Happy Halloween!!

Part One!

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays! I have some of  the best memories from my childhood around Halloween. Deciding what costume to wear, putting it altogether, going trick or treating with my friends and of course having a big bag full of sweets at the end of the day!! But I have to say my fondest memory was decorating the house with my Mum. She went all out at Halloween. We had a porch at the front of the house and she used to make it into a cave. I don't think any description I could give you now would do it any justice but we always got so many compliments on the cave and we had so much fun doing it. I remember we used to pester my Dad for days (probably weeks) before Halloween to go up into the attic to get the costumes and decorations. The day was then spent planning and putting together our costumes, carving the pumpkin and then helping Mum put up all the decorations in the cave. I just won't mention how one Halloween I nearly set the house on fire... sorry again Mum and Dad! I definitely think I get my creativeness from my Mum and she's the best when it comes to holidays! 

Me- Halloween 2012

Things haven't really changed since I've grown up. I still absolutely love Halloween and adore getting dressed up every year. That said I just had to do a Halloween special on Breaking into Baking. For the Shattered Glass Cupcakes you can use my classic vanilla cupcake recipe with the vanilla frosting or feel free to use a box mix for the cupcakes and ready made icing which is what I did here. I used the Betty Crocker vanilla cupcake mix and the Betty Crocker vanilla buttercream icing. For my Graveyard Brownies I used my chocolate brownie recipe and some Betty Crocker chocolate buttercream icing but you can also use a box mix for the brownies. As this blog is called 'Breaking into Baking' I wanted to show you on this post that even if you don't posses the best baking skills that these two recipes are so easy to do that anyone can give them a go. If you have kids they are so much fun to make.. although maybe the cupcakes are not so suitable for children! 

Shattered Glass Cupcakes

You will need:

Vanilla Cupcakes

Vanilla Buttercream frosting

Glacier Mints (such as foxes)

Liquid Glucose (I used 1 Dr. Oetker tube)

1 tsp of Cornflour

2/3 tbs Water

Red Gel Food Colouring

Blue Gel Food Colouring

For the Glass:

Place your glacier mints on a baking tray covered in parchment paper. Put them in the oven at 180C to melt. They will only take a few minutes. Keep an eye on them. Once they have melted take out and leave to cool. Once cooled (again won't take very long) use a rolling pin or some other big utensil to smash the "glass". Set aside until ready to use.

For the Blood:

Put your glucose and cornflour into a bowl. Mix until well combined. Add a couple of drops of water to make the mixture slacker. Then add your red food colouring. I added about 10/12 drops of red and 2/3 drops of blue but you will know yourself when you get the desired colour. Then add more water until you have reached a thick syrupy consistency similar to blood. 

Once your cupcakes have cooled ice them with your vanilla buttercream (be as messy as you want here). Then start sticking your shards of "glass" in the top and pour on your blood over. 

Viola!

I hope you have as much fun making these cupcakes as I did. Check out part two of my Halloween special tomorrow for some spooky Graveyard Brownies. Here's a sneak peek...

As always you can find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you do try these cupcakes please share some pictures with me on any of those sites or you can always leave me a comment below.

Happy Baking and Happy Halloween!!

O x

Classic Vanilla Cupcake

It was my god daughters 1^st birthday last month so I decided to make some pink cupcakes to celebrate. You really can’t beat a classic vanilla cupcake and they’re so quick and easy to make. I have been making cupcakes / queen cakes for as long as I can remember. Anyone who grew up in an Irish household will surely have grown up eating queen cakes.. which we now call cupcakes thanks to our American friends bringing them across the pond! One of my youngest memories is baking queen cakes with my Nana. I remember standing up on a chair so I could reach the counter and being her little assistant. I firmly believe I get my love of baking (and skills) from both my grandmothers as they were both two wonderful bakers.

Abigail didn't look too sure but she loved it! 

So back to the humble cupcake. All you need is butter, eggs, flour, sugar and a drop of vanilla extract and if you follow my step by step recipe then you can have perfect vanilla cupcakes too. In this recipe I am using a classic buttercream frosting from ‘The Hummingbird Bakery’ cookbook but feel free to use your own favourite frosting recipe. This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

170g Self Raising Flour (sifted)

170g Caster Sugar

170g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)

3 Medium free range eggs

1 tsp of Vanilla Extract

For the Buttercream:

250g Icing Sugar

80g Butter (at room temperature)

25mls Milk

½ tsp of Vanilla Extract

Prepare:

Preheat your oven to 170C and line a 12-hole cupcake/muffin tin with cupcake cases.

Method:

Begin by beating your sugar and butter together until pale and fluffy. This may take a minute or two. Here is where it is so important that your butter is at room temperature or the butter won’t dissolve the sugar and it will just clump together.

Beat in your eggs one at a time and stir in your vanilla extract. Once your eggs and vanilla are all incorporated fold in your flour gently to keep as much air in your batter. Spoon the mix into your cases filling ¾ of the way full. Pop them into your oven and bake for 20-22 mins. You will know your cupcakes are baked when they are golden brown in colour and bounce back to touch. You can also stick a cocktail stick or skewer in and if it comes out clean they are baked.

Leave to cool on a wire rack and begin making your buttercream icing. Start by creaming your butter with your mixer (or hand held whisk) then slowly add your icing sugar. I stress doing this slowly or else you will end up with a face full of icing sugar!! Once your icing sugar has been incorporated add your milk a small drop at a time with your vanilla extract until the icing is smooth and creamy. I used pink gel food colouring here to colour the icing but feel free to use whatever colour you wish. I piped the icing using a star tip and I then decorated them with pink and purple sparkling sprinkles.

Delicious!

Let me know if you try these out yourself. As always you can find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or you can leave a comment below.

Happy Baking,

O x

BBC Good Food Bakes and Cakes Show offer - ONE DAY LEFT!!

You have just one day left to get 20% off your ticket to The BBC Good Food Bakes & Cakes Show that launches in London on 25-27th October Half term!!

Simply quote 20PAR7 when you book.  Offer ends 30th^th September.

Whether you're a hobby baker or professional this is perfect place to practice your skills or learn some new tricks! Packed with baking, bread-making and cake-crafting demonstrations, free step-by-step master classes, and hundreds of essential baking products you won't want to miss it! 

Plus, you can watch Mary Berry, Mich Turner, Eric Lanlard, Paul Hollywood, and more of your favourite bakers LIVE at the show! A seat in the Bakes & Cakes Theatre is included in every full day adult advance ticket.

Book yours before tomorrow and save 20%!

https://www.theticketfactory.com/gfbc/online/

Ticket offer t&cs – please list if / where possible:

*Offer valid on Adult and Concession standard advance tickets only.  Offer ends 30.09.14.  †Standard Bakes & Cakes Theatre seat included per advance standard ticket, subject to availability. Gold seats available for £3 extra per person. All admin and transaction fees included. Ticket terms and conditions apply. Not all celebrities appear on all days, check the website for details. Information correct at time of print. Good Food® Good Food logo© BBC Worldwide

Gluten Free Banoffee Pie

Gluten Free Banoffee Pie

I have always been a big fan of Banoffee Pie; though technically not a pie as I always make it with a biscuit base and pies are typically made with a pastry base. I don’t know why it’s called Banoffee Pie but let’s not get into that discussion here. Let’s talk about the deliciousness that is Banoffee; It is my all-time favourite desert. If I am in a restaurant and it’s on the menu there is no question about what I’ll be getting after my main course (no matter how full I am- I always make room)!

I met my match in London with my friend Sarah.. Finally someone who shared my passion (maybe slight obsession) for Banoffee! But this shared passion / obsession was short lived when Sarah decided to up sticks and move back to Ireland. The night before she was due to board a plane to our beautiful Emerald Isle we all gathered for her ‘final supper’ in London town. Of course what else would I be providing for desert but Banoffee Pie.

For your typical biscuit base it would be a mix of digestive biscuits and butter. For me this posed a slight issue as one of my friends is coeliac and I definitely didn’t want him to miss out on desert. No fear, I knew my local supermarket had gluten free digestive biscuits in stock. I did a bit of research and learned from reading a few baking forums that some GF digestive biscuits tend to be drier than other digestive biscuits. If your biscuit base is too dry it will just crumble and would be very hard to slice and dish up. I thought to myself I could just add more butter but then I didn’t want the taste of the butter to come through. I decided to add ground almonds to the mix. I had never done this before but it worked out so well I will be adding it to all my Banoffees going forward! 

For this recipe I used a 9” spring form cake tin.

Ingredients

Biscuit Base

300g Gluten Free Digestive Biscuits

100g Ground Almonds

100g Butter

Caramel

1 Can Condensed Milk (397g)

100g Muscovado Brown Sugar

100g Butter

Top

4 Medium Bananas

350mls Double Cream (whipped)

Grated Chocolate (for decoration)

Method

Begin by breaking up your digestive biscuits (either in a food processor) or by hand until you have a sandy consistency. Melt your butter and add to your crushed biscuits with the ground almonds. Once all combined you should have a wet sand consistency. Transfer into the cake tin and press down to ensure the mix is well compacted into the bottom of the cake tin. Place in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes and you can move onto your caramel.

Melt your butter and sugar in saucepan over a medium heat while continually stirring. Once the sugar has all dissolved add your condensed milk and bring to the boil- stirring constantly. Boil for about one minute until you have a thick caramel consistency. Spread over the biscuit base and leave to cool (may take over an hour).

Once the caramel has cooled completely slice your bananas and layer over the caramel. Whip your cream until you have soft peaks and layer this over your caramel. I then grated some chocolate and sprinkled over the cream for decoration but this is completely optional.

I hope you enjoy baking this is. It is such a simple recipe that requires no baking only time and patience. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can do so here or on my facebook or twitter pages!

Happy Baking!

O x 

**I am sorry I don't have any more pictures.. I unfortunately left my camera a home when I went to my friends house to make this! There will be more pictures on my next post I promise!**

Oreo Cupcake (by Cupcake Jemma)

I made these cupcakes last week for a friend in work. He had asked me to bake some cakes for him to bring in for his birthday (I still think that tradition is weird!). After sampling some of the previous bakes I had brought into work he requested my Jam and Cream Swiss Roll and Passion Fruit Cheesecake. He then asked me to bring in something else and left it up to me to decide. I had recently seen a video on YouTube belonging to Cupcake Jemma. Jemma Wilson is the founder and owner of Crumbs and Doilies Cupcakes and shares the most delicious recipes on her YouTube channel. Head over to her website and have a look at some of the amazing cupcakes and cakes she bakes.. delicious!! 

So I decided to make these cupcakes and even though I hadn't made them before after watching Jemma's video a few times I decided to crack on and just do it! They turned out perfectly and they were so delicious! They are by far the nicest cupcake I have ever had.. but don't take my word for it.. try them yourself!! Just a quick apology.. I didn't take any pictures of these cupcakes myself as i was absolutely shattered after an evening of baking. My flatmate took one that I stole from Snapchat (below) that those of you who follow me on facebook, instagram or twitter will have already seen! 

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

85g Self Raising Flour

25g Malt Powder (Horlicks or Ovaltine Malt Drink)

15g Cocoa Powder

1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

Pinch of Salt

125g Caster Sugar

135g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)

2 Large Free Range Eggs

1 & 1/2 tbsp of Whole Milk

1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Packets of Oreo Cookies

Frosting

200g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)

450g Icing Sugar

3 tbsp Whole Milk

1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 Packet of Oreo Cookies (crumbed)

Prepare:

Line a cupcake / muffin tin with cupcake liners (recipe makes 12 cupcakes) and preheat the oven to 170C.

Method:

Sieve together your flour, horlicks, cocoa powder, bicarb, salt and sugar in your mixing bowl. Add your butter and eggs and mix on a medium speed. Once well combined add your milk and vanilla extract and mix for a further minute. 

Place one whole Oreo cookie in the bottom of each cupcake case then fill the cupcake case 3/4 way full with your mixture (about a heaped tablespoon). Place in the oven to bake for about 22mins or until a cocktail stick stuck in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack while you make your frosting. 

Start by placing your butter in your mixer and beat for about 5 mins on a medium speed until the butter is pale and fluffy. Add in half of your icing sugar and mix until combined. Repeat with the second half of the icing sugar and mix for a couple of minutes. Turn down the mixer to a slow speed and add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Turn off your mixer and Fold in your Oreo Crumbs. I crumbed my Oreo cookies in a food processor until I got a fine crumb but you can also put them into a Ziploc bag and bash with a rolling pin! 

Put your icing into a piping bag and pipe onto your cupcakes or simply spread the delicious frosting all over the top of the cupcake. I then decorated the cupcakes with half an Oreo cookie  (or use a whole cookie) stuck into the frosting. You can never have too many Oreos in one cupcake!! 

(image from Google image search)

I hope you do try these cupcakes.. believe me they are to die for!! Have a look at Jemma's YouTube video too for a better look at these yummy cupcakes! 

Happy Baking! 

O x

Raspberry and Lemon Loaf Cake

One of the things I love most about summer is the food. The new potatoes, the summer fruits and always having an excuse to eat ice-cream (not that I ever need an excuse to eat ice-cream). The biggest one for me though is the fruit and especially strawberries and raspberries. Anyone from Ireland knows that the best strawberries and raspberries come from Wexford and I have the fondest memories of driving up to visit my Granny in Dublin during the summer months and stopping off to get fresh strawberries and raspberries from the vendors dotted along the coast road to Dublin from Waterford (before the motorway existed that is). Now unfortunately this recipe doesn't include Wexford raspberries as they are pretty hard to come by in London but the raspberries I am using are perfectly acceptable!! 

My parents were visiting at the weekend and while mum was engrossed in the Golf and Dad in his Sunday paper I thought it was the perfect time to go baking. They always complain they never get to sample the treats they read so much about online I couldn't let them leave without baking something for them. We had some raspberries left over from the previous nights desert and I spotted a lonely lemon in the fridge and decided to try out a new recipe. This cake is so tasty and easy to make and lasts for days if stored in an air tight container in a cool dry place. Why not try it for yourself?

Ingredients:

175g Butter (at room temperature)

175g Caster Sugar

175g Self Raising Flour (sifted)

3 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Zest of 1 Lemon (grated)

1 Cup of fresh Raspberries

300g Royal Icing Sugar

Juice of 1 Lemon

Prepare:

Grease and line your loaf tin with butter and parchment paper and preheat your oven to 170C. I used a 2 lb (or 900g) loaf tin.

Method:

Cream together your butter and caster sugar in a mixing bowl until a light and fluffy consistency. It is important that your butter is at room temperature as it helps to dissolve the sugar. If your butter is too cold your mixture will just clump together and you will not get the proper consistency. One by one add your eggs mixing in between each egg. For this cake I used a handheld electric whisk. You can also use a free standing mixer with pedal attachment or unlike me if you have great upper arm strength a regular balloon whisk! 

Once all your eggs have been added stir in your vanilla extract and lemon zest. When that is all combined you can fold in your flour. It is important to fold in your flour as opposed to mixing it in because you want to keep as much air in the mixture as possible to help the cake rise. Once the flour is well combined you can fold in your raspberries. Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin and place in the oven for 55 mins - 1 hour. You will know the cake is cooked when it is golden brown in appearance and a skewer or cocktail stick placed in the middle comes out clean.

Place on a wire rack to cool and go ahead and prepare your icing. Place your icing sugar in a mixing bowl and slowly add your lemon juice. Begin with 2-3 tablespoons and one teaspoon at a time after that if needed. Stir until you get a runny paste consistency. You will know the icing is done when you lift and pour a spoon of the icing onto itself and it holds its shape for a few seconds before disappearing. 

Once the cake has cooled COMPLETELY you can pour the icing over the entire top of the cake and let it ooze down the side of the cake naturally. Try to resist coaxing it down as you may pull crumbs with it! You may want to put some kitchen paper or parchment paper under the cooling rack to catch the excess. Leave the icing to form a slight crust before slicing and enjoy :) . 

I hope you do try out this recipe and if you do please let me know how you got on. As always you can find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so tag me, tweet me or just leave me a message telling me how you got on. I hope you are all having a lovely summer so far and the weather is nice wherever you're reading this from! 

Happy Baking,

O x

Vanillla and Passion Fruit Cheesecake

It's SUMMER!!
Wow the weather has been amazing the last few weeks. This weekend has been a bit dull though so I thought I'd brighten up with a little summer bake! I have a new found love and it's with passion fruit.. I am obsessed! It all started with a passion fruit martini and then suddenly passion fruit began dominating my dessert selection when eating out. I cannot get enough of it so I thought I had to try a dessert with passion fruit and that's just what happened today. I am staying with family this weekend in a house where cheesecake is always a winner in the dessert stakes and this time I decided to mix it up a bit. Instead of doing a baked cheesecake which I have done in the past I decided to do a no bake cheesecake. I have to say it was absolutely delicious and so easy to make. The creamy sweet cheesecake with the bite of the passion fruit is in my opinion my yummiest bake I've made this summer! I hope you guys get a chance to try it and like it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

100g Butter

350g Digestive Biscuits

250g Mascarpone Cheese

80g Icing Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

400ml Creme Fraiche

300ml Double Cream

5 Passion Fruit

Caster Sugar (amount determined by fruit of Passion Fruit)

Prepare:

Grease and line a 9" Springform Cake Tin with parchment baking paper.

Method:

Begin by breaking up your digestive biscuits. You can do this by putting all your biscuits in a ziplock or freezer bag and bashing with a rolling pin (as you can see below). Alternatively you can break them into a food processor and blitz them until they are a sandy consistency.  

Place your butter into a microwaveable bowl and melt in the microwave. This should take about 1-1.5 minutes depending on the wattage of your microwave. When melted combine the butter with the biscuit and mix until you get a wet sand consistency to the biscuit. Then transfer biscuit mix into your cake tin and press firmly down into the base to create an even layer. Leave to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

While your base is setting you can prepare the filling. Using a hand held whisk or electric mixer beat your mascarpone cheese and icing sugar until soft then stir in your creme fraiche and vanilla extract until well combined. If you have a free standing mixer you can use this with the paddle attachment on a low speed.

In a separate bowl whisk your double cream until you get soft falling peaks. Be careful not to over mix!! Fold this cream into your cheese and creme fraiche mix. This mix is now ready to spread over your biscuit base. Spread evenly and place in the fridge to set for at least an hour.

You can now begin your coulis. Cut your passion fruits and scrape out the juice (pips included) into a cup or mug. Place this juice into a small saucepan and measure roughly the same amount of caster sugar into the mug. I used a white mug today and filled half the mug with the passion fruit juice so it was pretty easy to see how much caster sugar I needed. Place the sugar into the saucepan with the juice and bring to the boil, stirring often. Once it has come to the boil bring down to simmer and leave for 3-4 minutes. Then turn off the hob and leave to cool. Once the coulis has cooled you can spread it over the cheesecake. I made this a couple of house in advance so I put the coulis over the cheesecake while still in the tin and placed it back in the fridge. If you're stuck for time though the coulis is fine poured over the cheesecake right before serving.

I would love to hear from you if you try this recipe. Take my word for it (and my family's) it was delicious. If you have any questions you can find me on facebook, twitter and instagram. I hope you are all having a lovely summer so far. If you have any requests for summer bakes don't hesitate to contact me and just ask!

Happy Baking,

O x

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Any of you that follow me on Twitter / Instagram will have seen that it was my birthday last month. When I moved to London and started my first job over here I found it very odd that on your birthday you are the one that brings in the cake to work. Very funny tradition I thought but ok! Although I work in a big and busy office I work on my own tucked away from everyone so last year I didn't tell anyone it was my birthday. On the day itself though word got out that it was my birthday and everyone was asking "Where's the cake??". I had only just started working in this job at the time so I just shrugged it off "What cake? Oh I was meant to bring in cake? I didn't know, I'm new to this country..!!" This year I obviously couldn't use that excuse having been in the UK for nearly 2 years now. I also have gotten to know everyone I work with better and vise versa so they all knew I loved to bake.. I had to bring in something I baked myself. I decided to do a chocolate cake and carrot cake. They went down a treat and when I mentioned the cakes I baked for my birthday on Facebook I was asked could I put up my carrot cake recipe up here so here it is.

I was going for dinner in a friends house on Saturday night so I thought it would be the perfect excuse to bake a cake. I try not to bake too much when I have nobody to give it to or somewhere to bring it as the temptation at home is just too much!! It went down very well and everyone loved it. There were two friends of mine who are coeliac at dinner so I made my cake gluten free but as I previously mentioned in my lemon slices post you can use either gluten free or regular self raising flour in this recipe. I used a cream cheese frosting with this recipe (my all time favourite frosting).

Ingredients

Cake
190g Self Raising Flour / Gluten Free Self Raising Flour
300g Caster Sugar
1.5 tsp Cinnamon
250mls Vegetable Oil
3 Eggs
250g Carrots (grated)
100g Chopped Walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting
75g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
450g Icing Sugar (sifted)
180g Cream Cheese (Philadelphia- Full fat- From fridge)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Prepare

Pre-heat your oven to 180C or 170C Fan assisted oven. Grease and line two 8" round sandwich cake tins.

Method

In a large mixing bowl mix your flour (sifted), sugar and cinnamon. Add your oil and eggs to your dry ingredients. Stir until well combined. I just used a hand held whisk. These ingredients mix very easily. Once well incorporated stir in your carrots and walnuts. Divide your mixture between the two prepared baking tins and place in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer placed into the middle comes out clean. You should also be able to press down the top of the cake and have it bounce back. Leave to cool in their tins on a wire rack and prepare your icing.

For your icing mix your butter and icing sugar with a hand held electric whisk or in a free standing mixer with paddle attachment on a low speed to begin with (unless you want a face full of dust) and slowly increase to medium speed. Once well combined add your philadelphia and vanilla extract in one and turn up speed to medium-high and leave to mix for about 5 minutes. Frosting will be light and fluffy. Be careful not to over mix as it can become runny quite quickly. Fill and ice your cake covering the top and sides if required. As you can see in the first picture above I decorated the carrot cake on my birthday with walnuts but for this one I left it plain. Decoration is optional!

As you can see there was nothing left on the plates.. this cake is an all round winner. Let me know if you try it out and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask me. You can find me on twitter, facebook and instagram and I love to hear from you when you try out my recipes so feel free to contact me via any of those links or comment below. Requests for recipes are always welcome- I love a challenge!

Happy Baking,
O x

25% off BBC Bakes and Cakes Show, London!

The BBC Good Food Bakes & Cakes Show, sponsored by Lexus, launches at the beautiful Business Design Centre in Islington, London from 25-27 October 2014.   Bringing the popular BBC Good Food Bakes & Cakes title to life, the show will be packed with baking, bread-making and cake-crafting demonstrations, free master classes, and hundreds of products to get you baking like a pro. I for one cannot wait to attend and have it marked in my diary with months!! Find out more details at www.bbcgoodfoodbakesandcakesshow.com .

 Don't miss out on seeing your favourite baking stars, LIVE at the show!  Every full day adult ticket includes a seat for the Bakes & Cakes Theatre, where you can watch Mary Berry, Mich Turner, John Whaite, Paul Hollywood, and other expert bakers in LIVE 30 minute baking and technique demos (my idols.. so excited!!).

Whether you're new to baking or a seasoned baking veteran, the BBC Good Food Bakes & Cakes Show is the perfect place to meet bakers, cake-crafters and confectioners, learn new skills, and pick up all the essentials you need to develop your home baking hobby.

Tickets are now on sale now and you can get 25% off tickets just by quoting EBPAR1 when purchasing your tickets from the link below!

 http://www.bbcgoodfoodbakesandcakesshow.com/?utm_source=BreakingIntoBaking&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=BreakingIntoBaking

I hope to see some you there!

O x

(Images via BBC Good Food Bakes and Cakes Website)

Lala's Lemon Slices

Lala's Lemon Slices (Gluten Free)

As I have mentioned previously in my blog my Grandmothers were both wonderful bakers. One thing I always remember about visiting my 'Lala' in Dublin was the constant supply of lemon slices in the press. They didn't last long when we were around but she would whip up a batch as quickly as we had them eaten! I recently asked my Aunt to send me on the recipe and I tried to recreate them myself. They are so light and fluffy with the bite of the lemon complimented by the sweetness of the caster sugar. They could not be any easier to make and are a perfect treat to have in the house for spring and summer.

I have been wanting to bake with Gluten Free Flour for some time now and thought these lemon slices would be perfect to try it out with. I recently moved house and one of my new housemates in Celiac so I made a promise to her to try out the gluten free flour she had in her press. There were no complaints from any of my housemates about these lemon slices.. they were consumed for breakfast, lunch and dinner so they must of been good! You can of course use regular self raising flour if you wish. 

Ingredients:

Sponge

170g Gluten Free Self Raising Flour / Self Raising Flour

170g Butter

170g Light Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

Glaze

100g Caster Sugar

Juice of 1 Lemon

Preheat the oven to 170C and line a baking tray with grease proof paper. I used a 30x22 cm baking tray that I use to bake my brownies in.

Method:

Melt the butter in a heat proof bowl over a ban marie (water bath). When melted remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Stir in your sugar and then your sifted flour. If you cannot get gluten free self raising flour use plain gluten free flour with 3/4 tsp of gluten free baking powder. Then beat in your eggs and mix. When it is all incorporated put the mixture into your tin and bake for 25-30 mins. The top of the sponge should spring back to touch and be golden brown in colour. While your sponge is baking you can make the glaze. Simply combine the juice of one lemon to 110g of Caster Sugar to make a thin paste. When you remove your sponge from the oven spread this paste over it immediately. The lemon juice will sink down into the cake leaving the sugar to develop a light crust on top. Cut to your intended size. 

I hope you try out these Gluten Free Lemon Slices and please let me know how they turn out. If you have any questions you can find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This is the lovely lady who owns this recipe. This is on her 90th Birthday in 2012. Such a wonderful woman.

Happy Baking!

O x

Chocolate Fondant Puddings

I'm back! I have just moved house so you have to excuse the radio silence on the blog the past few weeks. This weeks post is again chocolate related but it does date back to Easter Sunday so after my chocolate fast I couldn't help but do a chocolate related desert. I spent Easter in Cheltenham with my sister, Aisling, and her boyfriend, Matt. After having a lovely lunch in a country pub with Matts family we went home to prepare another feast. It is tradition in my family, as I'm sure it is in many other houses, to have spring lamb on Easter Sunday. I requested that this be on the menu Easter Sunday as it was my first Easter away from home. They didn't disappoint. We had the most delicious Spring Lamb with all the trimmings.. Roast potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips, cauliflower and leek in cheese sauce, gravy and of course mint sauce. I didn't help out for dinner at all.. but I was in charge of desert. 

Which brings me to my choice of desert as you can tell from the title, Chocolate Fondant Puddings. It was actually suggested to me by my cousin a few weeks ago that I should do this recipe on my blog (if you're reading this Ryan sorry you didn't get to sample- next time!). I researched the recipe and tweaked it to my liking. There were three of us for dinner but this recipe made 4/5 depending on the size of your ramekins. I got five out of it because these ramekins were quite small but looking back I probably could have got 6 out of it. I popped 2 of them in the freezer for Aisling and Matt to have at a later date. Again like my cookie recipe you can just pop these in the freezer and take out whenever you need them. Just be sure to wrap well with cling film. I could not get over how simple these were to make. I always wondered when I got this desert in a restaurant how they got the outside sponge cooked so well but the inside to remain all gooey. Well it all comes down to timing. Just follow my recipe below and you too can have perfect Chocolate Fondant Deserts. 

Ingredients

100g Dark Chocolate
100g Butter
100g Caster Sugar
100g Self Raising Flour
2 Eggs
1 Egg Yolk

Extra butter and cocoa powder to prepare the ramekins.

Method

Place the chocolate, butter and sugar together in a heatproof bowl and melt over a saucepan of simmering water. Be sure not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. When melted and well combined take off the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

While your mix cools you can prepare your ramekins. Grease the ramekins with butter and then dust with cocoa powder. This will make it easier to remove your puddings from the ramekins to serve.

After your mix has cooled slightly whisk in the eggs. When well combined add the flour. You can add a drop of vanilla extract at this point but this is completely optional. I added a tablespoon of maple syrup to my mix but again this is completely optional.. I just saw it in my sisters cupboard and threw a spoon in for good measure!!

Then divide the mixture equally between the ramekins. If you are preparing these in advance just pop them in the fridge until ready to bake. Ideally they should rest in the fridge for about an hour before baking so ensure you have this time when preparing them. When ready to bake place in the oven at 190C for 13-15 minutes. If cooking from frozen cook for an extra 2-3 minutes. When baked the top of the pudding should have a sponge like texture and springs back to touch.

Once baked remove from the oven and run a butter knife carefully around the edge of the ramekin. What I did was ran the knife along the top of the ramekin and gently pressed into the pudding separating it from the glass. Then you can tip the pudding straight onto a plate or what I did was tip the pudding onto a paper towel in my hand and then placed onto the plate.

These puddings are best served hot so straight to the table with them (or the couch in our case!). Serve with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

I hope you try this recipe. If you do please let me know how it turned out. You can find me on instagram, twitter and now facebook too! Quick disclaimer.. I would like to thank Matt for the use of his camera and photography skills for the pictures on this post. If it was possible I would do all my baking in Cheltenham for pictures like these!

Happy Baking!

O x