Coconut & Jam Traybake

☼ Happy Sunday! ☼ 
First things first, lets address the elephant in the room.. I know I've been MIA for a while, in truth I'd found myself in a bit of a bad spot but I'm finally ready to think positive and get back to things I enjoy. To be a little philosophical, we as humans are hardwired to be persistent, which is great when life is treating you well but can really sabotage your happiness if things are moving in a negative direction and it can be difficult to pull yourself out of the rut.

And with that lets conclude my melancholy musings and discuss happier things, like this delicious cake. Now I know that desiccated coconut is not everyone's cup of tea (p.s. this cake is amazing with a brew) but this ingredient was hovering near the top of my list of 'things to bake with'. Although I personally don't like dried coconut chips either because I imagine its akin to chewing on sawdust, I did have a pretty amazing coconut cake this one time and I've been meaning to recreate it ever since. 

If I'm honest, this turned out even better than I could have hoped! I added in some strawberry jam to the cake batter which adds a unique element to the standard coconut cake and the sweet strawberry flavour cuts through the fragrant coconut perfectly. Also because I was feeling a little fancy I made a strawberry icing to drizzle on top and then I sprinkled on some more desiccated coconut because why not. 
I've actually made this cake in its big traybake form twice now and both times the entire thing has been consumed in a matter of days and I'm making it again this weekend for my mum's friend's uncle (no joke). Apparently he said its best coconut cake he's ever had (once again, no joke), a glowing recommendation which I was more than chuffed with. Therefore ♪ if you like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain ♪ (sorry, couldn't help it) then do give this recipe a try. 

To make the coconut and jam traybake you will need a few ingredients:

1.   Butter

2.   Caster sugar

3.   Self-raising flour

4.   Eggs

5.   Vanilla

6.   Desiccated coconut

7.  Strawberry jam

8.  Coconut milk

9.   Baking powder

Measure out 262g of margarine and 262g of caster sugar - this is the ideal amount for this traybake, however the recipe can be easily doubled if required.

Beat the butter/margarine until pale and fluffy which will take around 3 minutes, thats why I love using a stand mixer because you just leave it to do all the work whilst you prepare the other ingredients. P.s. this is the KitchenAid that I use, I got it for my birthday and its my absolute favourite thing.

Next add in 4 eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition - you can add in a small amount of flour if the mixture starts to separate. Stir in 2 tsp of vanilla extract.

Then mix in the dry ingredients - 300g of sifted self raising flour, 1.5 tsp of baking powder and 115g of desiccated coconut. Alternate with 3 tblsp of coconut milk, although whole milk can be substituted here if required.

Grease and line a traybake tin then spread out half of the cake batter. Follow this with some strawberry jam (you can spread it out or have a few dollops so you get a jammy surprise now and then) - I warmed my jam up in the microwave slightly, which loosens it up. Then pour on the remaining batter and spread it out so the jam is all covered. 
Pop this into a oven preheated to Gas Mark 4 and bake for around 35 minutes or until golden brown and springy to the touch. 

To make the strawberry icing, stir together 200g of icing sugar and 2 tbsp of boiling water followed by 1 tblsp or jam. Alter the amounts depending on the consistency of icing you want.

Leave the cake to cool slightly, then drizzle on the icing topped with a final flourish of desiccated coconut. To serve, slice into squares and get your hands messy.

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x 

Lemon Drizzle Loaf

I’m excited because I’m finally back at it, by ‘it’ I mean writing {p.s. apologies for being awol, it was unintentional but life got in the way and I was also procrastinating a little bit, oops}. 

This past weekend the weather was glorious but I still wanted to bake something, resulting in the difficult decision of deciding on whether cake was worth the hassle of turning on the oven – the cake won obviously. But in a bid to justify myself I did opt for a summery flavour; lemon. For me lemons just embody the essence of good weather, maybe because they’re yellow or perhaps I associate lemonade with summer or it could even just be the fresh, zingy flavour – either way I think I made the right choice because I get to end my day with a cuppa and some cake.

I have made this particular version of lemon cake a lot, its my go-to and it comes out great every time, I also like the fact that its super easy and the mixture can be whipped up in no time because the ingredients are always to hand.

So to make my lemon drizzle loaf you will need:

1.   Margarine/butter

2.   Caster sugar

3.   Eggs

4.   Self-raising flour

5.   Baking powder

6.   Lemons

7.   Milk

To start with, beat together 225g of margarine and 225g of caster sugar until light, pale in colour and fluffy - this is enough for one traybake or two loaves so if you want just one then halve all measurements accordingly (also, debut appearance of my new Kitchen Aid, I love it so much).  

Add in four eggs, beating well after each addition - at this point you can add in the zest of one lemon and a generous dash of lemon juice.

In the last step, sift in 275g of self raising flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder alternating with 4 tablespoons of milk. Mix well until a smooth consistency of batter is achieved.

All that's left to do is spoon the mixture into greaseproof paper lined loaf tins and top with a sprinkle of demerara sugar. Place the tins into an oven preheated to Gas Mark 4 and bake until golden brown (around 30 mins but keep an eye on it as timings may vary).

Nearing the end of the baking time prepare the lemon drizzle, this is just a simple syrup consisting of demerara sugar and fresh lemon juice - I never measure the ratios of the two ingredients but just alter as I see fit. Personally I don't like a lot of drizzle as it creates more of a 'wet' layer on the cake so I add in less lemon juice.
As soon as the loaf comes out of the oven prick it all over with a skewer and pour on the syrup, then let it cool in the tin.

Slice up and serve with a side of sunshine (side note: still tastes great even when its raining, this I can attest to).

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x      

Frosted Coffee & Walnut Cake

It's nearing the end of a pretty relaxing weekend and I'm ever so slightly dreading the fact that's its Monday tomorrow. However if I have to think positively then I did get a whole lot ticked off my to-do list and I've got some left over biryani already boxed up for lunch tomorrow, so win-win really. 

On Saturday my cousin came over to my parents house with her four month old baby and I only made her cry once, I also helped unpack a few more things that my mum got while she was visiting the homeland, amongst which were bags full of an array of spices and nuts. We're now all stocked up on cashews, walnuts, pistachios and peanuts and I couldn't be more pleased about it (I'm a bit of a snacker) and this also means that I have more ingredients to play around with. 

That's where this Sunday's bake comes in; I've always wanted to make a coffee and walnut cake but just never got round to it, so when I saw I had a bag full of walnuts I knew what I had to do (not being the least bit dramatic). 

I did of a bit of research, looked up coffee cakes in all my cookbooks and came up with a rough recipe - I wasn't expecting much but let me tell you this cake came out amazing, so much so that there isn't anything I want to tweak.

It's very light considering its packed full of walnuts and flavoursome without anything being too overpowering, the frosting also compliments it perfectly.

So to make this coffee and walnut cake you will need a few ingredients: 

1.   Margarine/butter

2.   Caster sugar

3.   Eggs

4.   Self-raising flour

5.   Baking powder

6.   Instant coffee

7.   Walnuts

8.   Cinnamon

To begin, cream together 175g of margarine and 175g of caster sugar - I opted for this fat/sugar combination as it kept the cake batter really light.

Then beat in three large eggs, one at a time ensuring the mixture is smooth and the ingredients are well incorporated.

Now for the coffee flavouring, stir together teaspoons of instant coffee granules with 2 tablespoons of boiling water until its all dissolved - stir this into the cake batter. 

Finally we require 195g of sifted self-raising flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir the dry ingredients into the batter ensuring no lumps, followed by 2 tablespoons of milk.

As for the star attraction I used around 100g of chopped walnuts, stir the majority of them into the cake batter. 

Once the batter has been spooned into a lined cake tin sprinkle the remaining chopped walnuts on top.

Bake in a Gas Mark 4 oven for around 40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes to allow it to cool slightly before handling. 

Meanwhile we can make the coffee frosting! All that is required is 2 teaspoons of instant coffee granules dissolved in 1 tablespoon of boiling water, to this we add 2 tablespoons of butter and 100g of icing sugar. Using an electric mixture beat all ingredients together alternating with small amounts of boiling water until a smooth glossy frosting is formed (excuse the blurry picture!)

Evenly spread the frosting onto the cake, top with a few walnut halves and a sprinkle of cocoa powder. Now all that's left to do is to slice up and serve!

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x