AlphaBakes "U" Round up

Welcome to the final roundup in this round of AlphaBakes. We have been through the whole alphabet and we have been extremely impressed with the creativity and calibre of entries throughout the past 26 months. We have something exciting planned for April when we launch the new round of AlphaBakes so make sure you check out Caroline's blog on 1st April. The winner of this month's prize has been selected at random and will be announced at the end of the post.

I kicked things off this month with my Peaches and Cream Upside Down Cake. It's a BBC Good Food recipe which is a simple sponge recipe topped with peaches and filled with a clotted cream filling. It is absolutely divine and perfect with a cup of tea.

Corina from Searching for Spice made Individual Blueberry Chocolate Upside Down Cakes. They are so good she has made them repeatedly and I am sure it won't be the last timeeither! They look absolutely amazing especially with all that gorgeous blueberries on top. 

Next we have  Upside Down Toffee Apple Squares by Suelle from Mainly Baking. It contains apples, hazelnuts and mixed spice and looks really light and moist. Interestingly it appeared in her recipe book as a brownie which doesn't seem right as it does not contain chocolate!

Dom from Belleau Kitchen delights us with a twist on a classic upside down cake with this Pineapple and Coconut Chocolate Upside Down Cake. The pineapple and coconut seem quite tropical and the addition of chocolate is always a bonus in my eyes.

My co-host Caroline from Caroline Makes is next with Vegan Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes. She made these for a vegan friend who was moving house which I'm sure must have been a delightful relief from the stress of moving house. 

On to something a little different with Grasshopper Marshmallows from Stuart from Cakeyboi. He made these for St Patrick's Day and it contains Unsweetened cocoa for U. They look really soft and silky and I love the chocolate and mint combination.

Alexandra from the Lass in the Apron made Ukrainian Pagach which is traditionally eaten during Lent. Her version contains potatoes, cabbage and cheese which sounds delicious!

Laura from I'd Much Rather Bake Than... made this Ultra Sized Chocolate Chip Cookie. I love miniature bakes but sometimes you just need an ultra sized version like this cookie. Looks delicious and I wonder if it will count as just one cookie even if I eat the whole thing! :) 

Kate from the Gluten Free Alchemist came up with these Apple & Cinnamon Upside Down Downuts. It's her take on an upside down cake and a doughnut and it's gluten free!! She used apples and pumpkin and spice which sounds delicious and reminiscent of autumn.

We are back to upside down cakes with this Blueberry Orange Upside Down cake from Helen from Family-Friends-Food. This recipe enabled her to use her stockpile of frozen blueberries but fresh would work too. She made mini versions which are great for portion control.

Next we have Jean from Baking in Franglais with a pear and ginger upside down cake. She is packing to move house and yet managed to bake this impressive looking cake using ingredients that needed using up.

Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary made these gorgeous Mother's Day Flower Cookies. The U is in unsalted butter and unrefined light muscovado sugar. It's a fun project to make with the kids and I'm sure mums everywhere would love to receive this on Mother's Day.

My co host Caroline is back with an Umbongo Cake. Umbungo is a fruit juice drink which contains apple, lemon, orange, pineapple, passion fruit and mandarin. She created her own recipe incorporating these flavours and added some Umbongo juice into the icing.

Our only savoury entry comes from Elizabeth from The Law Student's Cookbook in the form of roasted butternut squash and udon noodles. She says it was absolutely delicious and I have no doubt about it looking at the picture. 

Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog made Upside Down White Chocolate Banoffee Shortcake. She had quite a lot of clever ideas for U but procrastinated and ended up with this last minute bake which looks fabulous. It's a shortcake rather than an upside down cake and I particularly love the flavour combination that she has used.

Finally we have something a little different from Stuart from Cakeyboi. He made a Black Forest Smoothie which contains chocolate and cherries.  The U is from unsweetened cocoa powder which is actually high in antioxidants and only contains 12 calories in 1 tablespoon! He served it with some frothy milk and a cute straw which makes it look all the more tempting :) 

And that's the end of the 'U' round up. Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate. As mentioned, there is 1 lucky winner chosen at random who will receive samples of 2 types of cherries and a kitchen scale sponsored by French Glace Cherries. Congratulations to....... 

Suelle from Mainly Baking - please check your email for details. 

Remember to check out Caroline's blog on 1st April to find out what is happening to AlphaBakes and the new challenge for April.