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Tag Archives: easy cake recipes

Easy to bake Beetroot and Chocolate Cake

19 Tuesday Aug 2014

Posted by Fiona in Food, Recipes

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

beetroot and chocolate, birthday cake, chocolate and beetroot cake, easy cake recipes, easy cakes, icing, vegetables an cake

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Chocolate & Beetroot Cake

045 (1024x683)So I’ve baked with butternut squash, have eaten lots of courgette and still need to try parsnip but the vegetable I chose to bake with this time was beetroot. I’m quite late jumping on the whole chocolate and beetroot cake bandwagon however it has always  been one of the recipes I’ve wanted to try and just never got round to doing. Therefore with a birthday coming up at work and knowing my work mate liked chocolate I found it as a perfect excuse to bake a chocolate and beetroot cake. When thinking about cakes and their lovely sweet delicious ingredients the thought of adding a vegetable to the mix doesn’t immediately sound that appealing, however due to be it good marketing, word of mouth or just wanting to try out something a bit different, vegetables in cakes has really taken off and now in pretty much all cake shops, cake parties or amazing cake events it’s pretty much guaranteed you’re going to see a vegetable cake that isn’t just carrot. Continue reading →

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Eat vegetables the fun way- Butternut Squash Cupcakes

25 Sunday May 2014

Posted by Fiona in Food, Recipes

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

birthday cakes, Butternut Squash cupcakes, easy cake recipes, healthy cakes, pumkin cupcakes, soft cream icing, vegetable cake

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Butternut Squash cupcake

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Butternut Squash cupcakes

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When I told people these cupcakes were made using butternut squash as the main ingredient I received some pretty mixed responses. But seriously these are incredibly delicious and can even count towards one of your five a day (don’t quote me on that). I made them last week for a friends birthday and they went down a treat. The recipe does call them pumpkin cupcakes and pumpkin would’ve been my first choice, however as it’s May and my local supermarket had limited supplies I opted for butternut squash instead. Having tried courgette and beetroot cakes I’m not surprised that vegetables are being used more and more in cakes. They add sweetness and make the texture lovely and soft.

The prep time for these cakes suggests 15 minutes but I would change that to 40. I don’t know about you but a butternut squash for me takes 15 mins alone to cut up never mind grating too. Once you’ve got that out of the way however the rest is quite a doodle.

I doubled the recipe as I wanted to make 24 cakes. Thankfully this worked out with no problems, however in the past I have had cases where I’ve doubled the recipe and it just hasn’t gone to plan. I used more icing sugar for the toppings than the recipe said which made them slightly sweeter.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

  • 175ml sunflower oil
  • 175g light muscovado sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g coarsely grated pumpkin or butternut squash flesh
  • 100g sultanas
  • grated zest 1 orange
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 200g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the frosting

  • 200g tub full-fat cream cheese
  • 120g icing sugar

093 (1024x683) (2)Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases. Pour the oil into a large bowl and add the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat together, then add the grated butternut squash, sultanas and orange zest.

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    Butternut Squash

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103 (1024x683) (2)2. Stir in the cinnamon, flour and bicarbonate of soda, the mixture will be quite wet. Spoon into the cases.111 (1024x683) (2)3. Bake for 25 mins until firm and springy to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. At this stage you can freeze the cakes for 4 months.118 (1024x683)116 (1024x683)4. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth then spread on top of the cupcakes. Store in the fridge, but return to room temperature to serve for the best flavour and texture.

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Easy to make and a tasty way of incorporating vegetables into your diet, why not give them a try and see what you think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Easter Celebration Cakes for Cake Club’s first Birthday!

12 Monday May 2014

Posted by Fiona in Food, Recipes

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

banana and coconut cake, chocolate and vanilla sponge, chocolate sponge, clandestine cake club, creamy caramel cake, Easter celebration cake, easy cake recipes, layered cakes, simmons bar, woman and home magazine


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089 (1024x683) Easter Celebration Cake
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Chocolate Easter Cake

Last Monday was Easter celebration theme for Clandestine Cake Club. This was to mark not only Easter just happening but to mark Camden’s first year as a club! Since 12 months ago the club has gone from having only 3 members to over fifteen!

It was a smaller turn out this time as there were upcoming holidays and a certain wedding dress to be fitted into. Also it did fall very close to Easter so perhaps some couldn’t deal with eating more sweet things so soon after.

Despite this there was still a good turn out and some varied and delicious cakes to try. We met at a lovely little pub just near Mornington Crescent called Simmons. I have walked past it hundreds of times and never noticed it but it is situated on the corner and serves wine for the bargain price of £2.50 and tasty wine at that! It also is a lot bigger than it looks and even has an old school nintendo where you can come and play mario supercars.

I wasn’t sure what to bake this time round so opted for a cake that was actually called Easter Celebration Cake (very apt) which was featured in Woman and Home Magazine. I loved the look of the cake as soon as I saw it with its four layers however I do tend to make chocolate cakes a bit too often so was a little undecided. The good thing about this cake it that although it looks extremely chocolately it is a vanilla sponge with hints of orange and almond which make it not too indulgent but give a lightness to it.

Here’s how it’s made:

Ingredients

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  • 350g (12oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 350g (12oz) golden caster sugar
  • 6 large free-range eggs, beaten
  • 400g (14oz) self-raising flour, sifted
  • 100g (4oz) ground almonds
  • juice and grated zest 2 oranges

for the chocolate fudge filling

  • 250g (9oz) plain dark chocolate
  • 100g (4oz) butter
  • juice 1 orange
  • 3 free-range egg yolks
  • 250g (9oz) icing sugar

for the topping

  • 300ml (½pt) double cream
  • 3tbsp caster sugar
  • 200g (7oz) dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • chocolate eggs, to decorate

you will need:

  • 2 x 23cm (9in) round cake tins, lightly oiled and bottom-lined with baking parchment

PREPARATION

  1. Heat the oven to 170 C, 150 C fan, 325 F, gas 3. Cream the butter and sugar together, until pale.006 (1024x683) - Copy
  2. Mix in the eggs, then fold in the flour, almonds, orange zest and juice.015 (1024x683) - Copy008 (1024x683) - Copy
  3. Spoon the mixture into the cake tins and bake for 45 minutes, until risen and firm. Remove from tins and cool on a wire rack.022 (1024x683) - Copy
  4. Meanwhile, make the fudge filling. Melt the chocolate and butter, and mix with the orange juice. Cool for 5 minutes, then whisk in the egg yolks and icing sugar in batches.031 (1024x683) - Copy020 (1024x683) - Copy
  5. For the topping, heat the cream and sugar in a pan until steaming. Pour over the chopped chocolate in a bowl, and stir to combine. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes.039 (1024x683) - Copy
  6. When the cakes are cool, cut both in half horizontally. Spread one cake layer with a third of the filling, top with another layer of cake and spread with a second third of the mixture. Add a third layer, spread with the rest of the filling, and top with the final layer.029 (1024x683) - Copy
  7. 034 (1024x683) - CopyWhen the topping is cool, apply it to the cake with a palette knife. Pile the chocolate eggs in the middle and serve. The cake will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.

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Easter Chocolate Cake

The sponge was very simple to make. The only thing I did wrong was not level out my mixture as best as I could so when the sponge was baked they were very lopsided! I tried to rectify this when cutting the layers but it still turned out pretty wonky!

Thankfully the cake went down well at the club and was a pleasant surprise to Jelena as she wasn’t expecting the orange flavour. I liked it but as I made it on Saturday, by Monday I felt that the sponge had got a bit dry so in future I will try and keep it in a better airtight tin.

Debs made an Easter battenberg cake which despite my dislike of marzipan I still managed to scoff the whole slice. Jelena’s creamy caramel cake was melt in your mouth delicious. Beautifully presented too it was easy enough to keep coming back for more. I also loved Mel’s cake as it contained two of my favourite ingredients, banana and coconut. She also only baked it a few hours before the event so the sponge was still soft and moist.

Our next cake club theme is Eurovision which should be pretty fun! I better start thinking what to make, something cheesy I suppose!

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Christmas Chocolate Yule Log

26 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by Fiona in Food, Recipes

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

boxing day, chocolate yule log, christmas day, easy cake recipes, festive desserts, festive log, holly, nigella lawson

Christmas Yule LogNigella Lawson Yule LogIt’s Boxing Day and the only reason I’ve gone in to the kitchen so far is to make a cup of tea! I can’t even think about food yet considering the humongous amount I ate yesterday but as always it is completely worth it. The stress of getting everything ready, or should I say the stress of my Mum getting everything ready, and me being there to try and calm her down, two brothers still in bed with a huge hangover, a broken dishwasher and ten places to prepare, however it all came together absolutely perfectly and actually turned out to be a really wonderful day!

My contribution to this year’s festivities was to make a chocolate yule log. My mum always makes the classic trifle, and Christmas cake but she also did baked Alaska and a lime cheesecake!! We were so full yesterday we didn’t even manage the cheesecake, but the other desserts were delicious. As a chocolate lover and simply because I was in the mood for baking, the other day I decided to create Nigella Lawson’s Yule Log.

I have never made anything from Nigella Lawson’s cookbook but I have heard good things, especially about the chocolate Guinness cake! Therefore I thought I’d give it a go. There is a lot of text in the method but don’t be put off by this, it was actually very simple to make. The only part, slightly crucial part that went wrong for me was the rolling and that’s because there was an intervention in the form of my mum! She insisted to help with the rolling and it all fell apart! I was distraught but despite how messy my squashed Yule Log looked, I still loved it and thankfully so did my family.

Here are the ingredients:

for the cake

  • 6 large eggs (separated)
  • 150 grams caster sugar
  • 50 grams cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5 teaspoons icing sugar (to decorate)

for the icing

  • 175 grams dark chocolate (chopped)I also added 50g milk chocolate
  • 250 grams icing sugar
  • 225 grams soft butter
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

003 (800x533)Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4/350ºF.
  2. In one bowl place egg whites and in another the yolks.

004 (800x533)3. In a large, clean bowl whisk the egg whites until thick and peaking, then, still whisking, sprinkle in 50g / ¼ cup of the caster sugar and continue whisking until the whites are holding their peaks but not dry.007 (800x533)

4. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the remaining caster sugar until the mixture is moussy, pale and thick. 008 (800x533)5. Add the vanilla extract, sieve the cocoa powder over, then fold both in.011 (800x533)

6. Lighten the yolk mixture with a couple of dollops of the egg whites, folding them in robustly. Then add the remaining whites in thirds, folding them in carefully to avoid losing the air.013 (800x533)

7. Line a Swiss roll tin with baking parchment, leaving a generous overhang at the ends and sides, and folding the parchment into the corners to help the paper stay anchored.

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8. Pour in the cake mixture and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Let the cake cool a little before turning it out onto another piece of baking parchment. If you dust this piece of parchment with a little icing sugar it may help with preventing stickage, but don’t worry too much as any tears or dents will be covered by icing later. Cover loosely with a clean tea towel.

018 (800x533)9. To make the icing, melt the chocolate – either in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave heating for 30 seconds each time, stirring in between.

10. Put the icing sugar into a processor and blitz to remove lumps, add the butter and process until smooth. Add the cooled, melted chocolate and the tablespoon of vanilla extract and pulse again to make a smooth icing. You can do this by hand, but it does mean you will have to sieve the sugar before creaming it with the butter and stirring in the chocolate and vanilla.019 (800x533)

11. Sit the flat chocolate cake on a large piece of baking parchment. Trim the edges of the Swiss roll. Spread some of the icing thinly over the sponge, going right out to the edges. Start rolling from the long side facing you, taking care to get a tight roll from the beginning, and roll up to the other side. Pressing against the parchment, rather than the tender cake, makes this easier. (This is where it went wrong- we wrapped the roll within the parchment and when trying to remove it, it all broke apart. I would advise  going very slow with the rolling and try and keep it as tight as possible. Just use the parchment to press against it).

021 (800x533)12. Cut one or both ends slightly at a gentle angle, reserving the remnants, and place the Swiss roll on a board or long dish. The remnants, along with the trimmed-off bits earlier, are to make a branch or two; you get the effect by placing a piece of cake at an angle to look like a branch coming off the big log.

13. Spread the yule log with the remaining icing, covering the cut-off ends as well as any branches. Create a wood-like texture by marking along the length of the log with a skewer or a fork.

14. Put some icing sugar if a sieve and sprinkle some over the log for that snowy effect.

Chocolate Yule Log 043 (800x533)This is definitely a recipe I will try again and aim to get the perfect log. I needed a piece of Holly too- I might try and make it for New Year’s or another festive treat. This time of year really is such an amazing time for food and being with friends and family, I absolutely love it and hope you all have too.

Here are a few pics from our Christmas day. 050 (800x533) 054 (800x533) 058 (800x533) 062 (533x800) 065 (800x533) 068 (800x533) 069 (800x533) 070 (800x533) 071 (800x533) 072 (800x533) 080 (800x533) Bertina's Famous Trifle Lime Cheesecake Baked Alaska Tina's trifle 094 (800x533) 101 (800x533)

 

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About Me

Hi I’m Fiona, a twenty something foodie living in London who loves nothing more than cooking, eating, listening to stories and exploring. I created Tea and Takes as a way of bringing my two loves together: food and film.
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