Yule Log (ready made swiss roll)

At Christmas time there is so much to do and most of it needs to be done at the last minute on the day.

If you don’t have time to make your own Swiss roll, don’t panic, just keep a couple of your favourite swiss rolls in the cupboard on standby and within 30mins you can rustle up a Yule log! Continue reading “Yule Log (ready made swiss roll)”

Millionaires Poke Cake

I have made this cake several times experimenting with the size of poke holes, first I tried pencil sized holes (picture 1), these are great for runny sauces but with a thick caramel I don’t think the holes were large enough for quality seepage. Each time I made the cake I made the hole progressively larger until I went with an apple corer (picture 2). Well we certainly had caramel filled holes and this was certainly a hit! The down side was, with the quantity of caramel in this recipe and the fact the holes take a lot of filling the layer of caramel on the top was quite thin.  You also need to take care that you do not ‘core’ through the base as the result could be a little sticky!

We all liked the larger holes with more caramel in the cake then on top. Try it and let me know what you like best! Continue reading “Millionaires Poke Cake”

Chocolate Courgette Cake

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Carrot cake is perfectly acceptable in our house but when Courgette cake was mentioned everyone physically recoiled! Mum used to make courgette cake years ago and reassured me that it is was really good and you couldn’t tell there was courgette in it. Now we have a glut of courgette in the garden and the only one who eats courgette is mum; I was under pressure to do something with the ever growing supply of courgette. Continue reading “Chocolate Courgette Cake”

Strawberry Crumbles

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I love strawberries and they are at their best during the British summer.  I do sometimes get a little carried away and buy more then we can eat in a day.  Unfortunately strawberries really need to be eaten within a day or two of picking before they go a little soft. This is the time I make strawberry crumbles. I make this as a tray bake and are so moreish it’s difficult to only eat one square! Continue reading “Strawberry Crumbles”

Blueberry and Lemon Cake

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I love the zing of a lemon drizzle cake that combined with the sweetness of the blueberries makes this cake extremely popular.

I have substituted some of the sugar for honey in this recipe, it just adds another dimension to the cake.  If you don’t have honey then just use caster sugar instead, or if you feel you would like more honey flavor then try adding more honey, but don’t forget to take out an equal quantity of sugar. Continue reading “Blueberry and Lemon Cake”

Sticky Toffee Cake

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My grandad’s favourite pudding is a sticky toffee pudding, for his birthday I made him a Sticky Toffee Cake, I have included a picture of Grandad’s cake at the bottom.  I have made a variation for you here.

Usually Sticky Toffee would call for dates, however my sister hates them with a passion and isn’t too keen on dried fruit, so in this cake I have used raisins and liquidized them to disguise the fact they are in there. You can use them whole, or use chopped dates or sultanas, all will be good. Continue reading “Sticky Toffee Cake”

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

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Unfortunately Brownies are really too easy to eat, and it is too easy to eat too many of them! Luckily they are really easy to make too….

There is nothing earth shatteringly different with my chocolate brownie recipe, when I looked at others before writing mine up they are all very similar. Again this is a recipe I have used for years and slightly changed it to suit our taste.

Once you have mastered a classic brownie recipe that you like and enjoy the most then you can add all sorts of things to ‘liven’ your brownies up. Continue reading “Chocolate Fudge Brownies”