Chocolate Masterclass

Morning Bakers, Makers and foodie in-takers! Hope you’re well on this lovely sunny morning. I’ve had a bit of a break the past few weeks due to some family stuff, but i’m back now (well at least until I jet off on holiday at the end of the week!)

I am part of the Lurpak #BakeClub and won last month’s chocolate challenge with my Speculoos Brownies, so my prize was to attend a chocolate masterclass with the lovely Lily Vanilli.

Me @ Lily’s

We started off the day with a demo from Lily herself, how to make the filling to her delectable chocolate truffles.

Lily giving us a demo

We could choose to flavour the filling any way we wanted, with flavours ranging from boozy absinthe to delicate lavender. I went with a relatively simple filling, since I loved the array of toppings and wanted a filling that would go well with everything, so I ended up making a salted brown butter ganache. Whilst the ganache refrigerated  we sampled some toppings and asked Lily lots of questions as she baked us some of her fabulous chocolate cookies!

So many toppings!

After waiting for what seemed like an age, it was finally time to coat and top our truffles! We scooped the truffles into little balls, and after a second batch of refrigeration, they were ready to coat and top with whatever we wanted!

Truffle madness!

We tried with some of Lily’s “I made it earlier” truffle balls first, then dived into our own. Whilst most people went for a uniform look for their truffles, I went slightly crazy and developed my own “Monster Truffles” as I named them! Large in size and covered in an array of glitters and toppings, I went for a mad eclectic look!

Monster truffles!

Edible silver

Mine… all mine!

These were a resounding success and thoroughly enjoyed by all my family! A huge thanks to Lurpak and Lily for a brilliant afternoon and one I will remember for ages!

 

Toffee Chocolate Matzah

It’s that time of year again… Yes its Easter but it’s also Passover, which means I can’t eat the lovely easter egg I got from work last night, boo!!

Passover means I can’t eat anything leavened for a whole week (what, no cake?!) So it means I have to be a little more creative with my baking! One thing that is in abundance at Passover is Matzah, a cracker that pretty much tastes like cardboard! So I decided to take matzah and transform it into something everyone wants to eat!

Toffee Chocolate Matzah

It’s so easy, ANYONE can make it!

Ingredients:

• 220g unsalted butter (I used kosher for passover rose butter)
• 215g brown sugar (I used demarera but ideally a finer sugar is better)
• 5 matzah
• Bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Salt
• 1tsp vanilla essence

Method:

• Assemble 2 trays lined with foil, then baking parchment, and arrange your matzah on them, filling all gaps
• Preheat oven to 180oC
• Melt together butter and sugar over a medium heat, until it is bubbling away.
• After cooking for a few minutes, take off heat, add a big pinch of salt and vanilla and mix
• Pour caramel mixture over matzah and put on oven
• The mixture should bubble up but not burn, so bake for 12-15 mins
• Remove from oven and sprinkle over chocolate chips immediately
• Leave for a few minutes, then use a spatchula to smooth the now melted chocolate into a thick layer over the caramel
• Leave to harden then break up and serve to your guests, preferably with a cup of tea!

Layers of goodness!

I can’t even taste the matzah!

Pumpkin Pancakes and Porridge

Morning! I’ve got the perfect breakfast post for you today, and it’s Pumpkin-themed, what better?! I’ve missed big american-style breakfasts on my healthy eating kick, so I thought I’d give it a go, and i’m happy I did because I had 2 very yummy breakfasts this weekend. First up, Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin Pancakes with caramel drizzle

These were delish!

The recipe:

• 1 cup (american measurement) of pureed pumpkin (you can find the brand Libby’s in Waitrose)
• 2 dollops (heaped tablespoons) of fat free greek yogurt
• 8 eggs
• half a tsp of bicarbonate of soda
• some vanilla bean paste
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp mixed spice

Method:

• Whisk all wet ingredients together, then stir in the dry ingredients until the batter comes together. It should be quite thin
• I used a few sprays of fry light but you can use butter in a frying pan
• Scoop the batter in (I used an ice cream scoop)
• When the pancake bubbles up on one side, flip it

Flippin’ amazing!

Serve whilst hot! I stacked berries in the middle of my pancakes for an extra healthy kick, plus drizzled my sugar free caramel syrup on top. My mum’s boyfriend positively guzzled them down and he isn’t even on a healthy kick!

Stacked with berries and drizzled with sauce

These definitely fuelled my snowy 7-mile walk on the heath!

Walking with Kolo the snow dog

On Sunday morning I wanted to use up the rest of my pumpkin, so I called on Chocolate Covered Katie’s recipe for healthy baked oatmeal (That’s porridge to us Brits!)

Pumpkin Porridge

The recipe:

• 35g porridge oats
• Quarter american cup pureed pumpkin
• Splash of skimmed milk
• Tbs sweetener such as splenda
• 100 ml water
• tsp cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• splash of vanilla esscence

Method

• Combine all ingredients and mix until combined
• Pour into a heat-proof ramekin
• Bake on 200oC for 20 mins
• Turn up to 250oC for last 5 mins for a crispy top
• Serve warm, I put some berries in the top and obviously also drizzled on some of my favourite caramel sauce!

Tastes like a big breakfast cookie!

I hope you enjoy! Whats your favourite weekend breakfast?

No carb pizza

Hi Cake Snobs! A different kind of post for you today, about healthy baking but nothing sweet GASP! As you know i’m on a healthy kick to counteract the cakes I bake, so last night I set to work on a food that I haven’t had since August… PIZZA!

We all love a greasy slice of the good stuff, but I was determined to make a low fat version. After scanning the web, I decided to make a cauliflower crust pizza (despite not being a lover of cauliflower!)

Cauliflower crust pizza

I set about making the crust by blitzing an extra large cauliflower down into “rice.” You can also do this by grating it if you don’t have a food processor. I then cooked the rice to soften it in the microwave for about 8 mins. I then mixed in 3 beaten eggs, (enough to help your dough form a thick consistency) a handful or half fat cheese and various herbs as well as salt to make it into a dough.

Pizza crust

I spread this out on 2 baking sheets covered with parchment paper and baked at 200oC for 30 mins. Whilst this was baking, I sauteed mushrooms and spinach with garlic to make my toppings. You can use whatever you want, just make sure it’s cooked first. I then took the dough out and spread it with tomato puree and passata and topped with another sprinkle of cheese and the veg. I then grilled it for a few mins to melt the toppings and served with stir fried cabbage and curly kale! So good I could only eat half.

Mmm pizza!

This recipe made 2 pizzas for me as I used a HUGE cauliflower so mummy and I got to have one each! It actually tasted really good, not like pizza but not like cauliflower either! I will definitely be making this again.

Mummy’s pizza

Healthy Pumpkin Pie

Happy Tuesday Cake Snobs! If, like me, you have a genuine Tuesday face, (sad and droopy) this post should cheer you up! Continuing on my healthy eating theme (I’ve now lost a stone and a half in 12 weeks) and feeling a bit american, this weekend I made the classic american dessert Pumpkin Pie. With pumpkin (obviously) being the main ingredient, I turned this usually calorific pie into a low fat delight!

Pumpkin Pie

I made this pie by mixing together a mish mash of different ingredients and hoping it would work! With one can of Libby’s pure pumpkin (I found this in a lovely grocery store in High Street Kensington) I added a tsp of cinnamon, half a tsp of ginger, half a cup of milk, a packet of Quaker quick oats (27g) as well as splenda and calorie free caramel sauce to taste. Then I mixed vigorously and put in a tinfoil pie dish.

I baked it at 180OC for 45 mins, then left to set overnight (a few hours in the fridge should usually do it) and sliced it up the next day. You can have this hot or cold, but i think I like it best served hot with a dollop of yoghurt. Don’t worry, it wont last very long, but with hardly any calories, its guilt free!

So you wont mind if I have the last slice?

 

Healthy Baking 2

Hi Cake Snobs! As some of you may know, I’ve changed my diet since the end of August this year to try and be a bit healthier. Of course i’m still making/baking cupcakes which means still having a taste but it means that the other aspects of my diet are better. Yesterday I reached my Club 10 award in Slimming World, which means I’ve lost 10% of my body weight. I’m really happy and hope it will spur me on further! So without further ado, here’s some recipes I made for last night’s SW buffet:

Lemon Meringue Pie:

Syn free LMP

 

• 500g Quark (fat free cream cheese)
• Juice & zest of 1 and a 1/2 lemons
• 6 tbs sweetener (I use splenda)
• 5 egg yolks
• Beat this in a bowl and spoon into silicone cupcake cases or ramekins
• Bake in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for about 14 mins
• Whilst this is happening, whisk remaining egg whites (5) with a squeeze of lemon juice until it forms soft peaks, then add in about 4tbs sweetener and vanilla essence.
• Once “pies” have been baked, pipe or spoon this mixture on top and bake for a further 8 mins.
• Serve once slightly cooled.

Take a bite of pie!

Mini meringues

I’ve also been enjoying breakfast, and my favourite weekend treat is to kick back with a bowl of special porridge, which I make as normal but add a dash of cinnamon to the oats/milk/water whilst cooking. Once the porridge is made, I drizze some Walden Farms sugar&fat free caramel syrup over it and add a handful of fresh raspberries. DELISH!

Special Porridge

For a pimped up version – bake your porridge oats for half an hour, it tastes like a muffin!

How to eat a cupcake

This very important step-by-step process will help you when considering how to demolish your favourite cakey snacks!

Step 1:

Consider cupcake carefully, examine for any particularly good bite points, for example, where buttercream dips and is unlikely to spill onto clothes.

Step 1

Step 2:

Prepare mouth by widening to most open point, ready to manoeuvre in said cupcake

Step 2

Step 3:

Take a deep breath and plunge one’s teeth into cupcake, preparing for an onslaught of taste sensation

Step 3

Step 4:

Savour delicious mouthful, and let the all consuming flavour overwhelm you, before preparing to bite again…

Step 4

Thanks to my brilliant boyfriend for humouring me and allowing me to take pictures of him munching one of my cupcakes this weekend!

Coming up this week, I make 100 Halloween cupcakes!

Macaron Madness

In case you’ve been on another planet for the past few months, a new craze has taken the dessert world by storm! The new pastry du jour is none other than the humble French macaron, made famous by such big names as Pierre Herme, Laduree and have even been brought over the channel to the UK by chefs such as Edd Kimber.

My choco-caramel macarons!

The macaron, although unassuming is a daunting challenge! A mix of meringue and almonds make this dessert one tricky little sandwich!

I used a Pierre Herme recipe to make a box of macarons for my friend’s engagement party this weekend, and I can tell you now, they were difficult to make, the steps and timing are all precise, but I got there in the end!

Caramel chocolate macarons with a choc-caramel ganache and crushed salted chocolate

The inside view

Enjoying our macarons after all the hard work!

Get your hands on one whilst you can!

 

If you want to order these beauties please let me know by emailing me: headcakesnob@gmail.com

Baked Blueberry and Raspberry Porridge

I don’t know about you, but here in England we dont usually bake our porridge! However, I wanted to try something different, and after looking around on Pinterest, I decided to do my own twist on the very American “baked oatmeal!”

This recipe has no sugar (you can add your own as I did!) and is a perfect way to start the day! I made this using American measuring cups.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup any oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk (I used skimmed)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
handful of fresh blueberries
handful of fresh raspberries
Maple syrup to serve

Method:

In a small mixing bowl, mix together the oats, cinnamon, baking powder and milks. Add the vanilla extract. Throw in your fresh berries and give the mixture a quick stir to combine. This should only take a minute!

Spoon the mixture into a small tray (this only makes a single serving) and bake for 20-25 minutes on 220oC depending on how stodgy you like your porridge!

Remove from oven and drizzle with maple syrup or any other sweetener and eat! This should keep you going on your weekend!

*Adapted from The Oatmeal Artist

Summer Sorbet

Lemon sorbet with frozen raspberries – enjoy the British summertime whilst it lasts with this deliciously easy summer sorbet!

Ingredients:

400g caster sugar
700ml water
250ml lemon juice (6-8 lemons)
1 lemon, unwaxed, zested

Method:

Firstly, freeze a handful of raspberries before making the sorbet!
Next, put the water and caster sugar in a pan and gently heat until the sugar has dissolved. Dont stir it, but you can swirl the water round to help it dissolve.
Leave the sugar syrup to cool completely before adding the lemon juice zest to the syrup.
Chuck this all in an ice cream maker and leave to churn for half an hour! Take out and transfer to a freezer dish, and scatter your now frozen berries over the top! Freeze for another 10 minutes then serve!

*Adapted from BBC Good Food