Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce

Profiteroles are one of those desserts that are a real luxury. Pastry, cream and chocolate. Where can you go wrong with that combination? Well, quite a lot of champagne won't help...

I recently moved house, and so I have a new kitchen! We had our first "dinner party" and I made these. Unfortunately by the time I came to make the chocolate sauce I was a little (very) drunk, and so it was less "sauce" and more "solid". So, take my word for it that they taste better than they look!

Ingredients (makes approx. 24)
60g plain flour
1 tsp sugar
50g butter
2 eggs, beaten
275ml (½ pint) double cream, whipped
200g dark chocolate

Chocolate Toffee Biscuits

I was at home last weekend and wanted to make biscuits, but firstly I had to coerce my sisters into giving me some of their precious Easter chocolate... I finally managed to get 50g from each of them, (the original recipe needed 200g but I knew that was pushing my luck!) These biscuits are quite fiddly to make, but if you have time they are definitely worth it as they taste delicious!

Ingredients to make approximately 25
150g butter /100g sugar / 1¼ tbsp golden syrup / 1 tsp baking powder / 1 tbsp milk / 100g white spelt flour / 40g wholegrain rye flour / 50g milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces 

 2 tbsp golden syrup / 70g sugar  / 1 tsp baking powder


50g milk chocolate bunny ears










Note If you can eat wheat it's fine to use a mixture of white or wholegrain flour (just use whatever you have in your cupboard!)

Pimm's Cupcakes

After six months away I have decided it is time to bring bakes-a-lot-lady out of retirement. The last six months haven't involved all that much baking after gaining what I can only assume is the weight of a 5-year-old child. But I am back, and what comeback could be better than one involving PIMM'S?!

Pimm's Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Icing

Ingredients
125g caster sugar
125g butter
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
125g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
50ml Pimm's
For the buttercream
8 strawberries, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon Pimm's
100g icing sugar
60g butter

One year

It's a whole year since my first post on this blog, and I have enjoyed every minute of baking and blogging. I will no longer be blogging but I hope you continue to enjoy the recipes on here. Happy baking and thanks for reading.

bakes-a-lot-lady

Lemon Birthday Cake

My mum's very favourite cake is lemon drizzle, and so for her birthday I cooked up a Mary Berry special! I love making lemon drizzle cakes, the lemony smell coming from the oven always makes my mouth water.

Ingredients
4oz butter
4oz sugar
2 eggs
4oz self-raising, gluten-free flour
1oz ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
2 tablespoons milk
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
for the crunchy topping
3oz demerera sugar
juice of 1 lemon
finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Butterscotch Cookies

These cookies are just the right combination of sweetness and crunchiness. The butterscotch chips can be replaced with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or raisins if you prefer.

Ingredients (to make approx. 16)
100g butter
100g light brown sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
150g gluten-free plain flour, plus extra for dusting (or you can use regular wheat flour)
50g butterscotch chips

N is for... Naughty Chocolate Birthday Cake

Happy Birthday to me! Yesterday I turned the grand old age of 25, no longer can I claim to be 'early-twenties'...that being said I don't feel any different - I still love cake for starters! Many people might find it sad to make their own birthday cake, however not me. The treat of having a day off work meant I had time to bake - a nice leisurely bake (unlike the high pressure Great British Bake-off - I could not cope there!)

Although it's a special day, I'm afraid the low-carb diet stops for nothing and no one. I found a recipe in GoodFood 101 Cakes & Bakes for 'Seriously Rich Chocolate Cake' and I low-carbed it up while keeping it delicious, hence the naughty - it's full of full-fat butter and chocolate!

You don't have to be 25 to enjoy this cake

They didn't have any '1's left

Ingredients
50g butter
75g good quality, very dark chocolate (I used 85% cocoa solids)
3 eggs, separated
70g ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
40g xylitol

M is for... Macaroons

My Baking the Alphabet challenge continues. These little coconut macaroons went perfectly with the stewed rhubarb I made for my Sunday roast dessert, and could be cooked at the same temperature as the lamb. I've made regular macaroons before – here. This time I went for a low-carb version, they are simple to make, sugar-free and tasty!

Ingredients

2 egg whites

a pinch of salt

55g (2oz) ground almonds

55g (2oz) unsweetened desiccated coconut

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract (optional)

½ sachet stevia

Sunday Roast - The Desserts

The final post in my Sunday Roast special. I made two desserts for 'afters'. I chose quick and easy desserts so that I could concentrate on the roasts.

Firstly, Stewed Rhubarb with Cream, which I served with coconut macaroons

And the second, my mum's one-pan cake. The quickest and easiest chocolate cake you can make!

Sunday Roast - The Vegetarian Option

My previous post took you through a traditional Sunday roast, with lamb and roast vegetables. Now for the vegetarian option - and for a fussy vegetarian at that...

Veggie 'roast', cheese sauce and roasted pepper and courgette

I found a fake 'chicken roast' made from soya mince that I cooked as my main. It was very easy to make. You stir hot water with the mix and leave for 15 minutes. Then transfer to a greased ovenproof dish before baking for about 20 minutes. I'm not sure if I did something wrong with mine as it came out very crumbly (it didn't stick together at all), I think it was because I only made a portion of the mixture rather than cooking the whole thing.