Chocolate Smarties Cake

Just looking at this cake will make you feel that happy I've-eaten-my-own-body-weight-in-jelly-and-jumped-on-a-bouncy-castle-and-am-going-to-vomit-in-the-car-on-the-way-home feeling.

• Self raising flour 220g
• Softened butter 150g
• Caster sugar 220g
• Melted dark chocolate 150g
• 3 eggs

• Butter x lots
• Chocolate x more lots 
• Packet chocolate fingers x 2
• Bags smarties x 2 

Beat together the softened butter, sugar and eggs, fold in the melted chocolate. Fold in the sifted flour. If the batter is too thick add a little milk, if too runny add a little extra flour. Bake in three well greased small cake tins at 170C.

Melt lots of chocolate and beat in the butter till melted. Its a bit of trail and error as to how buttery/chocolatey you like and hoe much you need.

Once cooled, slap the butter cream in between the layers and all over the cake. Stick chocolate fingers all around the edge of the cake and then fill with smarties.

Proceed with caution.

Raid the buiscuit tin!

Chewy Chocolate American Cookies

- 100g melted dark chocolate
- 100g white chocolate chunks
- 100g light muscovado sugar
- 85g softened butter
- 1 medium egg
- 100g sifted self-raising flour
  (also works with the addition of peanut butter)

Preheat the oven to 180C. Beat together all the ingredients until smooth and stir in the chocolate chunks. Grease and line a tray, blob large spoonfuls of the mixture on to the tray and squash slightly, bake for about 12 minutes, the cookies should still be soft in the middle but squidgy around the edge. 


Jaffa Cakes


- 100g soft butter
- 100g sifted self raising flour
- 100g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- vanilla extract

- Orange jelly
- 200g chocolate
 
Make the jelly using half the water require on the packet, either pore into small sweet mould or a flat tray and leave to set. Preheat the oven to 170C. Beat together the cake ingredients, add a small blob (about one not-very-generous spoonful) into each very well greased cupcake tray, bake for around 15-20 mins until springy and golden. Once the cakes and jelly are cool and set, melt the chocolate and allow to cool slightly. Assemble jaffa cakes by laying a scoop jelly on to the cakes and coating in chocolate. 




Jammy Dodgers


- 150g plain flour
- 100g butter
- 50g caster sugar

- Stiff icing sugar
- Jam


Preheat oven to 150C. Work all ingredients together, roll out on a floured surface and using a cookie cutter cut out small rounds. Cut the centre out of half of the rounds (I used the end of a piping bag). Bake for around 30mins until golden. Once cool add a circle of icing sugar to the complete round and a blob of jam in the centre, top with the biscuit ring.
 

10th March - International Baking!

The Space is opening early this Saturday 10th March so that everyone can join in with the baking. If you have an international recipe please bring it along (and any specialist ingredients required)!!

Look forward to seeing you there x

Sticky Ginger Cake

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Golden Syrup

175g Brown Sugar

175g Butter

2 eggs

3 pieces stem ginger in syrup

200g self raising flour

Icing Sugar

Butter

Ginger syrup

Method

Melt together butter, golden syrup and sugar in the microwave. Beat in the flour and eggs (gradually) Mix in Stem ginger chopped into pieces and 2 tablespoons of the gingery syrup. Dollop into a greased lined tin and bake at 160C till firm. 
Make the Ginger goo topping by creaming together softened butter, sifted icing sugar and and table spoon of ginger syrup to taste.
 

Location, Location, Location

Tropical Cake 

Half a ripe mango

One ripe Banana

75g desiccated coconut

100g softened butter

125g caster sugar

2 eggs 

200g self raising flour

3 Passion fruits

1 packet of cream cheese

2 table spoonful icing sugar

Blitz the banana and mango in the blender, beat together with all the other cake ingredients and bake in two circular greased lined tinned for around 35mins at 180C until nice and springy. Leave to cool and make the topping. Beat together the cream cheese and icing sugar. Spread a few dollops of cream cheese on one of the cakes and the innards of one passion fruit, sandwich together the cakes. Spread the rest of the topping on the cake and drench with the other two passion fruits.

Greek Breakfast Cake

Okay so I made it up. This is neither Greek nor breakfasty. This is simply what you get if you throw together honey and almonds and lemon and a location themed name...

100g ground almonds

125g self raising flour

75g softened butter

100g caster sugar

2 eggs

Finely grated rind + juice of one lemon

Honey

Cream butter and sugar together and whisk in eggs. Beat in rind, juice, almonds and flour till you have a smooth paste. Dollop into a greased lined tray or tin and spread evenly and bake for around 25mins at 180C. Remove from the oven once springy and browned and whilst still warm prick with a fork and drizzle with honey. 

Wellington Slice

Plain flour

Caster sugar

Butter

Two tins condensed milk

75g butter

100g soft brown sugar

200g dark chocolate

100g white chocolate

Cream together butter and sugar and beat in the flour gradually until you have a smooth thick paste, spread thickly and evening into a lined tray and bake at 160C until just starting to brown. Melt together the brown sugar and butter (microwave is best) then added the condensed milk and boil (use a really big/tall container or you'll end up with a sticky mess!) until you have a caramelly consistency, spread over the short bread. Melt the two types of chocolate, pour the dark chcololate over evenly first before swirling the white chocolate over to create a pattern. Chill the trays before slicing into squares.

 

Stuff On Sticks

Valentines is a revolting day of the year. However like the flu it persists in returning year after year, so we may as well make the most of it - do you really need a better excuse to curl up beneath a duvet and eat a lot of chocolate covered stuff? Save on washing up by putting the chocolate stuff on sticks. Stroke of genius.

Cake Pops

Sponge cake

Cream cheese

Melted butter

Icing sugar

White Chocolate

Sprinkles 

Pink food colouring

Lollipop sticks + grease proof paper

I have somewhat unhelpfully not given any measurements here, but the joy of cake pops is a lot of experimentation and a huge mess in the kitchen. Firstly crumble the sponge as much as possible then mix in a little food colouring icing sugar, butter and cream cheese - a little at a time until the mixture sticks together well but isn't too sloppy - you need to be able to roll it into balls. Wet yours hands first, it makes rolling easier, take a small handful, roll it up and place on greaseproof paper push a lollipop stick in and refrigerate them for about an hour. Melt the white chocolate and dunk the balls in, make sure they're well covered, sprinkle with exciting sprinkles and place on greaseproof paper before chilling.

When in doubt consult, Queen of the cake pop...  http://www.bakerella.com/category/pops-bites/cake-pops/

Hot Chocolate Stir Sticks

Take a mini kebab stick, poke it into a marshmallow, dip the marshmallow in melted chocolate, cover with sparkle sprinkly things, place on greaseproof paper and cool. Make hot chocolate. Swirl marshmallowy thing in hot chocolate. Make a dribbly chocolaty mess all over the place. 

Chocolate Shortbread Hearts

250g softened butter

110g caster sugar

360g plain flour

150g dark chocolate melted

Beat the butter and sugar together till creamy, stir in the sifted flour until you have a smooth paste. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently roll to roughly 1cm thickness. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out biscuits, transfer to a greased baking tray and bake in a preheated oven (150c) for 15-20mins. Once cooked and cooled dip half the hearts in the melted chocolate and cool on greaseproof paper.

Making the WI Proud!

A couple of absolute classics for you to bake and devour. Come along this Saturday for a scary array of valentines themed treats (I'm getting a bit happy with the cookie cutter at the moment...)

Coffee and Walnut

125g butter softened

125g caster sugar

2 eggs 

125g self-raising flour

2 heaped tbsp coffee , dissolved into a paste with a little hot water

100g walnut halves/pieces

300g soft butter

250gish sifted icing sugar

More dissolved coffee paste (up to you how much depending on how much of a caffeine hit you want)

Preheat the oven to 170C.  Cream together the butter and sugar, beat in the eggs little by little. Chuck in everything else (save a few walnut halves  for decoration) and mix well. Grease and line two sandwich tins, evenly divide the mixture and shove them in the oven for about 40 mins until their nice and springy. Let the cakes cool and in the meantime cream together the butter, icing sugar and coffee until smooth, sandwich the cakes together generously and spread the remaining butter cream on top, top it off with some walnuts.

Not-so-mini Victoria Sponges

200.0g caster sugar

200.0g softened butter

4 eggs , beaten

200.0g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder 

2 tbsp milk 

 

Double cream whipped (Use an electric whisk. Seriously. My arm has barely regained feeling.)

Jam (I'd recommend the lovely fruity stuff you can buy in the Polish section of Sainsbury's)

Throw ingredients into a bowls and mix until you have a lovely smooth batter. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line two shallow square tins (the kind you would use for brownies or tray bakes). Bake for around 20mins, or until a knife stuck in the middle comes out clean. Once cool, use a small/medium circular cookie cutter to cut out rounds. 
Spread some jam and a blob of cream on a round and squash another round on top. 
Finish off with a dusting of icing sugar... Ta Da!

Marshmallow Madness

Rocky Roads

The Americans were on to a good idea when they decided to take a handful of tasty ingredients and then just drown them in chocolate...

250g smashed biscuits (I used hobnobs)

250g dried fruit and nuts 

A very generous handful of mini marshmallows 

300g chocolate

75g chopped butter

2 tablespoons of golden syrup

Line a tin well with greaseproof paper. Melt together the chocolate, golden syrup and butter (you can do this in the microwave but keep a close eye on it as the chocolate can easily burn. In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients together and combine well with the melty, gooey goodness. Spread into the tin and refrigerate for around 2hrs before slicing into squares.

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

An easy peasy indulgent invention to use up a few of those mini marshmallows.

175g butter
225g dark chocolate
200g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
100g plain flour 

200ml double cream

Mini marshmallows

Coco powder

Melt together the chocolate and butter. Whisk together the eggs and sugar till creamy, gently fold in the melted chocolate. Fold in the sieved flour. Blob into cupcake cases and bake at 180C for around 20mins, you want them to still be a little gooey in the centre. 

Ideally serve these warm (with a spoon!), in which case do the next step immediately, if you are serving them later let the cakes cool before...

Whip the double cream into peaks, then pipe or blob generously onto each cupcake. Dust with coco powder and scatter with mini marshmallows.

Lemon Cheesecake Muffins

News years resolutions? Ah well... Never mind...

225g unsalted butter , softened

225g caster sugar

4 eggs

finely grated zest 1 lemon

 225g self-raising flour 

Lemon curd

1 pack soft cheese

Icing sugar

Blitz together all the firth five ingredients. Preheat the oven to 170C. Put a large blob of cake batter into small cake cases, followed by a small blob of lemon curd and topped off with another blob of batter. Bake until golden, firm and springy (around 30mins) and leave to cool. 

Add around a tablespoon of sifted icing sugar to the cream cheese and some lemon zest or a small amount of lemon juice (not to much or the topping won't set) cream it together with a metal spoon till smooth then either blob of pipe on top the muffins.
Have an indulgent 2011...

Are You Feeling Festive?

A big thank you to everyone who has come along to the cafe this term, I hope you've had fun and I'm really looking forward to seeing you again next term.

Until then...

Crumble top mince pies:

• 225g cold butter
• 350g plain flour
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 egg

Rub together the butter and flour with your fingers to make crumbs then beat in the egg and sugar to form a soft dough (you may need to add a little water or flour till you get the right consistency) Give the dough a quick knead then roll out quick thinly (but not so thin that it's difficult to handle!) Use a pastry cutter to make rounds, place them into a greased cupcake tin/tray.

• Jar of mincemeat
• 250g mixed dried fruit
• Small grated apple

You can just use shop bought mincemeat (or home made! Although you have to start at the end of October!) but I think the addition of extra fruit makes them fresher and less sickly sweet.

Blob the mincemeat generously into the pies but don't overfill or you will end up with a sticky mess everywhere.

Now either add another round of pastry on top (the mince will help seal it so there's no need to use egg) or top with a sprinkle of crumble made by rubbing together 100g butter, 100g plain flour, 50g oats, teaspoon of mixed spice and 80g of sugar. 

Bake at 180C until pastry is crisp and golden and enjoy with a large glass of mulled wine. Mmmmm....

Unfortunately I cannot claim credit for the very funky Santa hats and Christmas trees, they were great fun to make and eat so if you're got some time to spare over Christmas then give them a go!

http://www.ericasweettooth.com/2010/12/strawberry-christmas-tree-brownie-bites.html

Belated Iced Buns

This is the very easy iced bun recipe I used a couple of weeks ago, for a bit of a retro school dinner taste...

• 500g white bread mix
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 350g icing sugar 
• Food colouring

Whizz together the bread mix and sugar, add in the egg add around 250ml warm water to form a soft dough, knead on a floured surface for around 5mins then stick it back in the bowl, cover with cling film and set aside for an hour or so until it has doubled in size. "Knock back" by dropping and squashing the dough, then divide into your separate buns and lay on a greased baking tray, leave lots of room for them to double in size again over the next hour. Bake for around 10mins at 180C, once cooled get creative with the colourful icing!

Black Forest Cupcakes

The Space will be back this Saturday with lots of lovely cakes on offer including the very decidant Black Forest Cupcakes!
- Cherry jam
- Half a tin of cherries chopped
- 115g self raising flour
- 1tbsp cocoa powder
- 115g softened butter
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 55g dark chocolate melted over simmering water
- Whipped cream
Preheat oven to 180C. Sift the flour, and cocoa powder together. Add the butter, eggs and caster sugar beat together with an electric whisk. Fold in the melted chocolate and chopped cherries. Put one large blob into each cupcake case, follow with a teaspoon blob of jam and top with another blob of the mixture. Bake for around 20mins. Once cooled pipe or blob on whipped cream.

NO CAFE - Sat 12th November

Please be aware there is no cafe this coming Saturday as there is a wedding (woo!) in Alma church. The Space will be open again on Saturday 19th with lots of the usual goodies on offer.

Taste of Italy

Two delicious recipes for you this week cappuccino cake and lemon drizzle. Okay so lemon drizzle is an English favourite but the lovely cirusyness always reminds me of the Mediterranean...

Cappuccino cake (we discovered this works brilliantly as a loaf or large cake but not as cup cakes!)

1tsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp instant coffee granules

225g melted butter

225g caster sugar

4eggs

225g self raising flour

1tsp baking powder

Add a little hot water to the coffee and cocoa to make a thin paste then literally dump everything into a large bowl and whisk with an electric blender until well combined. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for around 35minutes, cool before adding the frosting...

100g white chocolate

50g butter

3tbsp milk

175g icing sugar

Melt chocolate butter and milk together in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, once melted beat in the sifted icing sugar gradually until you have a smooth paste, spread over the cake and chill. Dust with cocoa powder before serving.

Lemon Drizzle

175g butter

175g caster sugar

3 eggs

175g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

Another easy one, just whiz everything together until smooth and bake at 170C for around 25-30 minutes until a knife comes out clean, pour over the drizzle whilst still warm...

Approximately 4tbsps of lemon juice

70g caster sugar

Zest of one lemon

Gently heat together in a pan but do not allow the mixture to boil or the sugar will burn, you should see the mixture starting to thicken a little and cling to the back of the spoon when all the sugar has all melted, don't let it get too syrupy or the pan will be a nightmare to wash up!!

Chocolate Eclairs

100 g plain flour

150 ml water

75 g butter

3 eggs, whisked 

Double cream whipped

150g dark chocolate

75g butter

Place a small dish of water in the oven to create steam and preheat to 200C. Put the water and butter in a saucepan(yes I know it's weird!), bring to the boil. Take off the heat and sift in the flour, beat it in quickly until the batter comes away from the side easily. Beat in the eggs gradually, this is meant to be a quite liquidy batter. Pipe or blob onto grease proof paper and bake for around 20 mins. Don't open the oven for at least the first 15mins or the pastry will sink!

When crisp and brown remove from the oven and pierce with a sharp knife. When cooled drizzle on the ganache* and fill with whipped cream.

* melt chocolate and butter together in a dish over a pan of bubbling water.

Chunky Chocolate Brownies

Chunky Chocolate Brownies

• 100g butter 
• 200g dark chocolate
• 100g white and milk chocolate broken into small chunks or chips
• 4 eggs
• 250g golden caster sugar
• 150g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 30g cocoa

Heat the oven to 170C, melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water, once melted allow the melted mixture to cool to room temperature (or you will end up scrambling the eggs when you mix them together!). Whisk the sugar and eggs together until they are light and glossy. Fold in the melted chocolate then fold in all the remaining ingredients, add a little extra four if it is too runny. Spread the mixture into a lined tin and bake for around 2omins, the middle should still be gooey but the top and end should be lovely and crusty.

Cake-a-licious

Join us tomorrow for carrot cake and brownies!

Nom nom nom...

Gluten free Peanut butter cookies

1 cup of peanut butter

1 cup of caster sugar

1 egg

Cream it all together, using a teaspoon blob on a well grease and lined tray (I learnt to my peril that this part is particularly important!) Whack them in the oven at 180oC for 10 minutes and that's all there is too it really, giving you plenty of time to try....

Chocolate chunk flapjacks

330g oats

200g melted butter

Approx 6 table spoons golden syrup

150g chocolate broken into chunks or chips

Coat the oats in the melted butter, stir in the chocolate followed by enough golden syrup so that the oats mostly hold together. tip the lot into a greased/lined tin and spread evenly, squash the mixture down using the back of a wet mettle spoon. Bake at 180oC for around 25mins, golden brown and chewy rather than chestnut brown and crunchy.

Sat 15th October - 1st cafe!

The Space will be flinging open its door to cake-hungry students for the very first time ever on Saturday 15th October!!

Come and sample some lovely free fresh baked:

Toffee apple cake

Chocolate chunk flapjacks

Peanut butter snaps (g/f)

It's going to be a slightly weird one as we will be down in the basement instead of the church hall, look out for the signs. Don't worry, it's a nice basement with sofas and a pool table, not a damp, smelly, dead rats sort of basement...

And we'll be closing up an hour early so come and see us between 12-4pm - and stuff yourself silly with cake!

3... 2... 1... FRESHERS!!!

Welcome to Bristol! It's madness here, but do look out for me around campus during freshers week and beyond, I'll be handing out flyers and free sweets xx