Chocolate Orange Drizzle Loaf Cake

Another winner from Sweet and Simple Bakes! Doesn't just the name of it make you drool? If any of you are amateur bakers, and would like to try out some no-fail recipes, you simply have to come on over and join Maria and Rosie and all the rest of us at Sweet and Simple Bakes. Every single one of their bakes so far (over a year's worth of bakes) have been completely amazing!

In this bake, you first make a simple loaf cake with some orange zest for flavoring. Then you make tiny holes and drizzle orange syrup onto the cake and let it drip down into the cake...mmm!!! Then, if that's not enough to send you racing over to the kitchen, you add a topping of melted chocolate and sprinkles - yes, you simply have to add sprinkles, so that's not optional, though the recipe says it is. So I'm telling you, make this the next time you have company, and you're guaranteed to awe.

(Sorry about the bad photos, but I took these with my phone's camera because my regular one suddenly stopped working as we cut into it!)


Chocolate Orange Drizzle Loaf Cake
(recipe from Sweet and Simple Bakes)

For The cake
175g (6 oz) softened butter
175g (6 oz) caster (super fine) sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
175g (6 oz) self-raising flour, sifted
2 tbsp milk

For The Orange Syrup
Juice of 1 orange
100g (4 oz) granulated sugar

For The Topping
50g (2 oz) dark chocolate or milk chocolate – your choice
Sprinkles of choice (optional)

You will need a 900g (2 lb) loaf tin – greased with a little butter and lined with greaseproof paper or non-stick baking paper.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

In a mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar and beat together until light and fluffy in appearance. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well until fully incorporated. Add the orange zest, flour and milk and fold in gently with a spatula or large metal spoon. Turn into the prepared tin (I used a loaf pan that was a little big, so it came out pretty flat looking), smooth the top of the mixture and bake in the oven on middle shelf 35 -45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. When cool make little holes in the cake with a skewer, (this is important for pouring the syrup onto the cake to ensure the syrup soaks in fully.)

For The Orange Syrup

Put the orange juice and granulated sugar into a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil for a couple of minutes. Pour over the top of the cake. When all the juice has soaked in, carefully remove the cake from the tin.


For The Topping

Melt the chocolate by placing a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, pour over the top of the cake. Either smooth the top over with a spatula or make a little pattern with the prongs of a fork. Add sprinkles if desired, leave chocolate to set before cutting into the cake.

Lemon Curd Muffins

Sigh. I have a feeling that the bakes from Sweet and Simple Bakes is going to make me gain 10 pounds!

I think this has got to be one of my most favorite bakes so far. Not only were we to make muffins with a to-die-for lemon curd filling, I also got to make my own lemon curd. And I must say, the lemon curd was just... UNBELIEVABLE!! I couldn't stop tasting it and was seriously considering making a second batch!

Lemon Curd
(recipe from S & SB)

55 g/ 22 oz Butter
8 oz Sugar
2 Lemons
2 Eggs, lightly beaten

Grate the rinds of the lemon and squeeze out the juice.

Set up a double boiler with a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water. Add the butter and sugar to the glass bowl. Keep stirring until the butter is melted.

Add the rind and the juice and continue stirring for a minute. Now stir in the eggs and stir constantly for 30 minutes, until a spoon drawn through the lemon curd lets you see the bottom of the glass bowl.

Pour into a sterilized jar. It will keep up to a month (sadly I don't have any left!).

Now onto the luscious muffins :)


Lemon Curd Muffins
(Recipe from S & SB)

7 oz Self-Raising Flour
3 1/2 oz Golden Caster Sugar (I used regular caster sugar)
1 large Egg
3 fl oz Oil
5 fl oz Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
12 tsp Lemon Curd

For the Glaze/ Coating:
4 tbsp Lemon Curd
2 oz Caster Sugar

Preheat the oven to 190 deg C.

For the muffins, mix together all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar) in one bowl and the wet ingredients (except the lemon curd) in another. Slowly add the wet to the dry ingredients until combined.

Line a muffin pan. Put a teaspoon of the batter into the lined muffin pan. Top with one teaspoon of lemon curd. Now add the rest of the batter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

While it is baking, melt the lemon curd for the glaze over the stove top or in the microwave. Spread on the muffins when they come out of the oven and sprinkle with the caster sugar.

Oh goodness they were so delicious!!! And the inside was gooey and just perfect - a lovely combination of tart and sweet!


Thanks, Maria and Rosie for another amazing bake! And for sharing your treasured recipes with us!

Vanilla Cupcakes

If you haven't heard of Sweet and Simple Bakes, do check it out. Maria and Rosie have started a baking blog for amateur bakers about a year ago. I've tried to take part in almost all their bakes, and they've all been amazing.

This month's bake was no different. I tried them this afternoon and they were all gone in about 2 hours. My daughter and her friends thought they were awesome and literally couldn't stop eating them!


Vanilla Cupcakes
(recipe from Sweet and Simple Bakes)

Supposed to make 12, but I got about 9

6 oz Self-Raising Flour
6 oz Butter, softened
6 oz Caster Sugar
3 large Eggs
2 tbsp Milk
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Buttercream Icing:
5 oz Butter, softened
11 oz Icing Sugar
1 tbsp Milk
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Mix together the flour, baking powder and caster sugar. Add the butter, eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Spoon the mixture into paper-case lined muffin pans. Bake for about 20 minutes. Leave to cool for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.


Meanwhile make the buttercream. Beat the butter until soft. Add the icing sugar and combine. Add the vanilla and milk and beat well until light and fluffy. You could add food coloring too if you'd like colorful cupcakes.

Spread the buttercream onto the cupcakes. Decorate as you wish. I used Gems (an Indian equivalent of M&Ms).


Thanks, Maria and Rosie. This is something I've already made 3 times this month, and will definitely make again!

Oatmeal Chocolate Raisin Cookies

And we get to Sweet and Simple Bakes to start the month on a great note. My favorite cookies in the world are oatmeal raisin and what better way than to add chocolate to it? They were, in short, fantastic! Do try this at home.


Oatmeal Chocolate Raisin Cookies
(recipe from Sweet and Simple Bakes - I changed it a little bit)

1/2 cup Butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup Caster Sugar
1/2 cup Soft Brown Sugar
1 Egg
2 tbsp Water
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 1/4 cups Rolled Oats (the recipe was for 9 oz or 1.12 cups, but I added more to get it to a dough consistency)
1 cup Self-Raising Flour (again, the original recipe called for 1/2 cup or 4 oz, and I had to add more)
1 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup Raisins

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C or 350 deg F.

Cream the butter. Add both sugars and beat until fluffy.
Add the egg, water and vanilla and beat well, until creamy. Now add the oats, flour and salt and beat on slow until blended. Fold in the chocolate chips and raisins until thoroughly combined.

At this point, I had a bit of a problem. You have to roll it into walnut-sized balls - but I couldn't roll it at all because it was really really sticky, which is why I added that extra flour and oatmeal that I mentioned above.

Okay, so now roll the dough into walnut sized balls. Keep them slightly apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or golden brown and slightly soft in the middle. Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly and place on a wire rack to cool completely.



Thanks again, Rosie and Maria for a winner recipe!


Other cookies on this blog: Double Chocolate Chip, Potato Chip Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Peanut Butter Cookies, Butter Cookies and Savory Cookies. Yeah, looks like there's way way too many cookies on here!!

Bakewell Cake

So this month's Sweet and Simple Bakes' recipe was a Cherry Bakewell Cake. Maria and Rosie really do their homework and give us the most tried and tested easy bake recipes. And every single time, the recipe is a winner.

This time, though, it just didn't work for me and I have no idea why! Maybe one of you could tell me where I went wrong. I'm still posting it here because everyone loved the flavor of the cake - it just didn't look all that hot. See the S+SB website to see how this cake is supposed to look!

And another thing - I'm not a huge cherry person, actually I dislike cherries. So I went with the raspberry option that Rosie had given us. So I'm just going to call it a Bakewell Cake!


Bakewell Cake
(recipe from Sweet and Simple Bakes)

For the Cake:
8 oz Butter, well softened, + extra for greasing
8 oz Caster Sugar
4 oz ground Almonds
4 oz self-raising Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp almond extract or essence
4 large eggs
Pinch of salt

For The Filling & Top:
12 oz Cherry Jam/ Conserve (I used Raspberry Jam)
6 oz Icing Sugar
5-6 tsp Water or Lemon Juice (I used Lemon Juice)
1 tbsp flaked Almonds, lightly toasted

Mix all the ingredients for the cake together. Pour it into two 8 inch round sandwich tins.

Bake at 180 deg C for 30 minutes. It's done when a skewer comes out clean. Spread the jam on top of one of the cakes and sandwich them together.

Stir together the lemon juice and icing sugar until thick and creamy and pour over the cake. Top with the toasted almonds.


So everyone loved the cake, but I'll tell you what went wrong for me. The height of the cake was half what it was supposed to be. But the quantity of batter was so little that I realized that the two cakes would be really small.

And the icing just didn't become white and translucent - it kinda just blended into the cake. You could taste the icing but couldn't see it.


Thanks, Rosie and Maria!

Banana Chocolate Bread

I've been terribly out of touch with my blogs for a few months. What can I say? December is always so busy that sometimes I need a couple months of hibernation just to recover.

In my hibernation, I forgot to add my contribution to the Sweet and Simple Bakes February bake. I did make the bread but didn't blog about it. So here it is. It's one of the simplest and most delicious breads I've ever made. My daughter actually did the mashing, mixing and tasting! Here's the recipe from Maria and Rosie of Sweet and Simple Bakes:


Banana Chocolate Bread

9 oz Self-Raising Flour
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
5 oz Caster Sugar
3 ½ oz Butter, softened
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Finely grated zest of 1 orange (I left this out - not a big fan of orange zest)
4 small Bananas, peeled
3 oz Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Lightly butter and line the loaf tin with parchment paper. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the sugar and butter and, using your fingertips, rub it in until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Whisk the eggs, vanilla extract and orange zest in another bowl.


Add the bananas and mash very well with a potato masher. Add the chocolate chips. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the banana mixture. Gently but thoroughly bring all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon, then pour into the prepared loaf tin.

Smooth the top and bake in the oven for 1-1 ¼ hours or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing the cake from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Everyone should try this at least once in their lives. It's absolutely amazing.

Cupcakes

This month's Sweet and Simple Bakes was a first for me (as they've all been so far!). But this was a basic cupcake recipe and I was so excited to make cupcakes for the first time! And it was perfect for Halloween to give out as treats for the kids.

Cupcakes
(recipe from Rosie @ Sweet & Simple Bakes)

1 1/3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
6 oz Butter, at room temperature
1 cup Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 - 4 tbsp Milk
Icing/frosting of your choice

You will need a 12 hole-muffin tin and 12 cupcake paper cases

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a 12 hole-muffin tin with cupcake paper cases.

Sieve the flour into a bowl and leave aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar and beat until the mixture becomes light in color and fluffy.

Add one egg at a time beating well between each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and then gently fold in the flour until combined. Stir in the milk until you have a good dropping consistency.

Spoon the mixture equally into the prepared muffin tin and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.


I realized at this point that my decorating skills are sadly lacking. My family was most amused by the cupcakes and didn't think they looked scary in the least!! Oh well. I tried my best, Rosie!!

(they are supposed to be a mummy, a gravestone and a monster!)

For a look at all the other spooktacular cupcakes, check out the round-up.


I'm running in DK's Recipe Marathon for a 2nd time. Wish me luck - one month of a recipe a day! Check out what my other marathoners made today:

DK of Culinary Bazaar,

Siri of Siri's Corner,

Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons,

Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner,

PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds,

Curry Leaf of Experiments, Emotions, Experiences with Food,

Medha of Cook with Love,

Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes,

Bhawna of Tastes of India,

Raaji of Raaji's Kitchen,

Ruchii,

Kamala of Nandhu's Corner,

Roopa of My Kitchen Treats,

Divya Kudua of Easy Cooking,

Rekha of Plantain Leaf,

Divya of Divyaz Easy Recipes,

Lakshmi of The Yum Blog,

Raaga of The Singing Chef,

Sripriya of Srikar's Kitchen and

Viji of Viji's Veg Corner.

Vanilla Apple Cake

Mmmm... There's nothing much to say when you're eating this cake - its just sooo sooo good that you're not really concerned about what to say about it! Another winner this month from Maria and Rosie of Sweet and Simple Bakes.


Vanilla Apple Cake
(recipe from S+SB)

9 oz (about 2 sticks) unsalted Butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
1 1/3 cups Caster Sugar
4 Eggs, beaten
1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour + 1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 small Apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
2 tbsp Demerara sugar
¼ tsp Cinnamon Powder

Heat the oven to 180C. Butter a cake tin and/or line with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla and beat together. Slowly add in the flour (be as gentle and quick as possible as the flour tends to weigh down the beautiful lightness of the creamed butter and sugar).

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. Top with the apple wedges - sinking them in a little as you place them. Here's where you'll think oh-my-goodness there are too many apple wedges and not enough space, but they'll shrink and you'll be glad you added all the apples!

Sprinkle with the Demerara sugar and the cinnamon. Bake for about an hour or until the top is slightly browned and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.


Serve warm with vanilla ice cream (the vanilla ice cream is not optional!).

Flapjacks - Sweet & Simple Bakes

Sweet and Simple Bakes, a new league being hosted by Rosie and Maria, is exactly what I've been looking for. It is for beginner bakers, who are willing to try out new recipes, and improve their baking skills. You can read more about it here. They are wonderfully helpful to amateur bakers who have tons of questions (aka me!).

The first challenge they presented us with was Flapjacks with Cranberry and White Chocolate. I found myself shaking my head the entire time I was reading the recipe, because I couldn't get half the ingredients in India. And when I offered to sit this one out, I was given so much help (from Pixie , the Food Thesaurus and the S+SB folks), that I simply had to do it.

And boy, am I glad I did. I've found my foolproof, gorgeous, whip-up-in-no-time dessert/snack/breakfast! (and soon to be had for lunch and dinner, too!). It was sheer bites of deliciousness. Please, if you want to learn to make just ONE dessert, let this be the one - its sheer genius and completely idiot-proof.

Flapjacks with Raspberries and Chocolate
(Here is the original recipe - I made some substitutions)

(Clockwise: Oats, Butter, Flour, Raspberries, Chocolate, Maple Syrup and Demerara Sugar)

250g Butter
100g (1/2 cup) Demerara Sugar (I didn't think I was going to find this, and was all set to substitute granulated sugar - but it was right there in my regular grocery store)
200g (3/4 cup) Maple Syrup
250g Instant Oats
75g (1/2 cup) All-Purpose Flour
100g (a little more than 1/2 cup) dried Raspberries
100g Milk Chocolate

Preheat oven to 175 deg C.

If you are thinking, thats a lot of butter, yes it is. And maple syrup and sugar. But think of the fact that you are going to have lots of new friends after you make this. Pack it into lovely little presents and give it away, when the neighbours come knocking on your door demanding to know the source of the wonderful aroma!

Melt butter, sugar and syrup in a large pan over a very low heat (stirring to make sure it doesn't burn), until the butter and sugar have melted completely.


Meanwhile mix the flour, raspberries and oats together. This helps prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom while baking.


Add the flour mixture to the pan and stir together well.


Spread the mixture evenly into a square pan. Bake for 30 minutes, and remove from oven when it is golden. Let it cool.


Melt the chocolate over heat. When melting chocolate, use a double boiler - I used a small wok fit over a saucepan. Fill the saucepan with about 2" of water. It is important that the water not touch the bottom of the chocolate pan.




When the bake is slightly cooled, mark into even squares. Drizzle the chocolate over the flapjacks. At this point, you have to leave it alone and let it cool for at least an hour, since it is still very crumbly. And it's gonna be difficult to leave it alone - you just want to put your face into it, imbibe the wonderful smell, and eat every last morsel!

(my daughter's handiwork decorating the flapjacks with chocolate!)




I'm so glad I joined Sweet & Simple Bakes - I've found a new favorite recipe!

While I baked, it rained (complete with thunder and lightning) outside! After having 110 deg F weather for a few weeks, I was overjoyed to see the rain!! I guess the Gods were as surprised and pleased with the baking as I was! :)


Source of ingredients:
Oats, Demerara Sugar, Chocolate - Nilgiris Supermarket
Maple Syrup - Amma Naana
Raspberries - now available in Nilgiris Supermarket