Sunday 14 April 2013

FatAthyTriesToBake

I love baking, but I also love experimenting. So sometimes my 'creations' are just disasters. A lot of my friends make fun of me for the array of ingredients I like to use. But since I have been home I have attempted some simple recipes, so I thought I'd share some with you.

My boyfriend (though I hate this word so from now on I shall refer to him as the Kretin) loves anything with banana. So I thought I'd try and show off my domestic skills (which are close to non existent) and bake a banana cake. It turned out alright I guess. Well I am assuming this from the fact that within 48
 hours it was gone. I tried a slight variety. As the mix I had made was quite a lot, I made a loaf as well as cupcakes. When I took the loaf out of the oven I pricked it all over and drizzled it with lemon juice. If you like citrus flavours I would definitely recommend this, but if you just want the banana flavour then I wouldn't. With the cupcakes, I left them be and they too were very nice but had a very different flavour. The recipe I used was as followed:

http://dessert.food.com/recipe/best-ever-banana-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting-67256

I just did it without the frosting!


My next endeavour was peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. I was in the mood for living up to my name and having a good sugary binge. And I found this recipe that actually was not too heavy compared to most cookies, but came out beautifully!

Ingredients:

- 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup of oats
- 1/2 cup of whole wheat/grain flour
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking powder
- As many chocolate chips as you can handle (milk, white, dark the lot!)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1-2 tbsp crush walnuts (optional, the ones pictured are without)

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 165 C

2) Mix peanut butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl

3) Stir in the eggs one at a time until fully mixed

4) Add flour, baking soda, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and oats

5) Stir in the CHOCOLATE!

6) Using a spoon scoop balls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet. (Top tip: If you wet your hands before handling the dough it won't stick to you!)

7) Press the dough balls down slightly and bake for 12-14 mins or until the tops are golden brown.

8) Indulge in the sweet, nutty, chocolatey delights :)







A few days later, I decided to stick to my promise and make my dad's childhood favourite - Marble Cake. This is a very simple cake and it is hard to go wrong, although I nearly burnt it! And there is something very satisfying when marbling the cake mix, watching it churn in different directions.

I made a very small one, so double or triple the ingredients as you please.

Ingredients:

- 100g caster sugar
- 100g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 100g self raising flour
- 1 - 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder

Method:

1) Set the oven to 180 C

2) Cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.

3) Beat in the eggs one at a time and the vanilla extract

4) Make a well in the centre and add the flour until just combined

5) Stir in the milk and then split the mixture equally between two bowls.

6) In one of the bowls stir in the cocoa powder

7) Alternatively add a scoop of vanilla and cocoa mix in a greased baking tray

8) Before putting in the oven slam the tray ona hard surface to remove air bubbles and then with a skewer allow your hand to create a marbled effect in the mix.

9) Bake for 20 - 25 mins or until a skewer comes out clean without any mix on it.

10) Plate up and eat up :)




My final attempt this week was for my sister. She demanded a form of milk chocolate chip cookies. Our dear grandma hand kindly given us a huge supply of Lacta chocolates (a greek brand), so I thought that instead of using chocolate chips I would use chocolate chunks :) Going large is the only way to do it! I found a recipe online and tailored it to my needs. Although they look good they did not taste as good as the peanut butter cookies, so I would like to trial a few more cookie recipes and then I shall post the best one I find. After all it is the best I am after!

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