Earl Grey & honey layer cakes

Earl Grey & honey layer cakes

Ok this is pretty gorgeous you guys. The fragrant, slightly floral tea flavoured cake with thick, sweet honey icing is lovely. I made 2 mini layer cakes but you could easily make this in a loaf tin or round standard sized tin.

Banana cake

Banana cake

This pretty cake is simple with only a few ingredients but turned out fluffy and soft with a great banana flavour.  A pretty dusting of snowy icing sugar makes it perfect for tea time.

Spicy pumpkin & date muffins

Spicy pumpkin & date muffins

I know, I sound like a complete knob asking people to use organic stoneground unbleached freshly milled plain flour but the reason for that is that I accidently purchased some online, thinking it was just regular old plain flour. Anyway, if you manage to get your hands on it, it’s a lovely, healthy flour which[read more…]

Coconut bundt cake

Coconut bundt cake

So I made a little bundt cake today – I say little, because I halved this awesome recipe but only had a 24cm bundt tin and fretted for half an hour while it was baking.  It turned out perfectly though!  The crumb is amazing – fairly dense yet somehow light and fluffy and the flavour is pleasingly[read more…]

Speculoos (cookie butter) chip loaf

Speculoos (cookie butter) chip loaf

I love Speculoos (cookie) butter and often smash it between Speculoos cookies but am always on the lookout for baking recipes using it.  So I found this recipe for cookie butter chips, then whipped up a spicy sweet loaf cake. You’ll need 24 hours for the Speculoos chips to set before you make the cake.

Lemon blackberry cake

Lemon blackberry cake

So I made this lovely lemon blackberry cake the other day.  To avoid using an electric mixer and too much washing up, I used oil instead of butter and just whipped it up by hand.  So easy and I loved using the blackberries I froze from summer.

Easter mini carrot layer cake with cream cheese icing

Easter mini carrot layer cake with cream cheese icing

Carrot cake always reminds me of the uni refect, 2nd year.  The vegetarian café I’d often go to served the best carrot cake with lashings of cream cheese icing and good coffee.  I’d kid myself that carrot cake was good for me, what with all the carrots and walnuts and things. However.  After stacking on 10kg, I realised all that carrot[read more…]

Raspberry, white chocolate, coconut & streusel muffins

Raspberry, white chocolate, coconut & streusel muffins

These are some cute muffins I baked the other day.  They’re lovely and great to freeze for heating up later. I’ll be back with another recipe post when the weather’s a bit cooler and I feel like baking again

Orange almond mini loaves

Orange almond mini loaves

I made some sweet little orange loaf cakes at the end of winter, using whole oranges.  So not surprisingly, they’re Intensely orange flavoured, bitter/sweet and super soft.  I added a bit of almond essence for a stronger almond flavour but if you’re not into that, leave it out or add vanilla instead. They are a teeny bit[read more…]

Vanilla berry coconut mini Bundt cakes

Vanilla berry coconut mini Bundt cakes

Has anyone else ever done this?!  Found a mysterious item in your kitchen?  I found a fancy mini Bundt tin in my cupboard shaped like sunflowers which I’ve never used (we live in a flat and while there’s a decent amount of kitchen cupboard space, some things are hard to get to, being up high or right[read more…]

Chocolate chip loaf cake

Chocolate chip loaf cake

Sometimes a simple loaf is just the thing.  I loved how hearty yet soft this lightly vanilla scented loaf was with chocolate chips inside and sticky ganache all over.

Soft & fluffy wholemeal blueberry oat streusel muffins

Soft & fluffy wholemeal blueberry oat streusel muffins

These rustic muffins are relatively healthy and wholesome and I gave them a fluffy texture by using wholemeal cake flour (basically just cornflour added to plain wholemeal – makes for a really soft crumb but with added fibre and such). These are packed with blueberries and a bit spicy with a light crunchy topping; they’re just the thing for morning tea.

Peanut butter chocolate chunk muffins

Peanut butter chocolate chunk muffins

These are so easy to whip up.  I love how the chocolate chunks were all melty warm from the oven. I used a friand tin to make them a bit fancier but a normal muffin tin will do.  

Citrus poppy seed loaf cake

Citrus poppy seed loaf cake

I don’t bake with poppy seeds enough so thought I’d throw some in a citrus loaf cake I baked a while back.  Poppy seeds give a tiny little satisfying crunch in this zesty loaf in which I replaced some of the flour with almond meal; almond meal adds a soft texture I love in cakes. Initially I planned[read more…]

Woodland flourless chocolate cake

Woodland flourless chocolate cake

I spotted a magical cake recently and for fun, really wanted to recreate my own; I then became sucked into a vortex of cuteness on Etsy and before I knew it, I’d purchased a few woodland animal figurines for Christmas decorations.  You’ll probably be seeing them perched randomly on top of cakes and things down[read more…]

Lemon cherry ricotta loaf cake

Lemon cherry ricotta loaf cake

Ricotta makes a beautiful cake; soft with a delicate crumb.  So I decided to use some to make a lemon cake with soft, sweet cherries dotted throughout and a thick, fudgy berry icing.  Jam, preferably a decent, mostly fruit filled one, is perfect for whipping up a quick icing (I made this icing a while back) although this time[read more…]

Lime raspberry friands

Lime raspberry friands

I’ve been neglecting my friand tin lately.  It’s really just the egg yolks left over that throws me a bit but it’s always a good excuse to make luscious, home made custard or crème brulee. Anyway, raspberry season is the best because I enjoy baking with berries more than anything and these look quite festive.

No bake lime strawberry cheesecake jars

No bake lime strawberry cheesecake jars

I love eating little things; tiny packs of cheese, fun-size choccie bars, small packs of chips, that type of thing.  Naturally I end up eating way more than I should (instead of you know, eating one big packet) but there’s something about smaller portioned food.  So I had some cream cheese in the fridge to use the[read more…]

Cinnamon roll cakes

Cinnamon roll cakes

These are exactly like cinnamon rolls except in soft, fluffy cake form.  They really are decadent.  And oh the cream!  It makes for such a gorgeous cake.  And aren’t saturated fats good for us now or something?  Hah. They’re at their best warm out of the oven with the icing slightly soft and drizzly, however I froze the remainder[read more…]

Berry yoghurt cake

Berry yoghurt cake

This cake doesn’t rise much but the crumb is so soft and rich (I guess this is what happens when you throw in an extra egg and more butter).  It’s one of those every-day, not overly sweet cakes you can make from ingredients you’d have around, like frozen berries and Greek yoghurt.  It’s super easy to[read more…]

Raspberry crumble loaf cake

Raspberry crumble loaf cake

I suppose this would be called a coffee cake in the US; I love that name actually, coffee cake always brings to mind sunny, friendly mornings with friends.  In this case, it’s a morning tea cake, rustic, plump and soft, perfect to freeze if you prefer, to take to work buttered for morning breaks or to have at home when you[read more…]

Easter baking: no bake Caramel Tim Tam cheesecake with toffee

Easter baking: no bake Caramel Tim Tam cheesecake with toffee

Tim Tams.  Are they available in lots of other countries other than Australia?  You’re missing out if they’re not!  Tim Tams have gotten me through many a break-up and Swotvac week in my teens and 20s and I’ll always be fond of them.  There are all sorts of fancy flavours these days but my favourite is the[read more…]

Chai spice strawberry crumb cake

Chai spice strawberry crumb cake

So I made a cake a while back.  I am very fond of cake however don’t make them that often because I tend to go overboard and have two pieces in one go.  The spices in this cake are lovely and reminiscent of Chai flavours with fresh strawberries and a crunchy topping. This cake is really nice on its own; fluffy[read more…]

Blackberry lime muffins (vegan)

Blackberry lime muffins (vegan)

I make muffins quite often to freeze for morning teas and such, so thought I’d use some blackberries I had in the freezer and a few limes left over from gin and tonics on a recent weekend to bake some summer inspired, vegan little cakes. There really isn’t any difference between these and muffins using eggs and dairy; they[read more…]

Lemon raspberry trifle with Limoncello

Lemon raspberry trifle with Limoncello

Well it’s just not Christmas without some sort of trifle so this year, I made a lemon flavoured trifle with my favourite berry, raspberries.  You don’t have to make this only at Christmas either, it’s an easy yet pretty summertime dessert which you can make ahead and also, anything with layers of different things looks like you went to[read more…]

Nigella’s lime chocolate cheesecake

Nigella’s lime chocolate cheesecake

In support of Nigella, whom I love (and I won’t hear a bad word about her, or read it for that matter), I thought I’d make one of her classics on the weekend. I really enjoyed the combination of chocolate and lime in this!  Also, this recipe is pretty basic in that there’s no flour or sour cream[read more…]

Brown butter orange vanilla bean madeleines

Brown butter orange vanilla bean madeleines

Guess who purchased a fancy new madeleine tin?!  I’m a sucker for cake tins and when I spotted this one I decided I had to have it.  I’d never tried madeleines before but their description here of “elegant cakes shaped like scallop shells are the perfect thing with a cup of light, floral French tea” really appealed[read more…]

Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate fudge icing

Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate fudge icing

It seemed like a chocolate day so I made some chocolate cupcakes for absolutely no reason at all.  Is there anything better than biting into a soft, squidgy cupcake and getting icing all over your face?  I don’t think so!  The batter in this recipe is very thick but it somehow results in a soft crumbed, tender,[read more…]

Lemon streusel muffins with home made lemon butter

Lemon streusel muffins with home made lemon butter

I felt like something super lemony the other day, you know? So these little cakes are fluffy, soft and citrusy with a buttery streusel topping; they’re perfect with a cup of coffee.  I just love lemon desserts with coffee, it seems a perfect match. Of course, I couldn’t leave well enough alone so I made lemon butter to go with[read more…]