Coconut chocolate chunk cupcakes

Coconut cake with chocolate chunks and coconut drizzle



I <3 these babies...I prefer them in cupcake form to the cake i must admit. The coconut tastes irresistible and not too over powering, the chocolate chunks just melt in your mouth. The best way to get your cupcakes looking fantastic is to place some chocolate chunks on them after they have finished baking and are still warm. it allows the chocolate to keep its shape. you can place these in cupcake cases after but I think they look great as they are...one last bit of advice, if you are using the recipe to make cupcakes use deep cupcake tins and you wont get the desired effect with shallow ones...

check it out guys

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons (packed) finely grated orange peel
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate bars (do not exceed 61% cacao), broken into 1/2-inch irregular pieces, divided
• 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 
  

Coconut Drizzle

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons (or more) canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Vanilla ice cream

Preparation

cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F. 175 c or gas mark 4
• Generously butter your cupcake tins or a 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides; dust tins/pan with flour, shaking out excess.
• Sift 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, and sea salt into medium bowl. Stir in unsweetened shredded coconut and set aside. 
• Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and orange peel in large bowl until light and fluffy. 
• Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. 
• Beat in vanilla and add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with coconut milk in 2 additions, beating just until blended after each addition. 
• Fold in half of the bittersweet chocolate pieces. 

• Spread batter evenly in prepared cake tins/pan. Sprinkle remaining chocolate pieces over batter, then sprinkle with sweetened flaked coconut.
• Bake cake until golden and tester inserted into centre comes out clean, tenting with sheet of foil if coconut atop cake is browning too quickly, 25-30 minutes for cup cakes... longer for cake...keep an eye out.
  Transfer cake to rack and cool in pan 45 minutes.
  

  
  

coconut drizzle

• Whisk powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk, and vanilla in small bowl to blend well, adding more coconut milk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls until mixture is thin enough to drizzle over cake.
  

  
  
• Carefully run small knife around sides of cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto a platter, then carefully invert again onto another platter, coconut side up. for cup cakes place them into cases. 
  
  Using small spoon, drizzle powdered sugar mixture decoratively over cake. Cool cake completely on platter. 
  Cake can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cover cake and let stand at room temperature.
  

  
  
• Cut cake into wedges and serve with vanilla ice cream.
  
  

test-kitchen tip

To make the chocolate chunks, leave the chocolate bars in their wrappers and break up the chocolate with a meat mallet.

Enjoy guys....

If you want to switch up the recipe a little why not try a coconut rum glaze here...

Rum Glaze
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup Malibu rum

or

1 cup powdered sugar, 

2 to 3 tbsp malibu rum 

2 tbsp water 

Cinnamon roll cake

Cinnamon roll cake



Wow is all I can say!!! The flavour in this cake is unreal. It's a perfect treat for Christmas and the family will love it. This is a cake you can also experiment with. I tried adding some orange zest to the glaze. It was a warm spiced delight to say the least... cinnamon is also a fantastic ingredient with a lot of health advantages. If you are interested in knowing more read on to the end of my blog :) enjoy guys...

Ingredients

Cake:
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp.salt
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter, meltedTopping:
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1tsp. vanilla

• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees or gas mark 4
• Mix all the ingredients together except for the butter. 
• Melt the butter and slowly stir into the mixture.
• Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan. 
• For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. 
• Drop the topping mixture evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife.

• Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.
• When the cakes almost baked make your glaze

• Drizzle over the cake while its warm

Enjoy your Cinnamon roll cake and pass on :) 

Who doesn't love a sprinkling of cinnamon on fresh apple pie or atop a chai latte?  It’s just one of those spices that tastes fantastic. with a lovely warmth and depth to its flavour,  But taste is not the only reason to love cinnamon.  Here are 10 health reasons  to love this super spice:

1. Numerous studies show that cinnamon regulates blood sugar, making it a great choice for diabetics and hypoglycemics alike.  That’s also great news for anyone who wants stable energy levels and moods.

2. It reduces LDL cholesterol levels.  LDL is also known as the harmful cholesterol.  Reducing it may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

3. It has natural anti-infectious compounds.  In studies, cinnamon has been effective against ulcer-causing H. pylori bacteria and other pathogens.

4. It reduces pain linked to arthritis.  Cinnamon has been shown in studies at the Department of Internal Medicine, Kangnam Korean Hospital, to reduce cytokines linked to arthritic pain.

5. Research at the University of Texas, published in the journal Nutrition and Cancer, shows that cinnamon may reduce the proliferation of cancer cells, holding promise for cancer prevention and sufferers of the disease.

6. It is a natural food preservative.

7. It contains fiber, calcium, iron, and manganese—albeit small amounts to the typical dose of ground cinnamon.

8.  It’s been proven effective for menstrual pain and infertility.  Cinnamon contains a natural chemical called cinnamaldehyde, which studies show increases the hormone progesterone and decreases testosterone production in women, helping to balance hormones.

9. Cinnamon holds promise for various neurodegenerative diseases, including: Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, brain tumor, and meningitis, according to research at the Cytokine Research Laboratory, Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas.  Their research shows that cinnamon reduces chronic inflammation linked with these neurological disorders.

10.  Not a health benefit, but a great reason to love cinnamon, it’s versatile.  It works with sweet and savory dishes alike.  Consider that many curries and savory Moroccan dishes include cinnamon.  It’s not just for apples anymore.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-surprising-health-benefits-of-cinnamon.html#ixzz2A3fm6h5a

Hot Choc Drops

Truffle Hot Chocolate Balls



When I came across the recipe for this I fell in love... 
such an easy sweet quirky idea, especially for the Christmas period. The Hot chocolate balls make great mood boosters and you can also give them away as gifts. A lovely mug filled with these chocolate balls and a few mini marshmallows make a lovely home made gesture especially for the neighbours.

The original recipe I found for these babies was quite basic... simple rolled ganache *chocolate and heavy cream mixture . I've switched this up a little to add a bit of flavour and texture and to make them truly fabulous. I will also offer you some fantastic flavour variations at the bottom of the page...


Right time to get started...
*Makes about 9-10 hot chocolate balls

INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips 
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar 
1-2 tsp of your chosen flavouring i.e vanilla.. orange.. coffee...mint...strawberry... list is endless
1/8 teaspoon salt
Cocoa powder or hot chocolate powder just to dust and seal balls
or melted choc to dip and seal

• In a medium sized microwavable bowl mix all your ingredients together
• Microwave at 1 minute intervals on a medium heat setting stirring often, until the mixture is combined and very smooth and silky.
• When you first start stirring the mixture will look really grainy and not very nice. But persevere, eventually the mixture will mix together perfectly after a few heat and mix cycles.

• Be careful not to overheat as you don't want the chocolate to seize. The trick is to stir often since the mixture will blend together even when it looks like the chocolate chips haven’t melted completely.
• Leave the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes at room temperature. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until the ganache mixture is firm and ready to scoop, this will take around 2-3 hours.
• Scoop out about 1/4-cup spoonfuls of the mixture and place them on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. then put them back in the fridge to set and harden... about 20-30 mins.

• Roll them into balls and powder with cocoa or hot chocolate powder, this will just seal them. 

• If you wish you can also dip them in melted chocolate... and if you're feeling adventurous why not roll them in mini marshmallows.
• you can then place them on squares of plastic wrap (about 4 inches by 4 inches). Pull the sides of the plastic wrap over to cover the ball.
• If you are giving these as a gift I think they look much nicer either wrapped in a nice foil or cellophane. 
• If you are giving these as a gift make them fresh on the day or night before you are giving them and keep them in the fridge. suggest to the recipient to freeze the balls if they aren't going to be used straight away.
• If you have made them for yourself the same apply's ...keep in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to use :)

All you need to do now is heat up your milk and drop in your hot chocolate balls...if you find they don't completely melt give them a 30 second zap in the micro

you can also serve these as standard truffles :) try rolling them in chocolate sprinkles if you do 

Some ideas... 

Why not buy a lovely mug and fill with your wrapped balls to give as a gift 

you can put your hot chocolate truffles in mini cupcake cases to give as gifts also 

You can also put them onto wooden lollipop sticks and wrap them with cellophane for easy stirring

Or why not make some hot chocolate decorations with piped white or dark chocolate. Make some heart decorations and put in with your gift with directions... make hot chocolate with balls... top with cream and/or marshmallows and then place your chocolate heart or design on top.

you could roll your hot chocolate balls in vanilla sugar if you have a sweet tooth.

how about making your own Christmas flavours such as:

mulled wine-cinnamon, nutmeg, orange, demerara sugar

peppermint - just peppermint essence

ginger and honey- grated ginger (candied if possible) 3tsp of honey

nice and spiced - clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper

Fire starter - add half a teaspoon of chilli powder

Hope you enjoy my ideas please let me know what you think and keep me updated if you try them out

Love xxx

Peppermint Brownies

Yummy Mint Chocolate Brownies

As you all know from my previous posts... I'm a bit of a brownie lover :)

This is a lovely take on the chocolate brownie and its so easy to make. I think these are lovely served as a desert, the mint gives a very refreshing taste. I particularly like these at Christmas time so why not try them yourself.

Here's how its done 

Ingredients
one stick of butter
8oz good quality chocolate (70%cocoa)
1 cup sugar 
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
Large pack of viscount mint chocolate biscuits.. you will need 25 aprox (you can buy these at poundland and discount stores for cheap)

• Line an 8 x 8 or nearest sized baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. (This will let you lift the brownies out to cut them, rather than cutting them in the pan.) 
• Preheat the oven at 175 degrees 165 fan assisted and gas mark 4
• Butter the foil and set the pan aside.
• Bring an inch or so of water to a simmer in a saucepan and then set a Pyrex bowl over (not in) the water. Melt a stick of butter and 8 ounces of chocolate in the bowl until the mixture is smooth. 
• Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in 1 cup of sugar and 3/4 teaspoon of salt until the mixture is smooth. Next whisk in 3 eggs. Finally whisk in 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Spread 1/3 of the batter in my foil-lined 8 x 8 pan. 
• Arranged 25 viscount peppermint biscuits over the top of the batter in a single layer, leaving a narrow border on all sides.

• Spoon the remaining batter over the top of the biscuits and smooth the surface.

• Bake for 30 mins, keep a close eye on them you don't want them to burn.

and there it is... simple and super yummy, and a great Christmas treat for the family..

If you would like to try something a little less rich try using after eights instead of viscount biscuits .... after eights can be placed inside before baking or on top of the brownies after

Coca Cola Cake

Coca Cola Cake 


So unconventional yet sooo yummy... when I first came across the coca cola cake I was initially hesitant. I'm not a huge fan of coca cola or any fizzy drinks to be honest. However the cake looked and smelled delicious  I set out to find a good recipe, I tried a few and after experimenting this is what I came up with. 

The recipe is very simple and easy to make.  You can also experiment with the frosting. Coke has a very diverse flavour and has great flavour combinations. A lovely cherry glaze would taste fantastic with the coca cola cake, Vanilla buttercream is also delightful. You can also experiment with alcohol in your icing. Coke pretty much goes with most things. For this recipe however I am going to keep to the basic recipe as it truly is a fantastic cake all on its own.
Here's how its made ...

Ingredients

2cups flour
2cups sugar1/2tsp salt1tsp baking soda**1/2tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup coca-cola (from bottle is my preference!)
1/2 cup buttermilk *if you don't have butter milk click here*
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract

For the glaze
1/2cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup coca cola
3cups icing sugar

• Preheat oven to 180, and grease up a 9×13 pan or dish or near enough size. I used a glass pyrex dish would have been better to use a metal tin.
• In a saucepan over medium high heat stir your 1 cup butter, 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 cup coca-cola (from bottle is better...the cans can be very fizzy) and 1/2 cup buttermilk until it boils... the easiest way to mix these is to melt the butter down slightly first but it doesn't make a dramatic difference either way.

• Take off heat and add the mixture to the flour mix & whisk until well combined.
• Now add your two eggs and vanilla extract.
• Mix it well and pour into your greased dish/pan. I use cooking oil spray to grease mine. 

Bubbles are to be expected

• Put into the oven and bake for 30 mins, keep an eye out as you DO NOT want to burn it.

• When cake is nearly done make the glaze by mixing 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup, unsweetened cocoa powder and 1/2 cup coca cola in a saucepan. 
• As before set the pan to heat on medium to high until boiled.
• remove from heat and slowly stir in 3 cups of icing sugar until nice and smooth
• Once cake has been removed from oven pour glaze slowly over the cake and leave to cool

The coca cola cake will wow your friends and family, it tastes great warm and cold. I love it served warm with a vanilla ice cream  The choice is yours


Enjoy guys xxx

Cakes with a Big Heart...Literally

Bake a heart in a cupcake

These are fantastic and fairly easy to make!!! Great for valentines day and anniversary's or a little treat for your loved ones. 

You can adapt the recipe to your own acquired taste, here I'm going to give you a basic vanilla cake recipe with a buttercream cheese frosting. You can make chocolate, lemon, strawberry in fact any flavour that tickles your fancy will work with this recipe. As long as you set aside some plain cake batter to dye red for the hearts.

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar 
3 eggs
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
2 t. vanilla 
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/3 c. whole milk 

For the buttercream you’ll need:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 c. powdered sugar 

Food colouring gel if necessary 

You will get 12 cupcakes from one batch of cake batter.

Here’s how you do it:

• First you will need to mark up your cupcake liners. Use a non-toxic marker or a pencil to draw a little dot on the outside of 12 cupcake liners, then place them in your cupcake pan. Set these aside.
• Mix up your vanilla cake batter 

• Pour a little more than 1/3 of the batter (about a cup and a half) into a smaller bowl. Add red food colouring (preferably food colouring gel) until you get your desired pink or red colour  Pour the batter into a non-stick (or lightly greased) 8x8 inch baking pan and bake until the edges of the cake start to turn golden brown and a knife or toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean (different recipes require different baking times—make sure you keep an eye on your cake).
• Allow to cool completely (to speed up the process you can stick it in the fridge).

• Once the sheet cake is cool, loosen the edges away from the pan with a knife and then invert the pan onto a cutting board. Use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out a dozen cake hearts that are small enough to fit into an average-sized cupcake pan.

• Spoon two heaping tablespoons of the remaining batter into paper-lined cupcake tins, so they’re about half-full. Put one heart into each tin and press it point down into the batter. (Keep all the hearts facing towards the dot you drew on the cupcake paper, so you remember which way the heart is facing after the cupcakes are baked.) Cover with another heaping teaspoon of batter so the heart is completely covered and bake until the cupcakes have turned golden brown and the cake bounces back when you gently press your finger into the top of the cupcake.

• Allow the cakes to cool (place in the fridge if you are in a rush) and make your butter icing ready to frost.
• Once cooled they are ready to frost and decorate however you please :)

Note
you’ll have to keep the cupcakes facing forward so you get the right cross-section of the heart when you cut or bite into the cupcake (to get the full heart effect). That’s where the little dot on the cupcake paper comes in handy. After frosting, put heart candy on them (or some other decoration) that can also face forward so you know which way to cut the cupcake in order to see the heart shape inside (if you cut the heart in the wrong direction you just get a rectangle shape—not very romantic!).

When you cut into the cupcake it should look like this...

http://bakeitinacake.com/recipes/heartinacupcake

Banana Bread Brownies

Banana Bread Brownie Bars with Brown Butter Frosting



Ok as you may have imagined I kinda LOVE brownies and love experimenting with flavours. I call these Beauts brownies, however in actual fact they really are just banana bread bars...but who's to know hey!!! lol... you could always throw in a few chocolate chips as well, really sticking with the brownie theme.... 

Anyhow these bars are to die for, super sweet and yummy and a great family pleaser for breakfast lunch brunch or an after dinner treat.

They are ridiculously moist and rich.  And the banana flavour is satisfyingly prominent but absolutely wonderful.  But what takes these bars to the next level and beyond is the Brown buttercream icing. The flavour combo is out of this world....no word of a lie

Banana is a great ingredient to use in baking. Not only because its super yummy but because they are a good source of vitamin C, potassium and dietary fibre. They also have no fat, cholesterol or sodium. for more information on health qualities of bananas read on to the end of the page.

And just to hit you with a random fact because I'm cool lol...The word 'banan' is Arabic for finger.

Here's how you can make these banana babies yourself

Ingredients

Banana Bread Bars:

1-1/2 c. sugar

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 eggs

1-3/4 (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Brown Butter Frosting:

1/2 c. butter

4 c. powdered sugar

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tbsp. milk

Directions:

•  Heat oven to 190 c or 180c with fan assisted oven, gas mark 5  
• Grease and flour 15 x 10 inch pan.  
•  In a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy.  
• Blend in bananas and vanilla extract.  
• Add flour, baking soda, salt, and blend for 1 minute.  
• Stir in walnuts.

• Spread batter evenly into pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling.  Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.

Before boil    

   

After boil (delicate brown)                   

Please note the butter can burn really easily and spoil the taste DO NOT over cook for the sake of your baking guys... it will taste like burnt hair... haha slight exaggeration but you catch my drift... 

• Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk.  Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting).  Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm).

And there you have it guys and dolls... banana heaven...

and just one last tip...
Yes, bananas for baking should be brown-either spotted or completely nasty looking and there's a good reason for this. It's true that firm, sunny fruits look nicer, and you might understandably think the only thing a mushy brown banana is good for is the bin *or throwing at men* but wait before you throw them away. Yucky bananas are actually a baker's treasure in disguise! Hiding inside the ugly peel lies a secret ingredient. Because they're so ripe, brown bananas are packed with sweetness and powerful banana flavour. When used in baking, they produce delicious results.

Brown bananas are also known to be anti cancerous 

According to Japanese Scientific Research, full ripe bananas with dark patches on yellow skin produces a substance called TNF ( Tumor Necrosis Factor) which has the ability to combat abnormal cells. The more darker patches it has the higher will be its immunity enhancement quality; Hence, the riper the banana the better the anti-cancer quality. Yellow skin banana with dark spots on it is 8x more effective in enhancing the property of white blood cells than green skin version.
Eating 1-2 banana/s a day increases immunity.
Please pass/share and stay healthy. 


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Love xxx