Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

This recipe has been sitting waiting to be posted for over two weeks. And just as I'm about to post it I realise I can't even remember where the recipe came from so I can't even write that up for you. This is exactly what my life has been like lately. Everything all over the place and rushed! With that in mind I have decided to stop posting my Sunday Baking links, and pushing myself to blog once a week. So I'm going back to the beginning, blogging when I make a great recipe, no pressure to get stuff up or worrying about my blog being quite. I love to bake, and I love to share my recipes, but sometimes life gets in the way, and that's OK. So please, continue to check out my blog, the recipes will continue just not consistently.

By the way the mayonnaise cake was amazing. Just google it and I'm sure you will find the recipes!

Apple Donut Muffins

These are one of those recipes that you just don't know what to name them. They look like muffins, but the mix is more like a scone dough. They are covered in cinnamon and sugar which explains the donut part of the name. Whatever you call them they are great, especially straight from the oven. You can use any apple you like, but a sweet apple is best. Made them twice in one week and received with rave reviews.

• I really do love peanut butter and chocolate. Check out Sugarlaws Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
• My Recession Kitchen has a Mocha Tart
• Not exactly baked but who doesn't love Ice Cream Cake. Check out this recipe at Zoe Bakes
• Simple flavours with Technicolor Kitchens Vanilla Buttermilk Cake with Whipped Passionfruit Ganache
• Annie's Eats always has great recipes, try these Brownie Cookies

Apple Donut Muffins

Recipe from Pinoy Cook

Ingredients

2 apples

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 3/4 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground nutmeg

75g butter

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

Topping:

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Method:

1. Peel and roughly chop the apples.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and nutmeg. Add the butter to the flour mixture. Rub the butter against the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Beat the egg. Pour in the milk and stir lightly. Add the chopped apple to the egg-milk mixture.

4. Pour the apple mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until blended. Do not overmix.

5. Form the batter into loose balls and place in the holes of a muffin pan.

6. Bake at 180C for 25 minutes. While still warm roll in the sugar cinnamon mixture at let cool

Cut-out Cookies

Yes more cookies. But I decided to make these because I wanted to try out the icing. You see I've been working on cake decorating with some of the girls at my church and this week we will be decorating cookies. I was planning on making royal icing but had no eggs (probably should have checked that before I started!) instead I used a simple glaze frosting instead. It turned out pretty good and will be the one I use this week with the girls. The last three weeks we have decorated cupcakes and mini-cakes, and I have learnt that simple is best, master cake decorators they aren't, but they sure are having fun! Next week will be out final week when they decorate their own masterpieces, can't wait to see what they come up with.

More great recipes this week:

• Mint and chocolate has got to be one of my favourite flavour combinations. Try these Homemade Thin Mint Cookies from Bringing Home the Bakin'
• Healthy Chocolate Cake? Well maybe with this Chocolate Carrot Cake from Mochachocolata Rita
• Coconut and Lime has a great recipe for Homemade Sno-balls
• At the Bakers Bench needs to be congratulated for the amazing effort put into this Real Coconut Cake. Well Done!
• And who does love a surprise? Let's Get Stupid Together gives everyone a surprise with these Surprise Muffins

Cut-out Cookies

Recipe from taste.com.au

Ingredients

125g butter, room temperature

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup custard powder

Frosting

1 cup icing sugar

1 tsp soft butter or margarine

1-2 tablespoon milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

2. Use and electric beater to beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Beat in milk and vanilla extract. Fold in the flour and custard powder.

3. Press the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3o minutes to rest.

4. Divide the dough into manageable portions. Roll out one portion on a sheet of baking paper to about 1cm thick. Use cutters to cut shapes and place on trays.

5. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool for 5 minutes on the trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Frosting: Mix ingredients together, slowly adding milk until a smooth spreadable consistency is reached.

Chocolate Glazed Donut Muffins

Mmmmm donuts. I love donuts. There really is no better food (I'm sure I've said that before about other things though!) But making them from scratch? Aint going to happen! So when I saw this recipe I knew I had to give it a try just to see how realistic it was. Well I'm not sure about it being like a donut but it is pretty good. The flavour and heaviness of the cake is great and the glaze is amazing. Definitely one to make again.

• Who doesn't need a simple chocolate cake recipe? Try this Pantry Chocolate Cake from Tortatebukura's Blog
• Love Joy the Baker. It has been a while since I have highlighted one of her recipes but thought it was time about with these Chocolate Espresso Cookie Sandwiches
• The Cooking Photographer shares Cake Mix Chai Spice Cookies
• Anything mini has got to be good right? Check out Brioche Buttons from A Bowl of Mush
• Simple is sometimes always best. The Repressed Pastry Chef has Coconut Cake with Pineapple Filling

Chocolate Glazed Donut Muffins

Recipe from Elle's New England Kitchen

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp mixed spice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 eggs

1/4 cup canola oil

60g butter, melted

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup chocolate chips or melts

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon golden syrup

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C. Grease or line muffin pan.

2. Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

3. Mix in the eggs, oil, butter, milk and vanilla. Divide batter between muffin cups.

4. Bake for about 18 minutes or until tested comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Glaze: Melt the ingredients together over low heat or in the microwave, stirring often.

Pear and Raspberry Bread

Feeling silent today, not sure what to share with you today other then this recipe. Easy to throw together, my only suggestion is that it was a little too moist, maybe reduce the puree pear amount slightly. Also my baking time was about 50 minutes not the 60 minutes called for in the recipe. It also sunk a little when cooling. Despite all that is still a good recipe.

Check out these recipes too.

• Pete Bakes! has some Strawberry Cupcakes with real strawberries.
• More raspberry with the Chocolate Raspberry Cake from Sweet Sensations
• Still on the fruit theme Greedy Gormand has Orange Walnut Cake
• This post is what food blogging is about, documenting the lessons learned. Check out the Chocolate Meringue Cake at
• The Apartment Kitchen has quick and easy Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Pear and Raspberry Bread

Recipe from Coles Magazine Winter 2009

Ingredients

825g can pear halves, drained, juice reserved

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 15cm x 25cm loaf pan and line with non-stick baking paper.

2. Puree half of the pears and chop remaining. Measure pear puree in a jug and make up to 1 cup with reserved juice.

3. Place dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add egg, oil, raspberries, pear puree mixture and chopped pears. Gently fold together, until just combined. Fill prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes, until cooked when tested. Cool bread in pan. Store in airtight container.

Chocolate Roll-out Cookies

I made it back into the kitchen! And what a great time I had. I spent about 6 hours in the kitchen on Saturday and it was excellent. The huge pile of dishes that is still sitting there isn't so great, but worth it. I had a friend coming over for dinner that night so as per her request I made lasagne and her all-time favourite dessert, tiramisu. I also whipped up some cupcakes and these cookies. I recently 'borrowed' my mothers 40 year-old rolling pin and put it to good use with these cookies. My rolling skills need a little work but I'm ready to work on it if I keep getting stuff like this made! Simple chocolate cookies which I decorated with white, milk and dark chocolate as well as hundreds and thousands. The aim was that they would go to an ice hockey game I was going to (yes, ice hockey in Australia!) but they were being eaten before I got out of the house, so cupcakes went to the game instead (I'll try and get that recipe up sometime this week). The chocolate was easy to apply to the cookies, I dipped them in as well as spread with a spatula and both techniques worked well. Let your creativity run with these, and use up any leftover chocolate you might have.

A few recipes from other blogs to check out:

• Who doesn't love brownies. Try Fudgy Mocha-Toffee Browies from La Cuisine de Helene
• Picky Cook has Raspberry-topped Lemon Muffins
• If its giant its got to be good right? Culinary Concoctions by Peabody has Giant Ginger Cookies
• And Pecan Pie Cookies can be found at Elizabeth's Edible Experience

Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies

Recipe from Australian Women's Weekly Cookies

Ingredients

125g butter

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/4 cup self-raising flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

chocolate and hundreds and thousands to decorate

Method

1. Beat butter, sugar and egg in small bowl with electric mixer until combined. Sift dry ingredients, in two batches.

2. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth; roll dough between sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and oven trays; line with baking paper.

4. Using 5cm round cutters, cut rounds from dough. Place on oven trays.

5. Bake for about 12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

6. Spread tops of cookies with chocolate, sprinkle with hundreds and thousands. Set at room temperature.

No recipe today

No recipe. No baking. But I wanted to post my usual links. No idea when I'll get back to the baking but the sooner the better!

• It is pretty obvious by now that I love peanut butter and chocolate. Check out Kitchenbelle Better then Brownie Cookie Peanut Butter Sandwiches
• Life's Ambrosia also has some sandwich cookies. This time Chocolate Chocolate Chip and Nutella Cream Sandwich Cookies
• Just Food shows us Easy Yogurt Cornetti
• Australia doesn't really have root beer but it does interest me. This Root Beer Float Cake at The Cutting Edge of Ordinary looks good
• Love shortbread and these Prettied up Shortbread from Domestic Delight do look so good

Cookie Slice (aka Pioneer Woman's 'Spreads' Cookies)

Yep late again. Maybe I should just make Wednesday posts permanent!  A really quick recipe this week. I found this on Pioneer Woman and really wasn't sure what they would turn out like. They are a great snack to keep on hand, just like a regular cookie but much quicker to make because you don't have to worry about scooping individual cookies, just spread the dough to make a giant cookie and slice it up after spreading it with chocolate.  

A quick list of recipes to check out. Sorry no descriptions this week but they all look great!

• Gooey Chocolate Toffee Cookies from Delish
• Crumpets from Pham Fatale
• Apple Crumble Custard Creams from Katie Cakes
• Apple Crumble Slice from Spicy Icecream
• Banana Bread Cake Pops (Check these out!!) from Natalie's Killer Cuisine

Cookie Slice (Pioneer Women's 'Spreads' Cookies)

Recipe from Pioneer Women

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup margarine (I used butter)

1 egg

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 to 8 ounces chocolate chipis (I used choc melts)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. 

2. Mix together brown sugar and margarine. Add egg and mix together. Add flour, salt and vanilla and mix together well.

3. Spread dough onto cookie sheet to a thickness of 1/4 to 1/2-inch. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until slightly brown.

4. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top. Return to over for 1 minute. Remove and spread melted chips over the top.  (I had a little trouble with this so just melted chocolate and poured and spread it over the cookies) Cut into squares.

Chewy Chocolate Slice

Yes I know, its Wednesday not Sunday but I've been busy. Well that's not entirely true, I've been busy and lazy. Sure I've had stuff to do, but mostly that stuff has been going out for lunch and dinner, watching movies and just basically wandering around town. I have done some baking during the week including this chocolate slice. I made it to take to Cafe Church on Sunday night but well never got back home before church to pick it up, so I've been eating it myself. Tastes great warmed up and served with ice cream, just don't put it in the microwave too long or it will burn and catch fire! Charcoal does not make for a nice dessert.  This slice is kind of like a brownie, but with coconut to give it some chewiness. Really easy to make and really easy to eat!

Some more great recipes this week. I don't think in a lifetime I'll ever get to make all the great recipes I bookmark! 

• Thibealt's Table has this delicious looking Chocolate Cream Cheese Loaf Cake. Just look at that swirl!
• Great flavours to try in Purple Foodie's Black Forest Cookies
• Taste and Tell shares some Chocolate Hazelnut Meringue Kisses
• Keep the coconut theme of my slice going with these Coconut Bars at Dana Treat
• Have you guessed I like Peanut Butter? Try Honey Peanut Butter Cookies from Bake Me More

Chewy Chocolate Slice

Recipe from AWW Bake

Ingredients

125g butter, melted

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup plain flour

1/4 cup self-raising flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 cup dessicated coconut

1 tablespoon shredded coconut

Chocolate Icing

1 cup icing sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons butter

1 tablespoon hot water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease 19cm x 29cm slice pan; line with baking paper; extending paper 2cm over long sides.

2. Combine butter, sugar, egg and extract in medium bowl. Stir in sifted flours and cocoa then dessicated coconut. Spread mixture over base of pan.

3. Bake about 25 minutes or until firm.

4. Meanwhile, make chocolate icing.

5. Spread hot slice with icing; sprinkle with shredded coconut, cool. Cut into 15 squares, cut squares into triangles.

Chocolate icing: Sift icing sugar and cocoa into small bowl; add butter and the water, stir until smooth.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies have never been my strong point. I mean these come out ok but I'm never quite happy with them. I think its because I like my cookies small and crunchy. I thought this recipe would be just what I was after, but not quite. Close though. I guess I'll just keep looking for the perfect recipe. This recipe is still worth trying if you are looking for a good soft cookie recipe with loads of choc chips.

Get the Chocolate Chip Overload Cookies recipe from Noble Pig

And some other great recipes to try out:

• Let Her Bake Cake shares some Canadian Traditions and these Butter Tarts
• A crumble top makes everything better. Try these Crumble Top Muffins from La Table de Nana
• Coffee and Vanilla has a great looking and I'm sure great tasting Vanilla Buttercream and Lemon Cheese Layer Cake Infused with Lemon Grass Tea
• Try this Chocolate Chiffon Cake at Little House
• Ice cream sandwich cookies are the best! Try Vanilla Gelato with Chocolate Malt Cookies from Lisa is Cooking