Little One loves to bake so much, so when Littlest One is at nursery we always make sure that we bake something. A few weeks ago, we made these cherry and almond cupcakes. The day we baked them also happened to be her first day not being at nursery anymore, so we wanted to make something extra yummy. It’s lovely spending time baking together, and it’s a lovely thing to do when her little brother is at nursery! She always wants to know what we’ll be making, and I think it will be a lovely tradition. She chose how we would decorate them, and was very pleased that they look “a bit like space, Mummy!”. This recipe is actually originally for a cake, but it worked really well for cupcakes too. We used a muffin tray to make them.

Ingredients

200g glacé cherries

200g self-raising white flour

175g unsalted butter, softened

175g caster sugar

3 eggs (medium)

50g ground almonds 

1 tsp almond extract

2 tbsp flaked almonds – only use these if you’re making a cake version

For the frosting

250g icing sugar, sifted (plus extra for dusting)

80g unsalted butter, at room temperature

25ml semi skimmed milk

A few drops of almond extract

Food colouring (optional)

A few sprinkles (we used white chocolate stars)

Method

1.Preheat the oven to 170°C, (fan 150°C, gas mark 3). Cut the cherries in half and rinse in hot water to remove all the syrup. Pat dry with kitchen paper.

2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy, then gradually beat in the eggs a little at a time until well mixed, adding a little of the flour if the mixture curdles.

3. Fold in the flour, salt, cherries, ground almonds and almond extract until evenly mixed.

4. Spread the mixture into a 7 inch cake tin, top with flaked almonds and bake for 60-75 minutes, until firm to the touch and the cake has just begun to shrink from the side of the tin. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then remove from the tin and cool completely.

I’m definitely going to make this as a celebration cake at some point. In my new book, Colourful Fun Embroidery, I have created a super sweet bunting cake topper that I think would look fab on top of this! If you’d like to order a copy, you can do that here.

The original recipe for cherry and almond cupcakes can be found here.

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Our building work is in full swing now so there isn’t really much cooking or baking going on at the moment. The work only started on Wednesday, and I’m missing it already! So it’s a good job that I have been saving up a few foodie posts to use whilst it’s all happening. I made this delicious buttermilk cake a long time ago now – it’s really easy to make and is great for any occasion. I had never used buttermilk before making this, but it makes the cake really moist. Yum! 

This recipe comes from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.

Ingredients (for a 23 x 13cm loaf tin)

120g unsalted butter, at room temperature

330g caster sugar

3 eggs

200g plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

120ml buttermilk

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/gas mark 3.

2. Put the butter and sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment and cream until light and fluffy (you can always use a handheld electric mixer or good old elbow grease and a wooden spoon to do this if you prefer!). Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a spatula after each addition.

3. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a separate bowl. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, followed by half the buttermilk. Mix well and then repeat the process, finishing with the flour.

4. Stir in the vanilla extract and then mix well until everything is combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and smooth over with a palette knife.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and the sponge bunches back when touched. Leave to cool slightly in the tin before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy with a cuppa!

Post updated 17th February 2020.

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I made this gorgeous loaf ages ago, and then completely forgot to write the post about it! It comes from Rachel Allen’s ‘Cake‘ – a fabulous book which the Bakewell Cake that I made a few months ago came from too. If you’re a fan of ginger then you’ll love this – it didn’t last long in our house!

Ingredients (for a 900g/2lb loaf tin)

225g/8oz golden syrup
100g/3.5oz butter
100g/3.5oz caster sugar
75g/3oz stem ginger in syrup, chopped (plus 3 tbsp of syrup for the glaze)
200ml/7fl oz milk
2 eggs, beaten
225g/8oz self-raising flour
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. Line the base and sides of the loaf tin with baking parchment, with the paper coming above the sides of the tin so that it can be lifted out easily later.

2. Place the golden syrup, butter and sugar in a saucepan and stir over a medium-low heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside and allow to cool, then mix in the ginger, milk and eggs.

3. Meanwhile, sift the remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, then pour in the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.

4. Tip the mixture – which will be quite runny – into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

5. Remove from the oven and drizzle or brush the reserved stem ginger syrup over the loaf while it’s still hot. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then lift the cake out of the tin and place on a wire rack. Peel away the baking parchment and leave to cool down fully.

6. Enjoy with a cuppa!

The post Ginger golden syrup loaf appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

Ingredients

125g self raising flour
50g ground almonds
100g butter, cubed
100g light muscovado sugar
150g runny honey
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 medium eggs, beaten
25g flaked almonds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4. Grease and line a 28 x 17cm tin.

2. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and stir in the ground almonds. Place the butter, sugar and honey together in a small pan and heat gently until completely melted. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.

3. Add the melted ingredients to the bowl and add the banana and beaten eggs. Beat well to give a smooth mixture before pouring into the prepared tin.

4. Level the surface and scatter over the flaked almonds. Bake for 30-35 minutes until well risen and firm to touch.

5. Turn onto a wire rack to cool and then cut into pieces.

This mixture makes excellent muffins as well as cake pieces. Enjoy with a cuppa!

The post Sticky honey, almond and banana cake appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

Ingredients

(for a 20cm/8in diameter cake tin)

150g butter, softened (plus extra for greasing)
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
A few drops (not more than 1/8 teaspoon) of almond essence or extract
50ml milk
150g self-raising flour, sifted
150g ground almonds
150g fresh or frozen (and defrosted) raspberries
25g flaked almonds
Icing sugar for dusting
Whipped cream and raspberries to decorate (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4, then butter the sides of the cake tin and line the base with a disc of baking parchment.

2. Cream the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

3. Whisk the eggs and the almond essence or extract together in a small bowl for a few seconds or until just combined, then gradually add the eggs to the creamed butter mixture, beating all the time. Next beat in the milk, then add the flour and ground almonds, carefully folding these in until they are just mixed.

4. Next add the raspberries and fold in gently so as not to break them up too much. Tip the batter into the prepared tin, then scatter over the flaked almonds. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Use a small sharp knife to loosen the edges, the carefully remove the cake from the tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack before transferring to a serving plate.

6. Dust with icing sugar (as you can see, I forgot that bit!), and you could serve with softly whipped cream and decorate with fresh raspberries. And don’t forget to enjoy with a cuppa!

Post updated 28th September 2016.

If you want to make an extra special version of this delicious cake, check out my recipe for Bakewell cake with raspberry curd filling – just click on the link below to find the recipe

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