Lemon Drizzle Cake with Candied Peels

Another Birthday, another cake. Was really proud of this one. The person's favourite cake is lemon drizzle and I don't like to disappoint. Super moist and candied peel made a lovely addition which made it unique. Dedicated to Dan, whose Birthday I baked it for.

Makes 1 Cake

You will need 20cm Square Cake Tin

Cake Batter
225g Butter cybed at room temperature
225g Caster Sugar
2 Zests of Lemon
250g Self Raising Flour
2 tbsp Lemon Curd
25g Poppy Seeds
1 tsp Baking Powder
3 Large Eggs

Drizzle
100g Granulated Sugar
3 tbsp Lemon Juice (Use the juice of the lemons)

Candied Peels
40g Caster Sugar
100ml Water,
Sliced Rinds of Lemons

1. Grease a 20cm cake tin with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan assisted.

2. In a bowl cream the butter and sugar together. Then add the eggs and mix. Add the lemon zest, lemon curd, poppy seeds, baking powder & self raising flour and give a good mix.

3. Tip the mixture in the greased cake tin and put in the centre of the oven for 30-40 minutes.

4. To make the candied peels, in a pan add the ingredients and allow to boil. Once the sugar has dissolved allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Get some greaseproof paper and place the candied peels on the paper. Allow to cool. They should begin to harden.

5. To make the drizzle, mix the ingredients. Once the cake has baked, allow to cool and remove from tin. Top with drizzle and place the candied peels on top. Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate, Orange and Ginger Biscuits

As the seasons change so does my baking. These are three different flavours but work well together. Give them a go and share them with your friends

Makes 36-40 Biscuits

150g Unsalted Butter, cut into cubes

175g Golden Caster Sugar

Juice and Zest of 1 Large Orange

2 tsp Ground Ginger

2 level tsp of Baking Powder

350g Plain flour shifted

100g Dark Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan assisted. Line baking trays with greaseproof paper. 

2. Cream the butter and sugar together until combined. Then add the juice and zest of an orange and ginger and mix. 

3. Add the flour and baking powder and mix. Before all the flour is combined and add the dark chocolate and mix till combined. If too wet add more flour. 

4. Form into a ball and wrap in cling film. Then put in the fridge for up to an hour. 

5. Take out of the fridge and roll on a floured surface with a rolling pin. The mixture should have a thickness of just under 0.5 cm (similar to a £1 coin). Another way to tell you have the correct thickness is you can feel the bumps of the chocolate chips when you roll the dough. I used a 6 cm circular cutter and place on the tray with space between each biscuit. Then put in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool for 10 minutes on the tray. Then move to a wire rack until cooled fully and put in an airtight container. Enjoy with a cup of tea.

Chocolate Orange Cake Explosion

Made this for my friends as a collective birthday cake. Went down a treat. Plus dark chocolate is good and it has an orange in it which is one of your 5 a day, so must be good for you (not a doctor).

125g Dark Chocolate, broken into pieces
1 ½ tbsp Cocoa Powder, sifted
1 tsp Baking Powder, sifted
250g Plain Flour, shifted
3 Large Eggs
250ml Sunflower Oil
275g Golden Caster Sugar
1 Juice and Zest of a Large Orange

Topping (Ganache)
200g Dark Chocolate
200ml Double Cream
25g Dark Chocolate, grated (optional)
Chocolate Orange Wedges (Popular Branded ones)

1.  Line a 8 inch cake tin with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan assisted.

2. In a bowl mix, mix the sugar, oil and eggs together. Then add the orange juice and zest to the bowl and give another mix.

3. In either a bain marie or a microwave, melt the dark chocolate. In a ban marie continue to stir so it doesn't burn. If you choose to melt the chocolate in the microwave, heat for a minute, give a stir and heat for a further minute, continue the process until the dark chocolate is melted.

4. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly and add this to the mixture. When combined add the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. 

5. This should thicken the cake mixture. Pour into the cake tin and put in the oven for 45-55 minutes. Check the centre of the cake with a skewer to see if it's baked all the way through. Put on a rack to cool. 

6. While the cake is cooling make the Chocolate Ganache. To do this heat the cream in the pan. When it starts to boil take off the heat. Put the chocolate in a heat proof dish and pour over the heated cream and begin to stir until fully combined. Leave to cool slightly.

7. Decorate the cake by pouring the ganache over the cake (make sure you have a plate underneath the rack to catch the chocolate). Place chocolate orange wedges on the cake. Grate with chocolate. Place in container (on a cake board or plate). Place in fridge to allow ganache to harden. Serve

Lemon and Mint Cake

When life gives you lemons, ask where are all these lemons coming from. Then make a cake with them.


Makes 1 Cake

1 Lemon, juice and zest
200g Caster Sugar
200g Butter, cubed at room temperature
200g Self Raising Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
3 Large Eggs
8 - 10 Mint Leaves, finely chopped
3-4 tbsp Lemon Curd

Topping
50g Icing Sugar
3-4 tbsp Lemon Juice
Zest 1 lemon (Optional)
3 Mint Leaves (Optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan assisted. Grease and line 2 x 20cm Cake Tins

2. You can do this with either a food mixer/processor or manually. Beat the caster sugar and butter together. Then add the eggs, juice and zest of a lemon and mint. Give a good mix. Then add the flour and baking powder.

3. Then divide the mixture between the two cake tins. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Check the centre of each cake to see if its done.

4. Allow the cakes to cool on a wire rack. Lather on lemon curd on top of one of the cakes. Then top with the other.

5. For the topping mix the icing sugar and lemon juice and spread on top of the cake. You can garnish with optional lemon rind and mint leaves.

Lemon and Lime Biscuits

Similar to a previous recipe. These are quite refreshing for the summer

Makes 24 - 26 Biscuits

150g Butter. cubed and to room temperature
100g Caster Sugar
Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon
Zest and Juice of 1 Lime
225g Plain Flour, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp Baking Powder

Topping (optional)
250g Icing Sugar
4-5 tbsp Lemon and Lime Juice







1. Beat the butter and sugar together. Then add the lemon and lime juice and zest and give another mix. Finally add the plain flour and baking powder. It should be able to form a big ball. Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

2. I personally divide it into two parts as it is easier to roll out. Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Use 6 or 7 cm cutters. Roll to just over ½cm and use cutter to create the round shape. Repeat with the other bit of dough. Place on a greaseproof papered tray. Put in the oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Place on wire rack to cool. 

3. If you want to deck them with icing, mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. It should have thick consistency. It too thick use more juice and if too runny add more icing sugar. Place 1 teaspoon on each biscuit and spread. Leave to harden.

Lemon, Lime and Coconut Cake

You put the lime in the coconut and you eat them all up. This delight has been given rave reviews from people who don't like coconut; 'I don't like coconut but this tastes amazing', 'Very Moist'.

Makes 1 Cake


1 Zest and Juice of a Lime
1 Zest and Juice of a Lemon
250g Caster Sugar
225g Butter, cubed
225g Self Raising Flour
3 Eggs
50g Dessicated Coconut
1tsp Baking Powder

Filling/Topping
Lemon and Lime Marmalade (see my own version here)
250ml Coconut Cream
75ml Double Cream
1 tbsp Icing Sugar
Desiccated Coconut

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan assisted. Grease 2x20cm Cake Tins.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together. When combined add the eggs. zest and juice of the lemon and lime and mix.

3. Then add the flour, baking powder and coconut then mix till combined. Divide the mixture between the two cake tins. Put in the centre of oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and if you can poke a toothpick through the cake and it comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

4. While the cake is cooling whisk the coconut cream, double cream and icing sugar in a mixing bowl until it thickens.

5. Layer the cake with cream, marmalade and the other half of cake. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut.

Mincemeat

Seriously its simple to make your own mincemeat. Kind of got bored making a Christmas cake every year so this year im going to make those small bits of Christmas. Starting off making the Mince for the pies. Yes you could get the ready made stuff but I find it too sugary. So give this a go. For the vegetarian option use vegetarian suet instead of the original.

Makes 1 litre jar

500g Mixed Dry Fruit
100g Suet
1 Bramley Apple, peeled and grated
2 tsp Mixed Spices
80ml Brandy
150g Brown Sugar
Juice and Zest of an Orange
Juice and Zest of a Lemon

1. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and give it a good mix.

2. Sterilize the jar before putting the mincemeat in the jar. Do this by cleaning with warm soap water and placing in the oven for 5 minutes at 150c.

3. Once the jar has cooled down, spoon the mixture into the jar. I would advise leaving the mixture to absorb the flavours for about 2 weeks before putting in the pies.

I will do the mince pies recipes in a couple of weeks. Watch this space

Movember 4 Course - Dessert - Molten Chocolate Orange Cake

My final course in my 4 course meal for Movember. Everyone loves a dessert and this one is so so yummy from the first spoonful. And its simple to make and will impress any guest (or just make 2 for yourself, that's what I did).

Serves 2

75g Butter, plus extra for greasing
75g Soft Brown Caster Sugar
50g Plain Flour
75g Good Quality Dark Chocolate, plus 2 small bits of dark chocolate
1 Large Egg
Juice and Zest of half an orange

1. Preheat the oven to 200c/180c Fan assisted. Grease 2 ramekins with the butter. Melt the 75g of dark chocolate, either in the microwave or in a bowl over boiling water.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together. Then add the egg until it resembles scrambled eggs. Add half of the melt dark chocolate (shouldn't be too hot otherwise it will cook the eggs). Mix the flour then add the remaining melt chocolate. Then add the juice and zest of the orange. Give it a final stir.

3. Pour into the ramekins then place the chunk of chocolate in the centre of the mixture. Put in the oven for 10-12 minutes. It should have a firm bottom.

4. Take out of the oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. With a knife go around the edge of the cake to loosen from the ramekin. Invert onto a plate. Serve with cream or ice cream and eat immediately.

Movember is nearly over so donate here Every little helps the cause :) I will also do a post with all 4 recipes on one post so if you want to make the 4 course meal. All the recipes will be in one place.

I will be altering my page to fit the christmas vibe so watch this space for my mince and mini christmas cake recipes.

Christmas Cake (V)

Ah the Christmas Cake.... Rule of thumb for me is bake when you start seeing the Christmas chocolates in Supermarkets. Perfect with a glass of mulled wine. This will be a 2 parter, this will show you how to make the cake and then later on we show you how to decorate.

250g Currants
300g Raisins

200g Cherries
250g Dates
300g Sultanas
200ml Sherry (or preferred liqueur) extra for feeding
250g Light Brown Sugar
250g Butter
1 Lemon, zest and juice
1 Orange, zest and juice
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tsp Cinnamon
100g Ground Almonds
100g Flaked Almonds
4 Eggs
250g Plain White Flour
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tsp Mixed Spices

1. Preheat oven to 150C/130C fan. In a large pan put the brandy, butter, sugar, dried fruit, zest and juice of the orange and lemon.  Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 mins. Tip the fruit mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool for 30 mins.

2. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment. Add the remaining ingredients to the fruit mixture and stir well. Tip into your prepared tin, level the top with a spatula and bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour and 50 minutes - 2 Hours.

3. Remove the cake from the oven, poke holes in it with a skewer or toothpick and spoon over 2 tbsp of brandy. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.

4. Cling film the cake, and feed the cake 2 tbsp of brandy every week. Make it ahead of Christmas and it will be a really boozy cake.

Don't forget to decorate the cake with marzipan and icing.