Red Velvet Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Last week saw one of Mounty County's finest transition into adulthood. One of my old Maccas buddies, Rachel, turned 18 and for once the choice of cake was very clear. An avid fan of red velvet cake, I knew four layers of reddy-brown moistness sandwiched with cream cheese frosting was the only way to go. 

I have previously stuck to one red velvet cupcake recipe (which I will blog about later), but decided to look up a new one for the purpose of this cake. The method wasn't too difficult and the cake was delicious; moist but not too sweet, perfect for countering the sweetness of the cream cheese icing. As with any layer cake I make, this took quite a while due to the fact I own several different cake pans, no two of which are the same diameter. Therefore each layer had to be cooked one at a time. However this time, I was baking some sugar cookies for my sister to take to school (recipe to come later), so I figured out an efficient rotation system between cookies and cakes which limited time wasted from the oven being on between batches. (Cool story, I know).

The only thing I was slightly disappointed about was the icing in between the layers. Despite knowing the cake wasn't very sweet, I didn't want the frosting to become too overpowering so I was rather sparing with it. This resulted in it soaking up into the layers and made the cake look like one big layer instead of four distinct ones separated by the frosting as I had hoped. Nevertheless, the taste remained unaffected and I was still very happy with the result. Oh, and as you may have noticed from the picture, the cake didn't look as pretty as I had hoped. The sides were rather difficult to ice and after a car trip covered in uneven glad wrap, that was what was left. Still, it's not like I was baking for the CWA, everyone knows taste > everything, right?

Red Velvet Layer Cake (Adapted from Best Recipes)

For the cake:

• 2 1/2 plain flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 120g soft unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• Few tbsp red food colouring 

For the frosting: 

• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 60g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 cups icing sugar, sifted
  

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease and line one round 20cm baking tin (or as many as you have).
2. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa and set aside.
3.  In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (approx 3-5 minutes).
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add in a third of the flour mixture and beat well to combine.
6. Add in half of the buttermilk and beat again to combine,
7. Repeat, alternating between the flour mixture and the buttermilk, ending with the flour mixture. Beat well after each addition.
8. In a small bowl, mix together the vinegar and baking soda until foaming. Add into the batter and mix well with a rubber spatula or large spoon.
9. Add in the food colouring, a few drops at a time, until mixture achieves a desired shade of red.
10. Divide cake mixture evenly into four bowls, with the mixture of one going into the baking pan and into the oven. Cover the other three portions with cling wrap and put aside.
11. Bake each layer for 10-15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
12. When layers are cooked, let cool in tin for five minutes before transferring to a rack for further cooling. Reline/regrease tray and repeat with each remaining portion of batter.
13. When all layers are completely cool, prepare the frosting by beating together the butter, vanilla and cream cheese together until light and fluffy (approx 2-4 minutes). Add the icing sugar and beat until mixture is light and creamy.
14. Sandwich each layer together with icing as well as covering the entire cake in it. Add extra decorations to the cake if desired (I used coloured sugar).

Chocolate Brownies

There are times when we wonder how life got so hard. Trying to change into a lane where you're not trailing behind a massive truck on the Great Western. Writing an essay about the differing historian's views on Tiberius Gracchus. Trying to figure out why that even matters. Finding the perfect pair of shoes on the sale rack and then finding out they don't come in your size. Oh yeah, things get pretty tough in that little thing we call life, and sometimes all you really need is a good brownie (or four) and a nice cup of tea. So that's what I made myself to deal with such struggles encountered in my daily doings. Yeah okay so not really, I made these weeks ago in a completely leisurely context. But like... whatever.
So here we go, a quick and easy brownie recipe which I promise you, yielded the most delicious, soft chocolately clouds of deliciousness ever to grace this earth. And they're so easy to prepare. Seriously.
The recipe is the same as what I used for my Chocolate Brownie Cake a few months back, but halved and baked in a square cake tin. It's a pity they only yield nine average-sized slices, they're perfect for sharing but they barely make enough for even my immediate friendship group. Sad, but at least there's no remorse at not sharing them ;)
So here's the recipe, enjoy and eat responsibly. Brownies are far too addictive for their own good.

Chocolate Brownies (Adapted from raspberri cupcakes)

• 200g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 100g dark chocolate,broken into pieces
• 2 large eggs
• 100g (approx. half cup) caster sugar
• 100g (approx. one scant cup) plain flour

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease one square cake tin (I'm not sure how big my one actually is, I'll add the measurement when i find out..)
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together by placing them in a bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. 
3. Beat eggs and caster sugar with an electric mixer until thick and pale (about 3-5 minutes).
4. Fold through chocolate mixture then fold in flour until just combined. 
5. Transfer batter into the cake tin and bake for 20-25 minutes  or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool for five minutes in its tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar if desired.
7. When completely cool cut into nine equal slices (or whatever your preference)

Chocolate-Chip Cookies

I know, I know. It's been a really long time since I last posted. I'd cite exams as the reason but there was more than enough time inbetween giggling over a guy called "Franz Bumm" and writing half-finished essays about Sulla's mulberry face. (I don't know, that somehow translates to studying in my language).
Basically, I couldn't be bothered. Not to do the posts, nah, rambling about my baking woes and how delicious freshly-baked brownies are is something I never hesitate to do. I think it was more the recipes. While all my baked goods do stem from some sort of recipe, there's every chance I've altered it in some way while baking, and even if not, it feels a little silly to just copy/paste the recipe instead of acknowledging and then adapting the original one to my blog. Hence my ramblings about my baking woes and how delicious brownies are were forced to find a new host, namely in the form of me complaining expressing to my friends at school. Hey, baking gets pretty stressful sometimes.
So anyway, on to the actual subject of this post, chocolate chip cookies! I've blogged these before, but what kind of baker (or y'know, human...) can resist re-making such a delicious classic. I did, however, use a different recipe this time, opting for the New York Times recipe I found on spicy icecream. The batter resulted in actual cookie dough (as opposed to the runnier, batter-like result from the previous recipe I used), which was to be chilled and then rolled into balls. Actually, the recipe said to use an ice-cream scoop to put the dough on the tray, but where's the fun in that? If you're making cookie dough, you might as well roll it up and mould it by hand, no?
I also noticed that the original recipe advised to cover the entire bowl of dough and place it into the fridge for twenty-four/thirty-six hours before baking. What kind of willpower do these people have!?! I mean, chilling the dough is in fact neccesary to get it to a firm consistency, making it much easier to shape/bake, but waiting that long means that 1. You have to wait much longer to eat your cookies 2. Run the risk of tempting yourself (or others in the house) to run stick their sticky little fingers into the dough and enjoy some good ol' raw cookie dough.
I've made two small batches so far, one was made with dough which had been chilling in the fridge for around forty minutes, and the other after almost a whole day. Both turned out absolutely wonderful, so I see no need for lengthy chilling time. There's just under half the total batter left, which I have wrapped in baking paper, cling wrap and put inside a ziploc bag in the freezer (who am I kidding, it'll be gone within the next few days).
The recipe made cookies with crispy edges and a slightly softer centre, and turned out absolutely delicious.

OKAY enough talking, here's the recipe!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Adapted from spicy icecream)

• 240g (approx two scant cups) plain flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt (table salt is fine)
• 140g soft unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 110g (just over half a cup) caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 250g milk chocolate chips

1.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and baking powder.
2. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (around 3-5 minutes) with an electric mixer on medium speed.
3. Add in the egg, mixing until it is well incorporated.
4. Add the vanilla and mix briefly to combine.
5. Add half the flour mixture, mixing on low speed to combine.
6. Repeat with remaining flour mixture.
7. Fold in the chocolate chips with a large metal spoon.
8. Form the mixture into a dough with your hands, ensuring the chocolate chips are well distributed throughout the dough.
9.  Roll the dough into a large ball, wrap twice in cling wrap and place in the fridge.
10. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 175 degrees and roll the dough out into a cylinder with your hands.
11. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into appropriate sized pieces (see picture), and roll into small, thick, slightly flattened discs. Add extra chocolate chips to the top of cookies if desired. Place on a baking tray lined with greased baking paper, leaving enough space for cookies to spread (I only cooked five cookies at a time, so you may have to do them in small batches to avoid overcrowding the pan).
12. Bake in the oven for approximately 10-15 minutes, or until lightly golden.
13. Cool cookies in baking tray for five minutes, before easing them off the baking paper and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.