Cookies & Cream Cake - A Hummingbird Bakery Recipe

I have been a huge fan of the Hummingbird Bakery, and all their perfectly iced delights ever since my first taste of their Red Velvet cupcakes. Back when I used to live in Bayswater I would walk to their Notting Hill bakery getting in line with the hoards of people gathered there every weekend and it was worth it every time! Their mix of quality ingredients and simple recipes has always appealed to me, and as a result their published recipe books have become sure staples in my kitchen. Both books, I am ashamed to say are slightly covered in icing sugar or batter mixture which is a testament of their constant use. 

My best friend asked me to bake a birthday cake for her boyfriend's birthday and this recipe instantly came to mind as the perfect option. I have made it several times in the past and its always been a hit, looks impressive and is pretty easy to make. Also, you can't really beat a cake where a staple ingredient are chocolate chip cookies! 

The recipe is taken from the Hummingbird Home Sweet Home book. 

For the sponge 

110g unsalted soft butter 

380g caster sugar 

320g plain flour 

4 teaspoons of baking powder 

1 teaspoon of salt 

320ml buttermilk 

3 large eggs 

135 of fresh cookies ( from the bakery section in the supermarket) chic chip or double chocolate but not white chocolate as there are too sweet

For the frosting

1kg icing sugar sifted 

320g unsalted soft butter 

500g mascarpone 

2-3 large fresh cookies crumbled 

You will need 3 x 20cm loose bottomed cake tins which have been buttered and lined with baking paper 

Preheat the oven to 170C 

In a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment or using a hand-held electric whisk. mix the butter, sugar and dry ingredients together until they form a sandy consistency with no large lumps of butter. 

In a separate large jug, mix together the buttermilk and eggs by hand. 

With the mixer or whisk on medium speed, add the liquid to the butter and flour mixture in a slow, steady stream. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go. Mix again until the batter is even and smooth. 

Crumble the cookies into rough pieces, not too big, and stir them through the batter by hand. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake tins. 

Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and the sponge bounces back when lightly touched. Allow the cakes to cool completely before removing form tins. 

Using the freestanding electro mixer with the paddle attachment or the hand- held electric whisk, make the frosting by gradually mixing the icing sugar and butter together on a  low speed until combined and there are no large lumps of butter. Add about one-third of the mascarpone and beat until combined and smooth, then gradually add the remaining mascarpone and mix until completely incorporated. Turn the mixer speed to high and beat the frosting until it is light and fluffy. 

Once the sponge layers feel cool to the touch, you can assemble the cake. Place the first layer on a plate or cake stand and top with 3-4 tablespoons of the frosting. Smooth it out using a palette knife, adding a little more of needed. Sprinkle over a handful of cookie pieces. 

Sandwich the second layer on top, then add more frosting and cookie pieced, followed by the third layer of cake, covering it completely so that no sponge is showing. Finally decorate the top of the cake with the remaining cookie pieces. 

Ana x 

Chocolate Devil's Food Cake - A Birthday Treat

As it's my lovely friend Jenny' s birthday, I decided it would be a great excuse to a make her an edible treat of a present in the form of this decadent Devils Food Cake!

I first saw this being made on Great British Bake Off about 3 years ago and what really appealed to me was the addition of sour cream to the cake, which takes the edge of the sweetness of the chocolate and makes the filling and frosting incredibly smooth and luxurious. This really makes the perfect birthday treat for a chocolate lover (find me a girl that isn't?!) and is grown up enough to be served at the end of a dinner party with some creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.

For the best tasting cake, it is best to make the day before serving as the dark chocolate flavour develops and matures.

For the sponge

300g sifted plain flour
125ml sour cream at room temperature
4 table spoons of cocoa powder
175ml boiling water
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100g good quality dark chocolate
125g soft unsalted butter
350g caster sugar
2 eggs (free range or organic)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


For the filling/decoration

300g good quality dark chocolate
300ml sour cream at room temperature
100g good quality white chocolate

You will need 2 x 23cm round baking tins which have been buttered and lines with baking paper.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Start by putting the cocoa into a heatproof bowl and mix into a smooth liquid by adding the boiling water. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and put the side to cool down.

Break up the dark chocolate into another heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water and melt gently (don't let the base of the bowl touch the water or the chocolate will burn). Once the the chocolate is smooth and melted put to the side and leave to cool.

Put the soft butter into a mixing bowl and beat for a minute until creamy. Gradually beat in the sugar and mix for 4-5 minutes or until very light and frothy. Beat the eggs with the vanilla and then add to the butter and sugar mixture one tablespoon at a time.

Fold in the flour in batches, alternately with the sour cream. Mix the cocoa liquid into the melted chocolate, then fold into the cake mixture. When fully combined - divide the mixture between the two prepared tins evenly. Bake for around 30 minutes, or until risen and firm and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Once slightly cooled turn the sponges out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely. When cold slice each sponge horizontally (you will need a very sharp knife or cake wire for this otherwise you risk breaking them) so you end up with 4 layers. Honestly, I have sometimes skipped this part if I am not feeling brave enough or just been a bit lazy as the finished product will be just as tasty but it just will not look quite as impressive.

To make the filling and topping for the cake, start by melting the chocolate using the same method as before. Once melted, remove the bowl from the pan and stir in the room temperature sour cream. Using half of the chocolate mixture layer the sponges together finishing off with last sponge flat side up.

Spread the rest of the chocolate mixture as smoothly as possible over the top and sides of the cake.

To finish, melt the white chocolate, then spread it thinly onto a sheet of baking paper and leave it to set. Break into think shards and scatter over the cake or if you are feeling brave use a cookie cutter to make some decorative chocolate shapes!

Hope the birthday girl enjoys it!

Ana x

White Chocolate Madeleines Recipe

Well, as I am truly obsessed with all forms of French baking these little beauties have become a firm favourite in our house. Traditionally they are served plain, being flavoured simply by the lemon zest but at the request of my sweet toothed husband I have added small pieces of white chocolate which melt into tiny pools and make these madeleines insanely moorish and perfect, served as part of an afternoon tea or with coffee at the end of a dinner party.

They are incredibly easy to make and take about 10 minutes to prepare, as the batter has to rest in the fridge for about 3 hours (or even overnight). You will however, need a madeline tin and though I am not a fan of buying special tins and moulds, you will keep re-using this once you discover how satisfying and lovely these French shell shaped plump treats are!


For the batter

80g of really soft butter
100g caster sugar
2 eggs (free range or organic)
Zest of 2 lemons
Pinch of sea salt
100g of plain flour
1/2 tea spoon of baking powder
Good quality white chocolate (either buttons or chopped into small pieces)

Madeline tin 
Piping bag - this is not essential but I tend to be quite messy so it helps give them a professional finish

To start with, cream the butter with a table spoon of the caster sugar. Whisk the eggs with remaining sugar, lemon zest and salt until light and fluffy.

Gently fold in the flour and baking powder until just combined.

Scoop out a third of the batter and beat vigorously with the butter. Transfer into the remaining mixture and fold in very gently (you want to keep as much air as possible in the mixture)

Using a spatula scrape out the batter into a piping bag and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 210C fan. Butter and flour the madeline pan.

Snip a tiny hole from the tip on the piping bag and pipe the batter three - quarters of the way up into the moulds (if you don't have a piping bag you can use a table spoon to spoon to mixture in).

Press a couple of tiny pieces of white chocolate into each madeleine.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180C and bake for 13/14 minutes or until the edges are deep golden brown and the domes are starting to brown.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for a couple of minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Serve with a dusting of icing sugar and a cup of Earl Grey tea. Bon apetit!

Ana x

Summer Vanilla, Strawberry & Pomegranate Cake Recipe

This is incredibly delicious and a real crowd pleaser. Perfect for a summer birthday cake, a picnic in the park or just as something sweet for after a BBQ, you can swap the whipping cream for a sweeter buttercream frosting but I think this makes it a bit too heavy and rich, plus English strawberries are in season now so need to mess with them too much.

For the sponge: 

330g plain flour sifted 

320g caster sugar 

Pinch of salt 

1 1/2 table spoons of baking powder 

175g room temperature unsalted butter 

3 eggs (free range or organic) at room temperature 

190ml of whole or semi skimmed milk 

1 1/2 tea spoons of vanilla extract 

For the filling/decoration: 

200ml of whipping cream 

3 table spoons of icing sugar 

1 vanilla pod 

400g English strawberries 

100g pomegranate seeds 

Icing sugar for dusting 

You will need 2 x 23cm round baking tins buttered and lined with baking paper. 

Preheat the oven to 180 C fan assisted or gas mark 5 

In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat the butter until it's all incorporated and the mixture looks sandy. When I use a mixer this takes a couple of minutes on medium speed. 

Add the eggs one at a time and beat until just incorporated.

Add the milk and vanilla and beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and combined, this should take 2 - 3 minutes (scrape the sides of the bowl half way through mixing)

Divide the mixture between the two prepared cake tins and level out with a spatula. Bake for about 25-30 minutes and until you insert a toothpick into the sponge and it comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 10 min before turning the sponges out on a wire rack and leaving them to cool completely. 

For the filling, split the vanilla bean in half and scoop out all of the seeds with the back of a knife. 

Mix together the whipping cream, icing sugar and vanilla and whisk until the mixture forms soft peaks. 

To assemble the cake take one sponge and spread with half of the whipping cream mixture and 3/4 of the strawberries ( sliced or quartered). Sandwich with the second sponge placing it flat side up and  decorate with the remaining cream, strawberries and pomegranate seeds. Finish with a dusting of icing sugar.  

It helps to refrigerate it for a couple of hours before serving so the cream sets to a more "portable" consistency. Eat within 24 hours...if it lasts that long! 

Ana x 

So here it is! After months of debating names and planning how to best do this I am finally starting my own blog. Gulp...

The name probably gives it away, but it will be about all things food and in particular cake & patisserie making of which I have truly become obsessed over the past couple of years. I am not a professional baker, but more a fanatical eater with a compulsive curiosity of what can be achieved with a bit of time, passion and some really good ingredients!

This is for all my friends and family who have spurred me on and who have ineviatbly become my eager recipe testing panel.
Ana x