Courgette and walnut cake

One would be forgiven for thinking I no longer baked judging by the rolling tumble weed on this blog, but look! Here's a cake I baked recently and remembered to photograph. 

Also, check out my beautiful ceramic kitchenaid mixer bowl which Santa gave me for Christmas (after some not so subtle hinting.) I love that it has a pouring spout and matches my 1950s pastel kitchen.

The cake is an adaption of the courgette and walnut layer cake from the Hummingbird Bakery's Cake Days book, scaled down to a more manageable 2 layer cake. Three layer cakes look spectacular but I always feel they're more of an "occasion" cake to feed lots of people so I often admire but skim past those recipes. I'm far more likely to bake a standard 2 layer cake.

Over the past year I've been really into baking with greens. A strange statement admittedly but bear with me. I've had brilliant success baking with avocados in chocolate based recipes such as brownies and cookies. I've also made a lovely courgette and chocolate loaf and this courgette, coconut and lime cake which I've already documented here from a couple of years ago. I doubt I'm going to start putting broccoli or kale in cakes though, that may be a step too far.

Basically if you love carrot cake then you will also enjoy this courgette and walnut cake. It's the same textures and flavours but with the carrot swapped for courgette.

The big difference with this cake is the icing which is a cinnamon flavoured butter icing with Greek yoghurt as opposed to a cream cheese icing. I've never used yoghurt in icing before so was intrigued to try it out. It adds a slight tang, similar to using cream cheese and the finished icing had a beautiful, mousse-like texture. However, I don't think it has replaced my love for cream cheese icing. I think most of my cake eaters also preferred a cream cheese icing to this one but it was fun to try something different.

Courgette and walnut cake

Recipe adapted from Hummingbird Bakery's Cake Days book 

Sponge:

2 large eggs

200ml sunflower oil

200g soft light brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

200g plain flour 

Heaped 1/2 tsp baking powder (to work out roughly as 2/3 tsp for recipe ratio)

Heaped 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (same as above.)

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Pinch of ground mixed spice 

200g grated courgette (with excess moisture squeezed out.)

66g walnuts, chopped into small chunks

Icing: (I can't remember exactly, but this is roughly what I did)

175g butter

1 tsp ground cinnamon

250g -300g icing sugar

50g - 75g plain Greek yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 170C/ 150C fan/ 325F/ gas Mark 3. Grease and line 2 round 20cm/ 8 inch sandwich tins with baking parchment.

Whisk together the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl for a couple of minutes until well combined.

In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and ground spices. Add this dry mixture to the wet egg mixture in two batches, mixing well after each addition. Mix until fully combined.

Stir in the grated courgettes and chopped walnuts then divide the cake batter into the two prepared cake tins.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes in the centre of the oven until risen, golden on top and springy to touch. Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes before turning out to finish cooling on cooling racks.

To make the icing mix the butter, icing sugar and cinnamon together. Once fully combined add the yoghurt and keep mixing for around 5 minutes until the icing is light and fluffy.

Fill and top the cooled cakes with the icing and decorate with more walnut pieces.

orange, almond and yoghurt loaf

Baking late at night is a bad idea, but sometimes you really want to have a cake ready for the next day (or for midnight munchies) so you go ahead regardless of tiredness. I was about to spoon the mixture for this cake into the tin when I thought "this is an unusually stiff mix" so I glanced back to the list of ingredients in the recipe. It turns out I had forgotten an egg.

Luckily I was at a stage where I could still add the necessary third egg, not halfway through baking! This is the kind of blunder you see on tv programmes like the Great British Bake Off and shout "YOU IDIOT!" at the contestant. This time I had the privilege of shouting at myself.

My cake turned out lovely, thankfully. It's one of those plain, unassuming cakes but that doesn't mean it's boring or not tasty. Neither the orange or almond is overpowering; they just happily sit together. Perhaps they're balanced by the vanilla extract, which oddly enough isn't mentioned in the recipe title despite being more obvious than the yoghurt.

Anyway, it's one of those fresh flavoured cakes which goes perfectly with an afternoon cup of tea or coffee. It's also rather nice with a light spread of marmalade, if you feel so inclined.

Orange, almond and yoghurt loaf
Recipe from Hummingbird Bakery "Cake Days" book

190g (7oz) unsalted butter, softened
190g (7oz) plain flour
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest (1 whole orange)
190g (7oz) caster sugar
3 large eggs
60g (2oz) ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt (optional, I didn't add it as I used salted butter)
 25g (1oz) plain yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
10g (1/3oz) flaked almonds (or a handful, if you don't care about being precise)

Preheat the oven to 170C/ 325F/ Gas 3. Grease and line a 8.5 x 17.5cm (3 1/2" x 7") loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

Beat together the butter, sugar and orange zest in a large bowl with your mixer until soft and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs individually, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything gets incorporated. In a separate bowl combine the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Tip this into the other mixture in two batches and mix on a slower speed on your mixer until just incorporated. Add the yoghurt and vanilla and mix until everything is combined.

Pour the batter into the loaf tin and scatter the flaked almonds on top before baking in the oven (on the middle shelf) for 50 - 60 minutes until golden, firm on top and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. I think my cake took 10 minutes longer to bake, so keep an eye on it depending on how quick your oven cooks as you don't want an overbaked, dry cake (or a sad, underbaked one!)

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. 

banana and coconut muffins

I was tempted to call this post "experimental banana baking and cupboard clearing night" but that seemed rather long winded.

Earlier this week I discovered an interesting array of almost out of date ingredients in the baking cupboard and some black bananas on the worktop so an evening of baking was in order. I ended up producing an almond and dried cranberry banana loaf (more or less the same as this recipe) and these banana and coconut muffins.

It got me thinking that I rarely use coconut in my bakes. It's not that I don't like coconut, it's just not a flavour I tend to go (coco)nuts over.

HAHA, see what I did there? *everybody groans*

Although my cobbled together recipe isn't perfect (neither are my half-assed foggy evening photographs) I really enjoyed the banana and coconut flavour combination. It's subtly sweet and feels a little bit tropical. Like most muffins these were best fresh from the oven although I also enjoyed one reheated the following day for breakfast with the remaining coconut yoghurt. However I found they lacked something when cold so I added a simple glaze (icing sugar mixed with a splash of fruit juice) which perked them up a bit.

I imagine they'd also be lovely eaten with a fruity curd. If I were to make these again I'd feel tempted to add something else into the batter; perhaps some chopped pecans or small pineapple chunks for extra texture or juicy-ness.

My muffins didn't rise as much as I had hoped either. Muffin making confuses me as I'm sure I read somewhere that the less you mix everything the better as you're not going for the airiness of a sponge cake. That said, surely it needs a bit more rise? If you don't mix enough you'll just be left with a stodgy lump.

Perhaps they needed a higher temperature in the oven too. I'm still trying to get used to my new oven temperatures. I've always used gas ovens so changing to electric has been a bit confusing. The cave woman in me is saying "but there's no flame.... where is the heat coming from?!"

I know you're laughing. I'm an idiot.

Banana and coconut muffins

125g self raising flour

90g golden caster sugar

40g (roughly) dessicated coconut

a good pinch of cinnamon

a few drops of vanilla extract

50g butter, melted

1 large egg

1 banana, mashed

60ml coconut yoghurt

for a simple icing glaze:

a couple of tablespoonfuls of icing sugar

a splash of fresh fruit juice. I used a tropical flavoured one.

Preheat the oven to 180C/170 fan/Gas 4 and line a muffin tin with about 8 muffin cases. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together all the wet ingredients in a jug then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix everything together until combined. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases, filling each one about 2/3 full, then place on the middle shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes or until risen, golden and firm to touch. Leave to cool in the tray for a few minutes before turning out to finish cooling on a wire rack. 

Enjoy warm from the oven or cool with yoghurt, a fruity curd or a simple fruit flavoured icing glaze. 

banana strawberry yoghurt loaf

This was a "I need to use stuff up before they go completely out of date" loaf. A bit of an experiment so not completely successful.

This loaf was delicious fresh from the oven. Although I don't think the strawberry flavour in the yoghurt contributed much, the roasted strawberries on the top were delicious. Roasting strawberries most definitely enhances their sweet flavour (believe the hype folks!) and they made what's usually a plain banana loaf look very pretty.

However the loaf went really soggy the following day. I'm pretty sure it was cool before I closed it in a tin, but it went really sticky and heavy in texture (too much moisture from the yoghurt and strawberries perhaps?)

I also seem to struggle with yoghurt in cakes. I can pretty much guarantee that whenever I use it, it makes my cake sink about half an hour after coming out the oven, despite knowing that my cake is fully baked. Is it to do with the heavier texture they create? I have no idea. Oddly, this doesn't seem to happen when I use it in muffins.

Banana strawberry yoghurt loaf

Adapted from this recipe I used last year.

120ml sunflower oil

225g light muscovado sugar

3.5 (ish) medium eggs (I didn't have 3 large eggs)

225g self raising flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 brown bananas

125ml tub of strawberry yoghurt

50-75g strawberries, sliced finely and given a light coating in flour.

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4 and grease and line a 900g loaf tin. Pour the oil into a large bowl, add the sugar and whisk for a few minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking as you go, then stir in the flour and mixed spice. Peel and mash the bananas in a separate bowl and add them to the mixture along with the yoghurt. Mix well with a spoon and pour half of the mixture into the prepared tin. Arrange a layer of strawberry slices on top and pour the rest of the mixture on top. Arrange the remaining strawberry slices into a pretty pattern on top before baking on the middle shelf of the oven

Bake for roughly 1 hour until well risen and golden (or check by sticking a skewer/knife into the centre of the cake. The cake is ready if the skewer comes out clean). Leave in the tin to cool then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Yoghurt, lemon and lime bundt

It's a sad evening when only half of your bundt comes out of the tin.

My gut instinct was to leave it in the tin until completely cold, but the recipe said to leave for 15-20 minutes before turning out. Hmmmm.

I assumed I had to turn it out sooner due to the sugar syrup being poured over the top while the cake was still hot. Perhaps the sugar would have stuck to the tin if I left it to cool? Only thing is, the syrup never really soaked in through the sponge, and left the top (or bottom? since it's a bundt) a bit soggy.

Flavour and texture-wise, this is not a bad cake. The yoghurt gives the cake a soft, mooth texture and cool, creamy flavour, and although it is a shame the syrup didn't soak through the whole cake, the (soggy) crust is full of citrus tang.

Personally I like when a cake really packs a citrus punch, so I'm not sure I fully love the yoghurt addition as I feel it almost dulls the lemon/lime flavour. However this really is a personal preference; some may really enjoy the yoghurt addition and it certainly hasn't stopped me from eating a lot of this cake.

Yoghurt, lemon and lime bundt cake
Recipe from Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook by Lynn Hill

375g self-raising flour
500g caster sugar
grated zest of 2 lemons
grated zest of 1 lime
250ml natural yoghurt
250ml sunflower oil
2 large eggs

syrup:
juice of 2 lemons
juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas 5 (I must admit I thought that sounded to high a heat for a large bundt and actually turned it down to Gas 4.) Thoroughly grease and flour a 2.5-3 litre bundt tin, tapping out any excess flour over the sink.

Sift together the flour, sugar and citrus zests in one bowl. In a different bowl beat together the yoghurt, oil and eggs before adding to the other bowl and mixing everything together. Spoon the mixture into your bundt tin, spreading it out evenly, then bake in the centre of the oven for 45-50 minutes (although mine took an extra 15-20 minutes, probably because I had it baking at a lower temperature) until well risen, golden and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

To make the syrup, put the lemon and lime juice into a small saucepan along with the sugar. Stir together over a medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. The recipe states to spoon the syrup over the cake when the cake is fresh out of the oven, leaving it to soak into the cake between additions and to remove from the tin after 15-20 minutes. However I would perhaps only pour half of the syrup over the cake whilst hot, wait half an hour or so until the cake is warm to turn it out and brush the remaining syrup over the cake so that it gets an even coating/soaking.

Banana, cinnamon and pecan muffins

What kind of baker are you? Are you a follow-the-recipe person or more of an adventurous I'll-do-my-own-thing sort of baker? I'm a follow-the-recipe girl. Sure, I may occasionally substitute an ingredient or two to suit what I have in the cupboard, but I wouldn't describe myself as experimental in the kitchen.

However..... I created these muffins! I had an idea for banana muffins with a streusel type topping but couldn't find anything to suit what I had in mind. After looking at a few recipes I set out into the unknown and created something myself.

This may not be exciting or adventurous to many, but I was super proud of myself (I may have done a small happy dance). The batter tasted good, the muffins rose (always hopeful!) and smelled amazing in the oven, looked pretty and most importantly, tasted good. Hurray!

I could tweak a few things, but overall I was happy with what I made. You can't go too far wrong combining bananas, cinnamon and pecan :)

This is what I did:

250g self-raising flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking powder (I was too scared to add more in case it destroyed the muffins!)

pinch of salt

175g golden caster sugar

100g unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

2 sad, brown bananas (mine were quite small)

100ml plain yoghurt

50g pecans, chopped

streusel topping - 25g each of plain flour, light brown soft sugar and chopped pecans. Mix together and rub in 12g of butter. (I didn't use all of it although in hindsight I probably could have used it all)

Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7. In a large bowl mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and sugar. Melt the butter in a jug (I did this in the microwave in short bursts) and then once cool add the eggs and yoghurt. Mix together then pour into the flour mixture and combine. Stir in the mashed bananas and chopped pecans. 

Divide the mixture between muffin cases in a muffin tray (my mixture filled 10) and add the streusel topping. Pop the tray into the oven and immediately turn down the heat to 180C/Gas 4 (this ensures they rise really high) and bake for roughly 35-40 minutes until firm and golden. Remove from the oven and leave the muffins to cool in the tin for a few minutes before placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.

The muffins taste best when still warm. If you don't have the stamina to eat all 10 muffins in one sitting (I know, but some people can't manage it!) then just pop one in the microwave for 20 seconds to warm up.

Banana and yoghurt loaf

This week I felt like baking a different banana loaf to my usual go-to recipe. After discovering I didn't have enough bananas for other recipes in my baking books I consulted the queen of banana related bakes, Ros, The More Than Occasional Baker.

If you have sad looking bananas and have no idea what to do with them, visit her blog. She has loads of lovely banana related recipes. I decided to make the banana and yoghurt loaf, although there are definitely more I want to try out.

I had to tweak a couple of ingredients to suit what I had, but I was very impressed with this cake. Definitely a banana loaf to bake again. I love the smooth texture you get with adding yoghurt to a cake.

The only problem I encountered was that half of the cake had been eaten by the time I got round to photographing it! It's more of a compliment than a problem though.

Since I tweaked some ingredients I'll rewrite the recipe, although Ros' original can be found here.

Banana and yoghurt loaf

120ml sunflower oil
150g light muscovado sugar
75g light soft brown sugar
3 duck eggs
225g self raising flour
1 teaspoon of ground mixed spice
2 ripe bananas
150ml low fat natural yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4 and grease and line a 900g loaf tin. Pour the oil into a large bowl, add the sugar and whisk for a few minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking as you go, then stir in the flour and mixed spice. Peel and mash the bananas in a separate bowl and add them to the mixture along with the yoghurt. Mix well with a spoon and then pour into the prepared tin.

Bake for 1 hour until well risen and golden (or check by sticking a skewer/knife into the centre of the cake. The cake is ready if the skewer comes out clean). I think my cake took an extra 10 minutes in the oven. Leave in the tin to cool then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Apple and raspberry cake

This cake came out the oven looking beautiful, but when I came back to it half an hour later the whole cake had deflated, the sides had almost buckled under themselves. This puzzled me as I had given it an extra 15-20 minutes baking time. It definitely wasn't under baked.

Despite the flatter than expected appearance, the cake had a lovely flavour and looked perfectly presentable with a dusting of icing sugar. The apples and raspberries gave a summery, juicy flavour and the yoghurt added a lovely smoothness. Everybody thought it was delicious and very fresh. I just wish it wasn't so.... soggy.

Although the recipe does say that it's a super moist cake, I can't help but wonder whether there's too much liquid in this cake. Perhaps it depends on the apples as they can ooze a lot of liquid? I shouldn't complain too much though, it did taste great.

On a separate topic, I bought new summer shoes from Tesco today. Check out my classy combination of coral flowery shoes, turquoise elephant socks and dusky pink trousers.

Surely the weather will warm up again so I can wear these without socks? I'm not too bothered though, I do love my Topshop socks :)

Apple and raspberry cake

Recipe from Cakes Galore, p.47, byValerie Barrett

150g unsalted butter, chopped

200g caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla essence (I use extract)

185g self-raising flour, sifted

185g vanilla-flavoured yoghurt (I used plain)

1 large apple, peeled, cored and grated

100g raspberries

Sifted icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. Grease and line a 20cm deep, round cake tin. Beat the sugar and butter together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla essence. Add the flour, then the yoghurt, grated apple and raspberries and mix until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake in the oven for 1 hour, or until golden and the centre of the cake springs back when lightly pressed (mine took an extra 15 minutes.) Leave in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.