Chocolate Melting Moments :)

Serious lack of posting lately!! Been up the walls making birthday and confirmation cakes, and they've all been chocolate mayo based so I havent been posting any new recipes :( But hey I'm not complaining, people are loving my cake so life is good!

Choc Melting Moments are little chocolatey "shortbread-like" biscuits that melt in your mouth and are so delicious with a glass of milk :)

125g butter, 50g icing sugar, 50g cornflour, 25g cocoa, 100g self raise flour and a dash of cream

Cream the butter and add all the dry ingredients. Beat together and add a little bit of cream to bring the mixture together. It will seem pretty crumbly and dry but keep beating :) Make small balls, put them on an baking tray(ungreased). Flatten down with a fork and bake for 10-12 mins @170C.

Enjoy :)

A birthday in April

Sinead's Ultimate Chocolate Birthday Cake

This is definitely number one on my list of requested cakes! Chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, aero bubbles, milkybar moments, white and milk chocolate fingers. You'd only want a sliver of this for your whole weekly intake of chocolate..... that's we cut huge slices!! :)

Caramel Chocolate Slices

These are an old favourite with everyone! A shortbread biscuit, with a smooth caramel layer topped with milk chocolate ... so good on it's own or with a cup of tea! I find it so hard baking sometimes cuz I actually want to eat everything :) I kinda feel a bit sick now cuz I ate so much icing in the process... mmm

Recipe:
Biscuit Layer: 115g butter, 175g plain flour, 55g golden caster sugar
Caramel Layer: 175g butter, 115g golden caster sugar, 3tbsp golden syrup, 400g can condensed milk
Chocolate Layer: 300g Milk or Plain Chocolate melted over a bain marie

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a 9inch square shallow baking tin

Biscuit: Place the butter, plain flour and caster sugar in a food processor and process until it binds together. Press into the prepped tin and smooth out to the edges. Bake for 20-25mins until golden

Caramel: Put the butter, sugar, condensed milk and golden syrup into a pot and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. This burns REALLY easily so keep on a low heat and stir constantly. Bring to the boil and simmer for 6-8mins until the mixture becomes thick. Pour over the cooked biscuit layer and chill in the fridge until firm.

Chocolate: Bring a pot with some water to the boil and let it simmer.Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over the pot of simmering water, stirring the chocolate all the time. When melted pour over the cooled caramel and spread out. Leave to set. Cut with a very sharp knife into triangles or squares.. Whatever tickles your fancy!

My Own Version of Red Velvet

Totally backwards but sure do I ever follow recipes :)!!
Using exactly the same method as the chocolate vanilla cupcakes. I just added a tbsp cocoa and some strong red food colouring to the butter icing instead for a change.... :)

Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcakes

These are delish! I used the chocolate mayo recipe for the cupcakes as it is a liquid batter and i figured they would come out nice and even and they did  :) i used a third of the recipe for the full cake and it made a perfect 12 cupcakes .. yay! I then topped them with my favourite, vanilla buttercream and a couple of chocolate buttons for good measure... they went down a treat.

Recipe :
1egg, 91g caster sugar, 1/3 tsp vanilla extract, 75g mayonnaise, pinch bread soda, 91g self raising flour, 17g cocoa, 100ml cold water.. ***i know the amounts are totally random but it is a third of the other recipe and it makes exactly 12!

Beat the egg sugar and vanilla for a couple of minutes, then beat in the mayo until it's nice and fluffy. Sift the flour cocoa and bread soda together in a bowl and then fold half of it into the egg etc. Beat in the water and then fold the rest of the flour in to the mixture. Voila done in a couple of mins! The mixture will be really liquid but its perfect for pouring. Fill regular size queencake cases 3/4 full . Then bake at 180C for 15mins until risen and a skewer comes out clean.

Cool and Ice with piped vanilla buttercream
200g icing sugar, 100butter (room temp), tsp vanilla and a tbsp of milk.
Beat together very well for a minute or two until creamy and no lumps of sugar left!

The full cake recipe can be found here *Choc Mayo Cake* !

Choc and Vanilla Marble Loaf

This is such a great recipe, it's so simple to make, its basically a madeira recipe, it's really cool the way it marbles together! I made this as a loaf, but I've made it in a round cake tin aswell before and it works just as well. It takes a good bit longer to bake as a loaf so I ended up putting a bit of foil on the top to stop it from browning too much... it didn't dry out or anything though!

Recipe:
225g butter, 225g caster sugar, 4eggs, 2tsp vanilla extract, 225g plain flour, 2tsp baking powder, 50ml milk, 50g cocoa powder.

Grease and line a large loaf tin. Cream the butter, and beat in the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one, beating well in between. Mix in the vanilla. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold in gently. Add the milk and mix to combine. Split the mixture evenly and fold the cocoa into one bowl. Spoon the mix into the tin, alternating spoonfuls of vanilla mix and chocolate mix. When all the mix is in the tin, swirl with a skewer or sharp knife to make a marble effect. Bake at 180C for 35 to 40 mins, keep and eye on it!! It's done when risen nicely and its springy to touch and a skewer comes out of the middle clean.

Ice with Chocolate buttercream :)

150g icing sugar, 75g butter, 2tbsp cocoa, 2tbsp milk.... Beat together mad ;)                         

Alex's Vedett Birthday Cake

A very good, regular customer and friend asked me to make him a birthday cake for Friday just gone. I was given total reign over the cake, he didnt specify even a flavour haha so I was left to my own creativity ! :) As I know that he has a little obsession with the Belgian beer Vedett, I decided this had to be the idea for the cake and I took a major risk in making it with Chocolate Mayo Cake and vanilla buttercream. It turned out superbly though and he was so surprised.. YAY! :)

I made a double batch of the choc mayo recipe, and baked it in square tins, each 9inch. I put the cake together on a board 2cakes on the bottom, iced together with buttercream. Then i sandwiched those with the other 2 cakes so all in all I had an 18inch rectangle to work with. The bottom part was the perfect size for the base, so I cut out the shape of the Vedett bottle on the top. I buttercreamed the whole cake, and cover it in a fondant icing that i had dyed using Sugarflair Christmas Green, I made the bottle top out of plain white icing, and the label also out of fondant dyed with Christmas Red, Black, and Gold Dust.

It was a teeeny bit stressful, ok maybe a LOT! But only because I'm a bit of a perfectionist :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX :) xxx

The Weirdest But Nicest Chocolate Cake I Have Ever Made

Introducing Chocolate MAYO Cake.. yes yes made with mayonnaise???????? I came across this recipe on odlums.ie and thought oh maybe it has something to do with Co. Mayo or something, but no no I clicked on it out of interest and the recipe actually includes mayonnaise? I suppose it replaces the fat and some egg as that's basically what mayonnaise is but I still found the concept bizarre! I obviously used the family as tasters and the faces on them as they were about to eat it were that of curiosity and disgust haha, but it went down a treat! It was, no lie, a savage chocolate cake!!MMM!! Everybody loved it :)

Recipe:
3eggs, 275g caster sugar, 1tsp vanilla, 225g mayonnaise, 275g Self Raising Flour, 50g cocoa, pinch of bread soda, 300ml cold water
Temp:
180C Gas 4

Grease and line 2 round sandwich tins, 18-20cms. I actually used 22cm and it still came out risen high
Mix the flour, cocoa and soda in a bowl and set aside. In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla, until light and creamy. Beat in the mayonnaise well - med to high speed for 4-5 mins.
Alternately beat in the flour/cocoa/bread soda mix and cold water. Starting with the dry mix and also finishing with the dry mix.

Divide into tins and bake for 35 to 40 mins until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

ITS A VERY LIQUID BATTER SO DONT BE ALARMED LIKE I WAS :) :)

When the cakes are completely cooled, sandwich and ice using a chocolate butter icing:

75g butter, 175g icing sugar, 3tbsp cocoa, 2tbsp warm milk (makes enough to sandwich together and ice the top of the cake). I popped a few chopped almonds around the the top aswell cuz i had half a bag spare from something else! decorate how you wish.. be creative :)

Baileys and White Chocolate Cupcakes....MMMMM

I think white chocolate and Baileys is a match made in heaven :) the cupcakes are yoghurt cupcakes, super moist, sweet and oh so nice. I tried so hard to make Snow White butter icing, I ended up using a white shortening in place of the butter, clear vanilla extract but the baileys still added a creamy tint.... still though they turned out really well!

Recipe
115g butter, 220g caster sugar, 1 egg, 250g flour, 5g baking soda, 2g baking powder, 175ml natural yoghurt, 60 ml melted white chocolate

Icing

normal a ratio of 2:1 sugar to butter, but the shortening demands you use 10% less than the recipe

so...

200g icing sugar, 90g shortening, 1/2 tsp clear vanilla and a good dash of baileys

I honestly don't think i ever fully follow a recipe for butter icing. Once i have the sugar and butter beaten together(2:1) i mix in flavours until it tastes right and if i need to add more sugar to firm it up i do... so play around with it

Happy Baking and Happy Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mums Birthday

Revenge of the Death By chocolate!! The chocolate ganache cake has fast become a staple favourite in my hosue :) I altered the topping slightly for this version by putting mini smarties on top and had sparkler candles on it as a finishing touch. It was again devoured, cakes really do not last long around here!

Follow the same recipe as Pams Birthday cake find it here and decorate whatever way you want, use your favourite chocolates or sweets. Another sweet I've used would be white maltesers or white buttons etc.

Pams Birthday

The last couple of years birthdays have meant Marks and Spencer Chocolate Ganache Cake! But I'm so over buying cakes when they're easy enough to master at home with a bit of practice. Pam obviously wanted a death by chocolate cake and nothing else would do so i made a double layer chocolate cake sandwiched and fully covered with chocolate ganache. Then on top there was aero bubbles and chocolate sprinkles and it was surrounded by chocolate fingers.... served with whipped cream OH MY GOD could not eat for a day :)

Recipe

175g butter, 175g caster sugar, 4 eggs, 250g self raising flour, 1tbsp cocoa powder, 50g plain choc melted

Gas 4 or 180C

Line and grease 2x 20cm tins

• Cream the butter and add the sugar. Beat until soft light and fluffy
• Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well each time
• Fold in the flour and cocoa powder until mixed thoroughly and stir in the melted chocolate
• Fill tins and bake until sponge bounces back or a skewer comes out clean. 20 to 25 mins
• Leave to cool on a wire rack and cover with ganache and decorate

Simple Chocolate Ganache
450ml Double Cream ********IT HAS TO BE DOUBLE! i had serious issues when i used single cream
375g Plain Chocolate

Bring the cream to the boil and stir in the chocolate, keep simmering and stirring until the chocolate is melted.
Leave to cool and place in the fridge for 2 hours or until set and firm. Then whisk the mixture until light and fluffy.

****I made this ganache a couple of times and the 2nd out of a few times i had to use single cream. It didnt set at all in the fridge and therefore wasn't spreadable at all as it was still so runny! I beat in icing sugar 50 g a time until it firmed up to a piping consistency. It'll be a good bit sweeter but still tastes amazing.... chocolate cream and sugar like... what's not to love!!