Sunday 14 September 2014

ABC Cake

I can't remember where I found the recipe this is based on but I'm fairly sure it was one I found while trying to use up an enormous glut of courgettes. My Mum grows courgettes and apples so from August until the damn things die off we're inundated with them. Now I live away from my parents the effect on me is lessened but I still get the occasional vegetable delivery.

ABC stands for Apple-Banana-Coconut, which is the version I made for Ceilidh & Warwick's party but this recipe is pretty adaptable:
- I've used courgettes, apples, and carrots individually and in mixtures and they all worked fine.
- Walnuts are the classic choice of nuts but coconut works surprisingly well
- Dried cranberries or other fruit make for a sweeter & more exciting cake
- It's quite easy to turn this vegan as the only non-vegan ingredient is the eggs. I've made it several times successfully using flax eggs - one egg = 1tbsp ground flax (golden linseed) + 3tbsp water.
- I usually use brown sugar for the flavour
- C&W version had ~1/2tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg, & ginger instead of the 1tsp of cinnamon

ABC Cake

in progress

Cook time: 55-65 min

Ingredients: 
Vegetable oil: 5tbsp
Sugar: 125g
Eggs: 2
Flour: 250g
Bicarbonate of soda: 1tsp
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon: 1tsp
Bananas, mashed: 2 whole / 150g
Apple, grated: 120g
Nuts: 50g
Dessicated coconut: 25g (optional)

Directions: 
1. Pre-heat oven to 180c / 350F / Gas Mark 4
2. Grease and/or line (with greaseproof paper) a 900g /  2lb metal loaf tin
3. Mix oil & sugar, add eggs & beat
4. In another bowl, mix flour, bicarb, salt, & cinnamon
5. Add dry mixture to wet, alternating with mashed banana
6. Stir in grated apple & nuts, add coconut (if using), and mix thoroughly.
7. Transfer to the prepared tin and bake for 55-65 minutes, check a knife inserted comes out clean, then leave to cool in the tin for at least ten minutes before turning out

Please excuse the giant heading  - I've attempted to use standard recipe markup so that Google, Pinterest etc will recognise this as a recipe.

Brownies

This is go-to brownie recipe. I picked it out originally as the amounts of butter & sugar are slightly less horrendous than other brownie recipes. If you cook these for the recommended time they'll come out squishy, but cook a bit longer and the result will be cakier. These can also be made in small cake format - bake them as you would fairy cakes and check for done-ness earlier. I often use chunks of chocolate or dried fruit (cranberries especially) instead of nuts. I also go heavy on the cocoa as it really does help the flavour. I've had good results using dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and a mixture of both.

Brownies


Adapted from a recipe from Coconut & Lime

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min

Ingredients: 
Butter: 4oz/112g
Dark chocolate: 8oz/225g
Cocoa powder: 1oz/30g
Plain flour: 3/4 cup/90g
Nuts: 3oz/85g
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Baking powder: 1/2 tsp
Golden caster sugar: 3/4 cup/170g
Eggs: 2
Vanilla essence: 1 tsp

Directions: 
1. Pre-heat oven to 180c / 350F / Gas Mark 4
2. Grease or line (with greaseproof paper) a 9"/22.5cm square tin or equivalent
3. Melt butter, chocolate, & cocoa together (don't microwave the cocoa if using a microwave)
4. Mix flour, nuts, salt, & baking powder together
5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla together until frothy
6. Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs, stirring as you go
7. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until well combined
8. Splodge into the prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes. The top should form a crispy shell and a knife inserted should come out clean.

Please excuse the giant heading  - I've attempted to use standard recipe markup so that Google, Pinterest etc will recognise this as a recipe.