Summer Berry Cake

I baked this cake last week for a birthday at work. It was so good I made the same cake again at the weekend and it's all gone! It's a vanilla sponge cake filled with fresh berries topped with creme fraiche and more fresh berries. The birthday girl wanted something with fresh fruit so I loaded the cake with lots of it! I used fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.  The sponge was really light and moist and the vanilla flavour really lifts the fruits. Everyone enjoyed the creme fraiche topping which was flavoured with ground vanilla beans as it was lighter than cream and helped cut through the sweetness of the cake and fruit. 

As fresh berries are still in season, I'm entering this to Simple and in Season hosted this month by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary for Ren from RenBehan.com.

I'm also sending this to Celebration Cakes & Bakes hosted by Mummy Makes Cakes as this was made for a birthday celebration and it's perfect for any celebration. 

And to Bake of the Week run by Casa Costello which is guest hosted by Kirsty from Hijacked By Twins. 

And to Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too.

I think it will also fit in with with month's Tea Time Treats hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and co hosted by Jane from Hedgecombers. The theme this month is Picnic Food and Picnic Treats. When I think of picnics, I think of summer and this cake definitely screams summer! 

 adding vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract 

 toss the berries in flour 

 press a few fresh berries on top

 ground vanilla beans in the creme fraiche

 fresh from the oven - you can clearly see the berries

 add a layer or sweetened vanilla creme fraiche

 top with fresh summer berries

 add a sprinkling of vanilla dusting sugar 

 I love how you can still see the berries inside the sponge 

I used my usual weigh your egg method for the sponge - use the same weight for your butter, sugar and flour

For the cake

4 large eggs = 266g in weight 

266g butter

266g caster sugar

266g self raising flour

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

60mls milk

366g fresh summer berries tossed in 2 tablespoons of flour

For the topping

300mls creme fraiche

ground vanilla beans

2 tablespoons icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

selection of fresh berries

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. 
• Add in the eggs, one at at time, mixing well between each addition. 
• Add in the vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract.
• Add in the flour and then the milk. 
• Toss the berries in 2 tablespoons of flour and stir them into the cake mixture by hand. Set aside a small handful of berries. 
• Pour the batter into a 23cm cake tin. Press the reserved berries into the cake before baking. 
• Bake for approximately 45 - 50 minutes or until it's golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. It's a large cake so may even need an hour to cook!
• Allow the cake to cool completely before decorating. 
• Use a vanilla bean grinder to grind vanilla beans into the creme fraiche. 
• Add in 2 tablespoons of icing sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• Spread the creme fraiche on top of the cake.
• Pile lots of fresh berries on top. 
• Sprinkle with vanilla dusting sugar or plain icing sugar. 

Spiced Pumpkin and Apple Crumble Muffins

Steven Dotsch is the Speculaas Spice Master Chef at the Speculaas Spice Company. His inspiration to launch his Dutch grandmother's recipe of delicious, warm and sweet tasting speculaas mix in the United Kingdom comes from his love of eating truly authentic Dutch Speculaas - spiced biscuits.  He has now created a special spice mix which captures all of those flavours. It includes high grade cinnamon from Sri Lanka, cloves, ginger and 6 other spices. I started thinking about recipes to make with this spice and initially thought of cupcakes similar to my speculoos cupcakes. However, I had some pumpkin puree leftover from making my spiced pumpkin cream cheese swiss roll so I decided to create a recipe which included pumpkin puree. This is a very autumnal sounding recipe as it contains pumpkin, apple and a crumble topping. 

The spices smelt amazing and tasted even better. The spice mix worked well with the pumpkin and apple and I had a lot of compliments for these muffins. It's a very moist muffin which has a texture similar to bread pudding. You can clearly taste the pumpkin and the spices which really lifted the flavour of the muffin. I'd also recommend adding some pecan nuts which will give a crunch and another layer of flavour. My favourite part was the crumble topping which was sweet and crispy in contrast to the soft, dense muffin. 

I'm entering this to The No Waste Food Challenge which is run by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. This month, it's guest hosted by Laura from I'd Much Rather Bake Than... I used up leftover pumpkin puree for this recipe and the end of a bag of oats for the crumble. The apples were also spare apples I had sitting on the table. 

 brown sugar, plain flour, milk, apples, eggs, pumpkin puree and spice mix 

 adding the spice mix to the flour

 adding chopped apples to the pumpkin mix 

 almost ready to bake... 

 adding the crumble topping 

 close up of the crumble topping 

 It has a bread pudding like consistency 

An original recipe by bakingaddict

For the muffins
225g plain flour
100g caster sugar
3 teaspoons speculaas spice mix
60mls milk
60mls vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
285g pumpkin puree

For the crumble topping
120g butter
120g brown sugar
80g flour
80g oats
1 teaspoon speculaas spice mix

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and speculaas spice mix. 
• In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, oil and milk with the pumpkin puree.
• Add in chopped apples.
• Now add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix. 
• Spoon into muffin cases. 
• Make the crumble topping by rubbing the butter and flour together until you get a breadcrumb consistency. 
• Add the oats, sugar and spice.
• Divide the crumble topping evenly between the muffin cases.
• Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Allow to cool or eat warm. 

Disclaimer: I was sent a pack of speculaas spice mix for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own. This is not a paid post. 

No Bake Chocolate and Peppermint Squares

For St Patrick's Day earlier this year, I made a No Bake Chocolate and Peppermint Slice. It was hugely popular and I've had repeated requests since. I had to make something for a leaving lunch at work and I knew that this was one of her favourite treats from me so I decided to make it again but jazz it up a little. I used my individual brownie tin to get individual squares and omitted the chocolate topping. They were equally as popular this time and I wish I'd made more as they disappeared in no time!

It has a buttery oreo base and a rich, minty cream cheese filling topped with Aero bubbles. They are very rich and decadent so these individual portions are perfect. This is a really quick and simple recipe which only requires 5 ingredients. It's more time consuming making these individual portions but I think they look much nicer than making a large tray and slicing it up.

I'm entering this to the Biscuit Barrel Challenge hosted by Laura from I'd Much Rather Bake Than... The theme this month is No Bake.

I'm also sending it to Treat Petite hosted by Stuart from CakeyBoi and Kat from The Baking Explorer. The theme is also No Bake.

 Top tip - place strips of parchment paper before putting the oreo base in as this helps you remove the squares later 

 top with cream cheese filling and decorate then chill in the fridge 

 perfectly portioned treats 

An original recipe by bakingaddict 

For the base
2 packs oreo cookies
100g butter

For the filling
280g cream cheese
60g butter
150g icing sugar
4 teaspoons mint extract
green food colouring

• Spray a individual brownie pan with non stick spray then line with strips of parchment paper - 2 strips per square.
• Place the oreo cookies in a food processor and blitz until it resembles fine crumbs. Alternatively, place in a ziplock back and bash with a rolling pin.
• Melt 100g butter and stir into the cookie crumbs.
• Press into the base of your tin and allow to set in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
• Make the filling by placing the cream cheese in an electric mixer and beating on a medium speed until smooth.
• Add in butter and icing sugar and continue beating.
• Finally add in mint extract and green food colouring.
• Spread the filling over the chilled cookie base and smooth with a palette knife. 
• Decorate with mint aero bubbles as shown.
• Chill in the fridge for a few hours.

Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies

Recently I got a lovely care package from America via a friend. I've already baked with the butterscotch chips and pumpkin puree. This time I am using my all time favourite ingredient peanut butter in the form of Reese's peanut butter chips. The inspiration for this recipe comes from Alexandra from The Lass in the Apron. She made these Everyday Double Chocolate Cookies for AlphaBakes which I immediately bookmarked. I've put my own twist on the recipe and they were absolutely amazing. The cookies were crunchy particularly with the crispy cornflakes. It was the perfect balance between sweet and salty and I particularly liked that the peanut butter chips did not melt after baking. You get a really intense chocolate hit with the crunchiness and slight saltiness of cornflakes and peanut butter. I can't wait to try different variations of this versatile recipe. 

I'm 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.

I'm also entering this Bookmarked Recipes hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes. I bookmarked this recipe back in May 2014 and have finally gotten round to making it.

 cream butter and sugars together until you get a pale golden mixture 

 adding peanut butter chips 

 adding cornflakes 

 ready to go in the oven - don't worry if the mixture is a little crumbly 

 delicious! 

Recipe adapted from The Lass in the Apron

113g butter

100g light brown sugar 

70g caster sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons water (use 1 tablespoon at a time)

215g plain flour

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

45g cornflake cereal

283g peanut butter chips (1 bag) 

• Preheat the oven to 180C
• Cream the butter and sugars together until smooth. 
• Add vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of water. 
• (Alexandra advises that you leave the mixture to stand for at least 10 mins to help develop the butterscotch notes but I skipped this as I was short on time) 
• Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda. 
• If necessary, add in the remaining tablespoon of water. The dough will be quite soft and sticky. 
• Add in the peanut butter chips and mix with a spatula.
• Finally stir in the cornflakes. 
• Place a small ice cream scoop of dough spaced apart on a baking tray. Don't worry if the mixture is a little crumbly - just press it firmly into a ball and it will stick together.
• Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until cooked.
• Allow to cool on the tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swiss Roll

Quite a few months ago, I asked J to look through my new cookbook - The Hummingbird Bakery Home Sweet Home and bookmark recipes that he'd like to try. I've never actually gotten round to baking any of them for him so when I felt the urge to bake, I looked through the chosen recipes and decided on this particular recipe for a few reasons. Firstly, my co host Caroline has chosen the letter 'P' for AlphaBakes this month so I thought this would fit nicely. Secondly, as I mentioned in my previous post, I'd recently received goodies from America which includes pumpkin puree. Thirdly, I had all the ingredients to hand and it was a relatively simple recipe to make.

I've only made swiss rolls a handful of times with varying degrees of success. I learned from my last attempt to whisk the eggs and sugar for a long time- much longer than you think and it worked much better this time. This sponge is really fragrant with the ground cinnamon and pumpkin puree. It's filled with a sweet cream cheese filling which complements the sponge perfectly. This is a very autumnal recipe but I just couldn't wait to try it out. J was extremely pleased and gave it his seal of approval. 

As mentioned, I'm 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 Pumpkin.

I'm also sending this to Vegetable Palette hosted by Shaheen from A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table. The theme this month is mellow yellows and orange. I always thought pumpkin is a vegetable but it's actually a fruit. It's definitely orange so it fits in with the theme.

As I've had this recipe bookmarked for months, I'm sending it to Bookmarked Recipes hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes.

Finally, I'm also sending it to Blogger Bakespiration Challenge hosted by Stuck In The Tree.

 beat the eggs and sugar until pale and doubled in volume

 pour into a swiss roll tin - definitely worth investing if you make these frequently 

 rolled, cooled and unrolled cake

 spread cream cheese filling 

 and roll then dust with icing sugar 

Recipe from Hummingbird Bakery Home Sweet Home

 For the sponge
120g plain flour
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3 eggs
175g caster sugar (original recipe states 200g)
120g tinned pumpkin puree

For the filling
170g icing sugar, sifted
60g butter
300g cream cheese (origina recipe states 240g)

• Preheat oven to 170C.
• Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale, fluffy and at least doubled in volume. This will take a good 5 minutes in an electric mixer.
• Fold in the pumpkin puree with a spatula, followed by the sifted dry ingredients.
• Be careful not to overmix and knock out the air in the mixture.
• Pour into a swiss roll tin and spread the mixture evenly - this is important otherwise the cake will cook unevenly.
• Bake for approximately 12-14 minutes or until the sponge is cooked and bounces back slightly when touched. 
• Prepare a large sheet of baking paper with icing sugar on top.
• Place the sponge on top of the baking paper. Make a small slit on the shorter end of the sponge and roll up the sponge with the paper inside. 
• The cake will be very hot from the oven so you may need to use a kitchen towel or oven gloves. 
• Allow to cool in the rolled position.
• Meanwhile, make the filling by beating the icing sugar and butter together and then adding in the cream cheese and continue beating until smooth.
• Unroll the cake and spread the cream cheese filling on to the cake.
• Roll the cake again using the baking paper to help you. 
• Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving. 

Chewy Butterscotch Blondies

Baking is back in full swing at The More Than Occasional Baker. It was nice to have a little break from the kitchen but it's equally nice to be back. I got a lovely selection of goodies from America recently which includes a bag of butterscotch chips. I've previously baked cakes and cookies with them so I thought about doing something a little different. There is a recipe on the back of the pack for Chewy Butterscotch Brownies so I decided to give it a go. However, I can't call these brownies as there's no chocolate in sight. Instead I've renamed them blondies.

As the title suggests they are chewy in texture with a lovely crunchy top. The butterscotch worked really well with the brazil nuts but I'm sure pecans will work just as well. This is a really simple treat to make and will be perfect for school fairs, picnics, days out or as a treat for yourself!

I'm entering this to Tea Time Treats hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and co hosted by Jane from Hedgecombers. The theme this month is Picnic Food and Picnic Treats. These are perfect for picnics as you can make them in advance,they are easy to transport and they are individually portioned. 

I'm also entering this to Blogger Bakespiration Challenge hosted by Stuck In The Tree.

 adding butterscotch chips and Brazil nuts

 ready to go in the oven

 slightly crispy edges! 

 delicious! 

Recipe adapted slightly from Nestle Tollhouse

312g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
225g butter
280g brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
100g brazil nuts (or any nut)
312g butterscotch chips (1 pack)

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
• Add in the flour, baking powder and vanilla extract.
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time mixing well between each addition.
• Finally stir in the butterscotch chips and walnuts.
• Pour into a baking tray and bake for about 40-45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool completely before slicing.