AlphaBakes "C" Round up

Welcome to October's AlphaBakes. As expected C was very popular and there are lots of fabulous entries here so make yourself comfortable and enjoy these delicious delights!

First up is Kat from the Baking Explorer with Chai Spiced Rolls. She was inspired by the Great British Bake Off episode when they baked with sweet dough. She made a cinnamon fruit roll last year which did not rise as expected so she was keen to give it another go but with chai spice this time. It looks absolutely amazing and sounds like it was well worth the effort.

Next is Jacqueline with mini chocolate sandwiches and coconut & candied peel cakes. 

Suelle from Mainly Baking got her entry in early with these delightful looking green tea, apricot and cocoa nib biscuits. She's wanted to bake with Matcha powder for years but has always been put off by the price until she found some at a reasonable price in a market in Canada. It is similar to a shortbread with a subtle flavour of green tea.

My co-host Caroline from Caroline Makes sent in Chocolate and Lime cupcakes as her first entry. It's a moist chocolate cupcake with a lime curd filling, chocolate lime buttercream on top decorated with Dr. Oetker mini chocolate stars and candied lime peel. She created this recipe for the Dr Oetker Great Chocolate Bake competition. 

Keeping it in the family, Jacqueline is back with Chocolate Victoria Sponge and Coffee Cakes with Coffee Icing.

Caroline is back again with a Carrot Cake.  She used a recipe from BBC Good Food and decorated her cake with little carrot marzipans that she bought from Germany.

Next is the first of our crumble entries from Sally from Recipe Junkie and the Attack of the Custard Creams. The title of her post is the 8th pint, a dead freezer and cherry & almond crumble. You really have to read her post to understand it - it's a great inspirational read. The result is this fantastic crumble with delicious cherries from summer. 

Next is my mum with her carrot cake that she decorated with crystallized orange and lemon rind on top and toasted pecan nuts on the side. 

She also made a blueberry crepe cake filled with blueberry and cream cheese and topped with whipped cream.

And a durian cheesecake. 

Next is Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog with Chai Chocolate Fairy Cakes. She adapted a Chai Masala Cupcake recipe from Indian Inspired Desserts. The cakes had a definite but not overpowering taste of sweetly spiced chai tea. She brought them over to the Macmillan Coffee Morning and I'm sure they sold like hot cakes!

Jenny from What Jenny Baked also made some cupcakes but with hazelnuts to create these Gianduja Cupcakes. She made them to take to a friend's house for a girly evening in. They were really rich and moist and she also got to show off her new baking tin which is gorgeous.

She also made these carrot cupcakes which look really cute with the little carrot decoration on top. She was a bit worried about  making a carrot cake as her previous attempt didn't turn out well but these look like they've definitely hit the mark. 

Our first savoury entry this month is from Anne from the Gingerbread Mum. She made Spinach Crepes which turned out an amazing green colour so they call it 'monster food'. She filled it with soft cheese and ham and if you have any leftover crepes, they are perfect for lunchboxes. It's a great way to get 1 of your 5 a day in!

Continuing with the vegetable theme, we have Courgette (Zucchini) and Banana Bread from Lucie from Big Cook... Tiny Kitchen. She first discovered zucchini bread on a trip to Houston for work and have since added courgettes to many of her bakes including this banana bread.

Linzi from Lancashire Food made this gorgeous Carrot Cake with buttercream frosting. I love the cake to frosting ratio here!

 

Time for something spooky and Halloweeny! Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary made Vampire Lady Fingers. It's a simple and cute treat that your children can make for Halloween. She used Cadbury Dairy Milk Pebbles to make the fingernails How spookily real do these look?

My co-host Caroline is back with Delia's Coffee Creams. Her boyfriend likes coffee desserts so she made this from a Delia cookbook she got in a charity shop.

Another savoury entry from Fromage Homage with Spiky Green Tomato Chutney. These are made with tomatoes of the heirloom variety called Tigerella. It's combined with apples, red onions and spices to create a sweet and sour flavour that goes perfectly with a tangy farmhouse cheddar. 

Back to Halloween with Candy Corn Pumpkin Blondies by Stuart from Cakeyboi. The pumpkin spices twinned with melted candy goo makes it feel like autumn. The white chocolate chips and nuts also added to the texture and taste. 

Next we have cut out chocolate and almond cookies by Cal Cakestall who was inspired by the Great British Bake Off.

It's my entry next with Apple Cinnamon Crumble Cake. I had a glut of apples from a colleague's garden and lots of requests for crumble cake. I made a second cake with a custard layer and it was much better. 

Continuing with the crumble theme, we have a Plum and Fig Crumble with Pimm's Blackberry and Elderflower by Dom from Belleau Kitchen. The figs compliment the plums and enhance the blackberry and elderflower flavours and it's perfectly autumnal. 

Nazima from Franglais Kitchen made Chocolate, Walnut and Fig Cookies.  It's based on a Dan Lepard recipe and makes chewy, chocolate cookies that are gluten free and store well in an airtight container. 

Alida from My Little Italian Kitchen made a delicious looking Ricotta and Raisin Cheesecake. It's a baked cheesecake with a digestive biscuit base, ricotta cheese and raisins and it's decorated with chocolate chips on top.

Next is another entry from me with Candy Corn Oreo Brownies. I bought candy corn oreos in America and incorporated it into a fudgy, chocolatey brownie and it worked really well. I love the bright colours of the candy corn oreos.

Elizabeth from Law Students Cookbook made some Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. She initially planned to make beet chocolate muffins but there was a change in plans and she had to use up what she had in the house and thus these muffins were born. 

Chintal from Chinskitchen wows us with this Candied Ginger and Orange Bundt Cake with Saffron Chocolate Ganache. She had a big bag of candied ginger which set her thinking about this recipe. The cake texture is similar to a madeira cake and has zesty orange and fiery ginger topped with a saffron and chocolate ganache.

Caroline from Caroline Makes is back with Chocolate and Peanut Butter with Reece's Cups Cupcakes. This is a recipe that she bookmarked from my site and I'm glad she tried it as it's absolutely delicious.  She got a big bag of Reece's Peanut Butter miniature cups from America but apparently they sell them at Asda here.

Moving away from cupcakes to cookies, we have Beetroot Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Kate Veggie Desserts. It contains beetroot, oats and dark chocolate.  You can't taste the beetroot in these cookies but they do give a lovely colour and of course extra nutrients!

Shaheen from Allotment 2 Kitchen has a most unusual recipe for us. It's a Vegetarian Chorizo, Sundried Tomato and Pistachio Savoury Cake.The flavour combination sounds incredible and as Shaheen says, it has a twang from the yoghurt and sun dried tomato, a spicy kick from the chorizo and crunch from the pistachio. 

Laura from Laura Loves Cakes made a lovely seasonal cupcake with blackberries to create this unusual flavour combination of Chocolate, Red Wine and Blackberry Cupcakes. You cant really taste the red wine but it adds a depth of flavour and the colour of the icing comes from the blackberries. 

Yet another entry from me The More Than Occasional Baker with Cinnamon and Pumpkin Spice Thumbprint Cookies. I made these to cheer a friend up as I think they represent a hug in cookie form as it's warming and comforting. It contains cinnamon and spice in the cookie and is topped with a Hershey's Pumpkin Spice Kiss. 

Carrot cake has been a very popular choice this month.  We've had carrot cakes and cupcakes and now Mini Carrot Cakes by Michelle from Utterly Scrummy Food For Families.  I love baked goods in miniature form and these would be perfect for lunch boxes and Michelle helpfully reminds us that some schools do not allow nuts due to allergy concerns. 

Louisa from Eat Your Veg created a slightly healthier recipe for brownies with these Chocolate, Beetroot & Walnut Brownies. It contains wholemeal flour, beetroot and walnuts and her kids really liked them as evidenced by the picture on her blog! 

Welcome to Claire from Clairey Fairy's Cooking who made a Kit Kat Cake for her daughter's 1st birthday. It's a triple layer chocolate sponge with a salty caramel filling decorated with Kit Kats and pink Smarties. Definitely a great celebration cake.  

Anne from The Gingerbread Mum is back with Chewy Chai Cookies. She regularly makes variations of her chewy oaty biscuits and this one of them incorporating the lightly spiced flavour of vanilla chai tea. She also gives other helpful variations on her blog so do check it out. 

Laura from I'd Much Rather Bake Than... made a Fruit and Veg Cake. It contains carrots, cherries, parsnips, raisins and banana and is topped with a white chocolate cream cheese frosting. It's definitely not a light cake and I'm sure it contains more than 1 of your 5 a day so it must be good for you, right? :)

Continuing with the vegetable theme, we have Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Orange Frosting from Laura from How to Cook Good Food. This is a simple mix all in one recipe and it contains warming spices of cinnamon and nutmeg and cooked pumpkin and berries. 

My own offering of a vegetable cake is Carrot and Walnut Cake that I made for a birthday. It also contains orange and raisins and wholemeal flour.

My co-host Caroline from Caroline Makes made some Coca-Cola Cupcakes which contain Coca-Cola in the batter and is topped with cola sugar that she bought from an online cake decorating shop. The cake definitely had a coke flavour and the cola sugar tasted like fizzy cola bottles.

The next 4 entries are from Grace from Life Can be Simple. Firstly, Chocolate Chip Cookies for a chocolate chip cookie throwdown where she tries recipes that others have claimed to be the best. October is her birthday month so Happy Birthday Grace!

Second, a Japanese Cheesecake which is soft and light and also known as Japanese souffle cheesecakes.

Her third entry is part 2 of her Chocolate Chip Cookie throwdown. This is a Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip cookie recipe which she has modified slightly. The cookies were soft and cakey but they look pretty good to me. 

Her final entry is a Lovelight Chocolate Chiffon Cake.  It's a light, soft airy cake which was made for a colleague's birthday and very well received. 

Chintal from Chinskitchen is back again with a Nutmeg Spiced Rich Chocolate Cheesecake. Her love of chocolate has grown over the years and this recipe is inspired by chef James Tanner who demonstrated his version of double chocolate cheesecake on the Lorraine Show.

More chocolate in the form of a Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake from Fiona from Let Them Eat Cake! She has been away for work then her oven broke (temporarily) and then she went away again so she was glad to be back in the kitchen baking again. Unsurprisingly, it was devoured quickly as the cake is a cross between a maryland cookie, ferrero rocher and a cake.

Jean from Baking in Franglais takes us back in time with this Caraway Seed Cake. Caraway cake was very popular in the 50's and 60's, possibly because it was a cheap way of flavouring cake. This is a Delia recipe and she shares some of Delia's handy tips in her blogpost which is worth reading.

A final entry from me The More Than Occasional Baker with these Coffee and Apple Muffins. I had a glut of apples to use up and decided to give this recipe a try even though I was dubious about pairing coffee and apple together. It worked really well and it's a really tasty breakfast muffin. 

 Vohn from Vohn's Vittles made her own Pear and Cinnamon Danish from scratch. She had a bowl full of pears to use up hence the flavour combination instead of the traditional apple and cinnamon.

Finally Caroline's sister Clare made a carrot cake topped with an orange cream cheese frosting. She made this twice as the first time didn't turn out as expected. I think this looks absolutely delicious. 

And that's the end of the bumper C round up! Make sure you check out Caroline's blog on 1st November to find out what letter we are using in November.