My name is Jessica.
If you have already checked out some of my blogs, you know what I’m about, for all those who haven’t, I love to bake. I have always been passionate about food, eating out, cooking, the flavours the smells… I love people saying how wonderful something you have spent time making tastes. I think everything you cook or bake has a small part of you in it, the flair or creativity in you coming out, it’s the greatest gift to be able to share my passion with others. It’s not always successful, but that’s what experiments are for, I try and test all my recipes I blog about before posting them.
I’m not the greatest photographer, so bare with me as some of the pictures are poor, but I assure you this is no reflection of the recipe, but I’m new to this blogging business, so keep visiting and hopefully I will improve.
I am also a mummy to a wonderful little girl who is my best critic, she loves everything sweet I bake, especially with fruit. What else do you need to know?! I’m 23 and have been cooking since I was 8 years old, my granny was a fabulous baker, so maybe I am following in her footsteps. I will eventually be blogging savoury food as well as sweet recipes, so I will keep you posted. I will also blog reviews of places to eat and about some of the best food I can find that you can buy.
I hope you all enjoy reading and baking these treats as much as I enjoy baking and blogging about them…
Happy baking x
Like a fat kid loves cake... 
Love the blog! Could you give me a good recipe for Red Velvet cake please? It’s my absolute favourite, but I can never get it to taste as good as in the shops!
Jerina x
Red velvet cake is yummy, I love it too. It’s important to remember food colouring actually has flavour, so if you use too much it will taste like chemicals. I usually use gel food colouring, it’s a stronger colour for less taste, but this recipe calls for liquid colouring, and it works well without the awful chemical taste. Also it has to be paired with cream cheese frosting, butter creams are too sweet, so use a full fat cream cheese, Philadelphia works great.
This recipe is from The Hummingbird Bakery cake days cookbook and every recipe I have ever made from it has turned out great!!
This recipe makes an 8 inch 3 layer red velvet cake, the quantities can be halved to make about 16 cupcakes. I’ve made this before and it was yummy, not overly sweet.
Sponge
240g softened unsalted butter
600g caster sugar
4 large eggs
40g cocoa powder
80ml red food colouring
2tsp vanilla essence
600g plain flour
2 tsp salt
480ml buttermilk
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Frosting
200g unsalted butter softened
1.2kg icing sugar
500g full fat cream cheese
Preheat the oven to 180C or 170C fan oven and like your 3 8 inch cake tins with parchment
Using an electric whisk or mixer with a paddle attachment cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Break in the eggs one at a time, mixing between each one.
In a small bowl mix the sifted cocoa powder, food colouring and vanilla essence to form a paste. Add to the batter until fully incorporated.
Sift together the flour and salt then add to the mix in two batches alternating with the buttermilk mixing well after each addition. In a separate bowl mix the bicarbonate of soda and white wine vinegar and add to the batter. Mix the batter until fully combined.
Fill your cake tins evenly and bake immediately for approximately 25 minutes depending on your oven, until the tops of the cakes spring back when pressed or a skewer when inserted comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
To make the frosting use an electric whisk or mixer with a paddle attachment on a low speed beat the butter and sifted icing sugar until there are no large lumps and it is sandy in texture. Add the cream cheese and mix slowly until fully combined then increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy and soft.
Sandwich the cakes together with the frosting then cover the top, you can also cover the sides if you really love cream cheese frosting, decorate with whatever you like I have used red sugar roses or even cake crumbs to give that lovely contrast between the white and red.
Serve and enjoy.
If halving the measurements to make cupcakes, they bake at 190C or 180C fan oven for about 18 to 20 minutes.
I will make a red velvet cake in the next few days and post a picture online for you.
Hope you like it. Happy baking x
Thanks for the red velvet recipe! Ill try it soon and let you know how I get on.
Look forward to reading about your next culinary ventures x