May Cookalong Capers - suggestions for Sweet please!

[August Girl]

Hello Damsels

In case you don't know we are starting a cook/bake along where we choose 2 recipes (one savoury, one sweet) a month via a poll then we all make the same recipe and discuss any problems or variations and then post a pic of our domestic goddess-like creations. :D You can make the recipe at any time that suits you during that month.

:ellie: Everyone is welcome to join in on any month that suits you. :ellie:
You don't even have to be any good, which is a relief because I'm not :laff:

To begin with if you could post your sweet recipe suggestions for May on this thread, either the full recipe or a link to it and I wll start a poll early next week so you can all vote for what you would like to make. If any recipes do well in the poll but don't win I will carry them over to the next months poll.

:pie: Happy Baking :pie:

http://i3.tinypic.com/w00tv9.gif

[Chocolate Lips]

Okay my first suggestions are

Chocolate Fudge Cake (from Nigella Lawson 'Nigella Bites'
Banana Bread (from Nigella Lawson 'How to be a Domestic Goddess')

By the way, I am too lazy to type the whole recipe out tonight, but I can provide all recipes that I post about :laff:

[Chocolate Lips]

More....

Rhubarb and Ginger Crumble (from James Martins 'Great British Dinners'
Bakewell Slice (from Nigella Lawsons 'Feast')

[phoenix]

here's a Delia one :

Blueberry and Cinnamon Muffin Cake with Streusel Topping.

Link (http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/blueberry-and-cinnamon-muffin-cake-with-streusel-topping,1275,RC.html)

[August Girl]

My choices are

Jaffa Cake (http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~csh33/Cooking/JaffaCake.php)

Triple Chocolate Muffins from Sainsburys magazine (made with Green & Blacks)

Coconut Cake with Malibu icing from Nigellas How to be A Domestic Goddess (I haven't got this so someone kind would have to help me with the recipe)

[Crazyfool]

AG I have the domestic goddess if you need me to type out the coconut cake recipe :wik:

My suggestions are:-

Nigellas Chocolate orange cake ( Feast)

Damp lemon & almond cake (Feast)

Hmmm all the other suggestions sound yum too :)

[Narcissa Malfoy]

How about something easy like Magnolias Cupcakes with the yummy icing?

http://www.recipelink.com/cookbooks/2005/0743246616_2.html

[spandangley]

My 2 fave cake recipes which I wouldnt mind sharing are...

an easy banana cake from a kids cookbook Ive had since I was 7 but its my best one lol

Jamie Olivers choc, cream, strawberry & rasberry cake

I'd also reallllllly like to try some chocolate brownies, Ive never found a recipe that makes the *perfect* one

[bisy backson]

narcissa i just made those cupcakes last night - haven't iced them yet though - but i think they've gone rather brick like. are they meant to be light and fluffy or dense?

bbxx

[Teresa]

I'd like to suggest chocolate torte by Delia. I had it a family do a few months ago made by my MIL. It was delicious and I'd like to give it a try. You can find it here:

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/truffle-torte,811,RC.html

I'd also like to suggest Nigella's Molten Chocolate baby cakes as they look lovely and I've been meaning to try them for ages.

Ingredients for the Molten baby cakes:

50g soft unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
350g best dark chocolate
150g caster sugar
4 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50g plain or Italian 00 flour
6 individual pudding moulds, buttered
baking parchment

Unless you are making these up in advance, preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6, putting in a baking sheet at the same time. Lay 3 of the moulds on a sheet of doubled baking parchment. Draw round them, remove, and then cut out the discs as marked. Press them all into the base of the tins.

Melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly. Cream together the butter and sugar, and gradually beat in the eggs and salt, then the vanilla. Now add the flour, and when all is smoothly combined scrape in the cooled chocolate, blending it to a smooth batter.

Divide the batter between the 6 moulds, quickly whip the baking sheet out of the oven, arrange the little tins on it and replace in the oven. Cook for 10-12 minutes (the extra 2 minutes will be needed if the puddings are fridge-cold when you start) and as soon as you take them out of the oven, tip out these luscious babycakes onto small plates or shallow bowls. Serve these with whipped double cream, the same unwhipped in a jug, crème fraiche, crème anglaise or ice cream.

Serves 6.

[Chocolate Lips]

That recipe sounds lovely Teresa, I might give that a go anyway!

[Narcissa Malfoy]

narcissa i just made those cupcakes last night - haven't iced them yet though - but i think they've gone rather brick like. are they meant to be light and fluffy or dense?

bbxx

:laff: :laff:
Been there so many times bisy!!!! :laff:

:rock: My magnolias go very light and so mmmmmm!!!! :clap:

[redhed]

Can I put in a request for a non-chocolate recipe every other month? Am keen for Damsels to cook using huge amounts of :choc:, as is our right :ellie: :ellie: :ellie: but at the same time because Helena can't have chocolate, if it's chocolate every month we'll never get to join in!

[Narcissa Malfoy]

Coconut Cake with Malibu icing from Nigellas How to be A Domestic Goddess (I haven't got this so someone kind would have to help me with the recipe)

I love the sound of this: I think I would love to try this cake!

[bisy backson]

aw so come on narcissa, what's your secret???? i think i was quite perplexed with converting the measurements, but i didn't get it that far wrong :huh:

don't tease me with visions of lovely light fluffy cupcakes skipping around on little clouds - TELL ME WHAT TO DO! (please :wik: )

and the icing wasn't all that either..... :curlers:

bbxx

[Narcissa Malfoy]

I don't know bisy :no: All I can think of is the measurements.
Here is the conversion table I always used (before I got my cups! :shock: :laff: :rock: )

That makes a big difference in cake baking.

How about the flour? Maybe try all SR flour next time as some plain flours can be very heavy. Also try taking out a few oz of flour and replacing it with cornflour.

Other than that I don't know why they turned out like bricks!!! :laff: :huh:

American Cup Conversions

1 cup flour
5oz
150g

1 cup caster and granulated sugar
8oz
225g

1 cup brown sugar
6oz
175g

1 cup butter/margarine/lard
8oz
225g

1 cup sultanas/raisins
7oz
200g

1 cup currants
5oz
150g

1 cup ground almonds
4oz
110g

1 cup golden syrup
12oz
350g

1 cup uncooked rice
7oz
200g

1 cup grated cheese
4oz
110g

1 stick butter
4oz
110g




Liquid Conversions

1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon
5ml

½ fl oz
1 tablespoon
15ml

¼ cup
4 tablespoons
55ml

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons
¼ pint
150ml

1¼ cups
½ pint
275ml

1 pint/16 fl oz
¾ pint
450ml

2½ pints/5 cup

[Narcissa Malfoy]

Here's the recipe in gms. Does it look about what you used?

225g cups self-rising flour

190g cups all-purpose flour (or 150g plain flour and 40g cornflour)

220g unsalted butter, softened

450g sugar (use caster sugar if you can)

4 large eggs, at room temperature

300ml milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

[bisy backson]

yeah it was your blinking conversions i used first place! :laff: i might possibly have miscounted though :oops:

will definitely seek out some cups and substitute the flours and try again though :D

well the mums still ate them and the babies had a great time squishing them into the floor so i guess it didn't matter that much! :boobies:

bbxx

[Narcissa Malfoy]

:laff:

I would try them again as they are very yummy! LOL - once I find a recipe that works I stick with it - baking is not my strongest of skills! :laff:

[August Girl]

Coconut Cake with Malibu icing from Nigellas How to be A Domestic Goddess (I haven't got this so someone kind would have to help me with the recipe)

I love the sound of this: I think I would love to try this cake!

Me too, and I have a bottle of Malibu in the kitchen!

Crazyfool, can we have t'recipe please!!! :wave:

[Crazyfool]

OKI DOKI will just get the book :)

[Crazyfool]

COCONUT CAKE

225g unsalted butter softened
225g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanila extract
4 large eggs
200g S.R flour
25g cornflour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
50g dessicated coconut soaked in 150ml boiling water

2X 21cm sandwich tins buttered and lined

SANDWICH ICING
25g dessicated coconut
75g soft unsalted butter
150g icicng sugar ,sieved
1 Tablespoon Malibu

FOR THE ICING
2-4 tablespoons Malibu
125g instant royal icing

Preheat oven to 180 deg C /gas mark 4. Make cake by putting the ingrediants in the food processor & blitzing till you have a soft batter.Pour into the tins & cook for about 25 mins or till ready. ( not so springy on top as a plain sponge but still coming away from the tins, a cake tester should come out clean from middle of the cake)
to make the sandwich icing for the middle of the cake, toast the coconut in a dry frying pan.Shaking every now and again till fragrant and golden.Remove to a plate and cool. Cream together the butter and icing sugar, beat in the Malibu and the cold toasted cocnut . Sandwich the two cakes together with the mixture.
Using a mixer with a flat paddle or a bowl and hand mixer beat together the 2 TBSP malibu and Royal icing powder ( this is same as traditinal royal icing just swapping water for Malibu) When u have a smooth , runny but not liquid paste pour over the cake in the middle. Let it ooze out to the edges and drip slightly down the sides. Leave to set befre cutting and eating .

Cf x

[August Girl]

Thank youuuuu,:flowers: I think I might have to make that very soon, even though DH hates coconut :teehee:

[katkinn]

I'd love to nominate a pavlova. Personally I think that meringue is a really daunting thing to make (ok I'm a real amateur when it comes to deserts tbh :oops: )

katkinn slopes back to her savoury heaven!!!
xxxxx

[August Girl]

Ooh yes, meringue stuff is so nice yet so scary! I made a lemon meringue pie a few months ago, it was horrible and runny. :no:

[bisy backson]

the only meringue we have any success with is for pavlova, and works v well if you leave it in the oven overnight

haven't tried lemon meringue pie though....

bbxx

ps narcissa i am gradually forgiving you for the cupcakes, they are much better for a day festering in the larder.... :laff:

[Narcissa Malfoy]

ps narcissa i am gradually forgiving you for the cupcakes, they are much better for a day festering in the larder.... :laff:

:laff: :ellie:

[August Girl]

Any more suggestions before the poll? :yes: or :no:

:ellie: :ellie: :ellie: :ellie:

[Narcissa Malfoy]

Any more suggestions before the poll? :yes: or :no:

:ellie: :ellie: :ellie: :ellie:

I am just loving the idea of that coconut cake!

[August Girl]

The problem I have at the moment is there are loads of suggestions for sweet (too many to put on a poll ) and only one for savoury and I came to start the poll tonight. I might just put forward the recipes that have links or a recipe with them then the others can be for next month. Is that ok with everyone?

Narcissa. I made that cake for s-i-l's birthday and she said it was lovely. I didn't get to try any as I had to hand it over intact with no loo roll, he heh.

[Crazyfool]

AG thats fine with me , I am up for anything cake wise .