Strawberry Cream Cake

It’s BIRTHDAY season! September is a busy month for my family. We have SIX birthdays between Juho’s and my family and it is busybusybusy. This weekend we had family over for some cake and small bites and I was quite excited for the chance to bake again.

As you can observe, it’s been awhile since my last post. Cough cough. But I have been inspired to start baking again and what better occasion to start than a birthday party!

I am in love with Strawberry Cream Cakes. It was love at first bite and I have my husband to thank for that. The first strawberry cream cake I ate was baked by my mother-in-law and it was out of this world. I loved it so much but I had never attempted to make one myself. So this weekend I decided to make my very first Strawberry Cream Cake.

 

I was quite nervous because I hadn’t baked in such a looooong time but I was so pleased at how it turned out. It was incredibly moist, the perfect amount of sweet and I was getting nervous because the cake seemed to be disappearing too fast! It is also the simplest thing to make, I don’t know why I had never made one before.

So this is what you will need:

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

3 Cups Granulated Sugar
340g Butter, softened
6 Eggs
6 tsp Vanilla Extract
6 tsp Baking Powder
3/8 tsp Salt
4 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Butter Milk (1 cup milk + 1 tsp vinegar = 1 cup buttermilk)

1 large tin of peach halves

Strawberry jam

Strawberries

500 ml of Whipping Cream

Instructions:

For the Cake:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F / 175 C / Gas Mark 4. Butter your cake pan (13x9”) 
2. Cream together the sugar and butter with an electric mixture, for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla and cream together for another 5 minutes, until you get a smooth mixture.
4. With the speed on slow, add the dry ingredients (baking powder, salt, flour) and slowly add the milk and mix everything to combine. Do not overmix!
5. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth evenly.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes and let cool for about 30 minutes before coating with topping.
7. Repeat the above procedure to get two rectangular slabs of cake.

For the Filling/Topping:

1. Slice the peach halves into thin slices.
2. Hull the strawberries, wash well and slice in half.
3. Warm the strawberry jam for a few seconds in the microwave to get a slightly runny consistency.
4. Whip the cream with a little sugar.

Cake Assembly:

1. Moisten the foundation layer of the cake by sprinkling it with a sugar-water mixture.
2. Apply the strawberry jam on the bottom layer of the cake.
3. Cover with peach slices and gently place the next layer of the cake.
4. Once again, moisten the cake layer.
5. Cover the cake with whipped cream and decorate with strawberries as you please.

 

It was a lovely evening with family and a wonderful way to start a brand new year of life! I've also been inspired to bake again so hopefully you will be seeing more recipes in the near future *wink wink*

Have a lovely week ya'll!

Vanilla Sponge Cake With Crumble Topping

Today is Sri Lanka's Independance day so...

HAPPY INDEPENDANCE DAY, my beautiful Sri Lanka!

And with that being said, I've been baking! Two of my childhood school friends were coming over for a slumber party. Yes, I am a grown, married woman who has slumber parties and they are awesomeee. Nothing like catching up with friends you have grown up with and laughing 'till your stomach hurts.

So they deserved some good ol' baking love and I decided to make a Vanilla Sponge Cake with Crumble Topping.

I got this recipe for Sponge cake awhile back and it has never failed me. It is soooo soft and spongy and light! And amongst the 3 girls we gobbled down the whole cake overnight. *burp*

So here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

1 Cup Granulated Sugar
113g Butter, softened
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Salt
1 1/3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Butter Milk (1 cup milk + 1 tsp vinegar = 1 cup buttermilk)

For the Crumble Topping:

1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1 tbs All Purpose Flour
1 tbs Butter
A pinch of Ground Cinnamon

Instructions:

For the Cake:

 1. Preheat oven to 350 F / 175 C. Butter your cake pan (9")

2. Cream together the sugar and butter with an electric mixture, for about 4 minutes.

3. Add the eggs and vanilla and cream together for another 4 minutes, until you get a smooth mixture.

4. With the speed on slow, add the dry ingredients (baking powder, salt, flour) and slowly add the milk and mix everything to combine. Do not overmix!

5. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth evenly

6. Bake for 30-35 minutes and let cool for about 30 minutes before coating with topping.

For the Crumble Topping: 

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon

2. Cut in the butter and mix until you get a crumbly texture.

3. Sprinkle over the cake 

And voila! So simple, so easy and SO YUMMY.

Go and try it nowwww! And have a good night ya'll!

Love,
K

Peanut Butter Frosted Cake Brownies

Good Morning Peeps!

I had a free few minutes at work and I thought 'Hey! Why not post a recipe as you have not posted once in the last few hundred years? Now how about that!'

And I went back to my folder of 'Recipes to Post'. Yes, I have such a thing and it is full to the brim. Clearly goes to show how often I post things. I am such a terrible blogger. But according to my 'Goals For January' I'm much more motivated to have new posts coming in through the month!

So this one is for all you Peanut Butter lovers. I am particularly against Peanut Butter. I used to love it when I was younger but for some reason over the last two years I have started feeling very nauseous for the smell of peanut butter. And so I have great hesitations using it for baking because most of the time I can never truly enjoy it. But it was our Youth Christmas Party in Finland and I felt like I needed to make something different. And thus, the Peanut Frosted Cake Brownies. And irregardless of my distaste for Peanut Butter...these turned out great!

Ingredients

For the Cake Brownie:

¼ cup of Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature
100 g of Chocolate, melted either in a microwave or over a double boiler
¾ cups of Sugar
1 Tbs sour cream
2 Eggs
2 Tsp of Vanilla Extract
1 Tsp of Instant Coffee Powder
3 Tbsp of Whole Milk, lukewarm
1/2 cup of All Purpose Flour
½ tsp of Baking Powder
¼ tsp of Salt

For the Peanut Butter Frosting:

113g butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup confectioner's sugar
3 Tbsp milk (or as needed)

 Instructions

For the Cake Brownie:

1. Preheat your oven to 175C/ 350F, lay the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper and set aside. 

 2. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, instant cofee powder, salt and baking powder and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and sour cream.

4. Add the eggs, vanilla and milk and mix together well.

5. Add the melted chocolate and beat until the mixture is thick and creamy.
 
6. Add the dry ingredients and mix them in until they are well blended.
 
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake it for 30 minutes.

8. Cool completely before cutting.  

For the Peanut Butter Frosting:

1. Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer. 

2. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. 

3. Beat for at least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy.

And then you can frost it however you please! I decided to add a little wintery decor to match the snowstorm outside. Also, it's worth mentioning that these brownies are super nice because they are sort of cakey and sort of brownie - for those that like a little bit of everything ;)

Hope you have fun trying these out, because I tell you, from someone who does not like Peanut Butter...I LOVED these!

Have a blessed day,
K

Extra Chewy Coconut Brownies

Extra Chewy! Extra Coconut! Extra Yummy!

So I was back home - SRI LANKA!! And I did some baking for some friends and family and here is one of the yummy recipes that they got to enjoy!

I am a big fan of brownies and coconut (probably 'cos I'm Sri Lankan!) and today's delight is the Extra Chewy Coconut Brownie! Why extra chewy, you may ask? Because it is!! So here we go!

Ingredients:


For Brownie:

• 3/4 cup (180g) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
  
  For Topping:
   
  
• Chocolate 
• A few tablespoons of milk
• Desicated coconut

Instructions:

For Brownie:

1. Preheat your oven to 162C / 325F
2. Melt the butter
3. Mix sugar and cocoa in a heat-proof bowl
4. Add the butter to the sugar- cocoa mixture & mix well
5. Add the vanilla extract & salt
6. Add 2 eggs, one at a time and mixing well
7. Add flour and mix well
8. Transfer to a 9x13 dish
9. Bake for about 35 min and allow to cool

 

For Topping:

1. Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate
2. If too thick, add a few tablespoons of milk until you acheive desired consistency
   
3. Spread evenly over the brownie and dust the top with desicated coconut flakes
   
   
   
   Ah these are so good! You CANNOT not try them ;) Have a lovely dovely day!
   
   
   Love,
   Keshi

Blueberry Velvet Cake

Smooth as Velvet...

GWEEEE. So my parents are here visiting us from Sri Lanka! How excited am I! And that obviously called for some sort of celebratory cake, does it not?!

 Thus, the Blueberry Velvet Cake. Voila. I needn't say more!

 Ingredients

Cake:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 120g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk (1 cup of milk + 1 tbs vinegar)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries
• Blue Food Coloring

Frosting:

• 120g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 200g cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 175 C/350 F.
2. Grease two 9″ cake pans with butter. Line with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
4. In another bowl, beat the butter until light and creamy, about a minute.
5. Slowly add the sugar, and cream until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
6. Add the eggs one at a time, being sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding the next.
7. Add the vanilla, and fully incorporate.
8. Add the blue food coloring as you like. My cake turned out more green than blue! Nevertheless, how much you put is entirely upto you and in fact, you can leave it out all together. 
9. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the addition of buttermilk. Mix well after addition of each. (NOTE: As it is a velvet cake, make sure to sieve the flour mixture when adding it)
10. Mix in the blueberries gently with a spatula.
11. Divide the batter between the 2 cake pans. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
12. Let the cake completely cool before frosting.

Frosting:

1. Beat the butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the confectioner's sugar slowly and fully incorporate.
3. Add the vanilla and fully incorporate. 
   
   
   

Assembly

1. Cut the top of the cakes to level the tops. You want them to be as flat as possible.
2. Use a little less than half of the frosting in between the layers.
3. Place the other cake on top. Frost the entire cake and enjoy!
   
   
   
   
   
    And that is THAT. Have a lovely Saturday :)
   
   
   Love,
   Keshi

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

We Love Cookie Dough!

Yes, I know we are horrible people :( it's been nearly a MONTH since our last post! GASP. Our deepest apologies.  I should explain why no posts have been made.

1. I've been lazy.
2. I've been on a sweets diet (which lasted about 5 days)
3. I've been lazy.

BUT I am here to make up for my laziness and deception of a diet with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies. This recipe will definitely make up for my losses! When I first made it, I was slightly skeptical. But it actually turned out quite well and yesterday Juho & I were super busy making lots of goodies 'cos 2 of our friends were coming over for dinner and these little delightful brownies were a great way to end the lovely evening. So without wasting anymore time...

Ingredients

For the brownies:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 200g dark chocolate, chopped
• 160g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1 cup sugar (brown sugar would be best!)
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tsp vanilla

For cookie dough:

• 240g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1½ cup sugar (brown sugar would be best!)
• 4 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

For chocolate glaze:

• 200g dark chocolate, chopped
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 175 C / 350 F.  Line the bottom and sides of an 13x9-inch pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to hang over the sides to easily lift out the brownies!

For the Brownies

1. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.  Set aside.

2. In a double boiler or a heatproof pan set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter together.  Stir until smooth and remove from heat.

3. Whisk in the sugar until it is dissolved and the mixture has cooled slightly.

4. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. (It's important to stir really fast and well so that the eggs do not curdled when added to the warm mixture)

5. Using a large rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until just incorporated.

6. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.




For the Cookie Dough

1. Beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.

2. Add in the milk and vanilla, mixing until incorporated.

3. Add the flour and salt and stir until incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

 
4. Gently spread the dough onto the cooled brownies, smoothing the top into an even layer. Refrigerate while the glaze is prepared.

For the Glaze

1. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler over low heat.  Stir until smooth.

2. Pour over the cookie dough and carefully spread into a thin, even layer.  Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. 

These brownies went great with some home-made Choc Chip Mint Ice-Cream (Recipe coming soon!) I made! So have a go at it and enjoy is all I can say!

ALSO. Some super duper recipes are coming your way, for example, Juho's home.made Ginger Beer. Ahhh such awesomness in a glass! So good things are coming your way!

Have a brilliant day, all you lovelies!

Love,
Keshi

Cappuccino Brownie with White Chocolate Ganache Topping

The Fast Disappearing Cappuccino Brownie.

Greetings!

So I know it's been too long since our last post...but we have been super busy with Easter and then recovering from it. Excuses excuses!!

But to make up for it, here is a recipe which promises to leave you wanting for more. I'm someone who doesn't actually like to drink coffee, but I love to eat anything which tastes like it. Wierd? I know. But brownies are my absolute favourite! So add a hint of coffee flavour and it's simply divine! The best part is that it's extremely non-complicated to make and with that smooth white chocolate topping, it's just PERFECT! So here you go.....the Cappuccino Brownie with White Chocolate Ganache Topping

Ingredients

Cappuccino Brownie

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
100 g chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tbs instant espresso powder (or really strong coffee)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cups all-purpose flour

White Chocolate Ganache Topping

200g of white chocolate, chopped into small pieces
5 tbs heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder


Instructions

For the Cappuccino Brownie

1. Preheat oven to 160 C / 325 F
2. Stir the butter and the chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat.
3. Whisk in the sugar, and then eggs, 1 at a time.
4. Whisk in espresso powder, vanilla and salt
5. Sift in the flour and mix well.
6. Transfer to 9x13 pan and bake for about 35 min.

For the White Chocolate Ganache Topping

1. Bring the cream to simmer in a small saucepan
2. Pour the cream over the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl
3. Let it stand for 30 sec and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. If needed, put mixture in microwave for a few seconds to melt any unmelted chocolate.
4. Chill until topping is thick but still slight pourable (about 25 min)

To assemble:

1. Pour topping over centre of cooled brownies and spread it out to an even layer covering the brownies.
2. Sprinkle with some ground cinnamon.
3. Chill until topping is set (about 2 hours) and serve!

Have fun baking! And don't forget to be kind to someone today!

Love Keshi

Mint Choco Chip Cheesecake

MintChocoCheeseCake? Yes.

Good morning fellow bakers!

What a glorious morning it is, indeed! In fact, it's the perfect day to do some baking! Therefore, you must try this new recipe I found.

I just absolutely love mint and chocolate and cheesecake. And when you put them together, what do you get? Mint Choco Chip Cheesecake!! 

There really is nothing more to be said. You just need to try it because it was absolutely mouth-watering. The creamy cheesy taste infused with mint and that shot of chocolate. YUM.

Ingredients:

Base:

• 13 Domino Cookies
• 13 Mint Domino Cookies
• 5 tbs melted butter

Cheesecake

• 300g of cream cheese, softened
• 400 g condensed milk
• 3 eggs
• 2-3 tsp peppermint extract
• green food colouring
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 tsp flour

Topping

• 1/2 cup of chocolate pieces
•   2 tpsb milk

Instructions:

 Preheat oven to 148C/300 F 

For the Base:
 
1) Crush the cookies until they become small pieces 
2) Add the melted butter and continue to crush until they become moistened.
3) Place cookie crumbles in a spring-form pan and press tightly
 

For the Cheesecake:
 

1) Beat the softend cream cheese until it becomes light and fluffy
2) Add the condensed milk and mix until fully incorporated.
3) Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well.
4) Add the peppermint extract and green colouring and mix well.
5) In a small bowl, mix the chocolate chips with the flour.
6) Stir 1/2 cup of choco chips into the cheesecake mixture
7) Pour the mixture into the springform pan
8) Sprinkle the remaining choco chips on top of the cheesecake
9) Bake for 1 hour
10) Once done, immediately run a knife along the edge of the pan and do not remove the sides until completely cooled.

 

For the Topping:
1) Heat the chocolate pieces in microwave for 30 seconds until melted
2) Mix in the tbps of milk  
3) Drizzle on top of cheesecake and voila!
 

So that was pretty easy right? So go in to your kitchen and try this out! We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

Love,

Keshi 

Rocky Road Brownie Bars

Life's a Rocky Road, I know.

It's the weekend! Let us all take a minute to just think about how awesome that is.

Okay, minutes up.

Now, down to business. You need to try these. That's all I have to say. I mean, when one combines marshmallows and nuts and chocolate, one is left with something simply delicious and mouthwatering. So here you go, try these amazing Rocky Road Brownie Bars and one will NOT be disappointed!

Ingredients:
1 cup of Chocolate, chopped into small pieces

1 1/4 cups of All Purpose Flour

 2 Tbsp of Cocoa Powder

1 ½ tsp of Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
6 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

1 cup of Granulated Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp of Vanilla Extract

For the topping:
Mini Marshmallows

Chocolate Chips

Cashew Nuts (or any kind of nuts)

 

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 190 C/ 375 F. Line a 13x9inch baking pan with parchment paper.

2) Add 1 cup of Chocolate pieces in a small bowl and melt in the microwave and set aside.

3) In a small bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt and set aside.

4) In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar, add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add in the melted chocolate and beat until smooth.

5) Beat in the dry flour mixture and spread this mixture evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out slightly sticky.

6) Remove from the oven and sprinkle evenly with the marshmallows, chocolate chips and your choice of nuts. Return to oven for 2 minutes or until the marshmallows begin to melt.

7) Let them cool for about 30 minutes and cut into bars.

Yeap yeap yeap. Easy peasy. May the force be with you.

Over and out,

Keshi