Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

This recipe is from another favourite blog of mine by Megan B of Confessions of a Bake-aholic. Just like the congo bars, I knew I had to make these when I saw them. I never used to like eating peanut butter but now am a huge fan of it. I especially love Reece's peanut butter cups and peanut butter M&M's. Peanut butter and chocolate is a perfect combination.
I can see why these were the people's choice winner of the 2010 cookie fest. The addition of oats gave it a really nice crumbly texture. The peanut butter frosting was absolutely divine! I could quite easily eat the whole tray.
I modified the recipe very slightly but it turned out great. Will definitely be making a lot more of this in the future.

cookie bar fresh from the oven

Add a layer of chocolate on top

Then peanut butter frosting

Some chocolate shavings

Voila :)

Adapted from Confessions of a Bake-aholic

Cookie Bar

170g butter

150g caster sugar

150g dark brown sugar

170g creamy peanut buttr

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups oats

1 1/2 cups flour

200g plain chocolate

Peanut Butter Frosting

113g butter, softened

113g creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 cups icing sugar (add until it's at a desired consistency)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 190C

Cream butter and sugars.

Add peanut butter and eggs and beat until smooth.

Add vanilla, soda, salt, oats and flour to form a dough.

Place into a square pan approx 9" x 9" (this is what I used) and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of simmering water.

Spread chocolate over the bar and allow to cool completely.

Combine all the ingredients together to make the peanut butter frosting.

Spread over cooled bars.

Decorate with chocolate shavings if desired.

Congo Bar

I came across these on Bakerella's blog recently and knew I had to make it. If you've not read bakerella's blog, I highly recommend it. She makes the best baked goods around including really cute cake pops.

So what is a congo bar? I've never even heard of it until now. It's apparently a cross between a brownie and a cookie. Heaven. Sometimes you just can't decide especially for a self confessed cookie-holic and brownie-holic like me. Beats cake anyday in my book :)

I took Bakerella's advice and made these by hand. They turned out beautifully and I'm pretty sure I could have eaten the whole tray! It's like a really decadent chocolate chip cookie with the texture of a brownie. I made these late at night (again!) and didn't have all the ingredients to hand. So I improvised and think it's probably better this way! I didn't have enough chocolate chips so I added some M&M's and chopped chocolate. I have to say I was shocked when I saw how much sugar was required - 1lb (454g) so I reduced this and it still tasted a little sweet to me.

Give this a go and I guarantee you'll love it :)

I love the brightly coloured M&M'sYummy batter Fresh from the oven. I added some chocolate shavings on top for fun. Might even try sprinkling some 100s&1000s next time.

Would you like a slice?

Recipe adapted from Bakerella

 

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
325g light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
100g milk chocolate chips
185g M&Ms
~50g chopped chocolate (optional)

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
• Stir brown sugar into softened (not melted) butter in another large bowl until butter disappears.
• Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture and stir well after each egg.
• Add vanilla, chocolate chips, M&Ms and chopped chocolate if using. Mix well.
• Add dry flour mixture and stir until well combined.
• Pour into baking pan (I used a square one as pictures) and bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown.

 

 

 

 

 

Very Lemony Crunch Cake

This is yet another amazing recipe from Fiona Cairns Bake & Decorate. I made this on a whim at about 10pm on a sunday night as you do. I seem to have a tendency to bake late at night! I also wanted to use my new silicone bakeware (I think I mentioned in a previous post about recent purchases of baking goods/kitchenware) However the tin is actually too big so the cake came out a little flat. I'll probably make a double recipe next time to fill the tin.

The resulting sponge was really moist and lemony with a crunchy top exactly as described in her book. Just what I was looking for. I'll definitely be making this again and again as it was so simple and yet so satisfying. Plus I don't need to get any special ingredients.

new silicone cake tin

the magic a kitchenaid can do :)

fresh from the oven

close upperfect with a nice cup of tea :)

For the cake

175g unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the tin

175g self-raising flour

a pinch of salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

175g golden caster sugar

zest, finely grated, and juice of 1 large lemon

For the topping

juice of 1 large lemon

100g white granulated sugar

• 
  
  Preheat the oven to 180C.
• 
  
  Lightly butter an 18cm diameter, 7.5cm deep, round springform tin and line the base and sides with parchment paper.
• 
  
  Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and set aside.
• 
  
  Melt the butter in a small pan and set aside to cool slightly.
• 
  
  Using the whisk attachment of an electric mixer, or a bowl and electric whisk, beat the eggs and sugar together until very light and fluffy (this may take 5 minutes)
• 
  
  Blend in the melted butter; then very gently fold in the flour and zest.
• 
  
  Finally, slowly fold in the juice.
• 
  
  Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cake springs back to the touch, or a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• 
  
  Meanwhile, make the crunchy topping by simply mixing the juice and sugar together in a small bowl.
• 
  
  Immediately the cake comes from the oven, prick tiny holes all over it with a fine skewer or cocktail stick.
• 
  
  Pour the lemon syrup evenly all over the surface.
• 
  
  Leave to cool completely in the tin.

Iron Cupcake London Challenge May - Fruit

It's been a while since the last Iron Cupcake Challenge as we didn't have one in April which is just as well as I would have had to miss it. I'm so glad it worked out that way as it would have been a shame to miss the fruit challenge. This month was slightly quieter than previous months but the standards were just as good if not better. Everyone was really creative and there was fruit galore. Click here for full details of the event.

I made sticky toffee cupcakes with salted caramel buttercream which contain dates. Everyone kept asking what fruit? I thought I'd go for the subtle approach. Another great baker had the same idea (sticky toffee)- I like to think great bakers think alike :) Check out her blog here. I guessed there would be a lot of berries and citrus fruit and my fellow bakers didn't fail to disappoint.

Here are some photos from the evening

Winner on the right - watermelon cupcakes.

My entry :)

My 2 fav professional entries which won

Next month's theme is 'celebration' as Iron Cupcake London is celebrating it's first birthday. Any ideas?

Sticky Toffee Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream

I've been dying to make these cupcakes ever since I saw them in Fiona Cairns book 'Bake & Decorate Tea Time Luxury'. One of my favourite bloggers, Heavenly Housewife wrote a post about this book recently and I knew I had to get a copy. As it happens the theme for this month's Iron Cupcake Challenge was fruit so I made these as my entry. I usually like to make a test run before the challenge in case it needs tweaking but didn't have time this time. Fortunately the cakes turned out fine. The icing however was a different story. I burnt the caramel the first time round and couldn't use it as it had a bitter after taste. I then had to go out to meet some friends and therefore started my second batch of caramel at 11pm (on a sunday night)! I watched it even more closely and probably could have left it a little longer but I didnt want to take any chances. I then had to wait for it to cool completely before making the buttercream. It tasted really good and I thought my troubles were over.

Apparently not as disaster strikes twice. Approximately 2 hours later, I was ready to pipe the buttercream on my cakes and unfortunately I had bits of caramel that had crystallised clogging up my piping tube. Had to use a different piping bag in the end which had a removable nozzle so I could easily clear the obstruction each time it occurred. It took much longer than I expected to frost all the cakes as I had to re-do quite a few of them. The silver lining though is that the pattern is really pretty - it looks like a rose, doesnt it? I've not used this nozzle before so was really pleased with the end result.
Would I make this again? YES! In fact I made another batch on Tuesday night as everyone got to look at it on Monday but couldn't eat it as it was for the challenge. Voted one of my best baking creations by my colleague who has sampled almost everything on here. The cake is really moist and light and the salted caramel buttercream is amazing. I'll confess, I had a small bowlful of buttercream for breakfast on Tuesday :) Thought I deserved it after all this effort!

date mixture

KitchenAid in action (Again? I know I can't help it, I just love it so much)

Burnt caramel! :(

Perhaps slightly underdone but great caramel

salted caramel buttercream

Cakes waiting to be frosted

Final result after hours of stress!

Recipe from Fiona Cairns. Makes 12

For the cakes

180g dates, pitted and chopped

1 tsp vanilla extract

180g self-raising flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

80g unsalted butter, softened

150g light muscovado sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

For the buttercream

Caramel method

125g white caster sugar

80ml double cream

1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Dulce de leche method

3-4 tbsp dulce de leche

1/2 tsp salt (to taste)

1 tsp vanilla extract

160g salted butter, softened

200g icing sugar, sifted

• Preheat the oven to 180C
• In a heatproof bowl, pour 180ml boiling water over the dates and leave to soak for 20 minutes.
• Then, with a fork, dently break up the dates and stir in the vanilla.
• Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs gradually, beating between each addition and slipping in 1 tbsp flour about halfway through to prevent curdling.
• Lastly, fold in the remaining flour and then the date mixture.
• Spoon into cupcake cases and bake for 15-20 minutes.
• Remove and leave to cool.

• To make the caramel, dissolve the sugar and 60ml water in a small, solid-based pan over a gentle heat, then increase the heat to a boil.
• Wait a few minutes, leaving the pan undisturbed but watching it like a hawk and, as soon as it changes to a wonderful caramel colour (like strong tea) and is thicker, remove immediately from the heat.
• Stand well back and add the cream.
• Be very careful as it's searing hot and may splatter a little.
• it will reach or 'seize' and you may think it has gone wrong; it hasn't.
• Keep stirring, adding the salt and the vanilla.
• Leave until stone cold.
• If using dulce de leche, simply mix it with the salt and vanilla.

• For the buttercream icing, cream the butter and icing sugar for at least 5 minutes.
• Add the caramel or the dulce de leche.
• Pipe with a piping bag or spread with a palette knife.

Chocolate Chiffon Cake

As you can tell, I got a KitchenAid recently. I also have a few other new kitchen gadgets including a chiffon cake tin/tube pan. When I got my new KitchenAid, I tried to make a chiffon cake which failed miserably. I'm glad to report I finally perfected it and it turned out beautifully the second time round. I have the best neighbour ever so I made this as a thank you as she has been particularly helpful lately.

From baking911.com: The Chiffon Cake is its most well-known member of the foam cake family. A Chiffon Cake contains vegetable oil, similar to Sponge Cakes. Since oil is always liquid at room temperature, a chiffon cake stays soft and moist. It is less likely to lose moisture and stays fresher than other foam type cakes, such as an Angel Food Cake.  A Chiffon Cake is made with vegetable oil and egg yolks beaten into the flour and dry ingredients. The fat coats the flour proteins, much like a raincoat, which protect them against the moisture and from forming gluten when mixed. This results in a very tender cake. Although the recipe contains fat, the pans should not be greased.

In 1948 Betty Crocker introduced the Chiffon Cake and hailed it as "the cake discovery of the century!" Up to this point cakes were either the light sponge cake or a heavier butter or shortening cake. The Chiffon Cake mysteriously combined the richness of the butter cake, but with the light spring of the Angel Food and Sponge Cakes.


A California insurance salesman, Harry Baker, invented the recipe in 1927. He baked his cakes in the Los Angeles area and for Hollywood restaurants, but he never divulged the secret recipe. Harry decided that Betty Crocker should share in his special recipe and he traveled to Minneapolis to finally divulge the secret. And the Chiffon Cake was given to cooks across the nation.

I made a simple chocolate chiffon cake mainly because I didn't have any other ingredients to hand and didn't want to run out to the shops. It was really moist and light and not too chocolatey. I'm sure there will be more chiffon cakes coming out of this kitchen soon. My mum made an orange chiffon cake which is amazing so will have to give that a try.

I worked out why it didn't work the first time round - wrong temperature and cooking time (I followed the recipe exactly which is not always a good thing) and also because I didn't leave it to cool in the tin long enough before turning it out.

my new chiffon cake tin :)

egg white foam

ready to go in the oven

fresh from the oven. So pleased that it rose properly

Egg yolk batter

80g chocolate

150ml milk

60ml cooking oil

6 egg yolks

110g plain flour

20g cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Egg white foam

6 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

150g caster sugar

• To make egg yolk batter - melt chocolate and milk in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Combine with oil and egg yolks.
• Fold in flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda until it forms a batter.
• Next make egg white foam by beating egg whites and cream of tartar until the mixture forms soft peaks.
• Gradually add in sugar, beating at high speed until frothy and stiff peaks form.
• GENTLY (do not over mix) fold beaten egg white foam into egg yolk batter until just blended.
• Pour batter in an UNGREASED 22cm tube pan.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 130C for 35 minutes then 160C for a further 25minutes. (This is what worked for me)
• Remove from the oven and invert the cake tin onto a wire rack.
• Allow to cool completely before unmoulding from tin.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sorry for the long absence, life has been pretty hectic lately but I won't go into it here. I was super excited to unpack my new KitchenAid but didn't have time to make all the things I envisioned - bread, cinnamon rolls, caramel walnut banana torte, cakes, cookies....
Well I did actually make a cake but it was a complete disaster so I won't be blogging about it. Anyway, I  had a late night craving for cookies, as you do, so decided to whip up some good ol' chocolate chip cookies (with the help of my KitchenAid of course!)
These are soft, chewy cookies which were really gooey and delicious straight from the oven.

Life is so simple with a KitchenAidCookie dough

Tip: use a small ice cream scoop to get even sized cookiesYummy :)

Ingredients

220g butter

120g (160g)brown sugar

80g (110g)caster sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

300g plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

200g (250g) chocolate chips

Note: I reduced the sugar and chocolate chips in this recipe as I prefer mine less sweet. Original values are in brackets

• Preheat the oven to 190C
• Beat the butter and sugars together until smooth.
• Add the eggs and vanilla extract and continue beating until combined.
• Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together and stir into the butter mixture.
• Add the chocolate chips.
• Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough on to baking sheets. I used a small ice-cream scoop - perfect for getting even sized cookies.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the surface is just set but the centres are still soft.
• Leave to cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes then transfer to wire racks and allow to cool completely.