Tiffin or refrigerator cake

I've been baking mostly healthy treats this month but I did promise a few naughty treats as well. This is so easy to make but oh so naughty. It's a refrigerator cake or tiffin and it's a really simple no bake recipe which you can easily prepare in advance. I used digestive biscuits, rich tea biscuits, marhsmallows and mixed fruit and nut. I gave these away as gifts and they were very well received.

I'm entering this to Dead Easy Desserts hosted by Sarah from Maison Cupcake as these take less than 30 minutes to make excluding chilling time.

150g milk chocolate
150g dark chocolate
100g butter
150g golden syrup
100g mixed fruit and nut
140g digestive biscuits, lightly crushed
140g rich tea biscuits, lightly crushed
100g mini marshmallows
50g raisins or dried cranberries

*note you can use any combination of fillings that you like - fruits, nuts, seeds, biscuits, honeycomb. Just ensure there is enough chocolate mixture to cover the filling

• Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. 
• Remove from the heat and stir in the other ingredients.
• Pour into a square tin and level with a palette knife.
• Allow to set in the fridge for a few hours or preferably overnight.
• Cut into squares and enjoy. 

Orange Squash Cupcakes

This month's Random Recipe Challenge hosted by Dom from Belleau Kitchen is "New Year, New Book". I received 1 cookbook for Christmas last year which has been on my wishlist for a while so I was extremely pleased to add it to my collection. It's red velvet chocolate heartache by Harry Eastwood. Its full of natural and healthy recipes that mainly use vegetables instead of butter or oil in cakes. It's brilliant for January baking when everyone is on some sort of diet or the other but this will definitely be used year round. It's particularly good for gluten free recipes that taste good. 

I opened the book to a random page and got page 18 which is Orange Squash Cupcakes. The cupcake contains eggs, sugar, butternut squash, white rice flour (I used brown rice flour as that was all I could find), ground almonds, zest and juice of an orange and baking powder. The icing given is a butter icing but I decided to keep it completely butter free so I made a simple glaze icing with icing sugar and fresh orange juice and orange zest. The verdict - absolutely delicious!! You will not believe that these cakes contain no butter or oil. It was moist and flavourful with a slight grainy texture from the ground almonds. I can't wait to try more recipes from this book! 

This recipe will also fit in nicely with a few other blog challenges this month. Made with love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior where the idea to make everything from scratch.

Cooking With Herbs hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage. She has chosen the theme citrus this month and this contains fresh orange zest and orange juice.

Four Seasons Food hosted by Louisa from Eat Your Veg and Anneli from Delicieux. The theme this month is Virtuous Food and these definitely fit the bill. 

 Treat Petite hosted by Kat from the Baking Explorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi. The theme this month is "Free From".  This recipe is free from butter and oil and it's gluten free! 

Calendar Cakes hosted by Rachel from Dolly Bakes and Laura from Laura Loves Cakes. The theme this month is "If it makes you happy..." These little cakes made a lot of people happy and I love the brightness and freshness of it which reminds me of spring.

 

 adding butternut squash to the egg/sugar mixture. I couldn't find my grater attachment so had to grate it by hand which is why it's coarser than I'd like 

 ready to go in the oven 

 decorated with simple glaze icing and an orange slice 

Recipe from Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache by Harry Eastwood page 18. It has been republished here with kind permission from the publisher. 

Orange Squash Cupcakes

THESE CUPCAKES BELONG to July picnics with squashed sandwiches, cotton

dresses, Scotch eggs and cartons of juice.

MAKES 12

2 medium free-range eggs

160g caster sugar

200g peeled and finely grated butternut squash

finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange (juicing varieties, such as Seville, are best)

100g white rice flour

100g ground almonds

2 tsp baking powder

1⁄4 tsp salt

FOR THE ICING

75g unsalted butter, cold and cubed

200g icing sugar, sieved

finely grated zest of 1 orange

1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

FOR THE TOP

a little grated orange

zest

YOU WILL NEED

a 12-hole muffin tray

12 paper cases (see page xxvii for exact size)

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and line the muffin

tray with paper cases.

2 Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl for 5 minutes,

until pale and quadrupled in volume. Add the grated butternut squash

and orange zest, and whisk again. Mix in the flour, ground almonds,

baking powder and salt, along with the orange juice, until they are

well introduced.

3 Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, aiming for it to come

four fifths of the way up each case. Place in the oven for 20 minutes

until risen and cooked. Don’t be alarmed that they are flat on the top

rather than dome shaped. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, before

refrigerating until cold enough to ice.

4 Whilst the cupcakes are cooling, make the icing. Whisk the butter

in a large mixing bowl with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy

before adding 100g of the icing sugar. Whisk again to incorporate the

sugar. Add the orange zest and juice, as well as the remaining sugar.

Beat once again to combine. Refrigerate until the cupcakes are cool

and ready to ice.

5 Ice when the cupcakes are cold, with the help of a small knife

or spatula.

TRUST ME TIPS

Don’t worry if the icing curdles when you add the orange juice.

It will come right and give up the tantrum when you add the final

batch of icing sugar. If for whatever reason it doesn’t quite right itself,

simply add more sugar until it has calmed down and is unified again.

Yorkshire Tea Biscuit or Fat Rascal

This month's AlphaBakes which I am hosting is the letter Y. I looked through my cookbooks as usual to look for inspiration. Yoghurt was the only choice in most books until I came upon Yorkshire tea biscuit otherwise known as a fat rascal. It originated in Yorkshire and is similar to a scone in taste and ingredients. The Fat Rascal is a bestseller at the ever popular Bettys Tea Room in Yorkshire, a place I've never visited but would love to particularly for the food! 

I used a recipe from the Hairy Bikers in the end instead of the recipe in my book as I wanted to use ingredients I had to hand. Most recipes call for a mix of currants, raisins and sultanas but this recipe asks for mixed dried fruit. It's also the perfect recipe to use up leftovers from Christmas. The recipe was simple and straight forward and was fairly quick and easy to make. It expanded a lot in the oven and I wonder if this is the reason it's called a Fat Rascal! 

I was really surprised at how tasty these were. I'm not a huge fan of fruit cake and I have to say I wasn't sure how these would taste but it was delicious. It tasted like a light fruit scone and I loved the hint of citrus and spice as well as the crunch of the almonds. The tin was empty at the end of the day so I'd say that everyone else enjoyed it too! 

I'm entering this to AlphaBakes which is hosted by myself and Caroline from Caroline Makes. The letter this month is "Y". You can use the letter Y as the name of the bake/dish or as the main ingredient. 

It also fits in nicely with a few other blog challenges this month. The Biscuit Barrel Challenge hosted by Laura from I'd Much Rather Bake Than... The theme this month is spices and this recipe contains ground cinnamon and nutmeg.

 Cooking With Herbs hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage. She has chosen the theme citrus this month and this contains the zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon.

Four Seasons Food hosted by Louisa from Eat Your Veg and Anneli from Delicieux. The theme this month is Virtuous Food and I'd say all the fruit and nut in here makes it virtuous. Plus it's not terribly sweet. 

 Tea Time Treats guest hosted by Jane from The HedgeCombers and run by Karen from Lavender and Lovage. The theme this month is eggs, eggs, eggs! I have to send it to them as Karen has a fat rascal in the logo picture below and has a delicious recipe on her blog.

 I thought they looked really pretty before baking 

 And then they expanded massively! I'll have to make the Betty's signature face next time.

 yum! 

Recipe is from BBC Food - The Hairy Bikers

I followed the recipe exactly and made 14 Fat Rascals. 

Cranberry, Coconut and Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Isn't this cake beautiful? I love the shape of the cake and the dusting of icing sugar makes it look so inviting. I have to say a huge thank you to John for buying me this cake tin for Christmas. It has been on my wish list for a while now and I'm so pleased that I finally own one. I absolutely love Nordicware tins and have started a small collection of them.  I'm sure he had an ulterior motive buying the cake tin - a cake from the tin! I promised that he would have the first cake out of the tin and I knew I had to choose a good recipe to impress and show my gratitude. 

I saw this recipe on Jo's Blue Aga and bookmarked it immediately to use with my new bundt tin as it looked and sounded amazing. I'm so glad I did as I made it twice in the same week and have had endless positive comments about the cake. It's a lovely light sponge with coconut and cranberry and a delicious cream cheese filling in the middle. The cake is fragrant and looks stunning especially with a dusting of icing sugar. It would be perfect for Christmas as it has a festive look and feel to it or for any special occasion. 

John's reaction was "Wow- Ros's cake is amazing. One of her best yet!" Other reactions were " Too beautiful to eat", "How did you get that shape?" "Terrifyingly good!" "It's like a hidden treasure puzzle - there's a different taste and texture to every bite" 

I have to admit that I really did enjoy the cake even though I don't like coconut. I'm not just saying that because I baked the cake! It really was that good and I'd recommend you try it for yourself. 

I'm entering this to Bookmarked Recipes hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes. 

I'm also sending it to Tea Time Treats guest hosted by Jane from The HedgeCombers and run by Karen from Lavender and Lovage. The theme this month is eggs, eggs, eggs! This would make a stunning tea time treat.

 my lovely new bundt tin :) 

 

 I love the colours of the cranberries and coconut - reminds me of Christmas! 

 Half fill the tin 

 add a ring of cream cheese - you can just about see it here then fill with remaining batter 

 fresh from the oven 

 looks better with a dusting of icing sugar 

 you can see the cream cheese filling 

Recipe from Jo's Blue Aga

For the cake

270g unsalted butter, softened
250g caster sugar
4 large eggs, beaten
270g self-raising flour
100ml double cream
100g desiccated coconut
100g Dried Cranberries

For The Filling
200g full fat Philadelphia
3 Tbsp Caster sugar
30g Desiccated coconut

• Preheat the oven to 170c
• Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl and gradually add it to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. 
• Sift in the flour and mix well. 
• Add the cream and mix again until smooth.
• Stir in the coconut and cranberries. 
• Spoon half the mixture into the prepared tin and spread level using a palette knife. 
• Mix the ingredients for the filling in a small bowl. 
• Place the filling in a ring on the cake batter as shown above.
• Cover with the remaining cake batter. 
• Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool in the tin for 15-20 minutes before turning out to a wire rack to cool completely 
• Dust generously with icing sugar. 

Olive Oil Cake with Rosemary and Chocolate

This month's We Should Cocoa Challenge which is guest hosted by Linzi from Lancashire Food chose the theme 'new ingredient' ie a new ingredient paired with chocolate that you've not tried before. I've baked a lot with chocolate and have tried many combinations so my thoughts turned to herbs. I know rosemary and chocolate is a fairly common combination but it's not one I've tried previously so I was excited to try it out plus it would fit the challenge and quite a few other blog challenges too! 

A quick google search brought me to this delicious looking cake which I knew I had to try. It's a very unassuming cake. Not much to look at but it sure packs a punch in terms of flavour. Everyone who ate the cake said it was absolutely delicious. The rosemary flavour is strong but not overpowering. The little bits of chocolate complements the rosemary rather than opposing it. The cake itself tastes "healthy" especially with the wholemeal and spelt flour. Definitely a very successful recipe and one that I will be making again without a doubt. 

As mentioned, I'm entering this to We Should Cocoa hosted by Linzi from Lancashire Food who chose the theme 'New Ingredient'. We Should Cocoa is the brainchild of Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog. 

As it contains rosemary, I'm also entering it to Cooking With Herbs hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage.

I think this cake also fits the theme for this month's Four Seasons Food hosted by Louisa from Eat Your Veg and Anneli from Delicieux. The theme this month is Virtuous Food and eating this cake definitely makes you feel virtuous even though it's cake! 

As this cake is made from scratch, I'm sending it to Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior.

The One Ingredient Challenge hosted by Nazima from Franglais Kitchen and Laura from How to Cook Good Food has the theme of "Healthy Recipes" As far as cake goes, I think this is fairly healthy as it contains no butter and other healthier ingredients.

You know how much I love a multi blog challenge recipe so I'm going to send this to Tea Time Treats guest hosted by Jane from The HedgeCombers and run by Karen from Lavender and Lovage. The theme this month is eggs, eggs, eggs! This recipe contains 3 eggs and it's a perfect tea time treat.

 caster sugar, spelt flour, olive oil, wholemeal flour, milk, rosemary, eggs, dark chocolate 

 flour mixture on left, rosemary milk mixture on the right and chopped dark chocolate 

 ready to go in the ove

 It's a plain looking cake but it's really tasty 

 You can see the lovely crumb texture and the bits of hidden chocolate 

Recipe adapted slightly from local belle

120g spelt flour
230g wholemeal flour
170g caster sugar
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
2.5 tablespoons chopped rosemary
140g dark chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup milk
1 cup olive oil
3 eggs

• Preheat the oven to 170C
• Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and add in the olive oil, milk and rosemary. 
• Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.
• Stir in the chopped chocolate.
• Pour the batter into a round cake tin or a loaf tin and bake for about 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.