Cinnamon Swirl Loaf

I came up with this one whilst attempting to put a loafy spin on the classic cinnamon bun recipe. I started off keeping it quite conventional, but as nearly always happens my impish side took over and I couldn’t help but bedevil it with lashings of melted butter and sugar. The result is somewhere between a cinnamon fruit loaf and a lardy cake, perfect sustenance for a cold winters day!

Prep time: 30 Mins (Plus some proving time)

Baking time: 30 Mins

10g Fresh Yeast

75g Caster Sugar

200ml Tepid Water

1/2tsp Salt

300g Strong White Plain Flour (Plus extra for dusting)

75g Unsalted Butter (Softened)

75g Mixed Fruit

2tsp Cinnamon (Plus an extra spinkling)

This loaf is great fun to make! Crumble the fresh yeast into a large bowl with 10g of the sugar. Pour over the water and mix about with a fork to blend in the yeast. Add in the salt, followed by the flour and bring the mixture together with a wooden spoon. As it forms a dough tip out onto a clean dry surface, then knead for 6-8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. If the dough is too wet or dry after 3-4 mins, you can work in a little more flour or water, but that quantity has worked fine for me so far. Once the dough is smooth and elastic, dust with a little flour, place back in the bowl, cover with a tea towel and place in a warm place for about 60 minutes, until doubled in size.

When the dough has risen, transfer onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out to a long rectangle, no more than 20cm in width. Melt 60g of the butter and brush liberally all over the dough. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and fruit, followed by nearly all of the sugar (keep about 2 tsp back). Roll the dough into a big sausage, tuck the ends under to seal and place into a greased 20cm loaf tin. Cover again with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5 and remove the tea towel from the top of the tin. Melt the last of the butter and brush over the top of the risen dough. Sprinkle over the last of the sugar and a little more cinnamon, then bake in the centre of the oven for around 30 minutes, until golden brown on top. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Boom, all done!

Maple and Pecan Blondies

Maple syrup, pecans, white chocolate, vanilla. No other words should be needed to convince you to try these beautiful blondies!

Prep time: 20 Mins
Baking time: 40-45 Mins
150g Unsalted Butter (Cut into small cubes)
150g White Chocolate
150g Maple Syrup
3 Large Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Extract
200g Ground Almonds
25g Plain Flour
1/2tsp Baking Powder
100g Pecan Nuts (Roughly chopped)

This one is easy as always, so let's get going! Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3, grease a 26x19cm rectangular tin and line with baking paper. Melt together the butter and white chocolate, in either the microwave or over a bain-marie then pour into a large mixing bowl. Stir through the maple syrup, then beat in the eggs along with the vanilla extract. Mix in the ground almonds, then sift in the flour with the baking powder and do the same. Fold through the chopped pecans, then spoon the batter into your prepared tin and bake into the centre of the oven for 40-45 minutes, until a metal skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the sponge. When it's cooked remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for an hour.

Remove from the tin and peel off the paper. Slice into squares or rectangles and serve. You can enjoy these warm or cold and they keep great too! So no excuse not to give them a go!

Warm Mocachocachino Slices

As you all know I love cake. I love big cake and small cake, round cake and square cake, cold cake and this time, warm cake! This one is still nice to have once cool, but it's much better enjoyed hot or warm. It's just something about the moist fudgy sponge, flavoured with sweet yet slightly bitter coffee and chocolate that works so well with a bit of heat through it. Oh and I insist you serve the sliced cake with ice cream or cold cream!

Prep time: 15 Mins
Baking time: 25-30 Mins
150g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
160g Caster Sugar
3 Medium Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Extract
3tbsp Strong Black Coffee (Cold)
50g Cocoa Powder
100g Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Powder

Off we go! Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and grease a 30cm loaf tin, lining the base with baking paper. Cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir through the coffee, then sift in the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder then mix together to a smooth batter. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 25-30 minutes, until a metal skewer comes out slightly sticky when inserted into the middle of the sponge. When you're happy it's cooked remove from the oven and leave in the tin for about 20 minutes.

To serve carefully remove the warm cake from the tin and slice. As I mentioned above I think it's best served with cold cream or ice cream. Also (not that I expect this to happen) if you have any left over it's fine to have cold, or it's no problem to warm through again in the microwave.

Raisin Slices with a Rum Glaze

I've got a real thing for dried fruit at the moment. It must be the time of year! I am also lov-lov-loving the combination of orange, lemon and vanilla extract, which are quickly becoming my favourite flavour trifecta. This time I've used raisins, the plump juicy kind as well as almond extract to take the slices to the next level. I've also glazed them with a little rum syrup, which is not only delicious but great fun to make. It's flambé time!

Prep time: 20 Mins
Baking time: 35-40 Mins
175g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
150g Caster Sugar
2 Medium Eggs
1/2tsp Orange Extract
1/2tsp Lemon Extract
1/2tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2tsp Almond Extract
100g Ground Almonds
75g Plain Flour
1/2tsp Baking Powder
350g Raisins

For the glaze
100ml Dark Rum
50g Icing Sugar

Right, cake first! Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, grease a 26x19cm rectangular tin and line with baking paper. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir through the extracts, then fold in the ground almonds. Sift in the flour and baking powder, mix in then fold through the raisins. Spoon into the tin, even out gently and bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes, until a metal skewer can be cleanly removed when inserted into the middle of the sponge. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Once the cake has cooled for around 15 minutes you can start on the glaze. Pour the rum into a shallow saucepan and heat until just steaming. Brace yourself, then hold a lit match to the vapour to ignite it. Watch your eyebrows! Let it flare and dance until the alcohol has burned away and the flames have gone then whisk in the icing sugar until combined. On a high heat let it bubble away until syrupy then remove from the hob.

Carefully remove the cake from the tin and paper, then lay onto a wire rack. Brush over the rum glaze and let the whole thing cool. Once it's cool slice and serve. Take care when slicing as it's so packed with raisiny goodness!

Cardamom Fruit Cake

It's that time of the year again, where a wonderful array of fruit cakes are being made and readied for the festive period. Here's a little recipe that I came up with this week. It's spiced with cardamom as well as mixed spice and the icing is flavoured with orange, lemon and vanilla. Add in some plump fruit and the syrupy almost nutty flavour from the sherry and despite it's modest size, I think you end up with a real big hitter of a fruit cake!

Prep time: 20 Minutes
Baking time: 50 Minutes
200g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
200g Light Muscovado Sugar
3 Large Eggs
1tbsp Sherry
1.5tsp Mixed Spice
The seeds from 10 cardamom pods (Crushed to a powder)
225g Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
350g Mixed Dried Fruit (The nicest you can get)

For the icing
100g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
1/2tsp Orange Extract
1/2tsp Lemon Extract
1/2tsp Vanilla Extract
200g Icing Sugar

This one is pretty straightforward, so let's get to it! Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, grease a 20cm deep loose bottomed tin and line the base with baking paper. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the sherry, mixed spice and cardamom to the mixture, then sift in the plain flour with the baking powder and mix to a smooth batter. Fold through the fruit until evenly combined, then spoon into the prepared tin, level out and bake in the centre of the oven for around 50 minutes, until a metal skewer can be cleanly removed when inserted into the centre of the cake. When you're happy that it's done take the cake out of the oven, leave in the tin for 20 minutes, then carefully remove from the tin. Peel off the paper from the base and leave the cake to cool completely on a wire rack.

When the cake is cool you can ice it. In a large bowl beat the butter until soft. Add the extracts, then sift in the icing sugar and mix until smooth. Using a palette knife or the back of the spoon spread the icing all over the top of the cake. Time to slice it and eat it!

White Chocolate and Almond Cakes

I cannot tell a lie, this one was created by raiding the store cupboards and seeing what happened. Luckily what happened was something wonderfully delicious! The white chocolate and ground almonds ensure the sponge is rich and fluffy, which is complimented splendidly by the crunchy flaked almond topping. I also threw in a handful of chopped dark chocolate chunks because, well just because!

Prep time: 20 Minutes
Baking time: 25-30 Minutes
150g Chopped White Chocolate
125g Light Muscovado Sugar
3 Large Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Extract
100g Ground Almonds
50g Plain Flour
1/2tsp Baking Powder
50g Chopped Dark Chocolate
25g Flaked Almonds

Ready, steady, go! Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, grease a 26x19cm rectangular tin and line with baking paper. Melt the white chocolate over a bain-marie or in the microwave if you're confident in your timings. Transfer the melted chocolate to a large bowl and mix in the sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time with the vanilla extract, then fold through the ground almonds, flour and baking powder. Gently mix in the chopped dark chocolate, then spoon into the prepared tin. Scatter over the flaked almonds, then bake in the centre of the oven for 25-30 minutes, until a metal skewer can be cleanly removed when inserted into the middle of the sponge. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. When cool, carefully remove from the tin and peel from the paper. Slice into square and serve. Finished!

Peanut Butter Bottomed Chocolate Loaf

There are countless gorgeous cake recipes out there, all covered with innumerable forms of deliciousness, so I thought it would be interesting to try bottoming this chocolate loaf instead of topping. I've gone for a sweet and salty peanut butter mixture on the bottom, as I'm in a nutty phase as the moment and as for the loaf itself, I used cocoa powder and ground almonds to ensure a moist, fudgy texture.

Prep time: 20 Minutes
Baking time: 50-60 Minutes
For the bottom
100g Peanut Butter
100g Light Muscovado Sugar
A sprinkling of Ground Sea Salt

For the loaf
175g Unsalted Butter (Unsalted)
175g Caster Sugar
3 Medium Eggs
75g Ground Almonds
1tsp Vanilla Extract
75g Plain Flour
50g Cocoa Powder
1tsp Baking Powder

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3, grease a 20cm loaf tin and line the base with baking paper. In a bowl combine the peanut butter and muscovado sugar. Sprinkle a little sea salt into the tin, then using your hands break off little pieces of the peanut mix and gently press into the base. You should have enough to just about cover the entire base. In a fresh bowl cream together the butter and the sugar, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold through the ground almonds and vanilla extract, then sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and mix to a smooth batter. Spoon the mixture over the top of the peanut butter mixture then bake in the centre of the oven for around 50-60 minutes, until a metal skewer comes out slightly sticky when inserted into the middle of the loaf. Remove from the oven and leave in the tin for about 20 minutes, then carefully turn out and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Slice and enjoy. Bottoms up!

Orange Glazed Pumpkin Cake

If you have any pumpkins left over after Halloween this is a really interesting and delicious way to use them up. The cake is moist and moreish, subtly spiced and punctuated with notes of zesty fruit. It's also a doddle to make and dairy free! If you have trouble getting hold of pumpkins you can use butternut squash as a substitute, although I hate peeling them!

Prep time: 20 Mins
Baking time: 60 Mins
250g Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
225g Light Muscovado Sugar
225ml Vegetable Oil
4 Medium Eggs
200g Dried Fruit (As nice as you can get)
400g Pumpkin Flesh (Grated)
Zest of 1 Large Orange

For the glaze
Juice of 1 Large Orange
50g Caster Sugar

So it begins! Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and grease/line the base of a 23cm springform tin. Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Stir through the sugar, breaking up any lumps (I use my hands for this). In a separate bowl or large jug pour in the oil. Crack in the eggs and mix it around to break them up. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix to a smooth batter. Fold through the fruit, pumpkin and zest, then pour into the tin and bake in the middle of the oven for around 60 minutes, until a metal skewer can be cleanly removed when inserted into the centre of the cake. Remove and set aside for around 15 minutes.

In a small saucepan bring the orange juice and sugar to the boil. Let it bubble away for about 5-10 minutes, skimming off any white residue that raises to the surface. When it's syrupy remove from the heat. Carefully remove the cake from the tin and place on a wire rack. Brush over the orange syrup and leave to cool completely. Slice and serve! Boom!

What I've been baking - October 2012

Here's a selection of what I've been baking, making and eating this month. All questions and comments welcome!

Lemon and Thyme Crunchy Dunkers

I won't lie, I wanted to use up the lemon and thyme I had left over from the loaf I made earlier this week, so came up with this quick and easy biscuit recipe. I think the thyme adds a subtle complexity, which elevates the biscuits to being both scrumptious and sophisticated but as with the last one, you can leave the thyme out if you wanted a more conventional lemony hit!

Prep time: 15 Minutes
Baking time: 14 Minutes
50g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
150g Plain Flour
100g Caster Sugar
1 Medium Egg Yolk
The juice of 1 Lemon

For the thyme sugar
1tsp fresh Thyme Leaves
Zest of 1 lemon
2 Dessert spoons of caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a large baking sheet with baking paper. In a large bowl rub the butter into the sugar, until it's like breadcrumbs. With a wooden spoon stir through the sugar, followed by the egg yolk and lemon juice. Get you hands in there and bring the mixture together to a smooth firm dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 5mm thick. Using a cutter of around 4-5cm in diameter cut out into small biscuit shapes and lay out on the baking paper, evenly spaced. You may need to re-roll the dough, there should be enough for at least 16-20 little biscuits. Place the tray into the centre of the oven for around 14 minutes, until evenly light golden on top. Remove from the oven when you're happy they are cooked, then leave on the tray for 15 minutes. Peel the biscuits off of the paper and transfer to a wire rack until completely cool.

Bash the thyme leaves together with the lemon zest with with sugar, until green and fragrant. Then sprinkle over the cooked and cooled biscuits. Arrange artistically on a plate and deliver to your beautiful guests!