Recipes

Quick Carrot Cake Recipe

Posted on by maya

 

hi-guys

I’ve never been one to sleep in, mainly because my lack of social life ensures an early night. However, I’ve always enjoyed an extra hour or so in bed on Sundays, especially when on holidays. So it was a surprise when this morning I woke up unusually early to the sounds of what my sleep-deprived mind imagined to be a battle going on outside my bedroom. As it turns out, it was simply my younger siblings on an enthusiastic Easter egg hunt around my house, their chocolate-fueled excitement apparently making any kind of discretion at 7a.m. impossible.

Luckily, one giant, mint-flavoured, gold foil-wrapped chocolate egg later, my abrupt awakening was forgotten and I officially switched over to Easter-celebration mode. I wanted to share this delicious carrot cake recipe with you guys today, because it’s such an Easter classic! The bright, colourful carrots combined with crunchy pecan nuts, flaky coconut and warm spices, make a perfect, aromatic batter. The moist cake is topped with a fluffy mascarpone icing that just brings it to the next level. I just barely managed to snap a few photographs of it, before my family promptly devoured it in seconds.

Make sure to let me know in the comments below what other posts you guys want to see this spring. Happy Easter! signature

 

d

carrot_cake_2  carrot_cake_1

carrot_cake_3

carrot_cake_4

carrot_cake_5

carrot_cake_6

carrot_cake_7

carrot_cake_8

carrot_cake_9

carrot_cake_10

carrot_cake_11

carrot_cake_14

recipe.jpg

Ingredients

cake
75g self-raising flour
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 carrots, grated
50g pecans, chopped (plus a few to decorate)
30g desicated coconut
75g light brown sugar
2 eggs
3 tbsp fresh orange juice
75g butter, melted
Icing
250g mascarpone
3 tbsp icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
_
Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 190’C (375’F). Grease and line a baking tin with baking parchment.
  2. Sift flour, spices and baking powder into a large bowl.
  3. Add pecans, coconut, sugar and carrots. Mix well.
  4. Add eggs, orange juice and butter. Stir until well combined.
  5. Pour mixture into baking tin. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
  6. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
  7. For the icing, beat together mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.
  8. Spread the icing over the top of the cake and decorate with a few pecan nuts.
FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
1456098967_pintereston Pinterest
1456098962_twitter1on Twitter
1458587945_instagram.pngon Instagram
on Bloglovin’
Advertisement

White Chocolate Coconut Cookies Recipe

Posted on by maya

hi-guys

I hope you’ve all been having a lovely week 🙂 . I’m in the middle of my mock exams at the moment in preparation for the Leaving Cert (ie. the final exams to get into college here in Ireland), which means I really should be dedicating all my spare time to studying. So naturally, I decided to do some baking instead. Because really, no study session is truly complete without an excessive amount of snack breaks, procrastination and regret.

Anyways, I thought with the weekend coming up it was the perfect time to share this super simple recipe with you guys. These soft, chewy cookies were deliciously addictive – it took all my self control to wait and take a few photos before eating them. I’ve always had a slight white chocolate obsession and, paired with coconut, the two truly make a perfect match! I also love that this recipe doesn’t involve chilling the dough, because really who has time for that sort of thing.

Of course, you can enjoy the cookies as they are or, if you want to put a little extra effort into presentation, drizzle some melted white chocolate over them and top with some more coconut.

Let me know in the comments below if you guys try them out and what your go-to study snack is!

signature

coco_cookie_16

Ingredients
1 large Egg
2 cups Plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 cup Caster (Granulated) sugar
1/8 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup White chocolate chips/ chopped White chocolate
1 cup Desiccated Coconut
1/2 cup Butter

coco_cookie_15

Step 1 In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.

coco_cookie_17

Step 2 Add egg and vanilla essence to the mixture. Beat until light and fluffy.

coco_cookie_14

Step 3 Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Combine well until mixture forms a crumbly dough.

coco_cookie_13

Step 4 Roughly chop chocolate. Or alternatively buy chocolate chips, which is no doubt easier – I just didn’t have any on hand.

coco_cookie_11

Step 5 Add chopped chocolate and coconut. Mix until well combined.

coco_cookie_10

Step 6 Roll the dough into small balls and place them onto a lined baking tray.

coco_cookie_8

Step 7 Lightly press down on each ball with a fork.

coco_cookie_7

Step 8 Bake cookies at 180’C/350’C for 10-15 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown.

coco_cookie_6

Step 9 Leave to cool on a wire rack.

coco_cookies1

Step 10 Enjoy!

 

FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
1456098967_pintereston Pinterest
1456098962_twitter1on Twitter
1458587945_instagram.pngon Instagram
on Bloglovin’

 

 

 

 

How to Make Snowball Cookies

Posted on by maya

hi-guys

So I’m not going to lie, I’ve been wanting to share this recipe with you guys for months but have been patiently waiting for it to be socially acceptable to post Christmas recipes (which according to my mother would be the 1st of August)! Anyways, now that I’ve heard every single Christmas song ever written being played about a hundred times over in the last week, I figured it’s a perfectly acceptable time for making snowball cookies.

Personally, there’s nothing I love more on a cold winter’s day (or any day, really – weather’s pretty irrelevant) than to snuggle up in bed, briefly consider the possibility of being productive and ultimately end up just eating cookies for a couple of hours. And what with Christmas break coming up, I thought I’d spread some Christmas cheer and encourage you all to do the same 🙂 – because I’m such a great influence. And trust me, these little icing-covered, melt-in-your-mouth balls of deliciousness make the perfect snack to share with your family (or enjoy by yourself – I don’t judge) over the holidays!

I hope you get a chance to try them out over the weekend – if you do, make sure to let me know in the comments below!

ingredients

snowball-mexican-cookies-12

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup icing / powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
plus additional icing sugar for rolling

method

Preheat the oven to 250°C/400°F. Combine butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl.

Add the flour and salt. Mix well until a crumbly dough forms.

Shape the dough into balls. Place the dough balls on a cookie sheet and bake for about 9 minutes until set (don’t let them brown 🙂 ).

Leave the cookies to cool slightly, then roll them in icing sugar while they’re still warm. Enjoy!

snowball mexican cookies 7b.jpg

signature

Sticky Syrup Bun Recipe

Posted on by maya

Heyhey

 

I hope you’ve all had a lovely week :). So based on the fact that my family have started arguing over whether or not we should turn the heating on, I think it’s safe to say that Autumn is officially here. And this could just be me,  but in my head Autumn has always been labelled the ‘lazy’ season. Like, if Autumn were a person I feel as if it would just stay home and watch Netflix while Summer, Winter and Spring were off at the gym, you know? Basically, Autumn is a seasonal representation of myself.

Naturally, this means that the next few weeks for me will just be a series of consecutive lazy days – (much like the majority of my life, but we can ignore that part).

Of course if you’re a true Master of the Art of Laziness like myself, you’ll know that a lazy day is incomplete without a deliciously autumnal snack to go with it (because there’s no use trying to master the lazy lifestyle if you’re not committing to an unhealthy diet as well 😉 ). These simple syrup cakes make a perfect, cosy sweet treat on a rainy day and only take a couple of minutes to make!

Let me know in the comments below what other fall recipes you guys want to see this month and make sure to like and share this post if you enjoyed it :). Also in case you guys missed my previous posts,  my 1 year blogiversary is coming up on the 26th of October and I’m trying to reach 3000 followers! If each of you could help me out and get one other person to subscribe to Artsy Teen I’d achieve my goal in no time!

Now without further ado, let’s get into this recipe…

signature

 

 

 

 

Ingredients  (Makes 20 Buns)

syrup-buns-5b

250g butter, softened

200g caster/granulated sugar

3 eggs

500g

300ml golden syrup, plus a few tbsp for drizzling on top of buns

50ml milk

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180’C (350’F) and line  a muffin tray with 20 paper cases.
  2. Cream butter and sugar together, then beat in eggs.
  3. Warm the golden syrup in a microwave (or in a pan over a low heat) until it’s runny. Add to the mixture and beat well.
  4. Add the flour and milk. Mix until well combined.
  5. Spoon the mixture into paper cases and bake in the oven for  15-20 minutes (or until the cakes are golden and springy to the touch).
  6. Remove the buns from the oven and drizzle a teaspoonful of syrup onto each bun while they’re still hot.

 

FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA🙂
1456098962_twitter1on Twitter
1456098967_pintereston Pinterest
on Bloglovin’
on Instructables

Rich Chocolate Brownie Recipe

Posted on by maya

Every once in a while we all crave something rich, decadent and chocolatey (unless of course you’re allergic/don’t like chocolate, in which case you’re unfortunately missing out on one of the great joys of life). The summer holidays are a great time to bake a batch of brownies and share them with friends and family (or alternatively, enjoy them by yourself on the couch while watching your favourite TV show 😉 ). For years this has been my go-to brownie recipe and I’ve included step-by-step photos to make sure it’s really easy to follow. I thought this was the perfect thing to post on Father’s Day, since I’m absolutely certain that no Dad could resist freshly baked brownies. Let me know in the comments below what you guys like to bake/do during the holidays and if you found this recipe helpful!signature

k

k

Ingredients

brownies ingredients

100g/ 1/2 cup butter

175g/ 3/4 cup caster (granulated) sugar

175g / 1/2 cup dark muscovado sugar

125g dark chocolate

1 tbsp golden syrup

2 eggs

100g / 3/4 plain (all-purpose) flour

2 tsbp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

Method

brownies 1

1. Gently heat butter, sugars, chocolate and golden syrup in a heavy based saucepan. Stir until mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

brownies 3

2. Beat together eggs, then whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture.

brownies 4c

brownies 4

3. Sieve together the flour, cocoa powder and baking sugar and fold into the egg and chocolate mixture.

brownies 5

brownies 6

4. Mix until ingredients are well combined.

brownies 7

5. Spoon the brownie mixture into a lightly greased cake tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180’C/350’F for approx. 30 minutes, or until the top is crisp and the edge of the brownie starts to shrink away from the tin.brownies 8

6. Technically, you’re supposed to leave the cake to cool before cutting it into squares to serve. However, seeing as you’ve put in all this hard work, I think its perfectly acceptable for the chef to try some while it’s still warm ;).

brownies 9

 

Simple Sponge Cake Recipe

Posted on by maya

hey

I haven’t posted a recipe in a while, but since I’m on holidays I finally got a chance to do some baking yesterday and take some half-decent pictures for you guys 🙂 . I make this simple vanilla sponge so often, it’s now become my signature cake and go-to recipe whenever I’m baking a dessert for guests. It’s light, moist and incredibly easy to make! Let me know in the comments below if you try this cake out, and what other recipes you’d like to see on Arsty Teen.signature

 

 

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 175g / 7/8 cup caster/granulated sugar
  • 175g/ 3/4 cup butter (softened)
  • 175g/ 1 1/2 self raising flour (sifted)
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla essence

for the glaze

  • 280g/2 cups icing sugar
    (sifted)
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla essence

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180’C (375’F) and line a 5 x 9 inch rectangular baking tin with parchment paper .
  2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, vanilla essence and butter.
  3. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Tip: To make sure the mixture doesn’t curdle, add one tablespoon of flour along with each egg.
  4. Mix in the rest of the sifted flour.
  5. Empty mixture into tin and bake for 35-40 minutes.
  6. When the cake is ready, remove from oven and leave to cool.
  7. While your cake is cooling, make the glaze. Combine the sifted icing sugar, milk and vanilla essence in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
  8. Pour the glaze over your cooled sponge and leave to dry.
  9. Enjoy!
Follow me
1456098962_twitter1on Twitter
1456098967_pintereston Pinterest
1458587945_instagram.pngon Instagram

 

 

The Best Cookie Recipe EVER

Posted on by maya

 

Hey Artsy Teens,

Happy Valentine’s day! I hope you’re all having a good week. I was actually going to post this recipe earlier, but I then I thought better not – there still might be a few people determined to stick to all those “stay healthy” new year’s resolutions. But I think I’ve left a sufficient amount of time for everyone to have given up on them by now, right? Also, I realize that calling these the best cookies ever might be a bit presumptuous but hey, if you really want to prove me wrong you’ll just have to try making them yourself 😉 !
signature

 

 

Ingredients

cookies 6

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup caster/granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

4 cups all purpose/plain flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I saved a few to put on top of the cookies)

1 tbsp cocoa powder

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180’C/350’F.
  2. Cream the butter and sugars together.
  3. Mix in vanilla extract and eggs.
  4. Add the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt.
  5. Mix well and add chocolate chips.
  6. Take about 2 tbsps of the mixture and using your hands, roll the balls and place on a cookie sheet*. Flatten each cookie with a fork and press a few chocolate chips on top.
  7. Bake for 9-11 minutes until the cookies look golden (the cookies will still be soft to the touch, but don’t worry – they’ll harden as they cool). Enjoy!

*If the cookie dough is a bit sticky, rub some vegetable oil onto your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers.

How to make the perfect Sticky Lemon Syrup Cake

Posted on by maya

About two years ago, I went through what I like to call my “Lemon Syrup Cake” phase. What is this, you ask? Let me explain.

The “Lemon Syrup Cake” phase is a sudden, inexplicable obsession with Lemon Syrup Cake that lasts approximately 9 months. Symptoms including baking this cake constantly, eating it constantly and staring at this recipe longingly for several hours.

As I said, I eventually managed to move on (cinnamon is my new fascination), but during this time I did manage to perfect my “Lemon Syrup Cake” recipe. Of course, I had to share it with you guys and I wish you all luck as you embark on you “Lemon Syrup Cake” phases!

Ingredients

IMG_1927

for the cake

  • 150g / 3/4 cup caster sugar
  • 175g/ 3/4 cup butter (softened)
  • 175g/ 1 1/2 self raising flour (sifted)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • juice and zest of 1 lemon

for the syrup

  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • juice and zest of 2 lemons
  • 1/3 cup water

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180’C (375’F) and line a 5 x 9 inch rectangular baking tin with parchment paper .
  2. In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter.
  3. Add eggs and flour. Mix well.
  4. Stir in vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice.
  5. Empty mixture into tin and bake for 35-40 minutes.
  6. While your cake is baking, make the lemon syrup. Heat sugar, lemon juice, zest and water over a low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved (about 10 minutes).
  7. When the cake is ready, remove from oven. Using a fork or skewer, poke holes all over the cake (this helps the cake absorb the syrup).
  8. Pour syrup over cake and leave to cool.

 

Scrumptious Christmas Muffins!

Posted on by maya

Hey Artsy Teens,

I’m finally on holidays which  means I can fully register the fact that it’s officially Christmas time!

Am I the only one who has this realisation less than a week before the 25th of December? Because honestly, even though everyone else has been in full on holiday-mode since November 1st, I’ve been so caught up in exams, Netflix and being antisocial that I’ve only just started getting into the Christmas mood.

Anyways, no school means I have plenty of time to focus on blogging, last-minute gift buying/ making and most importantly, festive food!

On that note here’s a recipe for delicious Christmas muffins that I hope you’ll all enjoy.

Mincemeat muffins

Ingredients – Makes 10

300g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground mixed spice

100g soft light brown sugar

175g mincemeat

1 egg, lightly beaten

175ml buttermilk

1 tbsp milk

2 tsp demerara sugar / sprinkles

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200’C/400’F. Grease muffin tin or line with paper muffin cases.
  2. Mix flour, baking powder, mixed spice and brown sugar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, mix together the mincemeat, egg, melted butter, buttermilk and milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
  3. Spoon the batter into prepared muffin cups, then sprinkle the tops with demerara sugar / sprinkles .
  4. Bake for 18-20min until risen and golden. Cool in tin for 10 min then turn onto a wire rack.