carly.bakes.alot - #bakingislife

28/10/2017

Eat yo' heart out, Mrs Higgins!
I have finally cracked it, a superlative salted caramel and chocolate chunk cookie. The recipe is only a tiny bit of extra work for ah-mazing results.

Enjoy this photo for now... Original recipe coming soon!

15/10/2017

Banana sour cream loaf. Extremely reliable, economical and delicious recipe from Genius Kitchen. Uses oil - because who can afford butter right now? - and you can easily sub in whatever yogurt, kefir or buttermilk you might be needing to use up. I've topped this with cinnamon, brown sugar and coconut blitzed together in the Nutri Ninja for a nice golden crunch.

15/10/2017

These might look a little suspect but they are straight up delicious - and couldn't be easier. Nana's Chocolate Crunch No Bake Cookies from Thug Kitchen 101: Fast as F*ck. Chocolate, peanut butter, salty crackers- oh yeah.

04/10/2017

I have been cake-ing! This light golden carrot cake has a secret ingredient. Can you guess what it is? I'm still not absolutely certain about it, but it's fun to try new recipes.

This Carrot cake is finished with a lightened up cream cheese topping, dried cranberries, coconut and ViBERi freeze-dried blackcurrants for a colourful and antioxidant-boosted punch.

27/09/2017

A little something I whipped up for the snack table at our fit club in the morning! I know peanuts are usually a no-no when baking for strangers, kids especially, but there are lots of peanut butter fans among the littlies

I tried out the new Chelsea Sugar Raw Caster Sugar and I really like the result. Rather than playing with the ratio of white to brown sugar, using all Raw Caster Sugar gave a great hint of caramel flavour and a nice texture that's just the right amount of chewy and crisp.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes approx 24

115g margarine (min 65% fat) (or softened butter)
125g crunchy peanut butter
280g Chelsea raw caster sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp almond extract (optional, can substitute vanilla essence or omit entirely)
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda
280g plain flour
125g dark chocolate drops

Blend margarine and peanut butter in a large bowl. Add sugar, salt, and extract (if using) and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Add egg and mix again until combined. Stir in baking soda, and then incorporate flour roughly ⅓ at a time. Stir in chocolate chips with the final addition of flour.

Rest cookie dough for around 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 175C, place rack at or just below centre of oven, and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Use a small scoop or roll dough into 2cm balls and then use a fork to flatten gently. Bake for 10 minutes and then cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool completely.

24/09/2017

Miss Rohana got creative with the bananas yesterday, and bashed them up good in the process. So early this morning, we made another pair of layers for the Best Darn Banana Cake In The 'Verse. Set to be frosted later with a lemony cream cheese frosting. Oh my gosh. So good.

21/09/2017

These cookies taste like Mrs Higgins made them. They contain white chocolate drops, cranberries, chocolate hail and a sachet of Harraways quick oats, wild berry and Apple flavour; yeah, I was tired and winging it. However I *will* make something like this again, they are yummy.

18/09/2017

Welcome to carly.bakes.alot! Baking truly is life, it's an expression of love for other humans and a way to feed mind, body and soul. Thanks for joining me on my journey to becoming the best damned home baker around. Look forward to recipes, bloggy stuff, and plenty more photos. And Christchurch locals, please feel free to hit me up if you need a special treat for your next morning tea shout or special family occasion. xx

Pictured: Chocolate mudcake with Belgian milk chocolate ganache, chocolate hail and baby chocolate fish.

18/09/2017

18/09/2017

A collection of my favourite cakes and cupcakes from my home kitchen. Shot on various mobile phone cameras by a total amateur ;-)