Mike's Baking on Channel 4

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Muffin Mondays

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Take the challenge: Live Below The Line

I am taking the challenge and going to Live Below The Line from May 7th - 11th. Join me!

CAKE!

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Cupcakes!

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Pretzel O's

I was looking to use my newly purchased doughnut pan again for another recipe but I didn't want to make doughnuts. I was on the search and came upon this recipe, Pretzel Donuts. It was perfect and I couldn't wait to try it out. I have been wanting to make home-made pretzels for quite awhile now. I found the process of making the pretzels to be quite easy but time consuming. I enjoyed making them though and will definitely be trying out more pretzel recipes.  I made these Pretzel O's to take to a BBQ. Most people thought they were just normal doughnuts, so I had to keep explaining that they were actually pretzels. Everyone really enjoyed them but struggled to eat all of it as they are quite heavy and everyone was stuffed already from all the food at the BBQ. I had a few myself over a few days and loved them, they tasted exactly how a pretzel should and with the addition of sea salt and chocolate on top, they were AMAZING! Next time I would serve these as a snack as they were too filling to be eaten at a BBQ, or I now know to cut them in halves or quarters. Definitely check out this recipe and make these yummy treats soon!


My Attempt at Magic Cake... Not so Magical!

As soon as I saw the Magic Cake on pinterest, I knew that I wanted to try it out. If you have't seen it yet, it looks pretty intriguing and I made it this past week! They all look very yummy and surprisingly easy. I tried the plain "Magic" cake recipe, that describes it as one batter transformed like magic into three layers of cake, custard, and a more dense cake whilst baking. I really enjoyed making this cake and was excited to share it once baked and cooled. The cake took eighty minutes to achieve the golden crust as described in the recipe. I let it cool and sliced up some for desert. First thing I noticed was that mine didn't have three beautiful layers but one very thin cake crust and then one very thick custard like dense cake. I followed the recipe exactly but it did mention that it could turn out differently cause of ovens. I moved past the disappointment of not having the magical three layers and went in for the taste test. We got a taste that we were not expecting at all, it was not a sweet custard like cake but one that tasted like an egg omelette in a dense cake texture! My partner took one bite and gave me the plate back with a look of disgust... I was so disappointed that the cake was not nice. I tried to be objective and take a second bite... nope, still very eggy but it did leave a nice after taste once that flavour died down. I really didn't want to think that this cake had been a disaster, so gave it another chance, thinking maybe the flavours would all come together and taste better the next day. Nope, still bad and my bin got to enjoy the rest of the cake.

I love pinterest and will continue to try out recipes from there, but this one's flavour just did not work for me. Have you tried this recipe out or a similar one out? Any success or recommendations?