Easy, Cheats Bake, Cinnamon Rolls

Sometimes being a grown up is hard. And baking like a grown up is even harder. There are those days where I am ready to just to give in because I don't want to be a grown up baker anymore.

But then you remember that you are an adult and get on with things. Do the short time, painful grown up responsibilities delegated to you, so you can be absolutely ridiculous and have cake for breakfast (or lunch or dinner). And even better have a cheats bake breakfast.. where you literally did the minimal amount of work for delicious results.

These Cinnamon Rolls aren't new, American's have been using Crescent Rolls in all sorts of cheats bakes for years, but they are a new one to me. All you need is a store bought pizza dough base and a handful of ingredients!

I genuinely think that this kind of bake was invented for those who like to eat their feelings and it makes them feel better. But be wise... they are full of calories so not for the super dieters. They need to be eaten in moderation I guess is what I am saying.

But you fine folk know that any way...

Cinnamon Roll Ups

1 pizza dough roll

125g butter melted

75g brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

225g icing sugar

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat your oven to 350F/180C/160C Fan or Gas Mark 4. Prepare a loaf pan with some parchment and leave to one side.

Combine, in a bowl. the melted butter, sugar and cinnamon.

Unroll the pizza dough and evenly spread the butter mixture all over.

Rolling on the long side, roll the dough back up into a roll. Chop the dough into ten equal pieces and place them beside each other in the loaf pan. Don't worry about gaps, they will spread while baking.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the rolls have puffed up and they are golden brown on top. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the glaze.

Put the icing sugar, milk and syrup into a bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Leave to one side until the cinnamon rolls are cooked. Once cooked, allow to cool for 5 minutes, then, serve warm spooning as much icing as you want over each roll.

Did I tell they were easy or what? Soft, cinnamon-ey and gooey goodness all on your plate for breakfast! You will fake being a baker in style!!

Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Wanting to celebrate National Cheesecake Day, (which is tomorrow, Sunday the 30th by the way) but find yourself with very little time, baking knowledge or motivation?

Fear not for today, along with some great Aldi Baking products, I am going to help you create tasty morsels of delight, in plenty of time for National Cheesecake Day*. Sure what more could you want?

*Imagine my telephone voice... Can you tell I have always wanted my own baking show?! Haha!

These mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecake are genuinely simple and really delicious! A ready made cookie dough, chopped up and squashed into the bottom of some cupcake liners form the base. A creamy mix of 5.. FIVE folks.. that's one hands worth of ingredients makes the cheesecake mixture, forms the baked filling with some extra chocolate chips thrown in for good measure!

This cheats bake, easy make is perfect for those with limited baking experience or for those of you who want something nice to have, but want as little effort as possible! Aldi and I have got you both covered.

Cheesecake Mixture

400g cream cheese, softened

200g caster sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

100g chocolate chips

Crust

1 packet Cookie Dough, chopped and shaped into 12 circles

Whipped Cream Topping

250ml double cream

2 tbsp icing sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Putting it together...

Preheat oven to 180C/350F or Gas mark 4.  

Line a 12 hole cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

Press a circle of cookie dough into the bottom of each cavity.

In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and the sugar together.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla until well combined. Stir in miniature chocolate chips.

Pour cream cheese mixture into each cupcake liner about  ¾ of the way full.

Bake for 20 minutes, then turn off oven and leave the door slightly open to allow the cheesecakes to cool for a further 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack before removing from pan. They may dip in the centre during cooling.

Whisk together sugar and the double cream until stiff peaks form.

Top cheesecakes with whipped cream and serve. 

***Disclaimer: Sponsored Post*** 

Aldi very kindly, provided me with the ingredients to bring this post together.

All comments and views however, are completely my own.

Double Chocolate Swiss Roll (Gluten Free)

Where to even start.. last week,this week I have no idea but lets just say this wasn't the first bake I made for dessert week... it was the second. My baking shame of a mousse cake will never grace your screens, nor be spoken about here on after.

This Chocolate Swiss Roll however, yum!! This bad boy was on point! Gluten free too to boot! Now in all truthfulness, I didn't actually get a chance to catch up on Week 7 of the Great British Bake Off, but I know it was a good one from what I read online! I slowly made way through my kitchen and opted to make this cake in honour of last weeks bakes. I missed the linky over at Jenny's and the GBBObloggers bakealong but I didn't want to miss out on baking along entirely.

Hence my late post and my scattered meanderings. It's been a long week... and yes I know it's only Wednesday.

Chocolate Swiss Roll

6 eggs separated
110g caster sugar
170g dark chocolate (above 60%)
3 tbsp soft butter
60ml cold coffee
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
250ml single cream
Chocolate Ganache

Preheat your oven to 180C/350 F or Gas Mark 4. Line and spray/grease a shallow baking tray, swiss roll tin with parchment. Spray the parchment. Leave to one side.

Separate the eggs, white in a mixing bowl, yolks in another.
Put the chocolate, butter and coffee into a microwaveable bowl and melt the contents on a low setting, until fully melted and smooth, being careful not to burn the chocolate (alternatively use the double boiler method on the hob). Add the yolks two at a time and mix well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Leave to one side to cool.
In the whites bowl, whisk to soft peaks and add the sugar in a steady stream. Whisk to stable, but not stiff peaks.
Add about 1/4 of the egg whites to the chocolate mix to loosen it up and transfer this back into the rest of the egg whites. Fold through until just combined.

Pour out into a prepared baking tray, smooth to the corners and cook in your preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back at you when lightly pressed.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Make the ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

200g semisweet dark chocolate 
200ml Double Cream

Put the chocolate into a heat resistant bowl.
Heat the cream in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the cream begins to simmer, quickly remove from the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Swirl the bowl to ensure all the chocolate is coated in the hot cream.
Cover the bowl to trap the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid and slowly whisk the mixture until you have a smooth glossy ganache.
Leave to cool before using as a filling cake.

Whip the 250ml of single cream from above, fold a couple of spoonfuls of ganache into the cream and leave to one side until you are read to use it!

Putting it all Together

When the cake comes out of the oven, leave it in the pan to cool for about 10 minutes. Using the parchment to help you, roll up the cake and remove it from the pan. In it's rolled up state, leave it to cool completely on the wire rack.

Once cold, unroll the cake and fill it with the ganache, followed by the cream and then roll it back up slowly and smoothly. Having cooled curled, you shouldn't get any cracks. Trim off the edges, place on your serving tray join side down and dust in icing sugar. 

This cake is best served on the day you make it, but it does hold when wrapped up in the fridge for about three days. I will hopefully be baking sooner, rather than later with my attempts at Tudor Week, I have no idea what to even expect here! Be sure to pop by Jenny's and the other GBBObloggers bakes to get your Bake Off  fill!

The Farmer's Daughter's Cake

September with  The CakeSlice Bakers is always a meh... kind of month. The new book is just around the corner and having baked some really great recipes from our current book already, it's hard to pick out entertaining and challenging bakes. This month there seemed to be a lot of choices using egg whites. Now, regulars round these parts will know I hate waste and just the thoughts of having more egg yolks to use up sent me in the farmer's daughter direction.

It is hands down, the best cake I have baked from Maida Heatters Cakes. It is so simple, so plain, so utterly delicious that my pictures really don't do it justice. The crumb is so light and tender and has this creamy, not buttery, texture. In fact there's no butter in the cake at all. The crusting frosting firms up on the outside, but one bite in and it melts in your mouth. Truly scrumptious. 

I don't say this lightly, this cake has beaten all the intricate concoctions, they fancy-schmancy flavours, arduous directions and exhaustive ingredients list of CakeSlice bakes gone by.

A store cupboard staple, this cake will be a firm favourite here for a long time to come. I had to change the frosting recipe to my own, as I wasn't making anything that didn't use a whole egg. My frosting, still on old fashioned favourite, mirrors the books icing. And I'll throw in makes it better, for modesty's sake! haha!

But I have agree with Maida on one thing, a cake so easy to put together, it's hard to believe any one would buy cake from a store at all!

The Farmer's Daughter's Cake

adapted from Maida Heatter's Cake pg. 47

280g self raising flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large free range, room temperature eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g granulated sugar
240ml double cream

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F or gas mark 4. Line the bottom of an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment and spray the sides with a quick release spray, or grease with some butter.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl beat the eggs, vanilla and sugar until light and paler in colour, Add the cream and mix until just incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, until just smooth.

Pour the mix into the prepared pan and bake on the middle shelf for 30-35 minutes. It'll be done when the top is golden, the sides are coming away slightly from the edge of the pan and a skewer/toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

If the cake rises in the middle during baking, as soon as you take it out and using a clean tea towel GENTLY press the top of the cake back down flat with the palm of your hand. Softly does this though, don't be rough.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, before turning out onto a wire tray and allowing to cool completely before frosting.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Frosting

100g butter
80ml of milk
35g coco powder
350g icing sugar

Melt the butter in a pot over a medium heat. Whisk in the coco and the milk and bring the whole thing to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat and bit by bit, blend in the icing sugar until you have the consistency you want.

If it gets too thick, and a drop of milk at a time to loosen it out!

Smear this too good to be true stuff all over the top of your cake and allow to set for a few minutes. Serve as soon as you are ready to share.

And there you go. A super simple, super tasty, please don't buy cake ever again store cupboard staple! Would I steer you in the wrong direction? NO WAY!

An InLinkz Link-up

Oreo Churros

"But are there any oreos left after you made the poo's Momma?" Poo references a plenty folks, because there was no escaping it. It is what it is. The first line pretty much sums up my entire Batter Week experience.

Spanish Churros was the Great British Bake Off showstopper challenge for week 4 and thinking I could pull it off with a little razzmatazz thrown in, is how I approached it.

Now I don't know if it was the raz or the matazz but something went wrong along the way. Like really wrong. The batter looked like poo, but tasted like oreos, which conflicted all of us. The oil I think, was too hot when I tried to fry them, so kept burning them. Then I tried to bake them and they held their shape and genuinely baked up nicely but they tasted like nothing, even with the oreo cream dip. Nothing. Nada.

No bueno.

Maybe we had convinced ourselves they'd be poo, because that's all we could think during and after the bake. I don't know. My Spanish delicacy frying skills are clearly left to be desired.

Maybe you will have better luck.

The fried version... 

Piped lines for baking...

Oreo Churros

60g butter

350ml water

150g plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 large eggs

2 packets of Oreos

oil for frying

sugar and salt for coating

Separate the Oreos into two bowls by spliting each Oreo in half, scraping the creamy centre into one bowl and the pop chocolate biscuits into the other.

Put the biscuits in a food processor and blitz to a fine crumb.

In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil and add the butter until melted. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and half the Oreo crumbs and beat quickly until all is combined. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated, then set aside to cool slightly.

Bring a large saucepan of oil to the boil. Or preheat the oven to at 180C/350F or gas Mark 4.

On a baking tray or in a shallow dish, mix together the rest of your biscuit crumbs with 1 tablespoon caster sugar & 1 teaspoon salt.

Transfer your dough to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle, pipe strips of the dough into the oil and fry until they are crisp and float to the top, remove with a strainer spoon and toss in the crumb/sugar mix. Alternatively pipe lines on to a baking tray and pop into the oven for 20 minutes. When out, allow to cool slightly, dip in some melted butter and then into the Oreo crumb mix.

Microwave your leftover Oreo filling for about 30 seconds until melted and dip in your coated churros.

The baked version...

I sincerely hope the other bakers joining in the Great Bloggers Bake Off, faired out better in their choices than I did! Be sure to check out what went down over at Jenny's blog MummyMishaps!

Have a great week folks!