Tuesday 30 October 2012

Apple Crumble Cake

Apple Crumble Cake - dustingoficingsugar.blogspot.co.uk

While everyone in the blogging world is producing these fantastic photographs of autumn goodness, I thought I would get stuck in and bake up something  just as toasty before I skip October and move onto Christmas cooking already!

Apple Crumble Cake - dustingoficingsugar.blogspot.co.uk

The warmest and most loveliest teatime treat just as autumn is kicking in. Not only is this an inviting slice of cake but it is compiled of extracts from the harvesting season. Apples.

Apple Crumble Cake - dustingoficingsugar.blogspot.co.uk

It is always the smell of cooked apples and cinnamon that makes me feel so at home and comfortable. Whenever I smell this gorgeous scent, there is always the imagery of me snuggling up on the couch with my dressing gown and testing how hot the apple sauce is. Only thing is that in real life, I can only indulge in it whilst writing up another 10-page-essay for my history assignment. or blog post.

Apple Crumble Cake - dustingoficingsugar.blogspot.co.uk

This autumn cake is such a perfect combo of both crumble and spongey cake. It is delicious served hot for pudding or teatime but it is as good eaten cold for breakfast. Not that you may have any left.......

Apple Crumble Cake - dustingoficingsugar.blogspot.co.uk

This cake is amazing on its own but a drizzle of syrup and a dashing of warm custard completes it for me. And don't worry about health wise, it narrows down to simply oats and apples!

Apple Crumble Cake - dustingoficingsugar.blogspot.co.uk

Everyone needs to have a bit of indulgence one time or another! Enjoy :)

Apple Crumble Cake
Ingredients:
Cake:
100g unsalted, softened butter
90g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large baking apples

Crumble:
125g plain flour
60g soft brown sugar
50g softened, unsalted butter
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
50g rolled oats

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180C/160 fan/360F/Gas 4. Grease 22cm cake tin with butter and line with baking paper
2. To make the cake, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time whilst beating and then sift in flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Fold in gently and add vanilla extract.
3. Spoon into cake tin. Peel and core apples, cut into fine slices and arrange on top of cake mixture, leaving a gap between the apples and edge of tin.
4. To make the crumble, place all crumble ingredients except the oats into a food processor, process to achieve a rough crumb mixture. Transfer to a bowl and stir in oats.
5. Scatter onto sponge and bake for 30-35 minutes. After baking, stand for 5 minutes then remove tin and paper.
6. Place onto a serving dish with custard or a drizzle of honey or syrup!

Saturday 6 October 2012

Green tea cheesecakes - mini.

Mini green tea cheesecakes - dustingoficingsugar.blogspot.co.uk

Another mini. Another indulging treat..or dessert...or delight. Let me introduce you to my all-time favourite green tea cheesecake. 

Mini green tea cheesecakes - dustingoficingsugar.blogspot.co.uk

Not only does it use everyday ingredients you can find in your kitchen, they require so little skills and a bit of love. The recipe is obtained from raspberri cupcakes here. She does absolutely amazing-licious recipes on her blog where the unthinkable is created. How I wish I had imagination like her!

Mini green tea cheesecakes - dustingoficingsugar.blogspot.co.uk

So I've followed her recipe but instead set them into mini ramekins to create these individual desserts, perfect for hosting a quick dinner party. To decorate these sweet treats, I've sprinkled on a generous amount of a bit of reserved cheesecake base topped it with some fresh berries and without thinking, dusted with icing sugar.

Mini green tea cheesecakes - dustingoficingsugar.blogspot.co.uk

They are ever so creamy and I absolutely love the texture of it, especially with the contrasting burst of the berries!

Mini green tea cheesecakes - dustingoficingsugar.blogspot.co.uk

Don't these just look so dainty?! I didn't mind eating another one for breakfast!

Thursday 4 October 2012

Mid-autumn Festival - 中秋節

It was mid-autumn festival last Sunday. Also known as mooncake festival for all those who adore mooncake.

mid-autumn festival dinner

It is a tradition followed by Chinese people where families would come together and have an a-maaazing meal. And I mean amazing. Maybe that is also why dinner wasn't cooked by me!

Lobster noodles :P

In fact, none of the food you see in the whole post was made by me! It was all thanks to my grandparents who are the best chefs in the family. To name a few there was lobster noodles, tofu, duck and chicken. 

Lobster noodles :P

To finish off, there was mooncake of course!

Mooncakes

They are traditionally filled with a lotus bean paste but a talented friend of ours made some gorgeous mooncakes with a variety of fillings including coconut!

Mooncakes

Happy mid-autumn festival.

Thank you, thank you and thank you.

Firstly for your time and effort
Secondly for your prayers
Thirdly for everything you've done to help us get closer to God.


During the weekend, I had busied myself; cooking up a storm in the kitchen to say thanks to my Sunday school teacher as she will be leaving my class and committing herself to other areas of work.



Contributing towards our thank-you-surprise-do for her, I planned to bake an orange flavoured sponge along with a refreshing buttercream. You like the bunting? I thought it added a nice bit of colour to it!



I believe the sponge was quite a success - soft and fluffy. You could even taste the zestiness from the orange! In the middle of the cake, I layered a thick dashing of orange buttercream and then crumbled on some roughly-bashed chocolate digestives. Gives more of a crunch in the buttery softness :P



I've got to say though, the bad side of this is that I didn't realise how small the cake was - not only was there the entire class but also other people who have come following the aroma of hot, sizzling KFC.



The top of the cake is colourfully sprinkled with a bit of dolly mixture and some bashed-up fizzies. And contrasting with this, I've got the elegance of some "lady finger" sponges wrapped around the edge.


And woah-ho-ho-ho....look at the rest of our food....KFC anyone?!


Tuesday 2 October 2012

A piece of my heart.

Birthdays = cake. = inspiration.
Sister's birthday = cool cake = lots of inspiration + pinterest.
I had originally wanted to go with a nice sponge and pretty piped buttercream but insisted I stretched it to something people out of the pinterest world would not have seen.


So what you see in front of your eyes is still a birthday cake with buttercream smothered all over it and topped with strange fruit and dolly mix skewers.....and a few mugs and plates from eager cake-eaters.


 ......until you cut it open and reveal a heart in the centre.


Happy birthday to my dearest sister.

[stay tuned for some more pictures!]
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