Brownies and Blondies - Rachel Allen

I sometimes feel that I shouldn't bake too much as, you know, I'd only eat it all myself...  But I have recently solved that problem by rediscovering the satisfying glow caused by the giving of cake as a gift, specifically to 2 friends who have recently had babies.  After all, what's a more welcome gift in that sleep-deprived and mind-numbingly-exhausting time than cake?!  Not a cake that you need to find a knife to cut and plates on which to serve it - no, all too much to deal with when you have a newborn baby - you need a cake that you can grab, ready cut, from the bag, box or tin in which it is presented.  Brownies seemed to me to fulfil that brief.

A few months ago I bought 'Cake' by Rachel Allen.  It's a lovely book with many recipes that I have bookmarked as 'must makes'; my only criticism is that I wish there were pictures to accompany every recipe.  However, I'm willing to forgive that as every cake I have made from it so far has been good.  Really good. 

With a bunch of bananas quietly getting blacker by the day in my fruit bowl, I was quickly drawn to the recipe for Banoffee Blondies.  This requires the extra step of making an almond praline (just melting sugar in a pan with the almonds, then tipping it onto a tray to cool before blitzing it to rubble in a food processor) but believe me, it's an extra step well worth taking; the nutty crunch that results provides a fantastic texture within the moist cake.  I also, purposely, didn't completely melt the white chocolate so there were some chunks remaining within the mixture. 

The recipe can be found here, although to be ever-so-slightly smug, I can't help but feel that mine look a lot nicer than the ones in the link.  To me they look too dry and cakey, whereas mine had the requisite 'squidge' that any blondie or brownie worth its salt should have.

Next on my list was Cheesecake Brownies.  This isn't a new idea, but a cream-cheese layer swirled onto the top of a brownie mix makes a classic combination.  I have found previous attempts at this idea tricky to 'swirl', as the two different batters can be of different consistencies, but I had no such problem with this recipe.  Mine didn't look quite as artistic as the ones in the book, but they tasted great.  I love the tang of the cream cheese with the sweetness of the brownie.  Again, these turned out dense and squidgy, just perfect.  The recipe can be found here.  

I was really pleased to find two recipes in one week that I could mentally bookmark as 'keepers', I'll definitely be making both again.  Next however on my list from this book is (a request from my husband) Peanut Butter Brownies... watch this space!

Lemongrass Coconut Cake

Whilst I am quick to dismiss those who express surprise that I still manage to bake with a small baby in the house - I just enjoy it, I'm not Superwoman - I have to admit that I'm finding myself increasingly drawn towards a simpler style of cake nowadays.  I've never been one for overly-elaborate baking, I don't really have the patience for that, but right now my very favourite things to make have to be super-low-effort, super-tasty, and ideally keep super-well so I don't feel that I have to eat it all too quickly before it goes stale (one of the perils of being at home all day).

Nigella's Lemon Syrup Loaf Cake fits the bill very nicely and is one I make often (the link will take you to a nice write-up and the recipe on another blog).  The addition of the lemony syrup poured over the still-hot cake keeps it beautifully moist, and I can have the whole thing made, baked and mixing-bowl washed up within the hour.

But thanks to a cooking group that I am part of on Facebook, I have discovered a new favourite:  Lemongrass Coconut Cake.  When I saw the name I thought I'd like to try it, but when I saw how amazingly simple the recipe was I just knew I'd have to bake it.  This is a cake from Rachel Allen's latest series (and I assume an accompanying book?) 'Cake Diaries', but the recipe can be found online here. 

As you can see, it's one of those lovely bung-it-all-in-a-food-processor recipes - fabulous!  The smell of the lemongrass as it's blended into the sugar is incredible, and I have to say that the unbaked mix nearly didn't make it into the tin as it was so flipping delicious.

Once baked it looked plain, yet elegant, and when I'd doused it in the syrup I sprinkled over a little more dessiccated coconut; the recipe calls for 125g and I'd bought a 150g box of it so this seemed a good way to use up the annoyingly small amount left over. 

The recipe suggests serving this as a dessert, but the first few slices were simply eaten alongside cups of tea and coffee.  Last night however we did have some for pudding, accompanied by the creme fraiche indicated in the recipe, but also with some chunks of papaya spritzed with lime juice.  We ate papaya regularly when we lived in Brunei, so as well as being a perfect marriage of Asian flavours, this was a little trip down memory lane. 

Definitely a winning recipe, I think I'll be baking this one again and again.