Win a trip to Buenos Aires with Cau {Cau - Reading, Berkshire {review}}

Cau restaurants are giving away a trip to their homeland Buenos Aires and all you need to do to enter is to visit one of their many locations order any Hero dish on the menu, upload a picture with their special Insta-frame and hash-tag #BuenosHeros!

Cau opened up in Reading a few years back and I have to honestly say it's one of the best places in town to get a good steak! Therefore when they invited me in to try out some of their dishes from their menu marked with a "hero" stamp there was no way I could say no!

Best place to always start a meal is with a starter! My friend and I tried the Shrimp Chicharron, which is crispy fried shrimp in an aji amarillo sauce which is a sort of spicy cheese sauce. It was delicious and if you are a seafood lover like my friend and I definitely give it a go!!

The other starter we tried were the Empanadas (I still don't think I pronounce them right) one filled with Spanish chorizo & cream cheese and the other with Spinach, ricotta & date there were two other choices Spicy beef and Spicy creamed corn & Taleggio cheese. I have to say for the ones we tried they were good and I can with all confidence say to try the chorizo one it was so good!

Then of course came the main attraction - Beef! My friend went with Tapa De Cuadril one of their signature dishes cut from the top of the rump and served thinly slice and ash grilled, this apparently is how it melts in your mouth.

Unable to decide I asked the waitress for help and eventually with a little guidance I went with The ULTIMATE Steak Sandwich. And boy am I glad I did! This sandwich has everything you could ever want! Three types of beef - flash grilled tapa de caudril, salt beef, and BBQ brisket served in a toasted ciabatta with crispy onions, dill pickles (my favorite part next to the beef) with a spicy mayo and melty Monterey Jack cheese!

Not being able to leave with out a dessert I tried the Dulce Volcano. It is basically an old-fashioned chocolate volcano except it's not chocolate it's more of a caramel flavor and it's served with an amaretto cream which paired perfectly with it. (see my video on instagram)

The only thing not stamped with a "hero" sign was the Choco Blondie. If you don't know what a blondie is I am not sure why you are reading my blog, however if you don't it's basically a brownie made with white chocolate. They are generally super rich, but this one had just the right amount of sweetness and balanced with a peanut butter frosting how could you go wrong!

Everything we tried was stamped with "hero" and it was all so good I wish I was eating it right now! However there was so much more on the menu to try out!

Follow these steps to enter:

1. Take a selfie with their Insta-Frame (above)

2. Upload to Instagram using #BUENOSHEROES

3. Tag who you'd like to take along

4. Enter as many times as you want by ordering a hero dish when dining!! 

They will also be giving away weekly prizes - Find out more on how to win and the T&C's on their website for more information! 

The Oracle, Bridge Street,

Reading,

RG1 2AQ

If you have never been to Cau before now is the time to visit and try the amazing dishes - as an added bonus you can enter their Buenos Heroes competition!

*I was invited to Cau in Reading to try the Hero menu and to help promote the competition. I was not compensated in any other way - all opinions are my own please see my contact/policy page above for more information. 

Hummus & Carrot Sticks

My blog is for the most part about the sweeter side of food. That is because I genuinely enjoy sweet foods.

However my blog probably gives a false impression on my eating habits. I have had more then one of my friends comment on how much cake I must eat.

To be honest I don’t, I eat one or two slices/pieces/squares/cookies etc… then the rest is shared among my friends and family.

“Everything in moderation,” is something that I try to live by for everything I do in my life.

Including my cake eating habits.

If I really ate sweet stuff 24/7 I would be way unhealthy and my teeth would have probably fallen out of my face by now.

When I saw a competition on the Simplyhealth website asking bloggers to share a recipe that used one of the ingredients listed here (page removed). I thought it would be a great opportunity to share something that I enjoy eating that isn't cake or cookies and that is good for you! 

My favorite lunch is hummus and carrot sticks. It is also my girls’ favorite lunch, I have taught them well.

Hummus is so easy to make at home, you throw everything into a food processor and lunch is made. It’s also a great base to add different flavors. This one just has some hot sauce drizzled on top to give it a bit of a kick. 

Hummus served with Carrot Sticks:

1 can of chickpeas

3 ½ tbsp of chickpea liquid

2 tsp tahini

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp sea salt    

1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of Paprika

Hot sauce (optional)

Carrot Sticks

Drain the chickpeas, but reserve the liquid. Place the chickpeas, tahini, garlic clove, salt, chickpea liquid, and vinegar in a food processor. Pulse a couple of times before adding the olive oil. Blend until completely smooth.

Place in a dish and drizzle with hot sauce and scoop up with carrots!

Carrots are good for you because they have a lot of Vitamin A, which is a great way to keep your teeth happy and healthy. Also carrot sticks can act as a natural toothbrush! Bonus!

notes: I have entered this competition, hosted by Simplyhealth, on my own accord. For more information please see my contact/policy page above. There is still time to enter if you are interested! 

Five on Friday: Five Fun Foodie Shows

Five on Friday is here again! I am sticking with my American theme for just one more Friday because I am missing some of the fun food shows I watched when I was there.

Here they are (in no particular order):

Chopped

Food Network

Some nights Food Network would play this show back to back and I literally sat for a couple of hours glued to this show. I had seen it once or twice here in the UK, but I haven't seen it on recently. I think I like this show so much because it's a game I play at least once a week in my own kitchen! Instead of a basket of random ingredients that I have to make meals out of I have my partially stocked cupboards. I do love seeing what the contestants come up with! I would love to be on this show! Hint to Food Network if you'd like to fly me over! 

The Chew

ABC

The foodies of the world have been asking for a show like this! Or at  least I know I have been. It's like a great food magazine in video form. The hosts are a great panel of foodies who share with the viewers great recipes, tips, and facts about food! I would also love to be a guest on this show. One episode I watched was all about chocolate... need I say more! 

Snack-Off

MTV

I want to play this game. In fact I might just have to have my friends over and say alright bring all your favorite snack foods and then we'll thrown them in a pile and see who can come up with the best snack! It's just a fun game show where the winner wins a golden spork. Along with hilarious judges what more could you want? 

Top Chef Duels

Bravo

I love love love Top Chef, so what could be better then bringing on old contestants and having them face off? The answer is nothing. Nothing is better then that. Bravo Bravo!

Rachel vs Guy Kids Cook-Off

Food Network

It was like watching fireworks when I was watching this super cute show. It was all "ahhh's" and "oooh's" the whole way through. The children on this show are talented, funny, and most can probably cook better then me! 

That concludes my second Five on Friday! If there is a topic you'd like me to cover on my Five on Friday's please leave a comment below or tweet me @unitedcakedom ! Also if you think you'd like to join in I'll add a linky if there is enough feed back asking for it!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

notes: Other shows to watch out for (all on Food Network): Cut Throat Kitchen – amusing to watch, The Great Food Truck Race – I’m always up for a race, Cone Wars – if you liked Cupcake Wars then you’ll like the ice cream version of it! Images are from the websites that I have linked for each show. 

Do you have a favorite Blogger?

Asking me to choose my favorite blogger is like asking me to choose a favorite between my daughters or between my sisters! I don’t have a favorite I love them the same just for different reasons! That goes for my children, sisters, and bloggers!

As you may have guessed I have been asked to write about my favorite blogger for a competition hosted by Curry’s.

The problem is I have a lot of "favorite" blogs, they all offer something different and I have really struggled to narrow it down to one. However the one has been decided and it is Cakeyboi written by Stuart Vettese.

Stuart offers not only inventive and tasty treats but clever cartoons featuring Cakeyboi, whom he has named his blog after. 

I don’t remember how I came across Cakeyboi, I just remember loving Stuart’s Cakeyboi cartoons. So, simple but entertaining. Here are a couple of my favorites! 

His cartoons may have what drew me to his blog to start with, but I continue to be a reader because of his sweet treats. I love how he takes simple traditional makes and/or bakes and gives the flavors an interesting twist! 

To learn more about Stuart and Cakeyboi visit his site, I know you won’t be disappointed!

To learn more about this competition visit the Curry’s site.

As I mentioned Cakeyboi is one of many blogs I read and here are some other blogs I love and read regularly!

1. raspberri cupcakes - Steph is from Sydney and creates some of the most beautiful food I have ever seen!
2. Sprinklebakes - Heather from America has taught me to think outside of the box!
3. Brave Tart - Stella from America has been great for any technical baking problems I encounter! 
4. The Caked Crusader - Her identity is unknown, but with witty writing and classic desserts I am always drawn to her site! 
5. The Londoner - Rosie is from London, she writes a lifestyle blog that covers everything from food to fashion. I read with good-hearted envy of all her adventures and I wish I could have her wardrobe!

notes: This post was written for the Curry's competition: Tell us about your favorite blogger with a chance to win a desktop PC (link above). All pictures are from Cakeyboi with permission from Stuart Vettese and all opinions are my own for further information visit my contact/policy page!

Cranachan Cupcakes!!

If you follow me on twitter or Facebook you will know why it's been so quiet on my blog lately, I am visiting my in-laws in Scotland. They live just outside of Inverness and the girls and I have been having a great time! Tomorrow we take the long journey home!

I have visited a few bakeries and have tried different food and I even managed to bake these cupcakes inspired by the traditional Scottish dessert Cranachan.

Unless you have been to Scotland or have a tie to it in other ways you may not know what Cranachan is. Today it is generally made with whipped cream, whiskey, honey (heather honey, preferably), and fresh raspberries, with toasted oatmeal soaked overnight in a little whiskey. Put together a bit like an ice cream sundae or Eton Mess.

I decided to make it into a cupcake by making honey oat cupcakes topped with a layer of raspberry jam, whipped cream, and fresh raspberries. If they weren't for my girls I would have added a little whiskey to the whipped cream. Or maybe even soaked the oats in a little whiskey before making them. These were inspired by Cranachan ice cream I tried at a sweet shop.

Cranachan Cupcakes:

100g porridge oats
100g self-rising flour
45g dark brown muscovado sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 medium egg
160ml milk
80ml vegetable oil
60ml honey

If you aren't using cupcake/muffin liners: lightly grease the muffin tin with a little extra oil, dust with flour and tap 
out extra flour. Pre-heat oven to 200C.

Mix the dry ingredients (oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a large bowl. In a separate bowl gently whisk the wet ingredients (egg, milk, oil, and honey) together.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture and gently fold together until just combined.

Spoon into prepared tin 3/4 full and bake for 15-20 minutes turning the tin around half way through.

to finish:

Mackays Raspberry Preserves
300ml whipped cream + 1tbsp of caster sugar
1-2 tbsp of whiskey (optional)
6-12 fresh raspberries
pink sparkly sprinkles (optional)

Whip the cream with caster sugar and whiskey (if using). Spread a layer of jam on each of the cupcakes and pipe the whipped cream on top. Just put in a plastic bag and snip a corner off. Top with 1-2 raspberries and sprinkles (if using). Done!

notes: These cupcakes are my entry for rangecookers.co.uk Cupcake Creative Competition. #bakingwithMackays; Mackays Raspberry preserve; Cranachan; visit Scotland

Blueberry Cake Mini Doughnuts!! {cooking with kids}

Before Mini Baker started school I never felt I had a problem finding stuff for us to do. Since she’s started school now when she’s off I find myself struggling to keep her entertained.

I enjoy baking and I’m glad she does too. I am not completely naïve to assume we will always have the same interests. But for now I’m glad we have something to share in hopes that she remembers them fondly.

Mini baker is always asking me for doughnuts, she’d have them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! A while back I picked up a copy of Mini Donuts by Jessica Segarra and a silicone mini doughnut mould from Lakeland’s so I could make her doughnuts!

Not for every meal of course, but for the times we were at a loss of what to do with ourselves! The recipes in this book are super simple. Piping the batter into the mould is more suited for adults, but everything else kids can easily do!

A quick update as well, everyone at the moment is feeling better! The littlest Mini Baker was napping during the doughnut making, but she sure enjoyed helping us gobble them up! 

Blueberry Cake Mini Doughnuts

adapted from Mini Donuts by Jessica Segarra

1 ¾ plain flour, sifted

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 large egg

¾ cup granulated sugar

3 tbsp vegetable oil (plus a little extra for greasing pan)

¼ cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup whole milk

½ cup blueberries, chopped

Pre-heat oven to 180C

Using a pastry brush and a little vegetable oil to grease the doughnut pan/mould, then tip the pan over onto a kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and set aside. Whisk the egg and sugar together before adding the oil, sour cream, and vanilla. Mix well until combined.

Fold in half the flour, then half the milk, and the rest of the flour, followed by the rest of the milk. Make sure there are no lumps before folding in the chopped blueberries!

Fill a piping bag or plastic bag and cut the tip off, it can be a bit tricky as the batter just runs out. Fill each doughnut mould about ¾ full, sometimes it goes over, but that is okay! Then bake for 7-10 minutes they should spring back when touched or use the skewer test if you’re unsure. They might slightly brown around the edges, but are still a bit pale. Carefully un-mould the doughnuts and cool on a cooling rack. 

While they are cooling make the icing:
1-2 tbsp whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ½ cups icing sugar

2-4 drops each of pink/blue food dye

sprinkles

Mix the icing sugar with 1 tbsp milk and the vanilla. Add additional tablespoons of milk one at a time until you get a pourable consistency.

Place a piece of greaseproof paper under the cooling rack and drizzle the icing over the tops and add sprinkles for extra sparkle! Then eat!! Best eaten on the day.

notes: Mini Donuts by Jessica Segaarra: blog, Amazon UK & USA; Lakeland’s Silicone Mini Doughnut Mould. This post is my entry for the competition to win a lovely range cooker from Range Cookers! There is a day and a half yet to enter! Check out the details here!!

Peach Melba Cupcakes!!

These cupcakes were my entry to the Emerald Street Cupcake Challenge. I thought I had a pretty good chance of winning … that is until the amount of entries passed 1,000+! There were so many amazing cupcakes entered!

There were also so many entries that completely missed the point. I mean someone actually entered a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting dyed blue. Sometimes I worry about people. It was stated right in the rules that they were looking for new flavors. 

The five that were chosen as finalists were in my opinion just okay. As there was more then one person who entered similar flavors. I saw at least 2 or more Peanut Butter and Jelly cupcakes and the same for the American breakfast ones… I sort of feel bad for those who made a similar flavor cupcake to the cupcakes that won and they didn't win. Makes me wonder how they chose them.

Anyhow I do offer my congratulations to the winners, as there was some tough competition! I had a hard time deciding what to enter and in the end I decided on these Peach Melba Cupcakes… they were delicious.

How I Made Them: I used Hummingbird Bakery recipes from their first book. I adjusted the vanilla sponge recipe to hold canned peaches and used a little of the syrup in the batter. Then I filled it with the raspberry cream that usually tops their raspberry cream cheese brownies. Then I used the vanilla butter cream frosting and decorated it with a fresh peach and raspberry. Then from my Betty Crocker cookbook I made my own raspberry drizzle! Yum Yum!! I had a lot of fun with this competition and would enter again even knowing I didn't really stand a chance.

notes: to check out the winners visit The Emerald Street website no longer available (updated 2017); to buy the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook(s)

A Passion for Baking by Jo Wheatley (a book review)

Here’s the pic I tweeted Jo
upon the books arrival! 

Last fall I (along with 5 million other viewers) watched Jo Wheatley become the 2^nd winner of The Great British Bake Off! Less then a year later her book A Passion for Baking is out! (at a Sainsbury’s near you or now on Amazon.) Having just bought a few baking books for my birthday I was going to wait patiently until I could afford to splurge on more books. Except I didn’t have to wait that long!! I had entered as many times as I could to win a signed copy of the book on her blog. And guess what?!?! I won a copy!! Yay!! I was so super excited when it arrived late last week! 

The book was read from front to back over the weekend and I have to say I love it! It has a little bit of everything. I love the breakfast and brunch sections the most I think; Saturday morning I made the family her American style pancakes served with maple syrup, yum! 

Other sections include family baking, afternoon tea, celebration bakes, baking with children, breads, biscuits and cookies, pastry, and desserts. I am pretty sure that covers everything and anything you could want to bake! This will be a book I reach for time and time again: comfort bakes, show stoppers, and just because I can bakes. I had a hard time choosing where to start! So, I'm glad someone else did...

On Jo’s blog, Jo’s Blue Aga, she is running another competition to win a place in one of her Master Classes. All you have to do is bake the Chocolate Birthday Cake on page 124 of her book (that I was just telling you all about) and decorate it! Then post a picture of the cake and her book on Facebook. I thought I have the book why not give it a go. If anything I have something I made from her book to show you!!

Inspired by Jo’s Rocky Road Cupcakes in her book (page 144) I used the recipe for marshmallow butter cream to sandwich between the layers of the chocolate cake. I also took a star tip and piped around the outside of the cake with the butter cream. Then I took pink and white mini marshmallows and scattered them over the top with some pink and white sprinkles. Then I melted white chocolate and drizzled it over the top! Not too shabby if I say so myself!

This is a fun way to see how people decorate cakes just follow Jo on Facebook to see the other entries. You can always like United Cakedom on Facebook too while you're there! :0) One person commented that all the cakes looked the same and how that shows what a great recipe it is. I would have to agree if everyone gets the same results then it means it was clear, concise, and easy to follow recipe. Everything you want from a good bake book!

The cake is being taken to my husband’s office tomorrow morning so will update when the verdict comes back- but in the mean time go grab yourself a copy and get baking!!