Valentine Candy Cane Chocolate Hearts

This is my other quick no bake recipe for Valentine. I actually made these chocolate candy cane hearts for Christmas but didn't get round to posting it. Everyone loved them so I saved a box of candy canes to make these for Valentine's Day. It's ever so simple and takes about 5 minutes to prepare, depending on how many you are making. 

I made a short video to show you how to make the candy cane hearts.

Unwrap the candy canes and pair them up on a large sheet of greaseproof paper. Place them facing each other to form a heart shape. Using a kitchen lighter, heat the ends of the candy canes where they join together until you can see bubbles. Push them together gently until they create a seal. Be careful not too push too hard or the candy canes will break. Melt the chocolate in 30 second bursts in the microwave. Carefully spoon the chocolate into the hearts and decorate with sprinkles. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until set. 

As before I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month

AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and myself on alternate months. The letter this month is "V" and Caroline is accepting all Valentine related treats. 

Treat Petite hosted by Kat from the Baking Explorer and Stuart from Cakey Boi. The theme this month is 'Love is in the air'.

Foodie Friday hosted by Helen from Casa Costello. 

#FoodYearLinkup hosted by Charlotte from My Recipe Book. The link up is open to any foodie posts related to events in the Food Bloggers Calendar for February. These are quite obviously for Valentine's Day!

Penguin Oreos for Valentine

These are really quick and easy to make for Valentines. I have a slight obsession with penguins - they are just so cute! Apparently emperor penguins mate for life and they are often seen as quite romantic. I saw these online and thought it would be a great Valentine project which is also slightly different from your usual heart shaped cookies, brownies, cupcakes ... not that there's anything wrong with those! I have planned a special Valentine bake but I'm not sure if I'll have time to bake it before the 14th so watch this space! I do have another quick no bake recipe to share with you tomorrow that you can make for Valentine.

I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month. 

AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and myself on alternate months. The letter this month is "V" and Caroline is accepting all Valentine related bakes. This is not technically a bake but I hope it's acceptable! 

Treat Petite hosted by Kat from the Baking Explorer and Stuart from Cakey Boi. The theme this month is 'Love is in the air' and these definitely fit the bill.

Foodie Friday hosted by Helen from Casa Costello. 

#FoodYearLinkup hosted by Charlotte from My Recipe Book. The link up is open to any foodie posts related to events in the Food Bloggers Calendar for February. These are quite obviously for Valentine's Day!

 All you need is oreo cookies, chocolate chips and heart shaped sprinkles

 Separate the oreo cookies. Scrape off the crumbs from the white centre with a sharp knife. Cut out a triangle at the top to resemble a heart shape. Use a little icing (I used writing icing in a tube) or edible glue to stick the chocolate chips and heart sprinkles as shown. If you want to create wings, cut out a triangle shape from the discarded oreo cookie. PS technically this is not hand made but hand decorated but I like the ribbon! :) 

Lemon and Raspberry Heart Cakes

This is my second Valentine Bake and it's a pretty special one as I decided to make up my own recipe and it turned out better than expected!! If you don't already know, this month I am hosting AlphaBakes along with my lovely co-host Caroline from Caroline Makes.  AlphaBakes is a new blogging challenge where the idea is to bake with an ingredient that starts with the random letter chosen for the month. This month, the letter is "L" and the first thing to pop into my head is lemons. I know it's not very original but I love lemons and it was Valentine's so I came up with this recipe. I also have another "L" bake in the oven as I type so check back next week to see my second entry. 

Back to this recipe. I decided to be economical and used the whole fruit - skin, rind and all! I wanted to make it healthier so I used fat free yoghurt, less sugar and lots of fruit (lemon and raspberries).  The cake was really moist and smelled of lemons. It was quite tart what with the lemons and raspberries but everyone loved it! If you prefer a sweeter bake, I would advise adding more sugar.

Have you made your #AlphaBakes entry yet? If not, there's still time as the closing date is 25th February so go on.... you know you want to!

I am also sending these to Tea Time Treats hosted this month by Kate from whatkatebaked and co-hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage.  The theme for this month is Romance and these little hearts fit the bill perfectly :) 

 cut up 1 lemon and blitz in a food processor... 

... until you get this 

 adding raspberries (which have been coated in flour) to the batter 

 cute little hearts

 I'm glad all the raspberries didnt sink to the bottom 

An original recipe by me, bakingaddict 

180g self raising flour plus 1 tablespoon
pinch of salt
150g plain fat free yoghurt
2 eggs
1 whole lemon
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup vegetable oil
150g raspberries
135g caster sugar (add 150g-175g for a sweeter cake)

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Cut 1 lemon into small pieces, remove any seeds and blitz (skin, rind, fruit) in a food processor until fine as shown in picture above.
• In a large bowl, mix the yoghurt, eggs and oil. 
• Add the lemon pieces and stir.
• Add the zest and juice of another lemon (omit if you don't want it to be too lemony)
• Stir in the flour and salt. 
• Coat the raspberries with 1 tablespoon of flour.
• Fold in the raspberries.
• Pour the cake into desired moulds and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes (small cakes) or 20-25 minutes (larger cakes).
• The cake should spring back from the edges and a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.
• Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Raspberry Marble Cheesecake

Just when you thought Valentine's is over.... I have 2 more 'Valentine Bakes' for you. The first one is this lovely raspberry marble cheesecake made for Martha Stewart Cupcake Club (MSCC). I discovered this on Cupcake Crazy Gem who coincidentally is hosting this month and has chosen these fabulous cupcakes for us to bake. You must own the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book (which I highly recommend) and have a blog to participate. A recipe is chosen each month and everyone bakes the same recipe (but variations are allowed) and posts on the 15th of each month. 

These cupcakes are baked in a water-bath resulting in a rich, creamy cheesecake which does not sink or crack. They tasted absolutely divine!! One of the best cheesecakes I've ever made. I modified the recipe slightly - I didn't have any graham crackers so I used HobNobs for the base. I reduced the amount of cream cheese as after conversion, it would be 900g cream cheese which is way too much! I also reduced the sugar amount as I didn't want it to be too sweet.


Addendum: HobNobs are oaty biscuits similar to digestive biscuits and is widely available in the UK. 

If you want to join in next month, we will be baking Lavender Iced Brownies hosted by Simple Girl.

 blitz lovely raspberries, add a little sugar and strain... 

.. to get a nice raspberry puree

 how to make marbled cheesecake - I used hobnobs for the base. Add cheesecake filling, then 3 small blobs of raspberry puree and marble with a toothpick! 

 delicious! 

Recipe is available online from martha stewart's website

Valentine Gingerbread House

Just a quick Valentine's post today. This was made in a hurry at about 12 midnight so apologies for the poor construction and pictures! I had a box of Dr Oetker Christmas Gingerbread House Kit which I never got round to using for Christmas so I've decided to make a Valentine version instead. The gingerbread is provided so there's no baking involved.  All I had to to was assemble it together... sounds simple? Clearly not! I managed to break the doorway and make a huge mess everywhere! Anyway I hope the intended recipient will like it :)

I kept it very simple but you can be as creative as you like. I've seen some amazing ones on the internet. 

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! 

 my broken doorway :( 

 

PS to my twitter friends who will know what I'm talking about, I desperately need to join #GA!!

Edible Cupcake Box: A Valentine's Treat

I saw these on sweet simple stuff last night and thought I HAVE to make this... IMMEDIATELY!! They are so super cute and perfect for Valentine's which is coming up. They are really easy to make and there's no baking involved (unless you want to bake your own meringues)  They are not perfect but I am really, really pleased with them. I have a big smile on my face and can't wait to give them out! These would be great as party favours or gifts and they can be adapted for different holidays... the possibilities are endless!

I am linking this to Sweet Luv @Zesty Palette

and to Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday Link Party hosted by Kitchen Fun with my 3 sons.

 I used mini cupcake liners 

 Melt strawberry buttons (available in the supermarket) or candy melts and spread a thin layer over the case. I did 2 layers to make the cases sturdier. 

 Fill with little goodies - I used love hearts - and top with a meringue

 I used edible glue to stick the hearts and sprinkles on the meringue. 

 For detailed instructions and lovely pictures, click here