Rolo Cupcakes

I impulse-bought a sharing bag of Rolos a few weeks ago with the intention of baking something with them, and today seemed like the perfect time to plug in my KitchenAid, switch on the oven and briefly take over the kitchen for a spot of Bank Holiday baking.

These Rolo Cupcakes were a bit of an experiment, and I'm pleased to say they worked pretty well! Like my Raspberry & White Chocolate Easter Cake I knew exactly what I wanted to do, it just took a bit of research to find the right recipes to combine to make my vision a reality. After a lot of consideration I decided on a fluffy chocolate sponge topped with a sweet caramel frosting and crowned with a Rolo (I couldn't make my mind up with the chocolate/caramel cake/frosting combination!).

This is a ridiculously easy recipe. I'm not kidding: it's virtually impossible to go wrong with and it requires very little baking knowledge at all. So, if you're not the most confident of bakers this is the recipe for you!

Children in Need Pudsey Vanilla Cupcakes

Since leaving school - and therefore no longer having the long, exciting build-up - Children in Need seems to creep up on me without realising and all of a sudden it's Friday, Terry Wogan's everywhere and I'm frantically trying to bake something Pudsey-themed for charity.

If, like me, you're a little unorganised this year and need to whip something up quickly this afternoon for a last minute bake sale or to munch on while you sit on the sofa and watch the show (and donate!) then look no further than these super easy vanilla cupcakes with the best chocolate frosting IN THE WORLD. Seriously, Lorraine Pascale hit the jackpot with this recipe.

They're so simple to make, taste amazing, and if you can muddle your way though using a piping bag then they'll look really, really cute.

Now's the time to be a Baking Hero, so aprons on, and bake for the nation!

Chocolate Mousse

Everyone loves chocolate mousse. 

Let Them Eat Cake, Cake

One of the many things I love about Lorraine Pascale is the fact that she interacts with fans all the time, particularly on Twitter. Lots of other people have realised how amazing her recipes are and regularly post pictures of their creations, a selection of which Lorraine retweets to her followers. Over the weeks there had been one specific cake that stood out as a firm crowd pleaser: a chocolate dream covered in immaculate rows of Malteasers: may I introduce the Let Them Eat Cake, Cake. What an invention. It’s super easy to make and looks incredible: even if you have limited skills in the baking arena you can easily pull this off. If you persevere and take your time with the decoration it provides a professional finish that will fool people into thinking you bought it from a bakery.

Doorstop Vanilla Cheesecake

Before I go any further: DO NOT THINK ABOUT THE CALORIES INVOLVED IN THIS CHEESECAKE. It will not only scare you into never attempting to make it and will definitely scare you out of eating any of it. Just don’t think about it. Promise?

Lorraine Pascale’s new series, Fast, Fresh and Easy Food has started on BBC2, Tuesdays at 8pm, and I’ve been hooked. The editing is beautiful, her recipes are simple to follow, and I have massive respect for someone who can run round a kitchen in a crisp white t-shirt and look immaculate (I don’t care if she changes it a billion times during filming, I’m going to pretend it’s the same one). Her enthusiasm is infectious, and having seen the first few episodes I was very keen to buy the book.

Flicking through the pages though provided a slight dilemma: where to start? Since I hadn’t made a cheesecake this summer, it only felt appropriate to give Lorraine’s Doorstop Vanilla Cheesecake a go. Be warned, this is a mammoth of a cheesecake that really deserves its own postcode.