Baking up a Storm

Ooofff sorry I’ve been so busy over the last few weeks, what with starting a shiny new job and trying to find  a new flat I’ve hardly had any time to make or do anything else!

This weekend has been my first spent at home in weeks! There has been weddings, 30th Birthday’s  visits to Lincolnshire as well as lots of other things have kept me busy and living out of a suitcase!

I’m exhausted! But, exhausted I may be, I am very bad at sitting around doing nothing! Today has been spent catching up on alterations I owe people and a sudden desire to bake! I have once again delved into my wonderful Christmas present of the Leon Baking & Puddings book and decided upon having a stab at Bread making.

Following their recipe for a loaf using spelt flour, olive oil, seeds and pine nuts I decided to substitute spelt flour for some wholemeal flour which I happened to have in the cupboard and also added sesame seeds and golden linseed to the mix. This is the first time since I was a little girl, baking with my mum that I’ve even tried baking bread and was surprised about how easy it was and there is massive scope for trying out new recipes with different seeds, nuts, fruits, herbs and spices!

I’m currently waiting for the loaf to cool down so I can try a slice or two!!!!

Scrummy Yummy Homemade Granola

My darling little brother bought me a cake stand and Leon’s third cook book “Baking & Puddings”...I think he was dropping a massive hint that I should be baking more…so here goes the first attempt at a recipe from my new cookery book.

I love breakfast, it’s pretty much my favourite meal so I thought I’d start with attempting to make my own Granola. I’ve followed the method of the Leon recipe “Our Favourite Granola” but I’ve amended the Ingredients slightly to suit my tastes and you can do the same if you want to try it for yourself!

Ingredients (Makes around 1.6kg)

600g Rolled Oats

50g Sesame Seeds

60g Pumpkin Seeds

60g Sunflower Seeds

50ml Maple Syrup

100ml Sunflower Oil

250ml Runny Honey

50g Dark Brown Sugar

50ml Water

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

A Grating of Fresh Nutmeg

A Pinch of Sea Salt

100g Sultanas

100g Sliced Dried Apricots

50g Dried Cranberries

50g Sliced Dates (I found in Co-op some delish Organic Deglet Nour dates by “Natural Selection”)

50g Dried Figs

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150c and line a couple of baking trays with greaseproof paper. *TIP* If you screw the greaseproof up in a ball and spread it out again it will make it much more easy to handle and fit into any shaped and depth baking tin or tray.

2. Mix the oats and seeds together in a large bowl and leave to one side. In a saucepan mix together the maple syrup, honey, oil, water and sugar; put this over a not too high heat and whisk well until everything is nicely melted and combined together. *TIP* Before measuring out the sticky honey and syrup, measure the oil out first in a jug. You’ll find the sticky stuff sticks much less with a slight coating of oil in the measuring vessel.

3. Take the mixture from the heat and add the nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla and stir well and pour into the dry oaty mix, stirring well to make sure everything is nicely covered. Spoon the mixture into the baking trays and spread out evenly, pop in the oven for 1 hour

4. Take the trays out of the oven and turn the mixture over and break it up into chunks with a spoon or spatula, ensure its spread out evenly. Turn the oven down to 140c and bake the granola for another 35ish minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to cool before stirring in the dried fruits.

I just had to add a picture of the fruit, they look like jewels or something…yummy chewy breakfast  jewels!

Keep it stored in an airtight container and it should last for a few weeks at least! It’s super yummy with milk and yoghurt with some fresh fruit!

Morgy’s Marble Cake Recipe

I have a had a request or two asking for me to post my marble cake recipe I used to make the Iceberg Cake so here goes! I love Marble cakes they remind me of being a kid and baking them with one of my Granny’s, there is always an air of mystery about them too because until you actually cut a slice out of it you don’t know what it’s going to look like!

This recipe is for a monochrome, chocolate & vanilla marble cake, but you can use any food colourings you want, if you want to make it with three or four colours just split up the batter accordingly and chuck in your food colouring!

Ingredients :

225g softened butter plus extra for greasing

225g caster sugar

225g self-raising flour

4 eggs

3tbsp milk

1tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp cocoa powder (i like using Green & Blacks or good old Bournville) or a few drops of food colouring if you want a multi coloured cake

Method:

1. Pre-Heat the oven to 180c and grease with butter either a 20cm diameter cake tin or pair of sandwich tins. Line the base of the tin(s) with a circle of greaseproof or baking parchment.
2. Cream together the softened butter and sugar until light coloured and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time ensure they combine well, add the vanilla essence.
3. Next sift in the flour a couple of spoonfuls at a time adding some or all of the milk to make a smooth batter.
4. Once the batter is ready separate out half of the mixture into a separate bowl, (if you are planning to make a 3 or 4 coloured cake separate the batter evenly into 3 or 4 bowls) sieve in the cocoa or add the food colouring into one of the halves and mix thoroughly.
5. Next you need to spoon blobs if the batter in both colours randomly around the cake tin(s) until all the batter is used up and is evenly distributed. Gently flatten out the batter with the back of a spoon or spatula so it fills all the gaps, next tap the cake tin(s) firmly on a flat worktop to get any air bubbles out.
6. Take a skewer or fine bladed knife and gently swirl the different coloured batters into each other, be careful not to over work this stage or the colours could all mix together, when using lots of different food colourings it can result in a bit of a grim sludgy colour…so less is definitely more!
7. When you’re down swirling stick them in the oven for 20mins if using sandwich tins or 40mins if using one tin, make sure to keep an eye on the cake as different ovens work at different speeds
8. You will know the cake is done if it is risen and the center of the cake springs back when pressed, or use the skewer method sticking it in the centre, if it comes out clean it’s done, if it comes out with uncooked batter on it, stick it back in for a bit longer
9. When the baking is done leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool fully before decorating and eating with a nice big cup of tea!

If you have a go at this recipe i’d love to see a picture of your marbled cake!