Freckled Kirsty

I love a bit of marzipan, when we were younger my sister and I used to trade icing for marzipan when eating our Christmas cake slices, the rich almond taste and texture gets a big yes from me. So no surprise that one of the cakes on my 'to do' list was battenburg - it is an absolute classic, and a staple of an afternoon tea I think. When speaking to my Spanish partner about baking this, he had never heard of it, but thought it sounded German - I did a little reading and turns out that the cake was invented in honour of the marriage in 1884 between Queen Victoria's granddaughter and Prince Louis of Battenburg. The 4 square represent the four Battenburg princes, although we don't know why they are pink and yellow, but this explains the German link, you learn something new everyday! Ingredients: 175g soft butter 175g caster sugar 175g self raising flour 3 eggs 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Red food colourant 2 tbsp apricot jam A pack of ready to roll marzipan

On a Sunday morning we all tend to be a little lazy, I normally lounge around in my pyjamas until lunch, and the perfect morning treat I think is a stack of American style pancakes.  My obsession with coconut has infiltrated this recipe, as I have made coconut pancakes with strawberries and honey. What a combo! The great thing about these is they are so simple and quick to make, and taste divine. This makes enough for one person or 3 medium American pancakes. Ingredients: 70g plain  flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp dessicated coconut 70ml milk 1 medium egg 1 tbsp melted butter and extra for greasing the pan Strawberries and honey to serve with Method: Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Make a well in the middle of the dry bowl and add all of the wet mix. Gently whisk the two together - this will have lumps in it due to the coconut, but the flour should be well combined. Leave to stand for a couple of mi

For a while now I have been thinking about macarons - I achieved  the perfect macaron bake  the first time I attempted these tricky treats, but every attempt since has resulted in less than ideal results. So for that reason I have sat down, done a lot of reading and for me the recipe I am writing about here has produced the best results.  There are a number of macaron techniques - French, Swiss or Italian. French is the simplest, but I think Italian gives the best shine and overall texture, so it is worth the extra effort in my opinion. I also think that if you are serious about macaron making it is definitely worth investing in a sugar thermometer and macaron silicon mat. I have two, one from Lakeland and another I ordered online from Amazon - I prefer the latter as it is reversible and has two different sizes, but both make piping simpler.  I have made a basic macaron recipe, and the beauty of this is you can colour your macarons however you fancy, and make different f

Today I was feeling a bit sorry for myself so I decided to make the ultimate chocolate cookies - these are chocolate dough with Milky bar and Maltesers in, very indulgent and really quite gooey. Chocolate overload for when you need a good pick me up! At the moment I am a little obsessed with muscovado sugar, I think it makes good bakes taste even better when you want rich flavours, so instead of normal white or brown sugar I am experimenting with muscovado here. Stack of yummy cookies! Ingredients: 200g softened butter 300g light muscovado sugar 2 eggs 300g self raising flour 80g cocoa powder 1 tsp baking powder 2 tbsp of milk (if your dough is looking a bit stiff) Any amount of chopped chocolate that you want to have as chunks in your cookies - I used two normal bags of Maltesers and 80g milky bar. Method: Preheat your oven to 180C/ 160C fan assisted and line two large baking trays. In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until well mixed. Add in the eggs

This weekend I am off visiting family, and babysitting my cousin Harry, so of course it is the perfect opportunity to bake some cupcakes. My aunt isn't allowed caffeine so chocolate is off the menu however Caramac bars (totally retro) are caffeine free and so my sweet of choice for these treats. This is a very simple all in one recipe, with a caramel cupcakes and a Caramac icing. This will make 12 cupcakes. Ingredients: 175g soft butter 175g light muscovado sugar 175g self raising flour 2 eggs 30g chopped fudge For the icing: 110g soft butter 250g icing sugar 150g melted caramac bar, and extra to decorate  Method: Preheat your oven to 180C or 160C fan assisted. Line a cupcake tin with 12 cases ready for filling. In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix well. Sift in the self raising flour and fold into the mixture, trying not to knock out too much air. Throw in the chopped fudge, mix and then fill the c

Chocolate éclairs, one of my childhood favs. Whenever I used to visit my nanny's house, she would always have a pack of frozen éclairs ready for me to feast on, and now I have learnt to bake them I appreciate them even more. This is because choux pastry is not easy! It has a mere six ingredients, however I would say around 33% of the time it doesn't work for me. But do not despair, when it works it is a wonder to behold. I have some stubborn Christmas chocolate still hanging around my house so I am using this as an opportunity to use up some left overs as well. Ganache ingredients: 75g chocolate 100g double cream For the filling: 300ml double cream 2 tbsp icing sugar Method: Preheat the oven to 220C/ 200C fan assisted and line a baking tray with a non slip sheet (you can get these from Lakeland and I use them so often!). In a small pan, mix the butter, liquids and pinch of sugar and salt and heat gently until the butter has melted. Add all the flour and then

Hot. Cross. Buns. A timeless classic, easy to make and when toasted and coated in butter are a perfect afternoon tea snack. Traditionally these are eaten on Good Friday, and in the run up to Easter they are in every superstore. However home baked buns are far superior, and have the plus factor that you can throw in whatever you like. Normally they are flavoured with chopped fruit and peel - I love cherries so I have added in some chopped glacé cherries as an extra dimension. Ingredients: Method: Bring the milk to a boil, then allow to cool. Meanwhile, combine the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, butter and egg in a mixing bowl and combine well. When the milk is warm to touch gradually add the to the dry mix whilst stirring - I use my KitchenAid for this, as it makes the mixing process easier.  When all the milk is incorporated add the spices and fruit. At this point the mixture will be quite wet. Knead for around 5 minutes until the dough is soft and elastic like. Place

Formula One is back, and I couldn't be happier! Formula 1 has been part of my life from an early age. My dad is a long term McLaren fan and I have been very fortunate to have been taken to a number of races, my first aged just 14 (I think) when my dad and I went on a coach tour from Kent to Silverstone. I remember it being very muddy, but so exciting with the sounds and smells of a Sunday race day. In more recent years I have been to Malaysia, Hungary and testing in Jerez and I was lucky enough to spend two days in the pits, being the guest of Force India and the Caterham team. Both teams were very welcoming, and I was given headsets to listen to what the drivers were saying – it was fascinating and I relished the chance to take some snaps of drivers in their garages! Another great moment was bumping into Jensen Button, who was lovely and posed for a photo with me. Coming into this season I haven’t been keeping up with all the developments and driver changes, so coming i

To me a Toblerone is normally a Christmas chocolate, however I recently stayed with some friends and Toblerone was always available for a post dinner nibble. It reminded me of how much I enjoy this chocolate so I decided to combine Toblerone with a basic chocolate cake to create a nougaty chocolatey divine Sunday afternoon treat (n.b. can be eaten at any time, however I am baking on a lonely Sunday). As there are only two of us in my house, I am making a miniature cake - you can double these ingredients to make a standard size sandwich cake. Ingredients: For the cake -  2 triangles of Toblerone, roughly chopped 100g plain flour 100g caster sugar 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon baking powder  1/4 teaspoon bicarb of soda 20g cocoa powder 90g butter 75g creme fraiche For the butter cream icing -  50g soft butter 100g icing sugar 1 tbsp cocoa powder 1 triangle of Toblerone chopped for sprinkling on top of the cake Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (fan) or 200 degr

A home made sausage roll is a special type of treat - I know I am being naughty by indulging in these gluttonous bakes, but that does little to stop me. As I am in training for a Tough Mudder at the moment I feel a little moment of weakness is allowed. I am lucky in that my Spanish  partner frequently goes back to Madrid, and he will normally bring home with him some tasty treats, from chistorra (a beautiful sausage from the Basque country) to chorizo  and my favourite lomo. For my sausage rolls today I have incorporated chorizo, to give them the lovely paprika flavour, however this recipe can be adapted to really make it yours - you could throw in some apple, honey, red onion, mustard or really whatever tickles your fancy. This recipe will make 24 small sausage rolls. Ingredients: 1 packet of pre rolled puff pastry 150g chopped chorizo 250g good quality meaty sausage meat or sausages ssqueezed out of their skins 1 egg Method: Preheat your oven to 200 degree

There are an awful lot of brownie recipes out there on the world wide web, but today I am going to give you my favourite type of brownie - fudgey, gooey and intensely chocolatey. I am very lucky as for work I am based from home about 50% of the time, so this gives me the perfect opportunity to knock up quick batches of bakes on my lunchtime. This brownie recipe took me about 15 minutes to mix and 30 minutes to bake, then they cool perfectly in time for tea mid-afternoon. Ingredients: 100g butter 175g dark chocolate (for brownies I suggest using a good quality chocolate) 2 eggs (I like using duck eggs, as they make a richer cake) 25g self raising flour 125g dark muscovado sugar Method: Preheat the over to 170 degrees (fan) or 190 normal. Line a tin around 20cm with baking parchment - I used a circular tin as I wanted a brownie cake. Melt together the chocolate and butter gently over a pan of simmering water. This takes about 5 minutes. As the b

Meringues are something I take great pleasure in baking - it is just fun whipping up the egg whites, picking your flavour and then colour and piping the little kisses. At the end of last year I bought the Meringue Girls Cookbook , and have sworn by their basic recipe ever since - plus I like experimenting throwing in handfuls of whatever happens to be open in my cupboard and seeing how it turns out. Today I am making coconut kisses, as I am a little obsessed with the goodness of coconut at the moment, and like they say, it started with a kiss! Ingredients: 75g egg whites 150g caster sugar A handful of dessicated coconut Red gel food colouring if desired Method: When making meringues, a food mixer is your friend - I have my beloved KitchenAid which makes the process of whipping the meringue a lot easier. Preheat your over to 100 degrees, and line a baking tray with paper ready for you to pipe onto later. Put your egg whites into your mixer, making sure the bowl i