LILA'S TEA PARTY

I'm a passionate amateur baker, I enjoy feeding my family and believe there's nothing better than a cup of tea and a nice big slice of cake. This blog is dedicated to my daughter who has fuelled my love of baking and inspired me on my journey into the exciting world of cakes and bakes...

[lilasteaparty]

I’m Opening a CAFE!!!

Yep, I am so so so excited to announce that I will be opening a small pop up cafe within Studio b on the lovely Brixton Hill.  The Cafe will open in June with some lovely lunches, kids menu and of course cake.....

Our address will be: Lila’s Tea Party, 130 Brixton Hill, London, SW2 1RS

More info updated soon!!

[lilasteaparty]

Royal Icing

It felt like the recipe for Royal Icing should have its own post. I had no idea there were so many different recipes and methods out there. I found it completely overwhelming. It seems to me that decorated cookies have taken off more in America so most recipes I found were in American measurements and used things that are difficult to get hold of in the UK (corn syrup which apparently can be substituted with honey but honey isn't clear so wouldn't that make a difference??!!) but with a few tweaks this is the one I went for:

Royal Icing

Yield: Approximately 5 cups (Enough to decorate around 100 biscuits)

Ingredients

1 1k bag of icing sugar 5 tablespoons meringue powder (approx 53 grams) 2-3 teaspoons oil-free extract or emulsion 1/2-3/4 cups warm water

Stir your flavouring (I used almond but only because my vanilla was brown and I didn’t want to colour my icing) into into half the water.

Using a paddle attachment, gently mix the sugar and meringue powder. It’s not necessary to sift the sugar beforehand, but you can if you like.

With the mixer on it’s lowest setting slowly add the water/flavouring mix to the dry and beat. It will go lumpy at first then slowly start to become smooth.

When it reaches a honey like consistency, turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 3-4 mins until it’s stuff enough to firm soft peaks.

Now it’s all about what you’re doing. I immediately put a couple of spoons into a piping bag for outlining, then the rest in a Tupperware box for using later.

Outlining

So the outline is what you pipe around the outside of the biscuit as close to the edge as you can and as steadily as possible. This really does take some practice and it's easier, I find, to do it in one fluid movement instead of stopping and starting, particularly if you're outlining curves. Straight lines are easier. This icing shouldn't be to thick as it'll break off. You want it to pipe easily without having to push to hard. Just try with different consistencies until you're happy. 

Once you've done the outline, you can begin on the flooding...

Flooding

To mix icing for flooding I read a little trick that works really well. In a separate bowl, mix 1/2 tsp of water at a time into the icing to water it down. You’ll know it’s ready when ribbons of icing sink down into the rest of the icing on the count of “one thousand, two thousand”. 

Then carefully tip into your squeeze bottle and you’re good to go!

Following the already piped outline, flood the biscuit with the runnier icing until the biscuit is full. This might need to be moved around with a toothpick or a small spatular.

Leave to dry over night ideally or at least for a few hours

Decorating

I used different coloured icing to pipe onto my flooded biscuits, throwing some sprinkles on here and there. I even attempted using a stencil and some edible glitter but it didn't work out to well for me. I cut out some shapes in fondant icing and attached them with a little bit of icing.  After about 5 hours though, I went a little bit abstract just so I could go to bed! I threw sprinkles all over the place. They still looked good though so they're really forgiving! I went for a red/green/white palate but only because I wanted them to match my candy stripe ribbon. Just go to town and try and have fun!!

[lilasteaparty]

My first Christmas Stall

So…my daughter started school this year and naturally, I want to be involved in the school community so when they announced the school Christmas fair I saw it as an opportunity to learn some new things, meet new people and bake. A lot. I thought gingerbread decorations might be a good thing to go for as easy sellable things with just a bit of cake thrown in for good measure (or actually in case I totally ruined the biscuits and needed to have something half decent on my stall). 100 decorated biscuits was a big ask but I figured I’d give it a go and if no one was interested or if they all ended up looking awful I could just eat them all myself....As it goes, I sold everything, even the biscuits I hadn't had time to decorate! 

To prepare, I spent the equivalent to around 3 days on Pinterest getting completely overwhelmed and intimidated but I did learn an awful lot about biscuit decoration and this is what I’m happy to pass on…

Golden rules:

1. Roll out the dough to no less than between 3/4 -1cm thickness

2. Roll dough between two bits of greaseproof paper which not only saves you scrubbing flour off your work tops, but also stops the dough cracking

3. If you have time to, freeze before baking, if not, refrigerate. Even for 10 mins as this will give the biscuits the best chance of keeping their shape. I know it's annoying but I promise it's worth it.

4. Test run one cookie in the oven before you bake a batch to make sure you get the timing right. Typically, mine took 8 mins in the oven at around 180 but all ovens differ.

5. Try not to check on them while cooking as the cold air will disrupt the bake.

6. Get them out BEFORE the edges turn brown. You want them soft so they’ll keep for longer.

7. Invest in icing nozzles and a squeeze bottle. The icing nozzle (I used a #2) is used to pipe the outline of the cookie and then the squeeze bottles is used to to ‘flood’ the inside of your cookie in slightly watered down royal icing,creating a base for your decorating.

8. Depending on what you are using the cookies for, you should probably use meringue powder in place of egg whites in your royal icing then you don’t need to worry about the raw egg factor and the icing doesn’t even need to be refrigerated. That way it’s always at the right consistency for you to use. (Just keep in a tupperware box on your counter top)

9. If you want them for the weekend, this is really how you should plan:

Tuesday PM - make the dough and refrigerate overnight Wednesday - roll out and cut into shapes then either flash freeze before baking OR layer in airtight tupperware between greaseproof paper and Freez or re-refrigerate overnight  Thursday AM - bake and cool PM- flood Friday - decorate

So here we go…

Gingerbread biscuits

I have, for many years used the Hummingbird Bakery recipe for gingerbread. It just works. It contains everything you would imagine gingerbread to contain, the recipe doubles well and is completely delicious.

Ingredients

400g plain flour ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda 2tsp ground ginger 2tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground allspice ¼ tsp ground nutmeg ½ tsp salt 180g unsalted butter, at room temperature 125g soft dark brown sugar or dark muscovado sugar 1 egg 125g black treacle (This will seem like a crazy amount when you're pouring it in but don't panic)

Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

Put the butter and sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and cream on slow speed until light and fluffy.

Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat in the egg and treacle, scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Turn the mixer back down to slow speed and slowly add the flour mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time, stopping to scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Once an even dough has formed, take it out of the mixer, divide into 3 and wrap each piece in clingfilm.

Leave to rest overnight in the fridge.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3.

Take the dough out of the fridge and leave to soften for about 10 minutes.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1cm with a rolling pin. Cut out shapes with the biscuit cutters. Arrange the cookies on the prepared baking trays (with space between) and bake in the preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes.

Leave the cookies to cool slightly on the trays before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

For icing and decorating see 'Royal Icing' post

[lilasteaparty]

I'm back!

I've had a little hiatus from my blog for over a year. I had another baby in September 13 and although I certainly haven't stopped baking, I have found it incredibly difficult finding the time to write a blog post. I've written hundreds in my head, they've just never quite made it here! I've started to experiment a little more and I'm really happy to be back on here with some great recipes to share. I'm even more excited because it's CHRISTMAS! Which is absolutely THE BEST time of year for baking and sharing. I love love love making gift bags of sweets and fudge, mini cakes and toffee. For the first time, I have decided to take on a stall at my daughters christmas fair. I'm really excited and have spent an awful amount of time on Pinterest finding ideas and inspiration to make an impact. I've decided on making gingerbread decorations and some festive cake. I'm hoping that the practice sessions I've been having will all pay off and I'll miraculously knock out over 100 PERFECT gingerbread decorations for my stall. It's wishful thinking but I'm up for the challenge!! 

This is a 'holiday' cookie recipe that I've been practicing with. The almond essence makes it sweet but not sickly and as long as you get them out of the oven before they start to brown they'll keep their soft texture. I like them because they're a great base for any decoration and just as lovely plain. Stay tuned for some festive gift food and my update from my first stall!!

Almond Sugar Cookies

200g Unsalted butter at room temperature

280g Caster Sugar

1/4 teaspoon of Almond essence

1 egg

415g Plain Flour (400 in the mixture adding more if needed)

Pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar

Royal Icing

I egg white

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

300g icing sugar (add more if needed)

Any colouring 

Start by setting your oven to 170 degrees C (325F)

Mix together the sugar and essence with the butter in a mixer or with a hand whisk. Cream until light and fluffy. 

Add the egg and mix everything together well

Add the flour, salt, cream of tartar and mix but don't over mix. Just make sure everything is well incorporated and clumping together to form a dough. 

The dough should be slightly wet but not sticking to your hands and I found that for a firmer biscuit that kept it's shape, adding a little more flour at this stage helped. 

Roll out to just under 1cm thickness (I do this on a baking sheet to save mess and unwanted stickiness all over my worktops) and cut out shapes

If you are making decorations, make sure you find something small and circular to use to cut out a hole at the top before baking.

* OPTIONAL - carefully put your cut out shapes in your freezer for 10 mins before baking. This helps to keep the shape when baking but isn't essential. 

Lay biscuits on a baking sheet and place in the oven for around 8 mins depending on your oven. It helps to know your oven for this. Mine gets pretty hot so 8 minutes was fine. For bigger cookies, 9-10 might be best.

Try and get them out before the edges are going brown. 

Transfer to a wire rack and cool. 

Royal Icing

Beat egg white and lemon juice together before adding the icing sugar to desired consistency. If piping, you want a toothpaste type consistency. 

Decorate your cookies and enjoy

Enjoy! 

[lilasteaparty]

Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake Cakes with Ski Yogurt

I was incredibly lucky to be selected by Ski Yogurt to devise a recipe to celebrate their 50th Birthday using their brand new celebratory flavor yogurt - 'Lemon Cheesecake'

I wanted to make something really tasty yet easy and also something that promoted the taste of the yogurt so I created these cupcakes. I've used the yogurt in both the cake and the icing on top. The yogurt in the cake mix makes the sponge dense and creamy yet the fruit inside gives it a lighter taste.

The cheesecake icing can be played around with. This recipe creates more of a pouring consistency although if you added more icing sugar and cream cheese the icing would be stiffer and could be piped. I chose to remove my cakes from the baking case although if they were tight around the cake you could just as easily pour a thick layer of icing to fill the gap between the cake and the top of the case before putting on the blueberry. 

Hope you like it!

Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake Cup Cakes with Ski Yogurt

Cakes

1 pot Ski Lemon Cheesecake Yogurt

4 eggs

225g Soft Unsalted Butter

200g Caster Sugar

225g Plain Flour, Sifted

2tsp Baking Powder

Juice of 1 Lemon

Zest of 2 Lemons

100g Blueberries

Preheat oven to 170 F

Icing

1 Pot Ski Lemon Cheesecake Yogurt

250g Icing Sugar

200g Cream Cheese

12 Blueberries to top cakes

Lemon Zest to grate over the top of the finished cakes

Method

Beat together all of the icing ingredients minus the blueberries and zest using a freestanding mixer or a hand held whisk for around 3-4 minutes.

Put into the fridge to cool. 

Put all of the cake ingredients minus the blueberries into a large mixing bowl.

Beat together until you get a soft and light consistency...

Spoon into baking cases (About 3/4 full)

Push 3 blueberries into each cake

Bake for 25 mins

Once cooled, remove the Icing from the fridge and apply to cakes with a spoon before popping a Blueberry in the middle and grating lemon on top. 

Enjoy!!

[lilasteaparty]

Eloide (Olive Bread)

My biggest food inspiration is my Nanny. She was everything you could imagine a Greek Cypriot Grandmother to be. All she wanted was to feed everyone amazing food. Some of my earliest memories are of her feeding me, whether that be halloumi and salami sandwiches for breakfast or a full on roast dinner complete with a starter (yet main course size) of spaghetti bolognese!  She died when I was eleven but I can still taste her food and I'm so grateful that I'm now able to cook some of her classic recipies myself, thanks to my Dad who has taught me everything she passed onto him. This one, although is a cypriot recipie, has been changed by my Nanny so I'm not sure what about it is traditional. It's just very important to our family and whenever it's made everyone goes mad for it. It's unlikely to hang around longer than a few hours! I now make it for my husband and daughter and they absolutely love it too which I love.

So this is basically a dense bread which isn't left to prove just thrown straight into the oven. It's very easy and accompanies a Greek salad amazingly well or anything really...

Eloide

4 cups of self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 pinch of salt

30 black olives, pips removed and chopped (These can be any type of black olive - Kalamata are my favorite - just make sure they're not pitted. Crespo do some nice moist black olives)

1 generous handful of mint, chopped

1 onion diced and softened

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of olive oil

Start by chopping the onion and heating with a little olive oil until softened and slightly colored. 

Pitt your olives and add them with one cup of water to a small saucepan. This gives the bread moistness as well as a nice colouring.

While that's cooking, measure out your flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl.

Chop the mint and add to the bowl.

Add your olive oil and vegetable oil to the bowl, your cooked onion and your olives. Mix with your hands bringing everything together. 

Now gradually pour the olive water into the bowl using a spoon to mix it further. You want it to be a doughy consistency, not wet.

After a minute or so (once the water is within the mixture and won't burn your hands!) you can use your hands to bring it all together and kneed slightly in the bowl until you have a round ball. 

Prepare a flat baking tray with baking parchment

Put the dough in the centre of the tray and with a rolling pin, roll out evenly until it's 2cm thick (you're not going for any particular shape)

Brush lightly with olive oil and put into the oven at 170F for around 30 mins until it's turning a nice brown colour. 

Leave to stand for a few minutes before cutting into chunks. 

[lilasteaparty]

Coconut Mascarpone Cake

This is a recipe by Dan Lepard who writes for the Guardian. (http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/howtobake)

I remember seeing it in the Saturday Mag and thinking it looked and sounded like a really nice flavor combination. He was talking about the fact that him and his partner where getting married that day and would be celebrating with this cake. I just thought it sounded really lovely and special. So I saved it and made it for my husband's birthday where I felt I should make slightly more effort than usual! I'm not going to pretend it's an easy cake to make because it isn't. It's full of different methods and lots of bowls and saucepans...And takes a while...But, it's truly delicious. It also keeps really well in the fridge so even though you are committing to quite a big cake, you can keep any leftover for a while. 

350ml coconut milk 125g desiccated coconut 4 tsp vanilla extract 500g caster sugar 75g arrowroot or corn flour 75ml sunflower oil 125g white chocolate, broken into small pieces 200g mascarpone 8 medium eggs 375g plain flour 4 level tsp baking powder

Line the base and sides of a 23cm or 25cm square cake tin with nonstick paper.

Bring the coconut milk to a boil, take off the heat, mix in the desiccated coconut and leave for 30 minutes.

Beat in the vanilla, sugar and arrowroot.

Put the oil and chocolate in a saucepan, warm until it melts, then beat through the coconut mix with the mascarpone.

Beat in four whole eggs and four egg yolks, then sift in the flour and baking powder, and fold through evenly.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold evenly through.

Spoon into the tin, cover loosely with foil – this helps keep the top of the cake level – and bake for about 90 minutes at 170C (150C fan-assisted)/335F/gas mark 3, removing the foil after 45 minutes.

When a skewer comes out clean, it's baked. Leave to cool in the tin, then slice it level across the top before decorating.

Buttercream

You'll need two batches of buttercream - one batch of buttercream to fill the layers and one more to give the outside a smooth finish. If you want to decorate the cake (I didn't but still had lots left over) you can and another to decorate with.

250g mascarpone 150g caster sugar 250g icing sugar 250g unsalted butter, softened Vanilla extract or other flavouring

Pour the mascarpone into a saucepan, stir in the caster sugar and bring to a boil. Leave to cool, then put into the fridge.

Using the whisk attachment on an electric mixer, gradually beat the icing sugar and butter until light and fluffy, then beat in the chilled mascarpone mixture just until mixed. You're looking for a smooth pliable consistency. If it gets too soft, just chill it a bit more before whipping it gently again. 

I didn't use enough inside the cake so I would recommend going for about a 1cm thickness. It wasn't that it tasted dry, it was really more aesthetically...and anyway, you can never have enough icing!

[lilasteaparty]

Ombre Cake

I wanted to do something really cool for my daughter's 3rd birthday and I'd seen so many great images of rainbow cakes so wanted to try that. Despite buying in a load of colours, on the day I decided to just go with different versions and colour depths of pink and purple to match her princess theme. I was really happy with the way it turned out and even better, it was delicious. 

Ombre Cake

8oz caster sugar

8oz unsalted butter or stork margarine

4 eggs

8oz plain flour + 2tsp baking powder

Assortment of colours (I used Sugarflair Gel paste)

*This is for one big normal victoria sponge so adjust, double, triple the amounts depending on how thick you want each layer and how big the cake tin you're using is. I used 3 x this amount for 6 layers. 

For the Icing

300g icing sugar, sifted

50g unsalted butter at room temperature

125g cream cheese, cold

*Again, one portion is for one cake so if you triple the cake quantities above, triple the icing too

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

To make each cake, beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy then add in the flour (mixed through with baking powder) and whisked eggs gradually until everything is used up and you have a lovely soft and airy mixture. 

Divide the mixture evenly into two identical bowls. I made sure they were the same by weighing both bowls on electric scales until they read the same. Mix a different colour into each mixture. 

Pour into identical greased cake tins (or, like me use the same one and keep washing it out! I wouldn't recommend this if possible as it's far quicker to use two the same but I had misplaced mine on the day!)

Cook for around 20 mins but keep checking through the glass if you can to make sure they don't burn as will vary drastically depending on tins and depth of cake.

Take out and cool before repeating the same thing again depending on how many layers you want. 

For the icing, beat together the butter and icing sugar until fluffy then add the cream cheese in one go, beating until you get a light frosty consistency. 

Spread evenly between each layer and all over the cake once it's assembled. 

Enjoy!

[lilasteaparty]

Easy Flapjacks

These are so so easy and perfect for throwing together for a picnic or just to have something sweet to have lying around!

200g Unsalted Butter

200g Sugar (light brown or caster, or whatever you have!)

300g Oats

200g Honey

Heat the butter in a deep saucepan. Once completely melted, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. 

Throw in the honey, followed by the oats. 

Stir it all together before pouring into a square baking tray and pressing down until flat

Bake for 25 around mins at 170C 

You want them to look slightly golden on the top and edges

Voila! 

[lilasteaparty]

Autumn's Peanut Butter Biscuits

My good friend Autumn gave me this recipe after posting a picture of them on Facebook. They looked so lovely I had to have it. I should probably mention that she’s the most amazing cake maker in the whole world so anything she does is bound to be good. You can check out her website here www.plumbandrabbitts.co.uk just try not to feel to intimidated…

It turns out that this recipe is so easy it’s perfect for doing with the kids. My daughter practically did every part of this herself minus the weighing obviously…and the rolling because quite frankly, it was painful watching her try to do it. I’ve included a picture of her ‘rubbing in’. She’s actually pretty good for a 3 year old…princess dress optional.

Autumn’s Peanut Butter Biscuits

12oz of plain flour 6oz of butter 2 eggs 9oz of caster sugar 2-3 Large tablespoons smooth or crunchy peanut butter

Add flour and butter and rub in as you where making a crumble mix

Once that’s done add the sugar and mix thoroughly.

Next whisk the eggs and add them to the mixture along with the peanut butter and and push that into the crumble mix, using your hands to bring it all together.

Ta Dah!

Cut in half and put one half in the fridge wrapped in cling film while you get on with the first half.

Roll out onto plain floured surface (about 1cm thick) and cut your shapes before placing on to baking paper.

Cook on 160-180/gas mark 5-6 for about 10 minutes or until the edges turn brown.

Leave to cool on a wire rack before shoving into your mouth two at a time eating

[lilasteaparty]

Easy Chocolate & Orange Cake

This is a cake from Nigella's 'How to be a Domestic Goddess book' I love it because for me, there's no better combination than chocolate and orange, and it can be thrown together without worrying about getting in any particular ingredients (always a winner). Nigella calls it 'store cupboard cake' and it is just that although that makes it sound really basic when in actual fact it's a really gorgeous cake.

AND you can make it all using one saucepan!

In this picture, I'd doubled the quantities so that I could make a really big cake and I wanted to tart it up as it was for a friends birthday so I added the chocolate frosting from the Chocolate Rose Cardamon cake recipe icing the middle, top and sides to make it more decadent.

I used two 24cm spring forms for this, dividing the mixture evenly between them. I usually divide the mixture then put each cake tin onto electric scales to make sure both cakes have the same amount of mixture in, ensuring both are even when cooked.

This works just as well as a loaf dusted in icing sugar

Easy Chocolate & Orange Cake

125g of unsalted butter 100g of dark chocolate 300g of good quality orange marmalade 150g of sugar a pinch of salt 2 large eggs 150g of self-rising flour Melt the butter slowly in a heavy-bottom saucepan.

When it's almost melted, add chocolate pieces, stir and take off the heat.

Stir with a wooden spoon, until chocolate has melted. Add the marmalade, sugar, salt and eggs. Stir thoroughly (there will be visible chunks of marmalade in the batter).

Add sifted flour, stir and pour into a buttered and floured tin. Bake at 180˚C/350.F/Gas 4 oven for 45-50 minutes, until the cake has set (test with a knife or wooden stick).

Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

Once cooled either dust with icing sugar or ice in whatever way you want.

[lilasteaparty]

Midweek Onion Pie

This is really easy and makes a perfect midweek meal. I just made this while my daughter was eating her dinner then shoved it in the oven once she was asleep as it only takes 25 minutes once it's in. I like it because it contains ingredients I usually have lying around and dried thyme is easily substituted for fresh because I'll be honest, fresh herbs are rarely at the top of my shopping list. Although it's a pie, it's basically a cheese scone mixture that you press (no kneading or rolling required) onto the already cooked, onions. Perfect with a salad.

Topping

5 medium red onions

1 tbsp olive oil

25g butter

One good pinch of dried thyme or if you have it, 3-4 sprigs of fresh

150g mature cheddar, grated

Scone dough

150g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

100ml milk

40g butter, melted

1 tsp english mustard

1 large egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 200c / gas mark 6

Cut the onions in half and then each half into four and put into a saucepan with the butter and olive oil. Heat for around 30 minutes until soft but slightly coloured.

Just before taking them off the heat, season with salt and pepper and add the thyme.

Tip into your vessel - either a pie dish (20-25cm) or a cast iron skillet - cover the bottom evenly before scattering over 50g of the grated cheese.

For the scone dough, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and remaining cheese.

Pour the milk into a measuring jug and add the melted butter, mustard and egg. Mix together well before pouring into the dry ingredients.

Mix everything together with a fork and then use your hands to bring it together.

Take it out of the bowl and put it on a flat surface to mould into a circule the same size as your dish or skillet.

Transfer it onto the onions and use your fingertips to seal the edges around the onions, making sure there's an even amount of dough covering everything.

Put it in the oven at 200/gas 6 then turn down to 180/gas 4 for a further 10 minutes until it's golden brown on top.

Once out the oven, leave for a couple of minutes before placing a flat plate over the top and tipping it out so that the onions are on the bottom.

Supposed to make 6 generous slices but I'd say 4....particularly if you're eating it with a salad!

[lilasteaparty]

Chocolate & Beetroot Easter cakes

OK so I'm not going to pretend that these are particularly special...essentially, they're just lovely cakes with mini eggs on top! But I figured as it's Easter, I really should do some kind of Easter post...

They also contain beetroot and let's be honest, vegetables in cake is just a nice way of feeling ever-so-slightly less guilty for eating them. Ha, I say that but I can't remember the last time I felt guilty about eating cake!

You can make this cake in any guise you want. I've previously cut baking paper into squares pushed them into a muffin tin and (after quickly spooning the mixture in while holding the paper in place!) baked like that which creates some nice rustic style muffins which nicely reflect the earthy taste of the beetroot.

Chocolate & Beetroot Easter cakes

75g cocoa powder

180g plain flour 

2 tsp baking powder 

250g caster sugar

250g cooked beetroot, peeled

3 large eggs

200ml vegetable oil 

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 180 c or gas 4

Arrange cases on a baking sheet or muffin cases in a 12-mould muffin tin

Sift the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder into a bowl. Mix in the sugar, and set aside.

Purée the beetroot in a food processor. Add the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla, oil and maple syrup and blend until smooth.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, add the beetroot mixture and lightly mix. Pour into the muffin cases.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is firm when pressed.

Cool on a wire rack

Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup softened butter

1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted

2 1/2 cups icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

2-3 tbsp milk

1 bag of mini eggs (take 12 out and eat the rest while you're waiting!)

Whip butter and cocoa together until smooth in large bowl.

Stir in vanilla and icing sugar. Slowly stream in milk until frosting reaches desired consistency.

Scrape sides and whip again until light, fluffy and smooth, 1-2 minutes.

Frost you cakes in whatever way you want and don't forget to add the eggs on top (unless you've eaten them all...)

[lilasteaparty]

Rose & Cardamon Chocolate Cake

    Last year decided to enter a baking competition for the first time. I thought it would be a nice idea to have a go as I thought it would be good for me to see how I worked under competitive pressure...and who am I kidding...find out if I was actually any good!

Turns out it was a particularly awful experience with entrants paying a ludicrous amount to enter their bakes only to receive absolutely no feedback despite being made to hand their cakes out to members of the paying public! People I did speak to loved the cake which was great and all family and friends (guinea pigs) did too so I was happy at least that in trying to make something different, I didn't make something horrible!

I wanted something that would stand out and had wanted to make something chocolate and rose for a while. I did a bit of digging and found this recipe on the blog culinarytravels.co.uk. I wasn't immediately sold on the cardamon but it isn't at all overpowering and tastes really different to anything else. Definitely not your everyday chocolate cake. I adapted it slightly and divided my mixture into two as I wanted a layered cake. I doubled the quantities of the icing to spread inside the cake as well as the top....I'm not going to pretend I didn't eat spoonfuls of it as I went because it's impossible not to, it's so delicious.

The cake is really soft and gorgeous. I hope you enjoy it.

Rose & Cardamon Chocolate Cake

4 eggs

1 cup double cream

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

1 tbsp rose water

1 tbsp ground cardamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups self raising flour

1/4 cup cocoa

Preheat the oven to 160C or the equivalent.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, cream, sugar, rose water, cardamom and salt for 1-2 minutes until everything is thoroughly dissolved and the batter has thickened.

Gradually add the flour and cocoa, and beat until a smooth batter is formed.

Pour into a lined 20cm spring form cake tin and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the cake springs back to the touch and a cake tester comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs present).

Allow to cool slightly before removing from the tin

Leave to cool fully before icing.

Condensed Milk Chocolate Frosting

200g dark chocolate

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons golden syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

Melt the chocolate and butter together over a low heat.

Mix in the condensed milk, syrup and salt.

Cover and set aside until the mixture reaches room temperature – it will thicken as it cools.

Use as required.

*I used a stencil to pipe slightly rose-infused royal icing roses onto the top but that's just because I was in competition mode!

[lilasteaparty]

Orange & Almond Loaves

My late Nanny used to make a cake like this but I've never had the recipe so I've tried lots of different things and come up with this based on taste alone. I think I've pretty much nailed it. This is one of those recipes that will work in any cake form but I like these mini loaves as they look lovely and are bigger than a cupcake. Always a winner!  It's super easy and absolutely delicious...

Orange & Almond Loaves

225g Stork Margarine

200g Plain Flour

200g Caster Sugar

Rind and juice of one large orange

2tsp Baking Powder

4 eggs

100g Ground Almonds

Handful of flaked almonds

Method

Preheat oven to 170 degrees

Throw everything into a mixer (or bowl if using hand whisk). Beat together all ingredients until blended and fluffy.

Pour into any greased cake tin or cupcake cases and sprinkle with the flaked almonds before putting in the oven.

For a large loaf cook for 40-50 mins (until firm)

For mini loaves cook for 25mins

For cupcakes cook for 20 mins

[lilasteaparty]

Special Birthday Cake

Being an avid baker, I have naturally been looking forward to making my daughters birthday cake. However as time drew near, I became increasingly anxious about the pressure I was putting myself under and so was completely unable to make a decision about exactly what cake I would make. I was so worried that I even thought (albeit momentarily) about buying the Peppa Pig cake I came across in Tesco, knowing that she would love it. However, I then realised that it would be the perfect opportunity to attempt a fondant icing cake for the first time.

And so I did. Although it took me hours and hours, I was so pleased with the end result that I wanted to do it all over again immediately! And it was much easier than I had anticipated. So, despite the fact that my daughter will never remember the cake herself, the fact that I have photographic evidence is enough!

Birthday Cake

*I chose two cake tins for this which could work in tiers. I made 3 times the cake mixture for both cakes (1x 30cm and 1x 24cm)

8oz Caster Sugar

8oz Butter or Stork Margarine

4 eggs

8oz Plain Flour + 2 tsp baking powder

Buttercream Icing

4oz Butter

3-4 oz Icing Sugar (depending on thickness

1 Jar Strawberry Jam

1 Jar Apricot Jam

Icing

2 x 1k packets of Fondant Icing

Equipment

1 Cake board

1-2 Cake Dowels (These usually come in long sticks that you can break to fit)

Any cake cutters or food coloring you wish to use

Method

Preheat oven to 220

Cream together the caster sugar and butter until white and fluffy.

Mix eggs in a separate bowl.

Add the flour and eggs, alternatively, a spoon at a time, to the sugar mixture. Keep mixture or hand held whisk on a low speed until everything is in the same bowl and beaten well.

Pour into greased/greaseproof papered cake tins and bake for around 40 minutes, removing the smaller cake carefully from the oven 10 or 15 mins before. (I find it's always dependent on the oven so just take out when each cake is firm to touch)

Once out the oven turn out an leave to cool while you make the butter cream icing.

Mix butter with icing sugar, adding more sugar for a thicker icing.

*If you have doubled the cake mixture, do the same with the icing.

When the cakes have cooled, carefully cut in half (across ways) with a sharp knife.

Spread strawberry Jam on one half, and butter cream on the other before placing each half back together.

Roll out your fondant into a large circle and 5mm thickness (If you are coloring your fondant, you will need to knead this into the fondant first until you have your desired colouring)

*make sure there is plenty of icing sugar down on your surface to avoid sticking

Heat the apricot jam in a saucepan over a low heat with 2 tbsp water

When it's bubbling, sieve into a cup or bowl to remove any rind

Using a spoon, smooth over both cakes with the jam.

Drape your fondant over each cake, smoothing it down each side as you go. Rub each cake to make sure the icing clings to the jam underneath.

When you have covered each cake, break off 3 cake dowels so that each is roughly 2.5mm above the height of the bottom cake. Push them into the bottom cake in a triangle shape in the center.

Lower the top tier on top.

Now you can decorate your cake however you want. Just cut out and reuse the fondant you have left, making sure to lightly wet each decoration to ensure it sticks to the cake.

Enjoy!

[lilasteaparty]

Sage Sausage Rolls

Now this is a bit of a cheat if I'm honest. I don't make my own puff pastry because life is simply to short. I might give it a go at some point but until then, I'm happy using the bought variety. This recipe is so easy that once you know it, you'll want to make sausage rolls for every occasion....even if the occasion is an afternoon in front of the TV! When I first learned how to do this, I ate sausage rolls for 3 weeks until I decided enough was enough!

Sage Sausage Rolls

1 x 500g packet of puff pastry, rolled to 5mm thickness (into a square if possible)

1 x packet of sausage meat or the meat squeezed out of a packet of sausages

3 potatoes

2 tsp olive oil

2tsp sage (or more if you want)

salt & pepper

1 egg, whisked

Preheat the oven to 170C / 325F

Start by peeling the potatoes, cutting them into cubes and boiling with a little salt.

When they're done, drain and mash with the olive oil.

Put your sausage meat into a bowl, add the sage, mashed potatoes and salt and pepper.

Roll out your puff pastry on a floured work surface to a 5mm thickness.

Cut out a large rectangle to make sure you have even edges.

Cut the puff into 2 long strips, the same size.

Distribute your meat into a long log shape in the middle of each. This can be quite tricky so you may have to do this bit by bit.

Brush egg onto the puff next to the meat and working your way down, bring the two edges of the puff together and crimp using your fingertips.

Fold the end ups before cutting the roll into whatever sizes you want. I like to go for diagonal 2 inch thick pieces.

Bake in the oven on a piece of grease proof paper for 20-25 mins or until browned.