Jammy Dodger Hearts

To continue with the Week of Cookies to celebrate Milis' one year blogoversary I'm sharing with you one of my most popular recipes!

Confession: my boyfriend berates me for naming these jammy dodgers as there's no buttercream in the filling. If you want to add in a dab of buttercream, be my guest- just let me know how it goes! ;) Personally, I think these are perfect just with jam!

These are a major crowd-pleaser and have a huge yield! The buttery crumb of the cookie is complimented brilliantly by the tang of strawberry jam! Bonus points, these are super easy to make!

These would be perfect for Valentine's Day, an anniversary or just to say 'I Love You' to someone special! 

I made them originally to celebrate my sister's engagement (very appropriate!) but if you don't have heart-shaped cookie cutters, a large glass and bottle cap would make equally pretty cookies. 

I kept the innards of my cookies (the tiny hearts) and served them in small bowls, they were yummy and great to pick on, sans jam! 

You will need:
1 cup of butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
2 tbsp light brown sugar
2 cups plain/cream/all-purpose flour
1 egg
1/2 jar of your favourite spreadable strawberry preserve

1. Preheat your oven to 176degrees Celcius.
2. Line two to three baking sheets with baking parchment.
3. In a stand-mixer, beat together butter, sugars and flour together until partially combined with the rest resembling a dusty-sand.
4. Add in the egg. Beat until combined.
5. Flour a counter top and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick.
6. Cut out shapes and transfer onto baking sheets. *I cut out the large hearts first, then counted them, and used the tiny heart cutter to cut the centre out of half of the batch.
7. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes (this prevents spreading in the oven).
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
9. Leave cool for ten minutes before transferring onto a wire rack.
10. Piece together using your strawberry preserve.
11. Enjoy!

Come back tomorrow for #3 in the Week of Cookies!

Stay sweet! x

Rolo-Studded Biscoff Blondies

After watching almost two seasons of Gossip Girl while resting with the flu  this weekend I have no doubt that Little Jenny Humphrey would approve of Studded Blondies ;)

Last Thursday I shared with everyone my love of Lotus Spread, now it's time to see what you can create with this super special secret ingredient!

What I love most about this recipe is how quick it is, and wait for it... For mixing it only takes one bowl and a spoon! Oh yes!! 

I looked at some recipes which paired white chocolate with the salivating spread (too rich, I thought!) Others took loads of extra ingredients which I wasn't in the mood for (recipes that call for one egg plus an egg yolk infuriate me, what can I do with that egg yolk?!?!) So I adapted a few basic blondie recipes to come up with this beauty! 

Before any  purists get on their soapboxes, yes I am aware that there's no white chocolate in here so technically they're probably Biscoffies! ;) But they have the fab texture of a brownie with far less butter and sugar thanks to the texture of Lotus Spread. Also, chocolate-haters and plain Janes loved this creation so it will please everyone you come across... Hopefully!

You will need:

1 Cup self-raising flour (sieved)

1/3 Cup butter

1 Cup light brown sugar (packed)

2 eggs

1 Tsp vanilla extract (not pictured above because I'm a silly goose!)
3 Tbsps Lotus Smooth Spread 

2 Rolls Rolos

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celcius.
2. Line 9x9 pan with baking parchment.
3. Melt butter in a large mixing bowl in the microwave until partially melted.
4. Stir in the brown sugar until mixed.
5. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix.
6. Gently fold in the sieved flour, adding the flour gradually. This will form a thick batter, do not overmix!
7. Gently fold in the Rolos, saving a few...
8. Pour into the pan. Top with remaining Rolos.
9. Bake for 25 mins, they will look soft and rather pale but will have almost doubled in size and will harden upon cooling.
10. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

So, take forty-five minutes out of your week and bake these!! Please let me know what you think of the recipe, and of course, Lotus Spread! 

Stay sweet! x

Cake Decorating: Fondant How-To Guide

After drooling over fondant-covered cakes I did a lot of research on how to cover a cake. A lot of my initial preconceptions were entirely wrong:

• No marzipan necessary :)
• It takes time- bake, cool, crumb coat, set, fondant, decorate...
• Practice makes perfect!

I found loads of YouTube videos but after checking out the comments section I found that those tutors had made mistakes, also some tutorials don't go into enough detail for first timers!

Norman Davis and Zane Beg of The Sweet Life Bakery in DC have a great series of YouTube instructables, start off with this one on crumb coating and follow up with this covering lesson. They have a lot more gumpaste modelling tutorials, but I found these two most helpful for beginners. I watched these videos a couple of times each before attempting a cake and now I know all of the steps off by heart, and I'm getting quicker each time I make a cake :)

This is the first cake I ever covered with fondant. I cut out squares of fondant using a table knife, and used a piping pen (Dr. Oetker) to write a CV and Intern Application (this was a cake for a career advisor!) 

I used those piping pens to fill in the Belgian flag, (as we had been to Belgium with said faculty member). I outlined the black, yellow and red and then flooded with icing on the inside, using a table knife to spread the icing.

The gold gel used was bought in Brussels, at Home of Cooking. 

After asking questions at my local sugarcraft supply store (Cake Craft Carrigtwohill) they advised me that the Create-A-Cake Ready to Roll Icing was too heavy to use in covering and better for modelling, therefore I changed to Renshaw Professional Ready-to-Roll Icing.

This cake was for a member of Cork Campus Radio staff who was sadly leaving (Miss you Bridget!!) 

To say thank you to the person who taught me everything about radio I used the Renshaw fondant, and Dr. Oetker black piping pen to draw earphones, a mic and musical notes. 

To spruce it up a little I rolled up balls of yellow Create-A-Cake fondant and secured them to the base of the cake using buttercream.

This beauty was for my sister Aileen's birthday back in April. Renshaw fondant covered, Home of Cooking gel piping pen, yellow Create-A-Cake fondant rolled into balls, secured at the base with butter cream and also used same for roses. 

I have seen loads of different rose tutorials but this is what worked for me: cut rolled fondant into slices about 1cm thick and not more than 7cm long. Roll the slice to create a rose, gently pulling the petal tips outward for more realism. Bundle up on top of each other, secure with a dab of buttercream. 

To make these very realistic I cut a tiny bit of the gold wrapper from a Moet and Chandon bottle of champagne and secured it with buttercream so that the flowers resembled a bouquet. (FYI, I would only advise this if you are there to remove this bit of inedible material, otherwise you run the risk of choking your dinner party!)

I topped the whole cake with edible disco dust in a neutral hologram colour.

This cake was for my aunt, Noreen's birthday. The same as above but I placed the roses in a pile in the centre so you could see roses from every angle.

I piped in a circle for a more sophisticated look, topped with disco dust and finished with a gold ribbon tied around the cake.

The recipes used for these cakes are just ordinary sponge, so whatever's your favourite will do! I'll share with you my special chocolate sponge recipe soon.

Hope you enjoyed this post, and that it helps you get started with fondant! I have a long way to go so if you have any tips please leave a comment below!

Stay sweet! x

Friday Fave: 3 Ingredient Nutella Cookies- Plus White Chocolate Buttons!

Here are five reasons to bake these cookies.

1. You only need an egg, flour and Nutella- the white buttons are a decadent extra.
2. The take less than 20 minutes to bake.
3. They kick your chocolate craving without having to go out and buy 70% cocoa chocolate.
4. They taste amazing.
5. It's Friday!

 These were fantastic Christmas gifts, and tasted amazing with a glass of milk!


The cookie recipe which consistently cropped up throughout an internet search was brilliant and easy. The white chocolate buttons are not really even necessary but they look so cute, I couldn't resist! Even with this addition there are still hardly any ingredients!

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 cup Nutella
• 1 cup flour
• 1 packet white chocolate buttons

1. Preheat oven to 180degrees Celcius.
2. Beat together egg, Nutella and flour.
3. When just about combined, add the buttons and mix at a gentle speed.
4. Spoon onto baking parchment-lined baking tray.
5. Bake for 7-8minutes.

For a more uniform cookie, flatten with the bottom of a glass before putting into the oven and bake for 6-8 minutes. However, I like the mountainous look of these, especially if munched during a Lord of The Rings movie night! :)

Stay Sweet! x

Pink Velvet All-In-One Sheet Cake

This cake is super easy to make! It doesn't take any fiddling with batter, or measurements, you just throw all of the ingredients in at once and beat! The one thing to watch out for is to cook the cake straight away, otherwise it won't rise... As seen in the future pics (the problems of a blogger!)

This sheet cake could be divided into two and iced in the middle as a sandwich- beware this will make a gigantic cake as it's measured to fit a large sheet tray, the dimensions of your oven! 

I cut the bake into small squares which are perfect for afternoon tea or a large gathering. 

Here's the recipe:

• 12oz Flour (Sieved)
• 12oz Sugar
• 6oz  Margarine
• 6     Eggs

-Beat together and bake in the oven at 175degrees Celcius, for approx. 25mins, or until a knife comes out clean.

I used red food colouring here- just a tint!- due to my love of pink! It's not totally necessary but does add a fun twist, especially if baking for a pot-luck kind of event where there will be lots of Madeira cakes this one will definitely stand out from the crowd! 

The cake is frosted using buttercream, as shown before, and decorated with sprinkles. 

....Feel free to use lemon/coffee/cocoa or any other additions to this basic recipe! 
The results will be delicious!

Enjoy!

White Chocolate Krispie Clouds

Rice Krispie buns or cakes?.... CAKES! A childhood right of passage, a teenage comfort food, an easy peasy "I baked you something" product- their allure never dies.

My friend always had white chocolate Rice Krispie cakes at her birthdays, serious party envy! So a few weeks ago I whipped some up for my little cousin's birthday, they were a quick hit!

I melted a bar of white chocolate (I used Wondercook) in a bain marie and then mixed in Rice Krispies in the glass bowl, (don't add too many Rice Krispies or the delicate white chocolate will be overpowered!) before scooping into muffin cases in a cupcake tin. Delicious!

I forgot how delicious they are, and not in a heavily indulgent way, moreso light, fluffy and moreish!

As a hungry man once said, the only problem with these treats is everybody knows how many you've eaten!

Enjoy!

Copy Cat Cookies

One of my many weaknesses are Subway's chocolate chip cookies!! They have to be warmed, either in store, or at home in the microwave and eeeeeek at €2 for 3 let's just say obesity is on the horizon! I love love LOVE these cookies! I think I'm one of the only people who visits Subway and doesn't buy a Sub, only a cookie! :) 

Anyways, in my quest to copy the cookie I happened upon this recipe... I forewarn you, these are alas, not near as perfect as the fast-food variety but the heartwarming satisfaction of them being homemade makes up for this! 

The best thing about these is that the dough makes literally thirty cookies, and even better the cookies taste even yummier when made with yesterday's dough. So, when that loneliness hits after someone savages the last cookie, never fear! You can whip up another batch in a few minutes! 

If entertaining I would make the dough the night before and scoop out the cookies on the day, however they keep well in an airtight container so freshness isn't an issue either!

The recipe can be found here.

I still haven't found the perfect homemade recipe of the glorious Subway cookie... Watch this space!

Banana Crumb Muffins

I love muffins. I also love bananas. When I saw three increasingly ripening bananas in our fruit bowl I immediately thought those babies needed to be baked!! Usually I’d make banana bread, but I didn’t have the time to grease tins, measure out a ton of ingredients and wait for the loaf to cool. Up until now I couldn’t find a straightforward banana muffin recipe that is until I asked old reliable, Mr. Google. He did not disappoint!

The recipe (found here) can be converted into metric quantities so it doesn’t take too much arithmetic for an Irish baker. These really are as simple to make as they sound. The mashed banana acts as a binding agent and is durable so everything else can be mixed in until batter is formed. Melting the butter is the crucial part, definitely a job for adults! It really does add to the flavour of the muffin though, so don’t skip the step!

I had never made a crumb topping before, but I had binged on crumb muffins in Boston last year and was looking for a good recipe everywhere since! Don’t skimp on the butter, as the crumb will be too floury and unpalatable.

All in all these muffins were delicious, absolutely scrumptious. Plus the guilt factor is lower, as you can justify the banana constitutes part of your twelve a day! 

I made these early on a gloomy July morning in Ireland, and they were the ultimate comfort food which made the day feel a whole lot better! 

They kept for three days in a sealed container (thanks to the moisture from the bananas).They are really impressive looking (the power of the crumb!), you’ll be deemed a domestic god/goddess after one bite! 

P.S. Recently I made these with the adition of chocolate chips! Milis ar fad! x