Apple Crumble Cake

There's no photo for this as [1] it was New Years Eve and I was drinking so forgot and [2] it all went so quickly I didn't get a chance! Suffice to say it was a delicious addition to the shared table of food and would be equally yummy cold or warm with custard or ice cream.

For 8-10 slices you need
Crumble topping
115g self-raising flour
1 tsp each freshly ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves and ground mace
85g butter
85g caster sugar.

Cake
450g cooking apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced
175g self-raising flour,
1 tsp baking powder,
1 tsp each freshly ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves and ground mace
115g vitalite,
115g caster sugar
2 eggs

Rub the butter into the flour and then add the spices and sugar and set to one side for the crumble topping.

Beat the vitalite with the sugar and gradually add the eggs and flour, baking powder and spices.

Pour the cake batter into a lined tin and then top with the apple slices. Sprinkle over the crumble and then bake at 175 degrees for 40-50 mins until risen, golden brown and the cake is thoroughly cooked. Leave to cool in the tin then cut into slices and scoff.

Salted Caramel Shortbread Slice aka Millionaire's Shortbread

This is to die for. Literally. Scroll down the list of ingredients and you'll see why. But don't let that put you off. In the immortal words of Masterchef's Greg Wallace it's got the perfect buttery, biscuity base topped with oozing salted caramel and then a thick layer of slightly bitter chocolate. An orgasm on a plate if you will. What's not to like... Adapted from Nigella's Roxanne's Millionaires Shortbread in Domestic Goddess.

For 24 pieces you need
225g plain flour
75g fairtrade caster sugar
375g unsalted butter
397g can sweetened condensed milk
4 tablespoons golden syrup
250g fairtrade plain chocolate
2 tsp salt, preferably something flaky like Maldon

Begin by making the shortbread. Place the flour, sugar and 175g of butter in a food processor and blitz till it turns into sandy rubble. If you don't have a food processor you can do this by hand by rubbing the fat into the flour and sugar.

Tip the sandy mixture into a lined 23x23cm tin and press down. Bake in a 160 degree oven for 35-40 mins. You want a crisp, golden brown bottom so take care not to have the oven too hot or it will brown before it cooks through.

Meanwhile make the salted caramel by placing the remaining 200g butter into a pan with the condensed milk and golden syrup. I learnt previously when I made this that using a cheap pan separates the butter fat out and splits the caramel. This is NOT a good thing. I managed to resolve it by beating the caramel in the pan submerged in a washing up bowl of cold water but it's tricky so I recommend using a pan with a deep a base as possible (a Le Creuset is brilliant but admittedly perhaps too middle class for this...). Anyways. Melt the butter into the condensed milk and syrup and then bring to the boil stirring constantly until it's thickened and a light golden brown in colour. This will take about 20-25 minutes and can't be rushed. To ensure you don't let it catch you need to take it slow and steady, stirring all the time. Beat in 1 tsp of the salt and leave to cool.

The shortbread should be baked by now, and if it is, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15-20 mins before pouring the likewise cooled caramel over the top. Tilt the tin to coat the base properly then sprinkle over the remaining 1 tsp of salt. Leave to cool while you melt the chocolate.

Melt the chocolate in a bain marie/bowl over a pan of water. I like to use 75% plain and 25% milk chocolate on mine, but do as you wish. Once the chocolate has melted, pour over the caramel, again ensuring it's covered properly and leave until fully set. This means overnight unless you cheat like me and put it in the fridge.

Cut into squares and scoff. Yum. Yum. Yum.

Love Cake (Vanilla and Raspberry Heart Shaped Cake)

We only exchange cards in our household to mark commercialisation of love day, but we'd also run out of cake today so I decided to bake something yummy to welcome my man home after a busy week working away on t'other side of the Pennines... This went down a treat. The soft, sharp raspberries contrasted nicely with the sweeter vanilla scented cake. The boy also appreciated licking out the cake mix bowl after breakfast, win!

For a heart shaped cake that serves 8-10 and also makes 7 cupcakes you need:
For the cake
4 eggs
8oz self raising flour
8oz vitalite
8oz caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
A handful of frozen raspberries

For the icing/topping
1 pack red fondant icing
6oz icing sugar
3oz vitalite
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
Seedless raspberry jam

Begin by mixing the vitalite and sugar in a food mixer for 10 mins until light and fluffy.

Slow the speed of the mixer and add the eggs one at a time, alternating with a spoonful of the flour. Once all the eggs are added, incorporate the rest of the flour and the vanilla extract.

Pour into a greased heart shaped tin until it's 2/3 filled. Poke about 8-10 raspberries into the batter, evenly spacing them out.

Meanwhile put the rest of the batter into cupcake cases in a tin and add one raspberry to each in the middle.

Bake in a 180 degree oven till done - the cupcakes will take 12-15 mins and the heart cake about 20-25.

Leave to cool and make the icing. Mix the vitalite slowly in with the icing sugar and vanilla paste until throughly mixed. Increase the speed and mix on high for about 10 mins. This gives a lovely light texture to the icing once it's set. Roll out the fondant and cut/stamp into whatever shapes you want.

Once the cakes are cooled, pipe a swirl of icing onto the top of each cup cake and top with a heart stamped out of the red fondant. For the heart cake, slice in half and fill with jam and some of the buttercream. Use the red of the buttercream to decorate the top of the cake as you wish. Be as slushy or restrained as you like ;-) Happy Valentines :)

Celebration Chocolate Cake

This cake has done the rounds on an internet forum I am a member of, and I book marked it as one to make to welcome Lex home after he'd spent the summer with his dad this year. It looks impressive but is actually a doddle to make and decorate, and any kid (or adult for that matter!!) that sees it can't resist breaking out into a huge grin. You can put whatever you want round the sides and on the top. I was under strict orders from the boy with what I included but let your imagination run wild!

Our cake is a chocolate orange marble cake with chocolate orange buttercream icing and milk and orange chocolate kitkats. For other flavours, amend the recipes below to suit your tastes :)

For 8-12 slices you need
Orange cake batter
3 eggs
zest and juice of one orange
6oz self raising flour
6oz caster sugar
6oz vitalite

Chocolate orange cake batter
3 eggs
zest and juice of one orange
4oz self raising flour
2oz cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
6oz caster sugar
6oz vitalite

Chocolate Orange Buttercream Icing
225g vitalite
475g icing sugar
50g cocoa powder
zest of one orange

To Decorate
1 pack of 8 x 2 finger orange kitkats
1 pack of 8 x 2 finger milk chocolate kitkats
1 packet peanut M&Ms
1 packet yorkie chocolate drops
Jelly stars
Edible silver stars

You will also need
A ribbon to decorate
2 x 8 inch round cake tins, lined and greased
Cake stand or plate

Begin by making the cake batters. In separate bowls cream together the vitalite and sugar, beating for 10 mins until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, alternating with the flour or flour and cocoa mixture. Finally add the zest and juice and thoroughly incorporate.

Dollop spoonfuls of each mixture across both tins, and once all the batter is in, swirl to mix lightly for the marbled effect.

Bake at 170 degrees for about 25-30 mins until the cakes are well risen, starting to shrink away from the sides of the tin and fully cooked. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a cake rack to finish cooling completely.

Beat the icing ingredients together for 10 mins until light and fluffy. Use to sandwich the cakes together and then cover the outside of both cakes with a good layer of icing. Once you have done this, start to stick your kitkats (or chocolate finger biscuits or whatever else you have chosen!) to the outside.

Then add your decoration of choice. Some people like to just cover with maltesers or other sweets, but my cakes were very deep, and there wasn't a lot of overspill room above the kitkats so I used giant chocolate buttons and then filled the inside with other sweets.

Finally, tie the ribbon around the outside of the cake (this helps to ensure the kitkats don't fall off as well as giving an extra wow factor ;-)) and scoff. I recommend palming the children off on to grandparents once the sugar rush hits mwahahahaha!

Cadbury's Creme Egg Brownies

A brownie adorned with a cadbury's creme egg showed up in my newsfeed on Facebook earlier in the week, so I decided to treat us to some for Easter. I've used mini creme eggs as the large ones would have made them too sickly (imho!). The brownie recipe I have used is my tried and tested adaptation of the Hummingbird Bakery's plain chocolate brownie which is chewy and moist and delicious. Enjoy!

For 12 portions you need
200g good quality plain chocolate
125g butter
150g plain flour
325g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 mini cadbury's creme eggs

Melt the chocolate and butter. Once melted and cooled slightly, mix in the other ingredients. Pour the batter into a lined swiss roll tin and bake at 160 degrees for about 15 mins. 

Carefully cut the eggs in half, but don't worry too much if they break a bit. After 15 mins, take the brownies out of the oven and push the halves of eggs into the semi cooked batter. Place them back in the oven for a further 15 mins to finish cooking. 

Leave to cool for 10 min before removing from the baking tin and slicing into generous squares. Happy Ishtar!

Nigella's Malteser Cake

I've never made this cake before, despite lots of people raving about it. So when Fuz turned 40 a few weeks ago I dug out Feast and made it for him and his family. I can't say I liked it that much, the cake is quite chewy and chocolate cake is my least favourite type of cake, but I did like the malteser flavoured icing and everyone else loved it... It's such a simple cake to make, and the decoration takes no time at all so you can pass it off as something you have slaved over when in reality it's taken you five minutes. Result!

For a cake that serves 8-10 you need
Cake
150g soft brown sugar
100g caster sugar
3 large eggs
175ml milk
15g butter
2 tablespoons Horlicks powder
175g plain flour
25g cocoa, sieved
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda


For the icing and decoration
250g icing sugar
1 teaspoon cocoa
45g Horlicks
125g vegan spread
3 tbsp raspberry jam
2 x 37g packets Maltesers


Beat the sugars and eggs together in a free standing mixer for 10 mins until light and fluffy. Meanwhile heat the milk, butter and horlicks in a pan until just below boiling. Carefully pour this mixture into the eggs and sugar and mix thoroughly. Add everything else and then pour into two lined cake tins.

Bake in a moderate (170 degree) oven until risen and springy (about 20-30 mins). Take care not to over bake or the cake will be too chewy.

Leave to cook on a wire rack and make the icing.

In a free standing mixer, beat together everything apart from the jam and maltesters. Once the cake is cooled, spread 1/3 of the icing on one cake and top with the jam. Sandwich the second cake on top and then decorate with the remaining icing and maltesers. For a special cake for my son I used marshmallows and a crumbled crunchie bar on top as he prefers those to maltesters.

Tiger Striped Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake

Lex requested marble cake for his lunch box last week and I'd been meaning to try out a tiger cake following the recent craze for them created by Lorraine Pascale. So I used her method for creating the stripes in my own normal victoria sponge cake base. It worked really well but I have to say was a right faff and took forever to splodge into the tin. The things mums do to make their children happy eh ;-)

For one cake that serves 8-10 people you need
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract, added to the egg jug for easier mixing
8oz self raising flour
8oz caster sugar
8oz vegan spread (e.g. vitalite)
1-2 tbsp soya milk
2 tbsp cocoa powder mixed with 1 tbsp boiling water

Make the cake base the usual way: place the spread and sugar into a free standing mixer with a paddle attachment and mix on high for 10 mins until pale, light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs and flour on slow speed.

Once the batter is made, divide into two bowls. Add the cocoa powder liquid to one bowl and mix thoroughly. Add enough milk to the vanilla bowl to make the batter the same consistency as the chocolate batter.

In a greased 20cm cake tin, place alternating spoonfuls of the batters into the middle. Start with vanilla, then place a spoonful of the chocolate batter directly on top of the splodge of vanilla batter. Keep repeating and the batter will start to spread out into the tin. It is this process which gives the cake its stripes. It will take 10 mins or so to carefully and patiently use up all the mix. It is vital the batters are the same consistency or one will spread too much and the other will be too thick.

Once all the batter is in the tin (and congratulations if you did it properly and didn't give up at the end like me and lob spoonfuls anywhere in the tin towards the end ;-) bake in a moderate (160 degree) oven for 30-45 mins until the cake is risen and cooked. Leave to cool and then slice and marvel at the petty pwatterns on the inside of the cake.

Double Chocolate Banana Cake (v)

This is an adaptation of Nigella's banana bread from her Domestic Goddess book. I got so sick of making the plain banana cake as although lots of my friends and family liked it, I wasn't that keen (unless I was eating the raw batter!). However, the addition of chocolate to it makes it utterly delicious. Why I haven't made this one before is beyond me, but I have now, and so must you :)

For 2 x 2lb loaf cakes you need
6 very ripe bananas, mashed to a puree
25g cocoa powder
100g sultanas
75ml southern comfort (or other booze of your choice)
150g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarb
100ml sunflower oil
150g caster sugar
100g plain chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preferably soak the sultanas in the booze overnight, but if you're short of time, place in a saucepan and heat gently then leave to speed soak for 15-30 mins.

Mix everything together and scrape into two lined loaf tins. Bake in a moderate (170 degree) oven for 45-60 mins until the cakes are risen and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool. Eat with copious cups of tea.

Nigella's Olive Oil and Almond Chocolate Cake (GF)

I got Nigellissima earlier in the week (think I might have already mentioned that...) and saw this in it as I was idly flicking through the pages. So I made it. It's d-i-v-i-n-e. Moist. Sticky. Gooey. So very very chocolatey. Utterly delicious in other words. Make it, you won't be disappointed.

For 8 greedy slices you need
For the cake
150ml olive oil
50g cocoa powder
125ml boiling water
2 tsp vanilla
150g ground almonds
1/2 tsp gluten free baking power *or* 1/4 tsp bicarb of soda and 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
pinch of salt
200g caster sugar
3 eggs

For the icing you need
75g vegan spread
150g icing sugar
25g cocoa powder

Begin by mixing the boiling water into the cocoa powder till it's smooth. Add the vanilla to it and leave to cool.

Place the eggs, oil and sugar in to the bowl of a free standing mixer and beat on full for three minutes until fluffy and thickened.

Slowly drizzle in the cocoa mixture. Once this is added, add in everything else and mix gently to a smooth batter (it will be very wet, don't worry).

Scrape into a silicone baking mould and bake in a moderate (170 degree) oven for about 45 mins. The outside should be cooked through and the middle moist when it's done. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Turn onto a wire rack once cool enough to handle.

Whip the vegan spread, icing sugar and cocoa together until light, fluffy and creamy. Spread on to the top and sides of the cooled cake and finish with a dusting of cocoa powder. Enjoy!

Moist and Tangy Lemon Drizzle Cake

Apparently I make the bestest lemon drizzle cake in the world, according to my office colleagues anyway. And it's always a good seller on the stalls that I do. I put it down to the light and fluffy texture from using non dairy margarine instead of butter in the batter, the heady hit of lemon in the batter and syrup and the right combination of sweet and tangy. A number of people have asked for the recipe, so here it is :)

For 2 2lb loaf cakes you need
4 eggs
8oz self raising flour
8oz vitalite marge
8oz caster sugar
zest and juice of two lemons
about 4 heaped tbsp of icing sugar
a few drops of lemon essence if you wish

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees (fan). Begin by making the cake batter. Place the marge and sugar into a free standing mixer and beat on fast for 10 mins to incorporate loads of air. Break the eggs into a jug and lightly mix. Pour in alternating spoonfuls of egg and flour with the motor running on slow to ensure no curdling. Add the lemon essence if using. Stop and scrape down the sides towards the end to ensure even mixing.

Grate the lemon zest into the batter and mix thoroughly, remembering to add oddles of love :) Scrape the mixture into prepared loaf tins and bake for 20-30 mins till risen, lightly browned and springy to touch.

Whilst the cakes are baking, make the syrup by melting together the juice of the lemons with the icing sugar. I have to say I never weigh out the sugar so the 4 tbsp is a guesstimate. I aim for a mix of half and half juice and sugar. Melt slowly in a pan to dissolve the sugar. When the cakes are done, remove from the oven and pour over the syrup. Leave to cool completely. Eat and be the envy of your friends.

Becka's Bestest Ever Rocky Road

This went down a storm on the stall last week, and with good reason. It's the best recipe yet for rocky road I have been able to concoct. It's loosely based on Nigella's Rocky Road Crunch Bars but I have played about with the recipe after repeated makings (it's a hard life being a baker ;-)) and adjusted quantities and added in more yummy things. Hers are OK but imho they are a bit two dimensional and nowhere near as yummy as mine. Strong words, but try this and I promise you won't be disappointed!

For 12 bars you need:
150g milk chocolate
150g dark chocolate (70% or above)
125g butter
3 tbsp golden syrup
100g rich tea biscuits, crushed a bit
100g rice crispies
100g whole glace cherries
100g marshmallows

Melt the butter, chocolate and golden syrup together in a double boiler (bowl over a pan of water). Once melted, add everything else and mix well. Turn out into a lined tray bake tin and smooth other. Leave to cool before cutting into squares and lamenting again about the size of your waistline.

Lime Drizzle Cake with Blueberries

The cake of the month for March is lime drizzle with blueberries. I often make lemon drizzle, but this takes the concept of light, airy sponge smothered in sticky syrup to a whole new level. For some reason I don't understand the blueberries always sink... (if anyone knows why please let me know!) but that doesn't seem to affect the taste. In fact, I think it's nice having a layer of quite sharp, ooey and gooey fruit on the bottom, below the cloud of light sponge flavoured with lime zest before the sticky top layer of syrup soaked cake. The original recipe for this was in BBC Good Food's 101 cakes and bakes. I've adapted it slightly by adding more lime zest to the cake batter and syrup and also using only blueberries. It works with any fresh berries tbh, tho raspberries, currants and blueberries are better than strawberries. The smell of the lime took me back to Thailand so I might make one with coconut and mango another time to bring back memories of Koh Phangan.

For two 2lb loaf cakes or one large tray bake you need:

For the cake

225g vitalite/softened butter

225g caster sugar

250g self raising flour

25g ground almonds (omit if allergic to nuts and use extra flour instead, you can't taste the almonds but they do give a lovely texture)

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs, lightly beaten

zest of 2 limes

juice of 2 limes

200g fresh blueberries

For the syrup

Juice of four limes

Zest of two limes

140g caster sugar

Begin by creaming the sugar with the vitalite/butter in a free standing mixer. Beat for 10 mins until light, fluffy and creamy. Add the eggs a little at a time, incorporating a spoonful of flour between each addition of egg to prevent curdling. Once all the eggs are added, mix in the remaining flour, salt and ground almonds. Grate in the lime zest and gently fold in the juice.

Mix in 2/3 of the blueberries and scrape into lined tins - either two 2lb loaf tins or one traybake tin. Scatter over the remaining blueberries and bake in a moderate (170 degree) oven for about 25 mins till risen, golden brown and cooked through.

Meanwhile make the syrup by melting the sugar over a very low heat with the lime juice and zest. Leave to cool slightly whilst the cakes cook.

As soon as the cakes are done, remove them from the oven and prick all over with a fork. Pour over the syrup and allow to sink in. Let the cakes cool completely before scoffing. They will last well for a week in an airtight container, assuming you can resist the temptation to eat them!

Apple, Almond and Blueberry Cake with Vanilla

Yep. You guessed it. This is yet another recipe from Mary Berry's Baking Bible. P50 this time. And another recipe made and adapted to use up the contents of my cupboard. I had no apricots so I substituted dried blueberries instead. And I also added vanilla because I adore the mix of almond and vanilla together. My boyfriend declared this cake as GORGEOUS and was rendered speechless by it's deliciousness. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

For one cake you need:
250g self raising flour
225g vanilla caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
150g butter, melted
225g peeled, cored and chopped apples. I used a mix of bramley and pink lady
100g dried blueberries
50g flaked almonds

Line a square baking tin with parchment paper. Mix everything apart from the apples, blueberries and almonds together well. Fold in the fruit and then scrape into the lined tin. Top with the flaked almonds and bake in a moderate (160 degree) oven for about an hour, till risen and golden. Leave to cool and then eat. It's nice warm or cold and also freezes well.

Death by Chocolate Cake

This is another Mary Berry recipe from her awesome Baking Bible book (p95). It was made for my boyfriend's birthday cake, but I had some spare batter left over as my tins were a bit too small. Shame. So I baked it and Lex and I scoffed. It's also national chocolate cake day today, so what better reason do you need :)

For one 20cm/8" cake or lots of small ones you need:
Cake
275g self raising flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
11/2 tsp bicarb
215g vanilla caster sugar
3 tbsp golden syrup
3 large eggs, beaten
225ml sunflower oil
225ml soya milk

Icing
450g plain chocolate
200g butter

Combine everything together in a large bowl and mix thoroughly to ensure no lumps or tell tale white bits that Mary and Paul would chastise you over. Pour into lined tins and bake at 160 degrees for about 30 mins till risen and cooked. Obviously adjust the time downwards if making mini cakes. But you know that. Leave to cool slightly then turn out of the tins and leave to cool completely.

For the icing, melt the chocolate and once this is done, add the butter and leave to melt. Allow to thicken slightly before using or it will run everywhere. Smother cooled cakes in icing, top with chocolate sprinkles and finish with gold spray for extra sparkle. Receive undying love and gratitude from all who consume.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Mmmmmm. Cake. Red cake. Silver frosting. Perfection in cake form. These were made for a birthday gal last week and went down to tremendous applause <becka bows modestly>. Strictly speaking they are not red velvet as there's no cocoa powder in them. I loathe chocolate cupcakes. So I don't make them. They are, really, vibrant red victoria sponge fairy cakes. But delicious nonetheless.

For about 32 cakes you need:
Cake
8oz self raising flour
8oz vitalite
8oz vanilla caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2-3 tbsp milk
1 tsp red food paste (if using food colouring, reduce the amount of milk)

Icing
1 tub betty crocker ready made creamy frosting <becka blushes, look I am clearing out my cupboards ready for a house move OK>.

Beat the sugar and vitalite together in a free standing mixer for *at least* 10 mins, till very light and fluffy. You will probably need to scrape down the sides at least once during this period. Mix the eggs together and gradually add to the fat and sugar mixture. Add a spoonful of flour with each addition of eggs to stop it from curdling. Once all the eggs are added, incorporate the remainder of the flour along with the vanilla paste and food paste. Add some milk to slacken the mixture if it needs it.

Spoon into lined muffin/cupcake tins and bake at 170 degrees for about 15-20 mins till risen and lightly browned. Leave to cool.

Decorate with piped icing and top with a chocolate button and silver spray or whatever you fancy. Scoff and bask in the adulation of your friends.

White Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcakes

I like making cupcakes. I like the different flavour combinations, I like the decorating but most of all I like the buttercream. Billowingly soft and sweet deliciousness. Yum yum yum. These cupcakes are a basic vanilla cupcake with the addition of white chocolate chips in them for an extra level of flavour and texture.

For 12-18 cupcakes you need:
Cakes
6oz vitalite
6oz vanilla sugar
6oz self raising flour
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g white chocolate chips

Icing
200g icing sugar
100g softened butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp milk

To Decorate
White chocolate buttons
Silver edible spray
White edible glitter

Begin by making the cakes. Cream the vitalite and vanilla sugar together in a free standing mixer for 5-10 mins till light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, with a spoonful of the flour with each to stop if from curdling. Add the rest of the flour along with the milk and vanilla. Mix well. Finally lightly combine the white chocolate chips in to the mixture.

Spoon in to lined muffin/cupcake trays and bake at 170 degrees for 15-20 mins till lightly browned and risen and cooked through. Leave to cool.

Make the buttercream by combining everything together and beating well for at least 10 mins. Pipe on to the cooled cakes and decorate as you wish. Lovely with coffee in the morning or a cup of tea in the afternoon.

Reece's Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

These cakes have been inspired by that icon of American confectionary, Reece's Peanut Butter Cups. I love love love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, but have never made a cake version of this previously. They work well, with a moist chocolate cake bottom (made from Nigella's sour cream chocolate cake recipe) and a salty, but sweet peanut butter frosting. Not for the fainthearted, these cupcakes pack a punch. And calories to match!

For 12-18 cupcakes (depending on tin size) you need:


Chocolate cake base
200g vanilla sugar
200g plain flour
200g vitalite
2 eggs
40g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarb
150ml sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Frosting
100g butter, at room temp
200g smooth peanut
200g icing sugar
2-3 tbsp milk

Mix everything for the cake together in a free standing mixer on medium speed till well combined. Turn the mixer speed to max and beat for 5 mins until light and fluffy. Place spoonfuls of the mixture into muffin/cupcake cases and bake in a moderate (170 degree) oven for 15-20 mins till risen and cooked through. Leave to cool.

For the frosting, again mix everything together in a free standing mixer till combined. Turn up the speed and beat for no more than 3 mins till light and fluffy. Place into a piping bag and pipe on top of the cooled cakes. Enjoy with an ice cold glass of milk if you want to continue the American theme.

Boyfriend Edition™ Tea Loaf

I have made this cake, a variation of St Delia's iconic Irish Tea Bread, three times so far. And each time it's been slightly different. The first time I made it, I heavily spiced it with mixed spice and cinnamon as the original batter mix was a bit insipid for me. The second time I made it was called the Baker's Edition and it was rich, moist and succulent due to soaking in orange juice. Inspired by the Baker's Edition, my boyfriend requested an extra special Boyfriend Edition cake. And this is it. It uses roobios tea and whisky as soaking fluids as he introduced me to roobios which I now adore, and we both love whisky. It's the lightest in texture and taste of the three I have made, and filled with lurve. Enjoy :)

For two 2lb loaves you need:
225g sultanas
225g raisins
225g currants
125g chopped glace ginger
100g glace cherries
100g chopped candied peel
225g demerara sugar
275ml strongly brewed roobios tea
75ml whisky
1 large egg, lightly beaten
450g self raising flour
1/2 nutmeg, freshly grated
2 tbsp vanilla sugar

Begin this 24 hours before you want to make it. In to a large bowl place everything apart from the egg and flour. Mix well and leave to steep in a cool place, stirring once or twice during this period. The next day, pre-heat an oven to 170 degrees and line two loaf tins. Add the beaten egg to the fruit mixture and combine thoroughly. Then add the flour and mix well. Don't forget to add lots of love at this stage too ;-)

Scrape into the tins. Grate the nutmeg over the top of the unbaked cakes, and then sprinkle over the sugar. Bake for about 90 mins or until it's risen, golden brown and cooked all the way through. Leave to cool. The cake can be eaten immediately, but it's better if left to mature and served either cold, or toasted, with lashings of butter. Oh and a mug of strong tea. Roobios, natch ;-)

Rich Chocolate Brownie (v)

I think my tastebuds are evolving. I never thought it would be possible to enjoy a dense, gooey, sticky, rich, unctuous chocolate brownie sans butter and eggs, but it is. And this recipe proves it. I tweaked the original recipe in line with feedback from others, reducing the sugar by 100g, using muscavado to make it more gooey and sticky and reducing the oil slightly too. I cooked for 20 mins as I wanted the outside squares more cakey and the inside squares ooooooozing.

For about 24 brownies you need:
250g plain flour
250g light brown muscavado sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
200ml sunflower oil
250ml water
65g cocoa powder

Mix everything together until smooth. Scrape into a lined tin and bake at 160 degrees for 20 mins. Leave to cool slightly before scoffing.

Blueberry Muffins (v)

I had some manky blueberries to use up. Manky as in they were old and the skins therefore a little tough so I didn't just want to eat them. Muffins to the rescue, as the heat of the oven would make them burst and their juicy loveliness would then be spread throughout the muffin. Some lemon in these too helps to lift the flavour.

For about 6 large sized muffins you need:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
zest of one lemon
1 punnet blueberries, washed and picked over for stalks etc
3/4 tsp bicarb
1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
40ml grapeseed oil
1/2 cup soya milk
1/4 tsp salt

Place everything in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into cases and bake in a moderate (170 degree) oven for 15-20 mins till risen and golden brown. Lovely warm and they also freeze well.