Loafing around

The second baking session for my brother was possibly one of my best ever. Not blowing my own trumpet or anything. 
It's actually a recipe for a load cake, but shamefully I don't own a loaf tin. Tut, tut. So although my loaf is round and it worked, I suggest you bake it in the proper tin required! 

So second up is: Banana and Peanut Butter Loaf Cake. 

What you'll need:
-A suitable loaf tin!
-2 eggs
-4oz caster sugar
-4oz butter
-4oz self raising flour
-1/2 tsp of baking powder
-3tsp of crunchy peanut butter
-1 ripe banana

The Baking of:
-Pre-heat oven to 170c
-In a large bowl: cream together the butter and sugar, beat in the eggs and slowly fold in the flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl; mash the banana and PB, then fold them into the rest of the batter.
-Pour the mix into a greased tin and whack in the oven for approx. 30-40mins. 

Icing:
As you can see, mine doesn't have one-that wasn't intentional. I was hoping to dust it with some icing sugar or make a simple glacier icing, but I was out of the stuff! 
However, this part is completely up to you. The cake works well as either a proper pudding cake (with icing), or you could have it at lunch, warmed up with a little bit of butter. You make the call!

Ticking All The Right Boxes

Living with my brother, who is quite literally a human dustbin means my baking game is picking up...and fast. A few days ago I whipped up one cake, a few days later I whipped up another. It's great that he loves them, but hard work keeping up with his appetite! 

First off: Coffee and Hazelnut cake. 

What you'll need:
(Enough for 8-10 slices - depending on size of course) 
-2 eggs
-4oz butter
-4oz light brown sugar
-4oz self raising flour
-3tsp of hazelnut syrup
-3tbsp of instant coffee + hot water
Icing:
-4oz icing sugar
-4oz butter
-2tsp of coffee & water

The Baking of:
I'm going to be lazy and just link you to a previous step-by-step. Simply because it's a recipe I've done on numerous occasions.
All you need to do differently is add the syrup and coffee once you've got all the other ingredients mixed together. 

P.S: If you love your coffee, don't be shy on the amount! 

P.P.S: I've finally found out that you can actually buy Hazelnut extract/essence. So if you don't want a bottle from Starbucks, head over to amazon and pick up a small bottle. 

Coffee and Croissants

Since moving house I'm back in the age old dilemma of not having any internet in the house; therefore I'm left to find a suitable coffee shop that satisfies both internet and taste bud requirements. It might not be glamorous, but it ticks the above boxes and I get discount, so for the foreseeable future I shall be ducking into Starbucks. 
The best part is the coffee and croissants. 

Sitting here, romanticising about the idea of myself in a Parisian cafe, writing endless recipe books, watching people go by and meeting a handsome man. Unfortunately that wont happen today, but there's no harm in dreaming. Saying that though, I am currently in the process of making a book of favourite recipes; one that will hopefully sit pride of place in the cafe that I'll one day open. 

Anyway, I'm going to stop rambling, and crack on with what needs doing. I'm going to try and experiment a bit more soon, so please keep an eye out for something extra special. 

For now I shall go back to pretending I'm Carrie Bradshaw with my pastries and coffee. 

Round two!

No surprises for this next present....it's...CAKE! It tastes good, everybody loves it and why wouldn't you want a cake as a present?

What better way that to say thank you with chocolate and peanut butter?

What you'll need:

-4oz butter

-4oz caster sugar

-4oz self raising flour

-2 eggs

-cocoa powder (however much you fancy)

-1/2 tsp of baking powder

-2tsps of hazelnut syrup (optional)

The baking of:

-Pre-heat your oven to 170c

-In a large bowl: cream the butter and sugar; beat in the eggs; fold in the flour, syrup, cocoa and baking powder until you've got a nice creamy batter. 

-Pour into a small, but deep greased baking tin. Pop in the oven and bake for approx. 30mins. 

-Make sure it's bouncy, not wobbly before pulling it out of the oven. 

Icing:

-Whilst it's cooling, you'll want to cream together about 5oz butter, 4oz icing sugar and 2tbsp of crunchy/smooth peanut butter. Keep mixing until you're happy with the outcome. 

-If you wish to write a message or decorate with a coloured icing, continue reading, if not then dive in!

-You'll need approx. 2oz butter, 2oz caster sugar and a few drops of food colouring. Mix together and pipe it onto your cake!

Once it's all iced, give it away or just give it to yourself if you're feeling in the need for a cake present. 

Round one!

As I'm leaving both my current job and my house I thought I'd get a little bake happy and make everyone presents. A tasty parting gift!

For work I went for Peanut Butter cups and vanilla shortbread. They went down a treat!

I have to admit, I cheated a little with the PB cups! Whoops. As it was my first time making them I found a recipe for them here; however I didn't actually have enough for the exact measurements so I kinda just made it up as I went a long. In my freezer was a big bag of dark Hershey's chocolate going to waste, so I melted that down. They're very rich, so unless you like dark chocolate I'd go with milk choc. On the plus side, everyone at work loved them! 

I resorted to a firm favourite recipe for the shortbread, which you can find in a couple of previous posts. Chocolate is optional, I just had some left over from the cups. 

Giving food as gifts always works well, so if you're ever stuck for ideas these are quick and easy, and super tasty! 

I'm still here!

I'm currently in the middle of moving and I've had other things going on so I've not really had much time for a lot of baking and blogging. However, I have knocked up a couple of treats recently.

I shall be in my new place by Friday and I will be making the most of having my own kitchen, thats for sure!

Whilst I've been away I've noticed that my page views have gone up, so I really appreciate you lovely lot still checking in. I hope you're enjoying your baking!

x