Vanilla Cake with Nutella Frosting

Happy Thursday folks! I've had a pretty relaxing day off which has consisted of nothing the least bit productive and I mostly blame that on the social media wormhole. 
I ended up watching one too many cake decorating videos on Instagram as well and let me tell you, some people are ridiculously talented and elevate icing to an art form. 
It may have given me some much needed motivation to try and learn some new skills but we shall see how that goes. I suppose I would describe my decorating skills as rustic, in other words, I'm not one for fancy decorating and that is perfectly reflected in the cake that I made for my sister last week. The whipped cream frosting and fresh flowers made it look effortlessly pretty with minimal effort and it gets extra points for being so delicious. 

I remember as a child, birthday cakes were all about insane amounts of fondant icing (with a cartoon character or two), crazy food colouring and lots of sugar. The alternative in our house was the chocolate gateaux that you would have to defrost for a couple of hours, now I'll admit that I still think that it tastes great but rather than making a trip to Iceland (the shop not the country, for those who are confused) homemade birthday cakes are just a little more special. 
For this one I decided to try a Nutella frosting as an ode to the chocolate gateaux cream and the flowers were actually an unplanned addition, as lots of people came over and with time constraints I went with a more simple decoration. But all's well that ends well!

This light vanilla sponge is also the perfect recipe to have in your baking repertoire because it is easily adaptable, seeing as it uses the 1:1 method i.e. equal quantities of most ingredients so it can upscaled for larger cakes. 

So to make the vanilla cake you will need the following ingredients:

- Margarine

- Caster sugar

- Self raising flour

- Baking powder

- Vanilla essence

- Eggs

- Milk

To begin with measure out 225g of soft margarine and 225g of caster sugar and cream until pale and fluffy.
Then add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture curdles at this stage, don't worry because it will be rectified later on.

Next sift in 225g of self raising flour and 2 tsp of baking powder and mix until well combined.

Add in 2 tsp of milk and 2 tsp of vanilla, give the batter a quick mix.

Divide the mixture evenly between two round tins lined with baking paper, alternatively use a large rectangle tin. Bake in a Gas Mark 4 oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.

To make the Nutella frosting you will need the following ingredients:

- Nutella (or other hazelnut spread)
- Double cream
- Icing sugar
- Butter
- Vanilla extract 

Begin by beating together around 3 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of Nutella together in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

Then add in 1 1/4 cup of icing sugar, 4 tblsp of double cream and 1 tsp vanilla, whip until the desired consistency is reached. Add more sugar or cream as you see fit.

Once the cakes are completely cool begin to assemble; sandwich the frosting between the layers and over the top and sides of the cake using a palette knife. Transfer the cake to fridge to allow the frosting to set.

 The cake can be decorated as desired,  I opted for some fresh flowers and a few berries. All decorating supplies gathered from the garden!

You could also add some Ferrero Rocher, a ganache drip or using a piping bag fitted with a star tip pipe on some rosettes.
😋

Enjoy!

 Q x  

Soft Pretzel Buns

In theory I love the idea of making bread, the almost therapeutic putting together process and then the smell of the baking (has some revolutionary captured this bread bakery-esque scent in candle form yet, because if so I need) and finally the consummation aka devouring of soft, fresh, fluffy, bready goodness. In practice however I've only made bread from scratch a handful of times, mostly because I rarely have the foresight to plan in advance and also bread making can take a great deal of time and skill. A colleague of mine is actually trying to sustain a sourdough pet, admirable but something I wouldn't even consider. A couple of weeks ago however I did venture into bread territory, the reason being that it was my grandmother's birthday and I wanted to bake her something. She's diabetic so sugary things weren't an option and upon doing a little internet searching I settled on pretzels. 

This particular recipe* that I ended up using yielded incredibly soft and fluffy buns with a golden brown exterior. Now I'll be honest I've never had soft pretzels before, those small hard-baked pretzels are the extent of my culinary experience in this field, but I'll be completely biased in saying that these are the nicest soft pretzels, ever. They are also amazingly easy to make aka virtually no proving time required aka music to my ears.

So to make these soft pretzels buns you will need the following ingredients:

- Plain flour

- Fast action yeast

- Water

- Butter 

- Brown sugar / salt

- Bicarbonate of soda

In the bowl of a stand mixer begin by stirring 1 sachet of fast action yeast into 360ml of lukewarm water, allow this to settle for 1 minute before stirring in 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of cooled melted butter. If using unsalted butter add 1 tsp of salt otherwise add 1/4 tsp of salt.
Add 3-4 cups of plain flour to the liquid mixture, one cup at a time, beating well using the dough hook attachment. Judging by the texture, add a 1/2 cup more flour if required - at the end of this stage the dough should be springy to the touch. 

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes, once done pop the dough back into the bowl and cover with a tea towel. This rests for around 10 minutes and in the meantime we can create the bicarbonate of soda bath. To do this bring 9 cups of water mixed with a 1/2 cup of bicarbonate of soda to the boil. 

To create the traditional pretzel shape follow the picture diagram above, note that the thicker the dough rope used the more bun-like the pretzel will be. 
Then using a slotted spoon, submerge the pretzels one at a time into the boiling bicarbonate bath, remove after 30 seconds, drain as much water as possible and place onto a lined baking sheet. This treatment step is important because it gives the pretzels their golden colour and traditional flavour via the Maillard reaction (click the link for more nerdy info). 

Sprinkle the pretzel buns with your desired flavouring, I opted for salt and black cumin (also known as Nigella seeds or fennel flower). Then pop the baking tray into Gas Mark 6 oven until the pretzels are golden brown, around 18 minutes. 

Have the pretzel buns whilst their warm, either plain or slice and add a filling or even dunk in a dip of your choice. 

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x  

*recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Choc Chip & Brownie Yin-Yang Cookies

It's bank holiday weekend and by some stroke of luck I've had five whole day off. It'd been blissfully tranquil maybe bordering on boring, but it makes a nice change. I did have a brush with some (poisonous?) ivy during some hillwalking in the Pennines in Wales the other day but apart from that its been very domestic; some late-summer cleaning, gardening and picking this years apple crop, lots of lemon cake a la Sansa (hyped to watch the finale!) and I've started reading Lord of the Rings because of a stunning vintage edition I discovered in a second-hand bookshop locating in Chirk Castle in Wrexham.

Saying 'late-summer' does make me a little sad, but the upcoming autumn season definitely has its perks, apart from getting to wear my preferred get-up of coats and wooly scarves, it is also the perfect baking season. Now it may be apparent to everyone but I prefer making cakes, nothing can quite hold a torch to those beautifully easy baked goods. However cookies do come a close second and these cookies in particular take the absolute cake (pun appreciation).

The first time I baked them was the night before Eid and because its a big celebration you do have to go all out, no excuses. In which case these cookies were ideal, they have the looks and the personality and were worth every bit the effort. And I will admit they do require some extra work as you're making two cookie doughs - the chocolate chip dough and the white chocolate brownie dough & chill time is necessary. So do take into account prep time, but other that its plain sailing to the best yin-yang cookies you can imagine.

To make the chocolate chip & brownie cookies (batch - approximately 25) you will need the following basic ingredients:

- Butter

- Caster sugar

- Soft brown sugar

- Plain flour

- Eggs

- Milk chocolate & white chocolate

Additional ingredients include: vanilla extract, salt, bicarbonate of soda, cornflour, cocoa powder & milk

☯

The chocolate chip cookie dough

To start with combine 50g of caster sugar, 150g soft brown sugar and 170g butter in a stand mixer with paddle attachment and beat until soft and fluffy. The addition of the brown sugar lends a subtle caramel taste, so be sure to include it.

Then add in 2 tsp vanilla and 1 egg, mix until well incorporated

Next is the powders: sift in 250g plain flour, 2 tsp cornflour, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (referred to as baking soda in America) and 1/2 tsp salt (omit if you used salted butter). The addition of the cornflour will keep the cookies soft.

Finally chop up about 175g milk chocolate or use quality chocolate chips, stir this into the cookie dough and place everything into a tupperware container. Adjust chocolate amounts depending on your preference.
☯
The brownie cookie dough

The method is the same as the other dough - begin by beating together the sugars (100g caster sugar + 100g soft brown sugar) and the butter (115g) until soft and fluffy. Add in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla and combine.
As for the powdered ingredients, we require 125g of plain flour, 1tsp bicarbonate of soda, 50g cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp of salt if necessary. Alternate with 30 ml of milk and mix until well combined.

Finally chop up 175g of milk chocolate and stir this into the cookie dough. Once again, place it into a tupperware container.

Place both of the cookie doughs into the fridge for a minimum of two hours, this chill time is particularly necessary for the brownie dough as it is softer that the choc chip dough and therefore more difficult to handle. If you wish to freeze the dough and use it another day then now is the time to do so. 

When it comes to baking the cookies, preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 and line baking sheets with greaseproof paper. 
Grab 1 tblsp of brownie dough and 1 tblsp of choc chip dough, press both together to shape into a ball. Place the balls a reasonable distance apart on the baking sheet allowing room for spreading. (p.s. my tray is a mess because I had to relocate all the dough balls!)

Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes depending on how firm you want the cookies. Allow them to remain on the baking sheet for a further five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Whilst the cookies are still warm you can pop on a few extra pieces of chocolate, these will melt slightly and be oh so delicious.

These cookies are great with milk as per the traditional combo and they can also be packaged in quirky tins as given as gifts.

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x  

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 

Homemade Samosas

Impromptu trips to pretty places are one of favourite things ever and although I don't get to jet of to far-flung locations every other weekend, we still do alright. For instance, the other day I went to a beautiful estate nestled just outside of the Peak District, not too far from where I live.

It was gloriously sunny and there were gardens, moorland, mansion and deer park, oh and we had a picnic by the lakeside with samosas still warm from being cooked in the morning, it was really nice (for lack of better adjectives).

Now if upon hearing the word 'samosa' your response is to say bless you and offer a tissue (true story) then boy are you missing out, because I would assume you've never tried them and these crispy little pastry parcels packed with the most delicious filling are sent straight from culinary heaven. I exaggerate not.
I have a memory from years ago when we went on holiday, we had them from the bazaar and the stall vendors would give them wrapped in newspaper and they were warm and spicy. Nowadays when my mum can get us all in the same place at one time we all help out and form a sort-of production line; I make the dough balls, mum rolls and cooks the 'roti', my sister (and me) make the samosas and my dad fries them. Bit tiring but the end result is worth it and its a rare treat, so worth the little bit of extra effort. 
The batch that we make is pretty big, not enough to feed a small army kinda big (only because you can't stop at one!) but it still means that you're dealing with large quantities of ingredients. Now my mum is a pro at this and she knows how to easily upscale quantities for her recipes, in fact it is almost instinctual.. meaning no accurate measuring involved (!) this makes it difficult for me to apply my meticulous baking methodologies but here's the good thing. Its pretty easy to not go overboard with the spices, taste test and alter as you see fit. 

So without further ado, to make the samosa filling you will need:

1.   Potatoes

2.   Peas

3.   Onions

4.   Chicken mince (optional)

5.   Spices and flavouring: tandoori masala, chilli powder, chilli flakes, garam masala, salt, dried fenugreek, lemon juice, corriander

To start with heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large pan, once its sizzling throw in two chopped onions and cook this on medium heat until the onions have softened slightly. To this add 1+1/2 tablespoons salt and 2 tsp red chilli powder and stir to incorporate.

 Meanwhile peel and chop up some potatoes, these form the majority of the filling so you need quite a lot (10 large potatoes). 
Then once the onions have softened add in the potatoes and about 400g of frozen peas, keep on medium heat and stir to combine.

To this mixture add in 1+1/2 tblsp coarse garam masala, 1 tbsp chilli flakes and cook until the water released from the potatoes has evaporated and they are soft.

If you are wanting to add some meat to your samosas, you can do this by combining 1 kilo chicken mince with one cup of water in a separate pan and cooking this on low heat, stirring continuously so that no lumps form. In terms of flavouring just add 2 tbsp tandoori masala and 1/2 tsp salt, as the majority of the spices are already in the potato mixture. Cook this until all water released has evaporated and the meat is well cooked and coloured. 

Meanwhile stir in a handful of both dried fenugreek (methi) and chopped coriander to the potato and pea mixture.

All thats left to do is combine the chicken to the potato and peas mixture; add in a dash of lemon juice and taste test. You can then adjust as you see fit i.e. add more salt and chilli flakes if required.
Side note: this filling can be used in not only samosas, but toasties, sandwiches, spring rolls or pitta bread!

If you're feeling brave (or not so lazy) you can make a quick dough by combining plain flour with a pinch of salt, then pour in enough water to combine it all together - knead until it is soft and stretchy.
If you're not so good at dough making aka me, you can use store bought dough, samosa strips or pastry.

In the case of dough, make small balls and knead them in the palm of your hand until they are smooth. Place onto a floured surface and roll it out into a circular shape (or attempt to at least).

Then place this onto a hot tawa or a flat ungreased pan, flip once the middle region begins to look cooked. Do not overcook the roti (unleavened flatbread) at this stage because we want them to have some structure but the majority of the cooking will occur at the frying stage later on. Create a stack of roti before you progress onto the next stage or if you have helpers and you're adopting the production line method you need not worry about that. 

Making the actual samosa is ridiculously easy (as depicted); just cut a roti in half, place some filing in the centre, brush some water on all edges, fold and seal one half then wrap across the other half, then crimp together the edges and voila.

The samosas can be frozen at this stage or if you actually want to eat your handiwork then heat up some oil and fry they samosas until golden brown and crispy. Serve with a spicy chickpea salad and some mint sauce.

I hope you give this recipe a go and wish you a relaxing Sunday and week ahead.
 😋

Enjoy!

 Q x