Caramel Crispy Cakes

It's no big secret that I love cake. I really, really love cake and I'm not terribly fussy as to what kind either. Tray bakes, multi-tier, refrigerator and roll...I'm not cake-ist.

This, as you can imagine, can be both costly and fattening but I'm a total sweets addict. I HAVE to have a 'pudding' after my evening meal, even if it's cereal or a yogurt...I need something sweet or I don't feel like my meal has ended. With Christmas approaching and an expensive couple of months with parties, events, hosting family and friends, concerts, a very short city break (squeal) and the big day itself looming, I have GOT to stop buying cake and chocolate every other day. And why am I buying it anyway? I can bake. I made a princess castle for my daughter's birthday for crying out loud, I can handle a dozen muffins.

So, here is a very quick, very easy recipe that requires no baking, a few ingredients and a very sweet tooth; caramel crispy cakes.

You'll need...

3x Mars bars

200g Milk chocolate

75g Unsalted butter

3x Cups of Rice Crispies

Obviously, in the interest of money, get as much as you can own or value branded. Most supermarkets do their own version of all the big name chocolate bars which might work out cheaper, as well as the cereal. Alternatively buy the Mars doubles if you can't get a multipack, it'll save you about 20% on buying them individually.

Start by cutting up your butter and Mars bars, popping them all together in a heat-proof dish. Place that on top of a saucepan of boiling water, stirring as they melt together. Once melted, take off the heat and slowly add the cereal. You might find you need a little more to absorb the buttery, chocolatey goodness, if you do, it's not a big deal. If the liquid isn't absorbed enough, you will end up with a buttery/caramelly residue on the bottom of your cakes which is basically sweetened fat. Not revolting to taste but certainly not a gastronomic delight, that's for sure!

Once you've got your mixture sorted, tip it into a square baking tin (I've found a spring-loaded tin best but a normal tin lined with baking paper will do just as well). Pat down your mixture so that it makes a 'base', using the back of a spoon or a spatula. Make the crispies as flat as possible before chilling in the fridge for about an hour.

Next, melt your chocolate using the same method as you used to melt the butter and mars. Remove your crispies from the fridge and pour over the chocolate, smoothing it out once again with the back of a spoon. It will look very thin on top but don't be fooled, there is more than enough on top of those bad boys as you will see when cut. Chill once more for a further hour (two if you're good at being patient) before removing from tin and cutting into squares to serve.

Voila! Cheap. Cheerful. Scrummy. Quick. Easy. What more can you ask for on an autumnal afternoon? Get the kiddiewinks involved too (don't hog all the spoon licking to yourself)!

Tweet me up your pictures if you have a go!

Clare

Quick and Easy Microwave Sponge Cake

Hello all! Today is my twenty-seventh birthday and so in light of that today I'm going to share my go-to recipe for a quick and easy sponge cake that you can make in the microwave. I use his mainly for a quick pudding, served with custard to keep little tummies happy. I'll be honest, it's not going to win you any baking competitions, but it does well to satisfy a craving or feed desert to a small person.

Apologies for the photos, they are taken from the Cut Out and Keep tutorial I wrote for this about two years ago.

This recipe uses mainly things that you have kicking around in your kitchen cupboards which is what makes it so great. You will need...

- A microwave.

- A ceramic or glass bowl.

- A table spoon.

- A knife.

- 4x table spoons self-raising flour. If you only have plain, the same amount with a third of a table spoon of baking powder also works.

- 4x table spoons sugar. White preferably though a brown sugar sponge is also nice.

- 3x table spoons milk.

- 3x table spoons oil/cooking fat (I use that liquid Flora).

- 1x egg.

- A few drops of vanilla essence. You can replace this with two take spoons of chocolate powder for a chocolates treat.

1.
Gather your items Before placing your flour and sugar (and baking powder and/or chocolate powder if using) into your bowl and mix together.

2.
Add the milk, oil, egg and vanilla (if using) and mix together thoroughly, making sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the bowl.

3.
Once you're sure that it's all mixed together and there's no dry ingredients hiding at the bottom, pop the bowl in the microwave for 2.5 minutes on full (3 if you have a less powerful microwave).

4.
PING! You should be all cooked now and ready to roll. Be careful taking it out of the microwave using gloves.

5.
Score around the outside of the cake using a knife before using a spoon to help tip it out onto a plate or into a bowl before serving as you wish (like I said, custard's pretty tasty).

So there you have it! Like I said, you won't win a blue ribbon with it but it's quite tasty!

Clare