Marshmallow Fluff

Here's the recipe for marshmallow fluff. It can be used as a filling, topping, cake frosting and to dip strawberries and toast them on a BBQ. Or just shove your face in it. I'm not judging.


300g caster sugar
2 egg whites (at room temp.)
1 1/2 tablespoons golden syrup
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Put 6 tablespoons of water and ingredients (except for the vanilla) in a heat-proof bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure it doesn't sit in the water.
• Beat with an electric whisk on high speed for 7 minutes until stiff peaks form.
• Remove bowl from the heat and add vanilla. Whisk on high for another 2 minutes until stiff glossy peaks are formed. 

This recipe will make enough to frost a 3-layer cake, so I usually half it. You can put any left-overs in the freezer - it won't freeze but it does keep a lot better than in the fridge. 

Another great BBQ idea from my friend:

• Cut a banana length-ways and open up like a little paper boat (leaving the skin on).
• Push squares of milk chocolate into the banana.
• Top with some marshmallow fluff and wrap in tin foil.
• Put on the BBQ after you've cooked everything else and leave for about 10 minutes or until the chocolate is melted and the banana looks squishy. Scoop out with a spoon.

At Least 3 of Your Five-A-Day

I have blueberries on the brain for some reason. I don't even really like them. But I love them in baked things. I was going to make some regular blueberry muffins but I decided that was boring and made these instead.

Hummingbird cake muffins with added blueberries. Recipe for the hummingbird cake here. There's banana, pineapple and blueberries. If that's not 3 of your five-a-day I don't know what is. Salad probably.

I was looking through stuff I'd put in the freezer the other day. There is a cake, several bran muffins, red velvet crumbled cake for decorating, marshmallow fluff, and some cream cheese frosting. Might throw out the bran muffins though...


EDIT - added some cream cheese frosting to balance out the healthy

I'm Better Than Your Best Friend...

...because I will make you this cake for your birthday. Cracked out marble cake hiding under and innocent enough vanilla buttercream icing.

It was my friend's 21st birthday and she'd said some weeks earlier that she wasn't going to celebrate it. I asked her if she'd celebrate if there was a rainbow cake involved. Rainbow cake will make anyone do a 180. 

Apologies for the iPhone photo... Vanilla marble 2-layer cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. I love frosting. And so does my cat.


BIRTHDAY GIRL! And cake.

Tunnocks Tea Cakes. Ish.

I read an article in the Saturday Times Magazine (might have been Sunday) a few weeks ago, which had recipes for homemade versions of popular chocolate bars. This reminded me that my friend had suggested I try and make a Tunnocks Tea Cake. I have a great recipe for this '7 minute frosting' which is not so much like frosting, but a lot like marshmallow fluff. Then what to use as the biscuit base? I love that weird squishy biscuit in the middle of a tea cake so found a biscuit recipe that was supposed to turn out a little soft. So I started to make the biscuits. And then it went all tits over arse. 


Problem 1 - even after I'd chilled the dough for 1 hour, it was stupidly sticky and totally un-rollable. So I had to make it in to little cookie shapes instead.


Problem 2 - started to make the marshmallow fluff. 1/4 of the way through the time, the electric whisk breaks completely. Had to whisk the rest up by hand, ripping through the skin on my finger in the process.


Problem 3 - when trying to dip the biscuit base and marshmallow into the chocolate, this happened:

Fail. The marshmallow wasn't really stiff enough to support the chocolate. So, to plan B. I dipped the biscuits in chocolate and then just piped little dollops of fluff on top. Not quite a tea cake, but delicious nonetheless.

Now I need a new electric mixer. Crap.

Rhubarb Crumble

I have nothing against Nigella, I just think she can be a little excessive with the butter and cream and that. Today I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt when I was making a rhubarb crumble. I doubt I'll be doing that again. TOO MUCH BUTTER NIGELLA. I'm not trying to make flapjacks, I just want a crumbly crumble topping. Geez.

Chocolate Chip Cookies. Standard.

I haven't made cookies in ages. I got a bit obsessed with cupcakes and frosting for a while. These are made from an adapted version of that infamous Neiman Marcus recipe. I don't put quite as much brown sugar (substitute with granulated) and use mashed bananas instead of eggs. You can even take out some of the sugar if you use really old and squishy bananas. 

I added some dates and used Bournville plain chocolate. I've never been a fan of using 'cooking' chocolate. It is less likely to cook when you melt it but I swear it tastes odd.