Let's Play Catch Up

It's been a helluva long time since I last posted so much as a picture up here - but - have no fear - I am back in action! I have had a pretty hectic past few months between travelling and beginning to work at the new place that I haven't had a second to even scribble down an idea for Yummmmyy. I have however been snapping away, making sure to take pics of everything I have made or eaten over the past few weeks.  And so, without further adieu,  here's the food camera role...

Salted Caramel Glazed Choux Buns with a Vanilla Pastry Cream Filling. Trying recipes from work at home has to be one of my utmost favourite things. I spend so much time talking about what I'm doing in the pastry kitchen that when I finally show my family and friends the real goods that I can actually also produce at home there's a real sense of achievement.

Breakfast is clearly still a huge deal for me - it's 100% my favourite meal of the day. This is home-made granola, natural Greek yoghurt, fresh fruit and home-made rhubarb, apple and ginger compote. Grandad has a seriously overgrown rhubarb patch in the garden so when he began to offer me bundles after bundles of the stuff I had to be a little more creative than good old rhubarb crumble.

  

After a pretty crazy night out in town, myself and my brother Al decided to venture to TBC, the pop-up cafe by Daniella Moyles and Yogism in the George's St, Arcade to try the famous buckwheat-flax breakfast pancakes and frozen yoghurt. Holy moly were they good! Al went for the protein pancakes with fresh berries and fro-yo and I decided to try them with pineapple, maple syrup and coconut natural yoghurt. If I lived in town you would more than likely find me perched at a coffee table there every morning - they really were that good.

I HAVE FINALLY MASTERED THE SOUFFLÉ

I was seriously proud in work one evening to find that my soufflé had risen almost half its height. According to our head chef, my soufflé won out, hands down, over our chef de partie's best! No one has been able to wipe the smile off my face since.

I live in the Happy Pear - the greatest place to eat in County Wicklow. I really don't know how it has possibly taken me so long to discover this place but I'm so unbelievably happy to have now. The food there is unbelievably good. Everything is organic and healthy. Their salads are, hands-down, the best I have ever tried. They use fruit juices and nut butters to dress which I absolutely love due to my strange fear or mayonnaise and vinegars. Myself and my pal Mai have made it our morning ritual to stop by for a bowl of the place's delicious porridge topped with fruit compote and granola after the gym. The porridge is FREE and it's a mere euro for any toppings - you'd be a fool not to try it!

After a seriously long week I snapped a quick pic of my last plate in the restaurant. Peanut parfait with peanut brittle, cardamom foam, sesame paste and Dulcey Chantilly. I was one happy chef watching the waiter take that final plate from my pass.

It was my little cousin Oisín's 6th birthday a few weeks ago so, to celebrate, I baked him a lemon sponge with lemon curd, fresh strawberries and lemon butter cream. 

Another work recipe tried at home - homemade marshmallow. We make some pretty whacky flavours to serve as petit fours. However, at home I made a batch of vanilla which were deeeeelicious in vanilla and chilli hot chocolate.

Cutting chocolate biscuit cake - one of my least favourite things to do in work. They always seem to crumble to pieces. When I was asked to make a chocolate biscuit cake for an order I was amendment to find a recipe that held and would be easy on the poor soul left with the awkward task of cutting it. My head chef suggested using condensed milk as an alternative to sugar and golden syrup which actually worked a treat. Hopefully Ireland's bakers catch on and I no longer have to piece crumbly old biscuit cake together in order to form a few slices !

Macaroons - something I had never made up until a few weeks ago. I was so surprised at how easy they are to make - it's unbelievable! 

My "healthy balls ".

I have been warned by Mam not to call them that but I couldn't resist! These raw cacao, pecan and date bites are made with all natural and healthy ingredients. They're a delicious health conscious treat that really don't taste the slightest bit healthy. Don't worry, there will be a recipe to follow.

My Dad has entered into a new fase that I like to call smoothie madness. I'm not complaining though - every morning I wake up to a delicious vitamin packed smoothie to set me up for the day. The best part is that I don't even have to wash the blender! He puts everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, into his smoothies - carrots, ginger, cinnamon, avocados, even oranges and lemons with skins and all -  the list goes on. They're surprisingly delicious nonetheless. 

Hubba hubba...

Mam arrived home yesterday with a pack of Belgian sugar waffles. I decided to be bold and topped them with Nutella, fresh raspberries, date syrup, natural Greek yoghurt and toasted pecan nuts. They were heavenly.

Pavlova Gateaux with Chocolate Mousse, Fresh Cream & Berries

Dad's favourite dessert is pavlova loaded with fresh cream and strawberries but he also loves dark chocolate. For his birthday this year, to combine his two favourites, I decided to make a meringue gateaux filled with dark chocolate mousse and strawberries, topped with fresh cream, berries and dark chocolate shavings. 

Ingredients

FOR THE MERINGUE

9 Egg Whites

450g Caster Sugar

Lemon Juice or white vinegar (to wipe bowl)

FOR THE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

200g Dark Chocolate 

2 tbsp Water

6 Eggs (separate and keep 6 whites but only 3 yolks)

Pinch of Salt

EXTRAS

250ml Cream (whipped)

Handful Dark Chocolate Shavings

Punnet of Fresh Strawberries (washed and sliced)

Method

FOR THE MERINGUE

1) Preheat your oven to 100C/225F/Gas Mark .25, and line two flat bakng trays with greaseproof paper. Trace around a small plate (approx 8 inches round) with a pencil to give yourself piping guidelines when the mixture is ready.

2) Whisk the egg whites on high in your electric mixer until they rise, become glossy and form a peak when the whisk is lifted.

3) Add  half your sugar and again, beat on high until the mixture forms a peak when the beater is lifted. When this occurs, add the remaining sugar and whisk on high for the final time until, once again, the mixture forms a peak when the beater is lifted.

4) Fill your piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle with the mix and pipe onto your baking tray filling the two circles you traced earlier. If you have some mix left over after this, pipe small meringe shapes, as you would icing on top of a cupcake - you can use these to decorate or to simply eat when they come out of the oven instead of having to wait for your masterpiece ! 

5) Bake the small meringues for 45 minutes and the two large for 1 hour 30 mins. Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool fully before assembling.


FOR THE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

1) Using your electric mixer, whisk the egg whites and salt on high, like you did for the meringue, until the mixture becomes glossy and peaks when the whisk is lifted.

2) In a separate bowl, melt the chocolate over a pot of simmering water. Once melted, add the egg yolks and mix. Then set the mixture aside to cool for 10 minutes.

3) After the 10 minutes are up, add the egg white mixture to the chocolate mixture, one spoon and a time and stir -always in the same direction.

4) Pour half the mixture into a bowl, cover and chill in the fridge for at least 5 hours before serving. You can pour the remaining mix into glasses to chill. You can serve these separatly to the cake.

TO ASSEMBLE...

Make a gateaux with the meringues, using the chocolate mousse as the filling. Spread the whipped cream on top and decorate with the mini meringues, berries and chocolate shavings.

Coffee Lover's Dream Cake

So last weekend I baked something a little over the top for mam's birthday. After being away for the past month what could you expect?! I was raring to get back into my apron and whip up a storm. I baked a two tier coffee lovers dream cake. The bottom tier was made up of a rich mocha sponge with a chocolate and coffee ganache filling and mocha butter cream. The top was more of a traditional coffee cake made up of a light coffee and walnut sponge, a chocolate walnut ganache filling and a smooth coffee butter cream. Coffee is one of mam's all time favourites so I had to go all out for the occasion. 

THE MOCHA BOTTOM TIER

Ingredients

FOR THE MOCHA SPONGE

400g Butter (softened)

200g Caster Sugar

200g Brown Sugar

400g Self Raising flour (sieved) 

7 Eggs 

4 tbsp Cocoa Powder 

50g Dark chocolate (grated) 

4-5 tbsp Irel Coffee Essense 

FOR THE MOCHA GANACHE FILLING

280ml Double cream

200g Dark Chocolate 

2 tsp Instant Coffee Granules 

2 tbsp Golden Caster Sugar

FOR THE MOCHA BUTTERCREAM

160g Butter (softened)

300g Icing Sugar 

50g Plain chocolate 

4 tbsp Irel coffee essence 

1-2 tbsp of boiling water 

____________________________________

* If you are unable to find Irel coffee essence simply use 1tsp of instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp of boiling water instead for the same results * 

Method 

FOR THE MOCHA SPONGE

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F / Gas Mark 4, grease an 8 inch round baking tin with melted butter and line with greaseproof paper. 

2) Cream the butter and sugar together using your electric mixer 

3) Once combined and white in colour add in the eggs, two at a time and beat. Allow one to two minutes of mixing between each. 

4) Once all the eggs have been added to the mixture, add the Irel coffee essence.

5) Once the essence is combined, add the flour, one spoon at a time until all is added.

6) Allow the mixer to beat for 3-4 minutes and add the cocoa powder followed by the grated chocolate and once again allow the mix to beat for a further 4 minutes. 

7) Fill your line cake tin with the mix and bake for approv 40 minutes until the sponge springs up once touched. 

* You may have a little extra mix leftover for some yummmmyy mocha cupcakes. Simply fill your muffin cases with 1-2 tsp of the mix and bake for 15- 20 mins *

FOR THE CHOCOLATE COFFEE GANACHE

1) Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water

2) Add the whipping cream followed by the instant coffee and sugar and combine 

3) Leave to sit until you are ready to spread 

FOR THE MOCHA BUTTERCREAM

1) Cream the butter and sugar together using the electric mixer until white in colour 

2) Add the Irel coffee essence and the cocoa powder and beat again

3) While beating on a high speed add the boiling water- this allows the buttercream to become lighter 

4) Add the melted chocolate, one tsp at a time while mixing on high speed 

5) Leave to one side until the cake is cool. 

THE TRADITIONAL COFFEE & WALNUT TOP TIER

Ingredients

FOR THE SPONGE

225g Butter (softened)

225g Soft light brown sugar 

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved) 

4 large eggs 

4 tbsp Irel Coffee Essence 

4 tbsp Crushed Walnuts 

FOR THE WALNUT CHOCOLATE GANACHE 

250ml Double Cream 

185g Dark Chocolate

4tbsp crushed walnuts 

2 tbsp Golden Caster Sugar

FOR THE COFFEE BUTTERCREAM

150g Butter (softened) 

300g Icing Sugar 

5-6 tbsp of Irel coffee 

1-2 tbsp boiling water 

____________________________________________________

Method 

FOR THE COFFEE SPONGE 

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F / Gas Mark 4, grease an 6 inch round baking tin with melted butter and line with greaseproof paper. 

2) Cream the butter and sugar together using your electric mixer 

3) Once combined and white in colour add in the eggs, two at a time and beat. Allow one to two minutes of mixing between each. 

4) Once all the eggs have been added to the mixture, add the Irel coffee essence.

5) Once the essence is combined, add the flour, one spoon at a time until all is added.

6) Add the chopped walnuts and allow the mixer to beat for a further 3-4 minutes. 

7) Filll your line cake tin with the mix and bake for approv 40 minutes until the sponge springs up once touched. 

FOR THE COFFEE & WALNUT GANACHE 

1) Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water

2) Add the whipping cream followed by the chopped walnuts and combine 

3) Leave to sit until you are ready to spread 

FOR THE COFFEE BUTTERCREAM

1) Cream the butter and sugar together using the electric mixer until white in colour 

2) Add the Irel coffee essence and beat again

3) While beating on a high speed add the boiling water- this allows the buttercream to become lighter 

4) Leave to one side until the cake is cool. 

Cupcake Minis

So I turned 21 this week which came as a bit of a shock to the system with officially being an adult and all that, but, I wasn't making the transition without one final almost tea party! Besides, what's a party without lots of cake? Along with my Chocolate Tower Cake, I decided to make a few batches of cupcake minis in a selection of different flavours for my party.  I went with a batch of vanilla, a batch of chocolate and a batch of lemon drizzle. The cake and buttercream recipes are both extremely easy to follow and I'd definitely recommend giving them a go. Just so you know, each recipe starts out the exact same and the flavours are added nearer to the end.

Ingredients

FOR ONE BATCH OF TWELVE

225g Butter

225g Caster Sugar

4 large Eggs

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

Rind of one lemon OR 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder OR 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

Method

FOR ONE BATCH OF TWELVE

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 360F/ Gas Mark 4

2) Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until nice and fluffy

3) While the butter and sugar are mixing, line your small cupcake tray with mini cupcake cases

4) Add the eggs to the mixture, one at a time, and continue to beat

5) When combined, add the sieved flour, one spoon at a time, and mix until light and fluffy

6) Add in the flavouring of your choice (the cocoa powder, lemon rind or vanilla extract) and mix again

7) Spoon roughly a tsp of the mixture into each muffin case and bake in the oven for 10 -15 mins (check the cupcakes after 10 mins and leave in if not yet golden brown in colour) 

8) Leave the cupcakes to cool fully on a wire wrack before icing - while you're waiting you can get cracking on the buttercream...

Ingredients 

FOR THE BUTTER CREAM

50g Butter (softened)

100g Icing Sugar

I tsp Lemon Juice OR 1 tsp Vanilla Extract OR 50g Melted Chocolate and 1 tbsp Cocoa Powder

2 tbsp Boiling Water

Method

FOR THE BUTTER CREAM

1) Cream the butter and icing sugar together in your electric mixer until light and fluffy (the lighter the better)

2) Add in either the lemon juice OR the vanilla extract OR the cocoa powder (if you are making the chocolate cupcake minis, add the cocoa powder first and when combined add in the melted chocolate, one spoon at a time)

3) Continue to beat and add the boiling water, again, one tbsp at a time

4) Beat for a further few minutes and you're ready to decorate

 You can then decorate the cupcakes however you wish. I piped the icing using different techniques on each of the different styles and used "Princess sprinkles" which I bought in Lidl. 

Josh's Chocolate Honeycomb Digger Cake

So it's that time of year again - my godson Josh's Birthday! He's 3 this year and he insisted that I make him a "digger" cake to go with his "Bob the Builder" themed party. At first I panicked and wondered how on earth I was going to do something like that. I thought that I'd definitely have to resort to fondant icing which I HATE using. But, luckily I had a plan...

I went for a three layer chocolate sponge completely covered in chocolate buttercream. I decided to put more chocolate buttercream and crushed honeycomb between each layer and also to make mounds of rock and muck out of broken pieces of the honeycomb and Cadbury's Crunchie bar for the top. I positioned two toy diggers beside the mounds and sprinkled some cocoa powder nearby as dust. I had to be brave when it came to the text as it was my first EVER time trying to write on a cake with chocolate !!! Luckily it went pretty well but I think I might need a little more practice ! 

The Chocolate Sponge Recipe

Makes a 6" Round

YOU WILL NEED...

225g Butter

225g Caster Sugar

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

4 Eggs

2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

50g Chocolate (broken into tiny pieces)

METHOD

1) Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F/ Gas Mark 4, grease your tin with sunflower oil and line it with greaseproof paper.

2) Cream your butter and sugar to ther in a mixing bowl until really light and fluffy.

3) Add in the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat. 

4) In a separate bowl combine the sieved flour, the cocoa and the chopped chocolate.

5) Then begin to add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, one spoon at a time.

6) When fully mixed, pour into your lined baking tin and bake for approx. 40 mins until the sponge in springy to touch.

7) Leave the sponge to cool on a wire tray while you prepare your buttercream. 

To Make the Chocolate Buttercream... 

YOU WILL NEED

500g Icing Sugar

250g Butter (softened) 

2 tbsp Boiling Water 

METHOD

1) Beat the sugar and butter together in the mixing bowl until light and fluffy. 

2) Turn up the beater and add in the boiling water.

3) Keep beating until the cream in almost mousse like in texture, then set it to one side while you wait for your cake to be fully cool. 

4) Split the cake in 2/3 with a sharp bread knife and fill each layer with buttercream and honeycomb.

5) Spread the remaining buttercream over the entire cake using a pallet knife and decorate however you wish. 

Yummmmyy's 1st Birthday Celebrated with Raspberry & Almond Cupcakes

I actually can't believe that it's been an entire year since I began to blog! It was at a dinner party with the college galz when I made a batch of my Chocolate Brownies with Triple Chocolate Sauce that I was convinced set Yummmmyy up. I must have impressed the girls with my dessert, especially Rhona, who was really keen to see what else I could make. I showed her my recipe book and she was adiment I set up my own food blog. I'm so happy I took her advice as I absolutely love want I'm doing and my dream is definitely still to one day own my very own bakery where I can bake all of my favourite recipes :) 

It's been such a good year and so much has happened with Yummmmyy. I've learned so much and I really like to think that my bakes are improving week by week. In February 2013, I was awarded the Liebster Award for best up and coming blog - which I was absolutely thrilled about. 

In March I was approached by an Irish company Ads on Bags, who asked if they could feature some of my recipes on their biodegradable supermarket bags - such a brilliant opportunity.

During the Summer, I was invited to the launch of Kenco Millicano's new travel mug designed by Orla Kiely - time to mingle with other Irish foodies, aaaand myself and my boyfriend Dave were pictured at the launch in the Irish Tatler!!! 

Also during the Summer, I was a recipient of a brilliant cooler box full of Philadelphia products to try, courtesy of Kraft Foods - I felt so important being asked to test a new product. 

Like I said, SO much has happened in one year! 

Yummmmyy's Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages are also booming with a great amount of likes and followers and the blog itself has over 21400 page views !!! I am unbelievably proud of what I have done over the past year and here's hoping that I'll have another post similar to this one for Yummmmyy's 2nd Birthday!

So, to celebrate Yummmmyy's big day, I tried out a new recipe which I adapted from one I found in a cookbook given to me by my Nana Barbara, which is simply called "Muffins". I LOVE anything almond - marzipan, bakewell tarts, almond slices, almond fingers, frangipan - the list is endless! So, these Raspberry & Almond Muffins were a must try...

You Will Need...

250g Plain Flour (sieved)

80g Chopped Almonds

2.5 tsp Baking Powder (sieved)

.5 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda (sieved)

50g Ground Almonds

140g Caster Sugar

250g Raspberries (fresh or frozen)

1 Egg (lightly beaten)

80 ml Sunflower Oil

275 ml Buttermilk

150g Marzipan

12 Raspberries (for decoration)

Fresh Cream (for decoration)

Icing Sugar (for dusting)

Method

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 5

2) Line your muffin tray with muffin cases and place it in the fridge while making the batter.

3) Put the Flour, Ground Almonds, Chopped Almonds, Bicarbonate of Soda & Baking Powder in a bowl and combine

4) In a jug or separate bowl, combine the Egg, Sugar, Oil and Buttermilk 

5) Fold the wet mixture and the Raspberries into the dry mixture until all of the dry ingredients are moistened

6) Cut the marzipan into cubes

7) Take your tray out of the fridge and fill each muffin case with one large spoon of the batter

8) Place a marzipan cube into the middle of each case and top with the remaining mixture

9) Bake for 20 mins

10) Leave to stand in the muffin tray when done and serve them warm topped with fresh cream and a raspberry