Fold in the Flour ...

When it comes to cakes in this house, nothing is as popular as gooey, fudgy, chocolate contained in a bite (or two) sized piece of heaven. These chocolate brownies are a firm favourite with the boys and have even been known to make an appearance at my employer's annual coffee morning in aid of MacMillan. They are the perfect treat with a creamy cappuccino. Ingredients: 185g unsalted butter 185g 70% dark chocolate (I used Green and Black's Cook's Chocolate) 85g plain (all purpose) flour 40g cocoa powder (I used Waitrose - I'm not sure if this is dutch processed but I suspect so) 50g plain chocolate (I used Cadbury's Bourneville) 50g milk chocolate (I used Cadbury's Dairy Milk) 3 large eggs 275g golden caster sugar First, preheat the oven to 160 fan / 180 conventional / gas 4. Prepare a 20cm square cake tin - I use a Silverwood loose bottomed tin, and I find I only need to line the base (which I do using Lakeland reusable baking liner). I

I've never made a Christmas cake before. It's one of those things that has always seemed easier to buy ready made, rather than have to buy lots of separate ingredients, and then invest time in the preparation and cooking, with leftover packets lurking on the shelves for months to come. Given that although I love fruitcake, I am the only one in the house to do so, it's always been a faff too far. This year though, I was tempted by the Mary Berry cake kit in Tesco. Particularly as it was then half price at £5 (since reduced even further - I've now seen it at £1!). Today I finally got to the baking stage. Now the first thing to say is that I have since found a number of posts on the web that refer to this cake - with mixed reactions. One particular discussion on netmums became pretty heated! Anyway, I thought it might be helpful to record my experience.  The kit comes with most of the ingredients included, and you just have to supplement it with some fr

Who doesn't like cake? No one I know, that's for sure! Starting a blog is a bit of a daunting prospect. But as I've had so much enjoyment reading other baking blogs, and have discovered so many new recipes and tips, I thought I'd give it a go. I've always loved cooking and although I've always baked the odd cake / batch of cookies, it's really only in the last year that I've become really passionate about it. There is something about the preparation, mixing and the smell of home baking coming from your oven. The important bit though, is the sharing with family and friends something that is hopefully pleasurable and brings enjoyment. It's often said by others, too, but it really does take me back to my childhood, in the kitchen with my mum and nan, and some very fond memories. At this time of year we'd often do traditional festive baking. It's now me in thefamily who is the primary baker. So as I started planning some of my own this y