COMPETITION WINNING VANILLA CUPCAKES

If you follow me on Instagram you will already know how excited I am about these little beauties:

 

 

They were entered into a baking competition yesterday and they WON! You cannot imagine how joyful I was when I got a call from my husband in the afternoon telling me my cupcakes have won 1st place in the annual bake competition

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

VALENTINE'S DAY MENU

February. Oh, February! The month of love is here.

With Valentine's Day only a couple of days away it is time to start thinking about what you will be doing on the day. Are you going out? Are you ordering in? Or will you just carry on as if it is not Valentine's Day? When we first met I was living in Germany and my now husband was just visiting a friend for a couple of days. It was a love of first sight (we met in the middle of summer). Over the next year we went to Paris together, he came to Bulgaria for New Year, I went to England for some much wanted sightseeing and meeting his parents. Somehow his work schedule did not allow him to come and see me on Valentine's Day. So we talked on the phone for about 5 hours that day. The following year we got engaged and I moved over here. However, I had to go back to the Germany to finish my exams and I flew back on ... yes, you guessed it, Valentine's Day! Hubby had told me he would meet me at Waterloo as he couldn't get time off work to come and collect me from the airport. I went through security and remember looking out for the train ticket office. All of a sudden my name was called. I turned around and there he was - standing tall and as handsome as ever with the most beautiful bunch of dark red roses. It was the best Valentine's Day ever. Slowly over the years the novelty of the day however, seemed to have worn off. We were married, living happily with our two cats - did we really need to celebrate our love on a particular day? I'd like to think we celebrate our love most days!
But we have always tried to make this day special in one way or another - last year he drew me a bath and cooked whilst I was soaking in the most aromatic bubbles ever. The year before I took him out for the day and did things I absolutely hate but he absolutely loves. (no, now its not the time for me to elaborate). This year it is on a Sunday so we have decided to take the kids out for the day. We have not decided about dinner just yet.
If you however, would like to surprise your loved one with a home cooked meal these are some ideas I have put together for you.

Starters:

 

If you love mushrooms, make this! All you need is a couple of flat Portobello mushrooms, 1 egg and some cheese. Wipe the mushrooms with a kitchen towel to remove any dirt. Discard the stalks. Beat the egg lightly, grate some cheese and mix. Brush the top of the mushrooms with some oil and put on a baking tray. Top the mushrooms with the mix and bake in the oven 30-45 minutes until cooked through. (Time will depend on the size of the mushrooms).

If you don't like mushrooms, make a light salad. Mozzarella balls, avocado and plum tomatoes - simple and delicious. Drizzle some virgin olive oil on top and season lightly. Yum!

Main:

My Butternut Squash and Bacon quiche is the perfect dinner - you can make it in advance and simply reheat in the oven before serving.

For vegetarians : Cime di rapa Lasagne is the thing to make. Again, make the day before and reheat before serving.


Desserts:

Cookie dough pots

 

 or if you are not feeling like eating chocolate - Angel Food Cake.

To make this cake extra special dot some pink or red food colouring in the icing  and there you have it - a lovely pink cake to go with the lovely Day of Love.
Whatever you decide to do have fun and enjoy yourselves.

XoXo

Desi in the Kitchen

 

SAVOIARDI BISCUITS

Wow! That's all I can say really, simply WOW! These are by far the nicest biscuits I have made in a while. I am not a biscuit eater and when I make some it is mainly for my children. But then I tend to stick to chocolate chip cookies or gingerbread ones. A couple of weeks ago I was browsing the web looking for an inspiration and I found it - a recipe for ladyfingers which looked too good to be true. Eggs, some sugar and flour and in less than 30 minutes you have savoiardi biscuits ready?! I mean, come on! Surely this wasn't possible?! I had to give this recipe a go. The original recipe can be found here. Why I like savoiardi? Because I LOVE tiramisu. It is my greatest indulgence ever. I made one last weekend and will blog about it over the next few days. You always need good savoiardi biscuits to have  a great tiramisu. So step one: make the savoiardi yourself!
Here we go:

This recipe makes about 24 ladyfingers

3 eggs
67 gr granulated sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
pinch of salt
64gr plain flour
30-50gr icing sugar for dusting

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Lay parchment, silicon mat or baking paper on couple of trays.
Separate the eggs. Add the sugar, vanilla essence and salt to the yolks. Beat with a mixer until thick, pale and fluffy, probably around 3-4 minutes. In another bowl beat the egg whites until thick and stiff, peaks should stay firm. Depending on your mixer this can take anything from 3 to 7 minutes. Add the egg whites to the egg yolks in 3 batches, mixing slowly with a rubber spatula or a metal spoon. Wooden spoon will knock the air out. (I have no idea why, but that's what all great chefs say. I tend to listen.) Gently sieve the flour over the mix and slowly fold it in until it is all smooth.
Get a piping bag (I did not use a nozzle). Fill up the bag, cut the end off and pipe the biscuits onto the prepared trays. Dust well with icing sugar and leave to stand for 5 minutes.

The sugar is instantly absorbed and the biscuits start to shine. Dust with icing sugar again and put in the oven straight away. The second time you dust them the sugar will stay on top.

Bake for about 13-15 minutes until they are a nice golden brown colour on top.

Transfer to a cooling rack straight away and serve immediately.





You can store them in an airtight container for a couple of days.
I was surprised with the result - they were pure heaven. So lovely, light and melting in the mouth... I only had 2! I had to dip the second one in my coffee to see how it is holding the liquid - after all I am making another tiramisu on Sunday and I will be using my homemade ladyfingers!
Easy, simple, delicious. Is all I'm saying. What do you think?

XoXo
Desi in the Kitchen

DELICIOUS BROWNIE RECIPE

BROWNIES! Who does not like them? I know I do. I love them.

Hubby? Well, if you had offered him one an year ago he would've politely taken a bite, mumble something about how nice it was and then given me the rest when no one was looking. Then he quit smoking and his taste buds started to work properly again. He discovered he likes a)vegetarian food and b) chocolate. All of a sudden I had to share my chocolate guilty pleasures with him! I.had.to.share.my.MY.chocolate! I guess it was a tiny sacrifice on my part considering he gave up smoking:) So in all honesty I don't really mind sharing my chocolate. But back to why he now likes brownies. As he tells me, one of his colleagues brings brownies in the office quite often and he never liked/fancied them. A few months ago that colleague kept pestering him about having a bite so out of politeness (he is very Very VERY polite)he took one and finished it. And took another one, and another one. He was 'in heaven' apparently because they were 'soooo chocolaty and nice'. 

He has been doing a lot of little projects around the house over the last week so I thought it will be nice to make him something special. The brownie recipe did not disappoint. In fact it was a real success. My daughter had a bite and giggled! She turned to me and said: 'Mummy, thank you for cooking dinner and making these delicious thingies.' (For the record, dinner was salmon with veg and homemade baked chips). The 'thingies' were a Saturday night treat for us and probably the best brownies I have tasted in a while. Honestly, give them  a go. They are so easy to make, even a child can do it. I have promised Annabel to help her make some more soon. She is only 4 and already wants to bake! My heart melts....

Here is the recipe (makes about 18 squares)

225gr melted butter
400gr sugar (I used granulated sugar and it worked great)
4 eggs
60gr cacao powder
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
225gr plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix the butter, sugar, cacao powder and eggs until well incorporated. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Grease a 25x35 cm (or similar size) baking tray. Pour in the mixture and flatten lightly with a spatula. Bake for around 20 minutes for set brownies. If you want them more gooey, bake for about 18 minutes. Let your tin cool completely before taking out and cutting into squares (if you can wait that long).

For a recipe with a twist add some nuts of your choice in the mix after the flour has been added. If you a true chocoholic sprinkle some chocolate chips/chunks on top just before the tray goes in the oven. This is a recipe that took just over 5 minutes to put together. So you can always surprise your loved ones with a little treat in under 30 minutes. How good is that?!

XoXo
Desi in the Kitchen

QUICK AND TASTY WAFFLE RECIPE

My children love waffles.

They are a rare treat in our house as I tend to make them on a Sunday when both children have had an exceptionally good week. Almost 10 years ago when we got married we were given a waffle maker which we never used until about 6 months ago Whilst clearing the garage my husband stumbled across it so I decided that we have it so we might as well start using it. Lucky for me it came with instructions and the easiest recipe for waffles I have ever seen!
All you need is 3 simple ingredients and if you are anything like me you will have all 3 in your kitchen on any given day.
So here it goes:

Recipe (makes 7-8 waffles)

a pot of cream, around 284 ml (I use whipped, double works well too)
200gr plain flour
200ml cold water

Whip the cream until it starts to thicken and soft peaks form. Mix the flour and the water until you get a smooth mixture. Add the whipped cream to it and stir until the cream is well incorporated.

Cook the waffles as per your manufacturer's instructions.

It is as simple as that! The result is the most delicious crispy waffles which you can top up with anything you fancy. My son likes them with Nutella, my daughter prefers honey. Hubby is a jam eater and I finish mine off with some maple syrup.
They are truly gorgeous no matter what your topping. This quantity is enough for us 4 as a late breakfast on a Sunday.
Give them a try, I promise you will not be disspointed.

I would love to know how yours turned out:)

XoXo
Desi in the Kitchen

COOKIE DOUGH POTS

Things have been a bit quiet in Desi in the Kitchen the last few days. I have been on Twitter only once if I recall correctly and haven't posted anything since Friday. I have been 'offline' because I needed a break. I needed to have a day to myself

BATTENBERG CAKE WITH A TWIST

Wait a second! You can make a classic quite tricky cake even trickier to make?! YES! OH YES! (Just ask my husband, he will be more than willing to tell you how long he spent cutting out templates the day before my birthday!)

So many people have asked me why I made my own birthday cake. a) Because I love baking b) Because my husband works long hours c) Because we all wanted to eat a cake after all (hubby offered to make me one but then added that we may end up with food poisoning...)

So for three weeks before hand I was researching recipes and wondering what I should bake. I wanted a cake I haven't made before and something challenging at the same time. I was watching one of the Masterclass episodes from the GBBO on the Iplayer and saw Mary Berry explaining how to do a round Battenberg cake. She made it look so easy! So this was it! I was going to have a go at it. I was going to make a round Battenberg too! I found a recipe for

MADEIRA CAKE - SIMPLE BUT GORGEOUS

Dear all,

last week I went to my local shop to buy a few things. I am not sure what I was thinking (or where my head was exactly) but all of a sudden I thought I needed eggs. Loads of them. 15 minutes and 12 large eggs later I was home to find out that I already had 5 eggs in my egg basket. Sigh.

In search of a good way to use them up I decided to bake a cake as an afternoon treat for my kids. Somewhere in my mind was the notion that Madeira cake uses loads of eggs

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME - PAVLOVA TO SAY 'THANK YOU' TO HUBBY

Dear all,
I have recently turned 35. I know, I am officially old! Or so my kids tell me ;)

I had one of the best birthday surprises ever, thanks to my gorgeous husband. For the last year I have been talking about getting a free standing mixer. I only had a hand-held one and having had it for about 10 years it had begun to make noises and the whisk had stopped working. However, somehow I could not justify spending around £400 on a Kitchen Aid or K Mix (the only two that I was considering at the time). After doing loads of research I've decided that the K Mix was the better one for me and my family situation. Yet somehow I could not bring myself to ask hubby to get me one. The cost seemed too high.
On the morning of my birthday

APRICOT ALMOND CAKE WITH ROSEWATER AND CARDAMOM

Dear all,

it has been a long time since I last wrote/published something. When I first started this blog I felt obliged to do so. You see there are so many people I know who do it so I thought I can too. The time however, was not right for me.
So here I am about an year later, giving blogging another go. And what better occasion than a scrumptious apricot and cardamom cake? I watched Simply Nigella on BBC2 a couple of nights ago and I was inspired. This cake looked so lush

ANGEL FOOD CAKE WITH ORANGE AND MASCARPONE ICING

It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago. Every year since I entered adulthood I would go out and buy myself a birthday cake. Well, I would buy a cake. Chocolate tart, Swiss chocolate roll, a small chocolate gateau from Patisserie Valerie.... you see, all chocolate based! So this year I had a change of heart. I did not a chocolate cake anymore. I wanted something else. I wanted something easy yet tasty. As I like baking I thought it would be a great idea to bake my own birthday cake for a change. So after researching recipes for hours online, I opted for an Angel food cake. This is a fat free cake which is very light and airy and only takes minutes to make.

HARRY EASTWOOD'S COURGETTE AND CHOCOLATE CAKE

I know, it does sound odd! But you know me - always willing to try out a new recipe, no matter how weird it is!
I came across it in a Waitrose magazine back in September 2013. At the time they had a campaign about putting veg in cake. There were three recipes in total and I finally came round to having a go at this one.

I agree with the author - courgette and chocolate might seem an odd choice of flavour combination but you end up with a very dark, rich squidgy cake

A FRENCH CLASSIC WITH A TWIST - CLAFOUTIS WITH PEACHES

This is a twist of the French classic Clafoutis with cherries. A very simple and easy recipe to make, it  is a great dessert for children as well as adults. It is airy and light and only took 15 minutes to make (plus 40-45 minutes baking time). You can use any fruit you like, including frozen (you don't need to defrost).
You need 400-500 gr of fruit (I used 2 cans of sliced peaches, drained).
4 eggs
300ml milk
80gr butter
85gr sugar
30gr flour (plain or self-raising)
1tsp vanilla essence
a handful of chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to about 175 degrees (fan-assisted).
Butter an ovenproof dish well. Assemble the fruit so the dish is fully covered.
Melt the butter in the milk over low heat. You don't need to stir if using a Teflon covered saucepan.
In a medium sized bowl mix the sugar, flour and chopped walnuts if using. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Add the milk mix slowly whilst continuing to whisk. Add the vanilla essence.
Pour over the fruit.
Put in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown on top and set in the middle.

The dessert puffs up in the oven but goes down once its cooled.

Serve cold.