Coconut Meringue Cake

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!

This is a Hummingbird Bakery recipe, a coco-nutty sponge with a really fluffy meringue frosting.

I knew I wasn't going to have time to make it on her birthday so I made the sponge a week earlier, froze the layers wrapped in greaseproof and cling-film.

They defrosted really easily the night before then that morning I whipped up the frosting which is done on a water bath, its final consistency similar to that of a marshmallow!

Click here for the recipe.

Chewy choc chip cookies

My boyfriend lived in America for a while and has an idealised memory of chewy chocolate chip cookies. I've heard a lot about these Martha Stewart ones so fingers crossed!
For the moment my family have deemed them "the perfect cookie"!

Click here for the recipe.

Afternoon Tea

For my baby shower I had afternoon tea with a few friends at my mums house in Sussex.
I made a double batch of these with the aim of freezing one but they were gobbled up before I had the chance!
I recently went to the St Pancras Rennaissance hotel in London for afternoon tea but was put off by their modern twist on it. We were presented with a selection of sandwiches, cakes and...chocolate scones!
I think scones should be kept the way they were traditionally supposed to be; plain, topped with jam and cream. No? Except I like them with butter...

Click here for the recipe.

Strawberries & champagne

So I broke my 'once a week' promise because these don't really count, so simple.

Valrhona ‘Caramelia’ covered strawberries.
Valrhona is definitely the best baking chocolate to use, it’s a little pricey but delicious and you can buy it in these handy coin shaped pieces so that melting is speedy and choc chips are fast&easy.
I managed to snag mine on a discount website so I stocked up well!

Celebration Time

This was a cake to celebrate many things: My dads new job and Nala coming home after 5 months away and most importantly, the first day we've been able to have lunch outside!

I'm pretty sure this was a Hummingbird Bakery recipe but it was so long ago that I found it I honestly can't remember. 

I've iced it with cream cheese frosting, the roses on the sides are a style I saw on a fellow bloggers' site which I am addicted to. I've shared her link down below. Its a technique that's really quite speedy and you only need a star nozzle and piping bag to master it! 

Find the recipe and method here. 

http://iambaker.net/

Blueberry Crumble Muffins

This is a wonderful recipe that I got out of "Pierre Hermé, Pastries", the quantities are huge so make some space in your freezer.

The dough is a basic muffin dough but he has added crème fraiche to make them extra moist. It was a little sticky and tough to scoop so I added a few tablespoons of milk to loosen it up.

Apart being a mouth watering sponge this recipe asks for a crumble topping, so exactly like on an Apple Crumble you have a layer of crunchy biscuit on top.

I made these ones in an Aga so they took a little longer than the required 20 minutes to become golden brown.

If you ave any leftover crumble, add some vanilla essence then bake it on its own and use it as a biscuit to top ice cream.

Click here for the recipe!

I'm back!

After taking more than a year off, I'm back to blogging!

I've been keeping busy working at The Ritz in Paris and at The Cake Parlour in Wimbledon then having my gorgeous baby boy but I'm back and ready for baking.

I'll be posting one cake/desert a week and including the recipes.

Enjoy!