Lemon Raspberry Loaf Cake

Hi there!  I hope that you are all having a great holiday season, and best wishes for a prosperous and happy 2016!

Please enjoy this delicious raspberry loaf cake with lemon glaze - it's moist, easy and tastes amazing!

Recipe adapted from: Liv for Cake
Ingredients - 11 x 21 cm (4 x 8 inch) loaf
85g butter
210g white sugar
2 eggs
30g almond meal
105g flour
1/4 tsp bicarb soda
1/4 tsp salt
65g sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp lemon juice
2/3 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (I used frozen)

Ingredients - glaze
250g icing sugar
4 tbsp lemon juice (or more if you want a more runny glaze) 

Method - cake
1. Preheat the oven to 175C (350F).

2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. One at a time, beat the eggs into the butter mixture.

4. Mix the almond meal, flour, bicarb soda and salt together.

5. Mix half the flour into the batter, then all of the sour cream, then the rest of the flour.

6. Add the vanilla essence, lemon zest and lemon juice to the batter and mix until combined.

7. Finally, gently fold the raspberries into the batter.

8. Line a loaf tin with baking paper and pour the batter in, spreading it evenly with a spatula.

9. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs.

10. Cool the cake in the tin for a few minutes, then take it out and cool completely on a wire rack.

Method - glaze
1. Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice together until smooth and of a pourable consistency.

2. When the cake is cool, drizzle the glaze over the top.

Enjoy!

Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

I hope you're all prepared for more white chocolate, because you definitely want to make these delicious muffins.  The sweetness of the cake and white chocolate contrasts beautifully with the tart raspberries and they are so simple to make!

Recipe adapted from: The Golden Book of Chocolate
Ingredients
125g butter
100g white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
125mL milk
225g flour
2 tsp baking powder
180g white chocolate chips
1 cup raspberries (I used frozen ones)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).  Prepare a 12-cup cupcake tin with patty pans.

2. Melt the butter.

3. Beat the melted butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and milk until combined.

4. Fold the flour and baking powder into the mixture.

5. Finally, combine the raspberries and white chocolate chips with the batter.

6. Spoon the batter into the cupcake tin and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Brownies

I have a bit of an aversion to most fruit, and I try to avoid recipes that involve tainting my toothachingly sweet baked goods with any fruity substance.

These brownies-with-a-bite are one of my few exceptions to the rule.

They're so simple to make - just follow this recipe for brownies and before you bake them, sprinkle frozen or fresh raspberries over the top and poke them in a bit.

Bake for the usual amount of time (I like to leave mine very squishy and fudgy) and consume.  The raspberries add a nice fresh and tangy taste to the richness of the brownie.  Beautiful!

Blueberry Muffins

Recipe Adapted From: Homestyle Cookies, Muffins And Cakes 

Ingredients

375g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

165g brown sugar

125g butter/margarine

2 eggs

250mL milk

185g blueberries (can be frozen or fresh)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 210 C (415 F).  If you're using frozen blueberries, either set them aside to thaw or heat them a little in the microwave.

2. Lightly grease two six-hole muffin tins or a cupcake tin of your choice.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.  Mum bought this awesome triple-sifter gadget that's so easy to use!

4. Stir the sugar in and make a well in the dry ingredients.

5. Melt the butter.  In a separate bowl to the dry ingredients, add the butter, eggs and milk.  Stir to combine.

6. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and fold them together until just combined.  Don't overmix the batter!

7. Fold the blueberries into the batter and transfer the batter to the cupcake/muffin tin.

8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown, then turn the muffins onto a rack to cool.

These are lovely little muffins - they're moist and not too sweet, good for a snack!  You can sprinkle some icing sugar on top to make them a little sweeter.

Marbled Blueberry Cake

*flails wildly*

I'm back, and I have cake this time.  A delicious, swirly blueberry vanilla cake, which is delightful when consumed warm out of the oven.  It's pretty, too!

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from: Homestyle Cookies, Muffins and Cakes

Ingredients (20 cm (8 inch) cake)

1 tbsp white sugar

195g fresh or thawed frozen blueberries

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

125g butter

165g self-raising flour

125g caster sugar

2 tbsp brown sugar

Icing sugar to dust

Method

1. If using frozen blueberries, weigh out 195g and leave them out to defrost.  Leave the eggs out to warm up too.

2. When the blueberries are thawed, preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 F).

3. Grease and line a 20cm (8 inch) diameter round cake tin.

4. Place the white sugar and half (approx. 95g) of the blueberries into a small saucepan.  Stir over a medium heat until the blueberry juice begins to run.

5. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining blueberries.

6. Beat the eggs lightly then add the vanilla and butter, beat well.  Mine looked terrible for ages (probably because the eggs were cold) but suddenly conglomerated.  If yours looks like mine did, do not despair!  Just keep beating them.

7. Mix the self raising flour and caster sugar.  Make a well in the centre and pour the egg mixture in.  Fold the two mixtures together.

8. Transfer 3/4 cup of the cake batter into the blueberry saucepan.  Mix the cake batter into the blueberry mixture until combined.

9. Drop random spoonfuls of blueberry and vanilla batter into the prepared cake tin.  Try to alternate white and blue.

10. Use a knife or skewer to swirl the batter and create a marbled effect.  Just do it gently - if you over mix then it'll turn out all blended instead of swirled.

11. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top.

12. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

13. Let the cake cool for a few minutes before removing from the tin.  

14. Serve the cake warm and dusted with icing sugar.