Weekly Bake Off : Apricot Swiss Cakes

It's been a while since I've baked with the Weekly Bake Off where the aim is to bake a recipe chosen at random by Amy our lovely host, from Mary Berry's 100 Cakes and Bakes. The chosen recipe is announced on twitter (@weeklybakeoff) every Monday and you have until Sunday to send in a picture of your bake via twitter. 

Apricot Swiss Cakes were chosen this week. I decided to make these late at night after a particularly stressful day as I needed something to cheer me up.  They were quick and easy to whip up but I do need to practice my piping skills! The cakes retained some of the 'swirl' shape which I was pleased about. I didn't have any apricot jam so I used strawberry and raspberry jam which is what is used traditionally.

I would call these biscuits rather than cakes as it has a really soft, buttery and crumbly texture similar to shortbread and absolutely delicious with the jam in the middle. You can use any type of jam with this. I am definitely making these again as they are really easy to make and taste great! Plus they look really cute and are perfect with a cup of tea. 

 pipe the mixture into the paper case 

 slightly overcooked... oops! 

 add a small teaspoon of jam in the middle. I forgot to sprinkle icing sugar! 

To see all the excellent entries to the weekly bake off, click here

Recipe is from Mary Berry's 100 Cakes and Bakes page 71 

Mint Oreo Fudge Brownies

The first thing I baked when I got back from America were these amazing Mint oreo fudge brownies. I don't understand why they don't sell Mint Oreo's here - they are amazing! I debated about using these in a cookie or a cupcake but decided a brownie was the best way to use up my precious supply. I adapted the recipe from one I found online on 6 Bittersweets which is a pretty cool blog full of delicious goodies. 

These brownies are probably one of the best I've ever eaten. You can taste the mint clearly and the brownies were fudgy with a crisp top! One of my colleagues took a bite and said "I'm in heaven!".  Another one is still talking about it days later so I think I will have to make another batch with the remaining cookies. If you really like your mint and chocolate combination, I would suggest adding a teaspoon of peppermint extract to the batter. 

As it's an "M" bake, I am also entering these to AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes this month and myself on alternate months. 

 melt butter and chocolate...

...until smooth.stir in sugar, salt and vanilla extract. 

 whisk in the eggs one at a time, followed by flour and cocoa powder to create a lovely fudgy batter ...

 I had to test one first of course :) 

 chopped up mint oreo cookies 

 ready to go in the oven

mmmmm......

Recipe adapted from 6 bittersweets

200g butter, chopped into smallish cubes

375g sugar

170g chocolate, roughly chopped

165g flour

80g cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs 

approximately 17 Mint oreo cookies (plus extra to munch on whilst baking), roughly chopped.

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a medium sized pan, melt the butter and chocolate.
• Then whisk in the sugar, salt and vanilla extract. 
• Continue mixing until you get a smooth mixture then remove from heat and set aside for a few minutes.
• Whisk in the eggs one at a time and then the flour and cocoa powder until you get a fudgy mixture as shown. 
• Stir in 12 of the chopped mint oreos, reserving the rest to sprinkle on top.
• Pour the mixture into a square baking pan and sprinkle the remaining 5 chopped mint oreos on top. 
• Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until the top is crisp and the edges are cooked. 
• Allow to cool in the pan. 
• Slice and enjoy!

Baking goodies from America

If you don't already know, I recently went on a fantastic holiday to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. I love going to America for many reasons but mainly because I get to stock up on baking supplies. This time, I really excelled myself in the shopping and would like to share with you the loot I managed to carry back home. I have never spent so much just on baking supplies in one go but I'm sure they will ALL be put to good use :)  Some of the pictures are not very clear but you will see them again in detail when I get round to using them. 

I will also be posting some foodie pictures from the trip later on - I have about 600 photos to sift through at the moment so please bear with me! In the meantime I have already baked with some of the stuff you see below so do check back this week as you won't want to miss it! 

Ok are you ready? I have to say I got so excited gathering them to photograph as it reminded me of everything I have... I can't wait to use them all!! You will notice a lot of Williams-Sonoma , Wilton   and Nordicware products here and the obvious American candies. 

PS this post was not intended to make anyone jealous!! I have had quite a few requests to share my baking shopping so here they are :) 

 L to R from back: message in a cookie cutter, russian doll measuring cups, checkerboard cake pan, banana bread tin, mini teacake pan and miniature bundt tin

 back row L to R: Mint oreo fudge creme cookies, momofuku milk bar cookie mix (can't wait to try), coloured sanding sugar underneath, reese's mini peanut butter cups

Middle row L to R: Mint oreo cookies, hershey's kisses, peanut butter m&m's and pastel sanding sugar

front row L to R: petit pie mould (it was on sale for $4!), reese's peanut butter chips

 not really for baking but kitchen gadgets from Williams-Sonoma where I spent many happy hours :) 

L to R: vegetable chopper and measure, avocado dicer, lemon juicer, strawberry slicer and an ice cream scoop (I have an obsession with these and already have 3 different sized ones - great for making cookies and cupcakes and scooping ice cream of course) 

 whoopie pie pan (again it was on sale for $6 - how could I not?), cake pop pan and mini doughnut pan

I think you can pretty much guess what I will be baking for the whole year! There's a few others that are not here but I'm sure you will see them sooner or later :) 

Pistachio and rose Madeleines

Well it's back to baking full swing in my kitchen. I will post some pictures soon about all the baking goodies I bought from America and the yummy cakes I had plus a few others. Today, I want to share a simple pistachio and rose madeleine with you. I bought a whole bag of pistachios hence the consecutive pistachio recipes. There may be yet another one as I don't want to waste them! 

I knew I wanted to make a madeleine for AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes as the letter for this month is M. I also wanted to use pistachios. I remember bookmarking a recipe ages ago from one of my all time favourite blogs Not Quite Nigella (I've probably bookmarked her whole blog!) She has adapted this recipe from Nigella and it worked a treat. Nigella says it makes 48 mini madeleines or 24 regular ones. Not Quite Nigella managed 12 regular ones but I only managed 10 (one was smaller as I didn't have enough batter). 

They smelt really fragrant from the rose water and tasted delicious! I'll definitely be making these again as they were quick and simple and bake, looked pretty and tasted amazing. Will remember to make a double recipe next time. 

I am also submitting this to Bookmarked Recipes hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes 

 grind pistachios and icing sugar..

 ...to a fine powder 

 mixing into the egg and sugar mixture

 add chopped pistachios to the top 

Recipe from Not Quite Nigella

1 large egg
40g caster sugar
pinch of salt
25grams unsalted pistachios + extra to sprinkle on top (optional)
2 tablespoons icing sugar
50g unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon for greasing pan
45g plain flour
1 tablespoon rosewater

• Preheat the oven to 220ºC 
• Butter and flour the madeleine pan. 
• Grind the pistachios with icing sugar until it resembles a fine powder. Roughly chop the extra pistachios if using (approximately 1 handful)
• Melt the butter and set aside to cool. 
• Beat the egg, caster sugar and salt until it triples in volume. 
• Add in the flour, butter and rosewater. 
• Spoon the batter into the tins and bake for approximately 6-8 minutes. 

Pistachio and chocolate macarons

Hello everyone. I'm back from my travels and slowly getting back to baking and blogging. It was an awesome trip and I had an amazing time! I was quite jet lagged on return and it has taken me quite a while to get back into the swing of things which is why things have been quiet on my blog and twitter.  I will post a few pictures from my travels when I get my photos organised but for now it's back to baking!

As it's St Patrick's Day I wanted to make something green and decided to tackle my baking nemesis... macarons. I've never made them before but I did attend a class recently with my AlphaBakes co-host Caroline which you can read about here.  I've always had a fear of making them having read many horror stories and I'm afraid this is not a success story :( 

I used the recipe that we were given in the class (which produced great results).  Basically you need egg whites, sugar and pistachios.  I used fresh eggs as I didn't have time to age the egg whites but added a pinch of cream of tartar and salt to the eggs.  The macaronage looked good and I had high hopes before they went in the oven. I let them sit for 30 minutes and they actually formed a skin. After baking, they looked slightly brown but some of them had "feet" and I thought success!! Then I tried to peel them off the silicone mat and they literally fell to pieces :( I'm not sure if I was meant to grease the mat first and I notice that Caroline had similar problems with her mat. The ones I piped freehand onto a baking sheet turned out ok - they're nowhere near perfect but they are passable.  I suspect my macarons were undercooked but they were getting quite brown or perhaps my oven temperature was wrong. They are quite fiddly little things!

So I decided to try them again but made them greener this time. However, I initially put grape violet colour instead of green as I saw the "G" and assumed it was green!! You can see a few purple streaks but I'm sure you would not have noticed if I didn't tell you.  I also decided to use the other side of the macaron mat to make mini macarons. This time, I could peel them off the mat easily but they didn't have feet on them! 

The plus point was that they tasted really good as you can really taste the pistachio in the macaron shells and it paired well with chocolate. I will definitely attempt these again (probably not for a while) so watch this space! Hope my baking mojo returns :) 

I am entering these to AlphaBakes as the letter for this month is "M" 

and also to We Should Cocoa hosted by Chocolate Teapot as the theme this month is green

 silicone mat 

 egg whites 

 pistachios blitzed with icing sugar - you can't really see the green but it was definitely a light green. 

 slightly overzealous piping! 

 "freestyle" as I ran out of space on the mat 

 result from round 1 (these were from the shells I piped on the baking sheet

 i'm pretty sure those are little feet! 

 

broken shells from my first attempt and some from the second attempt 

 round 2 - greener!

  reverse side of the mat 

 mini macs ready to be filled

 final result 

I made a chocolate ganache for the filling - heat 4 tablespoons of cream and add 100g chopped chocolate and 25g butter and stir until mixed and smooth. Sorry forgot to take a picture of the ganache! 

Alphabakes: "L" Round Up

Welcome to the first AlphaBakes round up. Thank you to everyone who participated in this challenge with us. We have had a whopping thirty-three entries which have far exceeded our expectations! Clearly the letter "L" has inspired lots of you to bake with us. I loved looking at all your lovely, luscious and lavish entries. There were a lot of lemon entries as expected but also some slightly more unusual "L"s. 

Make sure you check out Caroline's blog on 1st March to see what the random letter for March is. 

So without further ado, in the order that they came in, here are all the "L" entries for the month....

First up are these gorgeous Lamingtons from Homemade by Fleur. Fleur had an exciting day filming Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard the day before she made these little beauties. Can't wait to see the episode :) 

Next is Nelly from Nelly's Cupcakes with mini lemon meringue tarts. Lemon meringue pie was actually her first ever post on her blog. I love the mini versions - they look so cute! 

Next is Sarah from Sarah Bakes with her mini cupcake Lamingtons - clearly there's a theme here with lamingtons and minis :) These were made for Australia Day which is celebrated on Jan 26th. I love that she made them into a cupcake version. 

C from cakecrumbsandcooking entered this fabulous lemon buttermilk cake. A great cake to bake if you have some buttermilk in the fridge that needs to be used. 

Continuing with the lemon theme, we have some delightful lemon and poppyseed muffins from sugarcravingbaker. These remind her of her childhood where she used to visit her grandparents in Florida and had the best lemon and poppyseed muffins. I want to know the name of the bakery and if it's still there :) 

Our first savoury entry is from Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids with her Lemon Thyme and Potato Frittata. Her son loves picking the lemon thyme leaves and rubbing them on his hands and then asking her "Mummy, do you want to smell my hands?" awww... how cute :) 

More lemony goodness in the form of Lovely Lemon Cupcakes from Lottie's World of Cakes & Bakes. These were made to take to lectures as a thank you for reading her blog!! Can I please have one too as I have been reading your blog? They are lemon cupcakes with a lemon curd filling and a lemon cream cheese icing! You have to check out her beautiful two tone icing and apron!

Next is our very own Caroline's mum, Jacqueline who decided to join in our fun little challenge and sent us these gorgeous lemon curd butterfly cakes.  Clearly baking runs in the family! 

Next is a luscious lemon and blueberry loaf cake from cakeboule. Baked on a snowy day to warm her up they scream "come on spring already" For more amazing photos and to read about the tale of the secret world of swotchers click here 

If that last cake shouted spring, you are going to want to see this one which is sunshine in cake form - moist, buttery and very lemony. Phil from As Strong as Soup shared with us his Amalfi Lemon and Almond Cake, based on a recipe by Salvatore De Riso, the celebrated pastry chef and baker from the Amalfi coast.

 

Next is Kat from Life of a Cupcake Baker with her Lemon Meringue cake. Its a lemon cake with a lemon curd filling and lemon frosting topped with meringues. What's not to like? :)

 

Moving away from cakes we have these super cute lemony lemon biscuits from wildaboutbaking. I absolutely adore them and would feel bad eating one knowing the amount of work that has gone into decorating them... not that I would say no of course :)  

 

Next is a video from Lucas@CoverVersions.tv who made us a saucy lemon pudding. It's a brilliant video with a great soundtrack, do go and see it for yourself. 

Next is a lime and coconut cake from Turquoise Lemons. It has coconut milk and lime zest in the cake and a lovely lime/lemon drizzle which looks so tempting!

For something completely different, check out these Liquorice Allsorts Cupcakes by Liv a Little Bakery These cupcakes are made with melted liquorice and then shaped to look like liquorice allsorts!! How cool is that? 

Back to lemons with lemon cupcakes from Corina from Searching for Spice. She got a set of icing nozzles and a piping bag for Christmas and has put them to good use here. 

Next we have Lemon Poppyseed cupcakes with Almond icing from CAKEfyi Don't you just love the flecks of poppyseeds? There really is something about those little black spots that make you fall in love :) 

Speaking of love, how about some Lemon Love Cakes from Janice from Farmersgirl Kitchen? They look absolutely lovely especially with the little hearts on top. 

Love is still in the air as my own entry are these Lemon and Raspberry Heart cakes. I used a whole lemon for the cake and added yoghurt for moisture.

 

When I told my mum about our challenge and that Caroline's mum had baked something, she immediately wanted to bake something and came up with not one but two amazing entries for us! Obviously I am biased but I am well impressed with mum's creativity. First up is a Lemongrass, Lemon and ginger bundt cake

 

followed by a Lotus Butter Cake cut in the shape of an "L" :) Thank you mum! 

 

Next is Sue from A little bit of heaven on a plate with her lovely lemon & lavender meringues. These are part of a Valentine's afternoon tea which also inlcudes rose & violet cupcakes, almond sugar biscuits and tiny sugar biscuits dipped in white chocolate. I'd like to have one of everything on that table :) 

Shelley @thecakebug sent us a lemon drizzle cake which is a Tana Ramsey recipe. She says its extremely easy and tastes lush especially warm and with a cup of tea!

My partner in crime Caroline from Caroline Makes delights us with this low fat slimmers' lemon cheesecake, perfect for if you are watching the calories but still want a treat. It's made from quark and fat free Greek yoghurt.

 

L is for... LOVE according to Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog who has entered these chocolate hazelnut cake truffles topped with love hearts! Leftover cake is an unknown phenomenon where I am but I would love to give these a try. 

Next up Karen from Lavender and Lovage impresses us with her homemade Lemon and Ginger Marmalade. A perfect way to use up a surfeit of lemons :) Tested immediately on a warm buttered bread bun - doesn't it make you want to reach into the screen for that slice?

Karen's second entry is not strictly a bake but I couldn't resist adding it in as she made this amazing Wild garlic, Lemon and Lovage soup. Perfect for these cold, winter months and it had 2 "L"'s in the name! I have to admit I didn't know much about lovage before but I do now after reading her informative post on her favourite herb, lovage. 

Another unique "L" comes from i-Lost in Austen who made this beautiful Lychee and Champagne Macaron. A huge Jane Austen fan, you get delicious bakes, Jane Austen quotes and music when you visit! 

My second entry for this month is Lavender Shortbread - buttery and crumbly with the subtle flavour of lavender. 

Not to be outdone, a second entry by my co-host Caroline from Caroline Makes are limoncello macarons. Caroline and I recently attended a macaron class which you can read about here. I have not been brave enough to attempt them myself so bravo Caroline, you should definitely be proud of yourself :) 

Next a stunning entry from lauralovescakes with her Lychee, Rose and Raspberry mousse cake. A true labour of love which took several hours to make but I'm sure that you will agree that it's worth it!

Daisy@Nevertoosweet wows us with her lemon scones which are inspired by afternoon tea at Alice Tea Cups in New York which you can read about here. She made a lovely lemon glaze to drizzle over the scones making them irresistible in my book :)

Last but not least is Claire from The Pursuit of Domestic Goddess-ness with her lemon drizzle traybake. A fail-safe Mary Berry recipe, it looks absolutely divine! You would not believe it's her first time making a lemon drizzle traybake.

So there you have it, a virtual treasure trove of "L" bakes (and soup). A huge heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined in, we are overjoyed at the positive response and hope you will continue baking with us throughout the year. 

Please make sure you check out Caroline's blog on 1st March to find out what letter we are baking with next. 

PS: Apologies if I have made any errors or left anyone out - please email me and I will edit as soon as I can. I am currently on a road trip in California so internet access is a bit hit and miss.