Mocha Buns!

Hi all! It's been a while...I've definitely been slacking on the baking front. But today I thought, it's about time I rendered this. 
Today's little treat comes in the form of Mocha Buns! A nice and simple recipe, that hits all the right spots. Working at Starbucks definitely helps on the idea front. 

What you'll need:
*Makes 12*
-2 eggs
-4oz butter
-4oz sugar
-4oz s/r flour
-cocoa powder
Icing: Butter, icing sugar, coffee + hot water

The baking:
-Pre-heat your oven to 160c
-In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, add the flour and mix. Pour in the cocoa powder until you've reached your preferred chocolate level. 
-Pour the mix into bun cases, pop into a tray and bake for approx. 20mins. Or until they spring back when prodded!

Whilst they're cooling you can then crack on with the icing. I've not provided measurements because I think it's all down to personal preference. Just don't use too much water!

-In a large bowl: mix the coffee and water (as if making a very strong coffee), add the butter and icing sugar and whip together. Keep adding until you're happy with the outcome. I used approx. 4oz butter & sugar. Once your buns are cooled you can slap that butter icing on! Dust with cocoa powder and there you have it! 

Try not to eat them all at once, but do enjoy. 

An Ode To Cake

As you may know, I enjoy cake. Cake is a girl's best friend, not diamonds. One day I plan on opening my own little cake shop - somewhere quaint, kitsch and filled to the brim with cake. But for the mean time, I thought I would show my dedication and get myself a wee tattoo. 
The tattoo shop was so lovely, I actually got a cup of tea in a cup and saucer! I think I might use it as inspiration for my future shop. 

My cake was fresh from the oven when I took this, hence the not-so-pretty finger. But, Et Voila! 

Ooh, you little Tart.

Admittedly this isn't the most "out-there" recipe, but I was bored yesterday and had very little in. Plus, I got to use some of my Chocolate Jam I made at Christmas. 
Jam Tarts make a great tea-time treat, and they're not very big, so you even when dieting they're totally acceptable. 

What you'll need:
(This makes 12)

-4oz butter
-8oz plain flour
-pinch of salt
-Two or three Tbsp of water
-1 tsp of vanilla essence

The Baking Part:
-In a large bowl, crumb together your flour, salt and butter. 
-Start binding the mix together by gradually adding the water. You want it to be a soft dough. If you add too much water, just balance it out with a bit more flour.
-Whilst binding, add the Vanilla. Alternatively, you could use other flavourings, it's just to add a bit of sweetness to the pastry. 
-Once you've got it in a neat ball, wrap it up in cling film and pop in the fridge for 15-30mins. Whilst it's in there, get the oven warmed up. Set to 140c. You can also grease up the baking tray (a bun tin will do nicely).
-Roll out the dough - not too thin though. Using either a cutter or a glass, cut out 12 circles and pop into the baking tray. Fill the bases up with a tsp of jam-don't get carried away otherwise it will burn in the oven. 
-With the leftover pastry bits you can get creative and decorate the top. 
-Once they're done, pop them in the oven for approx. 15mins, or until golden brown. Et voila, easy peasy! 

This week, I plan on baking something a little more challenging. So keep your eyes peeled :)

Baking failure!

I've been slacking majorly on the baking front these past couple of weeks. Partly down to lack of time, partly down to getting back on my diet (sad face) and partly down to the fact I have a cold. Again.
I really want to bake something, but trying to work out something healthy-ish and different is proving a little tricky. So for now, sit tight and keep enjoying my previous recipes :)

Hope all is well out there little bakers!

Frugal Food

I'd just like to get a "HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL" out of the way first. 

Back to business. I was thinking earlier about how, in the past year I've spent most of my time living like a student (apart from the studying bit). In the sense that, without having a lot of money, I've had to make meals that go a long way. Because for one; it's healthier than living off of ready meals, but also, it's cheaper. So for those of you wondering if I eat anything other that cakes and the like; yes, yes I do. 

To be perfectly honest, the meals I'm going to list aren't exactly mind blowing, but I thought I'd share some tips for those of you who may also have a problem with saving your pennies. 

Meal one: Lasagne.

A classic, simple dish. All you need is some mince (I go for turkey because it's the healthiest), lasagne sheets, veg and a white sauce. Obviously it's better to make your own sauce, but it's cheaper to use one out of a jar. Making it up is dead easy, if you don't know how, feel free to ask. But if you a make large enough portion (you can usually get about 4/5 healthy meals out of it), eat the first portion and once the rest is cooled, whack it into separate cartons and pop in the freezer. Whenever you want a slice of cheesy, lasagne you can just dip into your freezer and not venture to the shops. 

Meal two, three and four.

The above rule generally applies to a lot of dishes. If you've got some mince, veg and sauce you can go quite a long way. I've made up pots of Chilli, spag bowl, pasta bakes etc. Turkey mince isn't that expensive and neither is veg, so putting the two together only seems right. Plus, it's quick and easy and full of all the right things. 

Meal 5: Soup. 

Trusty soup. We're all guilty of picking up "5 cans for £3" or whatever the deal is, but if you stop and think about what goes into these soups compared to a homemade one, you may as well put the tins back on the shelf. Soup always seems like a pain to make, but really, it isn't. And it's a great way to use up anything that's looking a little ropey. For example; if you've had a roast chicken the previous night, keep the carcass and get a stock out of it. Soup keeps for a few days if you leave it in the fridge (I'm guessing you can freeze it, I never have though); so pop it into a couple of tubs and enjoy for a while longer. 

More ideas:

Leftovers are actually one of the best things about meals. People usually bin them or give them to the dog, but if you actually look at what you've got, you're more than likely able to get another meal out of it. One of my finer moments was after a roast pork: we had quite a bit of meat left, I found some noodles in the cupboard and some veg that needed eating. So, I sliced the pork into strips, whacked it all in a wok and hey presto! Pork Stir Fry! 

It's all about being creative. And when money's running low, it doesn't hurt to plan ahead. 

My three tips for your savoury cooking:

Have fun making your food, don't eat it all at once and always save room for cake!