Cherry Crumble Cheesecake Bars {Curse Worker Trilogy: White Cat, Red Glove, and Black Heart by Holly Black}

"You're Only a Finger Tip Away from Another World." ~ The Curse Workers

My friend Missie and I have known each other some time and we've always liked the same things. We've always enjoyed the same TV shows, movies, and of course books. So, I was thrilled when she contacted me and asked me to be a part of her Bookies to Foodies week a couple years ago. I loved this recipe and I have been wanting to share it here with you now! 

I recently finished reading Holly Black’s Curse Worker Trilogy, having read White Cat a few years ago it was about time I read Red Glove and Black Heart. My only disappointment was not reading them sooner!

The Curse Worker Trilogy is about a young man named Cassel Sharpe. By-the-way I love Cassel!! He’s really an anti-hero, which is why I love him so much. He’s not the typical “good guy” even though he does try.

See he comes from a family of curse workers. People who can manipulate people’s emotions, change/steal memories, break people’s bones by just touching them and so on. There is a wide range of talent - some only being able to work little charms so to speak and those who have a talent that only comes along once in a generation like transformation. There are also those who do not have any talent at all. Cassel is one of those people. In a powerful family such as his he really is an odd one out.

With his mom in jail, his dad gone, and his brothers working for a big crime lord it only made sense for him to go away to a private school. It was the school food and more specifically school desserts that inspired these Cherry Crumble Cheesecake Bars!

In the Red Glove Cassel eats Cherry Crumble for dessert while dining in the school cafeteria. When I was at school and the rare occasions that I had a school dinner, I favored a packed lunch, I remember having dessert bars. So, a combination of the book and my experience so here is how I made them:

Cherry Crumble Cheesecake Bars

300g (2 cups) plain flour

100g (1/2 cup) light brown sugar

228g (2 sticks) butter, softened

360g (12-ounces) packages cream cheese

120g (1/2 cup) sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 425g can of black cherries, pitted – 213g/7oz of fresh cherries, chopped

crumble topping (recipe follows) 

Heat the oven to 180C/350F. In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x9in square pan or a 13x 9in baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and the sugar until combined. Then add the eggs 1 at a time and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust. Evenly spread out the chopped cherries before sprinkling the crumble mixture over the top. Bake for 40 minutes or 30 minutes if using a bigger pan. Leave to cool in the fridge and serve it up!

Crumble Topping:

200g (1 cup) brown sugar

150g (1 cup) flour

60g (1/2 cup) rolled or quick cooking oats

114g (1 stick) butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Yield: approximately 3 cups

If you use a can of cherries don’t waste the juice reduce it in a saucepan with a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of cornflour/cornstarch, and a tsp of vanilla extract until thick and jelly like. Use it as a dip or drizzle on top!

I cannot recommend these Cherry Crumble Cheesecake Bars enough! The same goes for this series! I loved reading about Cassel and I wish I could read more about him! Thinking a re-read is in store sooner then later!

PB & J Power Bars from Whole Food Energy by Elise Museles {book review}

January has come and gone along with most people’s New Year’s resolutions. Making better choices when it comes to food is not something that should only be thought of in January, but all year long. I am a baking blog and I think sugar has it’s place in our lives. However, I also agree that with sugar and/or added sugar in a lot of processed foods is a bit excessive and it’s wise to start paying attention to what is in our food.

I was sent Whole Food Energy to read and review and to be honest I wasn’t 100% sure what I was getting myself into! It was a pleasant surprise just looking at the content page. Divided into 3 parts the book covers everything from what supplies you should keep on hand to drinks, breakfast, snacks, and energy packed treats like these PB & J Power Bars.

I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I was curious to how these power bars would turn out. The author states that her son has asked for these over and over again and I have to say they have been a hit with my daughters as well!

Full of oats, dates, peanut butter, dried cherries, and almonds it really does taste like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. No lie! The best part is knowing they are full of whole natural food that’s great for everyone! I like that they are chewy too, but the almonds give it a bit of crunch!

PB & J Chewy Power Bars

50g rolled oats
200g Medjool dates, pitted
60g unsweetened peanut butter
1 tsp of vanilla
1/2 tsp of salt
100g dried cherries
75g almonds, roughly chopped

Line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper with the sides hanging out. In a food processor pulse the rolled oats until still a bit chunky, but chopped up. It shouldn't be a powder. Add the dates, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt and pulse/process until it starts to come together and clump up. Add the cherries and pulse several times to incorporate them into the mixture. Take out the blade and add the chopped almonds and use your hands, clean please, to mix everything together. 
Place in the prepared loaf tin and using the hang over paper, fold it on and top and press the mixture down to flatten, try to make it as even as possible. Leave in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour before cutting into bars. Easy peasy.

Elise Museles is the author of the popular blog Kale & Chocolate has given us a book packed full of recipes that will keep you energised through out the day! If you haven’t heard of her check out her website/blog and this book! I have learned a lot just from reading through it and I can’t wait to try more of the recipes, especially the smoothie ones!

note: Whole Food Energy: 200 all-natural recipes to prepare, refuel, and recover by Elise Museles (from Kale & Chocolate) was sent to me to review by the UK publishers; Apple Press - Available online, from the publishers, and from all good booksellers now! No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own and it was known that I sometimes adapt recipes to share with my readers to give them a feel for the book.

Rice Krispie Heart Treats {Easy Valentine's Day Treats}

Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be all about the showy lovey dovey stuff, it can be about the simple things that make you or the person that you are with happy! 

Rice Krispie Treats make me happy. They might not be something new or flashy, but they are made out of a crispy rice cereal, melted marshmallows, butter and everything good in this world. They have been made for years - since like 1939 or something? That’s a long time. 

The other reason these are great is because they can be shaped and manipulated into pretty much anything you want! I use my heart shaped donut pan and my heart cookie cutter to make these into hearts for Valentine’s Day! 

Then decorated them with red candy melts, I also used the candy melts to make heart candies from a random heart tray I had acquired from who knows where? It worked well though! If you rather not use candy melts, melted chocolate and/or sprinkles of varying colors and shapes would work well too! 

Rice Krispie Treats: 

50g unsalted butter

280g marshmallows

180g crispy rice cereal 

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract (optional) 

1 bag of red candy melts (optional) 

Butter heart shaped donut tin or line a tray bake tin with grease proof paper (make sure the paper over hangs the tin). 

Melt the butter in a large pan over a low heat. Add the marshmallows and continue to stir until completely melted. Add the vanilla extract if using. Then add half the cereal and stir to coat before adding the rest and mixing until completely mixed. Wear latex gloves or butter your hands a little so you can handle the mixture. Beware it will be hot/warm and hot sugar can burn. Shape to fit your donut and press down and/or in your baking tin do the same using the over hang of greaseproof paper to press down and even out the cereal/marshmallow mixture. Leave to set for at least 30 minutes to an hour, then gently release from donut tin or cut into hearts with a heart cookie cutter! Melt the candy melts according to the instructions on the package and drizzle over them how ever you’d like! Then eat them!! 

It is in my opinion that Valentine’s Day is the best day to indulge in things you love to eat and/or to make the things your loved one(s) like to eat too! If Rice Krispie Treats aren’t your thing here are a few other Valentine’s Day Treats you could try: 

Cherry Heart Pies via The Botanical Kitchen

Mini Chocolate Valentine’s Cakes via Tin and Thyme 

Chocolate Valentines Cookies {Dairy Free} via The Hedge Combers 

Raspberry-Rose & Pink Peppercorn Love Bites via Food to Glow 

A few of my past Valentine's Treats: 

Oreo Truffles

Oreo Pops

Cinnamon Roll Hearts (one of my most popular Pinterest pins ever!)

Baked Doughnuts (heart shaped) 

and another Rice Krispie recipe Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats (also heart shaped)

note: all images are used with the blogger(s) permission 

Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte aka Black Forest Cake

This past Saturday I celebrated surviving another year. The last thing you want to be responsible for on your birthday is providing your own cake. However, if you don’t then you might end up with some horrible store bought cake with icky fondant, to me that would be worse then no cake at all.

I didn't get a chance to make a cake on Saturday because we were out for a day in Bath. Did a bit of exploring and stuff. Then back for a BBQ with close friends of the family, all in all a good day! There was a grand plan to make myself a cake on the Friday, but like most things I plan it didn't go accordingly. As I had all the ingredients I went a head and made it yesterday.

There was a little bit of trouble with it. The cake is super soft and delicious, but because it’s so soft when I was layering the cake up, the cake I choose for the middle layer split on me. It was definitely an eek moment. It just meant the next layer made it really squish out the side. After a bit of time in the fridge it’s all right, but it would also work as a trifle. Just layer it up in a bowl!

To be honest I don’t think I have ever had a Black Forest Cake. It’s a classic or retro cake that has stood the test of time. It even appears in more then one of Ursula Todd’s re-lives in Life After Life. This is the second cake I was talking about in the previous post where I shared the Sherry Cake.

The Sherry Cake represents Ursula's life at home and time of peace. Where this cake represents war and the somewhat darker sides of her life. Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte/Black Forest Cake is not only a favorite of our heroine but noted as a favorite of the Fuhrer himself. It is a well known fact that Hitler had a big sweet tooth

Life After Life questions if you had the opportunity to change things, would you? If you could have a second chance? If I could go back and make this cake again I would know to be more careful with the layers. However, I believe that no matter what choices we make some things cannot be changed - some things stay the same.

Black Forest Cake

185g unsalted butter

150g dark chocolate

125ml milk

175g self-rising flour

225g golden caster sugar

150g light brown sugar

1 tbsp cocoa powder

3 eggs

75ml buttermilk

6-8 tablespoons morello cherry conserve

ganache (recipe follows)

whipped cream (recipe follows)

fresh cherries to decorate

Heat the oven to 150C and grease/line three 7in/18cm cake tins.

Melt the butter, chocolate, and milk over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool, while you mix the flour, both sugars, and cocoa powder together. Add the eggs to the dry mixture one at a time. Then when the chocolate mixture has cooled stir in the buttermilk before adding to the flour/egg mixture. Gently stir until combined. Pour into the prepared tin(s) dividing between the tins as evenly as possible. Bake for 45-50 minutes using the skewer test to make sure they are cooked through. When the cakes are out of the oven and cooling make the ganache and whipped cream.

Lay the first layer of the cake on a plate/board/stand and spread 3-4 tablespoons of the cherry conserve over the top, then pour ½ of the cooled ganache over it. Pipe 1/3 of the whipped cream in circles on top, leaving a little room around the edge. Repeat with the next layer. Finish the top with the whipped cream and fresh cherries.

ganache

200ml double cream

25ml kirsch

1 tbsp honey

100g dark chocolate, broken up

Simmer the cream, kirsch, and honey together before adding in the dark chocolate. Whisk until shiny.

whipped cream frosting

500ml double cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

25g golden caster sugar

Whip the cream, vanilla, and sugar together until it holds a soft peak.

notes: Recipe loosely adapted from Jaime’s Comfort Food - Sherry Cake & more on Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - Other retro cake: Pineapple upside down cake. Recommendations for World War 1 & 2 fictional novels. Follow Teddy Todd's (Ursula's brother) story in Kate Atkinson's new novel A God in Ruins. All opinions are my own and I purchased Life After Life for my Kindle App.

Bookies into Foodies Week

Missie over on A Flurry of Ponderings has turned all her bookie friends into foodies for one week. For me it was a bit of the opposite! Although my love of books has never been a secret on here!

It started on Monday so go check out these amazing posts!

Monday/May 11- Historical Treats with Jess from Curiouser and Curiouser

Wednesday/May 13- Dinner from Nowhere But Home with Lisa from Reading, Writing, and Random Musings

Thursday/May 14 - Butterbeer with AJ from Covert/Extrovert (blog removed)

Friday/May 15th - is my day! Check out my review of The Curse Workers Series by Holly Black and a recipe for some amazing Cherry Crumble Cheesecake Bars!

Don't forget to check out tomorrow's post from Jess at Writing Pearls (Saturday/May 16th) and of course Missie's at A Flurry of Ponderings on Sunday/May 17th!

Update:
Jess at Writing Perals- Asparagus Tart
Missie at A Flurry of Ponderings - Rock Cakes and Treacle Fudge

White Chocolate Chip Fruity Brioche Muffins

Perhaps I should call them Bruffins or something? Start a new mash-up trend! Mash-up’s are fun, but what makes a mash-up? This is brioche made in a muffin tin and therefore looks like a muffin. It also has common muffin ingredients like the chocolate chips and dried fruit. Works for me as a mash-up, however, I will still call it a Chocolate Chip Fruity Brioche Muffin. No, bruffins here! Or worse Muioche’s … not even sure how one would pronounce that.

Also I am sure somewhere out there in the foodie world someone else has made brioche in their muffin pan/tin way before me. In this world of food it’s hard to be completely original.

Inspiration comes from everywhere. A recipe I found in a magazine a couple years ago inspired these brioche muffins. As I become a more confident baker I am able to change and adapt recipes to suit my tastes and needs.

 It was this recipe clipping and my recent baking day with my friend Jen, fellow baker and blogger, that encouraged me to make these deliciously light, chocolaty, and fruity brioche muffins!

They were loved and enjoyed by everyone who tried one, which was me, my daughters, me, one of the neighbors, and me again…. Sweetbreads are dangerous in this house!

To bring the danger to yours here’s how I made them. I used a stand mixer, but you don’t need one.

White Chocolate Chip Fruity Brioche Muffins

100g mixed dried fruit; cranberries, cherries, blueberries, strawberries

1-2 tsp vodka (or juice)

500g ‘00’ flour, sifted

100g golden caster sugar

2 x7g sachets fast action yeast

pinch of salt

200ml milk, gently warmed

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g unsalted butter, very soft and cubed

100g white chocolate chips

100g white chocolate, melted

Soak the dried fruit in vodka or juice and set aside. Sift the flour directly in the stand mixer bowl or in a large bowl and add the sugar, yeast, and a pinch of salt. Be sure to put the salt and yeast on separate sides of the bowl. Salt can kill the yeast.
In a jug combine the milk, which should be warm to the touch you don’t want it too hot as it too could kill the yeast, too cold and it won’t work either, gently whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. Attach the dough hook and start mixing on low. Slowly add the liquid mixture. Use a wooden spoon to first bring the mixture together before kneading by hand. Mix in the mixer for 10 minutes, knead for about 10 minutes give or take a few minutes. It should be soft and stringy.
While the mixer is still running or while you’re kneading slowly add the butter cube by cube. Make sure each cube is completely incorporated before adding the next. The dough should look glossy. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean damp towel and leave to rise for one hour or until doubled in size.

Lightly grease each muffin indent with butter. Once the dough has risen gently knock it back, still in the bowl, by pressing your fist into it. Dust the counter top with a little bit of flour before turning out the dough onto the surface and give it another knock or two before folding in the dried fruit and chocolate chips.
Divide the dough into 12 pieces and using your fingertips fold each dough piece into a little ball before dropping into the prepared muffin tin/pan indents. Cover again with a clean damp towel, I used shot glasses to prop up the towel so it wasn't resting directly on the pan. Leave for an hour a little more or less until the dough has doubled in size.

Heats the oven to 190C, once heated bake the brioche muffins for 20-25 minutes until toasty brown on the top. They should feel slightly hollow when tapped.

Melt the white chocolate in your preferred melting method, either in a heatproof bowl over simmering water or in the microwave, be sure to check in 5 or 10 second intervals. Gently spoon the melted chocolate over the cooled brioche muffins.

notes: this recipe is adapted from Jamie Magazine issue 44 December 2013. 

These Brioche Muffins have been entered in these challenges:

Bready Steady Go – hosted by Jen's Food with Utterly Scrummy 

Recipe Clippings – with Farmersgirl Kitchen

ABC Bakes – hosted by Caroline Makes with the more than occasional baker (brought to us by the letter 'B'. B is for Brioche) 

No-Bake Chocolate Cherry Tart {Valentine's Day Dessert}

This weekend couples all over the world will be celebrating the ultimate day of love and romance, Valentine’s Day. (This Saturday if you didn't already know!)

Basically it started because of a guy named St. Valentine and apparently he married couples that were refused by the church. He was jailed for it, but while in jail he “healed” the jailer’s daughter. Before he was executed he gave her a card and signed “Your Valentine” as a way of saying goodbye. It wasn't until the High Middle Ages that the day became associated with “romantic love.” Courtly love was very popular then and it’s them we have to blame for the mushy over the top lovey dovey crap we see today.

By that last statement you may think that I am a bit of a cynic or something, but I do love the idea of a holiday that celebrates love. As Frozen has taught us love saves and heals us and that I think is worth celebrating!

Another thing that ‘heals’ people is chocolate. Chocolate is associated with many things and during this love holiday it’s a popular choice of gift and celebratory treat!

Why not wow your loved ones with this amazing No-Bake Chocolate Cherry Tart!

It’s easy and delicious and rich. All the things you want in a Valentine’s Day dessert. Chocolate pairs very well with most fruits and especially with red berries like strawberries, raspberries, and cherries.

Cherries can be a bit tricky because of their pits, but if you have a cherry pitter tool it makes pitting the cherries easy peasy lemon squeezy. OXO Good Grips sent me a cherry pitter to try out, along with a 3-piece Berry Bowl &Colander Set that came in handy when rinsing the cherries before placing them in creamy chocolaty ganche and I used my OXO Good Grips small silicone spatula when mixing my ganache. 

Wait no longer here’s how I made this rich Chocolate Cherry Tart!

No-Bake Chocolate Cherry Tart

419g of chocolate cream filled Oreo Cookies

100g butter, melted

200g dark chocolate, broken up

200g double cream

30-35 cherries, pitted and rinsed

Gently butter a 9 in or 22 cm tart tin and set aside. Place the chocolate biscuits (3 (UK) packages minus four cookies (to eat)) in a food processor and pulse until they look like breadcrumbs. Add the butter and pulse a couple more times until the crumbs and butter combine. Pour into the tin and press down and up the sides of the tin, try to even it out as best you can. I just used my hands it was the easiest way to get it pushed down.

Place in the fridge to cool while you pit the cherries and make the ganache. Pit the cherries according to the instructions of the pitter tool. In a heat proof bowl place both the broken up chocolate and double cream and set on top of a simmering pan of water. Gently stir with a spatula while it’s melting. Once it becomes a smooth shiny ganache pour into the tart tin and then add the cherries. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.

notes: In association with OXO, for further information see my contact/policy page and also check them out they have some great kitchen tools! Recipe is adapted from mowielicious blog. Also I did a short spontaneous video and I uploaded it here. It’s un-cut and I didn't know what I was trying to say half the time, but I thought I’d post it anyway! Let me know what you think!!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I haven’t followed a TV series closely since Lost ended. I sometimes feel a bit left out because I really don’t watch a lot of TV.

My new co-workers are always talking about their favorite shows so, I've started to watch some more TV. You know so I don't feel so left out! 

One I have recently tried to get into is Made in Chelsea. Mainly because I have met Jamie Laing and I thought you know it’s a mix of reality TV and a sitcom.

I’m not so sure how much longer I will continue to watch; they are just so talky talk. The American guy makes me uncomfortable. Not sure why? Anyone else who watches think the same thing? Or have I just missed something in a previous season? 

Besides talking about TV shows I sometimes steer the conversation to cakes. It was one of these times that my co-worker exclaimed her love of pineapple upside down cake.

On Monday night (while watching Made in Chelsea) I made my first every Pineapple Upside Down Cake and took it to work with me Tuesday morning. 

I was a little worried about how it had turned out. I always worry about that when I make a cake for the first time and every time it's unnecessary.

Everyone enjoyed it, even the guy who doesn't like cake or pineapple said it was pretty good! Most importantly the lady who requested it absolutely loved it! So, I would say it was a success! 

I had found a few different recipes to try, but in the end I decided to adapt Nigella’s recipe from Nigella Express.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Square of butter

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

6-7 canned pineapple slices

3 tablespoons of pineapple juice

cocktail cherries

100g flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

100g unsalted butter, softened

100g golden caster sugar

2 medium eggs, room temperature

3 tablespoons of pineapple juice

Heat the oven to 200C. With the square of butter thickly layer the bottom of a cake tin, it can’t be a loose bottom or springform tin, the juices would run every where. Then sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly over the bottom. Then layer the pineapple slice on the bottom shaking as much juice from them as possible. Then place the cherries in the circles and in the open areas between the pineapple circles.

Then place the remaining ingredients minus the pineapple juice into a bowl of a stand mixer or food processor or just a big bowl. Mix together until smooth and then add the pineapple juice.
Gently spoon the batter over the pineapple slices and cherries, it will just cover them, so spread carefully.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Once out of the oven run a butter knife around the cake, then place a plate or serving platter over the tin and flip! And just like that Pineapple Upside Down Cake!

notes: Nigella’s recipe is also found on her official site. 

Ice Cream Dessert Tacos in two flavors

It’s that time of year when the weather keeps teasing us. One day it’s sunny and my family and I are rocking our sandals and short sleeves. The next day we’re in wellies and fleece lined raincoats!

It’s not just our wardrobes that reflect our anticipation for warmer days. Our taste buds have definitely left behind comfort puddings and spiced desserts! We are ready for light fruity cakes and … this is the big one ice cream!!

Ice cream is, hands down, the ultimate summer treat!

There are so many ways to serve ice cream. In a cone or bowl, with or without sauces, nuts or sprinkles whatever you want! Ice cream is also great in a sandwich or in taco shells.

That's right an ice cream taco! In the USA you can an ice cream taco right next to your ice cream sandwiches and other ice cream treats!

I thought I would have a go making them at home since I cannot recall ever seeing one here in the UK. 

It’s basically a very sweet pancake lined with melted chocolate and ice cream. Yum!

The next thing I had to decide is what flavor of ice cream I wanted to fill my taco shells with. I decided on Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Cherry & Amaretto Dairy Ice Cream and Toffee & Honeycomb Dairy Ice Cream.

The Cherry & Amaretto tacos I didn't add any sprinkles or anything, but you could easily add small dark chocolate chips, you can never have too much chocolate!

The Toffee & Honeycomb tacos I added some honey comb pieces to the top for fun! You could line these tacos with a homemade toffee instead of the dark chocolate for a different twist!

The taco shells are the only tricky part of these and if you can make pancakes you can make these!

Ice Cream Dessert Tacos

2 large eggs

100g granulated sugar

57g unsalted butter, melted

2-4 tbsp double cream

½ tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp almond extract

50g plain flour

¼ tsp salt

100 ml vegetable or sunflower oil, more or less

150g dark chocolate, melted

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Dairy Ice Cream(s)

Sprinkles or Honeycomb pieces

Gently beat the eggs and sugar together until frothy; add the melted butter, 2 tbsp of the double cream, vanilla and almond extracts, and salt and beat until smooth.

The batter needs to be just right. Not to thick, but not too thin. If it isn't pourable then add an extra tablespoon of double cream until you get a desirable consistency. I used 4 tbsp in total, but just judge it as you whisk it.

Heat a nonstick pan over a medium heat. Very lightly coat the bottom of the pan with the oil, drain off an excess. Keep the oil near by because you may need to oil the pan as you go on.

Place a heaped dessertspoon of the batter in the middle of the pan and gently swirl it around so it spreads out to be about a 12cm circle. Once the edges start to come away from the pan slightly check to see if it’s browned properly then, the tricky part! Flipping it! Flip it over and fry for a few more minutes until browned.

Place the taco shell over a wooden spoon handle or a Scottish porridge stirring stick like I did to cool while you get on with the next taco shell. Once the next shell is ready to rest on the wooden spoon move the other to a cooling rack with half a tooth pick propping up the shell in a U shape. Repeat until all the shells are made.

While they are cooling melt your dark chocolate, if you do it in the microwave be sure to do it in 10-20 second bursts so you don’t seize it up! Otherwise use the bain-marie method.

Coat the inside of each shell with the melted chocolate, leave to harden on the cooling rack I re-used the toothpicks to keep a couple of them from sticking together.

Then fill with the chosen ice cream and toppings! Enjoy right away or wrap in greaseproof paper and place in a freezer storage box to freeze for another day.

It took me a few tries to get the shells right, so I ended up with 7 tacos but the batter could have made a possible 10. So, I would say allow for a couple of them to tear or not flip properly! I finished frying them up anyway and munched on them while I got on with it.

I was also thinking that instead of cooling the shells on a wooden spoon they could be gently pressed into a muffin tin to make ice cream bowls. I will be trying that next, after I practice my flipping skills! The picture below illustrates a failed flip. 

notes: this post was written in association with Sainsbury’s, please visit one of their locations for the full range of Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Dairy Ice Creams! All opinions are my own for further information please see my contact/policy page above. The recipe was adapted from CakeSpy presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life by Jessie Oleson. This post is full filling day 12 of the Blog Every Day in May challenge #BEDM.

Cherry Garcia Cake

Usually I get an idea for a cake and by the time I actually make it, it is something completely different.

The theme for this month’s Clandestine Cake Club in Reading was cakes inspired by Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavors. I wanted Peanut Butter Cup, but it was already taken. 

I couldn't decide between Chunky Monkey and Cherry Garcia so I gave the decision to another and she said I should go with Cherry Garcia!

Originally I wanted to make this cake as a cherry chocolate chip layer cake, with cherry buttercream and a ganche topping.

However this is what I made instead! I had decided that I didn't want to do a layer cake and at first I thought of making it in a loaf tin, but then after talking to another cakey person online settled on a tube pan.

Also, since it was based on an ice cream flavor, I wanted to replicate ice cream cakes I had from Dairy Queen in my childhood. They had like a cookie crumb middle layer that I loved.

That’s why I attempted to add a streusel in the middle and top. It just sort of baked into the cake so it didn't give the affect I was after, but it still turned out amazing!

I’m going to apologize for the inconstancy in the recipe I used a base American recipe that used cups, before adding in and adjusting it in grams. Then my littlest person messed with my timer so I had to guess a little bit on how long it was in the oven. I explain more below!

Cherry Garcia Cake:

1 ½ sticks or 171g unsalted butter, room temp

1 ½ cups sugar 

3 large eggs

1 ½ tsp vanilla paste

1 ¼ cups of cherry yogurt

2 ½ cups of cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

50g dark chocolate, chopped

½ cup frozen cherries, chopped (keep them frozen)

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas5 and grease the tube liberally with butter before lightly dusting it with flour. Tap out the excess flour.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure each time they are completely incorporated. Then add the vanilla, before adding the cherry yogurt.

Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl and mix until just incorporated. Then fold in the dark chocolate and frozen cherries.

Dark Chocolate Cherry Streusel

¼ cup light brown sugar

½ cup plain flour

50g dark chocolate, chopped

½ cup frozen cherries, chopped (keep them frozen)

85g cold unsalted butter, chopped

In a bowl rub the sugar, flour, and butter together until it resembles breadcrumbs then fold in the chocolate and cherries.

Place half of the batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle over half of the streusel before topping with the rest of the batter and rest of the streusel.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. I set my timer for 45 minutes because I always check my cakes 5 minutes before the recommended time. But my time was tampered with, so I had to guess when 45 minutes had passed. I think my cake was in for at least 60 minutes if not five minutes more.

Cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before removing it, however my pan was a spring release so I released mine after about 10 minutes and making sure the cake wasn’t stuck to the sides. Then carefully transfer to a wire rack

While it’s cooling make the ganche:

100g of dark chocolate

½ cup of double cream

Melt the chocolate and cream in a bowl over a simmering pan of water. Gently stir it while it’s melting until it becomes think and glossy.

Once the cake is cool, pour over the cake and use a spatula to smooth it out. 

notes: See what my fellow cake clubbers made! How I convert butter and how I make cake flour!

Killer Zebra Cake {Clandestine Cake Club}

This month’s Clandestine Cake Club theme was “A Novel Idea” where we could create a cake inspired by any book we wanted!

I have several novels and childhood books that I have been inspired by to create edible treats from. Two years ago I had a whole week dedicated to Harry Potter treats. I made a dessert inspired by Neil Gaiman’s An Ocean at the End of the Lane last spring. It’s something I enjoy doing!

Sunshine by Robin McKinley was where I decided to draw my inspiration from this time.

It is a book I have read more then once and have come to love. It sounds like a nice sunshine and roses book, but it's far from it! That's all I'm going to say about that! 

It was a bit of an easy one as the main character Rae aka Sunshine works in a bakery.

She creates all sorts of delicious sounding desserts like Cinnamon Buns as-big-as-your-head, Hell’s Angel’s Food, Killer Zebras, a 6 layer chocolate chip cake, Bitter Chocolate Death, Butter Bombs, Cherry Tarts, Lemon Lechery, and many more.

I've always admired Robin McKinley’s creativity when it came to naming the desserts. I also always wondered where her inspiration came from for the names? Did she have certain desserts in mind?

Originally I was going to make a Bitter Chocolate Death Cake, but someone was suppose to bring Bruce Bogtrotter’s cake from Matilda. So, I thought since there were to be two very chocolaty cakes I would make something else. I needn't have worried as they didn't show, but ah well.

I just liked the way Killer Zebra’s sounded so, I made a stripy cake and the tasty frosting makes it “killer!” Um..hum yeah. Anyway .... It was a pretty good cake, not as rich as expected, but a perfect sweetness to a soft crumb. Yum!

Killer Zebra Cake:

260g unsalted butter, room temperature

420g caster sugar

4 medium eggs

430g plain flour, sifted

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

240ml whole milk

30g cocoa powder, sifted

Preheat oven to 180C conventional & fan assisted/gas mark 6. Prepare 2 15cm round cake tins, greased and lined.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until completely incorporated, scrap down after each egg. Remove half of the batter and set aside.

In a bowl sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Half it. In one half sift in the cocoa powder. Set both bowls aside. Measure out the milk, set aside.

In one half of the butter mixture add a half of the half of flour (so you’re adding a quarter) mix well before adding the vanilla and half of the milk. Then add the rest of the flour (another quarter to make half) mix well. That is your vanilla batter.

In the other bowl of batter mix in half of the cocoa flour, mix well before adding the rest of the milk, make sure that is well incorporated before adding the rest of the flour and mix well, but don’t over beat.

To create the zebra stripes, spoon about 3 tbsp of the vanilla batter into the center of each prepared pans. Then add 3 tbsp of the chocolate and repeat until the batter is gone. It will spread out don’t worry! Do not level out the top! Whatever you do it will work out.

Bake for 25-45 minutes depending on your oven. I used a conventional oven and it took at least 45 minutes, but the recipe suggests a fan-assisted oven 25-30 minutes. Use the skewer test to make sure it’s completely cooked. Cool in the tins for about 10 minutes before removing them and cooling completely on a wire rack.

vanilla buttercream

100g unsalted butter, softened

300g icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

75ml double cream

Beat the butter for a few minutes before adding the sugar, vanilla, and cream. Beat on low, you don’t want icing sugar everywhere! Then once it comes together beat on high for a few minutes until it’s nice and smooth!

It was a very quiet night. I don’t know if it was due to the flooding around the Reading area, but there wasn’t the best turn out. Sometimes it is nice when it’s quieter as we get to chat and get to know each other a bit better! I always really look forward to "Cake Club night as my" girls call it. They also always remind me to save them some cake!

Louise made an amazing Lemon Sherbet Cake inspired by Dumbledore from Harry Potter. Clara and Fiona brought a delicious cherry cake in ode to Enid Blyton. Clare created an orangey loaf cake, that I can’t remember for the life of me what book it was suppose to be from! It was good though! I look forward to our next meet-up!

notes: Clandestine Cake Club: fine one near you! HarryPotter Week; Forgotten Blackbery Pudding inspired by Neil Gaiman, AmericanCupcake Life has a book club that is run by reading the book and creating something inspired by the book, I partake as often as I can! Recipe was taken from Lily Vanilli’s Sweet Tooth.