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

Banana and chocolate chip loaf cake

If you are new to baking and just want to throw everything into one bowl this recipe is for you. Last week I baked an easy lemon drizzle loaf cake and I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to bake another loaf cake. I was lucky enough to come across some over ripe bananas which are perfect for baking as it will give the cake strong flavour. I looked at a few recipes but finally decided on this one as it seemed simple.

Ingredients 

• 325g self raising flour

• 100g caster sugar

• 100g soft brow sugar

• A pinch of salt

• 175g chocolate chips

• 3 tablespoons of melted butter

• 80ml milk

• 1 egg (I used a medium free range)

• 280g mashed banana (around 3 medium bananas)

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Method

First mix all your dry ingredients. I sifted the flour and caster sugar, added the brown sugar and last of all the chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate). I only had 100g of chocolate chips however there seemed to be a good balance of banana and chocolate. If you are wondering why you add the chocolate chips at this stage it's because when chocolate chips are coated in flour it prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the mix when baking.  

Add all your wet ingredients a bit at a time. The recipe states to mash the banana however I left it chunky so when you eat it you get a flavour burst.  

It does take a bit of elbow grease if you are using a wooden spoon like I was but be careful not to over mix just mix until all the flour is incorporated

Line a loaf tin with parchment paper by buttering the tin before hand, this acts like a food glue. The parchment paper help you to remove the loaf once baked.

Pour you yummy mix into the tin, give it a little tap on the top to get rid of any air bubbles and smooth the top with the back of a spoon or a spatula. 

Pop it in the oven at 180 for about an hour. I have a fan oven so I baked it at 160 and turned it round half way through.

Test the cake by using a skewer or a knife, if it comes out with a few crumbs it's ready. Take it out the tin and place it on a cooling rack. Serve warm with ice cream or once cooled just as it is.

With chunky banana pieces and less chocolate than expected I was surprised that this turned out so well. So well in fact that my partner didn't want to share with anyone else!

If you want to try an easy bake why not give this a go?

Happy baking,

Ms B

xx

Easy lemon drizzle loaf cake

Lemon cake is one of my favorite cakes, so on the weekend I decided to bake a lemon drizzle loaf. I was keen to find a recipe that meant I could bake with what I all ready had in the house and came across this one which can be found here.    

Ingredients

175g self-raising flour1 teaspoon baking powder175g soft butter 175g caster sugar3 medium eggs (I used free range)2 tablespoons milkRind of 2 lemons

For the syrup

Juice of 2 lemons

115g  caster sugar

Method

Sift all your dry ingredients into a large bowl and give it a quick stir.

Add all your wet ingredients into the same bowl a bit at a time, being careful not to over mix.

Great two lemons until they are fully 'naked'.

Add the zest to your mix and give it one fine stir.

Line your loaf tine with parchment paper. It's a bit easier if you butter the tin first as it acts like a glue.

Pour your yummy lemony mix into the tin, tap on the work surface a few times to get rid of air bubbles and smooth the top with the back of a spoon or a spatula.

Pop it in the oven for about an hour. I put it in for a shorter time because my oven gets ridiculously hot but as long as the top isn't wiggling when you lightly shake it and the knife comes out clean it will be ready. 

While it was baking I measured out my sugar and squeezed the naked lemons ready to make the syrup.

Once I took the loaf cake out the oven I put the sugar and lemon juice in to a pan and put it on a low heat until all the sugar was dissolved.

Pour the syrup over the loaf and serve while still warm or wait until fully cooled.

I had a slice warm and a slice cold the next day. I thought it tasted more yummy the next day as the syrup was soaked up by the cake.

It was very easy to make, so if you love cake and love a citrus kick why not give it a go?

Happy baking,

Ms B

xx