Lemon Meringue Sponge

Yes I hear you, sponge you ask?? Why sponge? Why not pie?? Well, because I didn't have time to make a pie crust but also because pie isn't as celebratory as cake! And for some occasions you just need cake! 

This all started when I saw this delicacy in Dunnes Stores. For years I yearned to try Marshmallow Fluff, which I had read about and salivated over on countless blogs. But last weekend, I saw that Goodall's have brought out their new Marshmallow Crème- essentially the same thing! I was so excited that I wanted to use it straight away, and since I didn't have time to trawl through the web I came up with this lemon meringue cake. 

I used Chivers Lemon Curd (which tastes delicious on bread, scones, pie, anything you can imagine!) so sweet yet tangy and a great consistency too. That brings me back to the fluff- pardon, crème- it was very hard to spread to use as a cake topping/filling. Very thick and fluffy and as it had to stand for a couple of hours before consumption outside of a fridge it began to melt slightly and became runny rather than fluffily delicious. Don't get me wrong it was still good but learn from my mistake- decorate just before serving. 



















I used Mary Berry's Baking Bible Victoria Sponge recipe which is nothing extraordinary  honestly I would have preferred a more moist cake- the hunt continues for such a recipe! Anyhow, here is the one I used. I hope you like it as much as I did!

Ingredients:
4 eggs
8oz margarine
8oz caster sugar
8oz self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder  (don't question the double raising agents, they work really well together) 

1. Pre-heat oven to 180degrees Celcius.
2. Grease sides of two 8inch cake tins and line the bottom with circles of baking parchment.
3. Mix all ingredients together with an electric mix.
4. Pour into prepared tins.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until springy to touch/a skewer comes out clean.

To decorate:

1. Once cooled, spread a layer of lemon curd on one layer.
2. Spread a thin layer of marshmallow crème on the other (be gentle whilst doing this as the consistency can be quite rough and may tear the cake.
3. Sandwich together.
4. Frost the top of the cake with marshmallow crème. 
5. As it was an engagement party I decorated this with Haribo hearts and rings, they looked fab but you could use any other gummies to garnish. I think sprinkles/Smarties/M&Ms or other sweets with a food colouring outer may run once they hit the marshmallow fluff so try to avoid these.

Stay sweet! x

Nutella Cupcakes / Cheat's Lava Cakes

For St. Valentine's day I baked these in heart-shaped moulds and served these beauties hot from the oven, with strawberries, ice-cream and other tasty treats! They looked fab on a platter (made to share!) and even better when matched with little bowls of lovehearts, Hershey's kisses and Haribo hearts.

These heart-shaped moulds from Lidl, at under €4 were perfect for Valentine's baking! 

I greased them as recommended but apparently they will be non-stick hereafter, fingers crossed!

They were so simple to make and oh so delicious! The smell of chocolate from these cakes is almost delirious- treat with care! The soft centre makes these cakes so versatile, if served warm they are the easiest lava cakes but can be eaten cool as cupcakes- it's a win-win situation!

The recipe is from odlums.ie 

Makes approx 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

6oz self-raising flour

4oz Caster sugar

4oz Margarine

3 Eggs

2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

1/2 Jar of Nutella

1. Preheat the oven to 190degrees Celcius. 
2. Line cupcake tray with cases.
3. Put all of the ingredients (EXCEPT the Nutella) and beat until smooth.
4. Spoon half of the mixture into the the prepared cases.
5. Place a teaspoon of Nutella into the centre of each case.
6. Cover with a spoon of mixture on top of the Nutella.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until springy to touch. NB the knife test won't work with this recipe as the centre of the cupcake is supposed to be gooey!
8. Serve immediately as lava cakes or allow cool on a wire rack for cupcakes.

Stay sweet! x

Romantic Recipes

Valentine's Day is thought by many to be a Hallmark holiday, shops rack up the cost of flowers and sell teency boxes of chocolates for extortionate prices... Luckily for you I'm not at all cynical! I LOVE VALENTINE'S DAY! (sorry for the caps, just felt they were necessary to express my feelings on the matter!)

So, when it came to conjuring up romantic recipes meant to be shared, or organising a celebratory engagement party this week I was more than excited!

In the following posts I'll share with you some of the decadent delights I made and shared. I hope you like them as much as I did! And I hope you enjoyed St. Valentine's day!

Stay sweet! x

Pancake Tuesday

I hope you're as excited as I am for Pancake Tuesday!!

This week on sUCCulent,  I talked about savoury and sweet pancakes, as well as the pancake party possibilities! :)

As you know I'm a huge pancake lover, as documented here... and here! The recipe I mentioned, by Darina Allen is one which I live by, here's a previous post on how to make the perfect pancake.

We all know I love sweet, decadent flavours but what about you? Let me know in the comments section.

Get flipping!!!

Stay sweet! x

Grilling a Chef!

Today, Mill Wheel chef Matty O'Connor came onto the show to talk about the pros and cons of being a chef, what to expect and how to get into the industry. 

Hopefully you'll be enlightened on the life of a chef, as I was! 

Here's an apple tart I made following the inspiring interview! 

Thanks so much for coming on Matty, I can't wait to visit the Mill Wheel in Midleton!

As always, you can catch sUCCulent on Thursdays 11-12, on UCC 98.3fm or online here if you reside outside of Cork.

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

Food Security

sUCCulent gets serious... With the widely documented "horse burgers" debacle there was no better time to discuss food security than yesterday's show. 

I was joined by the uber wise Maxwell Osonokwu, and we chatted about what both the EU, and Ireland can do in order to increase trade with African nations and develop partnerships in the agri-food industry. 

It was a change from the usual sugary show but fear not, if you stay tuned until the end you may hear something sweet about a new television show!


Thanks so much to Max for coming in, he's a true gent and absolute legend!! :)

Hope you enjoy the podcast!

Stay sweet! x