Orange and Almond Cake

So, I was making candied orange peel. As you do. Because it’s the season of oranges and cinnamon and sweet things to help us through the short days.

..And I had lots of orange syrup left over from the boiling of the peel with sugar, so I wanted to use it to make a lovely moist festive orange cake. The nutty almonds, sweet syrup and zesty zest work together to make this the ultimate tea-time cake.

And another welcome use for this cake is after a Christmas dinner - I don't like Christmas pudding but this one can be rigged up (depending on how fancy your cake tins are) to look just like one and (for me) it tastes so much better!

I used a little fancy cake tin and though it was more difficult to extricate the cake (it required heavy greasing beforehand and careful handling after!) it gave it a fancy finish that I really loved.

Candied Orange Peel

It’s definitely time for autumnal and Christmas flavours  to start shining through!

I have never made candied peel, so I thought I should give it a whirl, seeing as these citrus-y sweet little nuggets can adorn any festive bake – mince pies, stollen, chocolate marzipan.. And then you’ve got the non-seasonal applications like cannoli.

What’s left of the simple syrup which has been deliciously infused with orange can also be re-used, I am planning to use it to make a deliciously moist orange drizzle cake. Waste not, want not!

Anyway, this is easy and it made my house smell delicious. What more do you want?

Cannoli

Oh, this is a little treat. I think of baking as my hobby, and as with most hobbies, sometimes you get stuck in a rut. I think brownies are my rut – I’ve been known to make brownies and only brownies for weeks. They’re easy, delicious and altogether pleasing. But sometimes you want to get out of the rut. You gotta make something new, and something a little tricky.

Enter, cannoli.

I have enjoyed these little crunchy sweet morsels a lot in the last few years, I’ve gotten them from bakeries, markets and Italian delis. And Italy. So delicious. And too hard to make at home, or so I thought. The hardest bit was sourcing ingredients - I couldn't find any traditional (sweet) marsala wine, so I just used regular white wine and they tasted legit!

Like with most hobbies, you need equipment sometimes. I did have to buy these cannoli rings to enable me to make them, but they cost £7 and arrived via next day delivery. That’s the price of 2 costa coffees or one medium-fancy gin – well worth it because I’ll get my money’s worth. They will  be added to my niche kitchen equipment collection which includes donut pans and a sugar thermometer. Very useful gear.

I learned a lot by doing this. You need to roll the dough as thin as you can, with a second roll once you’ve cut it out. And then when sealing the ends together, seal the entirety of the dough where the two ends meet or else it’ll open up. Learn by my example!

"Jaffa Cake" Cake

Orange treat box - Jaffa cake cake AND chocolate orange brownies!

What is a girl to do when she has oranges needing used up? Make some cakes! It’s so obvious!

Historically, I haven’t been a fan of Jaffa cakes . But it’s getting wintery and nothing beats a chocolate and orange combination on an autumn evening. Plus, everyone knows that chocolate oranges are one of the unofficial chocolates of Christmas, so these flavours fit right in.

This is one of my favourite kinds of cakes to make, it’s super easy, the topping is sweet and tangy, and the chocolate piping is actually a lot of fun to do.

Makes one delicious cake, divides into 36 little bite size squares

Spiced Chocolate Orange Polenta Cake

Are we ready for some more chocolate after the indulgences of Easter?

I am always looking for a way to use interesting or unusual ingredients. You don’t see polenta around too much, but I really like using it in baking. It is kind of coarse and I like the very subtle crunch that it gives to baked goods. I am a fan.

Now, real talk, I poured the batter for this into a cake tin that was way too small and it never would have cooked. So I removed some of the batter for cupcakes, and ended up with a smaller cake than was intended and 6 delicious cupcakes. Still delicious.

This is a good cake. AND it's gluten free! You will enjoy.

Orange Polenta Cake

Spring is in the air, and for me that means citrus cakes! I am super excited about this cake. For my birthday (way back last year), my lovely boyfriend was tasked with going out and getting me many slices of delicious cakes instead of one normal birthday cake. I don’t ask for much..

He got me a delicious and unusual selection, but our favourite was probably the orange and polenta cake. It wasn’t too sweet, but it was moist and a little crumbly and melt in the mouth delicious.

I’ve been on the hunt for polenta since then..

I cracked it the other day – the little Italian deli at the market, of course! They had it, and a ton of other absolutely delicious ingredients of which I picked up one or two.. or five..

This is a pretty simple little cake otherwise. I think I’ll play around with the proportions of polenta to flour to ground almonds, next time I might up the polenta and reduce the flour. I only have quite small and tall cake tins, so I divided the recipe into two. and got two flat but perfectly cooked cakes. Absolutely delicious!

Orange and Ginger "Raw-eos"

Well, I had a box of medjool dates left over from my last “raw” cooking kick, so I thought I’d try something that I’ve been thinking about for a little while. While these don’t taste anything like Oreos, they look a bit like them and they’re kind of delicious in their own way. I’m a sugar addict, I’m not going to go all “clean” on you guys and say how these taste even better than the real thing. They don’t, BUT they’re actually pretty damn delicious, and sweetly flavourful.

The biscuit-y bit is actually really similar to those Nakd bars – the only one I like (choc orange). I think the little addition of bits of ginger chocolate gives it a real pop and works well with the orange. I’m a fan.

Raw cooking is something which I’m just dipping my toes into, and adjusting to my own tastes. Feel free to play around with the flavours, or just leave the ginger choc/zest out entirely. The other great thing about these is that you don’t need the filling, you could easily roll them a bit thicker (like an inch) and just eat them as-is. Versatile and yummy!

Chocolate Orange Mousse

Channeling the Swedish chef up in here! It's nearly the weekend, so I thought I'd conjure up a little treat.

I love recipes that use some random ingredient to make something totally unlike the original product. This chocolate mousse is everything one could want: bubbly, thick, rich, and deeply flavourful.

And where does the perfect texture come from? Marshmallows! So, no faffing around with egg whites, this is pure divine inspiration.

I have made it a lot in the past, in plain chocolate flavour, as well as chocolate mint, which all work deliciously. The chocolate mint is a perfect after-dinner treat, but the chocolate orange is a big hug in a cup.

If I am being fancy, I will use these lovely glass honeycomb mugs that my mum has been known to kindly lend me. 

The mint version - my mum has the best things!

In the absence of those, I used some mini paper cups leftover from Christmas. A pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon in the recipe could really increase the festiveness if made in winter! Espresso mugs also work well, or small glasses, as well as ramekins.

Chocolate Orange Brownies

Of all the food I bring into work (and I'm a feeder, so it's a lot), this is the one thing that people have requested (okay, begged) that I make again and again.

I do love a brownie, I’ve already done the classic and the mint, and when I had some leftover oranges, it seemed obvious to stick them in a brownie. That is how my brain works, don’t judge me.

Squidgy, dense, rich and sweet, studded with chocolate pieces – everything I want in a sweet morsel!

Sweet Orange Loaf

The boyfriend and I are off on our Easter hols tomorrow! Hopefully I'll still be able to post once or twice, but if the wifi is spotty then this will be the last post for about a week.

And what a post.. I've been saving this humble little cake.

This is one of those little loaf-cakes which looks fairly dull on the plate, but is packed full of flavour and deliciousness. I am compiling a ‘dream afternoon tea’ tray (in my head) and this is on it. I think the reason it is so good is down to the moist texture and sweet, zesty flavour. And it doesn’t hurt that it is pretty simple to whip up!

Again and again I am indebted to Mary Berry for giving me delicious recipes. This is something I never would have thought of making if I didn’t have her book and an orange kicking around to use up, and I am so glad I did. It cuts up into little morsels of happiness!

Orange cake with white chocolate ganache

This cake is an absolute delight. It had the great honour of being first cake I served and ate of 2014 (got stuck into it straight after a glass of bubbly to toast the new year!) and it definitely was deserving of this. My mum got me the Mary Berry Baking Bible for Christmas, and so far I have not been disappointed with anything. It feels like stealing your grandmothers’ best recipes.

Back to this cake: it’s so simple to make, it’s light and zesty, and the ganache just gives it a richness which is not overpowering due to the citrus flavour of the cake.

In short: you need this in your life (and mouth).