Tunnel of Fudge Cake

I've been wanting to make this recipe again for awhile now and was waiting for the perfect occasion. The perfect occasion came when I finally got my kMix stand mixer and wanted to put it to the test, as my hand mixer struggled with mixing all the batter for this cake.  I first made this cake several years ago for my friend Zoe's birthday after finding it on the net but had no idea it was a classic American recipe that originated from a Pillsbury bake off contest in 1966. This time around I wanted to change the recipe a little bit and added cinnamon in it.  My mixer handled the cake batter just fine and worked so much better than my hand mixers ever have. I popped it in the oven hoping the addition of cinnamon would work and judging by the spoonful of batter I tried, I couldn't wait to try the cake once it finished baking. Once it had properly cooled, Shane and I had a taste test and it was wonderful! We both loved the addition of cinnamon to this cake it really added a nice flavor and worked great with the chocolate and pecans! We both took some into work and it didn't last long, everyone really liked it! Chocolate lovers try this recipe out!

Recipe Inspired by About.com Busy Cooks

Ingredients:
Cake:
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
55 grams dark chocolate, melted
6 eggs
2 cups icing sugar
2 cups plain flour

2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Chocolate Glaze:
1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped
1-2 tsp unsalted butter

.

Steps:
Preheat oven to 350F/175C. In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, and brown sugar, and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition until eggs combine with butter mixture. Gradually add icing sugar to the batter, mixing well. By hand, stir in flour, cocoa, cinnamon, vanilla, and pecans until well blended. Grease a 12 cup Bundt pan and spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until crust looks dry and shiny (traditional doneness tests won't work because of the fudgey center). Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for an hour, then invert onto serving plate and remove pan. Cool completely. In small microwave-safe bowl, place the chopped chocolate and butter. Microwave for 15 seconds at time, stir, and repeat until fully melted and mixture is smooth. Drizzle over cake to decorate.

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Live Below The Line

I recently received an email about a great fundraising campaign called Live Below The Line. I checked out their site and felt it was time for me to give back to the larger worldwide community. I have accepted the challenge feeding myself on £1 a day for 5 days. £1 a day is the UK equivalent of the extreme poverty line. This will give me a glimpse into the lives of 1.4 billion people who have no choice but to live below the line every day and who have to make £1 cover a lot more than food and drink. I will be doing this challenge from the 7th to the 11th of May with more then 20,000 participants from the UK, US, and Australia. I will be blogging that week documenting my experience with the challenge. I am doing this challenge raising money for Restless Development, a youth led development agency. Please see their videos below to learn more about them. I am hoping that some of you will join me on this challenge or sponsor me by donating here, every donation helps no matter how big or small it will make a difference for someone's life. Now to think of a meal plan for the 5 days with only £1 each day... this will definitely be a challenge.

 Please sponsor me by donating here.

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Cinnamon Swirl Cake

I had no idea that the episode of the TV show I was on was going to air today, until the tweets started coming in. Thank you everyone for all the great messages this evening and asking for the recipe that I baked on the show. I was going to make it again this weekend so I could take better photos with my camera but here are some shots from my mobile when I was practicing before going on the show. I am a huge fan of cinnamon and when asked to do a tray bake recipe for the show I knew I wanted to use cinnamon. This cinnamon swirl cake definitely packs the cinnamon in. Hope you get a chance to check out the show, "Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard", it really is a great show to watch. I also hope you try out the recipe below.

Recipe

Ingredients:
Cinnamon Topping:
100g light brown sugar
65g plain flour
60g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp cinnamon

Cinnamon Filling:
225g unsalted butter, softened
200g light brown sugar
2 Tbsp plain flour
2 Tbsp cinnamon

Cake: 
400g plain flour
225g caster sugar
355ml milk
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
55g unsalted butter, melted

Icing Drizzle: 
125g icing sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:
1. In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients for the cinnamon topping until well combined and set aside. 2. In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients for the cinnamon filling until well combined and set aside. 3. In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients for the cake except for the melted butter. Once that has come together well, slowly mix in the melted butter. Pour into a greased 33cm x 23cm x 4.5cm baking tray. (13in x 9in x 1.75in tray) 4. Drop large spoonfuls of the cinnamon filling evenly over the cake batter and use a knife to lightly swirl the cinnamon filling into the cake batter. 5. Drop small little pieces of the cinnamon topping all over the top of the cake batter. 6. Bake at 175C for 35 - 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from centre of cake. Let cake cool in tray on a wire rack. 7. In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients for icing drizzle until smooth. Drizzle over warm cake. Cut cake into squares.

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I'm on... Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard!

Earlier today on Channel4, I was on an episode of "Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard"!! I had a great day at Cake Boy in London and taking part in the show was a great experience. If you are in the UK, you can watch the show on 4oD. Anyone know how I can get it available for my family in the US? They would love to see it.

Here are some pictures from the day!

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Meatloaf Cupcake with Roasted Beetroot Mash

I was recently challenged to come up with a recipe based on the colour Purple. I had no idea what I was going to make and was brainstorming for a few days. I finally came up with this little creation with inspiration from friends and the net. I loved these little meatloaf cupcakes with the roasted beetroot mash. They turned out great, loved all the different flavours I packed in! I was very happy with them and it was fun to make, I will definitely be making these again.

Hope you like my recipe for the Appliances Online British Ovens Rainbow Cookbook, check out their blog to see what other bloggers created for the other colors of the rainbow.

Recipe 

Ingredients:
Meatloaf:
500g mince beef
400g mince turkey
1 red onion, chopped
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1 cup panko crumbs
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Glaze:
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp chipotle chilli sauce

Frosting:
3 medium potatoes, peeled & quartered
3 roasted beetroots
200 ml double cream 
100g butter

Steps:
Preheat oven to 180C, quarter slice up 3 beetroots and place in a roasting tin. Roast for 30 minutes and let cool completely, remove skin, and blitz in a mini chopper. While the beetroot is roasting, make the mashed potato frosting.  Place chopped potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to pan. Add remaining "frosting" ingredients; mash to smooth consistency. While those are cooking, grease a 12 cup muffin tin. In a medium bowl, mix together all meatloaf ingredients with your hands until fully combined. Divide equally between the 12 muffin cups.  In a small bowl, mix together all glaze ingredients and top each cupcake with about 1 teaspoon. Bake for 30 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes then remove from tin.
 

I have also submitted this to March's AlphaBakes hosted by
The More than Occasional Baker and Caroline Makes.

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Muffin Monday: Roasted Banana Coconut Muffins with Toffee Coconut Peanut Topping

Another Monday, another muffin recipe to enjoy. Now what probably started off as somewhat of a healthy recipe I've transformed it a bit into a naughty breakfast treat. I decided to add crushed roasted peanuts and toffee sauce to the coconut topping. These muffins turned out great and all the flavours really shined though, very tasty!

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Recipe - Inspired by epicurious.com

Ingredients:
Muffin: 
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 roasted bananas (medium size), mashed
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Topping:
1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/4 roasted peanuts, crushed
1/4 toffee sauce

Steps:
Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Line muffin cups with liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together roasted bananas, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and 1/2 cup coconut in a large bowl until combined well, then fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for the topping. Divide batter among lined muffin cups and cover with a spoonful of topping. Bake until muffins are puffed and golden, about 20 - 25 minutes. Transfer muffins to a rack and cool.
 

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Muffin Monday: Strawberry Almond Muffins

I can't believe it is March already, and I can't think of a better way to start it then a wonderful Muffin Monday recipe. The original recipe 'Hazelnut Plum Muffins' is from Women's Weekly and I decided to change it slightly. I'm not a huge plum fan so replaced it with strawberry and thought almonds would compliment the strawberry flavor better than hazelnuts.  They turned out wonderfully moist and I really enjoyed the flavor, not overly sweet, just right for a little breakfast treat. 

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Recipe
Inspired by Women's Weekly
Ingredients:
90g Butter, melted
375g Self Raising Flour
55g Ground Almonds
150g Caster Sugar
250ml Milk
1 Egg
Strawberry Jam

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 180C and line a 12 hole muffin pan with muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, combine butter, flour, ground almonds, sugar, milk, and egg. Mix until all the ingredients are combined.
3. Put a tablespoon amount of muffin mixture into the muffin cups and make a well in each muffin. Spoon in a rounded teaspoon of jam and top with another tablespoon amount of muffin mixture.
4. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

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Roasted Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's been a long time since I have made any cookies and wanted to get in the kitchen to try out a new recipe and use my new baking corner of the kitchen. I searched for recipes, then narrowed it down to an oatmeal cookie but had no idea there were so many varieties! I love oatmeal cookies but hate them the classic way as I am not a huge fan of raisins. I finally chose one and thought... hmm how can I change this a little bit? I've been wanting to try roasting bananas ever since I saw it on my friend Sam's blog. I thought it was a bit weird roasting them in the peel but the bananas come out of the peel smelling so sweet and the banana flavour is lot stronger. I can't wait to try out other recipes using a roasted banana. I think they worked really well with this recipe. These cookies were very easy to make and turned out great having a cake like texture, very moist and yummy. Try this recipe out or let me know if you think of any other roasted banana recipes or even other oatmeal cookie recipes.

Recipe
courtesy of AllRecipes.com
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 medium bananas, roasted & mashed
2 cups oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Steps:

1. Roast the bananas first by following the instructions over at ehow.com, a couple hours before making these cookies.
2. Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.
3. In a large bowl, cream sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. 
4. Combine flour, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon; add to creamed mixture. 
5. Stir in bananas, oats and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheets.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Immediately remove cookies to wirerack to cool. Makes about 48 cookies.

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Shane's Vegan Pancakes

This past Tuesday was Pancake Day in the UK and I was excited to make a vegan version with Shane. It wasn't until later in the day that I realized I had made plans with friends that night to go for a meal and catch a movie. I asked Shane if we could make them later in the week and the answer I got was "Nope, it's pancake day!". So, I missed out on trying these on actual pancake day but Shane made them again tonight with special toppings, one had peanut butter and bananas, and the other one had lots of berries. These pancakes are fluffy like the American ones and very yummy! I tried them on their own, just to make sure it wasn't the toppings that were making them so good but even with vegan butter these pancakes were tasty.  Try out the recipe below to make 4 large pancakes.

Recipe: courtesy of VeganPancakes Ingredients: 1 cup flour 2 tbsp baking powder 1 1/2 tbsp sugar 1/8 tsp salt 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 cup soy milk 1 tsp ground cinnamon, optional

Steps: Take a medium bowl and combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in the ground cinnamon if desired. Mix together well. Now add soy milk and oil to the above mixture. Mix well until the liquids are fully incorporated and the batter becomes smooth. Heat a large non-stick pan medium heat. Use a ladle and drop about 1/4 cup of batter at a time in the pan to form a pancake. When you see bubbles in the middle of the pancake, turn the pancake over with a spatula. Cook for a further minute or two and it should be done.

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Strawberry Lime Mojito Loaf Cake

I recently did a product review and I wanted to make a recipe that could use the product I was testing out.  Last month, I made a Clementine Basil Mojito Loaf Cake and wanted to try it  out with different flavours. I decided that I wanted to use strawberries and thought it would pair well with the mojito flavours. It tasted great!! I loved it and the smells whilst making it were really nice. I preferred this one to the citrus one I made last time, you could really taste all the flavours separately yet mixing altogether in your mouth. I can't wait for summer and mojito drinks in the sun, ready for warm weather now!

Recipe
Inspired by Barefoot Kitchen Witch
Ingredients:
Finely grated zest of 2 limes
10 mint leaves, finely chopped
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tsp strawberry juice concentrate
1 cup strawberries, chopped
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
For syrup:
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup rum
1 Tbsp strawberry juice concentrate
5 mint leaves, finely chopped

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Butter a 8" x 4" loaf pan and set aside. 
2. Combine lime zest, mint, and sugar in a bowl and rub with a back of a spoon to release oils in the lime zest and mint and set aside.
3. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. 
4. Mix the butter into the sugar mixture on high speed until light and fluffy. 
5. Add 1/4 cup lime juice and 1tsp strawberry juice concentrate, followed by eggs. Beat until smooth. 
6. Alternating between the flour mixture and the milk, blend these into the mixture in the bowl. 
7. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan, place on middle rack in the oven and bake for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
8. While the loaf is baking, combine the syrup ingredients until sugar is completely dissolved. 
9. When the loaf comes out of the oven, pour the syrup evenly over the top. Let the loaf cool in the pan for an hour before removing.

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Joseph Joseph Compact Herb Chopper [Product Review]

I couldn't wait to try out this product. I first saw it a few years ago and always thought about buying it but never did for some reason. I wish I would have just bought it back then, I loved it! Joseph Joseph design quality products and this is another one of their great ideas. Here are the reasons why I loved it:

1. It has great design practicality, the chopper blades are stored in the chopping pod.

2. The shape of the chopping pod  ensures that whatever you are chopping stays on top of the pod. 

3. The blades are sharp and it feels comfortable in the hand whilst chopping away.

4. There are 4 non slip little rubber feet that keep the pod firmly in place even when chopping. 

5. I love the look of it, modern and easy to store.

I used the chopper for my latest recipe and it worked great for it. Can you guess what I made from the 2 ingredients above? Check back later in the week to find out. If you would like to buy one of these choppers for yourself or a gift for someone, head on over to www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk. They have a great range of Joseph Joseph products and lots of other goodies.

*This product review is brought to you by www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk, all opinions stated in this post are my own.*

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Cookie Dough Bites [vegan]

I love cookie dough and when I came across this one I couldn't wait to make it as my other half has recently become a vegan. You would never know these were vegan though unless I told you. I think people get hung up on the word vegan and think you are on some weird diet. No weird ingredients in this recipe. I already had all the ingredients for these simple to make bite size treats. So even though I am not a vegan, I am going to try out more vegan recipes. These were a good one to start out with and if you don't have vegan margarine use whatever margarine or butter you have and your favorite chocolate. It was very hard not to just eat this dough straight from the bowl. My brain is now thinking about different ways I could use the cookie dough... Cookie Dough Brownies? 


Recipe
Courtesy of Chef Chloe
Ingredients:
½ cup Vegan Margarine
¾ cup Light Brown Sugar, packed

¼ tsp Salt
1 tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
2 tbsp Water
1 ¼ cups Plain Flour
½ cup Mini Dark Chocolate Chips
340g (12oz) Dark Chocolate


Steps:

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or tin foil.

2. Using a mixer, beat margarine, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, and water until combined. Add flour and beat until incorporated. Fold in mini chocolate chips. Cover dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls with the palms of your hands. Place on prepared baking sheets. Freeze for 15 minutes.
4. Melt the remaining chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Let cool to room temperature. Remove one tray of cookie dough balls from the freezer. Dip each ball into the melted chocolate and remove using two forks. Place the coated balls back onto the baking sheet and transfer to the refrigerator. Repeat with the second tray of cookie dough balls. 
5. Chill until the chocolate is set, about 20 minutes. Store in refrigerator until serving. 
6. Enjoy!

The chocolate had a bit of frost on it in the pictures as I left them in the freezer overnight... once the chocolate thawed it looked darker like in the last picture. They were very yummy!

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Chocolate BlogHop: Red Velvet Brownies

I've been experimenting with brownies lately and couldn't wait to try making Red Velvet Brownies. My last attempt at making brownies didn't go so well and I really didn't want to mess with my original recipe this time around. This is my first attempt at making something "red velvet" and I wanted it to be similar to a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. My only problem was I had no idea how much red food coloring gel to use. I looked up tons of recipes but they were all different to mine and all used different amounts of color. I could have followed a different recipe but I wanted these to be based on my quick easy brownies. I feel I used enough red coloring gel but it didn't show though on the pictures unless I used the flash, see the picture after the jump to see the true redness of these red velvet brownies! These really did turn out great, I loved the cream cheese frosting on top of the brownies. These would make a great Valentine's Day treat.

February is #chocolatelove month!

Please join in on the #chocolatelove fun by linking up any chocolate recipe from the month of February 2012. Don't forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #chocolatelove event! The twitter hashtag is #chocolatelove :). Make sure to check out all the co-hosts below.

Recipe 
Ingredients: 
Brownies:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp red food coloring gel
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Frosting:
inspired by the pink whisk
70g butter
200g cream cheese
400g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Steps: 

1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. 
3. In a small bowl, mix together cocoa powder, vanilla, and red food coloring gel. Press the gel into the cocoa until you can no longer see it and there are no big lumps. Mix thoroughly into the egg mixture.
4. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually stir into the egg mixture until well blended. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the brownie begins to pull away from edges of pan. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares.
6. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese until it is well combined. 
7. Add in the vanilla and 100g of icing sugar until fully mixed in. Keep adding 100g at a time until it is all added in. 
8. Place the frosting in the fridge until the brownies are completely cooled and ready to decorate. 

Co-hosts:

A Little Bit of Everything, Astig Vegan, Badger Girl Learns to Cook, Baker Street, Baking and Cooking A Tale of Two Loves, Baking Extravaganza, BigFatBaker, Bon a Croquer, CafeTerraBlog, Cake Duchess, Cakeballs Cookies and More, Cooking with Books, Creative Cooking Corner, Easily Good Eats, Elephant Eats, Georgie Cakes, Hobby and More, Java Cupcake, Kitchen Belleicious, Mike's Baking, Mis Pensamientos, No One Likes Crumbley Cookies, Oh Cake, Preheat the Oven, Rico sin Azucar, Savoring Every Bite, Simply Reem, Smart Food and Fit, Soni's Food for Thought, Sprint 2 the Table, Teaspoon of Spice, That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!, The Dusty Baker, The More than Occasional Baker, The Spicy RD, The Wimpy Vegetarian, Vegan Yak Attack!, Vegetarian Mamma, You Made That?

In this picture you can see the redness of these brownies. In person, they looked red and with the flash on it really showed, just wished it showed in the pictures above.

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