Easter No-Bake Chocolate Biscuit Cake

There has been a constant flow of Easter cakes, bakes and puddings in the food magazines over the past month. This leaves me with a long list of recipes to try, however in reality, the four days off over this bank holiday weekend has soon become jam-packed with friends, family and entertaining. This chocolate biscuit cake is one that can be quickly whipped up when you have people dropping in throughout the weekend- a very useful biscuit tin filler. My sister is keenly waiting at the fridge door to tuck into this chocolate biscuit cake after her chocolate-free Lent, I however tucked in as soon as they had been photographed!

There are many variations of chocolate biscuit cake but this simple recipe is straightforward and quick to make. You can experiment with the type of biscuit you use- personally I think the crunch of the Rich Tea biscuits are a cut above adding crumbly digestives. A selection of dried fruits or nuts could also add a nice twist to the recipe!

To Make Approx 20 Pieces You Will Need...

-400g Rich Tea biscuits 

-220g butter

- 85g caster sugar

-2 eggs

-2 tbsps drinking chocolate powder

-2 tsps cocoa powder

-2 tbsps golden syrup 

-100g milk chocolate

You will need to...

- Line a baking tray with cling film, I used one that was 28cm x 18cm.

-Put the biscuits into a sandwich bag- sometimes I use two to avoid holes in the bag, and crush using a rolling pin.

- Melt the butter and sugar in a pan over a low heat, remove from the heat and stir in the drinking chocolate, cocoa powder and golden syrup.

- In a small bowl, beat the eggs. 

- Pour the chocolate butter mixture into a large mixing bowl, stir in the crushed biscuits and the beaten eggs. Mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture is all incorporated. 

- Spread the mixture out evenly in the baking tray.

- In a small saucepan, heat some water and place a pyrex bowl over it to make a Bain Marie, break the milk chocolate into the bowl and stir occasionally until melted. 

- Pour the melted chocoalte over the biscuit mix in the baking tray and spread out using a spatula. 

- Place in the fridge or freezer for a few hours until set, or over night. 

Happy Easter 

Z x

Dreamy Chocolate Mousse Cake - Baking For Sport Relief 2016

As any avid Bake-Off fans will be aware, this week sees the return of The Great Sport Relief Bake Off, in which a handful of celebrity bakers will be taking to the tent in aid of Sport Relief 2016. This year, the 'Queen of Print' Orla Kiely has designed the limited edition aprons which the winning Star Bakers will be presented with, and as budding bakers ourselves, we have managed to get our hands on some! With our new look complete, it's time to get down to some baking - so here is our latest obsession - Dreamy Chocolate Mousse Cake. As it is in aid of Sport Relief, we have gone for something a tiny bit healthier than your average chocolate cake. With no flour, a whopping eight eggs and mainly natural sweetener, it's no wonder this cake has such a light, moussey and dreamy texture. It is ideal as a light dessert, alongside a dollop of smooth crème fraîche.

If you want to get baking for Sport Relief yourself, get your own lovely limited edition Orla Kiely Apron from TK Maxx, Homesense, or www.sportrelief.com. They retail at £12.99, with at least £5.25 going to Sport Relief, who use public donations to help people living incredibly difficult lives both in the UK and across the world.

Keep reading for our recipe and get baking yourself!

You will need...

200g 70% minimum dark chocolate

200g butter

Pinch of sea salt

8 eggs

100g maple syrup

50g caster sugar

Cacao/cocoa powder for dusting

Crème fraîche, to serve

You will need to...

- Grease and line a 24cm loose bottomed cake tin and preheat the oven to 160C.

- Break up the chocolate and cube the butter. Place both in a large bowl with a generous pinch of sea salt, and melt gently over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.

- Meanwhile, separate the eggs and whisk the whites in a large clean bowl until thick and fluffy and will hold a peak. 

- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar and maple syrup until they are pale, thickened and fluffy (ribbon stage).

- Gently fold the yolky mixture through the chocolate, then fold through the egg whites as gently as you can!

-Pour the mixture into your tin, and set it inside a deep baking tray. Place this on the over shelf and pour an inch of boiling water into the tray around the cake.

- Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, checking after 20. The cake should be just set with a slight wobble in the middle.

- Leave to cool on a wire rack before removing the tin. Dust with cacao powder before serving alongside a dollop of good crème fraîche.

Bake yourself proud!

C & Z x

Lunch @ Cook House - Ouseburn, Newcastle

If you follow us on Instagram or Twitter, you may have seen us raving about a new lunch spot we have discovered in Newcastle. Despite it having been open for over a year, it was only this week that we got round to making the trip, although we are definitely late to the party as the small kitchen is already racking up significant critical acclaim such as being listed as one of the '25 Coolest Restaurants in the UK' by The Times. The restaurant setting is undeniably cool and understated, tucked away in Newcastle's Ouseburn, and comprising of two inter-connecting shipping containers.

 The inside couldn't be a starker contrast from the industrial exterior however, with a cosy chiminea and completely open kitchen instantly making you feel at home. The place is impressively run by Anna Hedworth - not only a brilliant cook but also a food blogger who's recipes you can find on The Grazer. It really did feel like being in her home, and the frequently-changing chalkboard menu was stuffed with a tempting selection of her deliciously simple, fresh and wholesome lunch dishes.

We went for the Smoked Mackerel Pâté and Roast Ham, both served with a lovely simple dressed salad, sourdough toast and homemade pickles. A definite highlight was Zoe's pickled quince which was the perfect sweet/sour accompaniment to her ham, and something we are keen to recreate ourselves! Our dishes were washed down with Anna's homemade cloudy lemonade, and followed by a cup of tea, and slice of her dreamy apple and cinnamon cake.

It's safe to say that we both left feeling very happy and full, and are already planning our next visit! It is so refreshing to see somewhere so different and unique in Newcastle, and with such great food so reasonably priced, we can't recommend it highly enough - get yourself down there!

C & Z x

Cook House. Mon - Sat 8.30 - 3.30. Ouse Street - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. NE1 2PF

http://cookhouse.org

Hotel Chocolat Easter Treats & Toscakaka Cake

With Easter just around the corner, Hotel Chocolat offered to send me some of their seasonal treats to sample, which I obviously gratefully accepted - I'm only human! Hotel Chocolat never disappoint with their innovative seasonal chocolate collections, and this year is no different with their Egglet H Box providing a sophisticated and interesting alternative to your traditional Easter Egg.

Raspberry Supermilk

Salted Caramel

With fifteen little Egglets in ten different flavours ranging from a zingy Raspberry Truffle to a boozy Calvados Caramel, there really is something for everyone. My personal favourites were the Coffee Caramel (the ideal after-dinner treat) and the Speckled Praline - a smooth and moreish nutty centre sealed in caramel chocolate speckled with vanilla seeds - A-mazing. So amazing, in fact, that it has inspired the following Toscakaka recipe… 

Toscakaka is a Swedish cake with a vanilla and orange flavoured sponge and a chewy, almondy, caramely topping that oozes into the sponge when baking and gives the cake a praline-like flavour. It is really simple to make, and would make an ideal Easter centrepiece if you're feeding friends and family next weekend. Scroll down for the full recipe…

You will need…

3 eggs

150g caster sugar

Zest of 1/2 an orange

1tsp vanilla extract or paste

150g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

A pinch of salt

75 ml milk with a drop of lemon juice

75 g butter - melted

And for the topping…

150g toasted flaked almonds

125g soft light brown sugar

100g butter

2 tbsp whiskey

You will need to…

- Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line a 9 inch springform tin.

- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and orange zest until thick and pale.

- Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and gently fold into the egg mixture.

- Mix together the melted butter and milk, then fold this into the cake mixture too. 

- Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes.

- In the meantime, make the praline-like topping by combining the almonds, sugar and butter in a small saucepan.

- Bring this mixture to a rapid boil and cook for about a minute, then remove from the heat and stir in the whiskey.

- After 20 minutes, carefully take the cake out the oven and gently spoon the almond mixture on top, taking care not to disturb the partially cooked sponge.

- Return the cake to the oven to cook for another 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

- Leave to cool in the tin and serve with a generous sprinkling of icing sugar. 

Enjoy! C x

Malteaser Cake

This Malteaser Cake is always a show stopper. During my cooking jobs in Scotland over the summer this cake was a favourite for afternoon tea, and I assure you it takes a very hungry army of people to demolish the whole thing in one sitting! Infact, it is so rich and chocolately that it could almost be served with cream as a pudding. I have enjoyed many an hour sitting aligning every malteaser to make this cake look symmetrical - the first time I made it, it certainly didnt look like my latest one in

these photos! 

To serve 12 hungry people you will need... 

For the chocolate sponge 

150g soft unsalted butter

250g caster sugar

150g self raising flour

100ml sour cream or double cream

4 medium eggs

50g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder 

a pinch of salt 

1/2 a vanilla pod or a few drops of vanilla extract 

For the icing (these quantities ususally make a bit extra)

100g dark chocolate

550g icing sugar 

250g soft butter

2tbsps milk/water 

4x 135g malteasers (make sure you have enough or else you wont cover the whole cake!) 

You will need to... 

-Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 

-Grease and line two 8 inch loose bottomed cake tins

-Put the butter, sugar, flour, cream, eggs, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and vanilla into the large bowl of an electric mixer and mix until smooth. 

-Pour the mixture into the two cake tins and bake in the oven for 25/30mins or until a skewer comes out clean, Leave to cool for a couple fo minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

- When the cakes are cool make the icing, First melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water stirring occasionally. 

- Put the icing sugar in the electric mixer (no need to sieve if using a mixer) then add the butter and and milk/water until light and smooth. Then pour the melted chocolate in with the mixer still running. 

- Place the sponge on the plate you will be serving it on- it is difficult to move once you start covering the cake in malteasers. Then using a palet knife, spread the chococlate icing over the bottom layer before placing the second layer on top and covering the top and sides of the whole cake with icing.

- Then begin to stick the malteasers on, I find doing it in straight lines makes the neatest looking cake!

Enjoy, Z x

Elderflower Drizzle Cake

After a trip to Betty's famous tearoom in Harrogate last week I spotted an Elderflower Drizzle Cake on display and, as I have an abundance of home made elderflower cordial at home, I decided to give one a go. I based the recipe on a standard lemon drizzle cake recipe (you can see our version on our Instagram page) but substituted the lemon juice for elderflower cordial. The result was a subtle and soft elderflowery sponge, and although the flavour was not overpoweringly strong, the aftertaste had a delicate hint fresh elderflower that was very pleasant and perfectly appropriate for this time of year!

 You Will Need…

200g plain flour

200g caster sugar

200g butter
3 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

Zest of one lemon

4 tbsp elderflower cordial

And for the drizzle…

4 tbsp elderflower cordial

2tsp caster sugar

 You Will Need To…

- Preheat your oven to 180C. Butter and line a regular sized loaf tin.

- Beat together the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and fold in the flour, baking powder and lemon zest.

- Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.

- Once cooked and still warm, use a skewer to stab the cake all over. This will make holes for the drizzle to seep into and make the cake extra moist. 

- Mix together the elderflower cordial and caster sugar, then spoon on top of the cake.

- Allow to cool and serve in generous slices.

Enjoy! Z & C x

Strawberries & Cream Victoria Sponge

With the Wimbledon finals taking place this weekend, it seems very appropriate to bring out this classic Victoria Sponge filled with strawberries & cream. A pairing that has stood the test of time, you can't really go wrong with strawberries and cream, especially when the cream is laced with fragrant vanilla seeds. This would be an ideal centrepiece for any summer gathering, a welcome addition to an afternoon tea or a decadent way to round off a barbecue. It is also a good excuse to show off the latest addition to my kitchen - this beautiful vintage glass cake stand from RE in Corbridge, Northumberland. This hidden gem of a shop is well worth a visit if you like rooting through unusual and interesting bits and bobs, with their stock ranging from kitchenware to french soaps and gardening equipment. Here is the link to their website if you want to have a look: http://www.re-foundobjects.com

You Will Need…

175g caster sugar

175g butter

175g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

3 eggs

And for the filling…

200ml double cream

1 generous tsp vanilla bean paste or the scraped seeds from one vanilla pod

Half a punnet of strawberries

Icing sugar for for dusting

You Will Need To…

- Preheat your oven to 180C.

- Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

- Beat in the eggs and vanilla essence, and then fold in the sieved flour and baking powder.

- Pour into two round, greased and lined cake tins and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

- Cool your sponges on a wire rack whilst you prepare the filling…

- Chop your strawberries into quarters, reserving a few for decoration if you like.

- Whip the cream until soft peaks, then fold in your vanilla paste.

- Spread your berries onto one of the sponges, top with the cream and then place the second sponge on top. 

- Serve on your prettiest plate and dust with icing sugar.

Enjoy! C x

Tomato Soup Cake

Student life and life during the war have one thing in common- the cupboards are always empty. This cake was originally made during the war as it lasts a lot longer than your average sponge cake, it comes somewhere between a carrot cake and a fruit cake - I think it gets better with age. 'Tomato Soup Cake' perhaps does not sound the most appetizing, however I discovered that a tin of tomato soup in this cake really does work - I enjoyed making my friends guess what the secret ingredient was! Originally I spotted the recipe on Food52, however after discovering that my student store cupboard ingredients were not quite up to providing all the spices in their recipe, I simplified it to make it more student friendly. I have since made the cake again with all the spices, both versions were equally delicious, so delicious that my dog tried to have a slice while I was photographing it! 

You will need...

250g plain flour

170g caster sugar 

4 teaspoons of baking powder

2 teaspoons of cinnamon 

3/4 of a tin of tomato soup

2 large eggs 

A mug full of raisins 

For the icing...

100g of cream cheese

200g icing sugar 

You will need to...

-Preheat the oven to 180C and grease two 8 inch cake tins.

-Mix together all ingredients apart from the raisins, this will make a smooth pink batter. 

-Fold in the raisins, then pour the batter into the cake tins.

- Bake for 35-40 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean.

- In the meantime, mix the cream cheese and icing sugar together in a mixing bowl, keep adding the icing sugar until you get smooth icing with a thick consistency- if you don't add enough icing sugar the icing will drip off the cake and look messy.

- Leave to cool on a wire rack before icing.

Enjoy Z! x

Coffee & Walnut Cake

Although supposedly the day of rest, Sundays always seem to be anything but. If you are as much of a procrastinator as I am, you will have left all your work or chores until Sunday, meaning the day is usually spent rushing around doing things you should have done earlier in the week. With work or uni starting tomorrow morning, and the prospect of an agonising five days until next weekend, this recipe is the ultimate remedy to beat the Sunday blues. As well as being super quick and easy (leaving you plenty of time to catch up on a weeks' worth of ignored tasks) this cake is deliciously comforting, and is thus ideal for the cold winter months ahead. 

You Will Need...

175g self-raising flour

175g butter

175g caster sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

 1 tbsp instant coffee

And For The Icing..

125g softened butter

225g icing sugar

1 tbsp instant coffee

2 handfuls of walnuts, roughly chopped

1 handful coffee beans

You Will Need To...

- Make cake batter by combining flour, butter, baking powder, sugar and eggs using electric beaters or a wooden spoon - I find this all in-in-one method the easiest way. Dissolve the coffee granules in a little boiling water and add to the mixture with the vanilla extract.

- Divide the mixture into two round, lined and greased cake tins. Bake at 180C for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

- Make the icing by beating together the softened butter and icing sugar. Dissolve the coffee granules in a little boiling water and combine thoroughly until smooth.

- Once cooled, spread half the icing on top of one of the cakes and sprinkle over half the walnuts and coffee beans. Place the second sponge cake on top, and top with the rest of the icing and remaining nuts and coffee beans. 

- Serve in generous slices with a pot of freshly brewed tea. 

Enjoy!

C x