February Round Up: The Going On's and Happenings on United Cakedom

This month started out with flapjacks! I added some chocolate covered cranberries I had picked up at Home Sense. I love that store. It’s dangerous every time I go in there because I always come out with something. They have you backed into a corner because if you find something you like, the chances of them being there when you go back can be slim to none!

Then Sainsbury’s set me their panna cotta mix to try out. I decided to infuse the milk and double cream with black pepper and topped it with caramelized peaches and a drizzle of caramel sauce. It was delicious and inspired by an ice cream I had at an innocent (smoothie) event I attended a couple years ago.

For Valentine’s Day I made a no-bake Chocolate Cherry Tart! It was rich and delicious… one thin slice is all anyone could manage in one sitting. So no one had to worry about pits I used a Cherry Pitter from OXO Good Grips that they sent me to use.

I also received a copy of Deliciously Decorated by Charlotte White to review. The book is full of great decorating tips and tricks! The Giacomo Casanova: Venetian Romance design was my inspiration for these cupcakes:

Other things that inspire me are books!! This month I made Silky’s Pop Cakes inspired by The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton. My girls really enjoyed eating something they read about from the book we've been reading before bed.

Speaking of my girls my littlest one turned 5 in the middle of the month and she requested a turquoise butterfly cake. I did my best and she was happy with the result!

February is full of birthdays including my friend Cathy who turned 30! She has a love of Lucky Charms and so as a special birthday treat I made her Lucky Charm Bark! I think she was pretty happy with it! I tried some too and it was pretty tasty, but mostly I loved the colors!

And last but not least I wrote my first Five on Friday in months! I hope to be better at keeping it up and it becomes a regular thing. I brought it back with five pans and tools that I bought, but have yet to use! I get all these great ideas and I buy things I NEED to make said great idea. However, things don’t always go to plan! Does this happen to you too?

That’s all for February!! March is going to be a bit book heavy as I've been doing a lot of reading! There are reviews and cake and brownies and much more!  

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! 

Should Have Been Peach Bellini Cake

I call it the “Should Have Been” Peach Bellini Cake because it didn't really taste like peaches or champagne (aka Prosecco.) 

I didn't want to deceive anyone in calling it a 'Peach Bellini Cake' when it's not really one. 

I started with a vanilla sponge and had a Prosecco sugar syrup soaked in. Then I layered it with peach curd and a whipped cream dyed a peach color for effect

It so would have been a peach bellini cake if 1.) it tasted like peaches and 2.) one got a bit tipsy from the alcohol.

Which I guess I failed on both accounts.

In the end it was just a vanilla cake with whipped cream frosting and in that I totally succeeded.

There is always tomorrow. Or the next day to make this cake again, there is just a few things I will need to do differently.

Here is how I made it and in italics are my notes on how I will change it next time.

Should Have Been Peach Bellini Cake:

330g plain flour

320g caster sugar

1 ½ tbsp baking powder

pinch of salt

175g unsalted butter, softened

3 medium eggs

190ml whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 180C and grease and line two 8in/23cm cake tins. Briskly whisk the dry ingredients together, before adding the butter and beating for a few minutes until it’s crumby. Throw the eggs in and beat until just incorporated. Last but not least add the milk and vanilla extract and beat on high for a couple of minutes until lighter in color and smooth.

Fill both prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes. Do the skewer test to make sure it’s cooked. Right away poke some holes in the top and using a pastry brush, brush the Bubbly Sugar Syrup (recipe below) over both cakes. Leave to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Bubbly Sugar Syrup

60ml water

60g caster sugar

1-2 tbsp bubbly

Melt the sugar in the water before adding the prosecco to taste. If I were to do this again I would double it. To make sure the cakes were really soaked.

to finish:

Peach Curd recipe needs to be adjusted to taste more peachy

300 ml whipping cream

1 tsp of sugar

peach food color paste

Whip the cream with the sugar and coloring until it’s fluffy and can hold its shape. Place the first cake on a serving plate and layer the peach curd on it. Then layer about half of the whipped cream before topping with the second layer of cake and putting the rest of the whipped cream on top! Decorate with sprinkles or anything else.

I should have added peaches into the cake or the whipped cream to make it peachier or I should have added bubbly to the whipped cream? There are a few ways I could adjust this to get the results I set out to get.

notes: I made this cake for my Clandestine Cake Club meeting. We had a great time as a very classy cocktail bar! 

White Peach Curd

Another weekend another Monday.

It’s weird how we wish our weeks away for the weekend. As a mostly stay at home parent weekends have become just another day.

I say mostly because I have recently picked up a very flexible part time job at a lovely manor house near to where I live. It suits my life with two little ones and stuff.

This weekend I went a bit baking mad. I made a cake for coffee this morning and I made a cake for my Clandestine Cake Club tonight.

This post is for neither of those cakes!! Don’t worry they will both be up either this week or next!

This post is about a fun component of one of those cakes!

Peach Curd.

I know. I was a bit skeptical myself. Peaches in the UK have little to no flavor, unlike the peaches in the USA. I had a lot of peaches when I was visiting this summer.

So, I gave it a go and it turned out okay. I did wish it had a bit more of a peachy taste, but it suited my cake perfectly!

So, if you want it for cake or just because peach curd sounds awesome and would taste great on scones here is how I made it!

White Peach Curd

1 ½ fresh white peaches, pitted and quartered

400g granulated sugar

1 egg

2 egg yolks

½ lemon, juiced

85g unsalted butter

Sterilize a couple of jars by washing in the dishwasher and drying out in the oven.

Puree the peaches until smooth - I used my hand blender. Add the sugar, egg, egg yolks, and lemon juice to the peach puree and whisk together until combined. Melt the butter in a heatproof bowl over a simmering pot of water. Once melted add the peach puree mixture and whisk constantly for about 5-10 minutes until the curd has thickened and can coat a wooden spoon without dripping.
Pore the peach curd into the sterilized jars (leave a little room at the top) and seal tightly. Run a knife around the edges to help remove air bubbles. Boil some water in a stock pan and place the jars of peach curd into them. Once it starts a rolling boil cover with the lid and leave for about 10 minutes. Carefully remove the jars from the pot and place on a wooden cutting board and let the jars cool completely. Once cool to the touch place in the fridge.

notes: Recipe is slightly adapted from allrecipes.com. Am I the only person in the world that didn't know that Peaches by The Presidents of the United States of America was about women private areas? I literally just found out. I am so naive!

Jus-Roll with the Turnovers

Puff pastry is more time consuming then other pastries. I’m all for making it yourself, but I’m also all about making life easier. I am a busy full time mom and especially more recently a full time blogger, I make short cuts when and where I can!

So, when I make my girls their favorite pasties, homemade pizzas, sausage rolls, or simple easy desserts like these turnovers, I buy puff pastry. I always have and until I have excessive amounts of free time, I probably always will.

The fruit and nuts in this recipe can be swapped around to suit your taste! My local store doesn't sell the all butter version of the puff pastry sheet, so I used butter as a glaze and ate these with some cream! Ice cream would be a good accompaniment too!

Peach and Pistachio Turnovers

1 Jus-Rol puff pastry sheet (use all butter if available)

flour to dust

4 tsp apricot jam

30g pistachios, chopped

2 fresh ripe peaches, stones removed and halved

1 egg beaten or melted butter

Preheat the oven to 200C. Unroll the pastry on a floured work surface and cut into four equal-sized squares. Spread one heaped tsp of jam diagonally along the center of each pastry. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and then place one peach half in the middle of each pastry square cut side down. Fold over two opposite corners of the pastry, so they overlap in the middle on top of the peach. Now brush them with the beaten egg or melted butter. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then transfer to the rack to cool. Serve with cream or ice cream!

notes: in association with Jus-Rol, please see my contact/policy page for more information. I used more of my Whynot pistachios! See my pistachio cupcakes to find out more! Recipe is from Jus-Rol 30 best loved recipes. Check out my facebook page for how I make my girls favorite pasties!! 

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)

Peach Cobbler!! National Peach Month!! #AugustBreak

Today is the last day of August. Which means it's the last day of The August Break 2012 and the last day of National Peach Month!! 

When I was thinking of what to make with peaches this recipe comes from The Whoopie Pie Book by Claire Ptak of Violet stood out in my mind. Probably because it has nothing to do with whoopie pies and it is in a whoopie pie book! 

It was very good. I paired it with vanilla ice cream, but you could use cream. Enjoy!!

100g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

100g caster sugar, plus an extra 100g

160ml whole milk

100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

5-6 ripe peaches

Preheat the oven to 190C/gas 5.

Sift together the flour and baking powder. Stir in the salt and 100g caster sugar and then slowly whisk in the milk. Now whisk in the melted butter in a slow steady stream to form a pancake-like batter and then set aside.

Bring a saucepan of water to boil and set up a bowl filled with ice water with a slotted spoon (or spider) next to the stovetop. Once the water is boiling gently drop in the peaches (you may need to do this in batches). Blanch the peaches for a minute only and then remove them with the slotted spoon, submerging them in the ice water bath to stop them cooking. Slip off the skins and then quarter and core them, removing the stones. If you have big peaches you may want to cut them up some more! Pour the extra 100g caster sugar into a bowl and toss the peaches in the sugar before transferring them to a large gratin dish. 

Pour the batter over the peaches and bake in the middle of the oven for about 1 hour. The cobbler is ready when it bubbles and turns golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean! 

Goodbye August Break can't wait to meet you again! 

Until next year....

Cookie Pizza!!

When I was little my parents moved us from Wisconsin to Indiana and away from our extended family and friends.

During a visit from our cousins, Julia and Victoria, we not only had a great time at Bible Vacation, but a great time making and eating Cookie Pizza.

Here's how to make your very own Cookie Pizza:

• Use any cookie dough you want. Sugar Cookies are the most versatile. I used a Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie mix. Peanut butter cookies would be a good choice too. If your in the USA just buy cookie dough if you're not making it from scratch!
• Cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla (In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy.) or clotted cream. I used vanilla cream, my favourite from Sainsbury's that I always use for scones.
• Fruit: I used raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, peaches (canned), and passion fruit.
• or Any other topping you would want: kiwi, pineapple, blackberries, bananas; chocolate, caramel, strawberry sauce? Jam? Candy? Sweets? Seriously anything! Let your imagination go wild!!

Take your cookie dough and roll it out in a circle or square or whatever shape takes your fancy. Then spread your cream cheese mixture (cream) over cooled crust. Arrange fruit on top! Done!
This is a fun recipe for kids and adults! It's so good and you can pretend it's good for you with all the fruit!! :0) Enjoy!!

For a more specific recipe you can try here or here or here.

Peaches and Cream Cupcakes

from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook:

120g plain flour

140g caster sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

40g unsalted butter

120ml full cream milk

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

400g tinned peaches *I used fresh

1. Beat the flour, sugar, baking power and butter until the mixture has a sandy consistency

2. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until it is just incorporated

3. Whisk the egg, vanilla and remaining milk together in a separate bowl then pour it into the flour mixture.
4. Beat until the mixture is sooth

5. Divide the sliced peaches between the patty pans (I like to put enough pieces in so that the bottom is completely lined)

6. Fill the patty pans until two thirds full

7. Bake on 170 degrees celsius for 20 or 25 minutes, until the tops are golden

For Vanilla Frosting:

250g icing sugar

80g unsalted buter

25ml full cream milk

a few drops of vanilla extract

Beat the icing sugar and butter together until the mixture comes together

Mix in the milk and vanilla extract

Turn your mixer up to high speed and beat for about 5 minutes or until the frosting is light and fluffy

Then ice 'em

*I used fresh peaches because I thought they would be better, but I won't know until I make them again with canned peaches. Peach season is August so get baking!!