Cluck, Muck & Cook

Baking & Foodie Blog From Sunny Brentwood Essex

Cake

2 Cakes

Tropical Courgette Cake

I was once told that I should sow as many courgette seeds as I think I need. Then give half the plants away and you would still have too many. Courgettes are such a prolific crop and as much as I love them as a vegetable with my dinner, they are also brilliant for sneaking into cakes without the kids spotting and for adding moisture. A top tip if planning to use them in cakes is to grow the yellow variety. Then they are even harder for the kids to spot.

This tropical moist crumble cake makes great use of the courgette to keep the cake deliciously moist with a lovely buttery contrasting crumble topping. The inclusion of banana and pineapple and the lime icing gives the cake a fruity and tropical feel. Perfect for a hot summers day.

This recipe featured in Kitchen Garden Magazine, Aug 2018.

Tropical Courgette Crumble Cake

Crumble Topping:
50g slightly salted diced butter
50g plain flour
50g light brown sugar
60g chopped pecan nuts
½ tsp cinnamon

Cake:
120g slightly salted butter
2 large eggs
1 large ripe banana
100g drained crushed pineapple
2 coarsely grated medium courgettes
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
150g caster sugar
55g light soft brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp baking powder

Icing topping:
50g icing sugar
juice of 1 lemon or lime

 

Method

Cake:
Preheat oven to 180c/160c Fan.
Butter and line a deep 8 inch cake pan with baking parchment.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter on a medium heat and cook for 10 minutes until it turns a nut brown. This will add extra flavour to the cake. Leave to the side to cool.
Coarsely grate the courgettes and dry off some of the moisture between some layers of kitchen roll.
Drain the crushed pineapple in a sieve.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the banana, eggs, pineapple, courgette and vanilla until smooth. Then add the cooled butter and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl add the flour, sugars, cinnamon and baking powder and mix to combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet banana mixture and mix until just combined, do not over mix.
Pour the batter into the tin and smooth the surface.

Topping:
Mix together the flour, sugar and cinnamon and rub in the diced butter until the mixture forms a fine crumble mix. Add the chopped pecans and mix in.
Sprinkle the crumble mix evenly over the top of the cake and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the middle of the cake. If it needs a little longer, cover with foil so it does not burn on top.
When baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin on a rack for about 15 minutes. Then gently turn out onto the wire rack, removing any baking parchment.
Allow to cool fully.

Icing:
In a small bowl, gradually add the juice a little at a time into the icing sugar and mix until it becomes a nice drizzling consistency.
Using a teaspoon, drizzle the icing over the top of the cake.

2.0 from 1 reviews
Tropical courgette cake
 
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This tropical moist crumble cake makes great use of the courgette to keep the cake deliciously moist with a lovely buttery contrasting crumble topping. The inclusion of banana and pineapple and the lime icing gives the cake a fruity and tropical feel. Perfect for a hot summers day.
Author:
Recipe type: Cake
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • Tropical Courgette Crumble Cake
  • Crumble Topping
  • 50g slightly salted diced butter
  • 50g plain flour
  • 50g light brown sugar
  • 60g chopped pecan nuts
  • ½tsp cinnamon
  • Cake
  • 120g slightly salted butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large ripe banana
  • 100g drained crushed pineapple
  • 2 coarsely grated medium courgettes
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g plain flour
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 55g light soft brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¾ tsp baking powder
  • Icing topping
  • 50g icing sugar
  • juice of 1 lemon or lime
Instructions
  1. Cake
  2. Preheat oven to 180c/160c Fan
  3. Butter and line a deep 8 inch cake pan with baking parchment.
  4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter on a medium heat and cook for 10 minutes until it turns a nut brown. This will add extra flavour to the cake. Leave to the side to cool.
  5. Coarsely grate the courgettes and dry off some of the moisture between some layers of kitchen roll
  6. Drain the crushed pineapple in a sieve.
  7. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the banana, eggs, pineapple, courgette and vanilla until smooth. Then add the cooled butter and mix until combined.
  8. In a separate bowl add the flour, sugars, cinnamon and baking powder and mix to combine.
  9. Add the dry ingredients to the wet banana mixture and mix until just combined, do not over mix.
  10. Pour the batter into the tin and smooth the surface.
  11. Topping
  12. Mix together the flour, sugar and cinnamon and rub in the diced butter until the mixture forms a fine crumble mix. Add the chopped pecans and mix in.
  13. Sprinkle the crumble mix evenly over the top of the cake and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the middle of the cake. If it needs a little longer, cover with foil so it does not burn on top.
  14. When baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin on a rack for about 15 minutes. Then gently turn out onto the wire rack, removing any baking parchment.
  15. Allow to cool fully.
  16. Icing
  17. In a small bowl, gradually add the juice a little at a time into the icing sugar and mix until it becomes a nice drizzling consistency.
  18. Using a teaspoon, drizzle the icing over the top of the cake.

0 Bake with the kids

Blood Orange Drizzle Cake

This time of year I go crazy for sweet vibrant blood oranges. They bring a ray of sunshine into a season of dreary fruit. So what better way to use the oranges than in a drizzle cake. Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon with a cuppa after a bracing dog walk with Chester our Cockerpoo.

Blood Orange Drizzle Cake

It is super simple to make and the kids can join in too. The sponge is basically a Victoria sandwich recipe, but when filled with the zest and a little juice of the oranges, it is transformed into a citrus delight. Then it is crowned with a sweet zesty orange syrup that oozes into the cake to make it super moist.

OK I am dribbling, I need to go and grab a slice.

Ingredients:

175g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
175g light brown soft sugar
175g plain flour
3 medium eggs
1 tsp baking powder
3 blood oranges (normal oranges will also work)
1/2 tsp orange extract (optional)
50g caster sugar

Method:

  1. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180˚C (160c Fan), Gas 4.
  3. In a stand mixer or with an electric hand whisk, cream the butter, brown sugar and zest of 2 oranges until light and fluffy.
  4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs one at a time. If it starts to curdle, add a couple of tablespoons of flour.
  5. Add the remaining flour and baking powder, a tablespoon of the juice of one of the oranges (and orange extract if using) and mix until combined.
  6. Pour into the lined loaf tin and bake for 45-55 minutes. Poke a skewer into the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean it is done.
  7. Whilst the cake is in the oven, put the caster sugar in a small pan with about 6 tablespoons of orange juice and the zest of the remaining orange and simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
  8. When the cake comes out of the oven, pierce the top all over with a skewer. Then pour on the orange syrup you have made.
  9. Leave to cool completely in the tin before removing.

Blood Orange Drizzle Cake
 
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This time of year I go crazy for sweet vibrant blood oranges. They bring a ray of sunshine into a season of dreary fruit. So what better way to use the oranges than in a drizzle cake. Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon with a cuppa after a bracing dog walk with Chester our Cockerpoo.
Author:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 175g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 175g light brown soft sugar
  • 175g plain flour
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3 blood oranges (normal oranges will also work)
  • ½ tsp orange extract (optional)
  • 50g caster sugar
Instructions
  1. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180˚C (160c Fan), Gas 4.
  3. In a stand mixer or with an electric hand whisk, cream the butter, brown sugar and zest of 2 oranges until light and fluffy.
  4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs one at a time. If it starts to curdle, add a couple of tablespoons of flour.
  5. Add the remaining flour and baking powder, a tablespoon of the juice of one of the oranges (and orange extract if using) and mix until combined.
  6. Pour into the lined loaf tin and bake for 45-55 minutes. Poke a skewer into the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean it is done.
  7. Whilst the cake is in the oven, put the caster sugar in a small pan with about 6 tablespoons of orange juice and the zest of the remaining orange and simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
  8. When the cake comes out of the oven, pierce the top all over with a skewer. Then pour on the orange syrup you have made.
  9. Leave to cool completely in the tin before removing.

 

5 Bake with the kids

Pecan & Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I fell back in love with banana bread over a lazy Sunday morning brunch with my two boys.  We decided to give Mum some peace and headed into one of our favourite local cafes ‘The Brentwood Kitchen’. The boys love the pancakes there . I fancied something different for a change and decided on a warm banana bread with Nutella . It was delicious. That spurred me on to develop my own recipe.

Banana bread

 

The one thing that slowed me down with receipe development is that my family love bananas and they never last long enough in the house to get nice, ripe, brown and spotty which is what you want for this recipe. I ended up having to hide them!

A warm slice of banana bread slathered in Nutella is delicious but I also like to drizzle over some caramel sauce as a lovely alternative. It goes brilliantly with the pecans in this recipe.

Ingredients:
285g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
110g butter, plus extra for greasing
225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
4 very ripe and mashed bananas
85ml buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g chopped pecan nuts
50g choc Chips

Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 180c/160c Fan.
2 Mash up the bananas to a paste consistency.
3 Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, pecans, choc chips and salt into a large mixing bowl.
4 In a stand mixer or another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and pale.
5 Add the eggs, bananas, buttermilk and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and mix until well combined.
6 Fold in the flour mixture gently until just combined.
7 Grease a 2lb loaf tin and pour the cake mixture into it.
8 Bake for about an hour until golden-brown and if you insert a skewer it comes out clean.
9 Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes.
10 Turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool. Serve warm or cold with a drizzle of caramel sauce or spread with Nutella .

 

 
Pecan & Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Cake
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 285g plain flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 110g butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 very ripe and mashed bananas
  • 85ml buttermilk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 50g chopped pecan nuts
  • 50g choc Chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c Fan.
  2. Mash up the bananas to a paste consistency.
  3. Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, pecans, choc chips and salt into a large mixing bowl.
  4. In a stand mixer or another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and pale.
  5. Add the eggs, bananas, buttermilk and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and mix until well combined.
  6. Fold in the flour mixture gently until just combined.
  7. Grease a 2lb loaf tin and pour the cake mixture into it.
  8. Bake for about an hour until golden-brown and if you insert a skewer it comes out clean.
  9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes.
  10. Turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool. Serve warm or cold with a drizzle of caramel sauce or spread with Nutella .

7 Cakes

Canele

Time for a coffee on a midweek afternoon at work. I need to stretch my legs as I have been hunched over my computer working on presentations most of the week. So rather than pop to the staff canteen, I decide on a stroll outside. Canary Wharf has a great selection of coffee shops and whilst Starbucks in Jubilee Place has a great friendly team and can knock out a consistently decent cappuccino, I fancied something a bit different.

Canele

On the lower level of Jubilee Place, tucked away under the escalators, there is a little ‘Paul’ French patisserie booth. Along with good coffee, they always have an interesting selection of breads, cakes and patisserie. I was browsing what they had whilst the coffee was being made and I spotted what looked like little burnt sandcastles. I had never seen them before but they looked intriguing. I made a note of their name ‘canelé’, grabbed my coffee and put them to the back of my mind until I got home.

Canele

After a little googling I found out that a canelé is a small French pastry, flavoured with rum and vanilla, with a soft custard centre and a dark, thick caramelised crust. It originates from the Bordeaux region of France.

When browsing some recipes two things became evident. Firstly you need a special baking pan to get the traditional shape. I always like an excuse to buy another fancy baking tray. Secondly the recipe is a cross between basically a wet pancake batter and a custard, which is hard to mess up. Do not be scared when you make these and the batter seems barely thicker than water.

Canele

You could probably make these in muffin pan or mini popover tin but you would have to play around with the cooking timing. The recipe I landed on was a Michel Roux Jr recipe but I switched out the rum for brandy.

Canele

They are very easy to make but the batter is best rested overnight in the fridge. These make delicious breakfast treats on a Sunday morning with a strong cup of coffee.

When baking you want to see the bottom turn a rick dark brown. Then the outside will be nice and caramelised when you turn them out. You start with a hot oven at 220c for 8 mins then turn down to 180c for the final 40 minutes.

Makes: 18
Oven Temp: Gas 4, 350F, 180C (160C Fan)

Ingredients:
500ml milk
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
100g plain white flour
200g caster sugar
50g butter
1 tbsp brandy
1 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Instructions:

  1. Warm the milk in a saucepan and add the vanilla extract and butter. Allow the butter to melt and gently stir. Once the butter has melted take off the heat.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar and sift in the flour and salt. Whisk to a smooth thick batter and add the brandy.
  3. Add the lukewarm milk and melted butter mix into the bowl. Whisk until you get a liquid batter mix without any lumps, like a thin pancake mixture.
  4. Allow to cool and leave to rest overnight in the fridge covered with cling film.
  5. Preheat your oven to 220c.
  6. Grease your pan/ moulds with melted butter.
  7. Remove the batter from the fridge, give it a quick whisk and fill the mounds almost to the top. Do not fill quite to the brim as they may to rise a little.
  8. Bake in the oven at a 220c for 8 minutes then lower the heat to 180c for a further 40 mins.
  9. Remove them from the oven when the tops are a rich dark brown and leave to cool down for at least 10 minutes before removing them from their moulds.

Canele
 
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Author:
Serves: 18
Ingredients
  • 500ml milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 100g plain white flour
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 50g butter
  • 1 tbsp brandy
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • A pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. Warm the milk in a saucepan and add the vanilla extract and butter. Allow the butter to melt and gently stir. Once the butter has melted take off the heat.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar and sift in the flour and salt. Whisk to a smooth thick batter and add the brandy.
  3. Add the lukewarm milk and melted butter mix into the bowl. Whisk until you get a liquid batter mix without any lumps, like a thin pancake mixture.
  4. Allow to cool and leave to rest overnight in the fridge covered with cling film.
  5. Preheat your oven to 220c.
  6. Grease your pan/ moulds with melted butter.
  7. Remove the batter from the fridge, give it a quick whisk and fill the mounds almost to the top. Do not fill quite to the brim as they may to rise a little.
  8. Bake in the oven at a 220c for 8 minutes then lower the heat to 180c for a further 40 mins.
  9. Remove them from the oven when the tops are a rich dark brown and leave to cool down for at least 10 minutes before removing them from their moulds.
Notes
You start with a hot oven at 220c for 8 mins then turn down to 180c for the final 40 minutes.

Oven Temp: Gas 4, 350F, 180C (160C Fan)

Rest batter overnight for best results

 

98 Cakes

Blood Orange Upsidedown Cake

One great thing about being a baking social media geek is that it is very obvious when ingredients come into season in the Winter. The summer is a lot easier as I share an allotment with my father, so I tend to bake whatever is in harvest. However it is lovely to have something other than apples and pears to bake with, something with a fresh and vibrant colour and taste.

Blood Orange Upside Down Cake

This time of year one of my favourite ingredients comes back into season, blood oranges. If you have been looking at Pinterest recently, lots of recipes have been popping up. I had been planning an upside down cake for a while and have also been playing around with different sponge recipes.

I spotted some blood oranges in the local farm shop when we popped into their Cafe for a birthday breakfast treat for my wife.

Blood Orange

So this weekend was a perfect time to bring it all together. A fat free almond and orange cake, made moist with two oranges that have been simmered for a couple of hours to remove any bitterness and then blitzed to a pulp and mixed into the egg, sugar and almond mixture.

I carefully thinly slice 3 blood oranges on a mandolin and simmer them in the juice of an orange and sugar .

The remaining syrup I had planned to reduce down to glaze the top. Unfortunately I got side tracked and burnt it to a cinder and spent the next hour with all the windows and doors open, clearing the acrid smoke from the house and praying that no one called the fire brigade. Once I could see further than my nose in the kitchen, I ventured back in and knocked up another pan of orange syrup.
You could sneak a glug of Grand Marnier or Cointreau into the syrup to give it an extra kick on these cold winter days.

I scrunched up the baking parchment to line the tin’s bottom and up the sides, then laid in the slices starting at the centre and working my way outwards, finishing slightly up the sides.

Blood Orange Upside Down Cake

Once cooked and after dinner, I was dispatched to the garage to pick up some double cream to have with it. It is still the wife’s birthday weekend after all, I can be good on Monday.

175C/325F/Gas 3  – Serves 12

Sponge
2 large oranges
6 free-range eggs
250g/9oz ground almonds
250g/9oz caster sugar
1 tbsp baking powder

Toping
2-3 blood oranges
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup water

Instructions

  1. Rinse 2 oranges in hot water. Then add them to a large pan of simmering water and simmer gently for 2 hours.
  2. Leave the oranges to cool, chop up and remove any pips. Then put in a food processor or blender and whizz to a pulp.
  3. Slice 3 blood oranges thinly on a mandolin or with a sharpie knife.
  4. In a pan, add the water and caster sugar and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
  5. Add the orange slices and simmer for about 15 minutes until the rinds become slightly translucent.
  6. Once cooked, remove the slices with a slotted spoon and allow to cool so you can handle them.
  7. Grease and line a 9 inch tin with baking parchment.
  8. Place the slices slightly overlapping all over the bottom of the tin, working outwards and slightly up the side to finish. Brush with a little of the syrup.
  9. Preheat the oven to 175C/155c fan.
  10. Beat the eggs and sugar together until they are light and fluffy and have reached the ribbon stage.
  11. Mix in all the remaining ingredients, including the orange pulp.
  12. Pour into the cake tin and cook for about an hour, until the cake is golden in colour and a a skewer comes out clean when inserted n the middle.
  13. Transfer to a wire cooling rack, keeping the cake in the tin. When the cake has cooled, carefully remove from the tin and gently peel off the baking parchment.
  14. Brush the top with any remaining syrup to glaze.

135 Cakes

Quick Christmas Cake

It is Christmas Eve and late last night my wife mentioned that we are taking a cake to my sister-in-law’s on Christmas Day. Time for a small panic! Luckily I have a few jars of homemade mincemeat left and a quick rummage through the baking cupboard unveils half a bag of brandy soaked dried fruit and Christmas spices. I have based the recipe on a Mary Berry mincemeat cake recipe.

Whilst I normally like my Christmas cake to mature and get a sound drenching in brandy, this is a quick and delicious cake that will do the job perfectly. I am a pecan addict though and have swapped out almonds for them as well as adding some mixed spice.

This is a super quick recipe to prepare, I cream the softened butter and sugar together first. Then throw everything else into the stand mixer and mix until blended all together. No fuss. Into a lined 2lb loaf tin, pop it into a low oven for about 90 minutes and you are done.

Christmas Cake

This with a cup of tea will go down a treat after a nice afternoon dog walk through the village.

I love a bit of marzipan and icing on my Christmas cakes but you could decorate with nuts and glaze it with some warmed apricot jam.

Ingredients
150g soft butter
150g dark muscovado sugar
2 large eggs
225g self-raising flour
1 heaped teaspoon mixed spice
225g mincemeat
200g mixed dried fruit (soaked in brandy)
50g pecans chopped

Optional:
Marzipan and fondant icing or nuts to decorate
1 tablespoon apricot jam to glaze

Instructions

Makes 1 large loaf cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180c / 160C fan 140C/gas 3. Line a 2lb loaf tin
2. Cream the softened butter and sugar together either with a wooden spoon in a large bowl or a stand mixer.
3. Add all the remaining ingredient into the bowl and beat well until thoroughly blended.
4. Spoon into the lined loaf tin and level out.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 hours until the cake is golden brown and a skewer comes out clean when poked into the middle of the cake.
6. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes, turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool.
7. To decorate, warm the apricot jam in a small saucepan and brush over the top of the cake.
8. Roll out the marzipan and icing and cut to just cover the top of the cake. Use the tin you baked it in as a guide. Place on top of the cake.

5.0 from 1 reviews
Quick Christmas Cake
 
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A delicious quick Christmas fruitcake packed with mincemeat and dried fruits .
Author:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 150g soft butter
  • 150g dark muscovado sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 1 heaped teaspoon mixed spice
  • 225g mincemeat
  • 200g mixed dried fruit (soaked in brandy)
  • 50g pecans chopped
  • Optional:
  • Marzipan and fondant icing or nuts to decorate
  • 1 tablespoon apricot jam to glaze
Instructions
  1. Makes 1 large loaf cake
  2. Preheat the oven to 180c / 160C fan 140C/gas 3. Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
  3. Cream the softened butter and sugar together either with a wooden spoon in a large bowl or a stand mixer.
  4. Add all the remaining ingredient into the bowl and beat well until thoroughly blended.
  5. Spoon into the lined loaf tin and level out.
  6. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1¼ - 1½ hours until the cake is golden brown and a skewer comes out clean when poked into the middle of the cake.
  7. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes, turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool.
  8. To decorate, warm the apricot jam in a small saucepan and brush over the top of the cake.
  9. Roll out the marzipan and icing and cut to just cover the top of the cake. Use the tin you baked it in as a guide. Place on top of the cake.