Jack Daniels Chocolate Cake with Oreo Truffles

As you can probably tell from the photos, this was a birthday cake I made for my boyfriend, who looooves Jack Daniel's!

Filled with Jack Daniels buttercream, covered in chocolate ganache and decorated with Oreo truffles, this cake is definitely one to show off!

Ingredients:

For the Oreo truffles:
- one package of Oreos
- one tub of cream cheese
- 200g chocolate

For the cake:
-200g unsalted butter
-200g caster sugar
-3 eggs, beaten
-3 tbsp cocoa powder
-100ml jack daniels
-200g self raising flour

For the buttercream-
-250g unsalted butter
-400g icing sugar
-2 tbsp jack daniels

For the ganache:
-300ml double cream
-250g milk chocolate
-250g dark chocolate

For the truffles, place the Oreos in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin until you're left with fine crumbs.
Place into a bowl and mix in the cream cheese.

Roll into balls and place on a lined baking tray, into your fridge, for at least half an hour.
Once they're nice and cooled, melt your chocolate and roll each ball in it to cover them completely, place them back onto the baking tray, and put them into the fridge to set.
Decorate with whatever your fancy, I used white chocolate and crushed hazelnuts.

To make the ganache.
Heat the double cream in a small saucepan, until it starts to simmer in a small saucepan. Take off the heat, break up the chocolate and place into the cream, making sure it's mostly covered. Leave for 5 minutes to melt.

Once melted, stir to combine and leave to cool. I placed it into the fridge until I needed it, but had to microwave it for 30 seconds before using to make it easier to spread.

Preheat your oven to 180c, grease and line two sandwich tins with grease proof paper.

In a large bowl, best the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Slowly beat in the eggs.
In a mug combine the cocoa powder with a tiny bit of boiling water to dissolve, then mix in the jack daniels. Add this to the batter and mix well.
Sift over the flour and gently fold in with a metal spoon until combined.

Divide the mixture into each sandwich tin and place into the oven for 20-25, minutes.
To test if it's ready, stick a toothpick into the middle, if it comes out clean it's ready.
Once baked, leave to cool completely on a cooling rack before decorating.

For the buttercream, beat the butter until light and fluffy, slowly add the icing sugar and jack daniels until a thick but spreadable consistency.
Sandwich the cooled cakes with the buttercream then cover the whole cake with the ganache, I just did this with a spatula.

Place your Oreo truffles on top and then wallah!

Lemon and Raspberry Cupcakes

After baking a few things the past couple of weeks, nothing to me was blogable. I like to put things on that I would want to see myself (quality over quantity, I'm aiming for), so I hope you like this one!

Lemon cupcakes, with lemon buttercream, filled with raspberry jam, these cupcakes are perfect with a cup of tea in the afternoon and everyone seems to love them.

I still can't find my 1M Wilton tip that I basically use for ALL my cupcakes, and I think I'm going have to get a new one soon because someone has thrown it out (someone meaning my dad) so I just used a piping bag for the buttercream. They still look pretty though I think!

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes-
•180g unsalted butter
•180g caster sugar
•3 eggs, beaten
•zest and juice of 2 lemons
•180g self raising flour

For the icing and filling-
•10 tbsp raspberry jam
•200g unsalted butter
•400g icing sugar, sifted
• zest and juice of one lemon

Preheat your oven to 180c and line a muffin tray with 10 cases.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Gradually add your beaten eggs and then the zest and juice of the lemons.

Sift over the flour, and gently fold in with a metal spoon until incorporated.

Divide between the cases and place into the oven for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Leave to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Once cooled cut a lid out of each and place a tsp of jam in each, then place the lid back on top.

For the frosting,beat the butter until pale in colour, then gradually add the icing sugar, lemon zest and juice until a thick consistency.

Pipe or spread on top of each cupcake, I decorated mine with white chocolate buttons.

Chocolate Caramel Torte with Peanut Brittle

I know I have only just posted a chocolate recipe, but really, who can get enough of chocolate? Or caramel... Which is why I have made this!

Looks difficult and a bit fiddly but is actually very simple and doesn't use too many ingredients.

Best served warm with cream or, my favourite, vanilla ice cream!

Ingredients:

For the torte-
•200g unsalted butter
•100g milk chocolate
•100g dark chocolate
•1 tsp almond extract
•4 eggs
•200g soft brown sugar
•200g self raising flour

For the caramel-
• 2 tbsp condensed milk
• 2 tbsp soft brown sugar
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
,
For the peanut brittle-
•80g caster sugar
• a couple of handfuls of salted peanuts


Preheat your oven to 180c and grease and line a 20cm springform pan with baking paper.

In a medium saucepan, melt together the butter and chocolate, once melted stir in the almond extract and take off the heat.

In a large bowl beat together the eggs and sugar until doubled in volume and light in colour. Slowly drizzle in the chocolate mixture and gently fold in.

Sift over the flour and again, fold in gently until incorporated.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes.

Once baked, leave to cool completely before removing.

To make the caramel, put all three ingredients into a frying pan and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and continue stirring until golden and thick.
Spread on top of the cooled torte.

For the peanut brittle, line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Carefully melt the sugar in a medium saucepan, shaking the pan now and again, until it reaches a golden colour.
Add in the peanuts and then pour onto the baking tray to harden.

Once set break into small pieces and sprinkle on top of the torte.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

I thought it was about time I made something gluten free and this was the perfect dessert to start with.

If you love chocolate (like I do) then this is the dessert for you.

Rich and decadent, I served it with a white chocolate and raspberry cream from tesco, but you can serve it with whatever you like!

Ingredients-

• 200g milk chocolate
• 120g unsalted butter
• 150g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• white chocolate, melted

Firstly preheat your oven to 150c and grease a cake tin with butter and dust with cocoa powder.

In a bowl over simmering water, place the chocolate and butter until melted, leave to cool slightly.
In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla until light in colour.

Pour a small about of the chocolate mixture in and stir, so as to not curdle the eggs.

Once combined add the rest of the chocolate mixture.
Pour into your tin and place into the oven for 40 minutes.

When baked, leave to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

I drizzled over the white chocolate and then dusted with icing sugar and served with the white chocolate and raspberry cream.

Snowman Cupcakes

This really is my favourite time of the year, specially because you can bake things like this!  I actually cant help myself.

I doubt here in Kent we will be making real snowman any time soon, as it's pouring it down as I write this,so I decided to make cupcake ones instead! (No getting cold and falling over in the snow, instead stuffing my face with cake, which is always the winner ;).

Ingredients:

Cupcakes-

• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g self- raising flour

Buttercream-

• 150g unsalted butter softened
• 300g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp milk

Decoration-

• Marshmallows
• Cadbury chocolate fingers
• Coloured fondant icing

Preheat your oven to 180c and line a muffin tin with 12 cases.

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.

Gradually add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.

Sift in the flour and fold in gently with a large wooden spoon until incorporated.

Divide between the muffin cases and place into the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick

inserted comes out clean.

Once baked, leave to cool completely on a cooling rack before decorating.

For the butter cream, beat the butter until really light and fluffy (this is the key to great butter cream.)

Gradually mix in the icing sugar, and milk until a thick consistency.

Spread a mound of butter cream onto each cupcake.

Place a marshmallow on top, and break a chocolate finger in two for the arms.

Then decorate how you like with the fondant icing! 

Reindeer Cookies

After decorating the Christmas cake I had a ton of white fondant icing left, as I wanted to bake some Christmas cookies anyway, this is what I did. How cute are they?!

Almost too good to eat. I say almost as they went very quickly.

These are the type of thing everyone likes, so don't expect them to last long! They're soft sugar cookies so, even my little niece could enjoy them.

Ingredients:

• 225g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g caster caster
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 320g vanilla plain flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Decorations:

• white fondant icing
• milk chocolate, melted
• red sweets

Preheat your oven to 180c, and line two baking trays with baking paper.

In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy, then beat in the egg and vanilla.

Gradually add the flour and baking soda until a dough forms.

Leave the dough in the fridge for at least an hour to chill.

Once chilled, scoop out spoonfuls onto your baking tray, I managed to roll them into balls then flatten them but the dough is very sticky.

Bake them for 10 minutes until light golden in colour.
Once baked leave to cool on a cooling rack before decorating.

For the decorations, roll one bigger ball of fondant for the mouth, and two small balls for the eyes, then lightly flatten onto the cookies. Then add the chocolate eyes, antlers and sweetie nose! (I used a piping bag with a small round tip for the chocolate.)

Cherry Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes

After having hardly any time to bake the past couple of months, I am back with a new recipe and will have many more over the Christmas period, yay!

These are my cherry filled cupcakes with a chocolate truffle topping, they didn't last long in my household so they must of been good.

The topping is actually a chocolate truffle mixture that I made, which may or may not have gone wrong and ended up too soft to make actual truffles... buuuut it was perfect for cupcakes!

Ingredients:

Truffle Topping-

• .120g milk chocolate
• 30g butter, chopped
• 100ml double cream
• 25g caster sugar

Cupcakes-

• 100g unsalted butter, softened
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 100g self raising flour
• 100g glace cherries, rinsed and dried

Optional-

• chopped pistachios
• white chocolate chips

First of all make your truffle topping.

Break up the chocolate in a bowl with the butter and set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the cream and sugar until the sugar has melted and until just boiling.

Pour over the chocolate and butter, and mix well.

Cover and place into the freezer for an hour to set.

Now for the cakes, preheat the oven to 180c and fill a muffin tin with 8 cases.

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Gradually add the eggs, then the vanilla and beat well.

Sift in the flour and gently fold in with a metal spoon until incorporated.

Chop up the cherries and mix into the cake batter.

Divide between the cases, and place into the oven for 18-20 minutes, until a knife inserted

comes out clean.

Leave to cool completely on a cooling rack, before decorating.

When your ready to decorate, whip the truffle mixture lightly to soften, and place into a piping bag.
Pipe a blob onto each cake, and sprinkle on your choice of topping, then enjoy!