A Sweet Treat | Mini Vanilla Bites

A Sweet Treat | Mini Vanilla Bites

Hey, hope all is well,

Image of my Mini Vanilla Bites

A few days ago I made some cakes, which I call my 'mini vanilla bites' and I thought it to be a good idea to share it for all to see. I will be posting images and some quick short instructions to make it as simple as possible, as even though these cakes took me around two to three hours due to complications with the cake as I initially intended these to be cake pops, however the cakes tore in the silicon mold and wouldn't stay put with the sticks, I decided to turn them into my own creation being my mini vanilla bites. 

Ingredients and equipment:

To start, as I did but with the intention that the cakes would become cake pops, you will need a cake pop mould in order to achieve the small round shape of the cakes, one which I recieved as a gift years ago and decided it was time to use it. 

     Secondly you will need to have a cake recipe to follow. I have cake recipe cards which are perfect, but you can find multiple cake recipes in books or online, such as on the BBC Good Food website which I often go to for recipes which I then modify to my desired needs. The cake recipe mustn't be anything too difficult, as you will need to make sure they mold to the cake pop mold, so I went for a simple vanilla fairy cake recipe which doesn't require too many ingredients and so is cheaper to make. This recipe makes 20 mini cakes, however because I was experimenting, I ended up with a two extra cakes, so be sure to scale up or down to the right number. Unfortunately, I don't have to amount for the icing as I experimented with the portions as all recipes were too much for the small cakes, but roughly only 100g because the cakes are so small.

To conclude, you will need:

Cake pop mold or small cake tin

Large mixing bowl

Spoon

Sieve

2 Egg

150g butter/margarine for the cake

150g self raising flour

150g Caster sugar (be sure to use this instead of granulated sugar, as when granulated sugar heats, it clumps together and makes the texture of the cake gritty due to its larger size compared to caster sugar which is finer)

1 1/2 cap (the lid from the vanilla extract bottle) of vanilla extract

Butter/margarine for the icing

Decorations, such as 100's and 1000's and icing pens like I used.

Method:

1) Firstly preheat the oven to 180 degrees-for the vanilla fairy cake recipe I have given above- and make the cake mix, add butter/margarine, caster sugar and beat in the bowl until smooth. Beat the egg/s in a bow/jug until bubbles of air are on the surface-this lets you know air has been beaten into the egg so it will help the cake rise properly into the molds.

2) Using the sieve to avoid lumps of flour in the cake when it's finished, sieve the flour and add the egg and mix until smooth without lumps. Add vanilla extract, bearing in mind to stick to the recipe as too little vanilla extract wont be able to hide the eggy taste of the cake, and too much will make it overpowering and sharp on your throat when you eat the cake.

3) Greece the cake mold/tin with butter/margarine and spoon the cake mixture into each mould making sure to fill it level with the top of the individual cake moulds. If using a cake pop mold like I did, connect the base with the cake mixture to the top mold carefully, and then place on to a tray before putting into the oven as the silicon mold will bend and spill the cake mixture without a tray to support it. Now be sure to only open the oven when you're sure the cake is near or is finished, as this will allow the heat to escape which will effect the cakes' ability to rise like it should into the molds, and may result in flat, deflated cakes. Just follow the instructions and all should be fine. 

4) Whilst the cakes are cooking, make the icing. For mine I used buttercream icing which I would recommend as it's thicker and wont run off the round sides of the cakes like normal icing which concisest of water and icing sugar. Add the better/margarine and sieve the icing sugar to make the icing lump-free. Mix until smooth and creamy, and ensure that the icing does indeed taste like a mix of both icing sugar, with a hint of butter flavour. Icing that tastes solely of butter needs more icing sugar to ensure it's sweet, creamy taste. 

5)Once the cakes are cooked, remove from the oven. After leaving to cool for a while, carefully remove the top cake mold and check the cakes are risen properly by pressing the cakes gently in the middle, if they spring back after pressing them down, they're cooked and risen properly. 

Carefully remove the cake bites from the molds and leave to cool o a wire rack. Once cooled decorate the cakes with icing and decorations, such as 100's and 1000's like I did. To note: be sure the cakes are completely cool as any heat will melt the icing and this will make it run off the cake. 

Leave the cakes on a plate and place in the fridge to ensure the icing sets. Once set, take out and enjoy :)   

I ca,e about this idea of my own, my Mini Vanilla Bites, as i initially intended to create cake pops, which failed massively, so I turned it into a new recipe of my own and they looked cute and tasted delicious, I shall have to make them again. 

Hope this was helpful and thank you for reading,

    

Yours truly,

Caris

A Must Make Dessert | Delicious Fruit Crumble

A Must Make Dessert | Delicious Fruit Crumble

Another recipe for you to try is my Delicious Fruit Crumble recipe. This recipe is perfect to make for big meals and serves as many people as it can. It is especially good to serve in the colder months because this is a warm dessert and can be served with Custard, Double or Whipped cream. However you can serev this dessert whenever you want. It's your choice. I made this recipe in school and I have modified it to serve my own liking.

Just follow these steps and you will have the perfect dessert; the Delicious Fruit Crumble. This recipe can be modified to contain different ingredients such as the fruits included in it, if that suits you better or is all you currently have to add to the crumble.

Delicious Fruit Crumble

Ingredients and Equipment:

• 450g of fruit-Cooking Apples & Sultanas/ Cooking Apples/ Cooking Apples & Pears/ Rhubarb/ Mixed Berries (i.e. Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries) etc. (you can opt for many varieties of fruits as you like)
• 175g Plain Flour
• 75g Margarine/ Butter
• 125g Caster Sugar
• Large Oven-Proof Cooking dish- Glass/ China (must be oven-proof)
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Wooden Spoon
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Peeler

 Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 190 Degrees Celsius or gas mark 5.
2. To make the crumble, place Margarine/Butter into mixing bowl and add the flour. Rub the flour and margarine/butter between fingertips until the ingredients come together to resemble breadcrumbs (small lumps). If these lumps are very large, shake the bowl back and fourth on the surface to bring all the heavy lumps to the surface and crumble them until they are small. Add half the sugar and stir gently with wooden spoon so as to not break up the lumps. Be sure sugar is mixed in and not gathered on the surface to ensure all the mixture is correctly flavoured. 
3. Wash fruit (if needed) and peel Fruit and slice. If the Fruit is large slice into small squares about a thumbs width wide. If the Fruit is unevenly cut, the fruit will not cook evenly leaving some pieces raw and other extremely soft.  
4. Once fruit is chopped, place evenly into baking dish being sure that all Fruit is even and not clustered. Take the remaining Sugar and sprinkle over the Fruit.
5. Sprinkle the crumble over the fruit in the dish until all fruit is covered. Place into oven for 35-40 minutes until the crumble looked golden brown. Be sure not to over cook the crumble as the sugar inside the crumble mixture will caramelise and burn, which is especially hard to correct as the sugar is melted and mixed into the crumble. Using oven gloves, remove cooked crumble and serve.
6. If you would like to add custard make up the custard whilst the crumble is cooking.
7. Once crumble is served you can add the topping and enjoy your Delicious Fruit Crumble.

A simple, detailed recipe for you to use. Fruit crumble is a perfect family or group dessert due to its large serving numbers and how filling it can be. If you would like to go for a healthier alternative for a topping that's is sugar free, why not try a good quality brand of Natural Yogurt added on top.

Enjoy the recipe for now :) More recipes will be on the way and if there are any requests for recipes, that can be solved easily :) You can check out my other recipes on the main page like my previously posted Rock Buns recipe- A Must Know Recipe You'll Love: Rock Buns .

Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoyed this recipe and found it useful!

Yours truly,

x Chatty Blonde x

A Must Know Recipe You'll Love | Rock Buns

A Must Know Recipe You'll Love | Rock Buns  

Hello! It has been some time since I have posted here however looks like I am again :) Life can be hectic can't it? I know that's true for me, especially with the way my education at college had been this past year just hectic! 

That is why I am posting this lovely recipe of mine acquired from the years of GCSE Food Technology I participated in in Secondary School. In my previous post I mentioned which can be seen here :Did I Ever Tell You I Took Food Technology? No? that I would be posting these recipes up for you which are modified by me to the way I like to cook them; now being shared with you!

Let's get started!

Rock Buns

(Serves 8)

Ingredients and equipment:

• 200g Self-Raising Flour
• Pinch of salt (optional)
• 100g Caster Sugar
• 50g Currants/ Raisins/ Mixed fruit/ Chocolate chips (anything you want basically :) )
• 1 Medium Egg
• 1/4 Medium Cup of Milk
• 50g Margarine/ Butter
• Baking Paper
• Scissors
• Large Mixing Bowl and Mixing Spoon
• Jug and Sieve
• Baking Tray

Method:

Delicious Rock Buns
 -(http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/pictures/28038/what
-to-bake-for-a-school-fete/16)

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius or Gas mark 7. Cut baking paper to fit baking try and  line with baking paper. If you want take a small amount of cooking oil and place to surface of the baking try to allow the baking paper to stick in place.
2. Sieve flour and salt into mixing bowl and rub Margarine/Butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles bread crumbs (small lumps). If these lumps are very large, shake the bowl back and fourth on the surface to bring all the heavy lumps to the surface and crumble them until they are small.
3. Once crumbles and mixed, gentle but thoroughly stir in sugar and currants using mixing spoon. Be sure all currants and sugar are thoroughly mixed in to ensure each Rock Bun has the correct amount of currants and flavour when cooked.
4. Beat the egg in the jug using a folk. When the egg is correctly beaten, it will have many bubbles on the surface Once beaten, add the egg to the mixture in the mixing bowl and mix thoroughly until the mixture resembles a thick paste. If mixture becomes too thick and cannot be moved, add milk a little at a time, stirring it in between intervals.
5. Using a table spoon, scoop up a heaped spoonful of the mixture and place each spoonful onto baking tray. Be sure to leave a thumb sized space between each bun. Even out the heaps until all the mixture is used up. Place into oven at 220 degrees/gas mark 7 and cook for 15 minutes until golden brown. Once you think the Rock buns are cooked, remove from oven and test the centre to see if they're cooked using a knife. Gently and slowly push the knife through the bun, remove and if the knife is clean with no mixture on it  your Rock buns are cooked and ready to eat!
6. Remove buns from tray and leave to cool. Once cool enjoy! If you like, add a sprinkle of caster sugar to the tops of the buns for extra flavour.

There you have it, a simple, detailed Rock Bun recipe. More recipes will be posted up soon but for now thank you for visiting and enjoy creating these delicious buns! Comments and images about the result of this recipe would be appreciated below so I can see how everyone is doing with the recipe :)

Yours truly,
Caris