Napoleon Cake

Merry Christmas! It's been a long time since I've posted. That's just because I was so busy making this 15 layer cake. This recipe was added to my "to bake" list long time ago but I wanted to wait for a special occasion to make this. Well, here it was. I made it for my dad's birthday. And voila! It turned out fantastic. The homemade version was a million times better than the store bought cake. Flaky, buttery and crispy pastry, and that cream! I used this recipe.

I do recommend you leaving the cake overnight in the fridge. Otherwise, if you want it more crispy, you can serve it 2-3 hours after the assembly. I made it a day before and it was just perfect because the longer it stands, the softer it gets. Also, it is lighter than I've expected because the cream is based on milk. Store-bought napoleon has much more butter in the cream.
 

The cream will be runny but don't worry: this is totally fine. After you assemble the cake and refrigerate it - the cream thickens. Although I boiled the cream a little longer than the recipe called. 

Chocolate Cake

A perfect recipe for an old-fashioned chocolate cake. It's very rich, chocolatey and moist. Not only for chocaholics! I used this recipe .

Coffee Syrup Cake

Coffee Syrup Cake

185g unsalted butter
185g caster sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon lemon zest
250g sour cream
60g plain yoghurt
235g self-raising flour
25g ground almonds

Syrup:
250ml strong coffee
125g caster sugar
2 tbsp cognac

1) Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 23 cm fluted ring tin. Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the egg yolks; add the lemon zest. Beat well. Add the combined sour cream with the yoghurt alternately with the sifted flour. Stir in the almonds.

2) Beat the whites until stiff peaks form. Using a metal spoon, fold them into the flour mixture. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 160C. Bake for another 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake. Cool completely.

3) To make the syrup, combine the coffee, sugar and cognac in a saucepan over a low heat without boiling until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 3 minutes to reduce. Remove from heat and cool slightly. 

4) Skewer random holes on top of the cake. Spoon the syrup over it. 

You can serve this with whipped cream and chocolate curls. But I preferred it plain.


Enjoy!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 175°C.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts.

3. Scoop the cookies onto a baking tray and bake them for 10 to 12 minutes taking them out when golden at the edges.

Chocolate Muffins

You can make 6 extra large muffins if you have large tin. I only had small so I got 12. If you make them larger, don't forget to bake longer. It should take about 30 minutes. I baked mine for 20 minutes.

Ingredients

2 eggs
220 g sugar
110 g all-purpose flour
70g unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
160 ml milk
150 g butter
120 g semisweet chocolate chips (optional) (I didn't add any)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C.
2. Put paper muffin cups into your 6 extra large or 12-15 medium muffin tins.
3. Beat the eggs with sugar. 
4. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla.
5. Add the dry ingredients along with the milk into the egg mixture.
6. Fold in the melted butter.
7. Add chocolate chips.
8. Bake for 30 minutes for large muffins, or 20 minutes for medium size muffins or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely before serving!