Chocolate and Mint Loaf

Remember I mentioned in previous posts about getting goodies from a friend who visited America? I asked for Andes creme de menthe baking chips as I've baked with them previously and they were really tasty so I was really pleased she got me a bag of these. Unfortunately it was one of the hottest days of the year when I received these and we were out for the whole day so these sat baking in the car boot. Unsurprisingly when I got to them they had melted completely so I popped them in the fridge when I got home and it solidifed again but in a giant lump. I didn't want to waste them so I decided to incorporate them into a chocolate and mint loaf cake. I put about 1/2 of the bag into the cake and sprinkled some on top of the cake before baking. I used the remainder to make a minty chocolate ganache to go with the cake. The result was a really moist chocolatey and minty cake with a delicious mint chocolate ganache. You could still taste chunks of the mint chocolate in the cake which was my favourite part. I suspect these would be good in brownies too which was my other option. 

 This is what it looked like after it had melted and then been refrigerated 

 

For the cake
100 grams plain flour
100 grams caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
20 g cocoa powder
90 g unsalted butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
75 ml sour cream
~150g Andes Creme de menthe baking chips + ~25g for the topping

For the ganache
50 mls double cream
~100g Andes Creme de menthe baking chips

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Place all the ingredients for the cake in a stand mixer and mix until smooth. Alternatively mix everything by hand in a large mixing bowl.
• Pour the cake batter into a loaf tin.
• Sprinkle the top with Andes creme de menthe baking chips.
• Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it's almost boiling.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the mint baking chips.
• Continue stirring until smooth.
• Pour the ganache over the cake before serving. 

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cake

One of my colleagues went to America recently. I asked if she could get me some duty free items as I had some airline vouchers to use. She kindly bought what I wanted but it cost more than my vouchers and she refused cash before she left in case the items were out of stock or she forgot. When she gave me my goods, I got my purse out but she stopped me and said that her husband (who paid for the item) would prefer a cake. He wanted anything with chocolate in it. The last cake he had from me were my snickers cupcake with peanut butter caramel buttercream and he has been asking for another batch for a while. 

I wanted to make something a little different so I decided to make a chocolate and peanut butter cake. I used my all time favourite Nigella's old fashioned chocolate cake recipe. I added a layer of peanut butter in the middle then covered the cake with a chocolate ganache and decorated it with Reese's peanut butter cups. The cake was moist and chocolatey and I was really pleased that the peanut butter layer remained intact even though it was not quite in the middle of the cake as I hoped. 

I'm entering this to Love Cake hosted by Jibber Jabber UK. The theme this month is savoury and yes peanut butter counts!

I'm also entering this to AlphaBakes hosted this month by Caroline from Caroline Makes and co-hosted by myself on alternate months. The letter is P for Peanut Butter.

 Adding a layer of peanut butter 

 top with more batter

 decorate with chocolate ganache and peanut butter cups

 I was given permission to cut a slice for my blog but I dropped it hence the smudged top! 

For the cake 

200 grams plain flour
200 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
40 g cocoa powder
175 g unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
150 ml sour cream

300g smooth peanut butter

For the ganache

150mls double cream

200g dark chocolate, chopped

For the decoration

10 peanut butter cups

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Place all the ingredients for the cake in a stand mixer and mix until smooth. Alternatively mix everything by hand in a large mixing bowl.
• Place half the cake batter into the cake tin.
• Add a layer of peanut butter on top.
• Cover with the remaining cake batter. 
• Bake for approximately 35minutes or until cooked and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Allow to cool completely before decorating.
• To make the ganache, bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate. 
• Continue stirring until all the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth, glossy ganache.
• Once the cake has cooled, pour the chocolate ganache on top of the cake and decorate with peanut butter cups. 

Chocolate and Strawberry Cake

Last weekend I asked J what cake he wanted for dessert as I've not baked in a long while. He said chocolate or strawberry so I decided to make a chocolate and strawberry cake. I used my all time favourite Nigella old fashioned chocolate cake recipe and sandwiched it with a honey chocolate ganache filled with fresh strawberries and topped with more ganache and ganache dipped strawberries. The result was absolutely amazing. The visual effect is stunning and the cake is deceptively simple to make. It's a mix all in one recipe - you can easily do this by hand. I chose a ganache filling and topping as it's easier to make than buttercream and I thought it would hold out better in this heat.  

The cake was moist and chocolatey and the fresh strawberries cut through the rich chocolatey layers and offered a hint of freshness. However, the honey chocolate ganache was the star. I used leatherwood honey which my aunt brought for me from Tasmania, Australia. It's a very fragrant honey and tastes absolutely amazing. I added a tablespoon of honey to the ganache and it worked beautifully. 

As strawberries are in season, I'm sending this to Simple and in Season run by Ren Behan. It's guest hosted this month by Sally from My Custard Pie.

I'm sending this to Let's Cook With Strawberries hosted by Nayna from Simply Food. 

I'm also entering this to Blogger Bakespiration Challenge hosted by stuckinthetree. 

 ready to go in the oven 

 spread ganache on the bottom layer of the cake 

 top with chopped fresh strawberries 

 add second layer of cake and another layer of chocolate ganache 

 decorate with ganache dipped strawberries 

 

For the chocolate cake 

200 grams plain flour
200 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
40 grams cocoa powder
175 grams soft unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
150 ml sour cream

For the honey chocolate ganache

150mls double cream

200g dark chocolate chopped

1 tablespoon leatherwood honey (optional) 

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Grease and line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins.
• Place all the ingredients for the cake in a stand mixer and mix until smooth. Alternatively mix everything by hand in a large mixing bowl.
• Divide the cake mixture evenly between the sandwich tins and bake for approximately 35minutes or until cooked and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Allow to cool completely before decorating.
• To make the ganache, bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate. 
• Continue stirring until all the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth, glossy ganache.
• Add 1 tablespoon of honey if using. 
• Decorate the cake as shown. 

Chocolate and Mint Ice Cream Cupcakes

In addition to the Chocolate and Mint Giant Cupcake that I baked for the Macmillan Information Centre, I also made these chocolate and mint ice cream cupcakes. I used the same chocolate cake mixture and mint buttercream icing but I added chocolate chips to the buttercream icing to make it a mint chocolate chip icing! I also made some chocolate ganache to go on top and decorated it with sprinkles and a cherry on top. 

I'm entering this to Treat Petite hosted by Kat from The Baking Explorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi. The theme this month is 'Who will you bake for?' in conjunction with World Baking Day on May 18th. I baked these for my local Macmillan Information Centre and I hope they were impressed with them. 

I'm also sending it to the Biscuit Barrel Challenge hosted by Laura from I'd Much Rather Bake Than... The theme this month is favourites. Chocolate and mint is one of my favourite flavour combinations and I also love ice cream and ice cream cupcakes. 

This would also fit in nicely with this month's Calendar Cakes challenge hosted by Rachel from Dolly Bakes as the theme is Bank Holiday Bakes and we are asked to share what we make to relax, share with friends or take on picnics. 

 I used some foil to support the ice cream cones whilst baking. Try not to overfill the cones as I did here - 2/3 full is more than enough 

 I used an ice cream scoop to place a scoop of mint chocolate chip icing on top 

 Drizzled some ganache on top 

 added some sprinkles 

 and a cherry on top! You can also pipe a 'star' of whipped cream before adding the cherry for added decadence. 

 I used the ganache as a 'glue' to stick the cones to a cake board. They were still a little wobbly and have to be transported with great care. 

For the chocolate cake, follow the link for Nigella's Old fashioned chocolate cake - I used about 1/2 a cake recipe to make 9 ice cream cones - as mentioned in my previous post, I made a double recipe and used it to make 1 giant cupcake and 9 ice cream cones.

For the buttercream frosting - feel free to halve the quantities, I made a large batch as I needed it for my giant cupcake and these ice cream cupcakes

300g butter
600g icing sugar
1 tablespoon peppermint extract + 1 teaspoon (or adjust to taste)
a few drops of milk
green food colouring

100g chocolate chips 

For the chocolate ganache

100mls double cream

75g dark chocolate, chopped 

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Prepare the cake batter as instructed.
• Place a ring of foil as shown to support the ice cream cones in a cupcake tin. 
• Carefully fill each ice cream cone until about 2/3 full - do not overfill as the cake will spill over. 
• Bake for about 15-18 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool completely before decorating. 
• Make the icing by beating the butter and icing sugar until smooth. Add in the peppermint extract and green food colouring. You may need to add a few drops of milk depending on the consistency required.
• Finally stir in the chocolate chips by hand. 
• To make the chocolate ganache, heat the cream in a small saucepan until just boiling. 
• Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted.
• Keep stirring until smooth. 
• Decorate as shown above 

Giant Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cake

It's been a busy birthday month in the office in March and more coming up in April.  I made this for Kim who loves chocolate and peanut butter so I decided to make a giant reese's peanut butter cup cake. It's a chocolate sponge with a peanut butter frosting encased in a chocolate shell. I was really pleased at how it turned out particularly the cross section as it really does look like a giant reese's cup!

This is my first time creating a shell with melted chocolate using the giant cupcake case and I am impressed at how easy it is. I will definitely keep this in mind for decorating giant cupcakes as I always find it difficult to decorate the bottom half - I have been using chocolate fingers but this gives it a more refined finish. A tip that I read online was to heat up a frying pan and to place the chocolate shell upside down for a few seconds to get a smooth, even finish to the shell. My inspiration for this cake came from My Cupcake Addiction and you can watch the video to get more helpful tips.

 Giant cupcake case (bottom half only) & melted chocolate 

 pour chocolate into the case and tip the case at an angle, turning as you go to get a smooth covering 

 it should look like this. Place it to set in the fridge to set (at least 20 minutes) then coat with a second layer 

 You can just about see that the edges at the top are uneven 

 heat a pan then place the chocolate shell upside down and twist it slightly to get smooth, even edges 

 looks much better now! 

 I used toothpicks to mark out the cake sections. You want to discard the top bit (the uneven top) and the middle bit (this is where the peanut butter filling goes) 

 Place bottom 1/3 of the cake into the chocolate shell 

 Cover with a thick layer of peanut butter frosting. Use a palette knife to smooth the top 

 place the flat top 1/3 of the cake on top 

 cover with chocolate ganache - try not to spill over the edges 

 after it has set 

 Normal sized Reese's cup for size comparison 

 cross section of the cake 

For the cake

185g plain flour
200g caster sugar (I'd suggest 250g for a sweeter bake)
185mls buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1.5 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
185mls warm water
95g cocoa powder

For the peanut butter filling

110g icing sugar
200g smooth peanut butter
70g butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
80ml double cream

For the chocolate ganache

200g dark chocolate

150g double cream

15g butter (optional) 

For the chocolate shell

200g chocolate, melted 

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. 
• Add in eggs, oil, vanilla extract, buttermilk and warm water.
• Mix thoroughly.
• Divide into the cupcake cases and bake for approximately 35-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. (the bottom half my need more baking time than the top half) 
• Allow to cool completely before decorating. 
• To make the filling,  place the icing sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
• Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work.
• Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth. 
• To make the chocolate ganache, heat the cream in a small saucepan until almost boiling. 
• Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolates until smooth. Add in the butter if using. 
• To assemble the cake, follow the instructions that accompany the photos above or watch the video from My Cupcake Addiction.