It seems the easiest way of going about this task is to begin with the most recent bake and work backwards, scanning the mists of my memory, which will no doubt become ever more vague the more cakes I record. So, here goes...
Moist walnut cupcakes, made for the Bible study group we have at our house every Tuesday evening - they are my guinea pigs! From Marks and Spencer "Scrumptious Cupcakes".
These have a merangue like consistency, due to lots of beating of egg before adding the remainder of the ingredients. They are incredibly light. I just made a butter icing filling, but the one in the book uses root ginger in syrup - unfortunately I didn't have any to hand (!), and Marno isn't a huge ginger fan, although that doesn't usually stop me from including it in quite a few meals!
Chocolate fudge cake from Chocolate Box.
This was one of those books on the very cheap book stand you often get at garden centres, full of delicious cookbooks, ridiculously reduced. It is a gorgeous book, and looking at the link I've given to Amazon, the only reviewer has given it one star. I cannot believe this - the recipes are stunning; ok, I have only made this one so far, but it turned out beautifully, and I have more planned for the not too distant future. I totally recommend this book and refute the one star rating as written by somebody who was frustrated their baking endeavour didn't work out - goodness knows that's happened to me before!
Wholemeal orange cake with Earl Grey icing from River Cottage Handbook No. 8 Cakes.
My version of this cake looks somewhat dishevelled, and as I made it back in May (I don't remember that because I have a photographic cake-eating memory, but because I looked at the properties of the photograph), I don't recall exactly how good it was. I seem to remember the Earl Grey icing not being pungent enough, but the sponge being incredibly moist. Certainly a pleasant cake though.
Apple and walnut cake with treacle icing from BBCGoodFood.
At least I think that's what it was... my icing looks decicedly different from that in the recipe. Made for Marno's birthday quite some time ago. Can't really remember what it was like at all - that is a sad thing.
Chocolate souffle, also from BBCGoodFood
A very easy and very yummy dessert I made when we had friends for dinner a while ago. It's a nice touch making them in teacups.
Probably the best cake in the world, Nigel Slater's Coffee and Walnut cake, from here.
I'd been wanting to make a coffee and walnut cake for a very long time, and when I searched for a recipe, this one came up pretty much immediately. It is the utmost in indulgence, being smothered in the most incredible coffee flavoured butter icing on every available outer surface. Mmmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it :) This really is a fantastic recipe, I can't recommend it highly enough.
Well I'm trawling my photos and I can't seem to find many more bakes, though I know what I've shown above isn't a fraction of what I've baked recently. However, I think that is plenty to be getting on with. If anybody has a go at the Coffee and Walnut, I'd love to know how you got on and if you loved it as much as I did.
I have two lovely knitting projects on the go at the moment, as you may know, but I seem to have lost my motivation momentarily. For the last couple of weeks I've just not felt like doing much at all when the evening comes and I have my few hours of free time. I've had an awful cough and husky voice for that time as well, which perhaps hasn't helped, but I don't want to waste the precious time I have by not making the most of it. I hope to be feeling back to normal soon.
Happy baking!
xxx Sam
