I quickly post any recipe I find that worked marvellously first time I tried it. This particular one came from the recent Waitrose Magazine for September 2016. The combination of chocolate (milk or dark) with the banana and toffee glaze is so moreish. My only complaint is that it is hard to make the glaze settle on top since the suggested cake tin is a bundt cake pan. Next time I will bake this in a square or rectangular pan so that the delicious glaze will stay on top and nothing will go to waste.
For the Daim chocolate bars, the equivalent of these are Hershey's Skor or Heath bars or any chocolate covered hard toffee bars.
Chocolate Banana Toffee Cake
200 g unsalted butter - softened 75 g caster sugar (suprefine sugar) 100 g light muscovado sugar 4 large eggs 4 very ripe medium bananas - mashed (about heaping 1-1/2 cups) 3 Tbsp sour cream 2 tsp vanilla extract 50 g cocoa powder (plus extra for dusting) 225 g plain flour 50 g cornflour (cornstarch) 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) 75 g chopped Daim bars or dark/milk chocolate chips (plus some chopped for topping)
Glaze: 200 g light muscovado sugar 75 g unsalted butter 100 g double cream 25 g dark chocolate - chopped 1/2 tsp vanilla extract pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/375°F. Butter 10-inch bundt pan and then dust with cocoa powder. Tap out the excess cocoa powder.
In a bowl, mix thoroughly the plain flour, cocoa powder, cornflour, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda.
In another bowl, add sour cream to mashed banana and vanilla.
Cream the softened butter and the caster and muscovado sugars in a big bowl for about 5 minutes or until light and creamy.
Keep beating while adding eggs one at a time.
Add the banana mixture. Beat until well combined.
Using a wooden spoon or spatula, fold in the flour mixture.
Fold the chopped Daim chocolate bars or chocolate chips (whichever you're using).
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean.
Take out of the oven, cool for 5-10 minutes and then invert into a rack and cool completely.
*For the glaze:
Gently heat butter, cream and sugar in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved.
Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for 30 seconds.
Remove from heat and add dark chocolate, vanilla and pinch of salt. Stir until smooth.
Cool for 10 minutes or until a bit thickened while stirring from time to time.
This recipe is from one of the hundreds of torn-off magazine pages that I save in the hope of trying it out "later". That "later" is now ten years and I reckon it's high time I try it again. The first time it was quite bland so I upped the sugar this time. It turned out quite good although it's more cake-like than a chewy/crispy cookie. The self-raising flour has a lot to do with that.
I adapted this from an advertisement feature in the BBC GoodFood magazine of December 2006 - almost 10 years!
Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
125 g [1/2 cup] unsalted butter - softened 200 g [1 cup packed] light muscovado sugar 2 eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 225 g wholemeal(or plain) self-raising flour 25 g cocoa 75 g dried cranberries 100 g white chocolate chips 100 g milk chocolate chips 12 pecan halves (optional)
Mix together the butter and sugar in a bowl using a wooden spoon.
Add eggs one at a time making sure to mix well everytime.
Add vanilla extract.
Sift the flour and cocoa into the bowl and mix well.
Add in the cranberries and chocolate chips and combine well.
Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F.
Shape the dough into 2-inch (about 75 g) balls - yields 12-14 pieces.
[Optional] Press a pecan piece on top of each of the balls.
Arrange the balls about 1-inch apart on greased baking trays. Flatten them slightly. If necessary bake in batches.
Bake for 15 minutes or until firm to the touch.
Leave on the tray for about 5 minutes and transfer on a rack to cool completely.
Here's one very simple sweets recipe that's very much welcome all year round especially during the holidays. My youngest was especially proud of this since she did most of this for her Girl Guides confectioner's badge. Granting that was more than 4 years ago, this post took sometime to publish I have to admit.
Some versions of rocky road involves biscuits both in chunks and crumbs. We prefer this version adapted from 101 Cakes & Bakes by BBC GoodFood magazine where no biscuits mar the beauty and deliciousness of chocolates, nuts, marshmallows plus our preferred Maltesers.
Rocky Road
500 g milk or dark chocolate - broken into pieces 10 marshmallows - cut into small pieces* 85 g pecans, walnuts, or almonds (or combination) - roughly chopped 200 g Maltesers (optional)
Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Cool a little.
Add in the rest of the ingredients, mix well.
Pour mixture into an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking pan lined with baking paper. Leave to set for around 2 hours.
Remove from baking pan and cut into 1-inch squares with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped.
Note: You may add biscuits, dried fruits, and other things that may take your fancy.
'Twas my birthday and the kids decided to bake something for me. How nice! They were thinking of doing the Chocolate Date Fudge Cake. But I told them that it's too complicated for beginners like them and just steered to something simpler. They came up with this keeper of a recipe from Sue Lawrence's Book of Baking.
Why is it called a 'surprise' cake? Well, it's got mayonnaise in it! At first I thought it was odd but come to think of it - mayonnaise consists of eggs and oil which is precisely what you put in a cake. I tell you, it was really easy to do and it turned out quite well. It's a shame my pictures don't give it justice. We had slices of it with custard and it was so delicious.
Chocolate Surprise Cake
250 g self-raising flour 50 g cocoa powder 1/4 tsp baking powder 200 g caster sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract 200 g good quality mayonnaise 1 medium egg 160 ml [2/3 cup] cold water
Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch/23cm round pan or 8-inch/20cm square pan.
Sift (optional) the flour, cocoa, and baking powder into a large bowl.
Stir in the sugar. Make a well in the centre.
Add in all the other ingredients.
Beat with electric mixer until smooth.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack and remove from pan.
Ice with fudge frosting or serve with custard/cream.
The work 'scrumptious' can aptly describe this cake. It is really that good. Funny enough, like most of my experimental recipes, I stumbled across this one because I have a white chocolate bar that's about to expire and a bunch of overripe bananas nearer to the side of rotten. Thanks to member toms112 of the BBC GoodFood website who provided this delicious loaf cake. I will always go back to this recipe whenever a banana cake is requested - promise!
Banana White Chocolate Chip Cake
125 g [1/2 cup] butter 150 g [2/3 cup] caster sugar (superfine) 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 very ripe bananas - mashed 190 g self-raising flour 1/4 cup milk 100 g white chocolate chips
Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Pre-heat oven to 170°C/fan 150°C.
If the butter is softened to room temperature, beat in a bowl with the caster sugar using an electric mixer until fluffy and light. OR Melt the butter with the sugar over medium heat. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
Add in the egg and vanilla, mix well.
Add the mashed banana and mix well.
Fold in the flour alternately with the milk using a wooden spoon. Mix just enough to incorporate the flour.
Add the white chocolate chips and fold to mix.
Pour batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean.
