Lost in Desserts

What better way to celebrate finishing the end of my Nutritional Sciences course than by a huge amount of sugar, chocolate and cream? OK so kinda contradictory but it's definitely all about balance when it comes to food and health in my opinion. And every last bite of these were worth the extra gym session I'm probably gonna need to fit in this week.

I drove down to Leicester to meet up with a friend from my course for end of year celebrations. We'd both had our ups and downs throughout the year but could finally say we'd got through the course together! She introduced me to a place in the city called Heavenly Desserts - this place definitely lives up to that. Apparently she'd tried to visit before but people were queuing outside (and this is quite common to get in?!) so had decided to wait before trying again. Thankfully we didn't have to queue and got a table in the restaurant straight away before being handed the book of a menu to choose from. You can get waffles, crepes, cookie dough, sundaes, milkshakes, shots of Belgian chocolate... let's just say it took me a while to pick. I finally went for white chocolate and raspberry cookie dough, which was served warm so the chocolate was melting and the cookie gooey, and topped with ice cream, cream and fresh raspberries. Oh. My. God. So good. And I was very glad that I'd only had a salad earlier so I could leave room for all that chocolatey goodness.

A couple of days later, back in Nottingham, my best friend treated me to a dessert plate from The Cheesecake Shop to say congrats (I have the best friends ever :)). I chose the strawberry shortcake cheesecake topped with curls of white chocolate and it was served with fresh fruit and a dollop of cream. I've been to the cheesecake shop a few times as it's fairly local and it has to be one of my favourite places to get pudding. The mudcakes they do are seriously tasty as well. There's quite a few around Nottinghamshire but I'm not sure about the rest of the UK, but definitely worth a visit if you're round here.

So it's a been a weekend of stuffing my face (and enjoying every last bit of it) but I think I'm definitely gonna feel better after a good Aerobics session this evening ha.

Citrus and Sugar Summer Days

Popping back home for a few days meant time to catch up with friends and family over lots of good food. In Nottingham there's plenty to choose from. One night consisted of amazing tapas at Las Iguanas, including fried plantain (new favourite!), a chorizo dish with plenty of ciabatta, and of course, nachos. The perfect meal to enjoy while chatting and trying out some delicious cocktails. An evening spent at a country pub is also always a must, especially in this beautiful weather. We finished our meal with a slice of red velvet cheesecake, with just the right amount of creaminess and sweetness to not be overwhelming.

Time was also spent on purely relaxing, enjoying the sunshine in the garden with a new foodie magazine. After what seems like a long time of being uninspired in the kitchen, turning to the same few old favourites each night that were quick to make and eat in between revision sessions, I can't wait to try out new recipes and ingredients.

A cake in the June issue of delicious magazine caught my eye, a simple bake enhanced with the summery flavours of lemons and blueberries, two of my favourite additions to a cake batter. The lemon is tangy and light, while the blueberries burst and make the cake moist and colourful.

My tin was too small for all the mix, so I ended up with cupcakes as well, never a bad thing! A sprinkling of lemon zest on top of the icing is an easy pretty way to decorate these cakes. Just the sort of thing to enjoy on a sunny afternoon with an ice-cold drink.

What are your favourite summer flavours for cooking and baking?

Italian Treats

Being a total foodie and lover of all things Italian due to my Italian Grandma, her and my mum put together an amazing hamper full of delicious treats for my Christmas present. I've been steadily experimenting with them throughout the month and can't wait to get around to trying out the rest. I thought I'd share a selection of some of my favourites with you.

I have yet to try out the olives, but I think they would go perfectly in a big sauce or stew type dish, or cooked with beef and cherry tomatoes in a Nigella-inspired Beef Pizzaiola, after a nibble or two of course. 

The Wild Rocket pesto has been used in a lot of things recently - stirred into veg as a flavourful side dish, drizzled over home-made pizzas, and spread onto baguettes with cheese to serve with pasta. I adore pesto anyway, and the rocket gives it an extra, subtle tang. I have a feeling that the sun-dried tomato paste used in place of normal tomato purée will bring out even more rich flavour in sauces.

The 'Lievito Pane Degli Angeli' (literally translating to Yeast Bread of Angels) is a raising agent that can replace baking powder in recipes, but is made that extra bit better by also including vanilla flavouring, and therefore smelling absolutely amazing! I could quite happily just sit and smell the packet all day... but when I do bake with it, it adds a wonderful lightness to my usual cupcakes. 

The pasta is tiny star shapes that would be perfect in soups. I've been meaning to start making soups for the past couple of years now and still haven't got round to it, so hopefully having these in the cupboard will push me to finally get on with it before Winter is over.

This nougat is by far the best I have ever had. Tom and I couldn't believe just how delicious this is - soft, squidgy nougat with huge crunchy chunks of almond, with strips of rice paper on the top and bottom - amazing!

A friend of my Grandma's brought this to England from where she's from in Italy, making this an extra special treat. 

And for a place to get started, I received the Quick Cook Italian book, which includes 3 ways to cook different dishes using similar ingredients, such as tomato risotto, tomato and rice soup, or tomato and rice salad, offering even more flexibility depending on the exact ingredients and time you have available. Basically, even more recipes! So far I've tried out lemon and rosemary pork with a cannellini bean salad, and chilli and lemon cod; both were straight forward to cook and tasted incredible.

The latest Nigella Lawson cook book is also brilliant. It's actually the first one of hers I've got hold of and I'm already in love with it. Whereas I tend to avoid 'celebrity' cook books, due to the recipes seeming too complicated with fancy ingredients, this book is perfect for everyday meals. The Italian Tray bake with Tuscan fries is already a favourite with my fiancé. 

A huge thank you to my family for getting me these, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect gift! :)

Cherry, Almond and Chocolate Trifle

You can never have too many indulgent treats this time of year. Last year I made a chocolate and orange trifle for Christmas Day dessert. For a family party this week I decided to give it a new twist, taking advantage of the Amaretto that is hanging round in my parent's kitchen. I adore this chocolate custard - some can be quite thin which means the trifle ends up a bit all over the place. This is rich and creamy and makes the dish something special.

This recipe is a mix of favourite dessert flavours all in one: the cherry, cream and chocolate combination of a Black Forest Gateau; the almond flavour topped off with cherry inspired by Bakewell tarts; all layered in the traditional trifle style. Perfect for an indulgent but reassuringly old fashioned dessert to be served at a family gathering.

I hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas!

Cherry, Almond and Chocolate Trifle

Layers of vanilla and almond sponge, topped with raspberries and cherries, a rich chocolate custard, and whipped cream, topped with cherries, almonds and grated chocolate.


Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 large raspberry and vanilla Swiss roll
• 4 tbsp Amaretto 
• 200g raspberries
• 200g cherries
• 3-4 tbsp raspberry or cherry jam
• For the custard:
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 200ml milk
• 200g dark chocolate, melted
• 250g tub ricotta
• 225ml double cream (or other cream suitable for whipping)
• Flaked almonds, to decorate
• Grated chocolate, to decorate

Method

1. Cut the Swiss roll into chunky slices. Lay these in a large serving dish, filling in any gaps with small pieces of sponge.
2. Sprinkle the Amaretto over the sponge to soak in.
3. Wash and pat dry the raspberries. Layer these on top of the sponge slices. Wash and chop the cherries, reserving 10 whole ones for decoration. Add these to the raspberries.
4. Spoon enough jam over the fruit so there is a thin coating over the sponge to keep it moist. 
5. Mix the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a large bowl to make a paste.
6. Heat the milk in a pan until it reaches just below boiling point. Pour it over the egg mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Return to the pan and heat through, stirring continuously, until the mixture is thickened and smooth.
7. Return the custard to the large bowl. Add the melted chocolate and the ricotta and stir until combined. Pour over the fruit, smooth with the back of a spoon and leave in the fridge for an hour, or until set. 
8. Whisk the cream until slightly thickened. Spread over the custard layer, or pipe if wished. 
9. Arrange the remaining cherries over the cream. Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and grated chocolate. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. 

Mince Pie Slices with Lemon Icing

While I may begin making Christmas plans and buying presents before December hits, the one thing I manage to save until the 1st is indulging in Christmassy treats. Then I can't help but dig into chocolates, fruit cake, and my favourite, mince pies. Living next door to a bakery this year has been both brilliant and dangerous for my taste for thick buttery pastry encasing rich fruity mincemeat and sprinkled with sugar. I have had some of the best mince pies, but probably a tad too often than I should. Though isn't that the definition of this time of year?

I first made these mince pie slices last year and they went down very well. I do admit to cheating with the pastry; while most of the time I try to ensure everything I make is from scratch I feel there are some things that are acceptable to include a short cut. There is enough busyness in the kitchen at Christmas that sometimes it's more important to have these ready with as little stress as possible, and focus that extra time on spending it with loved ones.

This recipe is easily adapted to suit different tastes - include whichever dried fruit and nuts you fancy. Flaked almonds, pistachios or a few chopped glacé cherries would look particularly attractive in my opinion.

Mince Pie Slices with Lemon Icing

Adapted from Good Food

This twist on a Christmas favourite combines an extra fruity mincemeat filling with flaky puff pastry, drizzled with a zesty icing


Cuts into 12 slices

Ingredients

• 400g jar mincemeat
• 1/2 apple, cored, peeled and finely chopped
• Zest of 1 lemon, plus 2 tsp juice
• 40g dried cranberries
• 25g chopped nuts
• 1 heaped tbsp ground almonds
• 375g pack ready-rolled puff pastry
• 50g icing sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas Mark 7. 
2. Combine the mincemeat, chopped apple, lemon zest, cranberries and nuts in a bowl.
3. Roll out the pastry and trim the end to make a 23cm square. Lay on a baking tray.
4. Scatter the ground almonds evenly over the pastry. Spread the mincemeat mixture over the whole of the pastry, right to the edges. 
5. Use the spare pastry to decorate the top of the slices. I cut strips and lay them over the mincemeat in a lattice pattern, making sure they are secure to the pastry base. Or cut shapes from the pastry (stars, hearts) and lay them equal distances apart. 
6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until the pastry is risen and golden. Leave to cool.
7. Once cool, mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice. A little water may be needed to reach the right consistency. Drizzle the lemon icing over the mince pie and cut into 12 slices. 

Christmas Food Post Round Up

That this is a hectic time of year is an understatement. Despite recently beginning my break from uni for Christmas, I have been trying to get on top of my workload so I can relax a bit when I head home. Hopefully then I can fully appreciate all the things I love about Christmas, my favourite of course, being the seemingly non-stop preparation and consumption of delicious food.

I haven't done much of my own Christmassy cooking/baking yet (apart from these snowy-effect chocolate crackles), so I thought I'd do a quick post of some of the best ideas and recipes I've come across on the internet so far. 

First up, I think these cookie gift ideas from Spoon Fork Bacon are brilliant! The packaging is cute, modern and seasonal, and the cookies themselves look absolutely delicious. Check out the post here.

I adore truffles; in my opinion there's nothing more indulgent than tucking into a box of rich chocolate truffles with a light dusting of cocoa powder. These chocolate truffles from Pastry Affair flavoured with red wine add an extra sophistication and would be very welcomed as a gift or served after dinner, I'm sure. Recipe here.

And of course, not forgetting the main attraction, Christmas Day dinner itself. This twist on turkey and potatoes from Mama's Pantry looks incredible: perfectly cooked meat with a golden finish, served with crispy potatoes - what more could you wish for? The recipe here has started off my roast dinner cravings!

I'll share any Christmas cooking I get up to over the next couple of weeks and let me know of any yummy looking recipes you come across too! I've also been wanting to check out some new blogs, so feel free to leave me your link below :)

Chocolate Crackles and a Fox in a Jumper

Bundled up in burgundy gloves and a big woolly scarf whilst running around shops crammed with people, products and Christmas decorations, hoping to find the perfect gift for a family member. I'm not having much luck finding stuff for people this year so I end up popping into shops constantly, spinning around for ages but not actually finding anything. Too fussy for my own good.

As always I'm really looking forward to Christmas; a chance to go home after a few months of being at uni and get cosied up with my family and friends, laughing lots and eating too much. Because of all the moving around, my usual Christmas tree and decorations have been forgotten about, left in the loft back home, so instead I've picked up this cute little real tree, sprinkled with glitter and with a fox wearing a jumper to finish it off (just what every tree needs!). A few bits of tinsel and some lights and we'll still be able to get the flat all Christmassy feeling.

I spent the afternoon baking these chocolatey cookies from the Great British Bake Off book (How to bake the perfect Victoria sponge).

They turned out better than I hoped, soft and squidgy in the middle, almost brownie-like, with a crispy sugary outside.

The pavement-covered-in-snow type effect is made by rolling balls of the biscuit mixture into icing sugar just before baking, so it cracks as they spread out in the oven.

Perfect with a big mug of tea on a Winter evening!

Cherry Traybake

Sea breeze carrying smells from the restaurants nearby; the racket of seagulls and children all day; sunlight pouring over the wooden floors. This is my new flat and I love it. It's bigger and brighter than my previous living spaces, which makes up for the fact that it's also the noisiest place I've lived (but in a comforting, bustling kind of way).

After 3 years of tiny, dark kitchens, this one feels enormous by comparison (and has windows!) and I'm still learning my way around it. I couldn't wait long to pull out my baking stuff and christen the kitchen with sugar and butter, in the form of a sponge cake studded with cherry pieces and drizzled in icing.

The cake cuts into thin slices, with just a smidge of icing to ensure that sweet tooth is satisfied, but is light enough for almost guilt-free second helpings (or so I'm telling myself).

Cherry Traybake 

Adapted from a Mary Berry recipe.

A light cake dotted with cherry pieces, perfect for a summer afternoon tea. 



Cuts into 12 - 16 

Ingredients

• 100g glacé cherries
• 125g self raising flour
• 25g ground almonds
• 1 level tsp baking powder
• 100g butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 100g icing sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160C/Fan 140C/Gas Mark 3. Grease and line a deep 20cm x 30cm baking tray.
2. Put 25g of the cherries aside. Chop the remaining 75g glacé cherries into quarters. Rinse under cold water to remove syrup and dry on kitchen paper.
3. Sift flour, almonds and baking powder into a large bowl. Add in the butter, caster sugar and eggs and beat with an electric whisk until combined.
4. Gently fold in the chopped and rinsed cherries. 
5. Pour the mixture into the baking tray and smooth over the top using the back of a spoon. Bake for 40-50 minutes (keeping an eye on it after half an hour) in the centre of the oven, until a skewer comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
6. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for ten minutes, then turn out and leave to cool completely.
7. For the topping, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add cold water, a spoon at a time, until a pourable consistency is reached. Drizzle over the cake. 
8. Chop the remaining glacé cherries into small pieces and scatter over the cake. Leave to set, then cut into pieces and serve. 

Mocha Cupcakes

I am terrible at making decisions. I'm in my penultimate year of university so it's not really the best time to have this as a trait. Having to attempt to trawl through an avalanche of postgrad courses, graduate schemes and job options over the next year is not going to be easy - and that's after I figure out which area I want to work in in the first place.

On the one hand having a psychology degree means I'll be fairly flexible with the kind of work I can do. On the other this just means they'll be even more choices I'll have to decide from. Which isn't something I'm complaining about - better that than to be limited at this stage - but when you're the type of person who gets caught up with excitement for one idea before swiftly moving onto the next it'd be nice if there was a more obvious path to follow.

I'm no better when it comes to the little things in life, such as recently trying to decide on which cupcakes to bake. I didn't want anything with too much chocolate, too much fruit, any kind of flavour that would overpower the cakes. I finally opted for a light, moist chocolate cupcake to satisfy my cocoa cravings, topped with a smooth coffee butter cream for a different dimension of flavour. Thankfully in this instance I could put everything I fancy into one thing and enjoy the best of both worlds.

While my final year of uni won't be quite such an easy task (and is possibly slightly more important), for now I can sit back knowing I've successfully made one decision and the outcome hasn't been a catastrophe.

And at the very least, I now have cake to help me with all this terribly exhausting thinking.

Mocha Cupcakes

Moist chocolate cupcakes finished with a glossy coffee buttercream and milk chocolate sprinkles

Makes 12

For the Cakes:

Ingredients

• 125g butter or margarine
• 125g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 150g self raising flour
• 2 tbsp good quality cocoa powder (I used Green & Blacks)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp milk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C Fan oven)/350F/Gas Mark 4. Line a muffin tray with 12 cases.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together using a wooden spoon.
3. Crack the eggs into the bowl one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the syrup.
4. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and gently fold into the butter mix a third at a time. Add the milk and continue to fold until everything is combined.
5. Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases and bake for around 20 minutes until the cakes are risen and springy to the touch. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the Buttercream Icing:

Ingredients

• 55g butter or margarine
• 110g icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp of boiling water

Method

1. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the coffee mixture.
2. Spread the butter cream onto the top of each cooled cake.
3. Add chocolate sprinkles or any other decorations you fancy.

Fave Recipes from the Web

I thought I'd do a little round up of some of the recipes I've come across this week that I can't wait to try out. These are either from blogs I follow, or just ones I came across via Pinterest.

Firstly, Two Peas and Their Pod's recipe for Rosemary Sea Salt Pretzels!

After my trip to Berlin I've been craving soft pretzels but haven't yet had chance to try making my own. I've found a few recipes for them, but the addition of rosemary to these sounds so delish that I'm probably going to try using this one first. The cheese sauce that accompanies the pretzels is tempting enough for me to try these out by itself!

Avoid the Raspberri Cupcakes' blog if you're trying to cut down on sweet things - her recipes are the ultimate cakes and desserts for indulging in and instantly make me start craving home-made goodies, none more so than the Rolo Chocolate Brownie Cake posted recently.

This cake has everything you could ever want - chocolate, caramel, topped with 4(!) tubes of Rolos - I'm wowed every time I look at it. I think we all have those days where a slice of something as decadent as this is in order, so I may have to save the recipe for a day like that. Otherwise I don't think I could justify eating this!                                  

I love Joy the Baker's blog - fab recipes accompanied by her lovely down-to-earth writing. I need to make these Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies with a Creamy Peanut Butter Filling.

Peanut butter is a major treat for me - I don't buy it often because my fiancé doesn't like it, and I end up eating my way through the jar so quickly it's probably for the best it's not always in the flat! I intended to make some peanut butter cookies last time I had some. Unfortunately I ended up eating too much of the jar before I could - whoops! I am determined to make some next time though, and the combination of peanut butter with oats sounds like it might just satisfy all my peanut butter cookie cravings. Plus, my philosophy is oats in a cookie equals a healthier cookie, and therefore more can be eaten. Don't have to worry about my fiancé not eating them then!

If you're on Pinterest you may have also seen these Cinco de Mayo Piñata Cookies. 

These look so much fun, I think it's such a cute idea for a themed party. The dough takes more effort than usual but the effect is stunning so when I've got time I may have to attempt these.

I'll finish this post with Lentil & Chickpea curry, another recipe I found through Pinterest. Partly so you don't get the impression I only ever cook and eat cakes and cookies. 

I'm not a vegetarian, and most meals I can't imagine without some sort of meat. However for me curries are the thing I can make without meat and not miss it at all. Instead I tip loads of vegetables in it and bulk it up with chickpeas. This recipe looks like a fancier version of the kind of curries I currently make. I haven't used lentils before and have only recently tried out coconut milk so this will be nice to try out as something slightly different to what I usually put together for dinner. 

I hope this post possibly introduced you to a new blog, or just gave a little bit of cooking inspiration. If there's any good food blogs or recipes you've come across and think are worth sharing, please let me know!  :)

Easter Nest Cakes

As it's not long at all now until Easter (where the hell is this year going?!) I decided to make some Easter-themed cakes - i.e. smother some sponge with a horrendous amount of chocolate.

The sponge cake for this recipe is the same as for my Victoria Sponge cake, again made in a rectangular baking tray. This means the cakes aren't too rich and over-chocolately, and the chocolate buttercream is flavoured with orange to give it a lighter taste reminiscent of Spring/Summer. This is then covered in chocolate sprinkles and whatever little Easter goodies you like to give the 'nest' effect.

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Ingredients

For the sponge:

110g butter/margarine

110g caster sugar

2 large eggs

110g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the buttercream:

100g icing sugar

50g butter/margarine

1 teaspoon orange extract
2 teaspoons good quality cocoa powder (I used Green & Blacks)

To decorate:
Chocolate sprinkles
Chocolate eggs

-Preheat the oven to 180C(160C fan oven)/350F/Gas Mark 4.

-Grease and line a deep rectangular 20cm x 30cm baking tray.

-Cream the butter and caster sugar together with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.

-Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

-Sift the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl, then gently fold a third of this at a time into the mixture using a metal spoon, until you have a smooth batter.

-Fold in the vanilla extract.

-Pour the mixture into the baking tin, gently smoothing the top with the back of a spoon.

-Bake for about 25-30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, and the cake is a light golden brown colour.

-Leave to cool.
-Using an 8 cm round cutter, cut about 6 rounds from the cake (there will be cake left over for nibbling!)

-Make the chocolate buttercream. Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the cocoa powder and orange extract and continue to stir until smooth.

-Cover each cake with buttercream. I'm not the best at this at all so it ended up looking very messy; this actually works for this recipe though, as it gives the 'nest' effect straight away.

-Now time to get decorating! Use a mixture of dark and milk chocolate sprinkles on the top and sides of the cakes, leaving a small space in the centre to place the chocolate eggs.

-Add any other decorations that you fancy.

Victoria Sponge Cake

OK, so this isn't the traditional looking Victoria Sponge exactly, but if you're in need of some light as air cake, perfectly sweetened buttercream and lots and lots of jam this has everything covered.

A little while back I was in a position where I had no idea what to do with myself, and the only thing that could distract me and make me feel better was an afternoon spent baking. For certain reasons the only thing I wanted to make was a Victoria Sponge. However, I don't have two small cake tins, just one large round tin, and I am terrible at cutting cakes into two equal slices. And I had to make this cake the best I could. So instead I used the cake tin I normally use for brownies, flapjacks and the like. 

Cutting the tray of cake in half I got two pieces of cake that were almost equal in size and thickness, that I smothered in layers of buttercream and raspberry jam, and dusted with icing sugar. I'm not saying this is the prettiest cake in the world, but it looked good to me, especially in comparison to my past cake disasters! 

A slab of this (this was definitely a comfort eating moment so don't judge!) with a cup of tea, and while nothing might have changed I could deal with it all a little bit better. 

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The recipe for the sponge is adapted from the Vanilla Cupcakes from Eat Me! - the mix can be split between muffin cases to make 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the sponge:

110g butter/margarine

110g caster sugar

2 large eggs

110g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the buttercream:

100g icing sugar

50g butter/margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Jam

Icing sugar, to dust

-Preheat the oven to 180C(160C fan oven)/350F/Gas Mark 4.

-Grease and line a deep rectangular 20cm x 30cm baking tray.

-Cream the butter and caster sugar together with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.

-Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

-Sift the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl, then gently fold a third of this at a time into the mixture using a metal spoon, until you have a smooth batter.

-Fold in the vanilla extract.

-Pour the mixture into the baking tin, gently smoothing the top with the back of a spoon.

-Bake for about 25-30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, and the cake is a light golden brown colour.

-Leave to cool.

-Once cool, remove any greaseproof paper and cut the cake in half, giving you two roughly 10cm x 15cm pieces. 

-Place one half on a serving plate and spread with jam. The amount is entirely up to you, but in my opinion the more generous the better (especially with the raspberry jam I used - it's delicious!)

-To make the buttercream, cream together the butter and icing sugar until smooth, then add the vanilla extract. Taste to make sure it's the right sweetness.

-Turn the remaining cake half upside down and spread with the buttercream. Place on top of the jam covered half.

-Sift icing sugar all over the cake to finish.