I have my life back!!!!

So Uni is over, and I've loved it but it's been stealing my baking time.

At our ball on Friday, as a goodbye gift, the New society presidents gave me a hummingbird bakery book (cake days). There was a little thrill that ran through me, which reminded me of how much I love baking.

So first post uni bake: Cornish fudge brownies

Starting with the hummingbird bakery traditional brownie recipe, I swapped out the sugar for 300 g condensed milk, and 100g icing sugar, then added 175g chopped fudge.

The result is gooey fudgey goodness. I think I would add the fudge after about 10 mins in the oven next time, as all the fudge must have sunk to the bottom at the start, so the bottoms of each brownie has a lush fudge layer. Not a problem, but not what I intended.

Recipe

200g dark, good quality chocolate (don't scrimp here, it's where money will be well spent- I used Tesco's finest swiss dark chocolate ans it's on offer at the moment!)
175g fudge - I went with Tesco's Cornish dairy, nothing special. Chop into 1cm ish sized cubes
1 tin of condensed milk (397 g)
50-100g icing sugar depending on your taste.
130g plain flour
3 eggs
175g margarine/butter

Melt chocolate and butter together in a bowl above simmering water. Take your time here; enjoy watching the transforming chocolate. 

Add condensed milk and sugar. It'll thicken and become a bit strange to stir. This is normal. Carry on.

Add in flour. Being lazy and not using a sieve is totally fine. Stir stir stir.

Add eggs one at a time, and remember to crack each one into a glass first - there is no worse feeling than cracking a bad egg into an almost-finished mix.

I hate adding eggs into brownie mix- the just never want to be absorbed easily. Persevere if you are doubting.

Stir through the fudge. Or maybe sprinkle over a part cooked mixture. Your choice!

Butter your tin (33X23 cm is recommended), pour in, and pop in the oven. I had it in for 30ish mins - it looked firm with no wobble when shaken.

LET IT COOL IN THE PAN. Then cut and lift out. They get better the longer they are left, so if you have the willpower to wait 24hrs, you'll be rewarded!!

Enjoy!!

Book making

After hand-binding my dissertation, I got hooked on making sketchbooks. It's amazingly satisfying, and today I completed my first successful one, after many mediocre outcomes.
So here's a couple of my dissie and Of this first sketchbook. Happy happy girly.

P.S. Some of the pages in this sketchbook are tracing paper. Such fun!

Coffee disaster

So I've baked a lot this summer, but I will put that on another post.
Right now, it's time to laugh at an awful excuse for coffee cake.
What happened- I put a well made Hummingbird recipe into the bottom oven of the aga... And then I watched outnumbered and Anna Karenina. Whoopsies.

But, it didn't burn because it was on a silly low lovel of heat. So essentially I didn't bake it, I dried it. Result? A very solid cake.

In an attempt to save it from the bin, I came up with the idea of coffee drizzle, with the intention of restoring some moisture in the 'sponge'.

It did not work.

Brownies!

This is the first time I've actually made some successful brownies! May have something to do with the hummingbird bakery's recipe being great....

Housemate envy: 10/10... deffo should make more

Presentation: 7/10 - put no effort into it

Yummy points: 9.5/10 - might add chocolate chips

Notre Beau Jardin

The Tulips in the garden are the ones I planted back in October. I'm so happy that they are beautiful, if a little heavy for themselves. With all the stress in my work life right now, I need something like this to remind me that I am capable of doing something worthwhile. 

Meanwhile, pretty much the entire allotment is dandelions. Whooops....

6 weeks without baking... What's wrong with me?

I cannot believe how long it has been without baking. Between being ill and being busy, it's been difficult to get home to sleep let alone to make a cake.
Anyway, here is my comeback; The Brooklyn Blackout Cake

It is a Hummingbird Bakery recipe; a three tiered chocolate sponge, enveloped with a chocolate custard icing which was an absolute faff. 

But what a beauty!

Housemate envy: 9/10 a very anticipated cake, that didn't disappoint. Half gone!

Presentation: 8/10 Would have loved to have a more squared off shape instead of a dome. Need to sort out my rise. First ever crumb coating though - success! 

Yummy points: 9/10 Apparently a touch too much on the icing on the cake:covering ratio. Keep in mind.

Recent cakes!

Sorry I haven't been updating recently... I've been super busy with Architecture.

All food recently (including cake) has been ginger tinged - I bought SO much by accident (online shopping nightmare). As a result I have developed a ginger blindness; there can never be too much now, and it is disturbing my loved ones....

Cocktail party at Mary's - Such a great night of creating
yummy combos and getting accidently drunk.

Mary made a cake for Luke's birthday - it was LUSH

Irish Soda Bread

Gingerbread, left, and ginger 'teabag' cookie (see here for the idea)

gluten free gingerbread with chocolate!

Ginger Chocolate flapjack

Carrot and Ginger cake - AMAZING

A sign of spring at the allotment!!!