Click read more for the recipe.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cake

Adapted from the delicious Simply Heaven Cookbook

Cake

60g cream cheese, softened

60g butter, softened

1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups plain flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

100g dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180°C and butter and flour a 20cm cake pan. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese, butter, peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy – around 6 to 8 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined, be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go. Sift the flour and baking powder together into another bowl, before adding to the wet ingredients – alternate between the flour and milk until the batter is well combined and smooth. Add in the chocolate chips and gently combine. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin and bake between 20-25minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before turing onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

190g cream cheese

1/2 cup icing sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 – 2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon vanilla essence

Place the cream cheese into a mixing bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Sift together the icing sugar and cocoa powder and add one spoon full at a time to the cream cheese until combined, add the milk and vanilla – you can add a dash or so more milk if the icing is too thick. Continue to beat until smooth and creamy then generously spread atop your delicious cooled peanut butter and chocolate chip cake. Enjoy. x

Thank you all so much for your incredibly kind comments and love about this cake on Facebook and Instagram – you are all so so amazing! x

Click read more for the recipe.

Ombre Tinkerbell Cake

lemon cake

You will need to make two batches of this cakes so that you have four cakes, using a 6″ and 20cm cake pan – you will need to wash and reprep each pan after each cake has been made. If you have any mixture left over make some delicious cupcakes.

2 1/2 cups (365g) plain flour, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 3/4 cups (385g) caster sugar

250g butter, melted

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

zest of one lemon

2 tablespoons lemon curd

pink food coloring

Preheat oven to 160°C. Butter and flour your 6″ and 20cm cake pans and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and baking powder and whisk to combine. Gently melt the butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave, make sure it doesn’t separate (you don’t want the oil to rise) Add the milk, vanilla lemon zest and curd to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth, add the eggs one at a time and mix until well combined. Slowly pour the melted butter in and mix until well combined and smooth.

Divide the cake mixture evenly between four bowls. 770g of cake mixture for two bowls, this is for the 20cm cake. And 300g into two bowls for the 6″ cake. Add 1/2 teaspoon of pink coloring to the first bowl, one of the 770g, and mix until combined, 1/4 teaspoon to the second 770g bowl, 1/4 teaspoon to the 300g and leave the fourth (300g) bowl uncolored. Pour each cake mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for around 25min for the 20cm cake and 20 min for the 6″ cake – or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

If you are like me and only have one cake tin (not four of the same size) make sure you throughly clean the cake tin after each use and run it under cold water to cool it down between uses – you will also have to prepare the cake tin each time for each cake.

lemon buttercream icing

You will need to double this recipe – if you have any icing left over use to ice any cupcakes you might make or freeze for later. 

115g butter, softened

60ml milk

500g icing sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla essence

zest of one lemon

1 teaspoon lemon curd

Beat together the butter, milk, vanilla essence and half of the icing sugar until combined. Gradually add in the remaining icing and beat until smooth and creamy – the longer you mix it the whiter it will get.

swiss meringue buttercream

5 large egg whites (30g each–total 150g)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons superfine granulated sugar

500g butter, cut into cubes to soften

1 tablespoon vanilla essence

Zest of one lemon

2 teaspoons lemon curd

Green food coloring gel

Wipe the bowl and beater of an electric mixer with paper towel and vinegar, to remove any trace of grease – this helps the egg whites get nice and fluffy. Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl and whisk to combine before placing the bowl over a pot of simmer water (not boiling). Whisking the egg and sugar mixture constantly, until temperature reaches 140° F. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, whisk until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot to touch and no longer ‘stick’ to the whisk.

assembling your cake

Layer cakes are all about being patient and having all your ingredients ready to use. While your cakes are baking, I suggest making the both icings during that time – otherwise you can make them the day before to save on time. Layer your four cakes from darkest to lightest.

Using the lemon buttercream, lightly crumb coat the first cake and place in the fridge for 10min to cool. Add a thick layer of buttercream to the top of the cake, leaving the sides lightly iced, place in the fridge again for another 10min. Repeat until you have four layers with a light crumb coat. Refrigerate your cake while you are getting ready to make the ruffle.

Using a wilton 104 tip or petal tip (one that tapers from big to small) fill four icings bag half full with different colours of the swiss meringue butter cream. Starting at the bottom of the cake with the darkest icing and the skinny side of the tip pointing towards you, in un up and down/wave motion go around the whole cake twice with the darkest icing. Then work your way up to the top of the first tier with the lighter shades of green. Once you get to the top of the bottom tier, have the skinny side of the tip pointing to the outside of the cake and go back and forth around the top of the whole cake, then overlapping the next ruffle on top of the last until you have reached the middle. To ice the top tier of the cake repeat the above steps but only with the white icing.

Phew, congratulations you’ve just made a beautiful Ombre Tinkerbell Cake! xo

]]> http://madefromscratch.co.nz/the-little-drom-store/feed/ 1 http://madefromscratch.co.nz/pistachio-ginger-blondies/ http://madefromscratch.co.nz/pistachio-ginger-blondies/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 20:33:57 +0000 Made From Scratch http://madefromscratch.co.nz/?p=12511 Happy Monday everyone, I hope you all had the most wonderful weekend and of course spoilt your gorgeous Mama for Mothers Day! We had a really lazy but productive weekend after a week away, it was perfect – plus a little lazy Sunday afternoon is wonderful while it’s a little chilly outside. My gorgeous Mother-in-law gave me this delicious blondie recipe years ago, I’ve made it more times that I can remember – it’s just so good!! Her recipe calls for macadamia nuts but I didn’t have any so I added in pistachio nuts and crystallised ginger – either way this recipe is absolutely incredible and so quick to make I promise it will be your go to treat in no time! x

Click read more for the recipe.

Pistachio and Ginger Blondies

220g white chocolate, roughly chopped

100g butter

2 tablespoons vanilla essence

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

10-12 pieces of crystallised ginger, chopped

1/2 cup pistachio nuts, chopped – another handful, chopped, for the top of the blondie.

Preheat oven to 160°C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the butter, white chocolate and vanilla essence into a in a medium sauce pan over a low heat – stir until smooth.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and baking powder, ginger and pistachio nuts and whisk to combine. Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk to combine before adding the eggs and milk, whisk until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray and sprinkle with the remaining pistachio nuts and bake for around 40 min – or until a skewer inserted comes out almost clean. Allow to cool in the tin before cutting into rectangles. x

Hehe I love that it looks a little like baklava – so yummy! xo

| necklace | teapot | candle | cake stand | slippers | sample bar | umbrella |

| Photography, Natalie Franke | Styling, Caitlin Moran for Glitter Guide | Dishes & champagne glasses: Cin Cin Vintage | Flatware: Madhouse by Michael Aram | Wooden platter: Marshall’s |