Pope Cheesecake: Chocolate Pecan Toffee Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

This is a continuation of the Customised Bake Trial that I am sincerely glad I did as I now know the extent of inaccuracy that recipes can have or knowledge level they expect.

This time, I made my own caramel butterscotch sauce with a method that seemed to work, added the pecans in afterwards, then poured it on the base, and placed it in the fridge to cool. Mistake. The lovely oozy caramel hardened into a near impenetrable toffee. I really must research this caramel umbrella practically to fully understand this.

Pecan Caramel

Anyway, in a desperate bid to save my springform from hacking machetes, I baked the base with the toffee layer for 20 minutes to soften it before the cheesecake mix went in.

One of the comments from the client was that it was dense. Although a very kind offer was extended for me to stay and join my colleague client, I opted out, thinking I would come home and snoozeafter not sleeping all night. That didn't happen. It seems I can survive on a half-hour disco nap.

Chocolate Cheesecake Mixture

Back to the matter in hand... the denseness. This may have been due having 100g less of cream cheese than what was required. I may amend that sentence... in my crazed sleep-deprived brain it seems wrong. I adjusted the mixture on the fly, reducing the sugar, chocolate, and egg content, to compensate, but that may well have been the reason. I have tweaked my method, so I got a much better finish on the cream cheese mixture than on the first attempt.

Pre-bake

I was able to procure frozen raspberries easier than I thought I would, and the sauce was delicious. I was tempted to syphon some off for private usage, but decided I would make another batch as I still had more sauce.

Sauce

Overall, I believe the review was good, and I was pleased with the cake... just a shame I didn't have enough cream cheese.

In honour of the client who designed this cheesecake, I will call this a Pope Cheesecake.

Finito

Pope Cheesecake and Berry Fruit Sauce available at Samara's Baked Goods

BluBlu Cheesecake

Recipe base from The Hummingbird Bakery Book.

One of the things that I really appreciate about living in Sweden, is the having the option to pick your own fruit in the beautiful forests.

I have determinedly partaking in this activity since I moved here, and whilst I am not as skilled as others at picking a huge quantity, I am nevertheless always excited to have enough to do something with other than through a bunch into yoghurt.

Fresh from the forest

Swedish blueberries are so beautiful: unlike the American varieties (that I believe are not technically blueberries, but a relative of them), they have as dark purple flesh as their skin.

Having been disappointed with my Blueberry Cake, I was reluctant to make another with my handpicked fruit, so went with a recipe base that I felt was more reliable: cheesecake.

Gorgeous

The base cheesecake mixture was beautiful, and I must be sounding like a broken record where cheesecakes are concerned, as this was another mixture that I truly felt sad about baking.

In they go!

I had washed and frozen my blueberries on the day they were picked, and found that the water on them made them clump together slightly. Nothing too dramatic, but after a conversation with a colleague, I tried washing then air-drying the fruit overnight before freezing and this made a much 'looser' and easier-to-manipulate batch.

From the oven

I appreciate that the appearance is aesthetically pleasing as when you have the fruit and its sauce over the top, however I have never truly appreciated that style in terms of taste. Then again, I have only had shop bought versions, and I like very few mass-produced cheesecakes.

Available at Samara's Baked Goods

Chocolate Surprise Microwave Brownie Cake + Recipe!

Ooooh, guess what?! No recipe base link this time, as this was my first, and very own original recipe.

I shall concede that the recipe follows the basic rules and ratios of any cake, so originality is a bit of a loose concept here.

So it was a Friday night after a long week. I reserve one guilty pleasure, which is: Friday Nights Off. No work, no guilt, just unadulterated freedom. Obviously that means Netflix and junk food. Small problem. I don't have any junk food outlets in my local area; at best I can get some sushi, which is undoubtedly delicious, but doesn't hit That Spot.

I haven't baked in a while, and this is purely a case of 'the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak'. Like most people in my profession at this time of year, I am dog tired, weary, and somewhat in shock that I am still able to function.

I was craving something sweet and naughty, and really did not feel like going through the rigmarole of baking a huge batch of something or a big cake just to feel so guilty about not presenting it more or less complete at work* and not have any of it. I decided that this was the moment. Hell was about to Freeze Over.

I have a problem with microwaves. Yes, they are a convenient and cost effective way of cooking and heating, but I can't help but feel the heat is half-arsed. The heat seems to leave the food as quickly as it enters it, and I have an embedded impression that if the microwave is allowed to give the food a big zap for more substantial heating, it somewhat 'denatures' ingredients, changes the taste, and consequently, the end result. I tend to limit my infrequent use of microwaves to heating complete food dishes that contain the carbohydrates such as rice and noodles (yes, last night's dinner... if there was a dinner last night).

I also have a distinct memory of wandering into an unintended and ill-advised discussion about 'microwave cakes vs. oven cakes' with a class, and somehow upsetting a student. Sorry! My personal gripe with microwaves is mine, and mine alone.

I must admit that I have become more curious about developing recipes for microwave cakes since I started Pinterest-ing a couple of months ago, and after making emergency freezer cookies for a friend's birthday, I wanted to make her a few sachets of microwave cake mixture so she could simply snip a corner and squeeze it into a mug then bake it in the microwave.

My interest was further piqued after I found microwave cake mixture being sold in my local supermarket. This actually made me rather indignant. I feel that the spirit of the microwave cake is to use ingredients that you are quite likely to have knocking about, and whip up an individual portion of cake that (in my opinion) wouldn't taste quite right after being baked by a microwave, but the satisfaction it provided would far outweigh the work it required to make and clean up afterwards. I didn't check too closely, but I imagine, like ready boxed cake mixture, it would taste generic, without personality, and processed. I am being completely elitist here. I have never used ready made cake mixture. I have an unshakeable belief that it is not thrifty.

Back to the present. Such was my immediate need of something sinful, that I decided that I needed to step over to the dark side, and make myself a microwave mug cake. I had a few rogue ingredients cluttering the fridge that were left over from other bakes, and had no use, so decided to chuck them in there too.

Hubba hubba

This whole event was a double surprise (for me), as I was not only using the microwave, but making a chocolate cake too, which readers of my blog may have realised is not my favourite flavour.

Not the best picture, but it's all full of chocolate-y-ness

Anyway, although I could still taste the 'microwave' flavour on the cake, it was actually quite yummy, and hit the spot. Just don't compare it to an oven cake. It is a different animal, this microwave cake.

Cakey texture at the bottom

*Ok, ok, I do have a sample of batches just for Quality Control purposes, but have had a very small proportion of my own baking, sometimes not tasting recipes entirely. For some reason, I view eating it myself as selfish. Now I write it, I see how ridiculous that it. I made the stuff; I should enjoy it!

Here's the recipe! I don't imagine I will make the same one twice, so please feel free to use this as a base, and have fun with your ingredients!

Chocolate Surprise Microwave Brownie Cake

Time: less than 6 minutes

Yield: 1 serving in a microwave safe mug that can hold 350 ml/12 oz volume

Storage: the batter can be refrigerated for a day, the microwaved cookie can be covered in its mug and kept in the fridge for 2 days. Heat on low for a few seconds before serving.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup self raising flour (plain is fine, just add 1/4 tsp of baking powder)
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp cream (some or all can be substituted for milk or non-dairy alternative)
• 2-4 tbsp milk (some or all can be substituted for water or non-dairy alternative)
• 2 tbsp mild flavoured oil such as rapeseed (can be substituted with liquid margarine)
• OPTIONAL: 1 piece chocolate treat (e.g. a Rolo)
• OPTIONAL: 1-2 tbsp chocolate chips + extra for topping (dark for vegan)
• OPTIONAL: 1-2 tbsp caramel + extra for topping, any variety. Can be substituted with peanut butter or dairy-free alternative for vegans
• OPTIONAL: 3 tbsp maximum whipped cream/dairy-free alternative for topping (spray cream or similar is fine)

Method

1.  Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl using a small whisk or fork to remove lumps.
2. Add the oil and cream, and mix to combine.
3. Add 2 tbsp of milk and mix. You want a soft dropping texture that takes 3-4 seconds to drop from a spoon. Add 1 tbsp of milk at a time until you reach this point.
4. Add a couple of spoonfuls into a microwaveable heatproof mug, then drop your chocolate treat in.
5. Add more mixture until you have spooned about half of it into your mug.
6. Add your caramel and chocolate chips so that they are evenly spread over the surface of the mixture.
7. Spoon the rest of the mixture into the mug
8. Heat on Medium power for 30-45 seconds at a time until you reach the texture that you want, and being mindful that you must avoid burning the chocolate. Maximum 3 minutes in four intervals. I used a smaller mug on the High heat setting, so had to stop heating it after 2 30-second intervals, as it was about to overflow. The texture at the top was just firmer than batter, but it was baked with a more cake-y texture at the bottom. Be aware of this, to avoid over-heating.
9. I whipped some cream in a small bowl and spooned it over the mug cake, drizzled some caramel and sprinkled some chocolate chips on top. This was purely personal; again, have fun with it!
10. This is very hot, so let cool for a minute, and eat with caution!

Note: If you just want to 'get on with it', and make a simpler cake, mix this directly into your mug, dry ingredients followed by the wet ones, mix thoroughly so it's combined, then add any or all the optional ingredients in afterwards (ensuring the chocolate treat is towards the bottom if you are using it), and only adding the whipped cream if you want to!

Brownie Cake with Peanut Caramel Butterscotch

Recipe Base here from Jacquelyn Clark

Now as much as I am a huge fan of being frugal, I also appreciate that you must risk waste in order to discover greatness, so my inner scientist gets her chance to play quite a bit.

I have on countless times metaphorically shaken my fist at the sky when a recipe hasn't worked out, and 9 times out of 10, the recipe is from the Internet. This is not to say that all internet recipes do not work, they all work on some level, but they don't always meet my expectations.

Yesterday I had some friends come around for a donut party; I had some piecrust ideas of two evenings of baking beforehand so that my guests could decorate them using the left over glazes that were accumulating in my refrigerator, requiring precious Tupperware tubs. That of course didn't happen, considering that my day job has been especially busy over the past few weeks, and my motivation to do anything when I get home is very low.

I decided to compensate by making a 'base' cake so that there was something for my guests to eat whilst donuts were being made, and made an uncharacteristically non-cautious move to try a new recipe as my only option. Risk taker, that I am.

In the last few months, I have really been increasing my usage of Pinterest, I didn't really get the concept at first, and to be honest, I probably still don't, however it has proved to be a great source of recipes and ideas for me. Check out my Social Media buttons at the top right of this window to see my perception of the site. Constructive opinions always welcome of course!

Anyhoo, the picture of this recipe was far too much for me to resist, however as it has peanuts, it's a recipe I would avoid making as taking it to work where there are many people who have nut allergies would not be such a good idea.

The recipe worked well... I did add a 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda rather than 1/4, and the cake rose well in the oven, nearly to the top of my springform tin. This was far more than I thought it would seeing as it is a brownie cake, but not an unpleasant surprise.
No, no, that occurred after I took it out of the oven. It was all very sad. The cake sank in the middle, quite possibly a combination of the excess bicarb, or over beating when adding the dry ingredients.
I must admit that I am reluctant to blame myself as it is not my style to over beat... I have a knack for 'lagom' mixing, and as much as it is feasible as a principle, the amount of bicarbonate does not usually affect the rise unless it is in excess of a 1.5 teaspoons, so unfortunately, innocent or not, I am holding the ratios of the recipe responsible here. It doesn't help the recipes's case that the caramel timings were a bit off, but I can be more forgiving of that as I believe the person who made the recipe lives in a warmer climate than I do, so that is understandable.

Hey! The first time I can use a cake stand I received
over a year ago for my birthday

I haven't had an opportunity to taste the cake just yet, but I did taste the peanut caramel butterscotch, and was suitably impressed. Such a great combination. I just love caramel, in its many different forms: caramel, caramel sauce, butterscotch (yes, I have been researching, as the word 'caramel' is bandied about covering many different things with a similar taste and/or consistency, yet varying ingredients). Adding peanuts to pretty much any of these forms is a natural combination, and was a joy to be able to do it myself for once with no guilt or worries about striking someone down with an anaphylactic reaction.

I really need to buy a cake lifter so I can
protect my lovely tins

I am not completely writing this recipe off as a base, but I do have plenty of other sure-fire brownie recipes I could use. I will however always remember that peanut caramel butterscotch sauce, and have some ideas of how to tweak it... I guess I need to have some more guests over so I can test it out!

Free From Cocoa Cake

Recipe Based on Not Quite Nigella: LINK

I recently made some BanBan Bread, and felt there was something missing. Not with the bake; the cake was a trusted one, and didn't fail to deliver. No, the disappointment came from another source. When I make banana cake, my Scottish colleague would often come up to me and say, after an appreciative and perfectly timed pause, 'that banana bread'. It was something I came to expect as part and parcel with me making this type of cake.

When my most favourite comment was not forthcoming, I went to seek it out, and demand its presence. It turns out that the comment's owner had recently changed his lifestyle and was cutting out lactose and gluten. Well! This put a spanner in the works. I live off droplets of perceived praise, and I couldn't let a reliable source run dry. I immediately started researching gluten free, lactose free recipes. I stumbled across a couple, however rather than being flourless, they tended to use gluten free flours. I am currently reluctant to invest in them, mainly because I am reluctant to go to a shop in the opposite direction from my home.

One glorious day, an email came into my inbox with a powerful headline. I was ordered to make this cake. a gluten free, dairy and lactose free, nut free, and most shockingly, chocolate free cake! The base of the cake was quinoa, Surprise!

Now I know very little about quinoa. I can identify it, I know its texture, but not much else. I managed to eventually locate it in the supermarket, prepared it the day before so it was nice and cold, and off I went. Into Egg Oblivion, where I did not realise I was one egg short. I decided to freestyle, and replace an egg with a mashed banana, as I was too far gone to turn back.

Now it could be the egg substitution, it could be the fact it had only cooled for 1 hour, but the poor bundt collapsed upon turning it out of its tin. After all that effort, I wasn't giving up, so I hastily transferred the cake pieces to cupcake cases, topped them with the coconut cream icing to make puddings.

Puddin's

Now even though the cake did not turn out as I expected, I loved the ease of it, and I genuinely liked the flavour and unusual texture. So much so, I will try it again when I can devote three evenings to its creation.

Chocolate Layer Cake

Recipe Base from The Kitchn: LINK

Hmmm, I am surprised I have not written about this cake, as it seems to be one of my most popular ones... weeeeeell, that's stretching it a bit. It's more a situation that this is a cake whose appearance exceeds the work required to create it, so it was the one I whipped up for a friend's barbecue. From that second attempt at the cake, I make the huge artistic leap to say that it's become somewhat of a go-to cake that I use to show that I care a little bit as it looks a bit more showy than a biscuit.

I, personally, am not the biggest fan of chocolate cake. Certainly not this one, which is of the cocoa variety. According to the preamble on the recipe, there are three types of chocolate cake: flourless, cocoa, and fudgy. The chocolate cakes that I appreciate most are of the fudgy variety. Most definitely. However, its seeming failings aside, this cake is actually quite good. I am very wary of layer cakes as I fear they will not be moist, and knowing the drying effect of cocoa, I was on edge the first time I made it.

I made some tweaks to the recipe that are scrawled somewhere on my paper copy, and going against my general rule of following a recipe exactly once, I just went with my gut.

I have now made this cake three times, and it has delivered each time.

My first attempt was okaaaay, but I ruined it by using icing that I had too much of and was far too soupy. Not wanting to waste the icing, I used as much of I could of the moussy stuff to sandwich and surround the layers. It resulted in a chocolate milkshake-looking cake.

The second attempt was perfection. Until I tried to level it. This is the second time I've attempted such a thing, and both have not gone well. When stationary the cake was a masterpiece. In transit, it slid off it Samara-crafted cake slope. Fabulous. I am considering investing in a wire cake cutter tool, however have not had confidence in the online reviews of the ones I have looked at. Suggestions anyone?

Finished product, naked cake style!

Eagle eyed viewers can spot my leveling attempt!

My last attempt was for my first order from my new online bakery, and was intended to be a 5th birthday cake for my colleague's son. This lucky young'un has a liking for both raspberry and chocolate, so after discussions, we agreed on sandwiching the icing with both raspberry and chocolate frosting. We didn't want to make it too adult/cocoa-ey, so I suggested a milk chocolate buttercream frosting. Grand idea, but ineffective. I used 150 g of precious milk chocolate chips, and it somehow got absorbed by the butter icing flavour, so I resorted to cocoa in order to obtain the cocoa taste, I managed to find some inspirations on making rasberry buttercream frosting, and concocted a rather successful batch of the stuff.

So lesson learnt: real milk chocolate does not flavour buttercream icing.

Now as much as I bluffly profess that I have no time for frou frou, decoration, and such like, this is more a testament of my abilities than of the visions I have in my head of what I want to create. This is one of those times that I will hide behind that proclamation. I pictured a towering masterpiece with clear and straight levels of cake and two tone icing. That is far from what the reality was.

Looks like something from Ghostbusters 2!

Luverly.

Whilst I was very confident in the cake and all the flavours, I have to admit that the final piece was a let down.

You see? You see?! It was better on the test run!

I made the mistake of using a ready made decorating tube or what turned out to be a thick, sticky, sugar paste, that I have never used before. And will probably never use again. My test 'piping' was passable enough that I wouldn't have minded that being on top of the actual cake. My real attempt looked like a child of the age displayed on the cake did it. I was as embarrassed to the extent that I could be (which is not much). To try to distract from the main debacle, I added some fresh raspberries covered in a white chocolate mix, which did nothing for their appearance, but did everything for the flavour, sprinkled some dried raspberry flakes and icing sugar over the top. It helped marginally, if that.

Reluctant frou frou

Side-ish view

Reflection:
Pipe writing with softer more suitable flavoured and perhaps dyed icing with my own piping tools
Pipe the icing between layers for a neater finish

I have a chance at redemption! My colleague has asked for a repeat order, with the addition of marzipan! I'm not confident on the flavour combination, but faint heart never won fair lady!

29th November 2015 UPDATE
Well... it was neater, however my mental images of piping a Cumberland style coil of icing for neatness didn't quite work, and I have a LOT to learn about marzipan. I'm not even convinced what I was using was marzipan. I wasted maybe half the packet. Learned it was delicate so didn't quite work with my strenous rolling, and that I should probably invest in a good size pastry rolling mat for ease of application.

As the original plan was to cover the whole cake in marzipan, I filled the layers with raspberry buttercream icing only. I also decided to try and beat the cake levelling system by placing the top cake layer upside down so that its flat bottom would create a level surface for icing. Yeeeeh, that didn't quite work. The top layer decided to have a bit of a breakdown, or rather just started to break so I had to carefully flip it over and use the domed surface.
Then I had to go to Plan B, and just roll out a top layer of marzipan and then cover the cake in the chocolate icing. There were no good raspberries in my local supermarket (they were all mouldy), so I there was no real juzzing to be had either. I tried, though, I did try. I tried to do stripy icing for the writing, and it disaster. Then I tried two tone sugar paste with blue and yellow, and it all melded together into a very pale green in the bag. Every day, there is so much to learn!

Yes, yes, the writing has not improved

Available at Samara's Baked Goods

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe base: LINK

I have a problem. If I see an interesting ingredient AND it's on some kind of promotion, I get filled with an increasing need to purchase said ingredient.

This happened with a jar of Dulce de Leche on offer in my local supermarket. Keeping in mind that I live in Sweden, whose grocery prices are pretty lofty, and whose price saving promotions are few and far between in my humble opinion. Even when there are offers, the price saving is not usually that great. However! You mustn't look a gift horse in the mouth regardless of the size of the gift, so covet it I did. Well I coveted two. Crafty producers offered two variations: Baking, and Classic. How could I choose?! I decided that as I wanted to use it with cake, I would opt for the baking option.

I went home, found a recipe, made it, was suitably disappointed, yada yada, more about that later.

You would think that the purchase would satisfy my needs, if not dampen them. Well, no, it did not. I am all about possession, and as with Pokémon, I gotta catch them all! The price promotion was still on at least three weeks later! They were really tempting me. I managed to talk myself down from the ledge of hopelessness, and put the jar down. I didn't really need it. Turns out, I had already bought the Classic jar in some sort of Supermarket Sweep blackout. I really didn't know, and happened upon the sneaky pot nestled behind a box of cocoa. Kerazy.

Anyhoo, so I was desperate to justify my initial purchase of the Baking Dulce de Leche so I scoured my usual suspects that I could search by ingredient with, and stumbled across a recipe for iced cupcakes. Huzzahs all around, everybody.

It seemed fairly straightforward except for the coring, filling, de-coring (is that a word?) of the cupcakes. Fiddly, monotonous stuff that I really had no time for, but beggars cannot be choosers: I had selected this recipe based on the limited ingredients at home, so I plowed on.

From memory, the cupcake mixture seemed nice and smooth, however proved to be heavy and close textured after baking. Big disappointment. Still edible nonetheless.

The Army

Reflection: add equivalent of bicarbonate of soda to baking powder for extra lift.

At the coring stage, I had a twinkling of a doubt that seeing as I was not baking the Dulce de Leche, I should have bought the other one, but I figured it wouldn't be much different. Kämpa kämpa. It turns out, I'm a mean corer; I could definitely have left more space for the gooey filling, but I retrospectively justified my actions by figuring that these were not results I could waste expensive ingredients on.

The icing was a bit grainy, maybe because I used the wrong sugar, but I don't quite remember. They were impressively uniform looking once they were frosted, so I surprised myself with my passable icing skills. Alas I did not think this through, so my transportation methods resulted in a few sad squashed fellows. Boo.

Cupcake

I have since invested in a 24-cupcake carrier. It is certainly a beast, however somehow more comfortable to carry than my old case.

Better luck next time... watch out for attempt 2!

Mini Zingi Loaves

Recipe based on 'How to be a Domestic Goddess' by Nigella Lawson.

So after having my recipe book for so long, I have finally decided to invest in mini-loaf tins. Along with a couple of 6-well donut tins, and a cupcake carrier case. No one cares about that, but I had to say it.

When selecting which mini-loaf tins to invest in, I was wavering between getting individual mini loaf tins (approximately 1/2 of a regular loaf), 6-well tins (approximately 1/3 of a regular loaf), and a 8-well tin (around 1/4 of a regular loaf). I was overwhelmed by the choice alone, so had to let Nige decide for me. In this book, she uses the 8-well tins, so they were what I opted for.

Now as I mentioned, I had invested in donut tins, and I have been having a lot of fun with them (I will update my blog as soon as possible), and realised that my other new purchase was not getting used, so I changed my plan of making more donuts, and debut homemade mini loaves... to myself.

Lovely whipped batter

As Ms. Lawson was my deciding factor for the tin, it only seemed fitting that the recipe I used first, was the one that swung the vote: Mini Lime-Syrup Sponges.

Syrup... somehow eclipsed by those
gorgeous loaves in the background!

I didn't have lime at home, but I did have an organic (non-waxed) orange, and a lemon, so I used the zest and juice from the orange, together with some of the juice from the lemon. It turned out that I did not need the lemon juice, but it did add a certain lightness to the flavouring.

I decided to make a double batch as 8 mini-loaves to take to work just wouldn't do, and thank goodness I did! I'm unsure whether I neglected to read it, or it simply wasn't there, but how full should the wells be?! Yes, yes, I understand the concept of dividing the batter equally across 16 wells, however with my non-fan, and quite frankly, dodgy, oven, I am limited to baking one tray at a time, so I fill them accordingly.

Syrupped!

I decided to fill the wells approximately 3/4 full, and as you can see from the pictures, they rose magnificently. Too magnificently.

And on the inside...

Taste and texture were perfection... and they may have been even stickier if the loaf size was more appropriate.

Definitely one to be tried again.

Available at Samara's Baked Goods

Butterscotch Layer Cake: Attempt 2

Recipe based on Nigella Lawson's How to Be a Domestic Goddess.

Big news! I've finally set up an online store for local deliveries and collection (Stockholm only).
I am just as surprised as everyone, as I have no real inclination to make a profit from baking, or indeed a living from it either. A friend directed to me a lovely site called Tictail.com, which gives you free online store space to set up a shop and sell items that you advertise.

The close up

Not one to blow my own trumpet, but in my category, my shop looks pretty polished, even though there are many things to improve.

Twins!

Anyhoo, as of 08/11/15, I have received two orders. One was for a chocolate layer cake that I will wax lyrical about in another post, and the other order was for a bumper 6 items!

One of the items in this order is... you guessed it, the Butterscotch Layer Cake that this post is named for!

Lovely smooth batter

This was the second time I'm making it, however I was fairly confident, although some doubt lay in the oven in the flat I am currently renting, and am still yet to get used to. It's a hasty oven, so I have been extra vigilant after 2/3 of the baking time has passed as I have been burnt before. As were two of my cakes.

So grateful for my stackable cooling racks

The cake is intended to be a naked one, so unlike my first attempt, I decided to present it that way, and instead of being governed by the quantity of icing and caramel I had made, I was governed instead by the aesthetic. Kinda. You know me, not one for frou frou. They looked better than the first attempt anyway. In a manufactured sort of way.

Homemade caramel

Butterscotch Cream Cheese Frosting

Anyhoo, they* turned out well, I was pleased, I will hopefully update with pictures of The Cut later.

Nice Slice

*They were twins! Otherwise known as two cakes made at the same time!

Available at Samara's Baked Goods

Coconut Chocolate Cake

 Recipe base from Restlesschipotle.com (LINK)

On my Bundt quest that has no particular end goal, I stumbled upon this recipe.
Whilst the description talked a big game, about the amazing pairing of coconut and chocolate, and rum, I found it difficult to believe that a recipe that only had coconut milk - which has a very delicate flavour - as its connection to coconut was going to be that flavoursome.

Now don't get me wrong, the cake batter was nice, and after a previous incident with too much density, I bought a new hand blender, and was really taking precautions not to overbeat the batter.

Batter

I unintentionally used under half of the chocolate from the recipe, but I didn't have enough dark chocolate anyway. I don't feel it hurt the recipe.

As the cake has an option of adding a cup of macadamia nuts, I would say that I would probably add a cup of desiccated coconut. This somewhat defeats the purpose of avoiding the texture, however I can't in all good conscious say that this is a coconut cake. Maybe adding tablespoon of coconut extract, or replacing the quarter cup of rum for Malibu could be an option.

with chocolate medley

My batter came out very velvety and rose magnificently from the pan as it was baking. Far too much batter for my 12 cup bundt. I don't blame the recipe, I should have recognised that it was too full, and made cupcakes with the remainder.

Bundt!

After turning the cake out, I decided in a moment of madness/genius to cut the bottom off the cake to even it up. I then discovered what is becoming a recurring nightmare for me: Density. Is that part still not baked properly?! I whipped it back into the oven with a foil hat for another 15-20 minutes, contradictorily still on its cooling rack. After this point I admitted defeat, and took it out to cool entirely.

Finished Product

As the Swedes say, kämpa kämpa. I finished the cake off by pouring half of the coconut rum sauce over it, and reserving the other half to heat up and pour over it the next day.

The cake was still demolished within 10 minutes, and whilst I was lurking in the sidelines, eagle-eyeing the cake and its inner appearance, I discovered to my wary yet somewhat happy bewilderment that the cake appeared to have repaired itself overnight! No dense, doughy patches or anything! Not sure how that happened, but I'm pleased... for now.

Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake

Recipe base from Feast by Nigella Lawson through Not Quite Nigella.

I should have known that the recipe was too elegantly simple and indulgent to have come from anyone other than Nigella Lawson.

After my recent spat of sub-par cakes, I have been wandering through the endless wasteland of internet recipes, trying to find an interesting cake to make to somehow redeem my tattered reputation. I stumbled across this recipe on notquitenigella.com and as I had all the ingredients, I figured I could give it a go.

I'm not a huge fan of chocolate cake, and still feeling rather wary of cakes after the succession of relative failures, I didn't have the highest of hopes, but I'm no quitter.

This was a very easy cake to make... the hardest part was mixing the dry ingredients into the wet without over beating it. This was all alleviated once the hot water was added.

First attempt - milk chocolate chips

When I made this cake for a second time, I combined the wet with dry ingredients with a wooden spoon, added the water, and then went back to the hand mixer.

Having made three of these cakes two days in a row, I would say that I preferred the first cake where I used milk chocolate chips. I had nearly run out of milk chocolate for the second batch, so I used dark chocolate chips, that in my mind made it far too rich.

Second batch - mainly dark chocolate chips

I have to say that my first experience of this cake set a positive precedent, and it is so simple to make that I recommend this as The Go-To chocolate cake recipe.


Available at Samara's Baked Goods

Chocolate and Sea Salt Caramel Bundt Cake

Recipe based on Tesco.com (LINK)

So I have been eyeing this recipe up from across the virtual room, and decided to give it a go seeing as I'm in a bundt and ring cake phase.

The instructions were very clear, however I would amend the instructions to adding the dry mix to the egg mixture, rather than the other way around that was directed. I found doing it that way made it difficult to stir.

I managed to mess up royally - twice - after adding too much baking powder to the first dry mix (2 tablespoons rather than teaspoons), I decided to bag that mix for another time, and make another dry mix. So... second time lucky? No chance. Instead of using self raising flour, I used plain flour. So ironically, I ended up adding another 5 teaspoons to the dry mix in a bid to convert the plain flour into self raising.

batter. tin was buttered, floured, and cocoa'd

This all seemed like a crafty plan, however the self satisfied smile was soon on the other side of my face after the cake sank like the Titanic after I checked it at my usual 40 minute mark.

turned out cake after 20 mins cooling in tin.

I was feeling pretty low at this point, as my cakes have lost their quality, and frustratingly I don't quite know why. I bought a new hand mixer as the variable speed switch on my old one has stopped working and therefore it only operates on one speed.

I digress. I decided to plough on, because as much as I dislike presenting food (or anything) not quite to my standard, I dislike waste more (obviously I am a tupperware fan), so onwards!

Caramel

The caramel is the crowning glory of this cake, and was the best caramel recipe I have ever used, but beware: it is potent! It tastes so rich that it glides down your throat in a way that would make you believe it had alcohol in it. I used about 25g of lys sirup, and 25g of the real deal: Tate & Lyle Golden Syrup.

Melting chocolate, and making caramel

I managed to decorate the cake as directed, however omitted the almonds in case of nut and seed allergies. As you can see from the final picture, the cake was very covered in chocolate shavings... for that reason I would halve the chocolate used for it.

Final Product

Available at Samara's Baked Goods

Red Velvet Layer Cake

Based on recipe from Hummingbird Bakery.

For those who saw my awful attempt at a multi-coloured cake, may wonder why I go back to this. I am one of those people who wonders too.

Anyhoo, I am getting a bit more interested in cakes of a more interesting format, e.g. ring, bundt, and stumbled across a Red Velvet Bundt recipe through one of those 'you may be interested in...' links.

Having tried the Hummingbird Bakery recipe for cupcakes, and the unfortunate multi-coloured cake, I was wary of trying a new set of ratios, so figured I'd use the 'old faithful' instructions, and stick the batter in a bundt.

I chickened out, as I have had a bad experience when making a spontaneous bundt, and opted for a layer cake instead.

I made a spare cupcake to crumble over the top, which was inspired by the bundt recipe.

The result was a very even light cake. I could probably have levelled the layers, and used more icing inbetween them, however I feel that is a waste of cake, and I wasn't sure how much I'd have left to ice the rest of the cake.

There She Is!

Overall I was pleased, however I need to learn to be more generous with icing.

There is something in red food dye that irritates my mouth, so I couldn't really have the cake.

A Slice of Life

Available at Samara's Baked Goods