The Cakeyboi Alphabet - J

J is for Cakeyboi in a Jar.

Cookies and bars in jars are very trendy at the moment. It's such a simple idea, but makes a lovely gift which gets your recipient to add wet ingredients to the dry ones provided in the jar!

I recently gave my nephew's Cakeyboi in a Jar for their birthdays and they had great fun mixing up the goodies inside, popping them in the oven and sampling the results.

Check out my recipe for Birthday Bars.

Scottish Pancakes

A few weeks ago I was asked to review a pancake set from OXOGood Grips. Sadly, I missed Pancake Day, but then I thought – I love pancakes at anytime! And Scottish pancakes especially.

The pancake set comprised a 2.8 litre stainless steel mixing bowl, a silicone flexible pancake turner and an 11” silicone balloon whisk.

I set about making my pancake batter, taken from Nigella.com. The batter bowl looked quite small to me, but it is very deceptive. It holds a huge amount and it’s best feature, I think, is the non-slip bottom. When giving the batter a good whisk, the bowl stayed nice and steady on the worktop. The whisk itself was comfortable to hold and very flexible. Because it is heat resistant silicone, it would also be perfect for making sauces in non-stick pans, without fear of scratching.

When I was cooking the pancakes, the pancake turner was excellent. I already had a pancake flipper in my drawer, but that was all frayed and melted on the edge. The OXO Good Grips pancake turner is heat resistant up to 315^oC and was perfect on my hot griddle pan, no fear of melting. And the edge of the turner was very thin, so slid easily under the pancakes and made flipping them a cinch!  All the items made this batch of pancakes a doddle to make.

Scottish pancakes are more like American ones, in that they are thicker than the namby-pamby crepe type. They have a lovely flavour as their ‘secret’ ingredient is a dollop of golden syrup. And even better is the fact that, if you have any left over, they toast up lovely the next day.

Adapted from Nigella.com

Yield: 15 pancakes approx.

Ingredients:

½ teaspoon white vinegar

150 ml milk

110 grams plain flour

½ teaspoon bicarb of soda

1 egg

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon golden syrup

Method:

In a small jug add the vinegar to the milk and let sit for a few minutes.

In a bowl whisk together the egg, oil and syrup. Add the vinegar milk mix and whisk again. Lastly add the flour and bicarb. Whisk this until smooth and then prepare your pan, heating to medium high and coating with a dash of veg oil.

Place 1 ½ tablespoons of the batter onto the pan and when bubbles appear on top, flip over, cooking on the other side for 30 seconds to a minute. Place the pancakes in foil to keep warm until they are ready to eat. I served mine with salted butter and maple syrup – delish!

And if you have any left over (as if?!) remember they toast up perfect, getting a nice wee crust on them. Enjoy!!

Disclaimer - I was sent the pancake set free to review and was not committed to writing a favourable review. The views expressed are my own.

Cartoon Time - Cake Pops

I don't think Bakerella would approve...

Puppy Chow - it's NOT for dogs!!!

Two disclaimers before I start;

1 – This stuff is seriously addictive – don’t blame me if your jeans get tight!

2 – On a more serious note, this recipe is NOT suitable for dogs as it contains chocolate, which is bad for our canine friends.

Okay, with that over with, you may be asking what Puppy Chow is? Well, in America it uses a certain brand of cereal called Chex, which is then coated in a combo of chocolate, peanut butter and butter. Finally a good amount of icing sugar is then tossed with the cereal. After being allowed to cool, it makes a perfect snack.

Why is it called Puppy Chow? Apparently it resembles an old brand of dog food with that name. But it is also called Monkey Munch or Muddy Buddies too. As we don't get Chex in the UK, I have used Tesco Malt Wheats in my recipe, but Mini Shreddies, or similar works well too.

Ingredients:

540 grams of Malted Wheat cereal (or similar)

55 grams unsalted butter

180 grams plain chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

125 grams smooth peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

190 grams icing sugar

Method:

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the chocolate, butter and peanut butter until it is smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract.

In a large bowl, with the cereal measured out, add the ‘sauce’ and mix thoroughly until all of the cereal is completely coated. Transfer this to a large plastic container (with a lid) and sprinkle over the icing sugar. 

Place the lid on top and give the box a good shake so all the chocolaty cereal is now covered in sugar. Transfer the cereal to a lined cookie sheet and allow to cool in the fridge.

And there you have Puppy Chow. It may sound simple, but it is very delicious and very very moreish! Especially when you get a bit of cereal that has soaked up more chocolate and has a satisfying bite to it. And of course, chocolate and peanut butter together – what more do I need to say other than enjoy!!

The Cakeyboi Alphabet - I

In the Cakeyboi Alphabet, I is for Icing

Is there a difference between Icing and Frosting I have often wondered. Certainly Frosting is a much more American term, but I have often heard the two used in place of one another.

But online, I found this...
Icing is composed more of sugar, is put on the cake with a little bit thinner consistency, and then hardens some on the cake. 
Where as frosting, on the other hand, is much more rich and creamy. It is thicker and fluffier than icing and usually has more butter/fats in it. (hence the reason for the richer taste).

I think this sums up, what I have always thought! Thanks answers.yahoo.com!

Lemon Meringue Pie Rice Krispie Treats

I was in the mood for experimenting in the kitchen again, and I was craving some rice krispie sort of concoction, so obviously, RKT’s were the order of the day.

I have made a few different flavours of Rice Krispie Treats before, and this is sometimes dictated by what ingredients I have to hand. As it happened, I had some digestive biscuits open, and some lemonade flavour Kool-Aid. It had to be Lemon Meringue Pie flavour RKT’s, didn’t it?

They are pink, as you will see from the picture and the only reason for that is, that the marshmallows I used to bind the krispies together were overwhelmingly pink, and Tesco didn’t have any white ones on the shelf. Still, you could always think of them as Pink Lemonade Meringue Pie Rice Krispie Treats…

Ingredients:

200 grams mini marshmallows (any colour!)

30 grams unsalted butter

125 grams rice krispies

Sachet of Lemonade flavour Kool-Aid

50 grams digestive biscuits, crushed (or Graham crackers, depending where you are)

2 egg whites

115 grams caster sugar

Method:

Grease a pan, big enough to hold your krispie mix (I used my trusty lasagne dish). Set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and marshmallows, then add the Kool-Aid powder. Stir this through until dissolved then add the krispies and mix until they are all coated with mallow. Add the crushed biscuits and mix through. Transfer this to the prepared pan and press down firmly. Allow to set for at least two hours. Overnight is better.

When set, remove from the pan and cut into squares.

To make the meringue topping, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gradually stir through the sugar. Pipe or spoon dollops of the meringue mix on top of each square and with a kitchen blow torch, scorch each meringue topping until it is lightly browned.

Your Lemon Meringue Pie RKT’s are ready to enjoy. The lemon flavour and the biscuit crunch taste just like the pie, especially with the soft crunch of the meringue on top.

(If you can’t get hold of Lemonade Kool-Aid powder, add 2 teaspoons of lemon extract. )

Cartoon Time - Gingham Style

Thanks to Dolly from Friockheim for this one...she suggested that Cakeyboi gets a new gingham cupcake liner so he can go all....