Gluten free carrot cake

In the last few months my friend was told she had coeliac which means that she has a reaction to foods that contain gluten. As she was having a gathering while visiting home during Easter I didn't want her to miss out on some cake.
These days the supermarkets have a number of gluten free items and in some cases even a whole aisle. This is where I got some gluten free flour and gluten free self-raising flour (I got both as I haven't chosen a recipe yet).
I was keen not to try a gluten free recipe but instead find a recipe which had a low flour content and I came across this Carrot and Apple Cake recipe.

I used my trusty Russian doll cups as this was a cup rather than grams recipe. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar (I used caster)
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 eggs (I used free range)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used gluten free)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup chopped apples
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup chopped pecans (I left out the pecans)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 (3 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened1 tablespoon milk2 teaspoons vanilladash salt1 box (1 lb) icing sugar, sifted1/2 cup chopped pecans (I left out the pecans)

To top it off as it was Easter I also used mini eggs! (I wasn't sure if these were gluten free so you would have to check. My friend was fine with them)

Method

Pre-heat your oven to about 180.
Combine the sugar, vegetable oil, 3 eggs, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla in a large bowl and mix until all incorporated.

Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon of salt; mix well. 

Then shred your carrots and put them in a bowl with your raisins. Peal your apples and shred and add them to your carrot and raisin bowl.

Mix the first two bowls together before adding your carrots, apple and raisins. Mix well!

Pour into your chosen cake pan (prepared with parchment paper) and bake for 35 - 45 minutes until the cake passes the skewer test. Once ready remove from the pan and let it cool.

While your cake is cooling you can make the cream cheese frosting. Mix all the ingredients together but leave the icing sugar until last and add a bit at a time. Once combine give it a whiz with an electric mixer.

Once your cake is cool add the cream cheese frosting any way you like. I spread it on with a spatula and then added the mini eggs.

My friend was very happy that I made a cake for her gathering and even happier when she found out it was gluten free. She said shop brought gluten free cakes didn't taste half as good. So maybe homemade is the way forward.

Why not give it a go?

Happy baking,

Ms B

xx 

Cake and Bake show Competition 2015

Have you ever want to enter a cake competition?

Well here is your chance as following the success of last year’s Cake competition The Cake & Bake show are calling on professional, semi-professional and amateur bakers to enter a their own interpretation of children’s stories. Entrants can choose anything from a character in a children’s book to nostalgic movie scene or a combination of all your favourites from over the years! Whether big or small, cupcakes to 3 tiered extravaganzas, the design will be totally up to the decorator as long as it adheres to the theme! Awards will be given for - display and taste and display only. Entries will be judged by an esteemed panel of experts inclusive of Gurgle magazine for our junior category. 

If this sounds like something you want to be apart of and what to know more information check out The Cake & Bake show's competitions drop down page on the relevant venue preference at www.thecakeandbakeshow.co.uk 

I am busting with ideas and will be entering in the armature taste and display category. Good luck everyone!

Happy baking and creating,

Ms B

xx 

Sugar cookies

My very talented boyfriend has an art opening on the 1st March (St David's day) and has asked me to bake Welsh themed cupcakes and cookies as his art project is titled Wales in Colour. 

In preparation I am practicing sugar cookies with flood icing. I found the recipe for the cookies here however for the icing I followed the recipe on the box. 

• Ingredients  

• 100g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 egg (I used medium free range)
• 275g plain flour
• 1 tea spoon vanilla extract
• For the icing
• 250g royal icing
• 40ml cold water
• 2-3 drops of food colouring (optional)

• Method

First get all your ingredients together. As this was a practice run I used lots of different cutters.

• Cream together the butter and sugar.

• Add the egg and vanilla extract a bit at a time.

Stir in the flour until it has a dough consistency.

• Gather the dough together and roll into a ball. Pop it in the fridge for 10-20 minutes. Flour the surface and get ready to roll.

Roll out the dough to 1cm thick and cut out your shapes, place on a baking tray lined with partchment paper.

Place in the oven until pale golden-brown and wait until they are cooled.

Now for the icing.

I used half a box which was 250g and added 40ml water. 

Once combine with a spoon wiz together with an electric hand mixer.

If you are adding food colouring you icing use 2-3 drops. I separated mine into two bowls as I was using two different colours.

Find the tips you like to work with. I preferred the smallest one and used a zip lock bag for each. If you don't have tips you can use a zip lock bag and snip I little bit of the end off.

Time to experiment with your icing. Make an outline of your cookie and fill it with lines. Use a toothpick to circle the icing and fill the cookie. 

If you are using two different colours why not try adding dots or stripes?

As you can see below it will look like the icing on the heart but give it a rest or a few light shakes and it will sink in as the others below.

 Experiment with your icing and a toothpick.

Let you cookies set for 12 hours and enjoy.

Here is a little video to show you...click play.

Why not give it a go?

Happy baking,

Ms B

xx 

Hidden heart cake

Just in case you were living under a rock yesterday you will know it was Valentines day. My boyfriend and I don't really 'do' Valentines day. We don't get one another a card of a present but we do stay in and share a meal together. I also thought it was a perfect day to bake a hidden heart cake. I have wanted to try one of these for a while.
First I started by baking a rectangle red velvet cake, the recipe can be found here. Once baked and cooled I use the smallest heart cookie cutter I had and cut out as many hearts as I could. 

I then moved on to the loaf cake.

Ingredients

225g self raising flour 

225g caster sugar 

225g butter

1 tea spoon vanilla extract 

4 medium eggs ( I used free range)

Method

Cream together the butter and sugar.

Add the dry ingredients bit by bit with the eggs and vanilla extract.

Combine until smooth.

Line a loaf tin with parchment paper. This will help you to remove once baked.

Poor in a bit of the mix so the bottom is covered and smooth the top.

Line up your red velvet hearts in the middle of the loaf tin.

Add the rest of the mix either side of the red velvet hearts and then cover the top so the hearts are not showing.

Baking until golden brown and until a skewer comes out clean.

Wait until your cake is cool and cut.

 This was the result of my first try. I lots a bit of definition at the top of the heart but I am surprised at my first attempt. Next time I would use a smaller cutter (if I can find one).

What did you bake this weekend?

If you want to try a hidden shape cake why not give this a go?

Happy baking,

Ms B

xx

Gravity-defying cake

 I was so excited to make a gravity-defying cake as not only do they look amazing but I believe they will be very popular in 2015.

Luckily it was my brother-in-laws birthday this weekend so it was a prefect excuse to make one. Last year I made him a chocolate cake which can be seen in an previous post 'Decorating for a chocolate addict' so this year I wanted to up my game with a chocolate gravity defying cake.

I started with a basic chocolate sponge, the recipe for this can be found here. 

I then covered it in a basic chocolate butter icing it didn't have to be very neat at this stage as it was the first coat.

As the cake was a thick layer the chocolate fingers would be too big so I chopped them in half. 

I placed another layer of chocolate butter cream around the boarder of the cake bit by bit and added the yummy chocolate fingers.

First I started by scattering giant a standard size chocolate buttons on top of the cake make sure to leave a space for the straw.

I used a wooden skewer and a straw to make the mount (illusion shattered, sorry). I used a skewer as well as a straw to make it more stable. I think a cake-pop stick would have been better but you have to work with what you've got.

Another benefit to using a straw is the chocolate butter icing sticks to it.

After I had a few buttons on there I started to dab the butter icing on the back of the buttons to help it stick.

To stick the bag on I dabbed some butter icing to one top corner of the bag and held it for a while. I made sure some buttons were in the bag to give the poring effect more realistic.

After a few more bags of buttons the cake was ready.

I was very happy with my first attempt and couldn't believe how easy it was! I now have Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked stuck in my head...but that's not a bad thing.

There are lots of ideas on the internet you can go for if you have a birthday coming up or know someone who does.

Why not give it a go?

Happy baking,

Ms B 

xx

Marzipan bees

Last November I made a Latvian honey cake for my partner's birthday but this post isn't about that...well kind of. It's about the little bees I made to decorate the cake. After looking in my baking books and the internet I came across this lovely video. For those of you who don't know who Frances Quinn is she the 2013 winner of the little TV baking competition The Great British Bake Off.

Ingredients 

50g orange blossom honey (I only had runny honey)

1 Tablespoon of honey blossom extract (I only had vanilla)

Orange zest and one tablespoon of the juice

One egg yolk (I used free range)

100g icing sugar 

200g ground almonds

10g dark chocolate

50g flaked almonds

Gold leaf (I use edible gold spray)

Method

Pour the honey, extract, orange zest and egg yolk in to a bowl.

Add the orange juice.

Mix until all ingredients and incorporated.

Sift your icing sugar in to the mix.

Add the ground almonds...

...until it looks like this. I popped this in the fringe for about 20/30 minuets.

Shape you mix into little bee bodys. 

Placed the almond flakes on a plate to spray them with edible gold spray to minimize mess.

Get your cake ready to see where your little bee friends can sit.

Use your melted chocolate and a toothpick to add stripes, eyes and a smiley face. use a sharp knife to make a cut either side of the bee and gently push in the almond wings. 

How cute is he?

Place your bees on and around your cake.

Make enough so everyone has their own bee.

I really enjoyed making these little bees and even though I didn't have the exact ingredients I was happy with how they turned out.

Why not give them a go?

Happy baking,

Ms B

xx