Toscakaka

Or, Swedish Almond Caramel Crunch Delight Cake.

.. I'm still not great at names.

This is one of the nicest and most surprising cakes I've made in a while. I was a little skeptical about adding the topping midway through cooking, but I was so wrong. It was amazing. I'm kind of annoyed at my Swedish boyfriend for keeping the fact that this cake existed from me.

In making this cake I realised I don't have a larger cake tin, so mine is a little taller than traditional. I think it's supposed to be closer to the depth of a tart. I am going to have to hunt for a 9 inch loose bottomed cake tin now, but it was still very delicious.

I made this for my continental table of treats for Eurovision and it was a hit! It's really quite good as it is, but it would be delightful slightly warm with a little vanilla ice cream on the side. Or smothered in custard. Everything is better with custard.

Cherry Bakewell Loaf

It's the week after a Bank Holiday weekend, so I think we all need a little pick me up to get you through it.

And I have just the thing. This is a delightful little loaf. Perfect for an afternoon tea tray. It’s dense and nutty and not too sweet. I adapted this from a Nigella recipe, and I added a little extra sweetness (as is my wont) by drizzling some icing sugar on top to recreate the Bakewell Tart flavours I wanted.

I adore the individual components in a bakewell tart- the flaky pastry, nutty almonds, zingy cherries and sweet white icing, but they really sing when they’re all together.

But making a tart is kind of time consuming. And making a loaf cake is not. And sometimes you want (NEED!) something quick and sweet, but also homemade and lovely.

Oreo Brownies

I'm currently working night shifts, and I need this mid week pick me up..

Remember how much I love brownies? Well, I thought I had gotten to the end of the possible flavours and additions, but that would be like giving up, and I’m not a quitter!

Cheeky little surprise in store

Shoving Oreos in the middle of brownies is a revelation. It's not refined, or haute cuisine, but damn these taste good. 

It wasn’t easy initially to make, my first batch were really dry because I cooked them for far too long. I have learned and tweaked and I'm really happy with what we're at now. The next thing I want to do is make them with mint Oreos, (which are my favourite things in the whole world) because mint chocolate is my favourite flavour combination.

Passion Fruit Curd

So, I'm kind of obsessed with curd now. Get with the program. It's spring, and I'm blitzing all of my fruit to make this amazing little compote. Basically, this means that I have a new ingredient to play with! Breakfast will never be the same.

Breakfast TRANSFORMED!

I’ve decided that fruit curd is the best thing ever. It all started with some amazing pancakes I got for brunch which were served with passion fruit curd.

I started off easy, making the simplest type of curd (lemon). It was super delicious, and very easy. I 

used it on pancakes, and in cakes. The next step was to branch out into passion fruit curd because I found a local place to buy them – would you believe that Tesco’s sells passion fruits?!

The method for this is slightly different from lemon curd, but it produces the same smooth, zesty sweet preserve. Curd is really simple, really versatile and I am very pleased with my little fridge full of jars of homemade deliciousness.

Chocolate-Stuffed Ombre Easter Cake!

The name, like this cake, is a mouthful.

Easter is a time for chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. I’m pretty sure that’s in the Bible. Anyway, it’s what we do. Chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies, and I’m adding a stuffed chocolate cake to that mixture.

And what a cake! It’s got TWO surprises going for it, ombre and a chocolates-filled centre.

Surprise!

You know that my basic mantra is, the more layers you add to a cake, the more impressive it looks (as long as it is standing up in one piece!).  

This is a four tier, chocolate ombre, stuffed with sweets, iced with an amazing light and thick chocolate fudge buttercream cake, and it’s impressive!

The buttercream is SENSATIONAL

I love it! The perfect centrepiece to your Easter table. I went quite simple with chocolate and gold eggs, but feel free to decorate differently – an over the top, stacked egg extravanza could also look amazing!

The good thing about this cake is that it is so customisable - you can fill the centre with your favourites. And at Easter there are loads of gorgeous chocolatey treats to choose from.

Choc Chip Shortbread

Shortbread is one of my favourite things to make. Everyone loves shortbread, and it is VERSATILE. It’s not all just those little plain fingers of sugary biscuit you get at Christmas.

You can keep it plain, but dust with cinnamon and vanilla sugar, you can add lemon zest, or orange zest, dip them in chocolate, the options are endless. And that's before you get to the different shapes you could cut them out in!

Little Chick Shortbread - perfect for Easter!

Hearts for Valentine's day..

I love mine with chocolate chips, and it’s my godson’s favourite so I like to make it often! I added a little twist to it again this time, with half of the mix as choc chip and half choc chip with added coconut. Bounty Bar shortbread anyone?!

Lemon Curd Sponge

I made lemon curd the other day. It had to be done, and it was delicious. I ended up with quite a lot of curd, and despite lovingly and liberally slathering it on pancakes most of last week, I still have a lot left.

Delicious, delicious lemon curd.

So, the obvious solution was to incorporate it into cake.

I decided to make a lemon Victoria Sponge. Instead of jam, I used the curd, and instead of cream, I used lemon buttercream. This was a stonking success. It's the perfect springtime cake, sweet and zesty, and the homemade curd makes a really standout filling.