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Smartie Birthday CakeSmartie Birthday Cake: A Colorful and Fun Recipe for Any Celebration

5 Comments / baking / By

It has become something of a tradition that Maxi always has a chocolate smartie cake for his birthday. This year I decided to try and do something a little more eye catching. I love baking, but find icing larger cakes something of a chore. So this cake is very forgiving.

Cake Ingredients

6 oz of butter or marg
6 oz caster sugar
5 oz of self raising flour
1 oz of coco powder
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 eggs
half teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of milk

Method.

Cream together the marg/butter and sugar. Then add the rest of the ingredients in and mix well!

Put in two 7 inch cake tins (I line the tins with parchment and grease) and place in to a preheated oven of 180 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. You can tell if the cakes are cooked if when you press the top it gives slightly but springs back.

Remove from oven and leave for 2 minutes before removing from tins and placing on to a wire rack to cool.

Icing Ingredients:

1 block of butter (250gm of 10 oz)
450 grams icing sugar
50 gms of coco powder
half teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 tablespoons of milk
Method

Soften the butter in a mixer before adding the other ingredients. Make sure you start mixing very slowly so you do not get icing sugar everywhere. If your mixer does not have a splatter guard then cover with a tea towel.

Assembling the cake

Sandwich together your two cakes with icing and then apply the remaining icing around and on top of the cake. You are going to use the using around the cake to stick the chocolate fingers to the cake, so make sure you have enough at the sides.

I applied the fingers and then refrigerated the cake overnight, before covering the top with smarties the following day.

Smartie Birthday CakeSmartie Birthday Cake: A Colorful and Fun Recipe for Any Celebration Read More »

Three Layer Peppermint Bark

baking, Christmas, Christmas, receipe / By

Meanwhile, combine the dark chocolate, cream, and peppermint extract in a saucepan. Warm over -low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is just melted and smooth.
Cool to barely lukewarm, about 5 minutes and pour the dark chocolate mixture over the white chocolate rectangle.
Using a spatula chocolate in an even layer.
Chill until very cold , which is about 25 minutes.
Rewarm the remaining white chocolate over barely simmering water and then pour the white chocolate over the firm dark chocolate layer, using your spatula to spread it to cover.
Sprinkle with remaining crushed candy canes.

Three Layer Peppermint Bark Read More »

English Summer Cupcakes: Delightful Recipes for a Seasonal Treat

6 Comments / baking / By

I’m loving this series of The Great British Bake Off, as are most of you guys judging by the #GBBO chat on Twitter every Tuesday night.  Did you know that you can now also get the Great British Bake Off App which features lots of easy-to-find, easy-to-follow recipes from Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.   You can

English Summer Cupcakes: Delightful Recipes for a Seasonal Treat Read More »

Fridge Bottom Curry: A Delicious Recipe for Using Up Leftovers

7 Comments / Mains, receipe / By

We are great lovers of Curry in The Mad House and even the boys love it too. Mostly I make one from scratch and you can find my Nice Easy Basic Curry recipe over at Frugalicious Food, butI am not adverse to using curry powder especially when I have less time and we have what has fondly become know as Fridge bottom curry. I have to admit that the inspiration for this curry comes from Chris at Thinly Spread and is based on her Baked Bean Curry.

Fridge Bottom Curry: A Delicious Recipe for Using Up Leftovers Read More »

Easy Egg White Cake Recipe: Light and Fluffy Dessert

7 Comments / baking / By

Whenever I make Spagetti Carbonara, I am always left with 4 egg whites, so I have been looking for a receipe, other than meranges (as MadDad doesnt like then) for quite a while.

Finally whilst looking through some old books came across one that I wrote down an age ago (when I used to rip out pages of magazines and buy food magazines, which means it was pre children). I do not know the source of this recipe, so can not quote it , sorry.

Easy Egg White Cake Recipe: Light and Fluffy Dessert Read More »

Patriotic Rice Krispy Puffle Cakes

14 Comments / baking / By

The boys have gone to school today decked out in red, white and blue clothes (right down to their underwear) to celebrate the royal wedding tomorrow. The school is hosting a party for all the children and parents this afternoon and sent our a request for food for the party. So as we had been sent lots of things for baking over the Easter Holidays by Kellogg’s and Disney, which we hadn’t used as we were making the most of the fine weather, we decided to make patriotic Club Penguin Rice Krispy Puffle nests.

Patriotic Rice Krispy Puffle Cakes Read More »