Coffee & walnut mini loaf cakes

A little slice of heaven

The perfect size for a naughty treat (bigger than a cupcake!)

And a fantastic idea for afternoon tea

I couldn't help but smother them in coffee buttercream too (and more walnuts)

Makes 4-6 mini loaf cakes

- 2 eggs

- 70g brown sugar

- 120g plain flour

- 100g butter, melted

- 2 tsp baking powder

- pinch of salt

- handful of walnuts, roughly chopped

- 2 tsp instant coffee

For the buttercream

- 50g butter, softened

- 150g icing sugar, sifted

- dash of milk

- 2 tsp instant coffee

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and flour mini loaf tins.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until a little foamy.

3. Gradually sift in the flour, baking powder and add the salt and melted butter. Mix until combined.

4. Stir in the chopped walnuts. In a mug, add a tiny amount of boiling water to the coffee, then stir into the cake mixture (you can make it as strong or as weak with coffee as you would like).

5. Divide the mixture between the moulds (about 2/3 full), and sprinkle with some grains of instant coffee and some more chopped walnuts.

6. Place the moulds on a tray, and bake in the oven for around 25 minutes, or until a knife in the middle of the sponge comes out clean. Leave in the tins to cool slightly before turning out onto a wired rack for further cooling.

7. While cooling, prepare the icing. Cream together the softened butter and icing sugar, then add the milk and coffee, stirring until smooth and well combined - add more icing sugar if too runny. Taste to see if more coffee needs to be added depending on how strong you like it (but try not to eat all of it!)

8. When the cakes are cooled, roughly spread on top with a knife then top with a walnut in the middle of each, some more chopped walnuts, and some more coffee grains.

Enjoy :)

Strawberry cupcakes

In keeping with the strawberry season of Wimbledon, I thought I'd make some strawberry treats. With fresh strawberries in the sponge and strawberry jam in the buttercream, these cupcakes are incredibly light but creamy and delicious. They are exactly what you would expect - sweet and pretty damn tasty.

For the sponges (makes 12)

- 125 margarine

- 125g caster sugar

- 2 eggs, beaten

- 125g self raising flour

- 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 1 tbsp semi skimmed milk

- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

- handful of fresh strawberries, finely chopped

For the buttercream

- 125g butter (has to be lurpak!)

- 300g icing sugar, sifted

- dash of warm milk

- 2 tbsp raspberry jam

- 1/4 tsp vanilla essence

- pink food colouring

- strawberries, to garnish

- edible glitter

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tin with cases.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream the margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy.

3. Beat in the eggs and fold in the flour and baking powder, mixing until smooth.

4. Stir in the milk and vanilla essence, and add the chopped strawberries, mixing until well combined.

5. Spoon into the cupcake cases (about 3/4 full) then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wired rack.

6. Meanwhile, to make the buttercream, soften the butter then cream with the icing sugar, adding a dash of warm milk in to help mix. 

7. When the buttercream is smooth, stir in the jam and vanilla essence until well combined, then add a small amount of pink food colouring to enhance the colour.

8. Using a piping bag with a large star nozzle, generously pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake.

9. Top with a quartered strawberry (or however you prefer) and a sprinkle of glitter!

Enjoy :)

Raspberry swirl cupcakes

These cupcakes are by far my favourite out of all the ones I've ever made (and that's a lot!). I made these for my friends birthday, and I love how pretty and girly they are. The cream cheese frosting is to die for and is made with raspberry jam as well so has a delicious, sweet flavour, and the way the frosting is piped just adds something a bit different, giving a marbled effect. The sponge recipe is the one I always use but I will write everything down below anyway! Oh, and if you don't like cream cheese don't be put off, the frosting tastes amaaaazing... my friend hates cream cheese and refused the cream cheese icing on my carrot cupcakes so this time I didn't tell her it had cream cheese in and she loved it so much she was even eating it out the bowl!

For the sponges (makes 12)

- 125 margarine/butter (or both)

- 125g caster sugar

- 2 eggs, beaten

- 125g self raising flour

- 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 1 tbsp semi skimmed milk

- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

For the frosting

- 50g butter (I always use lurpak slightly salted cause think it tastes the best)

- 300g icing sugar, sifted

- 125g full fat cream cheese

- 2 tbsp raspberry jam

- pink food colouring

- edible glitter

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees / gas mark 5. Line a cupcake tray with cases.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually whisk in the egg then fold in the flour and baking powder.

3. Add the milk and vanilla essence and beat until fully combined and smooth.

4. Spoon into cupcake cases and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until risen, firm and golden brown. Leave to cool.

5. Meanwhile, to make the cream cheese frosting, beat the butter and gradually add the icing sugar until light. Whisk in the cream cheese until light and fluffy.

6. Transfer half the frosting mixture into another bowl and add the jam and a few drops of food colouring, stirring until fully mixed. 

7. In a piping bag with a large, star shaped nozzle, spoon raspberry frosting on one side of the bag and the plain frosting on the other (if you are using a tube syringe instead of a piping bag like i did, then alternating the different frostings on top of one another works just as well). Pipe generous swirls on top of the cupcakes.

8. Don't forget to sprinkle with glitter!

*These will last for up to 3 days - keep them in a cool place in an airtight container - don't forget there is cream cheese in the frosting so they will go off quicker!*

Chocolate and vanilla jam cupcakes

I made these for my 19th birthday the other week, for friends and family. I hadn't made cupcakes for a really long time so loved doing it, and actually discovered that piping icing isn't so bad! I've never been that good at piping technique but realised that with some good piping bags stuffed full of lots of icing, it really is quite simple and fun to be creative with it. I wanted the contrast of chocolate and plain vanilla sponges as well as the contrast with the plain cream icing and pink icing so that they looked good on my cupcake stand. Make sure you use cute, colourful cupcakes cases to make these scrummy cupcakes look even more appealing. I use this recipe time and time again, I have probably posted them on here before. It's so versatile - you can pretty much do anything you like, adding fruit to the sponge, using different coloured icing and decorations etc etc. Just have some fun!

For the sponges (makes 24)

- 225 margarine/butter (or both)

- 225g caster sugar

- 4 eggs, beaten

- 225g self raising flour

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 2 tbsp semi skimmed milk

- 1 tsp vanilla essence

- cocoa powder (for the chocolate cupcakes)

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180 degrees. Line a few cupcake trays with cupcake cases.

2. Beat together the marg/butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding flour occasionally if curdling occurs.

3. Sift the remaining flour and baking powder into the bowl, then gradually whisk in the milk and vanilla essence.

4. Spoon half of this mixture into cupcake cases.
5. Sift cocoa powder into the other half of the mixture, stirring and adding more until it is dark brown in colour. Spoon this into the remaining cupcake cases.

6. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Leave to cool on a cooling tray.

7. Once cooled, you can begin making the buttercream. But first, take the vanilla cupcakes and cut a small hole in the middle of each to fill with a tsp of jam. I used raspberry but any flavour would work well.

8. Cover with the cut out bit of sponge, and they are ready to be iced!

For the buttercream

- 150g unsalted butter

- 225g icing sugar

- 2 tbsp hot milk

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- pink colouring (for vanilla sponge cupcakes)

1. Cream together the butter and sugar with the milk until smooth and silky. Stir in the vanilla extract.

2. Spoon this into a large piping bag with a nozel in (I ordered large, plastic disposable icing bags off amazon - you just snip off the end, pop in the nozel, fill with icing and are easy to use!) and start icing the chocolate sponge cupcakes - I go clockwise in a swirling pattern to get the effect you can see in the pictures.

3. Once all the chocolate cupcakes are done, add some pink food colouring to the remaining icing and stir until fully combined. Pipe this on to the vanilla cupcakes in the same way as the chocolate ones. Voila! You can decorate with fruit (strawberries or raspberries) or sprinkles or whatever really, but I just wanted to keep them simple.

Enjoy :)

Oh, and just wanted to show you this cute apron my friend bought me for my birthday, I love it, can't wait to wear it!!

Jubilee cake and cupcakes!

Most of the cupcakes are filled with raspberry jam so resemble mini victoria sponges (perfectly British for the Queen's Jubilee!), and both the cupcakes and the cake are topped with delicious vanilla buttercream. I am aware that the fruit flag pattern on the cake isn't exactly what the flag looks like, but I didn't have enough blueberries to do triangles or any raspberries for the diagonal lines so I just did what I could... I made these with my friend Leah, and it was so much quicker and more fun baking with someone else! We didn't have any red, white and blue sprinkles, but the union jack cupcake cases make up for it, and multi-coloured sprinkles still look cute. This is a really easy recipe to follow, so give it a try and make someone smile this bank holiday weekend :)

Makes 8 cupcakes and one small sponge

- 125g soft margarine

- 125g caster sugar
- 2 medium eggs, whisked
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 125g self-raising flour, sieved
- 1/2 tsp baking powder

For the buttercream:

- 150g unsalted butter

- 225g icing sugar

- 2 tbsp hot milk

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Toppings and decorations

- few spoonfuls of raspberry jam

- sprinkles

- strawberries and blueberries

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees, line a muffin tin with 8 cupcake cases, and grease a small rectangular oven-proof dish or tin for the sponge.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually whisk in the eggs, vanilla essence, flour and baking powder until there is a smooth batter. Spoon into the cupcake cases (about 2/3's full) and pour the remains into the greased dish.

3. Bake in the oven for around 12 minutes for the cupcakes, and slightly longer for the sponge. Leave to cool on a wired rack.

4. Meanwhile, make the buttercream by whisking together the butter, sugar, milk and vanilla essence until smooth. Set aside.

5. To fill the cupcakes with jam, I used a cupcake plunger which removes the core of the cake. However, you can use a knife to do this it just takes a little longer.

6. Fill the centre with raspberry jam. If you want, you can put the sponge tops back on or leave it as it is.

7. Spread both the cake and cupcakes with the buttercream, use sprinkles and/or fruit to decorate and voila.

Enjoy :)

Extremely chocolatey, chocolate finger cake

 I made this cake for my friend Mia's birthday (hence why the below pictures say Mia on the cake). I altered a chocolate cake recipe from Lorraine Pascale's Baking Made Easy book (will link at the bottom of the post), and it has worked out really well. It didn't rise as much as I had hoped but once you spread on all the chocolatey buttercream it increases the size, and I love the towering effect that the chocolate fingers have, like a crown on the cake. I used the double chocolate cadbury's fingers to make this cake even more rich and indulgent - a perfect treat for chocolate lovers. The sponge was moist and dense like a brownie, and perfectly complimented by the rich chocolate frosting and crunchy fingers - absolutely delicious! It is also really versatile as you can use whatever you want to decorate the cake. Piling on fruit such as strawberries or raspberries, in the middle would look very classic and add lots of bright colour. You could also top it with marshmallows, or more chocolate such as malteasers, or just decorate it with sprinkles or tons of candles!

Serves 10-12
- vegetable oil
- 125g butter, softened
- 75g margarine
- 150g caster sugar
- 50g golden caster sugar
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 140g self-raising flour
- pink of salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- dash of milk
- 2 packs of cadburys double chocolate fingers
Buttercream
- 150g butter, softened
- 400g icing sugar
- dash of milk
- 75g dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly


1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees/gas mark 4. Line an 8 inch cake tin with baking paper, and brush with the oil.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar, add half of the eggs and half the flour and beat well. Add the rest of the eggs, four, cocoa powder , salt and baking powder. Beat for a few minutes until smooth and combined. I always add a dash of milk at this stage to make the mixture more smooth and creamy.
3. Dollop the sponge mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake in the oven for 30-50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the centre of the cake. Leave to cool in the tin.
4. Meanwhile, to make the buttercream, cream together the butter and icing sugar until smooth, add some milk (optional), and the melted chocolate and stir well until combined and smooth.
5. Once the cake is completely cool, remove from the tin and spread the buttercream generously on top and on the sides of the cake.
6. Gently push the chocolate fingers vertically into the sides of the cake. The decorations are now completely up to you - have fun with it!

Enjoy :)


Happy Birthday!

I modified the recipe for the 'I can't believe you made that' cake in Lorraine Pascale's above cookbook! I changed some ingredients and quantities, and used different decorations. I would recommend this book as even if the recipe isn't exactly to your taste, it provides lots of ideas and inspiration. And it isn't just a book about cakes and other sweet treats, it also has recipes on savoury baking - bread, pies, roasts etc.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Baking-Made-Easy-Lorraine-Pascale/dp/0007275943/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334145605&sr=8-1

Tiramisu cake

If you want a moist sponge with hints of coffee, a rich, chocolate frosting, and a creamy centre then this is the perfect cake. The mascarpone centre also has a splash of Marsala wine, so it definitely has all the best parts of a tiramisu. I made this for Mother's Day as I've said before, my mum loves tiramisu. This was no more difficult than making another cake like a Victoria sponge - and it was worth the extra time of brushing coffee over the sponge, whipping the mascarpone and making the frosting because the result was amazing, everyone loved it, it went so fast! It is perfect for a naughty treat, especially afternoon tea.... you have to try this cake!

Ingredients for the sponge:

- 150g butter

- 100g caster sugar

- 50g soft brown sugar

- 2 eggs

- 150g self-raising flour

Ingredients for the filling:

- 2tsp caster sugar

- 30ml of very strong coffee

- 125g tub mascarpone

- Icing sugar to taste

- Dash of marsala wine

Ingredients for the frosting:

- 50g butter

- 30g dark chocolate

- icing sugar (as needed)

- extra coffee

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line 2 square 10cm x 10cm cake tins with parchment and butter.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth and pale, gradually beat in the eggs and then fold in the flour. If the mixture is very heavy, add 1-2 tbsp water.

3. Spoon into the cake tins and bake for 20-30 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool.

4. Peel the paper off the cakes and trim the top flat on each. Add the sugar to the espresso and stir until dissolved. Brush over half of the espresso on one of the cakes, on the trimmed side. Brush the remaining espresso over the trimmed side of the other cake.

5. Whip the mascarpone (with electric beaters) until it is spoonable then add enough icing sugar to sweeten it, around 3 tbsp. Add a dash of Marsala wine - this give the cake more of a 'Tiramisu' flavour, and makes the mascarpone softer. Spoon over the cake and then carefully drop the other cake on top, espresso-side down. Press down firmly.

6. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a microwave or in a bowl set over gently simmering water. Add some icing sugar and coffee. Let it cool and thicken slightly then pour in an even layer onto the cake.

7. Sprinkle with any decorations you like, or leave plain. Leave to set somewhere cool.

Enjoy :)