Devil's Food Cake

We had friends for lunch on Sunday, and I was asked by their son if I would make the Sachertorte, as they had tasted it previously and like it. Unfortunately at this stage I am compelled not to repeat anything!! Thankfully, I had one more chocolate recipe in the book that I had not made - Devil's Food cake, and this went down really well!
I was not quite sure what to expect with this. Apologies for not taking a photo of the inside. The sandwich cake was very dark in colour, with almost a reddish brown tinge. It was very moist and tasty. The only problem I faced was with the frosting. Having had a disaster with it on my walnut cake, I thought I would be ok this time. I whisked it for 12 minutes over hot water, and this time it seemed firmer than before. I expected it to set, as apparently "it sets rapidly". I put it in a cool place (the conservatory), not the fridge, but to no avail. Once again, the icing did not set. Thankfully, it did taste  better than on the walnut cake, but I couldn't help feel that it was not right.
I would make the sponge again, as it was really nice, and only used store cupboard ingredients, however, I think I would either sandwich it with cream, or chocolate icing. I dont think I will be making frosting again in a hurry. We gave it 8.0, but it could easily get higher with a change of filling. The main thing was that the guests enjoyed it!

Courgette Loaves

Courgette loaf does not sound particularly appealing, that is probably part of the reason that I have not made it before now. I think I am with Miranda on the whole vegetables in cake thing, well, with the exception of carrot! The other reason is that I have not been able to find buckwheat flour anywhere, and I did not want to resort to ordering it online just for this recipe.
I decided to only make one loaf rather than two, and also to use all plain flour, in the absence of buckwheat.
The cake turned out ok, and didn't taste too bad, although it is fairly bland. I don't think it particularly missed the buckwheat, but then its hard to say!
We scored it 7.0. It's not bad, for a cake with vegetables, but I would rather have my courgettes roasted!

Orange and Sultana Traybake

I confess that I have been putting this recipe off. My mum had made it, and I wasn't particularly keen on it. Still, I knew it had to be done, so I only made half the amount, and ended up taking it to a meeting! It seemed to go down ok, but I didn't get lots of comments on it, so I know its nothing special.
It's probably my least favourite of the traybake recipes, and I would only give it 6.5. Having said that, it's probably partly a matter of taste. I'm not sure I am that keen on orange in cakes -it's better in chocolate!!!

Walnut and Raisin Loaf

I was happy to be making bread again last week. There was no special occasion, but I had some time one morning, and we were able to enjoy it for our lunch!
I kneaded the dough using my machine this time, and it seemed to work pretty well. As the conservatory was freezing, I proved the bread in the utility room, while the tumble drier was on. This seemed to work really well, and I got a good rise! The nuts and raisins had to be mixed in by hand once the bread had proved, and it was quite a challenge to get it all in.
The recipe says that you can make one large loaf or two smaller ones. I decided to make the one loaf as that was what the recipe gave the timing for - bake for 20 - 25 minutes. I found that this was not enough - not sure if it was a mistake. I ended  up giving mine another 10 minutes, I also turned it over to bake the bottom as it looked very pale.
This bread was really delicious, and was tasty just with butter. Mary says it is a savoury loaf, but if it is, it is a very sweet one! We scored it 9.0. The kids were not bothered by it (they are not big walnut fans), but that mean't more for Ad and I. Oh, and it was fine the next day, and also delicious toasted!

Coburg Buns

To make these properly, you are supposed to have a mini brioche tin. As my baking cupboard is already full of various tins, I thought I could manage without another. Also Mary does say that you can use a plain 12 hole bun tin - so I did! As you can see, they are not as pretty as in the book, but they were still fairly tasty.
They are a spicy bun (no fruit in), and the almonds on the bottom give a nice crunch. It is true to say that they are best eaten on the day of baking. The day after, they were quite firm!
They were nice, but nothing spectacular, and I am glad I did not buy a brioche tin for them! 7.0

Rich Fruit Cake

I am playing catch up again! I actually made this a couple of weeks ago, left it for a week, and then we tucked into it last week! There are several Christmas cake recipes, so I thought I had better get started.
It was straight forward to make, and it tasted delicious. It was a typical Christmas cake, and it was very moist.
My only comment on it was that the recipe said to cover the cake loosely with some baking parchment. I did this, but as it cooked, the parchment touched the top of the cake and some of the cake stuck to it, which was a bit disappointing. Overall  we gave it 8.75.

Treacle Sponge

I have been waiting to make these sponge puddings for a little while. The problem has been that I have not had any pudding basins to make them in. Then last week, in a moment of weakness, Adam bought some chocolate sponge puddings from M&S! - am I not giving him enough puddings?!! Anyway, this answered my problem because I was able to reuse the containers to make these.
Mum and Dad were babysitting for us last week as it was Ellie's parents evening, so I thought Dad might appreciate this for dessert. I actually halved the recipe and just made two. They were very easy to make, and delicious. I (well Mum really, as I was out) cooked them in the steamer, which worked fine, and was probably easier than boiling them. the recipe suggest extra syrup, but they were fine as they were.
We gave them 8.5, and I would definitely make them again.