Light and Fluffy Sweet Cream

I have been using butter-cream a lot, so I wanted to try something different. I loved this recipe because it sweetens cream subtly but perfectly. Great for scones or dryer cakes!

Ingredients

• 1 cup double cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method
1) With an electric mixer, simply whisk all of these ingredients together until soft peaks form. This recipe also works well in a piping bag. However, I tried to dye the cream after I whisked it and it separated into curds and whey, so I would just leave it un-coloured as that was easier.

Credit: recipes.howstuffworks.com

Classic Victoria Sponge

 I wanted to make something to celebrate the end of the Olympics and team GB, so I made a classic Victoria Sponge. I know this is a day late, but I fell out with the icing yesterday. Firstly, I attempted to make a cream cheese icing but it completely flopped, who knew that simply butter, cream cheese and icing sugar would form a consistency of water? So today, I tried a sweetened cream. I was planning to colour it with food colouring and ice the Union Jack (for team GB) onto the cake, but apparently if you add food colouring to sweetened cream it separates and turns to curds and whey. Oh well! Learn from your mistakes.

 Victoria Sponge is not my favourite cake, as I don't particularly like jam. However this recipe has made me change my mind! Light, sweet, soft, fantastic. So easy to make and a great treat if you're feeling a bit peckish!

Ingredients

• 4 free-range eggs
• 225g/8oz caster sugar, plus a little extra for dusting the finished cake
• 225g/8oz self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 225g/8oz softened margarine or butter, plus a little extra to grease the tins
• Cream and jam for filling and/or icing

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2) Grease and line two cake tins, making sure you get up all the sides so that when the cake is baked it will be easy to take out.

3) For this recipe, use the all-in-one method. This is simply putting every single ingredient into the bowl and mixing them together, in the order listed above. When everything is combined, the finished mixture should fall off a spoon easily.

4) Next, pour the mixture into the two cake tins. Try to get the same amount in each tin, but it doesn't matter if the amounts are slightly different.

5) Bake for 20-25 minutes. To test if they are baked, stick a skewer down inside the center of the cake and if it comes out clean the are ready.  I found that the cakes felt too soft and under-baked, however this is how Victoria Sponge is meant to be; it is a very delicate cake. The cakes also have to look golden-brown when they are done. Put the tins on the side and after several minutes move the cakes onto a cooling rack.

6) When cool, cover one half with the jam (you can also cover cream on top too or you can use it for icing at the end). Sandwich the other half upside-down on top of the covered half, so that the top of the cake is flat. You can use ay icing you want- a dusting of icing sugar, butter-cream, royal icing. I sweetened the cream (using this recipe) and used it as icing instead of a filling.

This cake has converted me to loving jam on my cake! I now also have a special love for delicate cakes like Victoria Sponge, opposed to dense chocolate fudge cakes.  4/5

Happy baking!

Credit: www.bbc.co.uk/food/

'Melting Moments'

Melting Moments are the heirs to custard creams. Their short-bready texture makes them the perfect accompaniment to a nice cup of tea - the prefect tea time treat! Smooth buttercream sandwiched between sweet and crunchy biscuits. We added a touch of red food colouring to the icing for decoration. We also dusted our COAB (Confessions of a Bake-a-holic) heart logo onto the top of our biscuits with icing sugar to make them our own.

Ingredients:

• 200g unsalted butter, softened.
• 190g icing sugar, plus more for dusting.
• 155g plain flour
• 140g corn flour

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C, gas mark 4. Line/grease two baking trays with baking paper or butter.

2. For the biscuits, sift all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and add the butter. Mix well with an electric mixer.

3. Using your hands roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into about 24 small balls. Place the bowls on the baking trays. Gently press down on the top of each biscuit with a fork to flatten them so they are almost doubled in size.

4. Bake for about 9 minutes until they're light, golden brown. Don't leave them in too long or they will become too crispy.

5. When they have cooled, dollop a spoonful of icing in the center of one disc and place another of the biscuits on top to sandwich them together. We have used our own recipe for the butter cream icing. Click here to see the link.

6. Dust with icing sugar to decorate. We used a heart stencil to dust on the COAB logo.

This recipe was slightly deceiving. Many of the claims made by the authors turned out to be inaccurate. Because of this we had to tweak it in a few places and use some creativity when decorating to hide the discrepancies. The biscuits were tasty overall, but slightly over-sweet and filling. 3/5

Simply Sweet Buttercream!

Shown above on our Rainbow Cupcakes. Click here to see the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 250g icing sugar, sifted
• 80g unsalted butter, softened
• 25ml whole milk
• a couple of drops of vanilla extract (optional)

Simply mix together the icing sugar and softened butter until combined. Next, add the milk in small measures until you reach your desired texture and a smooth consistency. Finally, add the reccomended amount of vanilla extract (optional). In the picture we have used, we coloured the icing with a small amount of blue food colouring.

Easy-Peasy Vanilla Ice Cream

Vanilla Ice Cream

If I'm honest, I wasn't sure that this would work.  The recipe didn't involve any techniques that I thought people did to make ice cream, it was essentially mixing egg whites with a cream mixture and freezing it.  However, it turned out perfect! The texture and taste were exactly the same as ice cream should be.  It was a great, refreshing treat to cool us down in this weather!

Ingredients

• 600ml double cream
• 250g caster sugar
• 6 eggs, seperated
• 1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large bowls

Method

1)  In the first bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff.

2)  In the second bowl, whip the cream with the vanilla until stiff.

3)  In the third bowl, beat the egg yolks with sugar until creamy.

4)  Add egg yolks mixture to cream mixture and beat again.

5)  Fold (carefully and slowly passing a spatula down through the mixture, across the bottom, and up over the top. the egg whites into this mixture.  Folding reduces the amount of air lost, opposed to simply mixing.

6)  Pour into a container and freeze for a day.

This recipe is very quick to mix up and simple to do, certainly something I will be doing again! 5/5

Happy baking!

Plan for tomorrow

Click here to see the recipe
Ice cream put in the freezer to freeze! I will post the recipe tomorrow - Tarryn

Finally summer.

Making ice cream today! Could really do with some in this weather.

Birthday cake!

I had a fantastic birthday cake, but unfortunately it is not what I planned to happen. I was going to make a Milk Tart but I didn't have time, so I cheekily bought a cake instead. Sorry, but I won't be posting a recipe today :( - Tarryn

Chocolate Pots

Chocolate Pots

Ingredients

• 225 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 400 ml double cream, plus extra for serving
• 150 ml milk
• 50 g icing sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• cocoa powder, to dust 

Method

1. Put the chopped chocolate into a large bowl.  

 

2. Put the cream into a saucepan, bring it gently to the boil, then pour it over the chocolate. Stir together until the chocolate melts and put this mixture to one side.

3. In another bowl, mix together the milk, icing sugar and yolks. 

 4. Pour the egg and milk mixture into the chocolate, stir till combined, then strain through a sieve into a clean bowl.

 

 5. Pour the mixture into small pots.

 6. Put the pots in the fridge and leave overnight.

 7. To serve, remove the pots from the fridge and dust with cocoa.

 credits to: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/599888