Sunday Brunch - American Style Blueberry Pancakes

If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I love pancakes. I like making them, but I love eating them. I have a sweet tooth. I'm a person who cannot start their day until they have had their breakfast. So the best breakfast for me is something that is quick and easy to make and doesn't involve cooking; like a smoothie (see previous post) or a bowl of cereal. Boring, I know. So I always use brunch-time as an excuse to cook up a storm in the kitchen and experiment.

Whenever I have the time and ingredients, pancakes are my go-to choice. I've also started making French toast which I'll probably share with you in the future. Today I decided to try something I haven't made before, blueberry pancakes. They are really easy to make and of course taste amazing. This recipe makes about five pancakes, enough for one greedy person (like me) or can be increased to cater for more people.

Serves 1

Ingredients

100g plain flour

100ml milk

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp melted butter, plus extra for frying

Sprinkle of cinnamon (optional)

Couple drops of vanilla extract (optional)

1 heaped tsp baking powder

Golden or maple syrup

Method

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl. Sift the flour and baking powder. Then add the sugar and cinnamon.
2. In a separate bowl melt the butter and allow to cool before mixing with the egg, milk and vanilla extract.
3. Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.
4. Heat a frying pan to medium/high heat. Melt a knob of butter add a ladleful of batter, spreading gently to create a circular shape.
5. Cook for approx. 1-2 minutes until bubbles start to form on the pancake. Then turn and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. (Side note: I added the blueberries on top of the batter already on the pan but you can mix them into the batter beforehand.)
6. Store in a preheated oven or on a plate on top of a pan of hot water to keep warm while preparing the rest of the batter.
7. Serve with golden syrup, or whatever floats your boat. Enjoy!

Click here to see my post on my previous creation buttermilk pancakes xo

Happy Easter!

I made this treat for my family and I to enjoy on Easter Sunday. It was really easy to make and tastes amazing. This is a chocolate cake I've made before, but just added the mini eggs to coincide with this special day. Don't watch the shoddy frosting, I'm an amateur lol!

Serves 8

6oz butter, softened

6oz golden caster sugar

3 eggs, beaten

3 tbsp golden syrup

2 tsp ground almonds

6oz self-raising flour

1oz cocoa powder

Cadbury mini eggs

Chocolate buttercream frosting

8oz icing sugar

4oz butter, softened

1oz cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk (optional)

Method

Grease two sandwich tins and line the bases with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ Gas Mark 4. Place the butter and sugar in a  bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs. Stir in the golden syrup and ground almonds. Sift the flour and cocoa powder, then fold into the mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tins and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool in the tine for 10 mins, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, cream the butter in a bowl until soft, then sift in the icing sugar and cocoa powder until well combined. Add the vanilla extract and combine well. If the frosting appears too dry, add one tablespoon of milk at a time until it reaches the right consistency. When the cakes are cold, sandwich them together with half the icing. Spread the remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake, and decorate the cake with the mini eggs however you like.

Enjoy! xo

Recipe: Coconut Cupackes

Hi guys!

With the coconut cupcake from my previous post as inspiration, I decided to bake my own. I'd never made them before so as I do when baking something new, I went searching on the internet and combined a few recipes I found. I haven't mentioned it below but I added some buttermilk to the batter for a creamy taste. Also, the recipes I found generally said they made 12 but I managed to get 17; and that was with muffin cases as my cupcakes cases ran out! I must admit the buttercream icing is very sweet, but the cupcakes are delish.

 Ingredients:

6oz caster sugar

6oz butter

6oz self-raising flour

2 eggs

1oz dessicated coconut

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

For the buttercream icing:

4oz butter

8oz icing sugar

few drops of vanilla extract

dessicated coconut to decorate

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/Gas Mark 4. Line a cupcake tin with paper cupcake cases.
2. Cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until fully combined.
4. Fold in the flour, baking powder and vanilla extract into a smooth consistency.
5. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 20 minutes, until well risen and golden brown.
6. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
7. Mix the butter and icing sugar then add a few drops of vanilla extract. Pipe the icing onto the cakes (or use a spatula) and sprinkle with some more dessicated coconut.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know if you give it a try. Also, if there are any you think I should try or you would like to see, please leave a comment below xo

Recipe: Toffee Brownies

Greetings!

I've made these brownies in the past and I liked them so much I ended up finishing the rest of the batch myself, whoops! So, I've decided to make them again (however I cannot guarantee the same thing won't happen again :P)

Ingredients:

350g/12oz dark chocolate, broken into pieces

250g/9oz butter

3 large eggs

250g/9oz dark muscovado sugar

85g/3oz plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees/Gas mark 3/Fan oven 140 degrees. Butter and line  a 23cm/9in square cake tin.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter, then stir well and cool.
3. Whisk the eggs until pale, then whisk the sugar until thick and glossy and well combined. Gently fold in the chocolate mixture, then sift in the flour and baking powder and gently stir until smooth.
4. Pour into cake tin and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until firm to touch.
5. Cool in the tin for at least an hour, then cut and finish cooling on a wire rack.



The recipe book says it makes 16 but I got 28! Although I think it's because of the way I cut them...

Let me know if you give them a try xo

*Recipe from BBC Books 101 Cakes & Bakes: Tried-And-Tested Recipes

Recipe: Buttermilk pancakes

Hello guys!

This morning I was hungry for some pancakes so I decided to make a batch. I wanted to try something so, as the title says, I made buttermilk pancakes. My recipe is made up of a mix of different recipes that I've found on the internet. They were really easy to make and they tasted AMAZING!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

150g plain flour

200ml buttermilk

50g melted butter

3 tablespoons sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

A pinch of salt

Method:

1. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl.

2. Then add the egg, buttermilk and butter and mix to a smooth batter.

3. Lightly grease a frying pan with butter and add some batter to the centre of the pan, spreading gently. Cook for a couple of minutes, until lightly brown on each side.

4. Serve with maple syrup, or whatever tickles your fancy :)

Let me know if you give them a try! xo

Recipe: Strawberry & chocolate slices

:)

Yesterday I decided to bake something different than what I usually do, so I looked through our baking book and found a recipe for these strawberry & chocolate slices.

Baking book: Easy Baking

Makes 16

Ingredients:

8 oz plain flour

8 oz unsalted butter

31/2 oz caster sugar

3 oz soft light brown sugar

51/2 oz rolled oats

8 oz strawberry jam

31/2 oz plain chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190c/Gas Mark 5. Grease a rectangular baking tin and line with baking paper.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the caster sugar and brown sugar and mix well. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (this part didn't really work out well for me, it did not look like breadcrumbs at all). Stir in the oats.
3. Press three quarters of the mixture into the base of the tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
4. Spread the jam over the cooked base, then sprinkle over the chocolate chips. *Sprinkle the remaining mixture over the chocolate chitps and press down gently.
5. Return to the oven and bake for a further 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven, leave to cool then cut into slices.

*At this point the recipe says to add flaked almonds but I didn't have any, so I didn't :) 

They taste AMAZING! They taste so good I was even reluctant to share with my siblings hahaa.

Hope you try and enjoy them xo



Recipe: Fairy Cupcakes

Hey guys! Here's a little fact about me...

I love to bake!

This may be new information to my followers/readers but if you were to ask my family and friends they'd tell you how much I love baking. It comes so naturally to me. I bake all the time; I've baked for friends in the past, for birthdays for my family and sometimes when I'm bored!

So I thought I'd share with you what I baked today. They're just simple cupcakes with a hint of lemon. I don't know any recipes passed down from family generations, I get all mine from cook books, the internet or in this case on the back of the caster sugar packet :) I tweeked the recipe a little bit (I'll put what the actual recipe said in red). Also, it says it makes 12 but I managed to get 19!

Makes 12

Ingredients:

150g soften butter

150g caster sugar

(3) 2 eggs

150g self-raising flour

1 tbsp vanilla extract

(2) 1 tbsp milk

Juice of half a lemon

For the icing:

(125g) 120g icing sugar

Warm water

Lemon juice

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/Fan 160c/Gas mark 4. Line a cup cake tin with cup cake cases.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and pale.
3. Beat the eggs together with a fork then gradually add to the mixture, beating really well until the mixture is combined.
4. Fold in the flour, milk and vanilla extract using a large metal spoon. Do this as lightly as possible to keep all air in your mixture.
5. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 20 minutes or until risen and springy.
6. For the icing sift the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually add 1 tbsp of water until the icing is thick enough (I only put 1 tbsp of lemon juice).
7. Spoon the icing onto the cooled cakes and decorate as desired.

I hope this recipe is as good to you as it was to me. They taste amazing and are so easy to make, hope you enjoy them!

If you try them let me know. Or if you know of any other recipes you think I should try, then let me know about them too! xo