Chocolate M&Ms Cake: Guest Blog

@Flutterbybat

Special Guest Blog: Flutterbybooks bakes Chocolate M&Ms cake

Here’s the thing: I don’t cook.  I hate cooking and baking, it takes too long and when I do it, it rarely works.  But on Friday I was overcome with the urge to make something chocolatey so that I could share it out as I visited the family this weekend. (By the way, I’m a chocoholic so was never going to make anything that wasn’t crammed full to the top with chocolate).

I chose the Chocolate Smartie Cake from the Asda magazine but had to change the Smarties to M&Ms (mainly because I’ve been ever so slightly obsessed with M&Ms since a life changing visit to M&Ms World – it’s in Leicester Square in London for those who don’t know and are intrigued!)

The recipe can be found here: http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estore/banneroffers/banneroffercontainer.jsp?listId=1215069701346

And here is the finished product, it's yummy:

Gorgeous M&Ms Chocolate Cake

Check out my book blog http://myflutterbybooks.blogspot.com/ x

Hot Cross Buns

I love hot cross buns and here is my version (without the white cross).

It may be a bit early but just like pancakes, why wait for one special day. These can be eaten all year round. Below is an image of how mine turned out and they are truly delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2oz/50g Caster Sugar, plus 1 level teaspoon
• 1 Level Teaspoon dried yeast
• 1lb/450g Plain Flour
• 1 Level teaspoon salt
• 1 Rounded Teaspoon Mixed Spice
• 3oz/75g Currents
• 2fl oz/50ml Warm Milk
• 1 Egg Beaten
• 2oz/50g Melted butter

For the Glaze:

• 2 Level tbsp Granulated Sugar

How to Make:


Much like making bread you will need to create a yeast mixture first. Add 1 level teaspoon of caster sugar to 5fl oz/150ml of hand hot water, then sprinkle a level teaspoon of dried yeast over the water and leave it to froth up for 10-15 minutes.
While waiting sift the flour, salt, mixed spice into a bowl and then add the 50g of caster sugar and currents. Then make a well in the middle of the mixture and add the yeast mix, the warm milk, beaten egg and melted butter. Mix the contents of the bowl fully until it is well combined and then tip out onto a well floured surface. Knead the mixture for about 6 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. Place the dough back into the bowl and cover with an oiled sheet of cling film and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until the mixture has doubled in size.
When ready tip the mixture out and knead it back to it's original size. Divide the mixture into 12 pieces by measuring each one to 80g and then creating rounded shapes and placing them onto a lightly oiled baking tin making sure to leave as much space as possible between buns as they will increase in size while proving again for 25 minutes. Once you have left them to prove and they have risen you can place them into a pre-heated oven (220C/425F) for 15 minutes to bake.
They will come out of the oven golden brown, and to get the lovely glaze all you need to do is mix the granulated sugar and 2 tbsp of water in a pan over a low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved use a brush to coat the bums and you will get a very shiny very sticky bun.

Hope you enjoy!

Andy

Chocolate Cake

This is a cake that I have made a few times following the Lorraine Pascal recipe. Unfortunately this time is flopped in the middle!
Usually this is a delicious and rich chocolate cake that is one of my favorites. That being said it didn't go to waste :-)

I think my main issue was not dividing the mixture into 2 tins, I tried baking it in 1 big tin which messed up the cooking time and as a result it wasn't cooked enough in the middle.

If you want to attempt it the recipe is below.

• 225g/8oz plain flour
• 350g/12.5oz caster sugar
• 85g/3oz cocoa powder
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 free range eggs
• 250ml/9fl oz milk
• 125ml/4fl oz vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 250ml/9fl oz boiling water

How to make:

This recipe is really easy! Measure out the ingredients and then put them all except for the boiling water into a mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or whisk mix everything together until you get a smooth and well combined mixture. 

Then add a little of the boiling water and mix well. Do so until all the water is used up. You will then find the mixture to be a very thin runny liquid. If you haven't seen a cake mixture with this consistency before don't worry its supposed to look that way. 

So as to not make my mistake divide the mixture into 2 equal sized tins and then place in a pre-heated oven which should be set to 180º/350F/Gas 4 for between 25-30 minutes. Check with a skewer in the centre of the cake to see if the cake is ready. The skewer should come out clean when the cake is ready.

Once finished you can decorate the cake or just add a filling. I like making a buttercream and adding blackcurrant jam. 

Buttercream:

• 100g Butter
• 150g Icing Sugar

Mix the 2 together until you get a thick creamy buttercream and then spread on one of the cake halves. 

Spread the jam on the other half and there you have it a really nice chocolate cake.

Let me know what you think?

Cheers

Andy

Cheese Chilli & Herb Wholemeal Bread

This is my own concoction based on my recipe for focaccia bread. I make focaccia bread all the time and feel I have gotten quite good at it. I don't use a bread maker I make everything from scratch, I think it makes the whole experience more rewarding.

I used ingredients that I had to hand in my cupboard to experiment with. The ingredients I used are as follows:

• 500g Strong Wholemeal Flower
• 7g Fastaction Dried Yeast
• 1 Level tsp salt
• 1 Level tsp caster sugar
• 4tbs olive oil
• 100g Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 2 tbsp Mixed Herbs
• Nandos Extra Hot Peri-Peri sauce

How to make:

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and then add the yeast, salt & sugar. Pour 300ml of lukewarm water into the flour mix and mix well until all is combined and forms a dough. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth & elastic.
Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and roll out to about 1cm thick. On one of the rolled out pieces pour out the grated cheese and make sure it spreads evenly, then add the mixed herbs and pour over some Peri-Peri sauce. Place the other rolled out dough over the top of the mixture and sandwich together. Roll the dough together into a ball and then place in a mixing bowl that is slightly oiled, cover the bowl with some lightly oiled cling film and place in a warm area for 1 hour or until the the dough has doubled in size.
Once your dough has finished proofing then place it into a bread tin and push into all corners and then sprinkle some sea salt of the top. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C and when ready place the tin in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until there is an even golden colour.

The Results:

The result of all this work is a really nice wholemeal loaf with a hint of cheese and a kick of chilli. I like to eat it on it's own or lightly toasted.

Let me know what your thoughts are?

Cheers

Andy

Potato, Leek and Spinach Quiche

Ok last night I made a quiche for the first time since home economics!
This took me ages and the first attempt at making the pastry was a bit of a disaster as there was no instructions on how high the pastry should be, so the fluted flan tin I used was far too shallow. I only realized this after making the filling and trying to squeeze it into my shallow tin. Your tin needs to be a least 1.5 inches deep.

Other than that the recipe is great and smells fantastic when cooking (if you like garlic).

Pastry Base:

• 250g Plain (All purpose) flour
• 125g Cold diced butter

Filling:

• 3 Potatoes
• 30g Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Oil
• 2 Cloves Garlic, crushed
• 2 Leeks, chopped
• 500g Spinach, trimmed
• 125g Grated Cheddar
• 4 Eggs
• 125ml Cream
• 125ml Milk

Making the base:

Aside from what I said above making the base is very straight forward. Put the flour and butter into a blender and blitz for 15 seconds until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then add 4 tablespoons of water and blitz again for a few seconds until the mixture comes together when you squeeze it between your fingers. Once done empty onto a floured surface and bring the mixture together forming a ball and then wrap in cling film and place into the fridge for 30minutes or into the freezer for 10-15 minutes. When the pastry is ready roll out to fit your tart tin or baking tin and then place back into the fridge for 20 minutes.

The Filling:

While you are waiting for the base to firm up you can start preparing the filling. 

Start by peeling the potatoes and slicing them thinly. Melt the butter and oil in a pan and then add the garlic and potatoes. Make sure that the potatoes are turned regularly to get as much of an even coat of oil and butter as possible then cover and leave to cook on a low heat for 5 minutes. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon so as to keep as much of the juice in the pan and then place the potatoes on a paper towl to dry out a little. Add the leeks to the pans and cook until softened then remove from the heat.

Wash the spinach and add to a large saucepan making sure they are still wet as we are going to cover the saucepan and heat the spinach until it wilts.Once done take out the spinach and place on a piece of kitchen towel to cool down and dry a little. 

Cooking:

Take out the pastry and add ceramic beads to weigh the pastry down or use a coins on a  piece of baking parchment as I did. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 15 minutes and then remove from the oven and take away the beads or coins and bake again for 15 minutes. Once done your pastry is ready for the filling.

Place a layer of grated cheese down first and then a layer of potato and a layer of leeks and a layer of spinach and then repeat the process. In a mixing jug add the 4 eggs the milk and the cream and whisk until blended then add to the pastry. This should fill to the top. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes until firm.

Let me know what you think if you decide to make it. It's pretty calorific at 706 calories per slice. 

Blueberry Cheesecake

Hello, I think it is very appropriate that my first blog is about my absolute favorite desert, CHEESECAKE!!!

The recipe I use for my cheesecake came from 'The Independent' and it is really easy to make and is absolutely delicious.
The ingredients are as follows:

The Blueberry Sauce

• 450g Blueberries
• 200g Caster Sugar
• 200ml Water
• 20g Cornflour

The Base

• 250g Digestive Biscuits (any brand will do)
• 80g Butter (Melted)

For the filling

• 300ml Double Cream
• 100g Caster Sugar
• 600g Cream Cheese (I use Philidelphia)
• Finely grated lemon zest
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract

How to make it:

The sauce:

Put 200g of blueberries into a saucepan with the 200g of caster sugar and 175ml of the water. Slowly bring to the boil to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for 7-8 minutes. While waiting mic the 25g cornflour and the remaining 25ml water and then mix with the blueberries and let the mixture simmer for 2-3 minutes. Once done strain the mixture through a sieve using the back of a spoon to extract as much juice as possible then leave to cool.

The Base:

Line a springform 17-18cm cake tin with greaseproof paper. Crush the biscuits either using a food processor or by putting the biscuits into a bag and bashing them until they are crumbs. Melt the butter and add to the biscuit mixture then tip the mixture into the cake tin. Using the back of a wooden spoon press all the biscuits mix making sure it spreads evenly along the base of the tin. Once done leave to one side.

The Mixture:

Pour the sugar into a bowl and then add the double cream. Using a whisk (electric if you have it) whip the cream and sugar together until fairly stiff. Then put the 600g of cream cheese into the mix with the vanilla extract and lemon zest and mix thoroughly. Take half of the blueberry mix and fold it through the cheesecake mix to give a ripple like effect. Once you are happy empty the contents onto the biscuit base and spread evenly with the back of a spoon.

Place the cheesecake into the fridge and leave to firm up for 3 hours. When you are ready to eat heat up the blueberry sauce and pour over the cheesecake.

My views on this recipe.

I love this recipe as it is so versatile! I have made blueberry, lemon, strawberry cheesecakes just by changing the ingredients slightly and all were delicious. This is not the lowest in calories but is definitely my favorite. try the recipe yourself and let me know what you think.