Checkerboard Birthday Cake

So a little while back, my mum and sister had a joint party, and I’m only just getting round to sharing with you all this fabulous birthday cake I made for them.

Honestly, I have never attempted a checkerboard cake before, so didn’t have high hopes for myself, but it actually worked really really well- and it’s so easy to make!

However, when decorating it, make sure you buy something big enough to go to the top of the cake, I was going to use kitkats or chocolate fingers, but the cake was too high, oops!

It is so so delicious, and so impressive, you’ll have all your guests with mouths wide, wandering how you did it, but little do they know it’s actually really easy.

INGREDIENTS:

• 450g self-raising flour, sifted
• 150g plain flour, sifted
• 590g caster sugar
• 300g butter, melted
• 440mL milk
• 6 eggs, beaten lightly
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 50g cocoa powder, sifted
• 600g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
• 250ml double cream

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease and line four 18cm round cake pans with baking paper.
2. Combine flours, sugar, butter, milk and eggs in large mixing bowl. Using an electric beater; beat on low speed until just combined. Increase speed to high and beat until the mixture is thick and pale.
3. Evenly divide cake mixture into two bowls(I weighed mine to make sure each cake was exactly even); add vanilla bean paste to one bowl and mix well. Add cocoa powder to remaining bowl, mix well. Divide vanilla mixture among two prepared pans, and divide chocolate mixture among remaining two prepared pans; bake 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Using a serrated knife, level cake tops.
4. Meanwhile, to make chocolate ganache, put dark chocolate and cream in heatproof bowl; microwave, uncovered, on medium for 1 minute; stir; repeat in 30 second intervals until melted. Set aside until cool and thick, stirring occasionally.
5. To assemble, print and cut out the template that you can download  here 
   
6. Coat the cut inner sides of a chocolate outer ring with a thin layer chocolate ganache and place a vanilla middle ring inside. Coat the cut inner sides of the vanilla ring with ganache and fill circle with a chocolate center. Repeat this sequence again.
7. Coat the cut inner sides of a vanilla outer ring with chocolate ganache and place a chocolate middle ring inside. Coat the cut inner sides of the chocolate ring with ganache and fill circle with a vanilla center. Repeat this sequence again. You should now have four cakes each alternating in chocolate and vanilla rings.
8. Sandwich the cake layers together with a little chocolate ganache, alternating layers. Spread remaining chocolate ganache over top and sides of cake.
9. Decorate how you wish!

ENJOY AND IMPRESS

DELICIOUS Gluten free, Lactose free brownies

Tomorrow it starts. My exams start. AHHHH. But hey ho, in a month it will all be over, and I cannot wait for that moment!

I decided to whip these up to enjoy after our first exam (ethics- probably my worst subject ever) and my very best friend is lactose intolerant, and another of my friends is a coeliac, so I thought i’d cater to the masses, and honestly they are actually delicious.

I use coconut oil instead of butter, and it adds a little tropical hint in the background, and gluten free flour, and also you need to check that the chocolate chips and cocoa powder are gluten and lactose free too.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup gluten-free flour
• 85g dutch process cocoa powder (check it’s lactose free and gluten free)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 195g coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
• 300g caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 100g dark chocolate chips (again, check it’s gluten and lactose free)

METHOD:

1. preheat oven to 175C and line a 20 x 20 baking tray (or use a silicon one like I do)
2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the melted coconut oil, sugar, and vanilla extract. Once combined, add eggs one at a time, and stir just until combined.
4. Add dry mixture to wet and stir just until almost no streaks of flour remain. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes (they may be a bit gooey in the middle- this is good!)
6. Leave to cool completely before cutting- they will firm up a little during this time.

ENJOY

Bakewell Tart

I love bakewell tart! It just reminds me of childhood. The buttery pastry compliments the sweet jam and that almond flavour that I just can’t quite describe but is so amazing!

My grandma is out of hospital, and she seems to feel much better, but it can’t hurt to bring her a sweet treat to make her feel even better. When I was half way through making this, I realised that my grandpa doesn’t like almonds that much, but when I gave it to them, he seemed to thoroughly enjoy it! It seems we have a convert!

I went to work today, expecting to be able to say goodbye to Jasper, my favourite puppy, a dachshund, who’s owners were supposed to be picking him up tomorrow, only to find out they came home early from their holiday, so he was already gone! *sigh* no matter, hopefully he’ll come back to the kennels soon!

INGREDIENTS:

For the shortcrust pastry

• 175g plain flour
• 75gchilled butter
• 2-3 tbsp cold water

For the filling

• 3-4 tbsp raspberry jam
• 125g butter
• 125g caster sugar
• 125g ground almonds
• 1 free-range egg, beaten
• ½ tsp almond extract
• 50g flaked almonds

For the icing

• 80g icing sugar
• 2½ tsp cold water

METHOD:

1. To make the pastry, put flour into bowl and rub in butter with fingertips until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add water, mixing to form a soft dough. (you could also do this in a food processor)

2. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface and put into a tart tin. Leave in fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan.

4. Prick and line pastry case with baking paper and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for 15 minutes, then remove beans and paper and cook for a further five minutes to dry out the base.

5. For the filling, spread the base of the flan generously with raspberry jam.

6. Melt butter in a pan, take off heat and then stir in sugar. Add ground almonds, egg and almond extract. Pour into tart tin and sprinkle over flaked almonds.

7. Bake for 30 minutes, covering if the top browns too fast.Remove from oven and allow to cool.

8. Meanwhile, sift icing sugar into bowl. Stir in cold water and transfer to a piping bag.

9. When tart is cool, pipe icing over in a zig zag pattern.

ENJOY