Ladysmith Cake

I bookmarked this recipe yonks back, Im one of those people that saves a stupid amount of recipes every day knowing full well I wont ever get around to making them all, I think its an addiction. I remember thinking how interesting and pretty the cake was, and the name made it sound like the perfect dainty tea time treat! I'd never seen anything quite like it but it seemed pretty easy and used ingredients I almost always have on hand, however the lack of reviews (i like to know other peeps have success with a recipe before I try my hand at them, im a whimp!) meant it just went into my 'bake some-day' file. Until today, hurrah!

You begin by making a basic vanilla sponge to which you add yummy spices to half (and over yourself if you are a clutz like me, fact of the day - cinnamon stains fingers an interesting brown tinge and is a pretty strong makeshift perfume also!)
You layer the spice mix in a prepped tin, smooth on a layer of jam, top with the plain mix then sprinkle away to your hearts contents with some scrummy chopped nuts, all the while smuggly licking the multiple batter smothered implements with a content little grin.

Dreamy Creamy Lemon Crumb Bars

 

Oh my lordy. If i havn't put on a good few pounds today due to these little bites of creamy goodness I will be incredibly impressed with my metabolism.

Scrumptious Carrot Cake

Using vegetables in cakes shouldn't work, my brain fights against the idea, but this cake just proves otherwise. It is A-MAZ-ING, and I don't say this lightly as I am a self confessed cake snob. Snobs a bad choice of word i think...i love all cake! But for something to be worth remaking it has to have that extra something that this one truly 100% does

I realise most people probably have a go-to carrot cake recipe, but if you don't already then please do give this one a go! It is delectably moist (that word is one of my cringe words..moist..ew..but as far as cakes are concerned, moist = yummmm) due to having an obscene amount of carrots in it, I did so much research before choosing this one and that was really the winning factor, too many carrot cake recipes have only 2 cups or so shredded carrot, thats not enough! This one is basically a health food in its own right. It has a wonderful texture studded with plump little raisins, a shed load'a nuts and a bit of coconut thrown in for good measure :) Result is that every bite has that little something special that means it never gets boring, rather a dangerous attribute when you have this 3 tiered, cream cheese slathered, utterly irresistible deliciousness in the vicinity.

Are we getting the fact I like this cake? I think I have probably made my point :)

Another wonderful thing about carrot cake is that it is so versatile as everyone has their different preferances, for example I really adore the juicy pop of the raisins so probably would opt for 50:50 raisins to nuts. Whereas my mum, although liking the raisins, would rather have a higher nut content. If you don't like either, leave them out! Not a coconut fan, same thing goes. A can of crushed pineapple is a nice addition too. Really just play around and find your perfect balance, or just try mine out and revel in its moorish scrumminess

Butterfly Cakes and my first post!

Hello there! Wow, my first blog post, who'd have thunk it (my rather loose use of the english language with words such as thunk might give you a clue). Definitely not my GCSE English teacher thats for sure, I am pretty sure my literary lazyness was the bane of his life, if i got any further than writing an introduction I think he probably went home and cried in happiness. Anyhoozles, I am Sasha and if you would like to find out a little more about me then click on this handydandy link - About me

It's taken me a while to finally get round to starting this foody based blog. I spend so long each day perusing the web looking for scrummy inspiration and then toddling off to my little kitchen in the attempt to recreate the no-doubt gorgeous looking dish of choice (which hardly ever ends up looking quite so photogenic at my end but hey ho, its what it tastes like that REALLY matters isnt it!) that I thought it would be nice to document my culinary adventures somewhere. You never know, my fumblings in the kitchen might in turn inspire one of you lovely people to bake something I have made, if you do please leave me a comment or something 'cos that would totalllyyy make my day :)

I have a feeling my posts will be primarily about delicious on the lips, shocking for the hips, kinda food, but I love trying out savoury things too so there might well eventually be a random mix of things of which something will take your fancy hopefully. My sweet tooth is something I rather unsuccessfully try to keep at bay, for example it is currently 8.13 in the morn and I have already sneaked a good few forkfuls of a deliciously rich cheesecake/brownie hybrid I made the other day from the fridge (which i will post about soon no worries!) I have no regrets, my theory is if I eat the calorie laden stuff first thing, and fruity healthy things later on, then by the end of the day those naughty cals will have gone and my body will be a temple of fruit based goodness. It makes sense does it not!

For my first yummy treat I am going to opt for an utterly foolproof tried 'n tested one, the best kind - the old family hand-me-downs. These little butterfly cakes are, in my opinion, a great go-to to have in your basic recipe arsenal. They are incredibly simple to make yet have a pretty elegance about them that makes them a lovely gift and a smile inducing tea time treat (or breakfast of course...) Its one of the first recipes I ever learnt to make, if not the first, and it was taught to me by my utterly wonderful grandma. I will tell you all about her soon along with another recipe of hers you really will not want to miss :) The process of transforming the fluffy little fairy cakes into their butterfly-esque form was something I utterly adored as a mini person, and the novelty never has quite worn off!

In the off chance you try them out I hope that you enjoy making and savouring them as much as I do, toodles for now :)

Butterfly Cakes

Makes 15 cupcakes

Notes

 I use Stork margarine but butter should work as a replacement if desired

I used 2 med/large eggs but Im pretty sure gran would have only had medium, either way it should be ok

4oz margarine 

3oz caster sugar

2 eggs

6oz self-raising flour

splash of vanilla extract (optional)

Preheat the oven to 170C and place cupcake liners into cupcake tins

Cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy

Lightly whisk the eggs (can use a fork for this) and gradually beat the eggs into the sugar/margarine mix until smooth and fully incorporated

Sieve the flour and gradually fold into wet ingredients in 2/3 stages

Fill each cupcake liner approx. just over halfway and bake for 8-10 minutes

Let cool completely

Butter Icing

Notes

I have used both unsalted and salted butter successfully, use whatever you have on hand :)

2oz butter 

3tbsp icing sugar (or to taste)

Few drops vanilla extract (optional)

Fork the butter in a bowl until very soft

Add the extract if using and gradually mix in the icing sugar until sweet enough for your taste

Assembly 

Using a sharp pointed knife, start pretty near the edge of the cake and remove a shallow-ish triangle of sponge by angling the knife at approx 45 degrees towards the center of the cupcake and cutting around in a circular motion

Remove the disc and cut it in half

Put roughly 1tsp of icing onto the top of the cake and position the 2 halves of the 'lid' so that they resemble wings (see piccies to see how i did them)

Lightly push down to ensure they stay in place and dust the cakes with icing sugar once done

The recipe is a pretty decent base for trying out different additions. You could add a bit of jam/lemon curd before putting the buttercream on the cakes if you fancy, some lemon zest or extract in the sponge and buttercream would be nice, just play around as you please :)

ps. apologies for their rather 'rustic' appearance as this batch was made as a very last minute gift, lets just call them homely!