught my attention. Topped with fresh cream and delicious strawberries, it’s perfect for a summer tea.
I took a quick peek inside to see how they made the cake and was delighted to see they used layers of fresh strawberries in between the batter mix which gives such a lovely red and cream marble effect when you cut slices. It’s a dense enough sponge cake so it will take an hour in the oven to bake.
This recipe originally called for a chocolate coating (it was a variation of the traditional) but it was so light and delicious that I felt it would have ruined it to cover it completely with chocolate and that you might miss out on the lovely citrus kick. You can make this as the traditional Lemon Drizzle Cake but it works really well using orange for a change 🙂
A few suggestions before you start baking:
