STRAWBERRY & CREAM LAYER CAKE

In the build up to Fathers Day I asked my hubby if he had any preference as to how he would like to spend it.  "How about you do the barbecue this week" was the reply.  "Uh, ok if that's really what you want" was my less than enthusiastic response "but what if it rains?"  "Ok, then I would like a big juicy steak with mushroom sauce and roasted butternut."  Now that is more like it but I still wanted something a bit more extravagant.  "How about a dessert?" I tried.  "Nah, no thanks" and that was that.  No fun for me in the kitchen on Fathers Day.  Well, that is until I saw the theme for The Sunday Baking Club which is Summer Sunshine Week. 

 

 

Now I don't think I've seen the sun all week but summer to me is fresh strawberries and lashings of cream. I had bought this chocolate transfer sheet from Squires Kitchen a while ago and was desperate to try it out so what more of an excuse does a girl need.

 

  Into the kitchen I went and whipped up a four layer sponge cake but later decided that would just be completely over the top so only used three of the layers.

 I then blended some of the less than perfect strawberries together with some icing sugar and a dash of lemon juice to make a lovely, tangy strawberry sauce.

  I then whipped up some fresh cream and chopped up some fresh strawberries. I layered all this together and then moved on to the fun part.

  I melted some dark chocolate and spread this over the transfer sheet and placed it in the fridge for 10 mins or so until it set.

I then removed it from the fridge and peeled the transfer sheet off and revealed the most beautiful piece of chocolate with strawberries on it.

  I broke this up into shards and placed them round my cake.

I added some whole strawberries on the top and drizzled with some more strawberry sauce and hey presto - a cake full of British Summer goodness.

 

So for all the special Dads out there but especially for my Dad and my hubby

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

 

 

I used the sponge mixture from here but only because I like a dense sponge.  Any good victoria sponge recipe will do.

 

 

 Tea Time Treats which is hosted by What Kate Baked  and Lavender and Lovage has a theme of layer cakes this month so here we go ....

 

I'm also submitting this to A Mummy Too's weekly blog hop

 

Chocolate Mint Brownies

Chocolate and mint is this month's theme for the We Should Cocoa challenge which is run by Choclette of Chocolate Log Blog and Chele over at Chocolate Teapot and which is being hosted this month by Victoria of A Kick at the Pantry Door.  Now I am not a huge fan of mint and rarely cook with fresh mint but hand me a bar of mint chocolate or a box of After Eight mints and I am a happy bunny.  I decided to try and add a mint layer to my usual brownie recipe but to be honest I wasn't convinced that I would like them, thinking the flavour would be just too strong.  How wrong I was - the mint layer is very addictive, subtle and smells so fresh and is lovely together with the rich, fudgy brownie layer and the crisp, dark chocolate layer on top.  They are rich and could probably be cut into smaller pieces giving you 18 portions instead of the 9 which I cut but that is up to you. 

 The one thing to remember when baking brownies is to take them out the oven when they are still slightly 'sticky' in the middle and they are always better the next day.

Enjoy!!

  

For the printable version - click here

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 55 mins

 

Yield: 9 servings

 

Ingredients for Brownie Layer

• 100 g butter
• 100 g plain chocolate
• 300 g caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 125 g plain flour
• 2 tblsp cocoa powder

 

Ingredients for Mint Layer

 

30 g soft butter

100 g icing sugar

1 tblsp natural yogurt

½ tsp peppermint essence

green food colouring

 

Ingredients for Chocolate Layer

 

100 g dark chocolate

15 g butter

 

 

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Butter and line the base of an 18cm square tin with greaseproof paper.
3. Melt the butter and chocolate over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
4. Stir in the sugar, salt and vanilla.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well until blended.
6. Add the flour and cocoa and beat for 30 seconds until smooth.
7. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 35 - 40 mins. If you insert a skewer it should come out slightly sticky.    
8. While the brownies are baking prepare the mint layer by adding the butter, icing sugar and yogurt to a mixing bowl and beat with a mixer until soft and creamy.
9. Add the peppermint essence a bit at a time, tasting as you go.  Different brands have different strengths and you don't want to overdo the flavour.
10. Add the food colouring, drop by drop and mix well until you have a nice, soft green.
11. Once the brownies have cooled down completely, spread the mint layer over the top.  I found it easier to leave them in the tin to do this.
12. Place in the refrigerator to set while you prepare the chocolate layer.
13. Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
14. Cool slightly and then spread over the mint layer.
15. Leave to cool until the chocolate layer has set.
16. To cut into slices it is easier to dip your knife into hot water to prevent the chocolate layer from cracking.

 

 

 

 ** The mint layer was adapted from The Joy of Baking.com

 

 



FLUFFY PUFF PUFFS - REVIEW

I was recently sent a little goodie bag of soft, fluffy gourmet marshmallows from an online company called Fluffy Puff Puffs.  I've only ever had the standard pink and white marshmallows which you find in the supermarket and more recently I attempted to make my own which you can see here.  

 

 The company have a good selection of flavours and are continually adding new ones.  I was sent Lime Punch, Love Currant, Sugar & Spice and Raspberry.  My favourite was definitely the Sugar & Spice which reminded me of eating Snickerdoodles as a child.  They are coated in sugar which gives them a nice crunch in contrast to the soft, fluffy mallow.  My least favourite was the Lime Punch and I think it had more to do with the colour than the flavour.  It is very, very green which to me was just a bit off putting.  The Raspberry and the Love Currant were both nicely flavoured.  There are no preservatives so the shelf life is quite short - which just means you have to eat them all up quickly.  I did look up to see what they use for food colouring and they use the PME food colouring range which is between 85 - 100% natural.  PME do however use E133 (Brilliant Blue) in some of the colours which I know can be a problem for some people.

 

These little puffs of sweetness would make a lovely and unusual gift for someone with a sweet tooth.  If you fancy trying Salted Caramel marshmallows (why, why didn't I get this one??), or marshmallows drizzled with chocolate then pop over to their website to see all the lovely flavours available.

 

I was sent a free sample and was not paid for this post.  All opinions are my own.