Red Velvet Cake (My Mum's birthday cake special)

For my Mum's birthday, she asked me to bake her one of her favourite cakes...and how could I say no to the person that gave birth to me and taught me how to bake? XD
So, here is the recipe I used to make my Mummy's dream cake. To make sure it was as perfect as possible, I took influence from the Hummingbord Bakery's famous recipe.


You will need;

• 120g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 300g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 20g cocoa powder
• 20ml red food colouring (we recommend Dr. Oetker's or a paste colouring as red food colourings vary in strength)
• 2tsp vanilla extract
• 240ml buttermilk
• 250g plain flour
• 1tsp salt
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1tsp white wine vinegar

And for the cream cheese frosting, you will need;

• 450g icing sugar, sifted
• 100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 125g cream cheese, cold mascapone

Now to get baking...the fun, messy part ^^

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3
2. Put the butter and the sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a thick, dark paste. Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until evenly combined and coloured (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Turn the mixer down to slow speed and slowly pour in half the buttermilk. Beat until well mixed, then add half the flour, and beat until everything is well incorporated. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk and flour have been added. Scrape down the side of the bowl again. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until you have a smooth, even mixture. Turn the mixer down to low speed and add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Beat until well mixed, then turn up the speed again and beat for a couple more minutes
4. Pour the mixture into two cake tinsand bake for 20–25 mins, or until the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
5. For the cream cheese frosting: Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 mins. Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny.
6. When the cakes are nice and cool, get frosting! 

 And there you have it! Hope it turned out well for you :)

Until next time,
Adieu For Now <3 (And Happy Birthday Mummy ^.^)

The magical "goes-with-everything" sauce/stew

I call this stew the 'magical-goes-with-everything' stew/sauce, because that is what it does...I goes with everything from pasta, rice, potatoes...veg...anything!

This was one fo the first things I learned to make, when I was 7 years old. It is like a Ghanaian secret, which I will share with you so...Shhhhh!! ^^ It is like a tomatoe sauce or stew that can be the base of so many recipes and I will show you in later posts, when I refer to this one. It is incredibly easy and anyone can make it.

So, lets get started ^^

You will need;

Chopped tomatoes

Garlic

Ginger

Scotch Bonnet chillies (optional)

Fresh basil

1 Onion (Normal cooking onions or a handfull of Shallots)

Tomatoe puree
Olive oil (for cooking not virgin)

Salt
Maggie sauce
Aromat all-purpose seasoning

1. Pour 5 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan and leave to heat.
2. Whilst the oil is warming, chop the onions, garlic and chilli, if you want to hot, and grate some ginger. Once the oil is hot, pour in all of these ingredients and fry until slightly golden brown.
3. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and leave to simmer for a few minutes.
4. Once it is bubbling, add a few drops of the Maggie sauce a few pinches of salt and the Aromat seasoning. Stir and leave to simmer for a futher 10 minutes on low heat.
5. Add some of the tomatoe puree. This will thicken the sauce. Leave for a further 10 minutes.
6. Chop 6 leaves of fresh basil and add to the sauce.
   
7. Stir and leave to set for a few minutes,

And there you have it! My magical, family-inspired sauce, stew that can go with literally anything. You add it to pasta to make a sauce of that or rice and potatoes. Anything filled with carbby-goodness, will go well with this.

I hope you enjoy ^^

Adieu For Now <3

Victoria Sponge

Victoria sponge... a vision, a classic...the starting place for any wanna-be pastry chef, in my opinion. I really love the simplicity, yet beauty that can be found in such a sponge. It really goes to show, don't judge a cake by it's ingredients.

So, let's get started on one of my favourite cakes to make when I'm looking for a pick-me-up or something simple and sweet with my cup of tea ^^

For the lovely cake sandwiches, you will need;

• knob of unsalted butter, melted
• 225g/8oz unsalted butter, just softened
• 225g/8oz caster sugar
• 4 large free-range eggs
• 225g/8oz self-raising flour, sifted (you may need a bit extra)
  
  
  (And don't forget 2 cake tins)
  

For the filling, you will need; 

• 6 tbsp good-quality strawberry jam
• 300ml/10½ fl oz double cream, lightly whipped

And when you have everything ready, let's get started ^^

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
   
   
2. Gently heat the knob of butter in a pan and brush two 6in-7in/15cm-17.5cm cake tins with the melted butter. Line the bottom of the two cake tins with a circle of greaseproof paper.
   
   
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, using an electric whisk or a wooden spoon. Beat well to get lots of air into the mixture (this should take a couple of minutes).
   
   
   
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add a tablespoon if the mixture becomes too runny.
   
   
5. Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon. Be careful not to over-mix it.
   
   
   
6. Pour the mixture equally between the two cake tins and level off the top with a spatula. Make a slight dip in the centre with the tip of the spatula if you don't want them to be pointed in the middle.
   
   
7. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cakes spring back when pressed gently with a finger and are pale golden in colour.
   
   
8. Remove from the oven and take them out of the tins after about 5-10 minutes. Place them on a wire rack to cool completely (for about half an hour).
   
   
9. Spread the sponge with the jam and the whipped cream, then carefully sandwich together.
   
   
10. Dust with icing sugar and serve. I always like to have it with a lovely splash of vanilla custurd or ice-cream. And a cup of tea, of course ^^
    To make it look extra sweet and pretty, get some whipped cream and squirt 6 little or 8 bursts around the cake. Chop some strawberries into halfs and place ontop of the cream. Remember, it is also all about presentation ^^
    
    Adieu For Now <3
    

Tart Amalz

This recipe is not for the sugar-phobics out there. It is like a sweet, apple-y heaven ^^ 

I decided to make this or start creating and inventing my own version of a Tart Tatin because I never really liekd apple-based desserts, like Apple Crumble and Apple Pie. The apples were either bland, flavourless, too tart or just boring. As they say, if you want something done right, do it yourself...and add a ton of sugar ^^

So, I give you my Tart Amalz -  my take on a Tart Tatin.

For the gorgeous appley filling, you will need;

• 6 dessert apples or 6 Cox or 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin wedges
• 3 tablespoons of Honey
• 3 tablespoons of Vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons of Maple Syrup
• 3 teaspoons of Cinnamon
• 200g Dark brown sugar 
• Half a Lemon

For the pastry, you will need;

• 320g/11oz plain flour
• 225g/8oz ice-cold butter
• 110g/4oz icing sugar
• 3 free-range egg yolks
• (Or Jus-Rol All Butter Puff Sheets if you cant be bothered ^^)

Once you have all you ingredients ready, we are all set to get going ^^

1. Preheat the oven to 250C/500F/Gas 9.
   
   
2. First, make the pastry. In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, mix the flour, butter and icing sugar just until they resemble breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and mix until it comes together in a dough.
   
   
3. Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and divide into two pieces. Wrap in clingfilm and put in the freezer to chill for at least an hour.
   ( If you like the lazy option, like me, you can buy ready frozen and mixed pastry packs. I always love to use Jus-Rol All Butter Puff Sheets)For the filling, place the apple wedges in a bowl, squeeze the lemon juice over them and toss them gently)
   
   
4. For the filling, place the apple wedges in an oven dish, squeeze the lemon juice over them and toss them gently.
   
   
5. Add the honey, some of the sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and cinnamon to the apples and mix well.
   
   
6. Place the pan in the oven and bake until the apples have softened a bit and started to release some liquid - about 10 minutes. Keep checking on the apples at 10 to 15 mintues intervals and stirr the apples, until they become somewhat transparent.
   
   
7. Take the frozen pastry out of the freezer and place in a pie tin. Once the patry is slightly softer, mold it to the shape of the pan and then place it back into the freezer, until the apples are ready. Once they are, place the apples in the pan and put in the oven until the pastry is golden brown, so for about 20/30 minutes.
   
   Once it is all done, take it out of the oven and serve with some vanilla ice-cream.
   
   And there you have it! My Tart Amlaz with Vanilla Ice-cream. If you have any think you would like to ask about the recipe, please leave a comment below. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy ^^
   
   
   Adieu For Now <3
   

Welcome, Food Fans!!

Hello there! And welcome to another arm of the Miaverse ^^

In this blog, I shall be sharing some of my favourite recipes :) Some I have created myself, some passed down from my family and some I just love and have to share. Also, there will be a few cocktail concuctions for you to try here and there ^^

I have a lot of great things to show and share with you, so please come along and enjoy :)


Adieu For Now <3