Pecan, peanut and sultana fridge cake

Spring is finally making an appearance! Not quite small jacket weather but it is lovely to see some sunshine and all the trees in bud. And with it... the easter holidays! I will enjoy the time off much more when i have done some of my school reports, but still, I am very pleased to have a break from the busy term. 

This is one of my favourite lazy recipes. It is rich and delicious and can be changed every time you make it. It is chocolate fridge cake. This time I went for pecans, peanuts and raisins giving it a combination of crunch and chewiness. I have used Gordon Ramsey's recipe as a base and it works well every time. 

Makes 16 squares. 

 Ingredients: -

100g butter

300g milk chocolate (I used a milk chocolate bar and a fruit and nut bar)

4 tbsp golden syrup

200g digestive biscuits

75g salted peanuts

75g roughly chopped pecans

75g sultanas

1. Lightly grease a square tin (I used a brownie tin) and line with greaseproof paper. Allow extra paper to cover the mixture in the fridge (and help lift it out the tin!).

2. Melt the butter, golden syrup and broken up chocolate on a low heat. Stir gently to remove once it has all melted. 

3. Break the digestives into small pieces and add in the nuts and sultanas. Mix together then pour in the melted chocolate and mix until it is all combined. 

4. Pour the mixture into the tin and press down with a wooden spoon. Cover with the overhang of paper and put in the fridge until set. 

5. Pull on the paper to help remove the fridge cake form the tin and cut into 16 pieces. 

Crosstown doughnuts

I was looking at a website for the top 5 doughnuts in London and discovered that there was one place I hadn't been to. I must have passed it loads of times but, in a rush for the station, not noticed it. 'Crosstown' donut shop is located in Piccadilly Circus station. It is a clam oasis amongst the hustle and bustle. I don't know how I haven't seen it before! The doughnuts are made fresh everyday and come in deliciously tempting flavours - it took a while to choose! You could have sea salt caramel and banana cream, creme brulee with vanilla cream, classic raspberry jam (oozing with fresh fruit), apple and pear crumble, Belgian chocolate truffle, rocky road... Not cheap at £3.50 each but they have a smooth creamy filling, bouncy soft dough and great flavour. The shop has some stalls inside and benches outside. The calming music blocks out the noise of the tube and, along with the trendy white victorian toilet tiles and wooden crates, it provides a perfect pit stop. Worth a visit!

'Elk' bicuits

Disaster! The oven has broken! This seems to have put a hault to delicious treats but has made me creative with making dinner. It has been an interesting three weeks but I have found some dinner recipes that I will continue to use, including gumbo, potatas bravas (on the hob) and savoury pancakes filled with ricotta, leek and mushroom, filled then covered in breadcrumbs and fried.

These biscuits were so simple to make and delicious. They make look a little festive but I'm calling them 'elk' biscuits... ah hum. Ok I got this cutter from a Berlin Christmas market and hadn't had a chance to use it but i like the shape so much that calling them 'elk' makes them an all year round shape. Hehe. They make good dunkers in a cup of tea too.

Makes 20 (cutter size depending)

100g caster sugar
300g plain flour
2 eggs
2tbsp cinnamon
150g icing sugar
1/2 tsp fresh squeezed orange juice

1. Preheat the oven to 180. Mix the sugar and flour in a bowl then add in the cinnamon and stir again.
2. Make a well in the middle an fold in the eggs until just combined.
3. Using your hands, press the mixture into a ball shape and warp in cling film. put in the fridge for 15minutes until firm.
4. Roll out the mixture onto a floured surface and cut out biscuits using your favourite cutter shape. Place the biscuits onto a greased tray and put in the oven for 15 - 20minutes.
5. When the biscuits are golden brown, remove form the oven. Put on a cooling rack.
6. When the biscuits are cool then make the icing. Mix the icing sugar with a the orange juice. Spoon over each biscuit.

Very simple and much healthier than shop bought biscuits.

Delicious duffins (donut + muffin)

Half term has arrived finally! While it is not quite a week off for teachers, more a time to catch up on paper work. Still, it will be good to have a few days to relax after what felt like a long half term (was Christmas really that long ago?!). Bring on the sunshine! 

I had made these duffins (donut + muffin) before but seem to lather them in too much butter last time making them tricky to eat (even if they were still delicious). So this time, I decided to use a milk brush to put on the butter after they had cooked. The down side of this was that by the time I got to the last ones, they had cooled too much for the butter / sugar to stay on! I say, dunk away!  Another great recipe from Bea's at Bloomsbury. 

420g flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

330g caster sugar

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

375ml buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla extract

130ml sunflower oil

Coating and filling:

250g unsalted butter

300g caster sugar

1/2 jar raspberry jam

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Add the wet ingredients and stir until combined. 

2. Spoon the mixture into muffin tray holes filling them three quarters of the way up.

3. bake for 25-30minutes until a knife pulls out clean form the middle.

4. While the muffins are cooking, melt the butter and put the sugar into a separate bowl.

5. As soon as the muffins come out of the oven, coat them in the melted butter then dip into the sugar (they are hot but you have to work quick or the sugar won't stick)

6. Put the jam into a piping bag and insert into the muffins (top is easiest but the bottom is neater).

Chocolate ginger cupcakes

A very chilly week! A few days of snow but nothing too much. My class of 30 five to seven year olds were very excitable by it though there was sadly not enough to make a snowman or have a snow day. 

We have began a house search which seems as though it will be slow going with our budget. Not enough houses and they sell within a day or two! Crazy. We trawled through all the estate agents in three areas but not a viewing yet. I am very optimistic at this point though and cannot wait for our own little house and maybe even an actual garden (vegetable patch awaits!). 

Much deserved chocolate treats this week. I really love the chocolate and ginger combination in these hummingbird cupcakes. i have made them a few times now and they have become one of my favourites. 

Ingredients: -

70g unsalted butter

170g plain flour

250g caster sugar

50g cocoa powder

1 tbsp baking powder

1tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

210ml whole milk

2 eggs

1 tbsp chopped stem ginger

Icing: -

225g icing sugar

30g cocoa powder

75g unsalted butter

30ml whole milk

chopped stem ginger for decoration

Makes 12

1. Preheat the oven to 170g and fill the muffin tin with cases. 

2. using an electric mixer, put in the butter, flour, sugar, cocoa powder, ground ginger and salt and mix together (scraping down the sides if needed).

3. Mix the eggs and milk in a separate jug by hand then add half to the mixture into the electric mixer while it is on a low speed. Raise the speed and scrape down the sides then add the remaining half. Mix in the chopped stem ginger (I used a third of the original recipe and thought it was enough).

4. Fill the cake cases two thirds full and put in the oven for 25 minutes. Leave to cool for 2 minutes before moving to a wire rack.

5. When the cakes are completely cool, make the icing. I always use half of what the Hummingbird book says as I think too much is too sickly. using the electric mixer, mix he icing sugar, cocoa powder and softened butter on a low speed.

6. Gradually add the milk while the mixer is on then spoon onto the cakes. Spread with a palette knife to give a smooth finish. Put some chopped stem ginger on top for decoration. 

Oatmeal raisin cookies

Snow!!! I have been watching the weather with eager eyes as the snow travelled down the country. It had been promised several times but still not a flake until I opened the curtains this morning! I love snow. So magical and pretty. 

Amazingly, I still have oats left from the bag that I was trying to use up earlier in the month. I found this cookie recipe form the Bea's of Bloomsbury cook book. I had made them before and new they were good but adapted the recipe a little to, again, use up some things from the cupboard. They use coconut and just raisins but I thought the cranberries would work well. And they did. A lovely chewy cookie treat for a snowy winters day...

Ingredients: -

250g unsalted butter

1 tsp salt

250g dark brown soft sugar

100g caster sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

250g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

250g oats

100g raisins

50g cranberries

1. Preheat the oven to 170C. using an electric mixer, mix the butter, slat and both sugars until fluffy.

2. Add the eggs and beat until combined then add the vanilla extract and mix again.

3. Put in the bicarbonate of soda and half the flour and mix until combined, then add the rest of the flour and mix again.

4. Add the oats, cranberries and raisins and mix agin - each time mix until just combined.

5. Place a large spoon of the mixture on a lined baking tray leaving spaces between as the mix spreads during cooking. Put the tray in the fridge to firm for 5 minutes then bake for 12 minutes.

6. After removing them form the oven, let them cool for 5 minutes on the tray before moving to a wire rack. 

Sweet peanut cupcakes

The season of colds and flu - I had fought it off so well with boroccas, orange juice and lots of fruit but I have been defeated and just want a hot water bottle and ginger tea. Hmph. On a more positive note, I am very excited to see Alt J at the O2 tonight. Recent gigs have included Chvrches at Sommerset and London Grammar in Cambridge, so the bar has been set high. Those both have an intimate gig space which adds to the atmosphere but the O2 is a great venue for a good view in a larger space. London trips also mean a walk around (in the sun today!) which has become one of my favourite things to do. A trip to the Southbank and Borough Market are the place of choice... place of the best brownies...

After last weeks trip back to Bea's of Bloomsbury, I was so impressed with the peanut cupcakes that I felt inspired to make some. I have cheated a bit though as I used the Hummingbird recipe. Hummingbird, in my opinion, have the best cupcakes recipes. They seem to come out flawless every time - perfect texture, moisture, consistency and just taste great. 

Ingredients: -

70g unsalted butter

210g plain flour

250g caster sugar

1tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

210ml whole milk

2 eggs

40g crunchy peanut butter

Icing: -

250g icing suagr

80g unsalted butter

25ml whole milk

15g crunchy peanut butter

1bar peanut brittle (or you could make your own with caster sugar and peanuts)

1. Preheat the oben to 170C and put the muffin cases in a muffin tin.

2. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix th ebutter, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until the mix is crumb like.

2. Mix the egg and milk in a separate jug then gradually pour into the mix half at a time until combined. Add the peanut butter and mix again.

3. Spoon the mix into the cases until they are two thirds full and bake for 25minutes. They will bounce back when touched if they are done.

4. When the cakes are cool, make the icing. Using the electric mixer, mix the icing suagr and butter on a slow speed. Pour in the milk while it is still mixing then turn up to full speed. Next add the peanut butter and mix again until even. 

5. Put a spoon of icing on each cake then spread with a palate knife. Crush the peanut brittle and sprinkle on top.