Sugar et al, Author at Sugar et al

Blueberry Friands/Financiers

19|04|2024

Egg whites are never wasted at my place because the quickest, easist and most delicious way to use them up is my baking friands. Blueberry friands are by far the favourite at home. If you’ve never heard of friands, they are nothing but french financiers. They are popularly known as friands in Australia. There are barely any cafes that don’t sell them in Sydney and I love having them with my coffee.

These blueberry friands obviously don’t look like the traditional ones that are larger in size. These are coated in white chocolate and made in special molds to create the heart shapes. You could bake them in a muffin pan too and leave out the coating if you’re after a tea cake sort of thing. The coating of course elevates the apperance and gives it a fancy high-tea look. The white chocolate layer also complements the juicy blueberries within the friands.

If you like Blueberry desserts don’t forget to checkout this Skinny Blueberry Cheesecake or these Mini Blueberry Cakes

Blueberry Friands/Financiers
Makes 10-12 small friands

3 egg whites, lightly beaten with a fork
100 g butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup pure icing sugar
1/4 cup plain flour
75 g almond meal
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

150 g white chocolate melts, melted
purple gel food colouring

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease a madeleine mold (I used a 6 capacity mold) or any other sillicone mold. Place the egg whites, butter, sugar, flour, almond meal, vanilla in a large bowl and beat until combined (about 1-2 mins). Fold in the blueberries.

Spoon batter into molds until 2/3rd full. Bake for 20-25 mins or until friands are golden and cooked through. Remove from oven, allow to rest for 2 mins, then gently unmold onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Colour the white chocolate with 1 drop of purple food colouring. Pipe (or spoon) small amount of melted white chocolate into a 3-4 holes of a clean mold, gently press friands over the chocolate. Refrigerate for 30 mins or until set.
Add 2 more drops of food colour to the chocolate for a darker shade (if starting to solidify, warm to melt again). Repeat with remaining friands. Friands should easily come off the molds. Store in an air tight container in room temperature.

Banana Malteser Cake

11|04|2024

I’ve had a glut of bananas at home this season. Everyone was snacking on peaches and berries and the poor bananas were neglected. I have enough banana recipes on the blog so I wasn’t intending on creating another one but this was so good. Who knew just the addition of crunchy maltesers in this Banana Malteser Cake would make such a delicious difference.

The other reason why I made the Banana Malteser Cake was to experiment making beautiful buttercream designs using silicone molds. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that I’ve tried this method on cupcakes and they turned out amazing. It was time to try out a design on a cake. all I did was spread buttercream in the mold, smoothen the surface with an offset spatuala, then freeze the mold with the buttercream in it. Once set, all you do is you unmold and place it on the cake. in case you’re wondering, it doesn’t alter the taste or texture and retains the shape really well.
You are of course, free to pipe buttercream as an alternative or decorate as you like.

I used this mold for the design on the top.

If you like banana cakes you’ll love this Easy Banana Cake with Tahini Frosting

Banana Malteser Cake
Makes a 7 inch round cake

Banana Cake
114 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup (165g) brown sugar
2 Eggs
2 large (or 3 medium about 125 ml) mashed over ripe bananas
2 cups (250 g) self-raising flour
1/2 cup (120ml/g) sour cream
1/2 cup malteser chocolates, extra for decoration

Cocoa buttercream
114 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
11/2 cups (180 g) icing/powdered sugar
2 tbsp (10 g) cocoa powder (preferable Dutch processed)
1 tbsp milk (30 ml), more if required
1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease the base and sides of an 7-inch (18-cm) round pan with 3-inch (8-cm) height and line the base with baking paper.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the banana and beat until just combined. Gently, fold in the flour and sour cream. Fold in the malteser chocolates

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven. Leave it aside for 5 minutes, then carefully turn it onto a wire rack.

Make the buttercream : Using an electric mixer or a hand mixer beat the butter until pale and fluffy. Add the sugar, a little at a time beating well until fully incorporated. Add the cocoa powder, vanilla and milk and beat again until no white streaks appear and buttercream is fluffy. If it is too thick, add another tbsp of milk to lighten up.

Assemble : While the cake is cooling, spread buttercream onto a turbullion mold, freeze for 30-45 mins. Unmold and place on cake. Alternatively, you can pipe buttercream directly on to the cake. Decorate the edges with malteser chocolates.

Ferrero Rocher Chocolate Cake

28|03|2024

With all the candy and chocolate eating during Easter, I reckon a Ferrero Rocher Chocolate cake is a must. Especially since it’s a no fuss, very simple cake with delicious results. The cake has a chocolate hazelnut flavour which is probably a match made in heaven!

The Nutella frosting is so delightful that you could just keep eating it by the spoonful. It’s a rich cake so a small slice goes a long way.

Happy Easter to you and your families. Hope you enjoy the long weekend with amazing food and company.

If you love Ferrero Rocher cakes, dont forget to checout this Ferreo Rocher Mousse Cake

Ferrero Rocher Chocolate Cake
Makes a 7 inch round cake

Cake
160 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
3 eggs, lightly whisked
Ferrero Rocher chocolates, to decorate
Extra hazelnut meal, to decorate

Nutella Frosting
120 g cream cheese, room temperature
60 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup Nutella
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp Dutch processed cocoa powder

To make the cake : Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease the base and sides and line the base of a 7inch round baking pan.

In a large saucepan, place the butter, sugar, milk, cocoa powder and bicarbonate soda and cook over low heat until butter has melted and mixture is smooth.

Remove from heat and leave aside for 10 minutes to cool.
Add the flour and hazelnut meal. Mix. Add the eggs and mix till incorporated.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 69-75 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven. Leave aside for 10 minutes. Run a blunt knife around the sides to loosen the cake, then turn onto a wire rack to cool. Once cool, decorate with Nutella frosting. Sprinkle hazelnut meal. Top with Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

To make the frosting : Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the Nutella and vanilla, beat until just incorporated. Add the sugar and cocoa powder, a little at a time until well combined and frosting is smooth.

Biscoff and Mini Eggs Cheesecake

11|03|2024

What can be more decadent and festive than a no bake Biscoff topped Mini eggs cheesecake that is really easy to make and just insanely delicious. Easter is just around the corner and a lot of chocolate eggs have made it into my kitchen. I love that the mini eggs are coloured and they add vibrancy to the treats

The Biscoff and Mini eggs cheesecake has a Biscoff cookie crust, a smooth Biscoff filling encasing crushed mini eggs and the best part is the topping. Many have asked me how I acheived the beautiful design, but it’s actually just melted Biscoff that has been frozen in a mold. In fact the swirl design mold is a best seller from my store. It adds a touch of style and very eye catching no matter how you use it. You could also use Nutella the same way in the mold. If don’t have a mold, just spread melted Biscoff which is not very hot over the cheesecake and allow it to drip over the sides.

This is a truly decadent and unforgettable treat, that people are going to thank you for. The fact that there is no gelatine and no eggs makes it available to a wider palate. Now the question is, which one do you love more? Biscoff or Mini eggs?

Love cheesecake? You will love my Skinny Blueberry Cheesecake or Baked Ricotta cheesecake

Biscoff and Mini Eggs Cheesecake
Makes an 8 inch round cheesecake

200 g Biscoff cookies
75 g unsalted butter, melted
312 g (11 oz) full fat cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup castor/granulated sugar
1/2 cup smooth Biscoff spread
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) thickened cream, whipped to stiff peaks
1/2 cup Mini eggs, chopped

Topping
1/2 cup Biscoff, melted (more if desired)
Mini eggs, to decorate

Make the cheesecake crust: Grease the base and sides of an 8 inch (20 cm) spring form pan with 3 inch (8 cm) height and line the base with baking paper. Place the spring form pan on a baking sheet for ease of movement, in and out of the fridge.

Place the Biscoff cookies in a food processor and process until they resemble fine crumbs. Remove 3 tbsps of the crumbed cookies and set aside for decorating later.
Add the butter and process briefly until combined. Press the biscuit mixture evenly over the base of the prepared pan. Place the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

Make the cheesecake filling : In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add Biscoff spread and vanilla and beat until well combined. Fold in the whipped cream, little at a time until no white streaks appear and the filling is smooth. Fold in the mini eggs.

Pour or dollop the cheesecake filling over the prepared crust. Gently tap the pan a few times on a flat surface to ensure the filling is evenly distributed withing the pan. Smoothen the surface with an offset spatula. Place the pan in the fridge for about 5-6 hours, preferable overnight.

Make the Biscoff topping : Pour melted Biscoff into the mold that has been placed on a flat tray for ease of movement. Tap the mold a few times so that the Biscoff is spread nicely into the design of the mold. Freeze for about an hour or until completely set.

Assemble : Unmold the frozen biscoff topping and place on the set cheesecake. Allow the frozen Biscoff to thaw in the fridge for a couple of hours. If desired, decoate the edges of the cheesecake with biscoff crumbs. Top with mini eggs. Slice and enjoy!

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