Blueberry Muffin Mug Cake Munchies

My wonderful friend and fellow cake obsessive Bex bought me a mug cake recipe book for my birthday back in September and I have been steadily working my way through it since! So last night when I could think about nothing but having some sort of naughty food, I threw together the Blueberry Muffin as a late night treat. Yummmmm....

As usual I added a blog of greek yogurt to serve!

All of these Mima Sinclair Mug Recipes have been delicious! Excellent birthday present buying skills Bex! xxx

Cake Love, Fayerie Faye x

Rich design on this Millionaire Short Bread!

Happy Birthday, Jane!

Make millions of new friends with this recipe! 

I love short bread so covering it in caramel and chocolate seems a little indulgent... but that's they way I like my treats! 

I started with a nice firm shortbread.

And then layered my pan-made caramel and a mixture of milk and dark chocolate I'd melted in a bowl over a steaming saucepan. 

 Finally, following my boyfriend's incredibly inspired idea, I melted some additional milk chocolate for a lighter colour to drizzle in parallel lines across the top and then streak across with a fork the opposite way for a classy, decorative look!

This was my first Millionaire shortbread so thank you to the BBC Good Food recipe (a bit of a theme with me recently, I love learning new recipes!) 

Cake Love, Fayerie Faye x

Mother's Day Raspberry Bakewell Cake

What a lovely Mother's Day! Thank you for BBC Good Food for a nice simple recipe that fit the 'something fruity' cake request from my mum this year.

This recipe was made really easy by my hand-whisk. Throw the ingredients (except for the raspberries and almond flakes), whiz briefly until combined and then pour in half the mix, raspberries, the other half and almond flakes go on top! Check out the Raspberry Bakewell Cake Recipe!

I made a square one:

I should warn you that it is a thick mixture and you really will need to get your hands into the cake tin to push the mixture down over the raspberries to nestle them happily into the mixture. 

I could NOT stop eating this cake! Definitely going to make this again.

Happy Mother's Day! Cake Love, Fayerie Faye x

Nuts for Nutella Cookies

Got a choke craving and can't bring yourself to just grab the pot of Nutella and a spoon? 

If you are then you are feeling much the same as me this Sunday evening after Top Gear. There is something much more sophisticated and respectable about making Nutella into cookies than simply picking up a spoon like a savage (or indeed not bothering with he spoon at all!)

I found this super simple and quick 4 ingredient recipe and decided to make a half batch. http://www.kidspot.com.au/best-recipes/Biscuits-and-cookies+45/4-ingredient-Nutella-biscuits-recipe+4904.htm 

Shortly thereafter, my boyfriend, me and my glass of milk had seen off all 6 of them! Whoops!  

Cake Love, Fayerie Faye x

Pop, Pop, Popcorn - the healthy way (and the easy way)

Pop, Pop, Popcorn! Don't you just love the shock of the first pop? And then the thundering patter against the pan lid as it reaches a crescendo?! Beautiful music to my ears.

Popcorn is so easy to make at home and great fun if you have friends over. It can be a really low calorie treat if you make it right and can be delicious however you serve it! 

Popcorn Recipe

1/4 popcorn kernels
1tbsp coconut oil

Topping of your choice (Choc Shot to drizzle on, tbsp coconut oil mixed with 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, knob of butter mixed with tbsp brown sugar)

Method

1.      Heat your coconut oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat until melted and drop in 3 popcorn kernels, put the lid on and wait for them to pop. (Squeal with delight when they do).

2.      Pour in popcorn kernels, replace lid and remove from heat for 30 seconds (this is so all the kernels get to the same temperature so they pop together).

3.     Return to heat with lid still on and keep the pan moving continually over the heat. They will start popping after a little while - excitement! I recommend a clear pan lid so you can watch them pop! Do not remove the lid until popping has stopped...I mean it...w..a..i..t... 

4.     Discard any unpopped kernels (or duds). 

5.     Pour over and/or stir in your flavouring.

6.     Devour! Preferably with great company and a rubbish movie!

Try your own variations!

Cake Love, Fayerie Faye x

Double Chocolate Pistachio Brownie in a Mug = Happiness

Double Chocolate Pistachio Brownie in a Mug = Happiness

I do love a good mug cake and got onto brownie in a mug because of the delicious gooeyness of it. A little coffee shop around the corner from me always has pistachio brownies in the window and I happened to have both white and milk chocolate left over from my Valentines Triple Chocolate cookies (see previous blog). Anyway, long story short, Double Chocolate Pistachio Brownie in a Mug was born! Happy Days.   

Cake Recipe

1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
Pinch salt (to activate flavours)
Generous pinch of cinnamon (to add flavour)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (yum yum)
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I think I will try this with coconut oil next time)
1/4 water

8 Pistachios
A couple of pieces of white chocolate broken up
A couple of pieces of milk chocolate broken up

An extra piece of chocolate or two to melt on top.

Method

1.      Pop it all in your mug, stir it with a fork.

2.      Pop your chocolate piece on top (I have also done this with a lovely blog of    Nutella or other chocolate or nut spread before for extra gooey yumminess).

3.      Microwave on 900W for 1min, 30 seconds. 

Try your own variations. I strongly recommend serving with a nice big dollop of ice cream!

Cake Love, Fayerie Faye x

Valentines Baking: Triple Chocolate Cookies and Ginger Cake with Caramel Frosting.

It was love at first taste for me with these Triple Chocolate Cookies last Valentines so we just had to make them again. But then Ginger Cake with Caramel Frosting has walked into my life. Fortunately, society doesn't demand monogamy when it comes to cake. Phew!

Triple Chocolate Cookies
I am still in love with these Triple Chocolate Cookies from the BBC Good Food Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/408617/triple-chocolate-cookies

Green and Blacks Chocolate makes these taste really creamy, although they are amazing full stop (I've tried them with lots of different chocolate brands this last year). 

You cannot go wrong as they are super easy to make. You might like to microwave the chocolate for just a short time rather than keeping it over the boil as it can burn and I recommend doing it in two batches (for storing into the mixture and then again for decorating the cookies later when they have cooled).  

Ginger Cake with Caramel Frosting

 This ginger cake is seductively light and moreish  The caramel frosting is a finger licking temptress. And together...they are truly irresistible. 

We wanted to use our super cute hexagon tin from Lakeland so we made buns to and adjusted down out cookie time for the cake and buns accordingly.

Instead of crystallised ginger we crushed pecans and sprinkled they on top. Next time we would stir chunks of them through the mixture too. I may even have to try carrot and ginger cake based on this recipe.

Thank you again to BBC Good Food for a lovely Valentines treat! http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3019676/ginger-cake-with-caramel-frosting

Happy Valentines! Cake Love, Fayerie Faye x

Chocolate chip birthday garden cake with chocolate brownie pots and Kitkat fencing!

 Chocolate, glorious chocolate! Cake, brownies and kitkats!
Three helpings a day -
Our favourite diet!

My sweetie of a friend Bex loves chocolate, so naturally I made a chocolate cake for her birthday. 

We have a long history of baking together and I often find myself turning around to see her ladling in extra quantities of cocoa or handfuls of chocolate chips!

So I decided to make a chocolate cake but I did not stop there...not only was this a very chocolatey chocolate cake, it was also filled with chocolate chunks and had deliciously creamy chocolate butter cream spread generously through the middle to ensure it was delightfully moist. 

But I could not stop there...I made chocolate brownie pots (again filled with velvety melted chocolate chips) and following the garden theme decorations, I created a little fence from a family pack of double kitkats! 

Needless to say - she loved it!

Cake Recipe

115g / 4oz butter (by now you know I worship Stork for cake making)

115g / 4oz caster sugar

85g / 3oz self-raising flour
30g / 1oz cocoa (I strongly recommend Bournville here)

2 eggs (from chickens with life experience)

1 level tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Chocolate chips or a bashed up chocolate bar you didn't eat at christmas!

Method: Sponge

1.      Beat butter and sugar together with wooden spoon.
2.      Alternate cracking and stirring in an egg with sieving in the flour, cocoa and baking powder.
-> Add the vanilla essence for a little flavouring.

             3.       Line your tin with butter and baking parchment. (This quirky shaped one is from Lakeland and should NOT be put int he dishwasher - live and learn).

            4.       Bake in oven for 20 mins (ish) at 175C. You want a nice springy chocolate cake!

            5.      Cool on a cooling rack while you make the brownies and icing! When it is cool and your icing is ready you can cut it through the middle to put the icing inside (if it is not cool then your cake will go all crumbly on you so be patient and leave yourself plenty of time - a watched cake never cools).

Icing/ Filling Recipe

nob of butter
icing sugar
cocoa
good splash of milk

           Method: Icing/ Filling

Mix the butter, cocoa and icing sugar together with a fork and use milk to make it smooth and spreadable. It wants to be a little runnier than what you make for fairy buns because cocoa can make it taste more dry and you want a nice moist chocolate cake. It will also be easier to spread if it is a little thinner.

Brownie Recipe and method
I actually used this chocolate brownie in a mug recipe and method: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/brownie_in_a_mug/

I threw in some chocolate chips and popped the mixture into the 4 pots and in the oven they went for 10 mins on 175c. Chocolate, glorious chocolate! Wouldn't change a thing. (Although I will in all likelihood make brownies for valentines next week and post a proper oven brownie recipe full of real melted chocolate then!)

Decorating time!
I went for a garden theme to suit my little pots and cake shape. Roll out green icing between two sheets of cling film and cut it down by pressing the knife gently through the cling film. Peel off one side and then transfer to cake top and peel off the other piece, easy! Nothing is stuck to anything and you haven't smeared the lovely icing colour with white icing powder! (I got this idea from rolling pastry between cling film pieces). 

You could make your own flowers but I was on a deadline and making this up as I went along so mine are shop bought. Just cut down your Kitkats and fix them to your board with a blog of left over butter icing! Yummy!

Cake Love, Fayerie Faye x

Christmas cul-de-sac creation: a treat of gingerbread house artistry

We decided to call this cracking Christmas cul-de-sac 'Drury Lane' (Shrek fans will understand).

We made a smarties house, a jelly tots house and a dolly mixture house - because we could!

This made a really cute festive centrepiece at the Christmas table during dessert and the little oohs and aahs of appreciation were the cherry on top of a wonderful afternoon spent baking and engineering.

It was so much fun decorating with sweeties from my childhood. My grandma ran a sweet shop and loved to bake - I like to think she would have liked this.

Can you see our little street sign right next to where the marshmallows have snowed them in?

 Miniature village: a success.

Cake Love, Fayerie Faye x

Halloween Haunted Gingerbread House

We made a gruesome gingerbread house for Halloween!

I may have taken a no handed bite right out of the roof - now that was a terrifying sight!

BBC Good Food inspired recipe. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/gingerbread-haunted-house

This is the BBC Good Food Picture!

The pieces all grew into gnarly distorted forms of their former selves during baking but that only added to the halloween feel. I have since learned that Mary Berry takes hers out half way through the baking time to reshape them: top tip!  

Front of our creation...(I'm quite pleased with the finished product)

Back of our creation! (Takes the biscuit!)

I am excited to have another go at gingerbread houses this Christmas. I'm thinking: miniature village!

Cake Love, Fayerie Faye x