Oh, If you love the life you live then you'll get a lot more done

 ♫ Paolo Nutini- Simple Things  ♫

Hey all! 

Happy bank holiday to everyone, a barbeque is definitely on the cards today! Here is a little baking post as I felt we hadn't done one in a while- and today being a national holiday is the perfect excuse to get out your apron a make this tasty treat... you will not be disappointed!

Just a small note to say that me and Jess are having our AS exams in the coming weeks, we plan to schedule a few posts in because we really don't want to neglect the blog, so hopefully the blog won't have to be victim to our hetic and stressful exam schedules!! 

Loads of love, Paloma 

xxx

Cherry Bakewell Cake

                                          

200g golden caster sugar

200g butter, well softened                         

100g ground almonds

100g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp almond extract or essence

4 large eggs

1) Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4

2)Butter and line the bases of 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins with baking paper.

3) Beat together all the cake ingredients with a pinch of salt until smooth,

4)Spoon into the tins and level the tops.

5) Bake for 30 mins or until golden and springy.

6)Let the sponges cool

7) Then, spread with jam and sandwich on top

8)Being the chocoholic that I am, I decided to top my cake with melted chocolate rather than icing, its a great alternative if you are not an icing fanatic

9) Create a small 'piping bag' out of baking paper- basically a cone shape with a tiny bit of sellotape- and drizzle the chocolate according

10) Eat the remaining chocolate

11) Decorate with blanched or flaked almonds

12) Voila!! It makes a fab birthday cake as my little sister would happily tell you!

The Macaroon

 

When it comes to baking, a particular nemesis of mine is the macaroon. After various failed attempts I always vow never to go near them again! But it neve lasts... I have been trying to hunt down a 'fault-proof' recipe, which isn't too fussy (you know its a no go area when thermometers are concerned!) I decided to try out a recipe by Lorraine Pascal and voila! By far the easier recipe I have come across and tasted so good! Here is the result, hope you enjoy...

 

      Ingredients

• 125g/4½oz icing sugar
• 125g/4½oz ground almounds
• 90g/3½oz free-range egg whites
• 2 tbsp water
• 110g/4oz caster sugar
• food colouring (optional)
• desiccated coconut, for sprinkling (optional)
• 150ml/5fl oz double or whipped cream, whipped

 

1.Preheat the oven to 170/C/325F/Gas 5 and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

2.Put the icing sugar, ground almonds and 40g/1½oz egg whites together in a large bowl and mix to a paste.

3.Put the water and caster sugar in a small pan and heat gently to melt the sugar, then turn up the heat and boil until the mixture starts to go syrupy and thickens

4.Whisk the remaining 50g/2oz egg whites in a bowl until medium-stiff peaks form, then pour in the sugar syrup, whisking until the mixture becomes stiff and shiny. For coloured macaroons, add a few drops of food colouring, at this stage I did not piut enough pink, hence how the colour did not show up when cooked!)

5.Tip this meringue mixture into the almond paste mixture and stir gently until the becomes stiff and shiny again.

 

 

6.Spoon into the piping bag. Pipe a little mixture under each corner of the baking paper to stop it sliding around. Pipe circles onto the lined tray, twisting the bag after each one. The mixture should be quite loose to give a smooth finish.

7.When they’re all piped, give the tray 2–3 slams on a flat surface to flatten them. At this stage, sprinkle with desiccated coconut if you want.

 

 

8. Leave to stand for 30 minutes to form a skin then bake in the oven for 12–15 minutes with the door slightly ajar until firm. Remove from the oven, lift the paper off the baking tray and leave the macaroons to cool on the paper.

 

 

9.When cool, sandwich the macaroons together with whipped cream. They can be kept for a couple of days, but they are so yummy you would want to eat them all!

Lots of love, Paloma xxx