Mrs Beeton's Butterscotch Brownies

Today, I'm proud to announce our first special guest contributor: Peter! I hope you'll enjoy his delicious combination of dedication to the cake cause and amazing camera skills :)

Original recipe:

• 75g Butter
• 175g Soft light brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 5ml (1tsp) vanilla essence
• 75g plain flour
• 5ml (1tsp) baking powder
• 1.25ml (1/4 tsp) salt
• 50g dates, chopped
• 50g blanched almonds, chopped

18cm / 7in square tin

Substitutions due to forgetting, not locating in the shop or already having in the cupboard:

• Soft light brown sugar -> Soft dark brown sugar
• Dates -> sultanas
• Blanched almonds -> Flaked almonds
• Tin -> Bright pink silicone baking thing

1. Line and grease the tin. Set oven to 160C / 325F / gas mark 3.

2. Combine butter and sugar in a large heavy bottomed saucepan and heat gently until all the sugar has dissolved, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from the heat, cool slightly, then blend in the egg and vanilla essence.

4. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.

5. Add the dates/sultanas and mix to coat in flour. Also add the almonds here if you misread the instructions.

6. Stir the flour mixture into the pan, with the almonds if they aren't part of the mixture, and mix well.

7. Spoon/pour the mixture into the prepared tin.

8. Bake for 20-30mins. If you have a crap oven and smell smoke after 12 mins then cover with foil to reduce burning.

9. Cool in the tin. Carefully photograph the relatively unburnt half.

9. When cold, cut into squares and serve.

Result:

• Not as gooey as expected, probably due to overcooking. 
• Dark sugar substitute gives a slight treacle taste which I really enjoy.

Double Chocolate Fudge Cakes

At work we ogled the lovely photographs on the front cover of a well-known-supermarket-magazine. On a whim, I made Monday night baking night. And whyever not?

Here are the results:

Please excuse the slightly suspect pictures - in my defence it was about 6.30am, before work and their subsequent devourment (I don't think that is a word but it is definitely what happened).

Ingredients

200g dark chocolate (I used Green and Blacks because it was on special offer in the aforementioned well-known-supermarket)
100g unsalted butter, cubed
4 medium eggs
50g cornflour, sifted
175g icing sugar, sifted
25ml milk
100g ground almonds
1/4 cream of tartar
For the icing
100g dark chocolate (as before), melted
50g creme fraiche
75g icing sugar, sifted
white chocolate stars, for decoration

Method

1. Preheat the fan oven to 160 degrees, line a 4cm deep, 20x30cm baking pan with non-stick baking paper
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a large bowl over simmering water; cool. Beat in two whole eggs and two yolks (keep the whites too!), then the cornflour, icing sugar, milk and almonds until smooth
3. Whisk the two egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Fold into the chocolate mixture with a large metal spoon until barely combined
4. Pour into the baking tray, smooth the top with a spatula and bake for 15 minutes until barely set. Leave to cool in tray
5. Turn out the cold cake on the board and use a 5cm cutter to stamp out 24 discs. Beat the melted chocolate with the icing sugar and creme fraiche until smooth (it might split a bit, but don't panic). Beat in a few teaspoons of boiling water until the consistency turns satin-like and creamy.
6. Spoon a little onto each disc. Stack one disc on another to make 12 layered cake. Decorate with white chocolate stars. 
7. Take to work and win over your colleagues.

So, as you can see, in the absence of round cake cutters I made mine square. I think they're still cute. Sadly, I did not consume one of the complete and finished versions. Eating too much raw cake mixture during the making process reduced my cake appetite significantly. The overall verdict was positive, especially taking into account the speed at which they disappeared from the staff room.

A success :)

Dawn's Mum's Tiffin

If you're looking for a perfect accompaniment to a well-earned brew, then search no longer. I can personally vouch for the fact that this tastes extra good with a steaming cup of your favourite caffeinated beverage. Cut it just big enough to feel like a treat, and small enough for plenty to go round. And, no actual oven involved - easy peasy.

Ingredients

(Makes approx 16 squares)

• 110g margarine
• 50g caster sugar
• 2tbsp golden syrup
• 25g cocoa
• handful of raisins
• 225g crushed digestive biscuits

Method

1. Melt the margarine, sugar, syrup and cocoa together in a saucepan.
2. Take the pan off the heat and add the biscuit and raisins. Mix well.
3. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish (approx 20cm square) and place in the fridge to cool.
4. Melt the chocolate and spread over the cooled mixture smoothly. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
5. Cut into squares and enjoy with a brew!

Tips

• Crush biscuits with the end of a rolling pin in a large bowl (you can try the ‘putting-them-in-a-foodbag-first’ method but I always find the bag splits). 
• Add chopped glace cherries or nuts for extra flavour and texture. 
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of water.

So, what are you waiting for? Especially when the finished product looks a whole lot like this:

 

Tiffin

I know, we're waiting with baited breath for the debut delicious treat and I can offer a sneak peak!

That's right folks, its going to be chocolate-y biscuit-y goodness in the form of tiffin! Prepared by none other than Dawn, my beautiful fiancee. Get ready, because I think it'll be goood :)

The concept

Chances are, if you're reading this you're interested in being a part of the Cake Collective. And frankly, who wouldn't be?

If you fit this description...read on! The basic idea is that we can give ourselves an excuse to bake more cakes by rebranding this activity and blogging about it. That way, we can share good recipes/epic failures with each other and anyone else who stumbles across us. Double win.

 

I hope it might work like this:

1. Member of the Cake Collective spies a delicious looking recipe for a baked creation.
2. Aforementioned member bakes said recipe, and is delighted with the results.
3. They take some pictures of the finished product (and anything extra - like the making or enjoying parts).
4. They type up the recipe, with their own interpretations/substitutions/tips for success/advice for nervous bakers.
5. They credit the source of the recipe (if it is completely original then you can credit yourself too!)
6. They email stuff from 3. 4. and 5. to me (gemma.cheney@googlemail.com)
7. I do some computer magic and post it on here.

The idea is simple, but there is plenty of room for embellishment. Including cake parties, cake themes, cake challenges etc. I'm even open to including *savoury baking.*

So, let this be the excuse you've been waiting for to break out those recipe books and get cooking.

Recipes for above: Smore Brownies,  Lemon Poppy Seed Cake, Red Velvet Cupcakes