HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNABEL

It has been ages since I have even logged on to the web. 77 days to be exact. Ouch! That hurt me. A lot. It really has been a long time. Following a trip abroad, child illness and Easter holidays I am finally able to tell you all about my bakes. I haven't stopped baking, not in the slightest. I have however, found it pretty much impossible to sit down, unwind and write about it. To celebrate me working on the blog again I thought I will tell you a little bit more about this beautiful cake.
A couple of weeks ago my daughter turned 5. 5!!!!  I can't believe my beautiful  baby girl is growing up. She is turning into a lovely young lady and as such she has very specific demands when it came to her party. She started talking about her birthday party many months ago. She wanted some of her friends to come home and have a tea party. Her birthday was on a Wednesday, so 5 girls from her class came home after school. Miss Annabel wanted them to decorate their own cupcakes. She wanted them to do colouring, play in the garden, have pizza for tea and most importantly - she wanted a cake, covered in roses in shades of pink. You see, Annabel does not know the term ombre yet, but she was very particular about wanting various pinks on the cake. After all of these demands were agreed upon I had to actually make the cupcakes and the cake. To make an ombre cake you need height. I am fortunate to have friends who bake so I was able to borrow a 7'' and a 6'' tins. I made a chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream. I must say THANK YOU to my friend Sarah from Sarah Bakes Cakes (please check her out, she is amazing!) for all her tips and advice. She showed me how to make an ombre cake - I wouldn't have been able to do it without her help. The buttercream for the roses were in various shades of .... purple! Of course, miss Annabel changed her mind about the colour the night before her big day. I used PME violet food gel colour but found it very difficult to work with. I had to use vast quantities of it to achieve the colours I wanted and even then they were not right. I much prefer working with Wilton food gel colours or Sugarflair which is unfortunately very expensive.
I was pleased with the texture and moistness of the chocolate cake, this is probably the best recipe I have ever tried. But don't take my word for it, give it a go and let me know what you think.

 

 

I made loads of buttercream, about 800gr in total. It sounds like a lot and it is. But you need every last drop of it. Because the cake was a chocolate one I had to make sure it was crumb coated in white buttercream. Apart from hiding the colour of the cake it helps the buttercream roses to stick to the sides. Here is the result:

It was gorgeous. I was impressed with myself and very pleased. It took me a while to do it but the look on my daughter's face was priceless. She was so happy! I couldn't bring myself to cut it so it was up to my husband to 'destroy' my work of art.

According to hubby it was 'the most delicious and good looking cake' I have ever made. It was a very rich cake and lasted us a few days. I never thought I would be able to pull it off but pushing through anxiety and fear of it not working out I created something amazing and made Annabel's birthday a magical one.
Decorate your own cupcakes went down a treat - the girls were hungry after school and a lemon cupcake with buttercream, loads of marshmallows, sugar animals and some fruit seemed to be exactly what they needed.

Various pizzas, cucumber and carrot sticks, plum baby tomatoes and vast quantities of grapes made a great dinner. The day was beautiful and perfect for jumping on the trampoline, having a go on the swings and running around the garden. All in all, it was a great day, a fab one even. I thoroughly enjoyed it and so did Annabel.
As part of the gifts she gave her friends for helping her have a magical day were my homemade cookies. I attempted to decorate them and here is the result:

 

I had never decorate cookies before and it clearly shows. But Annabel and the girls enjoyed my first try of making and working with royal icing.



HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

I always thought making ganache was incredibly complicated. Somehow melting chocolate seemed terrifying. Back in November the chocolate for icing my birthday cake was too hot so it split. But I managed to rescue it and it was good. Very good. 4 months later I fancied truffles. Because it was Valentine's Day (yes, I should have posted this ages ago) I thought I would make some instead of buying them. I read a couple of recipes, bought some chocolate and cream and .... easy peasy.
A bit too late I realised that the better quality chocolate you buy the nicer truffles you will eat. You live and learn they say. They are correct. Anyway, my truffles turned out very chocolatey, gooey and even my not-so-chocolate-loving husband thought they were a real treat. There is nothing sophisticated about making truffles. Absolutely nothing. Mix the ingredients, add some alcohol (always optional) then put in the fridge for about 4 -6 hours to set. Roll out balls and dust in nuts, coconut, cocoa powder... options are endless. Eat. I am serious - it is as simple as that.

Recipe: Makes about 30 truffles
250gr chocolate (I used 200gr dark cooking chocolate 54% and 50gr 85% very dark chocolate)
250 gr double cream
35 gr butter
pinch of salt
alcohol - brandy, wine, Baileys, whiskey  .... I used none so the kids could eat them too

To cover:
cocoa powder, chocolate pieces, ground nuts.... your choice

Method:

Cut the chocolate into small pieces and put into a heat proof ball. Melt the butter with the cream in a small saucepan over low to medium heat. Just before boiling point take off the heat and pour over the chocolate. Keep stirring until the chocolate melts. I had to put the mixture in the microwave for about 30 seconds as it cooled down too quickly and the chocolate was not melting. Once the chocolate has completely melted add the salt (I did not use any) and the liquor if using.

Stir well and leave in the fridge for 4-6 hours. I left mine in the fridge overnight. I have been told to use a melon baller to make the balls but since I do not have a melon baller (who has one of those anyway?!) I used my hands. It is not as messy as I thought it would be. I put some cocoa powder in a little bowl and some chocolate pieces in another. With a spoon I took a bit of the mix, roll it between my palms until a ball formed. Then it was rolled in the cocoa or the pieces and on a plate. I kept mine in the fridge the whole time. As it was the morning of Valentine's Day I surprised my husband with a cup of tea and a few of these delicious treats before breakfast.

The kids absolutely loved them too. They keep for about 4-5 days in an airtight container. Mine only lasted 2.5 days - they were that good!
Do you love chocolate? What would you put in your truffles?

XoXo
Desi in the Kitchen

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE AND WALNUT BISCOTTI

Who doesn't like a little treat with their afternoon cuppa?

I am a type of girl who drinks coffee throughout the day and on rare occasions I treat myself to a piece of chocolate or a tiny slice of a cake that I had made. My husband is not big on chocolate but he is big on biscuits. A while ago he mentioned biscotti and I was instantly inspired. I hadn't had biscotti in at least 5! years and I had never attempted making them. You see, I thought it was so super complicated to make biscotti. After all you bake them twice!!! After some research I found a recipe that seemed just too good to resist. I mean what would you not like? Chocolate chips - yum! Walnuts -yum! Cocoa powder -yum! A super crunchy biscuit which is perfect for dunking - double YUM!!
Original recipe you can find here . As with all American recipes all measurements are in cups/sticks etc so I have converted them in grams for you below:

Recipe:
250gr plain flour
60 gr cocoa powder
90 gr butter at room temperature
1tsp baking soda
1tsp salt
2 large eggs at room temperature
200gr granulated sugar
100 gr chopped walnuts
100 gr dark chocolate chips (or more)
1 tbsp. icing sugar (optional) - I forgot to use and it still worked out fine

Method:
Turn the oven to 180C and line a large baking tray with some parchment paper. Set aside.
Cream the sugar with the butter until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until mixed well. Add the dry ingredients and mix until you get a very sticky dough. A stand mixer is perfect for this - the dough is super thick and sticky and very difficult to beat. If you have a hand held mixer you can simply use a spatula or a fork to combine thoroughly. Add the chips and walnuts.

Divide in two or three and make chocolate logs with your hands. Some flour on your hands will help. I am the first to admit my logs look soooo different but being the first time I have attempted them I think they are okay. Make sure you leave space between them as they will expand during baking.

Dust the logs with the icing sugar (which I forgot ) and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes and cut into pieces with a serrated knife. It is important the knife is serrated - these biscuits tend to crumble and a meat knife (which I originally used) was not very good. Do one cut at a time, take knife out and repeat. 2 or 3 cuts per biscuits will be enough.

I know, it sounds like a lot of work but it is not. Besides it is all worth it at the end. Once cut lay the biscuits with the cut side down and bake for another 10-15 minutes until dry.

Let them cool completely on a wire rack before eating.
Make yourself a cuppa, dunk and enjoy!

XoXo
Desi in the Kitchen