Davina's Sugarfree Chocolate Brownies

Another weekend of running, so another perfect excuse to bake.  Now please, do not for a minute, by the title think these are good for you. However, they are delicious and free from refined sugar.  This sugar free lark seems to be all the rage at the moment, so for no other reason other than I am inquisitive about new bakes, I gave these Chocolate Brownies a try from a magazine article on Davina McCall.

Rather than the suggested 100% cocoa chocolate, I used 70% chocolate this time, as I was testing out the recipe principal, so my brownies do have a bit of refined sugar.  But hey, I can cope.

I was also interested to try this recipe as it uses wholemeal spelt flour.  Not something I have tried before, but high in fibre, so making a healthier post run snack.

Instead of refined sugar, you used a combination of honey and maple syrup.

Melt, whisk and mix the ingredients as required, then add to a greased and lined brownie tin, or deep baking tray.

Bake in a 190c static oven for 15 minutes, though I would check at 14 minutes if you prefer a chewier brownie.

Allow to cool completely (if you can resist!!), before cutting into squares.

I used large eggs and skimmed milk as that's what I had in the fridge, but the recipe doesn't stipulate.
The end result is delicious and nowhere near as sweet as a regular brownie. Plus the honey and maple syrup provide a slower energy release, keeping you going for a bit longer.  Now I just have to store them in my baking tin until tomorrow, without 'testing' too many.  Wish me luck!

Happy Baking!

'Scandilicious' Banana Spice Cake

I do like an excuse to get baking, as you may have gathered.  This weekend it was to feed hungry runners from my run club, after we had completed the Stubbington 10k race on Sunday.

Now being a relatively healthy bunch, I chose to make a banana cake, which would replenish some of the calories burned and use up some rather ripe bananas in the process.  I got given 'Scandilicious Baking' a couple of Christmas's ago, full of delicious Scandinavian bakes.

One of the cake bakes is a Banana Spice Cake, so I thought I'd give it a go.  Its unusual in that it combines 4 different spices in a Banana cake.  The result is quite tasty and improves the day after baking, giving a moist, yet healthy tasting cake.  Lets say it was well received.

Usually I try and blog about recipes which I can link to online.  Not everyone has a Scandinavian Baking book right?  Well handily enough, I found another blog, where the author had written the recipe out here.

Not the most handsome of cakes, but its really just a little different and really rather tasty.  Perfect with a cup of coffee!

I didn't have spelt flour, so just used plain, as per the suggested alternative, plus I used half fat creme fraiche and chopped hazelnuts instead of walnuts.  170c static oven for 45 minutes.

Here's another something spicy to brighten up a winters day.  Hamamelis, also known as Witchazel, also has a spicy scent and is in full bloom in a West Sussex garden at the moment.

Happy Baking!

Nordicware Baking Tins - Spoilt at Christmas

As a keen follower of Great British Bake Off winner, Jo Wheatley, I became aware of the amazing baking tins you can get from American company, Nordic Ware.  These tins are not cheap, but boy are they heavy, robust and built to last.  I must have been pretty unsubtle, as I received three of these beauties for Christmas.  I have yet to try the Ginger Bread House tin, but for last weekend, I put the Christmas Tree and Heritage Bundt tins to the test for a birthday celebration weekend for my friend Duncan.

In the Heritage tin, I made Jo Wheatley's new recipe for a Toffee, Banana & Pecan Bundt Cake. 

Drizzled with Waitrose Toffee Sauce and topped off with mini marshmallows.



Next up was Nigella's Spruced Up Vanilla Cake in the Christmas Tree tin.  It was a little reminder of the brilliant holiday we had in Austria to celebrate his 40th Birthday, hence the cream 'snow', fir trees and wintry village scene.  This cake looks great with a dusting of icing sugar to set the scene.

They both worked out perfectly and were just was needed after a day of activities.  Needless to say, I didn't bring any home.

For both the cakes, I greased them well with Wilton Cake Release before adding the cake batter.  I took the oven temperatures given as for a static oven, not fan.  Large eggs were used in both recipes.

Great tins that get lots of oohs and aahs and recipes that are simple to follow.  I think I am smitten with Nordic Ware tins.  Which recipe to try in them next?

Happy Baking!



A little sprinkling of Christmas Sparkle - Cowslip Workshops Xmas Bonanza

Well Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without a jaunt down to Cornwall for Cowslip Workshop's annual Christmas Bonanza, now would it.  This year I stayed again with the lovely Lisa at Goodmansleigh Farm and rented White Park for a week.  This way I could have family to stay, sew to my hearts content and also explore the local area a bit more.  I don't know how I did it, but the weather was great and showed off the delights of Bude Beach, Tintagel and Boscastle at their best.

Not a bad view from the kitchen!

However, I digress, back to the sewing.  A couple of years ago, I started my Reindeer Quilt at Cowslip.  I finally finished it towards the end of 2014. 

 

At the Christmas Bonanza, I wanted to make a cushion which would complement it, yet also have a go at the Free Machine Quilting technique, of which owner Jo, is a great teacher.  This was my final offering, which I am really chuffed with.

I also made this cute Christmas Robin, mounted on a log, with sewn holly leaves, fresh moss and twigs.

I can,t bare to put my Stuffed Star Christmas Tree away for Christmas, which is now adorned with little silver bells and so it sits proudly in my office/sewing room.

I got asked to make some stuffed Christmas Bells for a couple of my gardening clients and got a bit carried away.  Five later - they looked great bagged up in a simple cookie bag and ribbon.  The Christmas napkins were gifts for family, with the embroidery templates copied by eye from the lovely 'Stitch it for Christmas' Book by Lynette Anderson.

Last year saw a bit of a crafty lull for me, so my New Years resolution?  More knitting, sewing and baking.  Bring it on!

Happy Sewing!

Oh la la, its a French Macaron!!! Workshop at Angel Food Bakery

Just over a week ago, I spent a lovely day in Brighton with my friend Sophia.  As well as a good excuse for a spot of shopping and a nice lunch at Vietnamese Restaurant 'Pho', our main reason for visiting was to attend a workshop at Angel Food Bakery on How to make French Macaron. 

Now Sophia is a bit of a dab hand at these already, but was keen to pick up any tips.  I've tried them twice.  Beginners luck gave me some passable Lemon Macaron.  My second attempt........ well they were welded to the baking parchment.

It seems these little blighters are a bit pesky and very sensitive.  Preparation is key.  I have listed some of the top tips below to help towards a superior Macaron.  

We had a go at two types of Macaron.  The first was a plain shell, which had colour added at the end of the meringue whisking.  A simple butter cream was used as the filling and could have flavourings added.  Not surprisingly, I chose to make purple Macaron.

 

 

Sophia got a bit enthusiastic with the pink food colouring.

 

 

 

There were 5 of us on the workshop and as you can see the colours are all pretty different!



 

 

Once cooked and cooled, we then got to choose our flavour for the butter cream filling.  As mine were purple, I went for Violet and added just 5 drops of Violet flavouring to my butter cream.  I didn't colour the butter cream as I wanted the contrast between purple and cream.  They were lovely and delicate in flavour.

 

 

 

We also had a go at Chocolate Macarons which has cocoa powder added to meringue mixture and were filled with a chocolate ganache.  I opted to have half fill mine with dark chocolate ganache and then added some orange flavouring to the remaining ganache for a dark chocolate orange filling.  Delicious.  The chocolate Macaron are a little harder in texture, but still have an amazing flavour.

They make a very decadent afternoon treat.

Or equally lovely to give away as gifts.

 

 

At £45 for a 3.5 hour workshop, its well worth the money and you come away with a box full of tasty treats.



Top tips for a superior French Macaron.

• Crack your eggs at least a few hours before attempting Macaron.  Ideally leave the egg whites to sit overnight.  It helps loose some of their elasticity and makes a stiffer meringue.
• The ground almonds mustn't be too damp as you need to sift them first, but don't force any bits through your sieve, else you release too much oil and alter the crucial ingredient ratio.  You may have to throw some large bits away, or save them for a cake that isn't so fussy!
• Sieve the already sieved ground almonds with your icing sugar and then grind together in a Magimix for about 10 seconds.
• Food colouring powders are better for Macaron than liquid colouring as they don't affect the mixture ratio, but if you cant get them use colour pastes like Sugarflair.  They give really intense colours. 
• When you pipe the meringue onto your baking sheet, you are sometimes left with little peaks.  To flatten out wet your index finger, shake off any excess water and gently tap the peak down.
• The proper whisking of the meringue is crucial.  There is a fine line between under and over whisking.  It needs to be whisked for at least 5-6 minutes until it resembles shaving foam and little bits start flicking off the whisk. This is when you add your colouring, then quickly turn off before it gets over whisked.
• If you can bare it, leave the filled Macaron in the fridge, loosely covered, to mature for at least 24 hours.  This helps the flavours meld into the shells and gives them their distinctive chewiness.
• Filled Macaron can be frozen!

I learnt so much more in this workshop and its an absolute bargain at the price.  I hope to attempt some more Macaron at home this weekend now I feel more confident, playing around with new colours and flavours.  Then back to Brighton in a couple of weeks for a Cupcake Baking and Decorating Workshop!

Angel Food Bakery is a gem of a find.

Happy Baking!

Wonky Log Cabin Xmas Lap Quilt - Cowslip Workshops

One of my favourite crafty places to visit is Cowslip Workshops in Launceston, Cornwall run by Jo Colwill.  For the last few years I've been lucky enough to attend their 2 day Christmas Bonanza workshops, where there is stacks of inspiring projects to get stuck into.  This was the display from 2 years ago.

This is Ruddy, one of my creations.  I can't bare to put him away after the festivities, so he holds court in my spare bedroom!



2 years ago, I started on my Wonky Log Cabin Xmas Quilt.  Rather than creating squares around a central starting point with rectangular strips, with the Wonky Log Cabin you make your first square with the strips of fabric.  Then, using a cutting square you cut on an angle in a downhill direction.  The second round of strips is cut in a uphill direction and the third downhill again and so on depending how many rounds you do.  I did 3 rounds.  It gives a more unusual effect.



It was meant to be turned into a much larger quilt with many more Xmas tree squares, but at the Christmas Bonanza last year, I took inspiration from some of Jo's quilts and turned it into a little lap quilt/wall-hanging.

I still used the main ideas from the larger quilt design including the leaping Reindeer with Rudolph leading the pack.

The Reindeer were hand stitched with silver thread around the outer edges, whilst my snowflakes were stitched on the sewing machine, with special silver machine thread.

After adding the wadding and lovely soft red backing fabric, I decided to hand stitch around certain parts of the quilt with embroidery thread, starting in the centre to hold everything together. 

The quilt was finished by folding the backing fabric over and machine stitching it down.

I cant wait to display it this Xmas and who knows what I'll create at this years Christmas Bonanza.  There is talk of Reindeer draught excluders and Robin doorstops!  How exciting!

Happy Sewing!

Austrian Hazelnut Ring Cake - Nusskranzkuchen

So its not that I haven't been baking recently, I've just been baking the same cake A LOT!  Last year, whilst in Vienna, I picked up a copy of 'Culinary Austria' in one of the bookshops.  Its a great little cookbook, with many favourite Austrian recipes, translated into English.  The cake I've been working on is a Nusskranzkuchen or Hazelnut Ring Cake. 

Ingredients:
200g soft butter
200g granulated sugar
1tsp vanilla sugar
200g plain flour
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
100g chopped or ground hazelnuts
100g chocolate chips
1/8tsp ground cinnamon
2tsp baking powder
2 apples.  Peeled and grated.  I used medium sized cooking apples.

It felt a bit like the technical challenge on the Great British Bake-Off.  Very basic information was offered in the book, so with a little baking knowledge I've picked up along the way, here is my interpretation.

Grease a 23-25cm ring tin or Bundt tin with butter.  Preheat your static oven to 170c.  Reduce accordingly for a fan oven.

Cream the softened butter with 100g of the granulated sugar and the vanilla sugar until blended and pale in colour.  Add the egg yolks one at a time until blended and creamy.

Add your hazelnuts (I use ground hazelnuts as it makes the cake more moist, but they are harder to find in the UK, so chopped are fine), chocolate chips (I use dark chocolate ones but the milk ones are fine also) and grated apple (leave grating your apples until you are ready to add them, otherwise they will go brown quickly) until mixed.

 

Add the flour, with the baking powder and ground cinnamon.  I don't bother to sift the flour, but you can if you prefer.  Just mix until blended as you don't want to overwork the batter.  It will be quite dense at this stage, but don't worry.

 

Now is the time to whisk your egg whites in a clean, dry bowl, until it forms soft peaks.  Add the remaining 100g of granulated sugar and whisk until blended and still retaining the soft peaks.  It should have a nice shiny gloss to it.  Don't be tempted to whisk your egg whites until you need to add them, or else they may separate.

 

Now gently fold the egg white mixture into the batter with a large metal spoon. Cut through the centre and fold onto itself.  The idea is to fully incorporate the egg whites (who wants white blobs of egg whites in your finished cake), but not to lose the eggs airiness and overwork the batter.

 

The batter will now be lighter.  Add evenly to your prepared Bundt tin.

Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.  The skewer or knife will look moist, but that will be the apples in the batter.  If you still have batter on your skewer, bake for a bit longer until it comes out clean.  If the cake isn't baked but browning on top, pop a layer of baking paper over the top to prevent burning.

Allow the cake to cool in the tin, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.  Don't worry if it sticks a bit.  That will be the choc chips!

You can either dust with icing sugar or I like to melt about 50g of either dark or milk chocolate and drizzle over for a little decoration.  Then tuck in whilst dreaming of snow-capped mountains and lederhosen!  Its delicious. 

Happy baking!