Cakes, Cupcakes, Muffins, Puddings, Brownies and Tarts
Chocolate Ganache Cup Cakes
Ingredients For Cup Cakes
1 1/2 cups self raising flour or 1 1/2 cups plain flour and 2 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds
125 gms of dark chocolate, roughly chopped
125 gms butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients for Chocolate Ganache:
1/4 thickened cream
200 gms dark chocolate, roughly chopped
How to Prepare cup cakes:
Preheat the oven for 10-15 minutes at 180 degree for conventional oven or 160 degree for fan forced oven.
Place 12 paper cases in a 12 holed muffin tray.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a medium bowl. Stir in sugar,almonds and chopped chocolate.
Whisk the wet ingredients i.e., melted butter, milk, eggs and vanilla together until smooth.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients stir until well combined.
Spoon the mixture into the lined muffin tray and bake for 20 minutes or until the cakes are just firm when touched in the centre.
Remove the cakes from the tray and place on a cooling rack until cool.
Spread the chocolate ganache icing on the cup cakes.
How to prepare Chocolate Ganache:
In a small saucepan combine the cream and chocolate. Stir constantly over low heat until the chocolate has melted.
Cool for a few minutes,stirring constantly,until slightly thickened.
Gently spoon over cup cakes.
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients:
150 ml regular olive oil (plus more for greasing)
50 grams good-quality sifted cocoa powder
125 ml boiling water
2 teaspoons good quality vanilla extract
150 grams ground almonds (or 125 grams plain flour / 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch of salt
200 grams caster sugar
3 large eggs
How to Prepare:
Preheat oven to 170°C/gas mark 3/325ºF. Grease a 22 or 23 cm/ 9inch spring-form tin with a little oil and line the base with baking parchment.
Measure and sift the cocoa powder into a bowl or jug and whisk in the boiling water until you have a smooth, chocolatey, still runny (but only just) paste. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool a little.
In another bowl, combine the ground almonds (or flour) with the bicarbonate of soda and pinch of salt.
Put the sugar, olive oil and eggs into the bowl of a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment and beat together vigorously for about 3 minutes until you have a pale-primrose, aerated and thickened cream.
Turn the speed down a little and pour in the cocoa mixture, beating as you go, and when all is scraped in you can slowly tip in the ground almond (or flour) mixture.
Scrape down, and stir a little with a spatula, then pour this dark, liquid batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sides are set and the very centre, on top, still looks slightly damp. A cake tester should come up mainly clean but with a few sticky chocolate crumbs clinging to it.
Let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, still in its tin, and then ease the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula and spring it out of the tin. Leave to cool completely or eat while still warm with some ice cream, as a pudding.
Sticky Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients:
85 gms butter, plus extra for greasing
140g caster sugar
100g soft brown sugar
125 g plain chocolate, broken into pieces ( use dark cooking chocolate and not milkcooking chocolate)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
100 g plain flour
2 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
How to prepare:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease a 20cm/8 inch square, shallow cake tin and line the base.
Place the butter,sugars, chocolate in a heavy based saucepan and heat gently until the mixture is well blended and smooth. Remove from heat and leave to cool.
Beat together the eggs and vanilla essence or extract. Whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture. Sift together the flour,cocoa and baking powder and fold carefully into the egg and chocolate mixture using a metal spoon or palette knife.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until the top is crisp and the edge is starting to shrink away from the tin. The inside will still be quite stodgy and soft to touch.
Leave the brownies to cool completely in the tin. Once cooled cut into squares and serve. (Optional - You can dust with cocoa powder or caster sugar before cutting.)
Muffins
Ingredients:
2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup wholemeal self raising flour
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup caster sugar (or smart sugar)
Optional: You can add chocolate chips or apricots or raisins or walnuts to the mix
How to prepare:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line the muffin trays.
Mix all the ingredients together using a spatula or metal spoon.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin trays and bake for 20 mins.
Lemon Tart
Ingredients:
For Tart shell
1 3/4 cups plain flour
1/2 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
1/3 cup icing sugar
175g butter, chilled, chopped
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons chilled water
For Lemon Filling
5 eggs lightly beaten
3/4 cup caster sugar
300ml double thick cream
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
1/2 cup lemon juice
To Serve
Whipped cream
Strawberries
Vanilla bean ice-cream
How to Prepare:
Place flour, almond meal, icing sugar and butter in a food processor. Process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg yolks and water. Process until dough comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until just smooth. Shape into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced. Grease a 4 cm deep, 23.5 cm base round, loose-based fluted flan tin. Roll out pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Line the tin with the rolled pastry.Trim excess pastry and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Place prepared tin on a baking tray. Line pastry case with baking paper. Fill with ceramic pie weights or uncooked rice. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove weights or rice and baking papaer. Bake for another 10 minutes or until golden. Cool the pastry case. Reduce oven temperature to 180°C/160°C fan-forced.
To make lemon filling; whisk eggs, sugar, cream, lemon rind and lemon juice in a bowl. Stand for 5 minutes and then pour the mixture into the pastry case.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until filling has just set. Cool for 15 minutes. Refrigerate overnight or until chilled.
Serve with whipped cream and strawberries or vanilla bean ice-cream.
***If you have tried our recipes, please feel free to leave comments or suggestions via our Contact Us page and we will post them below the recipe.***
Ingredients For Cup Cakes
1 1/2 cups self raising flour or 1 1/2 cups plain flour and 2 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds
125 gms of dark chocolate, roughly chopped
125 gms butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients for Chocolate Ganache:
1/4 thickened cream
200 gms dark chocolate, roughly chopped
How to Prepare cup cakes:
Preheat the oven for 10-15 minutes at 180 degree for conventional oven or 160 degree for fan forced oven.
Place 12 paper cases in a 12 holed muffin tray.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a medium bowl. Stir in sugar,almonds and chopped chocolate.
Whisk the wet ingredients i.e., melted butter, milk, eggs and vanilla together until smooth.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients stir until well combined.
Spoon the mixture into the lined muffin tray and bake for 20 minutes or until the cakes are just firm when touched in the centre.
Remove the cakes from the tray and place on a cooling rack until cool.
Spread the chocolate ganache icing on the cup cakes.
How to prepare Chocolate Ganache:
In a small saucepan combine the cream and chocolate. Stir constantly over low heat until the chocolate has melted.
Cool for a few minutes,stirring constantly,until slightly thickened.
Gently spoon over cup cakes.
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients:
150 ml regular olive oil (plus more for greasing)
50 grams good-quality sifted cocoa powder
125 ml boiling water
2 teaspoons good quality vanilla extract
150 grams ground almonds (or 125 grams plain flour / 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch of salt
200 grams caster sugar
3 large eggs
How to Prepare:
Preheat oven to 170°C/gas mark 3/325ºF. Grease a 22 or 23 cm/ 9inch spring-form tin with a little oil and line the base with baking parchment.
Measure and sift the cocoa powder into a bowl or jug and whisk in the boiling water until you have a smooth, chocolatey, still runny (but only just) paste. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool a little.
In another bowl, combine the ground almonds (or flour) with the bicarbonate of soda and pinch of salt.
Put the sugar, olive oil and eggs into the bowl of a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment and beat together vigorously for about 3 minutes until you have a pale-primrose, aerated and thickened cream.
Turn the speed down a little and pour in the cocoa mixture, beating as you go, and when all is scraped in you can slowly tip in the ground almond (or flour) mixture.
Scrape down, and stir a little with a spatula, then pour this dark, liquid batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sides are set and the very centre, on top, still looks slightly damp. A cake tester should come up mainly clean but with a few sticky chocolate crumbs clinging to it.
Let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, still in its tin, and then ease the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula and spring it out of the tin. Leave to cool completely or eat while still warm with some ice cream, as a pudding.
Sticky Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients:
85 gms butter, plus extra for greasing
140g caster sugar
100g soft brown sugar
125 g plain chocolate, broken into pieces ( use dark cooking chocolate and not milkcooking chocolate)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
100 g plain flour
2 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
How to prepare:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease a 20cm/8 inch square, shallow cake tin and line the base.
Place the butter,sugars, chocolate in a heavy based saucepan and heat gently until the mixture is well blended and smooth. Remove from heat and leave to cool.
Beat together the eggs and vanilla essence or extract. Whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture. Sift together the flour,cocoa and baking powder and fold carefully into the egg and chocolate mixture using a metal spoon or palette knife.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until the top is crisp and the edge is starting to shrink away from the tin. The inside will still be quite stodgy and soft to touch.
Leave the brownies to cool completely in the tin. Once cooled cut into squares and serve. (Optional - You can dust with cocoa powder or caster sugar before cutting.)
Muffins
Ingredients:
2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup wholemeal self raising flour
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup caster sugar (or smart sugar)
Optional: You can add chocolate chips or apricots or raisins or walnuts to the mix
How to prepare:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line the muffin trays.
Mix all the ingredients together using a spatula or metal spoon.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin trays and bake for 20 mins.
Lemon Tart
Ingredients:
For Tart shell
1 3/4 cups plain flour
1/2 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
1/3 cup icing sugar
175g butter, chilled, chopped
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons chilled water
For Lemon Filling
5 eggs lightly beaten
3/4 cup caster sugar
300ml double thick cream
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
1/2 cup lemon juice
To Serve
Whipped cream
Strawberries
Vanilla bean ice-cream
How to Prepare:
Place flour, almond meal, icing sugar and butter in a food processor. Process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg yolks and water. Process until dough comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until just smooth. Shape into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced. Grease a 4 cm deep, 23.5 cm base round, loose-based fluted flan tin. Roll out pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Line the tin with the rolled pastry.Trim excess pastry and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Place prepared tin on a baking tray. Line pastry case with baking paper. Fill with ceramic pie weights or uncooked rice. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove weights or rice and baking papaer. Bake for another 10 minutes or until golden. Cool the pastry case. Reduce oven temperature to 180°C/160°C fan-forced.
To make lemon filling; whisk eggs, sugar, cream, lemon rind and lemon juice in a bowl. Stand for 5 minutes and then pour the mixture into the pastry case.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until filling has just set. Cool for 15 minutes. Refrigerate overnight or until chilled.
Serve with whipped cream and strawberries or vanilla bean ice-cream.
***If you have tried our recipes, please feel free to leave comments or suggestions via our Contact Us page and we will post them below the recipe.***