Easy Choc Dip and Drizzle Cookies from Dr Oetker {recipe/product review}

I don't have a microwave. Some people find that weird and others don't have them either and so can relate. It really hasn't affected my kitchen life. 

Until I agree to try out a recipe from the Dr. Oetker website and even picked the recipe I thought looked great, only to find out that the White Easy Choc pot suggests it to be microwaved. It was at this point I was annoyed with myself for not paying attention to all the details. 

However, as I re-read I was excited to see I didn't need a microwave at all because I could just put the pot in a bowl and then pour hot water around it just like a bain marie aka water bath aka double boiler type situation. Perfect! 

This recipe is one of the easiest cookie recipes I have tried and would be a great one to make with kids, once the cookies are dipped you could easily let them decorate them with all sorts of sprinkles! I kept mine plain because I was lacking in sprinkles... I should really stock back up..... 

Back to what I was saying these are easy cookies to make and what I haven't said yet is that they are soft and chocolatey! They would make a perfect treat after school or dinner or bake sale! As Dr. Oetker are the proud sponsors of the Great British Bake Off I think I can safely say .... 

Get ready, set, bake! 

Easy Choc Dip and Drizzle Cookies

100g unsalted butter

75g dark brown sugar 

1 medium egg yolk 

100g plain flour

25g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 pot of Dr. Oetker White Easy Choc

Heat the oven to 190˚C (170˚C fan oven, 375˚F, gas 5). Line 1-2 baking trays with baking parchment. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy and well blended. Beat in the egg yolk.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into the butter mixture and beat until just combined. Divide the mixture into 16 rounds approx. 4cm (1 ½ inches) in diameter and place on the baking trays, spaced slightly apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until just firm and lightly cracked on top. Cool on the baking trays for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Melt the Easy Choc as directed on the pot, and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Arrange the cookies on a board lined with baking parchment. And, using a teaspoon, thickly drizzle half of them with the melted Easy Choc. Half dip the remaining cookies and place back on the parchment to set.

*Dr. Oetker got in touch with me and sent me a few of the products mentioned above to bake these cookies from their website, the recipe can be found here  link no longer available. There was no other compensation given - all opinions are my own for more information please see my contact/policy page above. 

Apple & Elderflower Drizzle Cake

The Great British Bake Off is back! Well it was what 2 weeks ago? Every year I say I'm going to bake along with the Bake Off and every year I don't. I like baking and I enjoy the show, but I hate feeling like I have to bake something I don't want to bake just to tag along.

But every year there is that part of me that wants to tag along! I want to be apart of all the social media groups that are baking along and take part in all the competitions held by Lakeland and Dunelm and other various kitchenware companies.

I just can't get my act together. I made a drizzle cake, the one I'm about to share with you two days after the first episode! Yay great, but I'm only just blogging about it. Oops. I also had all the ingredients to make Viennese Whirls and I still have all the ingredients sitting in my cupboard. Oops again. And there is no way I'm going to prepared for this week! Bread.

However, I will be watching every week and maybe I'll be able to sort it out and actually bake something and blog it all in the same week? Although please don't hold me to it.

Apple & Elderflower Drizzle Cake

2 granny smith apples, diced
juice and zest of one lime
2 tbsp sparkling elderflower presse
300g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g ground almonds
250ml sunflower oil
250g caster sugar
4 large eggs, 3 separated
1 tsp vanilla extract

Drizzle
2 tbsp sparkling elderflower presse
juice and zest of one lime
50g demerara sugar

Heat the oven to 160C and grease the bundt with butter and dust lightly with flour.
Mix the diced apples with the juice and zest of the lime along with the elderflower presse.
Combine the flour, baking powder, and almonds and leave to the side.
Beat the sunflower oil, 125g of the sugar, 1 whole egg and 3 yolks plus the vanilla until completely combined it should be lighter in color. Fold in the dry ingredients and just the juice from the apples.
In a separate bowl whisk the 3 leftover egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add the leftover 125g of sugar and whisk until thick and shiny. Gently fold it into the cake batter a third at a time. Last, but not least, fold in the diced apples.
Gently pour/spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes before carefully turning the cake out of the pan gently poke holes around the cake.
Leave mixing the drizzle ingredients together until you finished the last step. You don't want the sugar dissolving in the liquid you want it to be a bit crunchy where the sugar doesn't soak all the way through. Leave to cool completely before serving!

notes: recipe is inspired from a BBC Good Food recipe found in their 2016 calendar.

Black Pepper Panna Cotta with Caramelized Peaches & Caramel Drizzle {product review}

After you read the title you may think I am crazy. Perhaps I am, but that is neither here nor there. 

A couple years ago I went to a taste event hosted by the Innocent Smoothie peoples and they served us pepper ice cream with canned peach slices and caramel sauce. 

It really didn't sound appealing to me, however I try everything once. It was good. It was unbelievably good. The combination just worked and I was thoroughly impressed.

I swore I would attempt it at home, but wasn't really sure a whole batch of pepper ice cream would go down well in my family where half of us are little people who only like strawberry ice cream. So, I hadn't recreated it at home.

Then when I had the opportunity to try Sainsbury’s Panna Cotta Mix, the whole pepper/peach/caramel combo just felt right. I did and I was not disappointed. It was very similar to the pepper ice cream that I was happy with it. The Sainsbury's mix had clear and easy instructions. It makes a simple and easy dessert!

I was also correct as in my girls took one taste and went blech. If you think you may be like my girls and think blech at the pepper in your panna cotta then just make it without and continue you on with the peaches!

Panna Cotta

1 box Sainsbury’s Panna Cotta dessert mix

            250ml milk

            250ml double cream

10g Black Pepper Corns

Follow the instructions on the box, but while you are heating and stirring the milk and double cream add the peppercorns. Once the mixture is ready sieve out the peppercorns and discard. Pour the panna cotta mix into desired moulds, bowls, or glasses as I used here. Chill for 4 hours or more.

Before serving make the …

Caramelized Peaches

2 fresh peaches, sliced

50g golden caster sugar

¼ tsp sea salt flakes

4 tablespoons caramel sauce

Combine the sugar and salt and coat the peach slices in the mixture. Fry on a dry skillet/frying pan until the sugar starts to turn amber, flipping the peaches through out.

Divide between each glass with the set panna cotta and drizzle the caramel sauce on top. Enjoy!

notes: In association with Sainsbury’s, all opinions are my own for further information please note my contact/policy page. Fresh peaches in this country are just not up to par with the peaches I had in the states growing up, so please use frozen or canned peaches if that suits. Just be sure to pat dry the canned peaches. 

Find out what else I tried at the innocent inspires event here! 
I have made panna cotta before here! 

Pumpkin Cake for pumpkin pie haters

When I was a child I hated Thanksgiving dinners, everything except the mash potatoes. Dry turkey with weird jelly sauce and cooked carrots, I abhorred cooked carrots! I could eat them raw, but never cooked.

Then there was the desserts pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and so on. I disliked those too. They were too weird and too nutty.

It’s amazing how our tastes change as we grow up. I can tolerate roasted carrots, if I have too. I have learned to enjoy homemade cranberry sauce, still do not like the caned or jarred stuff.

However I didn't have to wait until I was all “grown up” to fall in love with pumpkin pie. 

When I was about 10 we were at a family friend’s Thanksgiving feast and it was there that I was persuaded to try pumpkin pie again.

I am glad that I did because who knows how long it would have taken me to learn that I love pumpkin pie.

Now this post isn't for pumpkin pie, but for a delicious pumpkin cake for those at your Thanksgiving dinner who, like a younger me, hated pumpkin pie.

It has a nice spongy texture with a comforting spicy flavor. The whipped cream and caramel drizzle I added on top complemented nicely! 

Pumpkin Cake

425g pumpkin puree, canned or fresh

200g soft unsalted butter

300g light muscovado sugar

4 eggs

300g self-rising flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp salt

150g currants

Heat the oven to 180C and line a 8x11 inch (20x28cm) tin with grease proof paper, allow a bit of an over hang so you can get the cake out of the tin.

Cream the butter and sugar together until lighter in color and a bit fluffy. Add the pumpkin puree and beat until combined. It doesn't look pretty; add the eggs one at a time. It still doesn't look pretty all curdled like, but keep beating. Mix the flour and spices together and sift into the weird curdled mixture. Beat until just combined. Then fold in the currants. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour (60minutes) or until a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before taking out of the tin and cutting into squares. Serve with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle! Tastes best when warm out of the oven!

You could add some cinnamon to the whipped cream or instead serve with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream or vanilla if you prefer or even caramel ice cream.... I am getting a bit carried away. I will stop now. Enjoy!

notes: recipe was adapted from Rachel Allen’s book Cake, if your pumpkin pie haters hate pumpkin pie because of the spices then chances are they will hate this cake too, but if it's because of the texture then it's a safe bet they'll love it! For homemade cranberry sauce check out my previous post here! 

Caramel Apple Cupcakes {National Cupcake Week!}

The word on the street is that it’s National Cupcake Week. Technically it starts tomorrow. 

I just thought I would warn you now because it means all of us baking junkies will be posting cupcakes on all our social media sites. 

I am not an exception so be prepared to be cupcake bombed!

The best part of cupcakes is that they take like 20 minutes to bake. Then throw some icing on top and Wa-La! Cake!

Yes, there are more complicated cupcakes out there that have many components and steps, but those are for special occasions.

These are "just because" cupcakes. But not "all the time" cupcakes. 'Cuz you know the whole in moderation thing.

Moderation is good.

These cupcakes are good. 

See how it all works out?

I used my cool cupcake corer and cupcake icing knife that OXO sent to me to try out and then I tried Sugar and Crumbs flavored icing sugar.

I chose Green Apple flavor because I wanted to make Caramel Apple Cupcakes. I wanted to make Caramel Apple Cupcakes because in the USA there is this sucker/lolly that is called a Caramel Apple Pop and it’s so good and not available here in the UK.

Hence these cupcakes!

They totally reminded me of those suckers/lollies so I am happy!

Here’s how you can be happy too!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes:

120g plain flour

140g golden caster sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

40g unsalted butter, room temp

120ml whole milk

1 egg

¼ tsp vanilla extract

10-12 tsp caramel

Heat the oven to 170C and line your cupcake pan with 10-12 cupcake cases. Beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter until it’s a bit crumby! Combine the milk, egg, and vanilla together before gradually adding it to the crumby mixture. Once combined beat on high for a minute or two to make sure there aren’t any lumps and the mixture is smooth.

Using a trigger scoop fill each of the cupcake cases just about half way. Bake for 20-25 minutes. A skewer should come out clean. Leave to cool completely before using the Cupcake Corer to take out the middles and add about a teaspoon of the caramel to the middles. Put the sponge bit back in and top with Green Apple Icing Sugar!

Green Apple Frosting

1 pkg of Sugar and Crumbs Green Apple Flavored Icing Sugar

125g butter, room temp

1-2 tbsp of milk

Follow the instructions on the packaging.

to finish:

20-24 Dark Chocolate chunks

caramel

Put two chocolate chunks together and place on top to act an apple stem before drizzling the caramel over the top. Place in a baggie and snip the corner, but make sure the hole is small. Then drizzle on top!

notes: In association with Oxo and Sugar and Crumbs! Please see my contact/policy page for more details! Find out more about National Cupcake Week! And if you need to know what Caramel Apple Pops are just look here. I am also entering these cupcakes in Betta Living’s Betta Bake a Cupcake Competition #bettabakeoff

Fluffy Puff Puffs: Gourmet Marshmallows {review}

Fluffy Puff Puffs are an online company that makes gourmet marshmallows. 

They want to show the world that marshmallows are versatile and make a great sweet treat for any occasion.

They offer a variety of flavors ranging from their best seller Key Lime & Ginger Pie Mallow, White or Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Drizzle Mallows, Sugar & Spice, Salted Caramel, Love Current, Lemon or Lime Punch, Toasted Coconut, Cookies & Cream… the list goes on and the possibilities are endless! 

They are made without preservatives and are gluten free. Please check the official site for more information on what and how the mallows are made!

Recently Fluffy Puff Puffs sent me a selection of marshmallows to try out. Here are the flavors I received:

Sugar & Spice

A vanilla marshmallow covered in sugar and warming spices like cinnamon.

It had a nice balance of flavors and a nice crunch with the coating.

Raspberry & White Chocolate Drizzle

A raspberry flavored mallow w/a white chocolate drizzle

This was probably my favorite. It had a strong lovely raspberry flavor. 

Love Currant

A blackcurrant flavored mallow.

My least favorite, but only because I don't like blackcurrants. The flavor was good and my girls liked it! 

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Drizzle

A vanilla marshmallow with a white chocolate peanut butter drizzle.

I was a little disappointed with this one. I thought the mallow was going to be peanut butter, but the only peanut butter taste I got was in the drizzle. I am a huge peanut butter fan so, would have liked a stronger peanut butter taste, but that's just me! The vanilla mallow was good though!

Lime Punch

A lime flavored mallow

It tasted like lime and that's what counts! 

Lemon Punch

A lemon flavored mallow.

A great citrus flavor and very refreshing!

Key Lime & Ginger Pie

A key lime flavored mallow on top of a ginger biscuit crust.

This one was very good! I can see why it's a best seller! The lime flavor is mellow enough (not quite as strong as the Lime Punch) to compliment the ginger base nicely! 

Next time you’re throwing a party or in need of a special gift or if you’re just a marshmallow fan and want to try out some fun flavors check out the official Fluffy Puff Puffs site! (website no longer available 2017)

A big thank you to Louise for giving me the opportunity to try out these lovely gourmet marshmallows!