Coconut Macaroons

Hello Everyone!
So I decided to share with you all my recipe for coconut macaroons. These bite-size treats are a favourite amongst my family, partly because they are gluten free which suits my coeliac dad. They are one of the easiest things to whip up if you're in a rush and everybody who has tried them seems to love them! Another great thing about these macaroons is that they only need 4 ingredients(none of that egg white nonsense most recipes have!) and they will have your kitchen smelling like a tropical paradise.

Ingredients:

Method:

Beat your eggs well.

Add the castor sugar and desiccated coconut. Stir until all the ingredients are mixed together.

This stage can get a bit messy so to reduce the mess have a bowl of ice cold water at the ready and your baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.

Soak your hands in the cold water and then take a golf ball sized amount of the mixture and roll between the palm of your hands until it resembles a rounded pyramid shape.Place the macaroons on your baking tray.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180' for 20 minutes or until they are golden on the outside.When cool enough to touch,transfer the macaroons on to a plate.

Break up your chocolate into a bowl and melt in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Dip the base of the macaroons into the chocolate and place on the tray that you originally baked the macaroons on.

Drizzle any remaining melted chocolate on the top of the macaroons. Allow the chocolate to set for 30 minutes.

Have fun trying out these yummy and chewy delights!
Love Kate x

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Hello Everyone!

If you're ever stuck for a dessert to bring to a dinner party, this one for you! It's a very rich and dense chocolate cake that is perfect served with a scoop of ice-cream. As it is made with ground almonds, instead of flour, it has a more intense flavour and is also perfect for any coeliac guests. 

Ingredients:

Method:

Preheat your oven to 170'C

Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Don't allow the water to touch the bottom of the bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl using an electric mixer.

Add the 4 egg yolks,ground almonds and melted chocolate.

Mix until well combined.

In a spotlessly clean bowl,whisk your egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Add 1/3 of the egg whites to your mixture. Fold in gently using a metal spoon.

Add the rest of the egg whites to your mixture and combine them gently until the egg whites are no longer visible.

Add your mixture to a lined tin, preferably with a removable bottom. Put in the oven for 25min or until cake set in the centre.

Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes. 

Present your dessert on a cake stand with a sprinkle of icing sugar.

Me being a freak!

Love Kate x

Kate's Cake Pops

Recently pictures of cake pops have been ‘popping’ up on my instagram (@kateobrien_1)and have been making me intrigued to learn more. These yummy goodies really have become more popular in the past year. They’re a combination of cake sponge, chocolate and a lollipop stick. These pretty little deserts are perfect for celebrations but I must admit they do look time consuming.Here is my cake pop creation recipe...

Ingredients:

1 cake sponge (I used a chocolate all-in-one microwave cake)
300g of good quality dark chocolate

100g of white chocolate

15 cocktail sticks

block of oasis

Decorations (sprinkles,edible glitter,food colouring etc)

Method:

1.Firstly I baked the easiest of all cakes, an all-in-one chocolate microwave cake. I decided to use this as it results in a dry cake and you wont need the best quality of sponge for these cake pops.

2.When the sponge was cool enough to touch,I crumbled it into fine crumbs using my finger tips.

3.I then melted 200g of the dark chocolate,alter this step to white chocolate if using a vanilla sponge so the colours will match!I then added this to the cake crumbs and combined the ingredients using a wooden spoon.

4.Using the palm of your hand, roll sections of the cake into small spheres(size of a golf ball). Place a lollipop/cocktail stick into the centre of each ball.

5.Leave the cake pops to set and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

6.The next step is decoration. You may be as creative as you wish here. Choose whatever type of chocolate you desire, melt it, and dip each cake pop into the chocolate.

7.Add any edible decorations you want, then allow the chocolate shell to dry by sticking each cake pop into oasis.

The finished treat is very a pretty lollipop. When you first take a bite of the cake pop you will be met by a crisp hard layer of chocolate soon followed by a rich and almost fudgy inside. These desserts can be altered in so many ways to make them perfect for any occasion. Please do try these tasty pops out and enjoy!

Love Kate x