cake

Chocolate Orange Cake

Chocolate Orange Cake

I’ve never had Chocolate Orange cake before. In fact I don’t think I’ve even seen one on offer anywhere and I have no idea why not! Chocolate and orange are a well-established hit-combination so why not a Chocolate Orange cake? So I decided to experiment and invent one. The sponge is a basic Victoria Sponge(…)

Fruity Fatless Tea Bread

Fruity Fatless Tea Bread

There really couldn’t be a simpler recipe than this, and the beauty of this cake is not only that its packed with fruit, it also has not butter or oil in the recipe (unless you slather it with butter when you eat it of course!). The only thing to remember is to plan ahead, as(…)

Triple Chocolate Loaf Cake

Triple Chocolate Loaf Cake

Just a quick post today as it’s a busy Goodwood Revival weekend! Did you think I’d run out of baking recipes? Not yet! This cake is simply wonderful, but that might be something to do with the 2 large bars of chocolate which go into it! Ingredients: 175g softened butter, plus extra for greasing 175g(…)

Saturday Baking: Banana Pecan Bread

Saturday Baking: Banana Pecan Bread

There’s nothing quite like the aroma of freshly baked Banana bread and fresh coffee to make your house smell amazing, and it’s also very tasty to enjoy afterwards!  This recipe is an adapted version from Nigella’s Banana Bread. Make sure you leave it in the tin until it’s completely cold otherwise it’ll break up as(…)

Saturday Baking: Coconut Jam Sandwich Cakes

Saturday Baking: Coconut Jam Sandwich Cakes

You know when you fancy trying something just a little bit different? We seem to be going through cake like nobody’s business now that the school holidays have started so I thought I’d try these Coconut Jam Sandwich Bars. When I saw the picture (and thought ‘mmmmm’) I didn’t realise there would be *quite so(…)

Unbeatably Good Brownies

Unbeatably Good Brownies

I went for some total baking decadence today. All things considered you really can’t beat a great home-baked chocolate brownie. Not the bland stodgy ones you buy in shops, they’re a completely different animal. If never had a home-baked brownie I urge you to try these – they are dense and rich and slightly chewy(…)

Old Fashioned Cherry Cake

Old Fashioned Cherry Cake

I’ve been eating cherries like they’re going out of style this week, so what could be more appropriate than baking an old-fashioned English cherry cake for the weekend? I’m not sure that glacé cherries really count as one of your five-a-day, but it’s a lovely piece of cake to have with your morning coffee and the(…)

Saturday Baking: Cinnamon Swirl Loaf Cake

Saturday Baking: Cinnamon Swirl Loaf Cake

I loved the look of this recipe. It sounded like all my favourite ingredients from a Danish Pastry made into a loaf cake. The only thing missing would be some white icing drizzled along the top which I might try next time. The original recipe is from the Hummingbird Bakery Cakes book, and looks way(…)

Saturday Baking: Hummingbird Cake

Saturday Baking: Hummingbird Cake

This is another way of using up those pesky overripe bananas, but with a luxurious (and slightly tropical) result. The finished cake is reminiscent of deluxe carrot cake, especially with the cinnamon and cream-cheese frosting, but is actually made with bananas and tinned pineapple.

Saturday Baking: Nigel Slater’s Thyme & Lemon Cake

Saturday Baking: Nigel Slater’s Thyme & Lemon Cake

Bear with me, I know the idea of thyme in a lemon cake might seem strange but it adds something truly special to it. I took this recipe from Nigel Slater’s The Kitchen Diaries II, which I can’t recommend highly enough. I love the way he delights in simple good-quality ingredients and makes thoughtful unfussy(…)

Sunday Baking: Deluxe (and Easy) Carrot Cake Traybake

Sunday Baking: Deluxe (and Easy) Carrot Cake Traybake

Fancy something delicious for the weekend? How about this? It’s moist, tasty and fabulous, and there’s nothing like the combination of carrot cake with buttercream and a splodge of whipped cream too. I can’t recommend this cake highly enough – hope you like it too! x Ingredients: 175g/6oz golden caster sugar 175ml/6fl oz olive oil(…)

Saturday Morning Baking: Fat-Free Banana Muffins

Saturday Morning Baking: Fat-Free Banana Muffins

I’ve spent the last week tidying-up Theo’s enormous birthday cake (somebody had to eat all that cake), and my arteries are groaning from all that buttercream so I’m baking healthy again today. Instead of making the same No-No Banana Loaf I tried a few weeks ago, I decided to try to make some fat-free banana(…)

My Minecraft Cake Debacle

My Minecraft Cake Debacle

I should have learned by now NOT to ask my son what kind of cake he wants for his birthday. When he announced he wanted a Minecraft cake this year I was pretty chuffed. After all, Minecraft is known for being blocky, pixelly and badly rendered so how hard could it be?* Well, as you(…)

Vintage Baking: A Delicate & Delicious Coconut Cake

Vintage Baking: A Delicate & Delicious Coconut Cake

Am I making you feel hungry? I’m making it my mission this afternoon to try to photograph this cake in a way that shows just how delicious it is – how does it look? It’s not an overtly coconutty cake, more a classic sponge with a delicate coconut flavour, then smothered in strawberry jam and(…)

Vintage baking: a 1950s stained glass cake

Vintage baking: a 1950s stained glass cake

I’ve fancied making a retro stained glass cake for a while now, ever since stumbling across different photos of it online. Apparently it was a recipe which was printed on the back of jello packets in the 1950s, it’s also sometimes called a broken glass cake but I think that sounds a lot less appealing(…)