LONDON'S BEST BAKERY

Hi Guys hope your all well?

As you would have all seen in a previous blog post of mine the BBC good food bakes and cakes show in October is a event that should not be missed, perfect for any cake lover / baking enthusiast...to read more about this event and to get a great 25% discount on tickets clink on the following Link you will have to be quick to get your 25% off....the offer expires on the 30th June.

The BBC Good Food Bakes and Cakes Show team have launched a campaign to find and crown London’s Best Bakery 2014 and are asking the public along with a panel of expert judges to choose the winner.

Coinciding with the launch of the first BBC Good Food Bakes and Cakes Show, and in conjunction with BBC Good Food Bakes and Cakes Magazine, the show team are scouring London to find the very best bakeries. Combining public voting, mystery shopping and a panel of expert judges the show will crown one exceptional bakery as London’s best.

Katy Truss, artisan food expert, who is managing the competition on behalf of the BBC Good Food Bakes and Cakes Show says about the campaign…

“London is full of amazing bakeries, and with ‘real bread’ and artisan producers more popular than ever, I’m sure that with the help of London’s food-­‐lovers we’ll uncover some real gems. It’s a fabulous way of giving recognition to those going the extra mile, mindfully sourcing their ingredients, engaging with their community and above all selling high quality bakes and cakes.”

Nominations from the general public, customers, suppliers and the bakeries themselves will be taken on the show website (www.bbcgoodfoodbakesandcakesshow.com). Public voting will then take place online, resulting in a shortlist of the 10 most popular bakeries. This shortlist will be mystery shopped by a panel of baking bloggers and visited and reviewed by experts and the show team. Judges will then agree on the final three bakeries, and the winner will be announced and presented with their trophy at the show.

Judges will include:
• Helen Barker - Benfield - BBC Good Food Bakes and Cakes Editor
• Tim Kinnaird - MasterChef UK Finalist and chef owner of the award winning Macarons and More
• Katy Truss - Fabulous Food Finds
• Members of the BBC Good Food editorial team
• Members of the BBC Good Food Bakes and Cakes Show team

The BBC Good Food Bakes and Cakes Show team will also consult an advisory panel which will include experts such as Chris Young of The Real Bread Campaign.

Judging Criteria
Bakeries will be judged on the following aspects of their business:
• Customer Service
• Community Involvement and Interaction
• Quality and Range of Produce
• Location and Accessibility
• Atmosphere, Layout and Shopping Experience
• Ingredients -Quality and Sourcing Policy

Nominations can be made at www.bbcgoodfoodbakesandcakesshow.com

so make sure you head on over and vote your favourite bakery! READY, SET, GO!

DONT FORGET YOU HAVE 7 DAYS LEFT TO RECEIVE 25% OFF TICKETS TO THE SHOW, SEE 1ST PARAGRAPH FOR THE LINK ON HOW TO REDEEM YOUR 25% OFF AND TO SEE MORE ABOUT THE EVENT ITSELF.

XXX

S'mores cupcake recipe

Hi guys!

Today I'm going to share my recipe for s'mores cupcakes.....i have one word for these cupcakes "amazing"! A biscuit base, a chocolate sponge, filled with either Nutella or chocolate ganache and topped with Marshmallow! "A-MA-ZING"! Here is what you will need to recreate these wonderful treats!

(Makes 24) 

Biscuit base

7oz digestive biscuit crumbs

2oz sugar

5-6tbsp melted butter

Chocolate cake

12oz butter

12oz sugar

8oz self raising flour

4oz cocoa powder

6 eggs 

3tbsp hot water

Extras

400g Nutella (or melted chocolate or chocolate ganache...see my recipe on my blog)

Marshmallow fluff.....or 24 marshmallows 

So let's get baking:-

Preheat your oven to gas mark 4

Biscuit base

Mix all the ingredients together until well combined

Spoon 2tsp of each mixture into each cupcake cake and press down until firm

Bake in the oven for 4 minutes, remove and let cool

 

Chocolate cake

Mix the flour and cocoa powder together

In a separate bowl cream together the butter and sugar until well combined 

Add in the eggs one at a time mixing well inbetween each addition (add 1tsp of the flour and cocoa powder mixture with each egg to stop the mix from curdeling

Add in the flour and cocoa powder and mix just until combined add the water and mix until combined

Spoon onto the top of each biscuit base and bake for aprox 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean 

 

Leave the cakes to cool, once cool use an apple skewer or a knife and cut out the centre of each cupcake

Fill it with Nutella or your favourite chcolate filling such as ganache or just melted chcolate 

Spread on your marshmallow fluff and top with more biscuit crumbs 

You could even top with a marshmallow and toast the marshmallow under the grill for a few seconds (keep an eye on it though they burn very quickly)

And you are done....hope you guys enjoyed this recipe!

Follow me on twitter:- @BeautyandBakes

Follow me on bloglovin:- www.bloglovin.com/beautybakesandcakes

Check out my blog for a great 25% off tickets for the BBC good food bakes and cakes show http://beautybakesandcakes23.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/25-discount-bbc-good-food-bakes-and.html?m=1

Also don't forget to nominate who you think is London's best bakery http://www.bbcgoodfoodbakesandcakesshow.com/Content/Londons-Best-Bakery/7/

Happy baking 

Xxx

Brownie traybake

Hey guys hope your all well? It's been a few weeks since I've been able to sit down and write a blog post.....manic few weeks but back to it now and I have loads of new recipes to share with you all! Starting with a brownie tray bake! So let's get started...

Ingredients 

350g good quality dark chocolate

500g granulated sugar

175g plain flour

6 eggs

225g butter

1tbsp vanilla extract

1tsp baking powder

1/2tsp salt

Method

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 and grease and line a baking tin or ceramic dish 

Melt together the chocolate and butter

In a bowl mix the sugar and eggs, add the melted butter and chocolate, mix in the salt, baking powder and flour until well combined 

Pour into the prepared dish and bake for approximately 30mins or insert a skewer into the centre and it should have a moist crumb not wet batter and its done!

Hope you guys enjoyed this recipe! 

CHECK OUT MY BLOG FOR A GREAT 25% OFF A TICKET TO THE GOOD FOOD BAKES AND CAKES SHOW.....AN EVENT YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS! http://beautybakesandcakes23.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/25-discount-bbc-good-food-bakes-and.html?m=1 

Follow me on twitter:- @BeautyandBakes

Follow me on bloglovin:- http://www.bloglovin.com/beautybakesandcakes

Happy baking

Xxx

Manchester tart recipe

Hello guys! Today I'm going to share with you a delicious recipe for Manchester tart....for those of you who don't know, a Manchester tart is a short crust pastry with a thin layer of raspberry jam, filled with vanilla custard and topped with coconut! 

Ingredients

Pastry:-

1 cup self raising flour

1/2 cup cold butter

Few tbsp cold water

Custard

2 cups whole milk

1/4 cup cornflour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 whole egg

2 egg yolks

3 tsp vanilla extract 

2 tbsp butter

Extras 

3 tbsp coconut (shredded)

2 tbsp raspberry jam 

Method 

1)  to make the pastry...preheat your oven to gas mark 4!

2) mix together your flour and butter until it resembles breadcrumbs

3) slowly add your water a tbsp at a time until the pastry comes together into a ball....the less water you use the better!

4) cover in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes

5) roll out your pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick

6) place in a greased pie dish, if it tears grab another tiny bit of pastry and press it into the tear with your fingers and smooth out, prick base with a fork

7) blind bake for 10 minutes ( cover the pie with foil and add some baking beans )

8) remove foil and baking beans and bake for a further 15 minutes until golden, remove and let cool completely 

9) for the custard...in a bowl mix together 3 tbsp of the granulated sugar, egg, egg yolks and cornflour

10) in a saucepan heat up the milk and remaining granulated sugar to a gentle boil 

11) once reached a boil mix some of the milk about half slowly and mixing the whole time into the egg mixture ( we are tempering the eggs....introducing them to the heat so they don't scramble) 

12) add the egg mixture into the pan, place back on the hob and  stir consistently until the mixture begins to thicken ( it is so important to stir the whole time otherwise you will be eating scrambled eggs and not custard )    

13) once thick remove from the heat add in the butter and vanilla and mix in well, place the custard in a bowl and cover with cling film, place the cling film directly on top of the custard to stop a skin forming and place in the fridge to cool 

14) we are now finally at the assembly stage....take your cooled pie crust and spread on an even layer of raspberry jam

15) fill in the pie with your cooled custard

16) finally sprinkle on a layer of coconut and enjoy!

Hope you guys enjoyed this recipe!

Follow me on bloglovin:- www.bloglovin.com/beautybakesandcakes

Follow me on twitter:- @BeautyandBakes

Have you seen my recent blog post.....for a great discount on the bbc good food bakes and cakes show click here:- 

http://beautybakesandcakes23.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/25-discount-bbc-good-food-bakes-and.html?m=1 

The bakes and cakes show is one that should not be missed..so head on over to my blog and check out the fab offer i have for you! 

Happy baking 

Xxx