EASTER NESTS

Easter Nests by Rachel Allen

Another recipe from Rachel Allen's fab book Cake (Collins, £25). So many things in there I would love to try!

This is super easy. What I suggest is to crumble half of the Shredded Wheat and add half of the melted chocolate and then do the rest. I tried it with with dark and then with milk chocolate. The best for me was a mix of both. 

You also have to be quite quick when making the nests and get those mini eggs in there quick too. If you find they haven't stuck you can dip them in the leftover melted chocolate (if you have any!) or melt some more.

I made her chocolate cupcakes and iced them with the icing below and placed the nests on top. The icing is OK but to be honest I try to avoid making icing with icing sugar and butter- too much mess, too much effort. 

Vanilla cupcakes iced with the simple & quick icing. I used milk chocolate for the nest.

Much easier and to me tastier is to cover the cakes with a ganache (double cream and dark chocolate melted together).

Another fast option is to mix in a bowl sifted icing sugar with a tiny amount of water (you don't want it too runny) or lemon juice and keep it white or add food colouring. I baked vanilla cupcakes, covered them with this simple icing and placed the nests made with milk chocolate on top. I think it looks good too (main photo).

Chocolate cupcake covered with ganache. 

For the nests

Makes enough for 12 cupcakes or more if you make them small

100g (3 1/2oz) dark or milk chocolate, in drops or broken into pieces

4 Shredded Wheat

36 sugar-coated mini chocolate eggs

For the icing

100g (3 1/2 oz) butter, softened

225g (8oz) icing sugar, sifted

25ml (1fl oz) milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

A few drops of green food colouring (optional)

To make the nests, first line a baking tray with baking parchment. then place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Leave just until melted, stirring occasionally, then removed from the heat.

Crumble the Shredded Wheat and add these to the melted chocolate, mixing in until well coated. Working quickly, add about 2 teaspoons of the mixture to form a small mound on the baking parchment. Use your fingers to press down the centre to form a rough nest shape, then add 3 mini eggs, pressing them down into the nest. Repeat with the rest of the mixture and eggs until you have 12 nests, then leave on the tray to cool and set.


Meanwhile, make the icing. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer and cream together until fluffy and light. Gradually add the milk with the vanilla extract and food colouring (if using) and continue beating the mixture until smooth. When the cupcakes are cool, ice them using a palette knife or the back of a teaspoon. Place a nest on top of each cake, pressing carefully but firmly into the icing.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Mrs Post's Lemon Drizzle Cake by Paul Hollywood

Is Paul Hollywood really the housewives' pin-up? He makes a good team with Mary Berry in the Great British Bake Off but a pin-up? That's pushing it a bit.Here's a recipe from his fantastic 'How to bake' book (Bloomsbury, £20). 

Here is what mine looked like

The recipe asks for lemon curd.If you have the time to make lemon curd then that's great but I think Tiptree's works just fine. 

Regarding tins, I used a 26 x 10.5cm (10 x 4 inches).

For the version in Spanish please see below. I'm sorry if my translation is not up to scratch. I'll get better- promise.

My rating: 5 Big fat STARS 

Ingredients
75g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
125g caster sugar
150g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 medium eggs
1 tbsp lemon curd
2 1/2 tbsp full-fat milk

For the drizzle
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp granulated sugar

1.Heat your oven to 180C. Butter a 1kg loaf tin and line with baking parchment.

2.Beat the butter and caster sugar together in a large bowl, using an electron hand-held whisk or wooden spoon, until the mixture is very light and fluffy- this can take up to 10 minutes. Add the flour, baking powder, eggs, lemon curd and milk, mixing all the time, until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

3.Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

4.Meanwhile, for the drizzle, mix the lemon zest and juice with the granulated sugar. Pour the lemon drizzle over the hot cake in the tin. Leave to cool completely, then serve. 

Version en ESPAÑOL

75g manteca (sin sal), ablandada, mas extra para enmantecar
125g azúcar
150g harina leudante
1 cucharadita de polvo para hornear
2 huevos medianos
1 cucharada de lemon curd o crema de limón(se hace con huevos, jugo y ralladura de limón, manteca y azúcar)
2 1/2 cucharadas de leche entera

Para el drizzle
Ralladura fina y jugo de 1 limón
2 cucharadas de azúcar

1.Calentar el horno a 180C. Enmantecar un molde para pan de 1kg y poner papel manteca. 

2.Batir la manteca y el azúcar juntos en un bol grande, usando una batidora eléctrica de mano o una cuchara de madera, hasta que la mezcla este liviana y como esponjoso (no se si este es el término en castellano!). Esto puede llevar como 10 minutos. Agregar la harina, el polvo para hornear, huevos, lemon curd y la leche, mezclando todo el tiempo hasta que los ingredientes estén bien mezclados.

3.Poner la mezcla en el molde y hornear por 40-45 minutos o hasta que después de insertar un pincho o cuchillo éste salga limpio.

4.Mientras tanto, para el drizzle,mezclar el jugo con la ralladura y el azúcar. Verter esto sobre la torta caliente mientras que este en el molde. Dejar enfriar completamente y luego servir.

Bakewell Cake by Rachel Allen

Here is a recipe by the beautiful Rachel Allen- the Irish Domestic Goddess. 

This Bakewell cake is the first recipe I have tried from her book Cake (Collins, £25). 

It turned out absolutely delicious and it didn't take long to prepare. Mine looked pretty much like the picture in the book which is always a challenge. Those food stylists make everything look amazing. 

My rating: 5 STARS without a doubt. 

This is what my Bakewell Cake looked like

Bakewell cake 

Prep time:     15 minutes
Baking time:   50-55 minutes
Ready in:      1 hour and 45 minutes
Serves:        6-8


150g (5oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
150g (5oz) caster sugar
2 eggs
A few drops (not more than 1/8 tsp) of almond essence or extract
50ml (2fl oz) milk
150g (5oz) self-raising flour, sifted
150g (5oz) ground almonds
150g (5oz) fresh or frozen (and defrosted) raspberries
25g (1oz) flaked almonds
Icing sugar, for dusting
Softly whipped cream and fresh raspberries, to decorate

20cm (8in) diameter cake tin with 6cm (2 1/2 in) sides

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), Gas mark 4, then butter the sides of the cake tin and line the base with a disc of baking parchment.

Cream the butter until soft in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Whisk the eggs and the almond essence or extract together in a small bowl for a few seconds or just until combined, then gradually add the eggs to the creamed butter mixture, beating all the time. Next beat in the milk, then add the flour and ground almonds, carefully folding theses in just until they are mixed.

Next add the raspberries and fold in gently so as not to break them up too much. Tip the batter into the prepared tin, then scatter over the flaked almonds. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Use a small, sharp knife to loosen the edges, then carefully removed the cake from the tin and lead on a wire rack to cool down completely before transferring to a serving plate.

Dust with icing sugar. Serve with softly whipped cream if you wish, or decorate with fresh raspberries. 

Coconut Hearts

VALENTINE'S DAY IS NEARLY HERE

Here is an easy recipe to woo your girlfriend or boyfriend. I think these Coconut Hearts look quite cute and are absolutely delicious. 

If you don't have a tin like the one I have used (see photo below)you can make them in a Madeleine tin.If you use the latter, bear in mind that they will be smaller and they will take less time to cook. They would still however look as beautiful with their shell design.

COCONUT HEARTS

Ingredients

80g golden caster sugar

2 eggs
100g butter plus extra for greasing the tin.

3 tbsp milk
100g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder
70g desiccated coconut

icing sugar

Melt the butter and cool.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until frothy, about 4 minutes.

Then add the milk to the cooled melted butter and then mix this into the egg and sugar mixture.

Sift the flour and baking powder into another bowl and mix in the coconut. Fold this into the egg mixture.

Cover the bowl with cling-film and chill the batter for half an hour.

Brush the tin with melted butter and then fill each heart until it is two-thirds full.

I found this in TK-Maxx last year. 

Bake the hearts in a 160C to 170C oven until golden, about 15 minutes. They are ready when the tester comes out clean or when you touch the middle of the cake and it springs back.

Remove the hearts from the tin and cool on a wire rack. 

Lastly, dust with icing sugar and they are ready to enjoy. 

This made 13 hearts but if you use a madeleine tin it would make many more. 

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APPLE & CINNAMON MUFFINS

What horrible weather out there. Will it ever stop raining?

This is my latest Apple and cinnamon muffins recipe and so far the best. They are so delicious that I have to stop myself from eating the whole lot.

And best of all, it is super easy and super fast to make. No fuss- promise. This makes 8 muffins but you could stretch it to 9. 

Ingredients

180g plain flour

30g oats

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

100g golden caster sugar

50g light brown sugar

90ml milk (semi or full fat)

80ml sunflower oil (or other vegetable oil)

1 large egg

2 large apples or 3 small ones

Topping: 1 tbsp demerara sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Start by sifting the flour, baking powder, salt and spices into a bowl. Then add the oats and sugars. 

In another bowl whisk the egg, add the milk and oil.

If you are using three apples, grate two and cut the third one into quite big cubes. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix it in with a big spoon. Do not over mix, the lumpy look is OK. Then quickly fold in the grated apple.

Divide the mix into 8 muffin cases. Top them with the cubes- press them in a little bit. 

Lastly sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mix.

Bake in a 190C to 200C for about 20 minutes. They are ready when you touch them in the middle with your finger and it springs back. Every oven is different so keep an eye on them.

And voila! Just transfer them onto a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!!!

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