Sour cream chocolate cake

1c cocoa
1c boiling water
1c softened butter (225g)
2.5c sugar
4 eggs
2tsp vanilla
3c flour
2tsp baking soda
1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
1c sour cream

Preheat oven to 180deg C
- Dissolve cocoa in the hot water and set aside to cool.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. USE A BIG BOWL. This is alot of ingredients, and a big cake.
- Add eggs one at a time, mix well after each.
- Add vanilla.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and sour cream to the butter/sugar bowl.
- Lastly add cocoa mixture and combine. Is your mixing bowl overflowing yet?
- Bake in 9inch round cake tin, but I used two loaf tins because I only have a small cake tin and I had a sneaking suspicion this mixture was going to be too big.
- Bake for 30-35 mins until you insert a knife and it comes out dry. Be careful not to overcook as rumour has it this cake can dry out easily.
- Cool for 10 mins then turn out onto a cooling rack.

This was terrible. It was dry. I don't know if that's because I had it in the oven for closer to an hour because it wouldn't cook, and if this was because there was two of them? It literally had a cake crust on it. I refused to take it to work for my work-mates (the original destination for the cakes) so they will be going to the ducks or more likely the rubbish bin. Such a shame, because I know people who have had major success baking with sour cream.

Chocolate buttermilk cupcakes

- 120g softened butter

- 1.5c sugar

- 2 eggs

- 1tsp vanilla

- 1.5c flour

- 1/2c cocoa

- 1tsp baking soda

- 1/4tsp salt

- 1/2c buttermilk

- 1/2c water

Cream Butter and sugar with electric mixer.

Add eggs one at a time. Don't overbeat.

Add vanilla and stir.

In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients

In a separate bowl combine water and buttermilk

Alternately add dry ingredients/buttermilk mixture to the butter and sugar bowl

Pour into muffin cups, fill to about 2/3

Bake at 180deg C for 15-20 mins
Cool for 10 mins before removing from muffin tin
Let cool before icing

Well, turns out I forgot the vanilla! These still tasted good though. I'm not icing them, because I used re-usable silicone muffin cups which aren't suitable for taking these in to work for my colleagues. These are VERY light, fluffy, spongy and fragile. As soon as you pull the muffin cup away the cupcake will break so if iced I imagine will be pretty difficult to eat! 

Brookies (brownies + cookies)

Cookie dough:
1c + 2 tbsp plain flour
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp baking soda
115g softened butter
1/2c brown sugar
1/4c white sugar
1 egg
1tsp vanilla
160g choc chips

Brownie batter:
115g butter cut into cubes
3/4c plain flour
1tbsp cocoa powder
1/2tsp salt
140g chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips)
3/4c white sugar
1/4c brown sugar
3 eggs, room temp
1tsp vanilla

Make cookie dough:
- Add flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl, stir to combine and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix butter and sugars until smooth and creamy. Add egg and beat, and add vanilla.
- Slowly add flour mixture and beat to combine. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Cover bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Make brownie mixture:
- Combine flour, salt and cocoa powder in a bowl.
- Put 2 inches of water in a large pot and bring to the boil. Set a heatproof bowl on top (make sure bowl isn't touching boiling water) and melt butter and chocolate. Take off the heat, but keep bowl on the pot, and add sugars. Leave to cool to room temp.
- Add eggs, whisk until just combined. Then, using a spatula (to avoid too much air in the batter) stir in the vanilla and fold in flour. Do not overmix!
- Pour into a greased muffin tin, have each muffin hole halfway full. Put in fridge for 1 hour.

- Preheat oven to 190deg C and place rack in centre of oven. Take brownie batter out of the fridge.
- Roll cookie dough into small balls and flatten into a disc, and then press discs on top of the brownie batter.
- Bake until cookies are golden, 17-19 mins ish.

Okay, these didn't cook properly. It may have something to do with me not leaving everything in the fridge for long enough, but it also may be our oven as 3 down one side cooked and the others didn't. Might be worth trying again, but given how many ingredients went into it, it was kind of a waste and I might be too scared to try again! but they smelt INCREDIBLE and they looked so cute!

You live, you learn.

Eggless chocolate mint cake

4 1/2 c flour
3c white sugar
1c cocoa
1c vegetable oil (I used Canola)
3c Water
3tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
3tbsp vanilla essence (I used mint essence, hence choc mint cake)

- Preheat oven to 185 deg C
- In a large bowl (and I mean LARGE! Not just a normal baking bowl, it goes all over the bench, I promise you!) sift flour, cocoa, soda and salt. Add sugar and combine.
- Add oil, water and vanilla and mix.
- Pour into a large, greased cake tin (I used a small cake tin and a loaf tin, unsure how much this is going to rise...) and bake for an hour.

Well this may be interesting. I used 2c normal sugar and 1c castor, because I ran out of sugar. I used canola oil because that's all we had. I used 2/3c cocoa and 1/3c of something chocolatey the flatmate had on her shelf. And lastly, I used mint essence because I simply didn't have enough vanilla.

So let's be honest. If this is edible, I will be very (but pleasantly) surprised!

Cross your fingers for me. Also, my bench and floor are filthy because I didn't have a big enough bowl, and my clean skirt is also covered in cocoa.

Update: I wish I had taken a photo, this cake looked beautiful with cream cheese icing. I made my flatmate do a taste test, and even though he will eat ANYTHING he really wasn't impressed. But then Tom had some and really enjoyed it, but it was EXTREMELY minty- he said you had to know it was mint chocolate before taking a bite. So the moral of today's story is, when substituting vanilla essence for mint essence, probably don't use 1:1 ratio.

Might make this again, but I think I preferred my mint cupcakes here.... http://bakeittoenjoyit.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/mint-chocolate-cupcakes-with-mint-cream.html

Lemon custard muffins

3 tbsp custard powder
8 tbsp all purpose flour
1 egg
1 tbsp yoghurt/cooking oil
1/2 tsp any flavouring agent (e.g. vanilla, lemon)
1/6 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp powdered sugar (or more if you like sweeter muffins. I used 5)
100ml water (up to 130ml depending on consistency)

- Preheat oven to 190deg C
- Mix all ingredients (I only used 100ml water and my mixture was still extremely runny)
- Full muffin cups 3/4 full (I only got 7 out of this recipe)
- Bake for 15-18 mins, let cool on wire rack.

Wow. These were terrible. Tasteless, didn't rise at all, and the weighed a tonne. And yes, 1/6tsp of baking powder was exactly what the recipe said.They don't look anything like the picture on the original recipe ...see http://mykitchenflavors-bonappetit.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/custard-muffins.html

I'm not even uploading a picture. And even Tom wouldn't eat them...

Breakfast casserole

2c rolled oats 
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnut pieces
1 cup raspberries {any berries work, I used frozen blueberries}
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 cups milk
1 egg
40g butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 ripe banana, peeled, 1/2-inch slices

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, half the walnuts, half the strawberries and half the chocolate. (Save the other half of strawberries, walnuts and chocolate for the top of the oatmeal).
In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, butter and vanilla.

Add the oat mixture to prepared baking dish. Arrange the remaining strawberries, walnuts and chocolate on top. Add the banana slices to the top then pour the milk mixture over everything. Gently shake the baking dish to help the milk mixture go throughout the oats.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown and the milk mixture has set. For an extra tasty top, sprinkle a tablespoon or so of extra brown sugar (I put some white chocolate chips on top of mine with the banana, naughty!) 

Just like last time I baked with oats, this didn't stick. I ended up freezing it, and cut it from frozen, so it stayed together. Am I using the wrong oats!? I haven't eaten this either, except for when I sliced it- I microwaved it from frozen and it fell apart and I had to eat it with a spoon. It was okay, but not fantastic. Tom likes it, but I'm sure we all know by now that he isn't picky! I'm over baking with oats. Won't be doing it again *sulks*

Rolled oat choc peanut butter slice

1/2 c butter, room temperature
1/2c sugar
1/2c brown sugar
1tsp vanilla
1 egg
2c rolled oats

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Stir in rolled oats. Pour into a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes until golden.

When partially cool, ice:

1c choc chips
1/2c peanut butter

Microwave in short bursts, stir after each burst until mix is creamy. Spread over the partially cooled base and refrigerate for several hours until firm. Eat chilled.

Well, it turns out that you can't substitute butter for margarine in this. Margarine doesn't chill to a solid state like butter does, so when we sliced this, the icing came away from the base, and although apparently it tasted good, I couldn't get past how ugly it was! So we won't be making it again.

Peanut butter chocolate cupcakes

Peanut butter balls:

• 1 – 1 1/4 c powdered sugar
• 3/4 c creamy peanut butter (I used crunchy, because it's all I had)
• 50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients, beat well. 

Roll into 1inch balls- don't make them too big, remember they have to be concealed in the cupcakes

Place on a baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes while you make the cupcake batter

Cupcakes:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (use baking cocoa, not drinking cocoa)
1/8 teaspoon salt
40g butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 175 deg C
Sift flour, baking soda/powder, salt and cocoa
In a seperate bowl cream the sugar and butter (mine didn't look like regular creamed butter and sugar, so I added another 10g or so of butter)
Stir in vanilla
Add the flour mixture alternately with milk
Beat well

Pour 1tbsp ish into the bottom of the muffin tray IN A PATTY TIN! THIS IS CRUCIAL! I just ruined a batch because I didn't use them, the cupcakes stuck to the tin. Place a peanut butter ball in, and place another tbsp or so on top of the ball.
Bake for 15 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean

There is no photos, because I didn't use patty tins, and so the muffins were Ugly, if they even made it out alive. The review is that they are nice and sweet, but they appeared very moist, but are a lovely rich dark chocolate colour. I will try this recipe again in a few months, when the feeling of failure has left my body. On the upside, the peanut butter balls are delicious, I ate them partially frozen and loved them but I'm a devoted peanut butter fan.