Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake

It is so difficult to choose if you want chocolate cake or vanilla sponge, I find anyway... 

If this is the same for you, this cake is the answer to all of your problems! The cake is chocolate and vanilla mixed together so you get both in one slice. It is perfect and really really easy. I also bake mine in a bundt tin which I think makes it look a bit nicer too.

Ingredients:

300g butter

300g caster sugar

6 eggs

150ml milk

280g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

60g chocolate chips

25g cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Then add the eggs bit by bit, followed by the milk. At this stage the mixture may look curdled but it will recover!

Divide the mixture between two bowls. Mix the flour and baking powder together. 

Fold 155g of the flour to one bowl along with the vanilla extract and chocolate chips.

To the other bowl add fold in the remaining 125g of flour and the 25g of cocoa powder. 

Spoon the chocolate mixture in to the base of your greased bundt tin (obviously you can use a different one but I prefer a bundt for looks). Then make a slight trough and pour the vanilla mixture on to the top. 

Bake for about 45 mins or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in to the top of the cake. 

Mad Hatter Jam Tarts, Brownies and Polka Dot Cookies

Last weekend it was my birthday party so I did a bit of baking in preparation and these were the result.

First, jam tarts which are names "Mad Hatter Jam Tarts" mainly due to the strange way in which the pastry is made. Two eggs are boiled the egg whites are removed and the yolks smashed up and mixed with the normal pastry ingredients. The pastry is left to chill over night and then baked with jam in it. Once out of the oven a raspberry is placed in the middle of the tart as decoration.

I then made polka dot cookies which are basically cookies with Smarties on the top, which adds colour and makes them look more appealing. They are not particularly daring as a recipe but they are chewy and cookie-y, just what they are supposed to be. 

Finally, I made chocolate brownies. This recipe was supposed to have rum and orange juice in it but I decided to leave them out as I didn't want the taste of them. However it didn't impact them that heavily, it did make them a little fudgier which is no bad thing! 

So that was my contribution to my birthday party which was lovely as the whether was so warm and sunny. Great for a barbecue and outdoor film screening.

Perfect. 

The Football Boot Cake

I know this isn't lemon cupcakes, but I wanted to share this as it is cake related.

Last week was my brother's birthday so I helped my mum to create these

I know right if we say so ourselves, they look pretty damn cool.

We copied the design from The Birthday Cake Book by Fiona Cairns. This book is full of loads of other awesome recipes and you can buy it here  -->
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1844009858/?tag=hydra0b-21&hvadid=9551160789&ref=asc_df_1844009858

Happy Baking!

Lemon cupcakes will be next!

History of the Brooklyn Blackout Cake

I felt a bit stupid leaving that recipe without telling where the cake got it's name I did a little google.

The first chocolate blackout cake was made by Ebinger Bakery founded in 1898 in Brooklyn. The blackout cake was, surprisingly enough, made during the war  and named after the blackouts which were staged by the Civilian Defense Corps.The cake made  Ebinger Bakery famous as they sold it in their shops across New York. 

It was so popular that many other bakerys started to bake knock-offs of it. Unfortunately, this meant that in 1972 the bakery closed to bankruptcy after lasting all the way through World War II. 

So there you have it the history of the Brooklyn Blackout Cake, enjoy! 

Brooklyn Blackout Cake

It was my mum's birthday, a while back. WOOP HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

So a cake had to be made. Now on the cover of the book there is this cake, The Brooklyn Blackout cake and it looks amazing, and my mother agreed. And that was how we decided.

Anyway it is a very chocolaty cake covered in a thick chocolate custard and chocolate cake crumbs. yum.

So you make two chocolate sponge cakes and then cut one of them in half... which is difficult if you can't cut in a straight line. Like me.

So once you have done this you make a thick custard. Be warned it doesn't look like custard. it looks COOL.

Cool thick custard not like that weird stuff from primary school...

Anyway you sandwich three of the sponges together using the custard-y icing. And then you grate, yes grate the last sponge to cover the cake with. yum.

You cover the whole three sponges stuck together with custard and then you sprinkle on the crumbs as a thick layer.

It looks like a fluffy hat, but it doesn't taste like one, thankfully.

It was very delicious and chocolaty and yummy so I will be making that again as it also looks quite impressive.  So that was my mum's birthday cake. YAY!

P.S. I have no idea why it is called Brooklyn Blackout cake... I probably should have done so research but I am guessing because it is very dark... but who knows. If you do leave a comment. 

Next Recipe: Vanilla Cupcakes