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Showing posts from February, 2019

Lemon Drizzle Cake

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Calling all lemon lovers.  This Lemon Drizzle Cake is the perfect bake for anyone who loves lemon in desserts or cakes.  This cake uses the whole lemon.  The zest is used in the cake and the lemon juice is used to make the lemon sugar syrup and the lemon icing.  You will definitely enjoy the lemon flavour right throughout the whole cake. A slice of this Lemon Drizzle Cake is lovely for afternoon tea or just because you love a slice of cake packed with lemon flavour.  It's so easy to make and the perfect cake to share with others without it being too sweet. Happy Baking xo Lemon Drizzle Cake Ingredients · 100 grams unsalted butter · 150 grams caster sugar · 150 grams self-raising flour · 2 eggs · 3 tablespoons milk · Zest of 2 lemons Lemon sugar syrup · 50 grams caster sugar · Juice of 2 lemons (reserve 1 tablespoon for icing) Lemon icing · 100 grams icing sugar · 1 tablespoon lemon juice  Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 180°C.  2. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper. 3. Cr

Raspberry Baked Donuts

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With some many flavours of baked donuts to make, I had to bake a raspberry flavoured one. These moist and fluffy Raspberry donuts are so delicious.  They have raspberry bits through the donut and are covered with a tangy raspberry glaze.  They are so easy to make and take hardly any time. This donut is a must for raspberry lovers.  I hope you get a chance to bake them.  Best of all you can use frozen raspberries.  That means you can bake them all year round even when raspberries are not in season. Happy Baking xo Raspberry Baked Donuts Ingredients · ⅓ cup caster sugar · 1 cup plain flour · ¼ teaspoon baking soda · ¼ teaspoon cinnamon · ¼ teaspoon salt · 1 egg · 15 grams butter, melted · ½ teaspoon vanilla essence · ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon milk · ½ teaspoon white vinegar · ½ cup raspberries  Raspberry glaze · 1 cup icing sugar · 2 tablespoons milk · 1 teaspoon raspberry paste (Queen brand) ·

Gingerbread Birthday Cookies

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I couldn't help but make some gingerbread birthday cookies.  I know we all think of Christmas when it comes to gingerbread but I thought I would make birthdays more exciting by making gingerbread cookies to celebrate. These Gingerbread Birthday Cookies are so easy and fun to make as you can decorate them in so many pretty ways with icing and sprinkles.  Why should gingerbread only be for Christmas time. I piped the royal icing to look like a drip on a real cake and added sprinkle to them. I was inspired by Rachel @frostedfujicakes to add sprinkles to the drips.  They look so pretty on her cakes.  You should head over and see her Instagram feed for beautiful cakes. These are also excellent as party favors for guests.  You can make different shapes, numbers or animals to decorate.  I hope you give it a try and let your imagine go wild. Happy Baking xo Gingerbread Birthday Cookies Ingredients · 125 grams butter · ⅓ cup brown sugar · ½ cup golden syrup · 3 cups p

Gingerbread Birthday Cake

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I'm excited to be part of the #outoftheboxcollab2019 on Instagram with a huge number of amazing bakers. Be sure to check out the hashtag to see all the wonderful bakes from all the contributors. Where should I start? To be honest with you all, I really struggled with this theme.  For me the words 'out of the box' means something different and unique and nothing came to mind for ages and finally I decided on something I was happy with. I decided to make a gingerbread birthday cake.  We often only think of gingerbread at Christmas time and so I thought it doesn't have to be just for Christmas.  So, I created this birthday cake out of gingerbread and filled the centre with sponge cake. This cute and fun Gingerbread Birthday Cake is perfect to make for someone's birthday instead of the traditional cake. It has sponge cake in the centre, so you technically have cake as well and cookies. I hope you like this idea and make one too. I had a lot of fun experiencin

White Chocolate Sprinkle Macarons

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I wanted to share with you all my adventure in the making of macarons using the Italian method. For a while now I wanted to try the Italian method.  The Italian method involves making a sugar syrup before adding it to the egg whites.  This method produces a more stable meringue.  I have been quite lucky with the making of French macarons and have not had too many disasters.  Unfortunately, the Italian method has not been kind to me.  I had to make the sugar syrup twice and in the end the macarons still did not turn out.  I was quite sad and instead I went back to the French method. Using the French method, my macarons always have feet.  The only two things that sometimes occurs is that some macarons can be hallow and the bottoms are slightly sticky.   For this recipe, I increased the temperature and reduced the baking time and the results were good.  No more sticky bottoms. These White Chocolate Sprinkle Macarons are so delicious and fun to make.  They have sprink

Passionfruit Banana Cake

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I was planning to do yet another Valentines bake when I had three very ripe bananas looking at me from the fruit bowl.  So, I decided to incorporate them into the bake and make a banana cake with passionfruit icing. This super moist banana cake, with passionfruit cream cheese icing, is so delicious and easy to make. I used my love heart tins to give it a Valentine's Day feel to it. I love using ingredients that are in season or available to me.  Using ripe bananas brings a natural sweetness to your bakes.  This cake was especially sweet and moist due to the ripe bananas. Happy Baking xo Passionfruit Banana Cake Ingredients · 125 grams butter, softened · 1 ¼ cups brown sugar · 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon · 1 teaspoon vanilla extract · 2 eggs · 1 cup self-raising flour · ½ cup plain flour · ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda · 3 large over-ripe mashed bananas · ½ cup buttermilk, at room

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

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I was inspired to make these Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies after seeing them on @onesarcasticbaker's Instagram post. My beautiful friend Dee is the face behind this account and she makes the most delicious baked goodies. But when I saw these cookies I knew I wanted to try out the recipe. These Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies are so crispy and they just melt-in-your-mouth.  If you're a fan of hazelnuts and Nutella, this recipe is the perfect bake for you. These cookies would make a sweet Valentines gift as well.  I used a love heart cookie cutter for the middle of the cookie instead of the round cutter. Also, thanks to Dee, I managed to learn something new as well.  I've never used hazelnuts before in my baking.  So, I learnt that to remove the hazelnut skins you need to just roast them for 5 minutes in the oven at 200°C. Hope you get a chance to try out this delicious recipe.  You will not be disappointed. Happy Baking xo All photographs posted here are mine, from

Mini Mocha Cupcakes

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I have always wanted to share this Mini Mocha Cupcake recipe with you all and with Valentines just days away, I thought what a perfect time to share this recipe.  Most people I know love chocolate and coffee.  So these mocha cupcakes are a delicious combination of flavours. This has to be one of my favourite recipes and even kids love them, which surprised me. These Mini Mocha Cupcakes are super moist and full of chocolate flavour with a hint of coffee in both the cupcakes and mocha frosting.  I added some heart sprinkles for Valentines but normally I add a chocolate ball on top. Happy Baking xo Mini Mocha Cupcakes Ingredients · 1 cup plain flour · 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar · ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder · ½ teaspoon baking soda · ¼ teaspoon salt · 115 grams butter, melted · 1 teaspoon vanilla essence · 2 eggs · ½ cup strong hot coffee Buttercream icing · 115 g

Piggy Cookies

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Chinese New Year is just days away and so I wanted to make some treats for my family and friends.  I saw these cute piggy cookies on Instagram and Pinterest and couldn't resist making them as this year is the Year of the Pig in the Lunar calendar. These super cute Piggy Cookies are perfect for Chinese New Year celebrations.  These shortbread-like cookies are not too sweet and melts-in-your-mouth. Perfect to make as a gift or just to enjoy if you can bare to eat the cute piggy. They are fun and easy to make.  The most difficult part is putting the sesame seed eyes on to the piggy.  I used a pair of tweezers at first but found it was easier to place the sesame seed on your finger and then gently placing them on the cookie. Happy Baking and Happy Chinese New Year xo Piggy Cookies Ingredients · 75 grams unsalted butter · 65 grams plain flour · 75 grams corn flour · 35 grams icing sugar · 1½ teaspoons milk · Food colour