Bakin' and Cabbage

Ginger, Pistachio and Almond Biscotti

aoifenica — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:43:43 +0000

I got the recipe for this biscotti at a Pink Ginger class I did before Christmas. I got a huge craving for pistachios during the week so I decided to make up a batch of the biscotti. The ginger adds a lovely kick to the recipe as well as giving a nice contrast to the crunch of the nuts!

I’ve found a similar recipe from Mango & Tomato, it doesn’t have almonds in it, but you can add them in (substitute a fifth of the pistachios for almonds) and I chopped the ginger quite coarsely rather than finely!

They keep for a decent amount of time in an airtight container so the batch goes a long way towards tea breaks for the rest of the week!

Chocolate and Ginger Tarts

aoifenica — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:58:37 +0000

I got Edd Kimber’s book Say It With Cake for Christmas and the first recipe I attempted was the Chocolate and Ginger Tarts. The pastry itself was a bit different, Edd uses some ground almonds and the seeds from a vanilla pod. The recipe actually called for a muffin tin, but I had to use my bun tin, so mine are a bit smaller than they should be.

You bake the pastry blind, then when cool you place some stem ginger in the base of the pastry cases. The cases are then filled with a chocolate ganache.

I brought the finished product into work the next morning and they disappeared rapidly, so I’d say they were fairly successful!

Orange Sugar Cookies

aoifenica — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:17:14 +0000

I’d seen a recipe for Orange Sugar Cookies on Movita Beaucoup’s blog. It was on my list of things to bake over Christmas but on the general mayhem surrounding the holidays I didn’t get a chance!

I baked them last night and was delighted with the results!

The recipe made around thirty delicious cookies. They’ve kept we’ll over night too, I’ve brought them into work with me this morning!

Finished Christmas Cake

aoifenica — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:21:03 +0000

I have a bit of a blog backlog (guilty face). As a result, in mid February, I am now uploading a picture of my finished Christmas cake (even guiltier face).

I used the Santa and the reindeer I’d made in previous posts. I also made a Christmas tree, just to really crowd out top of my 6 inch round cake!

I had used a Classic Christmas Cake recipe from Mary Berry. I made my own marzipan and iced it with fondant icing. The cake didn’t last very long once we cut into it! I think I’ll have to make a bigger one next year, maybe I can fit a snowman on too…

Grandad’s 70th Birthday Cake

aoifenica — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:22:37 +0000

Finally getting around to uploading pictures of my Grandad’s 70th birthday cake! The cake itself was a 12 inch chocolate biscuit cake. I iced it with green fondant icing and made some little flowers out of yellow and pink flowers.

I used a Goodall writing icing tube to write the message, but I cut the tube too wide so the writing wasn’t as clean as I would have liked it.

Still the my Grandad and family all loved the cake and the two dogs now have pride of place in the cabinet in my Grandparents’ house!

Sugarpaste Dogs

aoifenica — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:00:16 +0000

I’m back after a bit of a Holiday Hiatus! My Grandad turned 70 on Monday and we’re having a dinner for him at the weekend. I offered to make the cake!

My grandparents have two Kerry Blue dogs and my Grandad walks them twice a day so I decided to attempt making two Kerry Blue dogs for the cake!

I’ll be making a chocolate biscuit cake tomorrow. I’ll post a picture when the whole thing is iced!

Gingerbread Cupcakes – Hummingbird Bakery

aoifenica — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 14:11:10 +0000

I decided to use the Hummingbird Bakery’s Cake Days cookbook to inject a bit of festive cheer! The other recipes I’ve tried so far have all been really successful – Sticky Toffee Cupcakes, Chocolate Guinness Cake, Red Velvet Cupcakes, Marbled Cupcakes and Caramel Cupcakes. I decided given the impending festive season I needed to Christmas up my life a bit! I found a recipe for Gingerbread Cupcakes in the book and decided to test run it! Here’s how I got on!

Gingerbread Cupcakes! Yum!

The apartment began to smell really Christmas-y when these were baking! A definite creator of Christmas cheer! I have step by step photos and a link to the recipe after the cut!

The recipe for the Hummingbird Bakery Caramel Cupcakes can be found here!

Caramel Cupcakes – Hummingbird Bakery

aoifenica — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:51:47 +0000

The Hummingbird Bakery’s Cake Days cookbook is becoming a firm favourite on the oul’ cookbook shelf! I’ve tried a good few things from it so far – Sticky Toffee Cupcakes, Chocolate Guinness Cake, Red Velvet Cupcakes and Marbled Cupcakes. On the back of my previous successes I decided to give their Caramel Cupcakes a try… Here’s how I got on!

Caramel Cupcakes! Yum!

I brought seventeen of these into work and everyone really liked them! I have step by step photos and a link to the recipe after the cut!

The recipe for the Hummingbird Bakery Caramel Cupcakes can be found here!

Marbled Cupcakes – Hummingbird Bakery

aoifenica — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:43:49 +0000

I have Hummingbird Bakery’s Cake Days cookbook and I’m becoming a huge fan of the book, I’ve tried a few things from it so far – Sticky Toffee Cupcakes, Chocolate Guinness Cake and Red Velvet Cupcakes. I decided to give their Marbled Cupcakes a go next… Here’s how I got on!

Marbled Cupcakes! Yum!

These were brought into work and went down a storm so I’d highly recommend them! I have step by step photos and a link to the recipe after the cut!

The recipe for the Hummingbird Bakery Marbled Cupcakes can be found here!

Red Velvet Cupcakes – Hummingbird Bakery

aoifenica — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 23:19:05 +0000

I got the Hummingbird Bakery’s Cake Days cookbook a while back, I’ve tried a few things from it so far – the Sticky Toffee Cupcakes and the Chocolate Guinness Cake. I decided to try their Red Velvet Cupcakes after I finished my exams today… Here’s how I got on!

Red Velvet Cupcakes! Yum!

I’m bringing them into work tomorrow so hopefully they taste as good as they look! I have step by step photos after the cut!

The recipe for the Hummingbird Bakery Red Velvet Cupcakes can be found here!