If I had to pick a flavour I love above all else, I would have a very difficult time doing so. I just love sooooo many flavours . . . and a lot depends on what type of mood I am in, or the weather, or even what's in the refrigerator. I guess you could say I just love food, full stop!



I do have a serious thing for ginger though . . . I love it's warmth and spice . . . that peppery heat, that goes so very well with lots of things . . . tart lemons, sweet fruits and berries, nuts, breads, chicken and pork! Dark Chocolate!! (ohhh . . . I am hungry now! Dang!!)



I do love a good gingerbread and I have some great recipes for quite a variety of them. The ones I've already posted you can find here. I have many, many more, trust me . . . but they will be revealed to you one at a time as time goes by, and according to my cravings. (I am such a glutton and a tease!)



I just adore this particular gingerbread. It's light . . . and moist . . . and mild. Just perfect for those times when I am craving a gingerbread, but not looking for anything too heavy.



There are more almonds in this than there are flour, which makes for a very light cake, and also a very moist cake. It's also chock full of lovely little bits of preserved stem ginger. I use Opies, which I like. If you are so inclined you can even get it steeped in a whiskey syrup. Just sayin is all . . .



Anyways, this cake is lovely. You get a fabulous crunch on top from the flaked almonds, all toasty and nutty, and then brushed with some of the ginger syrup when warm, giving them a bit of sweet heat. Moist cake, with tangy little spicy sweet bits of ginger throughout. All in all . . . F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!



Trust me. Have I ever lied to you? I thought not!



*Almond Gingerbread*
Serves 8 to 10
Printable Recipe

A gently flavoured gingerbread, moist and topped with the wonderful crunch of flaked almonds and ginger syrup.

3 1/2 ounces butter (7 TBS), softened
5 1/2 ounces dark brown sugar (3/4 cup packed)
4 large free range eggs
2 ounces of stem ginger in syrup, plus 4 TBS of the syrup (2 1/2 knobs)
7 ounces of almond flour (2 cups)
3 ounces self raising flour (3/4 cup)
1 ounce flaked almonds (scant 1/2 cup)

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Butter a 9 inch square baking pan and line with baking parchment. Butter the parchment. Set aside.

Whisk together the butter and brown sugar until light and creamy. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each one is added.

Finely chop the stem ginger. Add to the butter mixture, along with 2 TBS of syrup. Fold in the ground almonds and flour. Spread in the baking tin, smoothing the top over. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the cake is firm to the touch and a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. (If the almonds begin to brown too much, cover lightly with a sheet of foil.)

Remove from the oven when done. Gently heat the remaining ginger syrup and brush over top of the warm cake. Leave to cool, then cut into slices to serve.

So yesterday I was invited out for a girlie day crafting with two fab friends. I was asked to bring cake for our picnic lunch, and so I was quite happy to comply!



Crafting, girlie friends, cake . . . sounds like a fabulous combination don't you think???



I wanted a portable cake though, because I knew I was going to be travelling first by train and then by car and I didn't want anything that was going to get squashed or ruined in the process, in other words . . . something that would hold up.



Loaf cakes are the perfect thing for such occasions. You can cut them into slices and then sandwich the slices together with the icing in the middle. Easy to handle, and easy to eat, with little or no mess! The perfect picnic portable!



This is one of my favourite loafs to make, next to banana or carrot . . . oh and lemon, let's not forget that. Cougettes make a lovely loaf cake, which always turns out moist and delicious.



I added cardamom and lime to this one to give it just that little bit extra zip and tang. The frosting in the middle? A delicious cream cheese, also flavoured with lime.

Altogether scrummy and the perfect treat for three crafting gals I think!

Cake sandwiches! I love them!



*Courgette, Cardamom and Lime Loaf*
Makes one 9 inch loaf, serving 8 to 10
Printable Recipe

Moist and nicely spiced. I like to sandwich slices together with cream cheese icing to wrap up and take along to picnics!

250g of grated courgettes (2 medium zucchini, grated)
100g caster sugar (1/2 cup)
100g butter (scant 1/2 cup)
100g runny honey (1/3 cup)
3 large free range eggs, beaten
3/4 tsp ground cardamom
the zest and juice of one unwaxed lime
325g of self raising flour (generous 2 1/2 cup)
75g of ground almonds (3/4 cup)
3 TBS thick Greek Yoghurt

Icing:
100g of icing sugar, sifted (generous 3/4 cup)
75g of butter, softened (1/3 cup)
75g of low fat cream cheese, softened (1/3 cup)
juice and zest of one unwaxed lime

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark4. Butter a 9 inch loaf tin and line with parchment paper. Butter the paper. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in the honey and the eggs. Fold in the cardamom, lime zest and lime juice. Squeeze as much liquid as you can from the courgettes and fold them into the creamed mixture along with the flour and ground almonds. Stir in the yoghurt. Spread the batter in the prepared tin, smoothing the top off.

Bake for one hour until baked all the way through and well risen. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Place (still in the tin) on a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the Icing, beat all the ingredients together until smooth. Cut the cold cake into slices and sandwich them together with some of the icing to serve. Alternately you can just spread the icing on top of the loaf and cut into slices to serve.

I realize, that to say that something is the World's Best anything is a pretty bold statement to make . . . and I don't make it lightly.



I have been creating and baking Gingerbread Cakes since I was knee high to a grasshopper! Ok . . . so maybe that is somewhat of an exaggeration . . . but I've certainly been testing and baking them since I took high school home economics!! (It wasn't until then, that my mother really let me loose in the kitchen unsupervised!!!)



I've experimented with, devised, and tried many, many recipes through the years. Some might have had the lovely spicy flavour I was looking for, and just the right amount of heat . . . but been sadly dry and lacking in every other respect.

Other's might have been moist, but lacking in spice and character!!!




Nobody likes a dry gingerbread . . . and nobody likes one that's not all gingery and spicy . . . well, this gal doesn't at any rate!



This is my tried and true recipe. The one I came up with, and have been using for years and years. It is no fail, as long as you follow the instructions exactly. It always bakes up deliciously moist. It has just the right amount of spice and heat . . . and it tastes better and better with each day that passes.



It's beautifully delicious served warm, with the accompanying Spiced Lemon Sauce . . . or perhaps a dollop of whipped cream, or creme fraiche, or even lashings of custard, which is how the Toddster likes it . . . but then he is a Brit and if there's no custard involved, it's just not a pudding as far as he's concerned!



It's scrummy yummy, sliced and served cold . . . spread with softened butter.
It's likewise moreishly delightful, sliced thin and lightly toasted and once again spread with butter and . . . ahem . . . a bit of marmalade . . . just a scratching you understand . . . not gobs.



In short . . . this IS the World's Best Gingerbread Cake. Trust me on this. If you like Gingerbread, like I like Gingerbread, I think you'll find that . . . this is the cadillac of Gingerbreads.

You would be quite forgiven if, upon closing your eyes and taking a bite of this lovely cake, you imagined you were eating a baked cheesecake. In fact with that delightful crack on top, and underlying creamy taste, it really does resemble a cheese cake.



Dense and rich, with a wonderful body and taste, this is a fabulous cake! Normally I would serve it with some crushed fresh strawberries or raspberries, but today . . . alas . . . I didn't have any, and I don't really like to eat these fruits out of season anyways. Out of season berries never quite come up to their promise.



It was delicious regardless, simply dusted with some icing sugar and cut into wedges to serve. A dollop of creme fraiche or greek yoghurt would also go very well.



I love the sweet plumpness of the sultanas that dot it's dense, yet creamy . . . crumb.

Each mouthful is delightfully lemony. It was Dorie who taught me to rube the lemon zest into the sugar when baking a cake and it's a delightful top tip that I always follow. It really brings the lemon flavour out of the zest and makes it more pronounced in the most delicious way!



This was the perfect way to end an early spring Sunday afternoon. Oh-so-scrumdiddlyumptious! (Recipe adapted from Cakes, Women's Institute by Liz Herbert)



*Lemon Ricotta Cake*
Makes one 8 inch round cake, serving 12
Printable Recipe

A deliciously dense and moist cake filled with the lovely flavours of lemon and soft sultanas.

50g of sultanas (a generous 1/3 cup)
8 ounces caster sugar (1 cup plus about 2 TBS)
6 ounces softened butter (3/4 cup)
the finely grated zest and juice of one unwaxed lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large free range eggs, separated
250g tub of ricotta cheese (a generous cup)
8 ounces of self raising flour (a scant 2 cups)
1 tsp of baking powder
sifted icing sugar for dusting to finish


Place the sultanas in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain well and allow to cool. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gar mark 4. Butter an 8 inch spring form pan well and then line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Rub the lemon zest into the sugar until very fragrant. Add the butter and vanilla and cream together until light and fluffy.  Whisk the egg yolks together with the lemon juice.   Beat  the egg yolk mixture in a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the ricotta to make a smooth batter. Stir in drained sultanas. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Fold this into the creamed mixture.

Using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until stiff. Stir 1/4 of the mixture into the creamed mixture and then gently fold in the rest until thoroughly combined, but being careful not to knock out any air.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth over the top, but then make a slight dip in the centre. Bake for 70 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. The crust will be cracked on the top and a beautiful golden colour.

Remove from the oven and leave in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Dust lightly with icing sugar before cutting into wedges to serve.

 

A few days ago I was contacted and asked me if I would like to try out a few products. I was quite happy to oblidge.

I opted for the Giant Cupcake Pan from Eddingtons and a really cute little Retro Milk and Sugar set from Make My Day.



They arrived this morning and I could wait to get stuck in to using them. I have always wanted a cupcake cake tin and I was pretty excited about it. It came with expert instruction on how to use it and how much batter to use.



It suggested you use a 6 egg cake batter and so I decided to use Mary Berry's Victorian Sandwich Cake recipe, doubled, as it is one of our favourites. The cake tin is all in one piece, which includes the cupcake base section and the cupbake top section. One down side of this is that the bottom takes longer to bake than the top and so you have to put the tin into the oven with just the bottom filled and then take it out about halfway through the cooking time and fill the top part. Anyone who is a baker knows that messing around with taking cakes in and out of ovens during the baking process is a risky business, and prone to failure and sure nuff . . . my cake ended up sunk a bit in the middle and heavy. I would say that this is a major hiccup in anotherwise beautiful pan, and I'm not sure how to get around it.



I also decided to use all butter in the cake recipe this time, as someone had suggested in the comments section the last time I baked it that you should always use all butter in a Victorian Sponge, and I have to say we are not very happy with the texture of the cake, and have found it to be far too rich. I will definitely go back to using half butter and half marg. When Mary Berry says to use half and half, I would think she definitely knows what she is talking about. I should have listened to her. ( I would have to say that the cake is almost greasy and that is not good in my books. I like butter, but too much is too much!)



Nevertheless the cake was quite cute when completed and decorated and looked just adorable sitting on my table with that sweet little milk and sugar set. I am in love with that. It is not too big and not too small. The milk container resembles an old fashioned pint milk bottle, complete with a rubber cover to keep it fresh. I collect milk and sugar containers so this is a lovely addition to my collection.



I was able to use my Tovolo Utensils again, that they had sent me previously and I have to say that I am very impressed with the. Sturdy and brightly coloured they have become my favourite utensils. Knowing that I have something to use that is heat resistant, sturdy and that won't scrape my pans is a blessing! I am especially enamoured with the slotted mixing spoon. It has a lovely stainless steel handle and is very strong and able to handle the thickest of batters with ease. The scraper is also very good and sturdy. These are lifetime tools as I cannot see them ever breaking or melting, and after several months of constant use have remained as new looking as the day I received them. I highly recommend.



Thanks very much to Eddingtons and Tovolo, for having sent me these handy little gadgets. I will work at finding a way to make the cake tin work out a bit better. Perhaps a different recipe for the batter and if I bake the layers separately. It will take longer, as it will be like baking two cakes, but for a special occasion it would be well worth the trouble, as it is really cute!!



Nevertheless I did enjoy my little tea for one . . . a tiny sliver of cake and a delicious cup of Cranberry and Pomegranate Herbal tea . . . very refreshing. Sometimes it's nice to spoil yourself just that tiny bit.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone! we'll be enjoying our boiled bacon and cabbage today, how about you?


*Traditional Victorian Sandwich Cake*
Makes one 7 inch cake
Printable Recipe

Popular during the reign of Queen Victoria, this cake remains popular to this day, which is a huge testament to it's taste and ease of baking! Don't be tempted to use all butter. This is one recipe that is better for the use of a mixture of butter and margarine.

3 ounces of butter, softened (6 TBS)
3 ounces soft margarine (6 TBS)
6 ounces caster sugar (1 cup)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, beaten
6 ounces self raising flour (a scant 1 1/2 cups)

To finish:
3 TBS raspberry jam
buttercream to fill (optional)
icing sugar or caster sugar to dust the top

Butter and base line two 7 inch sandwich tins. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.

Cream the butter, margarine, sugar and vanilla together until light in colour and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture begins to curdle, add a spoonful of the flour.

Fold in the flour with a metal spoon, taking care to use a cutting motion so as not to knock out too much of the air that you have beaten into the batter. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins, leveling off the surface. Make a slight dip in the centre of each.

Bake on a centre rack of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the sponges have risen well, are golden brown, and spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool in the pan for five minutes before running a knife carefully around the edges and turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, place one layer on a cake plate. Spread with raspberry jam and buttercream (if using). Place the other cake on top, pressing down lightly. Dust with icing or caster sugar and serve.