Chocolate Guinness Celebration Cake

Recently a work colleague celebrated her wedding anniversary and I thought it would be nice to make a celebration cake for it. As she's Irish I thought a chocolate guinness cake would be perfect and the happy couple were absolutely delighted. I made a double recipe so had enough for 1 big cake and 20 cupcakes. I think almost everyone had 2 cupcakes that day and I've had repeated requests for this cake since especially from those that missed out. This cake ranks in the top 5 that I've baked so far for the team this year and trust me I've baked a lot of cakes! 

Just to jazz up the cake a little, I decided to make chocolate decorations in the shape of champagne bottles using a mould I bought from Lakeland. I made 3 different types of chocolate but unfortunately could not get the white ones out of the mould. I also struggled with the milk ones. Luckily, I had enough to decorate the cake but not completely cover it as originally planned. Has anyone used this mould before? I tempered the chocolate as instructed, filled it and allowed it to set before turning them out. No amount of tapping and coaxing would get the other bottles out. 

As this is a chocolate celebration cake, I'm sending it to We Should Cocoa hosted by Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog. Sadly, we bid farewell to WSC co-creator Chele from Chocolate Teapot who has retired from blogging.  We Should Cocoa turns 3 this month so Choclette has asked us to create a chocolate showstopper cake inspired by the first episode of the Great British Bake Off. This is not quite up to par with the showstoppers on the show but it's a great celebration cake so I hope it will suffice.

 new mould from lakeland

 I tempered 3 different chocolates 

 made lots of cupcakes... 

 and 1 large cake 

 cover liberally with frosting  

 I love the little chocolate bottles! 

For the cake
250ml guinness
250g butter
75 cocoa powder
400g caster sugar
142mls sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
275g plain flour
2.5 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

For the topping
300g cream cheese
150g icing sugar
125mls double or whipping cream

• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Butter and line a 23cm springform tin. 
• Pour Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add butter - in spoons or slices - and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. 
• Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and the pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarbonate of soda. 
• Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour. 
• Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack as it is quite a damp cake. 
• To make the topping, lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth.
• Sieve over the icing sugar and then beat them both together. 
• Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. 
• Ice the top of the black cake so it resembles the frothy top of Guinness.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes and a review

I've been getting repeated requests for carrot cake at work so I decided to bake some but in a cupcake form instead of a layer cake. I wanted to give some away as a gift and it's much easier to present cupcakes as a gift than slices of cake. I used the recipe that I made up previously with a few minor changes. The first is a tip from my mum which was to soak the raisins in fresh orange juice overnight. The raisins were really plump and juicy and tasted great! I also added in a banana as I had one brown banana on the counter begging to be used and I think it adds to the moistness of the cake. I also omitted the nuts as one of my colleagues is allergic to walnuts. Overall, the cake got great reviews - it was moist, juicy and not too sweet. The cream cheese frosting was the perfect complement and the little carrot chocolate decorations were literally the icing on the cake. 

The cupcakes looked great after baking and decorating and were screaming to be presented in a lovely cake stand. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to use my new cake stand from dotcomgiftshop and to tell you a little about it. It's the Petit Four Botanical Cake Stand made of ceramic with a scalloped edging and glass top. It fits 3 cupcakes perfectly and will fit a small layer cake. It would also be good to display whoopie pies, cookies or mini cakes. The cake stand is surprisingly light but sturdy. The flowers on the glass stand are beautiful and I've taken pictures from different angles to give you an idea of what it looks like in 3D. 

My verdict - It's a great little cake stand to display your baked goods. It's light and easy to wash and keeps your baked goods fresh. It is petit as the name suggests so don't expect to fit a large layer cake in there! A perfect gift for the baker in your family or a treat for yourself. 

 wholemeal flour, olive oil, muscovado sugar, ground cinnamon, ground mixed spice, orange, cream cheese, carrots, raisins soaked in fresh orange juice 

 adding in the ingredients to the flour mixture 

 ready to go in the oven 

 fresh from the oven 

 rows of pretty carrot cake cupcakes 

 cake stand 

 different view of the glass cover 

 yet another view of the glass cover 

 fits 3 cupcakes perfectly 

  view from the side 

 view from the top 

For the carrot cake
150ml olive oil
150g muscovado sugar
3 eggs
240g wholemeal flour
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
zest of 1 orange
100g raisins soaked in fresh orange juice overnight and then drained
300g carrots, peeled and grated
1 ripe banana (optional)

For the orange cream cheese frosting
300g cream cheese
150g icing sugar
zest of 1 orange
1-2 tablespoons fresh orange juice (depending on consistency of icing requred)

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil, sugar and eggs until the sugar has dissolved and the eggs are slightly fluffy. 
• In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, bicabonate of soda and spices and add to the egg mixture.
• Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well. 
• Spoon the mixture into cupcake cases and bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before turning out to a wire rack to cool completely. 
• Meanwhile make the frosting by beating all the ingredients in an electric mixer until smooth.
• Spread the frosting on top of the cupcake using a palette knife and finish with a chocolate carrot decoration or as desired. 

Disclaimer: I was sent the cake stand for review purposes free of charge. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Banana cupcakes with peanut butter cream cheese frosting

This is a quick and simple recipe and perfect if you have ripe bananas to use up. The yoghurt makes the cake really moist and slightly healthier to balance the peanut butter cream cheese frosting! You can of course eat these as muffins minus the frosting for a healthier snack.

I'm entering these to the Breakfast Club hosted by Elizabeth's Kitchen. The theme this month is high fibre and bananas contain soluble fiber. I know cupcakes are not traditional breakfast foods but I'd happily eat one for breakfast :) This challenge was created by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours.

I'm also entering these to Credit Crunch Munch hosted by Anneli from Delicieux this month. The challenge was created by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla from Fab Food 4 All. This is a great recipe to use up leftover bananas and yoghurt.

 peanut butter, yoghurt, cream cheese, bananas 

 I found these cute chocolate banana sweets during my trip in Asia. They taste of banana and I think they look really cute on top of the cupcakes!

Makes 12 cupcakes
For the cupcakes
155g plain flour
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ripe bananas
150g yoghurt
1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
140g caster sugar
113g butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk

For the frosting
185g icing sugar
200g cream cheese
113g butter
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add in the egg and then the egg yolk and mix well. 
• Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl.
• Alternate adding flour mixture and yoghurt to the mix.
• Add vanilla extract and mashed bananas.
• Spoon into cupcake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Allow to cool completely before frosting.
• To make the frosting, place all ingredients in an electric mixer and beat until smooth.

Carrot cake with orange cream cheese frosting

Carrot cake is one of my colleague's favourite cake. I kept promising to make one but I couldn't find my grater so I bought one but was then too busy to make the cake. Anyway, I finally got round to it and she declared this the best carrot cake she's eaten! It's a simple mix all in one recipe which had the right balance of spice, nuts, raisins and carrots. I think the olive oil added to the flavour and smoothness of the cake - I remember using it for an apple cake previously and decided to give it a try here. The icing on the cake (literally) was the orange cream cheese frosting. 

I'm entering this to Tea Time Treats hosted this month by Kate from What Kate Baked and co-hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage. The theme this month is layer cakes and this 2 layer cake will do nicely. 

I'm also sending it to Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior as this cake is made from scratch and with plenty of love. 

And finally to Credit Crunch Munch hosted by Anneli from Delicieux this month. The challenge was created by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla from Fab Food 4 All. This is a great recipe if you have leftover ingredients to use up as you can vary the fruit and nut mix of the recipe and if you're anything like me, you'll always have a carrot or two in the fridge!

wholemeal flour, olive oil, raisins, muscovado sugar, ground cinnamon, ground mixed spice, orange, cream cheese, pecans, carrots. 

 adding carrots, chopped roasted pecans and raisins to the mix

 ready to go in the oven

 2 layer cake

For the carrot cake

150ml olive oil

150g muscovado sugar 

3 eggs

220g wholemeal flour

1.5 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

zest of 1 orange

100g raisins

250g carrots, peeled and grated

100g pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

For the orange cream cheese frosting

300g cream cheese

50g butter

150g icing sugar

zest of 1 orange

1-2 tablespoons fresh orange juice (depending on consistency of icing requred)

• Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line 2 x 18cm sandwich tins. 
• In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil, sugar and eggs until the sugar has dissolved and the eggs are slightly fluffy. 
• In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, bicabonate of soda and spices and add to the egg mixture.
• Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well. 
• Divide the mixture evenly between 2 tins (I usually weigh them to get even sized cakes)
• Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until the cake springs back from the edge and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out to a wire rack to cool completely. 
• Meanwhile make the frosting by beating all the ingredients in an electric mixer until smooth.
• Sandwich the cakes with frosting and spread a thick layer on top of the cake.
• Decorate with orange zest as shown or pecan nuts. 

Carrot, courgette and pineapple garden cake

Today is one of my good friend's birthday! I managed to meet up with her last week for a celebration and of course I had to make a cake. Last year I made a raspberry ripple cake which was fraught with disasters but luckily tasted very good. This year I wanted to do something different so I decided to push the boat out and looked through my copy of The Birthday Cake Book by Fiona Cairns. I've never made anything from this book as they all look quite scary and complicated but I was feeling brave! 

When I saw her vegetable plot cake, I decided I wanted to make a garden cake as my friend loves gardening. So this cake is inspired by Fiona Cairns but I've created my own 'garden vegetable' cake recipe. I thought it was only fitting that the cake should be full of fruits and vegetables. I also used spelt flour for the extra "earthiness" and healthiness and the result was a delicious, moist and flavourful cake. It went really well with the cream cheese frosting and I'll definitely be making these again perhaps in a muffin form for breakfast/snacks. 

My friend was really pleased with the cake and said it was the best cake she's ever had!! :) I feel so touched but am also slightly worried that I won't be able to make anything as good as this for future birthdays! 

Happy Birthday Charlotte!! 

As this is a birthday and celebration cake, I'm also entering it to Tea Time Treats who are celebrating their first birthday this month and the theme is cake. Tea Time Treats is hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and Kate from What Kate Baked. 

 You need courgette, carrots, pineapple and I threw in a banana as well as I had one going brown - it adds to the moistness of the cake 

 mash the bananas, grate the carrots and courgettes and open the tin of pineapple (you can also use fresh pineapple)

 ready to go in the oven. I love the colour of the batter from the spelt flour 

 sandwich the cakes with cream cheese frosting tinted green. Cover the top and sides 

 Buy 2 boxes of matchmakers to make the fence 

 roll a small piece of green fondant into a sausage like shape with tapered ends 

 press the end of a paintbrush to create an indentation for the pea pod

 neaten the ends like this 

 roll 3 small balls of green fondant and place in the pod - these are a little big but I'm sure you get the idea! 

 Roll some orange fondant to a similar shape and use a knife to score ridges across to make it look like a carrot. I shaped the green fondant by hand and stuck it on top of the carrot 

 roll a piece of green fondant into a small ball. flatten with your palm. use a sharp knife to cut out a star shape pattern like this 

 roll a small ball of red fondant. place the green 'star' that you cut earlier. Use a paintbrush to make a hole in the centre. Please tell me they look like tomatoes!

 To assemble the cake - cover the top and sides with green cream cheese frosting. Place the matchmakers around the cake to create a fence. I made them different heights but you can keep it even. Blitz 5 oreo cookies in a food processor and spread on top of the cake. I made some 'grass' from green dessicated coconut which I sprinkled on the cake board using the same cream cheese frosting to stick it to the board. 

 I also made some potatoes by rolling small balls of brown fondant and making indentations with the end of a paintbrush 

 I bought some coconut mushrooms as I didn't have time to make my own 

 The finished cake 

An original recipe by bakingaddict

For the cake

65mls or 1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon salt

400g brown sugar

375g spelt flour

200g carrots, grated (approximately 2 medium sized carrots)

200g courgette, grated (approximately 1 medium sized courgette)

225g tinned pineapple, drained

1 banana

120g pecan nuts, roughly chopped 

For the cream cheese frosting

225g cream cheese

113g butter

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

400g icing sugar

green food colouring

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Grease and line 2 sandwich tins.
• Mix oil, eggs, vanilla, spices, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar in an electric mixer or large bowl.
• Add in the flour and mix well.
• Add the grated vegetables, fruits and nuts and mix well.
• Divide the batter evenly between two pans (I usually weigh mine).
• Bake for approximately 50minutes to 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
• To make the frosting, beat the butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract in an electric mixer until smooth.
• Slowly add in the icing sugar and continue mixing until smooth. 
• Add the green colour at the end. 

For the decorations as shown

5 oreo cookies

2 boxes of matchmakers

ready rolled fondant icing - you can either buy them coloured or colour your own using paste colours

I used green, orange, red and brown

1 paintbrush

1 small, sharp knife

dessicated coconut

green food colouring

coconut mushrooms

wafer daisies

2 red m&m's

black writing icing