Simple Blackberry Crumble recipe

Good evening friends, I’m in full swing for Autumn, the summer clothes have been packed away, the autumn candles are filling the house with that cosy welcoming scent, and I’m ready to bake! This quick and easy dessert that can be whipped up and ready to serve in an hour.

Ingredients (serves 6-8)

400g blackberries (these were picked from our garden)
55g caster sugar
For the crumble topping
200g plain flour
100g butter
100g Demerara sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (optional)

Custard or vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)

What you’ll need
A glass dish
Mixing bowl
A wooden spoon


Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

2. In the glass dish, mix together the washed berries and caster sugar until coated evenly.

3. Rub the butter into the flour to make a light breadcrumb texture.
Add in the demerara sugar and cinnamon until combined and spread onto the berries

4. Bake for 45 mins until golden brown.

5. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before serving, and enjoy!

Kaya •

Blogmas – Christmas Spiced Chocolate Cake

Good afternoon friends,

Today I’m sharing a recipe, one that I’ve made before, but will no doubt become a new Christmas tradition.

This Christmas Spiced Chocolate Cake, can be prepared, baked and decorated in just over an hour. A simple recipe, with the most delicious smooth, light and flavoursome cake.

Although Nigella labels this a cake, I wouldn’t personally, as it’s flourless and doesn’t have this consistency, I would say it’s more of a gooey spiced pudding.

Photo from Nigella’s site

Click on the link below for the recipe, or read on for the information and a few step by step pictures.

Christmas Spiced Chocolate Cake

Recipe

For the cake

• 150 grams chopped dark chocolate (I used 1 while Terry’s Dark chocolate Orange)
• 150 grams soft butter
• 6 large eggs
• 250 grams granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 100 grams ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch of ground cloves
• zest of 1 clementine (or satsuma)
• 4 teaspoons instant espresso powder

For the topping

• juice of 1 clementine (or satsuma)
• 15 grams butter
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 50 grams flaked almonds

• 

Method

• Take anything you need out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature. The only truly important thing, however, is that the eggs aren’t cold, so if they are, just put them into a bowl (I use the KitchenAid bowl I’m going to whisk them in later) and cover with warm water for 10 minutes
• 

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/gas mark 4/350ºF. Butter the sides and line the bottom of a 23cm / 9 inch springform tin.

• Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl, in a microwave according to the manufacturer’s instructions, or suspended over a pan of simmering water, and set aside to cool slightly.

• Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together until thick, pale and moussy. They should have at least doubled in volume, even tripled. If you’re using a freestanding mixer, as I do, this is effortless.

• Gently fold in the ground almonds, cinnamon, cloves, clementine/satsuma zest and espresso powder, taking care not to lose the air you have whisked in, then, finally, pour and scrape in the melted, slightly cooled, chocolate and butter, folding gently again.

• Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes, by which time the top of the cake should be firm, and the underneath still a bit gooey.

• Remove from the oven, and sit it on a wire rack, draped with a clean tea towel, to cool completely.

• To make the topping for the cake, put the clementine/satsuma juice into a small, preferably non-stick, frying pan with the butter, sugar and cinnamon and melt everything together, then let it sizzle for a minute or so and begin to caramelize before adding the almonds.

• Stir everything together, and occasionally tip the pan to keep it all moving; what you want is for all the liquid to disappear and the nuts to look shiny and be coated thinly in a fragrant, orange-scented toffee.

• Remove to a plate and cool.

• Unspring the cake and transfer to a cake stand or plate; I am brave enough to take it off its base sometimes, but don’t if you’re scared. Remember this cake, however intense and elegant within, has a rather ramshackle rustic appearance on the outside.

• (My cake was curved at the top and a bit crumby, I flipped mine over, which I think looks more enticing)

• Scatter with the almonds, mainly letting them pile up in the centre of the cake, but drop a few here and there all over the top. And serve with the cointreau cream.

My cake did not look anything like the picture, it wasn’t as ‘stable’, but it tasted like a dream. I dropped off slices to family, and to our neighbour with a variety of double cream, whipped cream and custard.

If you give this recipe a go please let me know!

Kaya •

National Shortbread Day

Who doesn’t love a good bit of shortbread?

Today is national Shortbread Day, so I thought I’d I make up a batch, and for the first time! How is that even possible?

I found this super quick and easy recipe, using only 3 ingredients, making between 20 and 25 shortbread fingers.

Shortbread Recipe

Ingredients

• 125g/4oz butter
• 55g/2oz caster sugar, plus extra to finish
• 180g/6oz plain flour

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

2. Beat the butter and the sugar together until smooth.

3. Stir in the flour to get a smooth paste. Turn on to a work surface and gently roll out until the paste is 1cm/½in thick.

4. Cut into rounds or fingers and place onto a baking tray. Sprinkle with caster sugar and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.

I used a traditional recipe but made them my own by using a Batman cutter. The shortbread were bigger so this only made about 15, and for a little something extra, I covered a few in dark chocolate. I’d definitely reccomend it if you havebabnextra sweet tooth.

Happy Baking!

Kaya •

Easy and Delicious Classic Carrot Cake

Good afternoon and happy sunday all,

A few weeks ago, I made a carrot and walnut cake for a dear friend, (decorated as a pig) and without tooting my own horn, I must say, it was the most incredible one’s I’ve made.

This fluffy, melt in the mouth, delicious cake, was a recipe from non other than BBC.food, you can’t go wrong!

This morning I decided it would be a good idea to make the cake again, not only because we were having a BBQ and I insisted on bringing dessert, but also, because when I made the birthday cake last time, I didn’t actually take any pictures of it before I turned it into a pig! Of course, this meant I had to bake another, just for the photos.

And yes, my family were devastated that I made the cake and that they had to force it down, shame shame.

Classic Carrot Cake

Ingredients

For the carrot cake

• 450ml/16fl oz vegetable oil
• 400g/14oz plain flour
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 550g/1lb 4oz sugar
• 5 free-range eggs
• ½ tsp salt
• 2½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 525g/1lb 3oz carrots, grated
• 150g/5½oz shelled walnuts, chopped

For the icing

• 200g/7oz cream cheese
• 150g/5½oz caster sugar
• 100g/3½oz butter, softened

Method

1. For the carrot cake, preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line a 26cm/10in springform cake tin.

2. Mix all of the ingredients for the carrot cake, except the carrots and walnuts, together in a bowl until well combined. Stir in the carrots and walnuts.

3. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the cake from the tin and set aside to cool completely on a cooling rack.

4. Meanwhile, for the icing, beat the cream cheese, caster sugar and butter together in a bowl until fluffy. Spread the icing over the top of the cake with a palette knife.

Let me know if you try this recipe and if you add anything extra to your carrot cakes, for me, cinnamon is a must!

Kaya •

Quick and easy Banana and Blueberry Loaf

Good afternoon all!

Last night whilst watching The Great British Bake off (who’s going to win?!?), I was craving something sweet.

Luckily my bananas had finally ripened, so I thought I’d whip together a little something. I had this recipe in mind for a while and it can be prepared and baked within an hour.

This is my recipe for a quick, easy and scrumptious banana and blueberry loaf.

Ingredients

125g blueberries
3 x ripe bananas
150g self raising flour
150g caster sugar
140g unsalted butter at room temperature
2 x medium eggs
1 x tsp baking powder
1 x tsp cinnamon (optional but it does add a lovely warmth)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4

1. Line the cake tin with baking parchment.

2. Peel the bananas, and mash them up in a bowl.

3. Mix together the flour, sugar, butter, bananas, eggs, baking powder, cinnamon and blueberries.

4. Pour the mix into the cake tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes.

5. The loaf should rise and turn a golden brown.
After 40 minutes, test the middle of the loaf with a skewer until it comes out clean.

6. Once the loaf is baked, leave it to cool, then slice it up and enjoy!

This is a light and delicious dessert that can be eaten warm or cold, and tastes even better with a dollop of custard.

Let me know if you have made this and your opinion!

Have a wonderful Wednesday all!

Kaya •