Sunday 5 February 2012

Next Day Tea & Cake Party

For the Ski Trip reunion party I hosted a Tea and Cake Party (Only after a night of excessive drinking, awkward but awesome shapes on the dance floor, and an impressive inability for one particular guest to avoid pressing the 'attack' button on our burglar alarm).


Here is the delicious cakey spread served to my hung over guests:


(Click on name for recipe)
Oats & Raisin Cookies
Carrot & Walnut Cake
Banoffee Muffins
Banana Bread (with added chocolate chips)
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cheese Scones (baked by Chloe)
Poppy Seed & Orange Cake (baked by James)
Sainsbury's Chocolate Brownie Bites
A Giant Jaffe Cake Cake (See Recipe below)

Giant Jaffe Cake Cake
Ingredients:
Sponge Mix:
175g Self-Raising Flour
175g Caster Sugar
175g Unsalted Butter
4 Eggs
Jelly Filling:
1 pack of Orange Jelly
4 tbspoons Marmalade (without any bits)
Buttercream:
100g Icing Sugar
50g Unsalted Butter
Chocolate Topping:
3 x 100g Dark Chocolate (70% cocoa +)
1 pack of Jaffe Cakes

Recipe:
1) Line one of the cake tins with cling film. Pour jelly (made via packet instructions) & marmalade into tin. Freeze until set.
2) Preheat the oven at 180 degrees. Grease two cake tins.
3) Cream the sponge mix's butter & sugar together until light & fluffy. Add the eggs & mix well. Fold in the flour. Separate the mix equally into the two cake tins and bake for 25 minutes (until golden brown).
4) Leave sponge on a cooling rack until cool.
5) Make the buttercream by creaming the butter and icing sugar together. Then spread liberally over one of the sponges.
6) Place the jelly ontop of the buttercreamed sponge. Place second sponge on top.
7) Melt the dark chocolate & pour all over the cake.
8) Whilst chocolate is still setting, stick Jaffe Cakes around the outside of the cake.
9) Leave to cool before serving.

All in all, the party was amazing. Thank you everyone who came for a lovely weekend!

xxx

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Chili Pesto, Olives, Feta & Sun Flour Seed Bread

The weather is cold, you've got some time to spare & you're in the mood for something tasty...

Why not try making this yummy loaf:

Ingredients:
For the Bread:
500g White Bread Flour
7g Yeast
1 1/2 tsp Salt (be carefully not to use heaped teaspoons!)
1 tsp Sugar
350ml Luke Warm Water

For the Topping:
Chili Pesto
8 Chopped Up Olives
25g Crumbled Feta
Handful of Sun Flour Seeds

Recipe:
1. Put all of your bread ingredients into a bread maker & set to knead the dough... or alternatively do it by hand (I know my preference)
2. Preheat the oven to 230 Degrees
3. Put the dough into a greased bread tin, place a tea towel on top & leave to prove for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the tea towel & place bread into the oven. Leave to bake for 25 minutes.
5. Remove the bread from the oven, leave to cool slightly.
6. Spread the chili pesto liberally over the bread. Add the olives, feta and sun flour seeds on top.
7. Bake the bread for a further 20 minutes, or until golden brown & baked throughout.
8. Leave to cool, but best served still warm.

My advice: eat with ridiculous amounts of hummus.

xxx