Hummingbird Bakery Sweet and Salty Chocolate Cake

Happy bank holiday weekend, guys! 

For me, baking cures in two ways.

One, the process itself is extremely therapeutic and two, you get to eat yummy cake after. Chocolate is the big daddy of cakes and in my opinion no one does them better than Hummingbird Bakery, so when I'm in need of a pick me up I always reach from my Cake Days bakery book. 

This time around I made the Sweet and Salty Chocolate Cake and luckily I found the recipe online to share with you guys! The only exception is that I topped mine with gold sprinkles instead of grated chocolate. This the recipe for the exact cake above and is a little more complex to make - 

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Cake

If your a total newbie baker then I'd suggest this one from BBC Recipes (be quick though because they're changing the recipe section soon!)

Easy Chocolate Cake 

Happy baking! 

Healthy cookies!

You know when you really really want cookies? Like when the craving encompasses your soul and you have to have some? Yeah I had that the other day. BUT I was in a 'can't eat anything bad' kind of funk, that I was determined to not break - so I improvised and made these healthy (read - not unhealthy) cookies with no flour, sugar or butter. It can be done!

To make these little nuggets of heaven you'll need 

60g coconut flour 

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup agave nectar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon of almond butter

2 eggs

Dark chocolate chips (a generous handful is about right)

There isn't really a method for this. Just preheat the oven to 180c, then literally just bung everything into a mixing bowl and need until all the ingredients are well-blended and you have yourself a nice dough. If you haven't and it's too soggy, add some more coconut flour. Roll them into balls, place on a lined baking tray then gently flatten them and stuff them into the oven. They need about 10-12 minutes but use your judgement if they need a bit longer or less time!

Enjoy!

Keeks Bakes - Baking with Betty Crocker

I feel like if you haven’t experienced the delight of Betty Crocker you haven’t fully lived. It’s my favourite baking brand for two reasons – a) the Devil’s Food chocolate cake mix b) The Buttercream Icing. So you can imagine my delight when I was invited to attend an event with them - of course I didn’t hesitate!

 A bunch of us baking/blogging enthusiasts gathered at Central Street Cookery School to bake up a storm with Betty’s packet mixes and icing (hubba hubba). Under the guidance of the lovely Louise we got into groups and made more cake then I have ever seen in life. EVER.

We made a gorgeous vanilla and red velvet swirled loaf (and decorated for Christmas!), Devil’s Food Chocolate cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies encased with chocolate brownies. Suffice to say a sugar coma is imminent.

I had so much fun baking and meeting fellow bloggers. We even got to take home a few mixes so you will definitely be seeing some more baking on the blog very soon. In the meantime check out the Betty Crocker range here - they have an awesome new Vanilla Icing and Rainbow Sprinkles combo in time for everyone who loves a bit of Christmas baking!

Love Keeks xo 

Keeks Makes - Mac 'n' Cheese

Macaroni cheese is a dish that takes two of my greatest loves in life (pasta and cheese) and smushes them together to create the ultimate party in my mouth situation. 

Mac ‘n’ cheese is a dish that is intrinsic to Sunday dinners at the Reid household, my mum always makes it as a side and now I feel like no big spread is complete without it, so I thought I’d share it on the ol’ blog. 

The key to Keeks’s mac ‘n’ cheese is a little bit of mustard and a lot of cheese. My recipe is so simple that it’s not a recipe - I just watched my mum gracefully throw the ingredients together and made it my own. So if you follow this taste it along the way and adjust it to your taste, that’s how new recipes are born. I don’t use measurements which isn’t handy, but this recipe from BBC Food is pretty spot on, just take out the butter and flour and use around ¾ the amount of milk. Also what, I think makes my mac 'n' cheese special is the teaspoon of mustard I throw in, which cuts threw the cheesiness a little.

Bon appétit! 

Love Keeks xo