Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake with Nutella and Coconut Frosting!

We spent the May bank holiday weekend this year at my parents house in Shropshire.  I worked out that we would be there for my mom's birthday so of course I would have to make her a spectacular cake!

Her favourite chocolate bar in the world is Cadbury's Whole Nut...so I used that as my inspiration and the cake evolved from there!

The chocolate-hazelnut cake is made without any butter at all and the batter consists mainly of whipped eggs -the batter triples in size the longer you whip the eggs! I had never made a cake using this method before and I actually loved it! It was so fast and easy and the cake was unbelievably light and airy! 

The original recipe I was following filled the insides as well as the outsides with chocolate nutella frosting but I decided that might be too rich, so I whipped up some light and fluffy coconut frosting to go in between the cake layers and kept the creamy dreamy nutella frosting just for the outside of the cake! 

The cake was finished off with some chunks of whole nut chocolate and some chopped hazelnuts coating the outside.  

It was super delicious, and a must for any chocolate & hazelnut lover in your life!!

Also, I was featured last week as a top UK food blogger and if you head over to the site there's an interesting little infographic about reasons why people blog - I'm definitely motivated by food being my passion!!

Chocolate-Hazelnut Nutella & Coconut Whole Nut Layer Cake:

Serves 12-14

Adapted from Let the Baking Begin!

for the cake:

7 large eggs

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 cups finely ground hazelnuts

3 tbsp plain flour

3 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line 2 8 inch round cake tins with parchment paper and butter.  

In a medium size bowl, sieve the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together.  Stir in ground nuts.

Whip the eggs on high speed in a free standing mixer, until frothy.  Slowly add the sugar and continue whipping until the mix has tripled in volume, for approx. 5 mins. 

Fold dry ingredients into the eggs, in 3 additions.  

Divide the batter evenly between the tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Once baked, leave in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Cut each cake in half again so that you have four cakes.  

for the coconut filling:

465g icing sugar

150g unsalted butter

50ml coconut milk

Beat half of the icing sugar together with the butter in a free standing mixer.  Start on low, and turn to high until they have come together.

Add the remainder of the icing sugar and beat until incorporated.

Beat in the coconut milk.

Turn the mixer to high speed, and continue to beat for 5 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.

for the nutella frosting:

200g unsalted butter

1 1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate

1/2 cup nutella

Melt chocolate in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each time until completely melted.

Let cool to room temperature.

Whip butter, chocolate and nutella together until combined.

for decoration:

4 tbsp coconut filling

4 tbsp nutella frosting

12 single squares whole nut chocolate

1 double rectangle whole nut chocolate

1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

To assemble:

Spread a thick layer of coconut filling in between each layer of cake.  Once all four layers have been assembled, cover the entire top and sides of the cake in the nutella frosting.  

Cover the bottom half of the cake in the chopped hazelnuts by grabbing handfuls of the nuts and sticking them to the frosting.  

In a small bowl, mix together the coconut filling and nutella frosting.

Spoon it into a piping bag fitted with a star tip.  Pipe 12 swirls - try and evenly pipe 6 swirls on each side of the cake in a symmetrical pattern.

Stick a piece of whole nut chocolate in each swirl.  

Pipe a larger swirl in the middle of the cake and stick a double piece of whole nut chocolate in the centre.

Eat and enjoy!

A Trio of Curds: Pineapple & Coconut, Raspberry and Passionfruit

I've always thought that I wasn't a fan of curd.  I think it stems from when I was growing up and my Dad used to be keen on it...and generally anything that my Dad is keen on I'm not.  He's a fan of piccalilli, brown sauce, fruit cake, pork pies, turkish delight and many many other things that I won't go near! So naturally when he always used to eat lemon curd I decided it probably wasn't something I was going to like! 

That all changed when three years ago I whipped up my first ever batch of curd, but not just any curd - this was key lime curd, and oh man it was one of the yummiest things ever and I suddenly realised I loved curd, and from them on I've been dreaming up as many yummy curds as possible!

One of my fave flavours I have made is pineapple curd! I have made it to fill a layer cake, and also to fill cupcakes.  This time when I made it I added a coconut twist with coconut oil and desiccated coconut, because pineapple and coconut is a match made in heaven and this might be my fave curd to date! 

I have been wanting to make raspberry curd forever, purely because how amazingly vibrant is that colour?! It did not disappoint! It was everything I expected and more! I have dreams of one day pairing this with a coconut scone, how delish would that be! 

To finish off the trio, I whipped up a quick passion fruit curd and then packaged them up in these cute little jars, made these chalkboard top labels and sent them off in a birthday package to a good friend of mine who had only recently discovered curd at my house and loved it so I thought she would enjoy this package of treats! 

If you were able to make one giant batch of curd and then stir in different flavours that would be an easier way of doing things but from most of the recipes I came across it seemed like the fruit had to be infused with the eggs on the heat to get the curd to work, and every recipe I came across for each flavour was slightly different so in the end I just made 3 different recipes.  Curd is really quick to make though, and I had managed to make all 3 batches, and cooled them and packaged them up all before the baby woke up from her nap! so if you've never made any before give it a try! quick and easy, and most of all delicious - you won't be disappointed! 

Pineapple & Coconut Curd:

Makes enough to fill 4x50ml jars

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

1 cup fresh pineapple puree (1/2 sieved and 1/2 lumpy)

1/3 cup caster sugar

3 egg yolks

2 tbsp cornstarch

small pinch of salt

2 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Blend the pineapple in a food processor.  Add half a cup of the puree into the saucepan.  Sieve the rest so that no lumps are included and it is just the pineapple juice, measure out a half cup of the juice and add it to the saucepan.  If you don't want any lumps you can sieve all the puree but I think the real pineapple chunks add something special to the curd.

Add the egg yolks, cornstarch and salt.  Turn heat onto medium and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens, this happens just as it is about to come to the boil, usually around 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the coconut oil until melted.  Stir in the desiccated coconut.  Allow to cool in the pot as it will thicken further.  Put into sterilised jars and store in the fridge, use within a week.

Raspberry Curd:

Makes enough to fill 4x50ml jars

From Hungry Hinny

150g fresh raspberries, you can also use frozen

2 small eggs, beaten

zest of 1 lemon

75ml lemon juice

50g unsalted butter

100g caster sugar

Blend the raspberries in a food processor.  Add the raspberries to the beaten eggs and push the mixture through a sieve into a large mixing bowl.  

Add the zest, juice, butter and sugar to a saucepan and gently heat, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved and butter has melted.  Bring to the boil and then remove from the heat.  Slowly add to the raspberry and egg mixture, whisking as you pour it in.  Return the mixture back to the saucepan, and bring back to the boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  

Keep it simmering until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, then remove from the heat and leave it to cool in pot as it will thicken further.  Put into sterilised jars.  As above, store in the fridge and use within a week.

Passionfruit Curd:

Makes enough to fill 4x50ml jars

From Drizzle and Drip

3 large eggs

60g unsalted butter 

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup passion fruit pulp, about 4 passion fruits

Heat the butter, sugar and passion fruit pulp in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and it reaches boiling point.  Remove from the heat and allow it to cool slightly (about 3 mins).  

Beat the eggs until fluffy in a bowl and very quickly, whisking all the time, add them to the saucepan mixture - you do not want the eggs to curdle.  Place saucepan back on heat, and whisk constantly until the mixture becomes thick.  Allow it to cool in the pot as it will thicken further and pour into sterilised jars and keep in the fridge.  Use within a week.  

Unsure of what to do with your curds? As mentioned before they go great sandwiched between layer cakes, or as a filling for cupcakes.  They are also delicious spread on scones, crumpets, bagels or toast and you can also use them along with cream as a filling for pavlova.  Whipping them into some plain vanilla frosting will also give a delicious fruity and creamy frosting! 

Eat and enjoy! 

Lime & Coconut Cheesecake Jars

There are some flavour combinations you just can't beat! Coconut & lime happens to be one of them, and I can't get enough of it! As is evidenced on this blog from my Key Lime Pie Cupcakes to my Lime, Coconut & White Chocolate Blondies and Coconut & Key Lime Curd Layer Cake to my No Bake Coconut & Key Lime Cheesecake.

When Sugar and Crumbs got in touch with me and told me about their flavoured icing sugars, I was intrigued and when I heard they did a coconut and lime flavour it was a done deal! I had to try it out for myself! so they sent me some to try and I decided to give it a whirl and turn it into some cheesecake in a jar! 

Initially I had planned to use a few drops of coconut extract in the cheesecake mix as I usually would, but the beauty of these flavoured icing sugars is I didn't need to add any! The sugar was so flavourful that it would have been an overkill adding extract to my surprise! and oh the smell as you opened up the pouch to add it into the mixer - it was totally tropical and delicious! and the great thing is the flavours are all natural.  It tasted just as good as it smelt too! 

I layered the cheesecake in between some coconut cupcakes, and combined with a graham cracker crust this was one tasty dessert to go! 

I even tied a little spoon on and gave them away as gifts, the perfect little no bake treat! 

Lime & Coconut Cheesecake Jars:

Makes 2

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

for the crust:

40g graham cracker crumbs

20g unsalted butter, melted

for the cheesecake:

225g cream cheese

120g lime & coconut icing sugar

85g double cream

20g desiccated coconut

for the cupcakes:

3 coconut cupcakes - recipe from Trophy Cupcakes

Using a whisk, whip the double cream until stiff peaks form.

Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar together with a paddle attachment in a freestanding electric mixer.

Stir the cream into the cream cheese mix with a spoon until incorporated.  Stir in the desiccated coconut and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds.

Blitz the graham crackers into crumbs using a food processor.  Add in the melted butter.

Spoon two and a half tablespoons of biscuit mix into the bottom of each jar.  Smooth it out on top with the back of a teaspoon.

Cut coconut cupcakes into cubes.  I used 1.5 cupcakes per jar.  

Put the cheesecake mix into a piping bag with a star nozzle fitted.

Pipe a layer of cheesecake on top of each biscuit base.  Layer with cubes of coconut cupcake.  Repeat with a piped layer of cheesecake, and one more layer of coconut cupcake.  Finish off with a small swirl of coconut cheesecake and a sprinkling of shredded coconut.  

Eat and enjoy.

I received the icing sugar complimentary from Sugar and Crumbs, but all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Bounty & Coconut Marshmallow Rocky Road

After whipping up the batch of coconut marshmallows, I knew it was only a matter of time before they were going to make their way into some rocky road! and of course because I don't like to do things by halves it had to be truly coco-rific.  I have made a toasted coconut rocky road before with coconut m&m's and coconut biscuits so this one was still as coco-nutty just with a few different coconut mix ins this time! So I added chopped up Bounty bars and Coconut Lindor truffles and a sprinkling of desiccated coconut too.

They were so delicious, I feel like I'm never going to be able to make rocky road again unless it's with homemade marshmallows! They have certainly set the standard high!

 I'm already dreaming up the future homemade marshmallow flavour combos that will be turned into more decadent rocky roads!

Coconut & Bounty Rocky Road:

Makes 12

Cupcake Crazy Gem

450g milk chocolate

1 tsp vegetable oil

1 cup rice krispies

10g desiccated coconut

200g bounty bars

75g coconut lindor truffles

125g coconut marshmallows

50g white chocolate

1/8 tsp vegetable oil

Line an 8x8" square baking pan with parchment paper.

Break milk chocolate into pieces and put in a large heatproof bowl above a pan of boiling water.  Stir in vegetable oil and mix until melted.

Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Chop the marshmallows into quarters, the lindor truffles in half and the bounty bars into about 10 chunks. (Reserve back a few handfuls of the mix ins to use as toppings)

Stir in the rice krispies and desiccated coconut.  Once completely cool, stir in the marshmallows, bounty and truffles.  Mix well.

Spread into the prepared pan, smoothing out on top.  Add the rest of the toppings.  

Chop the white chocolate and put it in a small microwavable bowl with the vegetable oil.  Microwave in 30 second bursts until melted.  Put into a piping bag and drizzle over the rocky road.

Refrigerate for an hour, or overnight.

Eat and enjoy!

Coconut Marshmallows from the amazing Butter Baked Goods!!

When we moved to Vancouver I was so excited about all the potential baked goods the city had to offer! I had visions of gorgeous little cupcakeries on every block and gourmet treats around every corner! The reality was not so great.  I tried so many mediocre cupcakes and went to many different establishments that came highly recommended but Vancouver was still lacking in impressing me treat wise! Then a very lovely friend recommended Butter Baked Goods to me and the day I stepped through their beautiful pastel doors I knew I'd found what I was searching for! 

From sky high chocolate peanut butter layer cakes to toasted marshmallow s'mores bars, pineapple coconut scones to bars loaded with chocolate, pecans, coconut and dulce de leche (otherwise known as the Dunbar!) and of course their homemade marshmallows were the icing on the top! I'm not sure I'd ever had a homemade marshmallow before I tried Butter's...and I've tried many since but none have compared! From passionfruit to gingerbread to maple to toasted coconut there were so many flavours to choose from...in fact at the last count they had 18 flavours but I'm sure they've dreamt up many more since! 

Of course we were heartbroken to leave Vancouver, and I was heartbroken to leave Butter behind! So imagine my excitement when on the morning my baby was born my husband presented me with a push present and it just so happened to be Butter Baked Good's recipe book! He is a keeper that's for sure! It is one of the most beautiful recipe books you will ever own, and I have spent months and months staring at those beautiful pages wondering what to make first!

Naturally, it had to be their marshmallows!

So I tentatively whipped up my first batch...waiting for that liquid sugar to magically turn into white fluff and it didn't! I think it was because I used some gelatin leaf so undeterred I tried again with powdered gelatin this time and did a little happy dance as the marshmallow fluffed up!

They are actually so much easier than I ever thought they would be to make! and now I've conquered them once I'm already dreaming up all the flavours I'll be making in the future! and the taste, oh the taste! they are soft and pillowy and creamy and delicious and everything you expect from an amazing marshmallow!

They are great in hot chocolates, and melt even better than shop bought marshmallows! 

and I also dipped some in chocolate and then in coconut for the dessert table we had for my 1 year old's birthday (which I'll be blogging about soon!) and I threw them in some coconut rocky road which will be appearing on the blog over the next few weeks too!

Butter's Famous Marshmallows - Coconut:

Makes 64 1x1 inch or 32 2x2 inch (which is the size I made in the pictures)

Adapted from Butter Baked Goods

1 cup cold water, divided

3 sachets powdered gelatin (I use Dr Oetker's that are 12g per sachet)

337g caster sugar

350g golden syrup (or corn syrup)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp coconut extract

2 cups icing sugar, to coat the marshmallows

Prepare a 30x18cm baking pan with a sheet of clingfilm, greased lightly with butter

In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment pour in 1/2 cup of the water and sprinkle with the gelatin.  Set aside and let the gelatin soak in.

In a medium saucepan, over high heat, add the sugar, syrup, salt and remaining 1/2 cup of water.  Bring to a rolling boil and continue to boil until a sugar thermometer reaches 237 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from heat.

Turn on your mixer a few times to break your gelatin and water combo up.    Turn your mixer to low, and slowly add the hot sugar mixture to the bowl, and continue to mix on low.  Make sure you pour the hot sugar mixture down the side of the bowl and that it doesn't touch the whisk attachment if possible.

Turn the mixer to high and continue to whip for 8-10 minutes until the marshmallow batter almost triples in size and becomes very thick.   Stop the mixer, add the coconut extract (or just vanilla extract if you are making plain marshmallows), and then whip briefly to combine.  

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan and use a spatula to spread it evenly into the pan.  Work quickly because the marshmallow becomes more difficult to work with as it sets.  

Put a layer of tin foil across the top of your pan loosely, I make mine create an arch shape so that it definitely won't touch and stick to any of the mallow in the pan.  

Leave the marshmallow, at room temperature, to set for at least 4 hours or overnight.  The marshmallow will be too sticky and soft if you cut it too soon.

Sprinkle a work surface or cutting board with the icing sugar.  Run a knife along the top edge of the pan to loosen the marshmallow slab.  Invert the pan and flip the marshmallow out onto the counter or board.  Scoop up handfuls of icing sugar and rub all over the marshmallow slab.

Use a large knife to cut the slab into 1x1 inch squares or 2x2 inch squares if you want larger ones like I did.  Roll each of the freshly cut marshmallow squares in the remaining icing sugar to coat them completely.  

Store in an airtight container.

Eat and enjoy!!

No Bake Coconut & Key Lime Cheesecake

So we've been living at my parents for 7 weeks now which is partly why I haven't blogged much! I've still been baking lots, but have mostly been making requests for my family who don't get to sample my baking as much as they'd like, and so it's mostly been stuff that I've blogged about before!!

It did give me a good chance to whip these treats up though because my mom is a huge key lime pie fan, and my dad loves anything coconut - can you tell where I get it from?! So it seemed rather fitting that I should make this bake...or no bake I should say!

I also had a packet of key lime pie crunch cream biscuits I'd been hoarding because I knew they'd be awesome in a dessert one day!

So they made their way into the crust to make for one tasty slice!

Cheesecake is not something I bake very often but everytime I make it I wonder why that is...because for starters it is so quick and easy to whip up (especially when it's no bake) and also it's SO creamy and yummy! Apart from the patience required to wait while it chills at the end is not my favourite part ;)

I made my cheesecakes in an individually portioned square tray thinking it would give them nice straight edges for beautiful photographs! but somehow they still turned out a bit messy! You can make it in one large dish and probably slice nicer edges than mine!

So while we mourn the end of summer, yes I made my parents turn on the heating last week as it was getting SO cold already! and the leaves are starting to turn, booo! you can retreat with a slice of this and close your eyes and pretend you're still somewhere totally tropical whilst the lime and coconut tingle on your tastebuds!

No Bake Coconut & Key Lime Cheesecakes:

Makes 16

Adapted from Beyond Frosting 

For the crust:

300g key lime pie crunch creams (or biscuit of your choice)

80g unsalted butter

For the filling:

2 cups double cream

1/4 cup icing sugar

450g cream cheese

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp coconut extract

zest of 2 limes

1 1/2 tbsp key lime juice

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup shredded coconut

5 tbsp shredded coconut for decoration

 Prepare the crust by blitzing the biscuits into fine crumbs in a blender.  Melt the butter in a heatproof bowl in the microwave.  Add it to the biscuit crumbs a little at a time to see when it is moist enough to roll a ball of the mix in the palm of your hands and have it hold it's shape (if you are using biscuits without a filling, you will probably need more butter to hold it together).

Press the crust into a 9x13" pan, or individually portioned square pan.  Set aside.

Whip the double cream in a stand mixer until peaks start to form, add the icing sugar and continue whipping until still peaks form.  Transfer into a bowl and refrigerate.

Beat the cream cheese and brown sugar, with the beater attachment in a stand mixer, on high speed for 2-3 minutes.

Add coconut extract and lime zest, along with the key lime juice (or juice of the limes you have just zested if you have access to real key limes).  Beat into cream cheese until well mixed. 

Add both coconuts and beat to combine. 

Remove the cream from the fridge and gently fold into the cream cheese mixture until combined.  Take care, as you don't want to deflate the cream.

Spread over crust with a knife until distributed evenly.

Sprinkle with the extra shredded coconut.

Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.  Keep refrigerated.

Eat and enjoy!

Coconut Banana Bread with Passion Fruit Frosting

Before I well and truly fall off the face of the planet...here's a blog post!! 

Excuse my absence...I was off having a baby! and then I had decided I was going to make an amazing extravagant over the top pink themed bake to announce the baby news, but you know what, babies are hard work! and in between feeding and changing and playing and washing and cooking and repeating that cycle all through the day it has left little time for blogging...and even for baking, sadly enough! 

I laugh to myself when I think back to the conversation I had with my husband whilst I was still pregnant, telling him I was going to really focus on my blog when the baby came along, as obviously I wouldn't be working and would have all the time in the world....wrong! Even when the baby is sleeping, I can't bake for fear that my Kitchenaid would wake her up again! 

So I've mostly only been throwing together quick no bake desserts in the past few months, and I've also become really good at baking in the half an hour window in the evening when her daddy is bathing her!!

So I decided if I was ever going to blog again, I had to forego the extravagant bake announcing Ella's arrival and just tell you already! Ella Kristyn Braithwaite arrived on the 8th February, if you follow me on instagram at all you will be FULLY aware of the fact I had a baby because I'm pretty sure not a day goes by that I don't post a picture of her, but I can't help myself! We are also living away from all our family and friends right now so it's as much for all of them as it is for myself that I take hundreds of pictures! She is a pure joy! We could not be any happier, and despite the waking for night feeds, and the lack of time for baking/blogging we wouldn't have it any other way! If you want to read about how she came into the world, in such a relaxed and happy manner surprisingly, then you can do so here...and she has continued on in that same happy vein.  She naps great in the day, has a long 7-8 hour stretch sleeping when she goes down and only wakes once for a feed, and gives you more smiles than you know what to do with! She is a really content relaxed baby and we feel super lucky that not only was my pregnancy such a breeze, that the rest has been too :)



and I just cannot believe our little lady turned 4 months old on Sunday! It has flown by in a second!!

But I digress...before I forget what I came here to tell you about...let's talk about banana bread! There can never be enough banana bread recipes...and you can never bake too much banana bread.  In fact, despite my general lack of baking in recent months, in the past month I managed to bake 3 different banana breads! A chocolate chip banana bread, a rather fabulous nutella banana bread and this beauty of a coconut banana bread with passion fruit frosting!! It is quick and easy to throw together, a great way to use up brown bananas that you had big plans on eating healthily with but instead they withered away in your fruit bowl, and I consider it a semi healthy treat vs a big pan of fudgy brownies so it's win win all round! 

I totally devoured the first two banana breads I baked without taking any photos of them at all, bad blogger, and I nearly did the same with this so I got out my camera and took a few lazy token shots just to give you the idea.  I promise I'll put some more effort into the next bake I feature!!

All you really need to know is that you haven't tried banana bread until you've tried this one! I'm forever trying to 'coconu-tify' every bake I make, so a cup of dessicated coconut was an easy way to do so in this bake...and oh the frosting, I ate the leftover frosting by the spoonful and you'll want to as well! I found this amazing passion fruit coulis on the shelf in tesco one day and just knew I wanted to bake with it, so it's been sitting in my cupboard waiting for it's debut! All I needed to do was whip a few tablespoons of it into some vanilla frosting to produce the creamiest dreamiest passion fruit frosting.  It was too easy to be true! but it was...and then a sprinkling of shredded coconut and real passion fruit seeds tied it all together nicely! 

I made this as a treat for the pack lunches that I made for all the ladies at my church when we went on a nice little trip together last weekend.  Within a few minutes of people trying the banana bread, they were all offering to move in with me so I think it went down pretty well :)

Coconut Banana Bread with Passion Fruit Frosting:

Serves 12

Adapted from Whipped the Blog

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 large, ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup desiccated coconut

2 cups icing sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup passion fruit coulis
seeds of half a passion fruit
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.  Grease your loaf tin with butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, soda, salt and sugar.  
Mix in the slightly beaten eggs and mashed bananas.
Slowly stir in the melted butter until just incorporated. 
Stir in the desiccated coconut.
Pour into your prepared tin, and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.  If the top starts to brown sooner than you would like, cover with tin foil to prevent burning.  Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire baking rack to cool completely.

Prepare the frosting by whipping the butter in a freestanding mixer with the beater attachment.  Sift in the icing sugar, stir it with a spoon before you turn on the mixer to ensure your work surfaces do not get covered in a dusting of icing sugar.  Beat in the passion fruit coulis. 
Spread the frosting on to the cooled loaf with a palette knife.  Sprinkle the shredded coconut on top and cover with the passion fruit seeds.

Eat and enjoy :)

Milk Chocolate Chunk & Coconut Cookies: Just like Ben's Cookies!

A few months back, a colleague from work went to the States for the first time.  He came back raving about how awesome all the food was he had there, and of course I was only to happy to join in that conversation with him! So we talked about the deliciousness of the cheesecake factory and how awesome Ghiradelli chocolate is and before I was even able to tell him about my favourite slab of Ghiradelli he beat me to it and started gushing about the toasted coconut milk chocolate bar! 

For the rest of the day I could not get that bar of delightful-ness out of my head! 

 

 All week I was dreaming up milk chocolate and coconut creations, when at the same time I started to have another craving...for Ben's Cookies! We used to get these cookies all the time down South...in Covent Garden as a child or Oxford and Brighton as a teenager.  There was even that one time we visited Coventry for the day as I was possibly considering Uni there...and when I saw they had a Ben's cookies that nearly swayed it for me! So I just assumed there were Ben's Cookies stores all over the UK! So when my craving hit, I googled to see if there was one in Edinburgh or Glasgow and to my horror there wasn't!!

 You see the thing that makes Ben's Cookies so delicious in my opinion, is that they don't just use measley little chocolate chips - oh no, they use great big chunks of chocolate that leave gooey molten pools of yumminess in your cookies! 

 

So I decided it was time to make my own (since I will sadly not be making it down South anytime soon)! I followed a recipe that I had baked waaay back in 2008 and at the time I remember thinking the cookies tasted pretty similar to Ben's Cookies!

This time I added some shredded coconut into the batter, and a drop of coconut extract so amp up the coconut flavour! 

...and let's have one more close up on why these are the best cookies - yep, those huge gooey globs of chocolate! 

I officially started my maternity leave this week - Baby Braithwaite has one more week until it's due date :) so you can expect lots more blogging around here! and I'm hoping lots more baking too!

In the meantime if you're missing out on Ben's Cookies too...or needing a chocolate and coconut fix then these cookies are definitely for you!

 Milk Chocolate Chunk and Coconut Cookies: Ben's Cookies Style

Makes 16

Adapted from Cookie Carnival

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

3 cups plus 2 tbsp plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

16 oz/450g milk chocolate, chopped into chunks

1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, or silicone cookie mats and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Beat in the coconut extract (you could also use vanilla if you can't get hold of coconut extract).

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together in a a separate large bowl.  Add the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time to the mixer, and mix until just combined.   Fold in the chocolate chunks.  Stir in the shredded coconut.  

Using an ice cream scoop to get nice uniform size chunky cookies, scoop out the dough onto the baking trays.  You should get 8 cookies on each sheet, or if you have smaller trays place 6 balls of dough on each sheet because the cookies will spread.  Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking trays, and then transfer them over to wire racks to cool completely.

Make sure you eat the cookies warm to get the full effect of all that gooey chocolate, or if you're eating them at a later time then just buzz each one in the microwave for 15 seconds.

Eat and enjoy!

Coconut Overload Magic Bars

I'm mourning the loss of a great set of photographs! I made some coconut overload magic bars a few months back, and took some much prettier photos than these.  Unfortunately we've just recently started using lightroom on both our macbooks, which was my first mistake! So when I was clearing room on the camera one day I saw the coconut magic bars weren't on my husbands macbook I assumed they were on mine.  I pressed that format button and cleared the whole sd card.  I then grabbed by macbook and opened up lightroom only to scroll to the end of the photos with no coconut bars in sight!! 

It was a heartbreaking moment! The magic bars had long been eaten! The silver lining on my cloud was that they were so amazingly delicious I knew it wouldn't be long before I whipped up another batch! 

This time around though, I was in a massive hurry and well these pictures reflect that! Booo to bad photos, but these treats are just too good not to share!

I have a long standing love affair with coconut, of which I'm sure you are all aware! I also have developed a massive love for magic bars in this past year.  They are probably the bake that has frequented my kitchen most since moving to Canada.  I'm blaming it on the fact you can buy boxes of pre crushed graham cracker crumbs here, which makes throwing these magic bars together even quicker!  The last time I blogged about them I made a peanut butter version and I also made a tasty mint version which never made it to the blog...but this coconut overload version tops any other kind I've made!

Let me start by saying there is a LOT of chocolate involved! 6 layers in fact! and the chocolate I used ended up coming from 3 different countries! so you might not be lucky enough to have all these ingredients at your fingertips but the nice thing about magic bars is pretty much anything goes! So you can swap out and substitute your favourite kinds of chocolate or the kinds that are available near to you.

I'll break down the chocolate involved.  The top left are coconut cream filled hershey's kisses! They came from America, but were a limited edition candy I bought over Easter and I sadly haven't been able to find them anywhere since! Besides the coconut kisses are coconut lindor balls by Lindt! These came from England, and have just been brought out recently over there so when my mom and sister came to visit they made sure they brought my coconut loving self some! I've yet to meet a person who doesn't love lindor balls, so when that creamy melt in your mouth centre is coconut flavoured you just can't get much better than that!

Bottom left is white chocolate filled with shredded coconut by Lindt.  I can get that here in Canada at most supermarkets.  I'm not the hugest white chocolate fan but man I can demolish this whole chocolate bar before you can even say 'bob's your uncle'! which for all those North Americans out there is a funny little phrase that originates from Britain that we had fun introducing to some of our Canadian friends recently!

...and besides that is my fave ALL TIME chocolate! It comes from England but is rare and you can't find it everywhere.  So far I've only come across it in selected Waitrose supermarkets.  It's Lindt milk chocolate filled with creamy coconut, remember when I made brownies with it before?

So you basically take ALL of that chocolate! chop it up, throw in some regular old white choc chips and milk choc chips.  Throw some condensed milk into the mix and finish it all off with mounds of shredded coconut.  Once baked it turns into an ooey gooey mess of deliciousness that you need to have in your life! Give these a try, they will be the most rewarding 10 minute prep time of your life!!

Coconut Overload Magic Bars:

Makes 16

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 (14 oz. can) sweetened condensed milk

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup Lindt coconut white chocolate 

1/2 cup Lindt creation coconut milk chocolate

1/2 coconut Hershey's kisses

1/2 cup Lindt coconut lindor balls

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.

Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter, mix well.  Press crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan.  Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture.  Layer evenly with the 6 different layers of chocolate.  Sprinkle the shredded coconut over everything.  Press down firmly with fork.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned on top. 

Leave to cool in pans.

Then cut into bars and transfer to cool completely on a wire rack.

Eat and enjoy!

Triple Layer Coconut & Pineapple Birthday Cake

So I've been trying to blog this for 3 weeks now! It's been a crazy busy time.  My mom and sister came to visit and we packed out every day that they were here with tons of cupcaking and milkshaking fun, along with trips to the mountains, the forest, the ocean, across the border and everywhere in between! It was amazing! and we took over 1500 photos! haha.  It's going to take me a while to sift through them all! 

For now...back to talking about cake!

A few weeks ago, my friend threw a surprise birthday shindig for her husband.  We all offered to bring stuff along, I volunteered to bring dessert but upon finding out she didn't have a birthday cake for him I offered to make that instead! I was told the birthday boy liked pineapple...and so this triple layer coconut and pineapple birthday cake was born, because nothing goes better with pineapple than a lot of coconut! (who am I kidding...I think coconut goes best with everything, not just pineapple!)

My baking adventures started where all good things should...whipping up a batch of curd! Everytime I make it I remember it's awesomeness and wonder why I don't make different flavoured curds on a daily basis! They are the best!

I was lazy this time around and made it with pineapple juice, as opposed to fresh pineapple.  It was quite good but definitely not as good as when I made it with the good stuff.

Instead of having curd in between both layers of the coconut cake, I mixed it up and made some vanilla frosting that I then blended some of the pineapple curd into.  The result was a delicious fruity and creamy frosting that balanced out the texture of the curd layer nicely. 

The cake was finished off with generous amounts of coconut cream cheese frosting...

and a sprinkling of toasted coconut to top it off, along with some fresh cut pineapple slices. The day I made the cake my husband was taking his final exam...on a Saturday! Can you believe it! Anyway, he is usually in charge of cutting up the pineapple, so I actually watched a you tube video on how to do it, I realise that sounds kind of pathetic! and I actually found out it's easier than you think!

This cake was a bit of an all-dayer to make due to all the different components but it was definitely worth it! The cake was perfectly soft with the right amount of coconut flavour that was really complimented by the different pineapple filling, and the coconut cream cheese frosting that was so silky and delish really finished it off perfectly! 

Coconut & Pineapple Curd Layer Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:

Serves 12-14

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

Coconut Cake:

3 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup cream of coconut

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

4 large eggs

1 cup coconut & pineapple yoghurt

Pineapple Curd:

From Eating Well

1/4 cup caster sugar

3/4 cup pineapple juice

2 large egg yolks

5 tsp cornstarch

Pineapple Curd Frosting:

1/4 cup pineapple curd

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1 tbsp half and half/double cream

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup cream of coconut

90g cream cheese, softened

5 cups icing sugar

2 tbsp double cream/half and half

3 tbsp desiccated coconut

For the curd: Whisk the egg yolks, pineapple juice, sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until thick and beginning to bubble for around 3-5 minutes.  Let cool completely.  

For the cake: Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.  Grease 3 round 8 inch cake pans; set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a medium bowl and set aside.  

Beat butter and sugar in a freestanding electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed.  Add the cream of coconut and desiccated coconut; continue beating, scraping bowl often, until smooth.  Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition.  Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture alternately with coconut yoghurt.  Beat until well mixed.

Divide batter evenly between 3 prepared pans.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and cake is a deep golden brown.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

For the pineapple curd frosting: Beat butter and sugar together in the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer.  Mix in the pineapple curd, and then stir in the half and half until you are happy with the consistency.   

For the coconut cream cheese frosting: beat butter, cream of coconut and cream cheese in the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer.  Beat at medium speed until creamy.  Reduce speed to low; add icing sugar, one cup at a time.  Add enough cream until it is at spreadable consistency, and mix in the desiccated coconut.

To assemble: Once cakes are cool, spread pineapple curd over the top of the first layer.  Put the next layer of cake on top and spread the pineapple frosting over it.  Add the final layer of cake on top.  Cover the whole thing liberally in a layer of coconut cream cheese frosting, for the crumb coat.  Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.  Remove the cake and cover with the rest of the frosting.

Toast shredded coconut under the grill/broiler and once cool sprinkle it over the top of the cake.  Cut fresh pineapple slices into chunks and decorate with them around the edge of the cake.

Serve it to your fellow partygoers and birthday boy and await their delighted reaction!